Browsing: Real Change

Anthony Kaufman: Allow Me To Introduce the Hip Hop Palinista

July 13th, 2011 | By

First may I say Thank You for putting your foot in your mouth and inspiring me to start the conversation.  I’m a Southern Girl so I always start with good manners first.

Now let’s get to the point.  Anthony Kaufman published a little blog piece on IndieWire.  In it he takes shots at Stephen Bannon, Writer and Director of “The Undefeated”.  Bannon is a grown man and he can speak for himself.  But I will tell you what I tell everyone else that asks how I got involved in the the film; Not only is Bannon a genius, he also has good taste.  In case you didn’t check your facts, Bannon also included two blacks in “Fire from the Heartland”.  And after that interview he gave me the best advice I’ve received. “They will try to change you.  People will tell you what you could be, what you should be, or what they can make you.  Don’t let them take away that which makes you great.”

And I haven’t. 

Here’s the part in which I take issue:

For me, the most shocking moment in “The Undefeated,” however, comes with the appearance of a black person about two-thirds of the way through. I’m not sure if it’s what Bannon had in mind when he wanted to seize the audience’s attention, but the arrival of black conservative female activist Sonnie Johnson made me realize just how white everyone is, in both Alaska and the Tea Party.

I was able to meet Gov. Palin in Pella, IA for the premiere of “The Undefeated”.  One of the first things she said to me was, “are you ready for all the hate that will come your way for being associated with me”.  I told her, “I’ve got Palin in my blood”.  I wish you would’ve known that little fact before you would downgrade me to the token black in your limited view of the Tea Party.  I am no one’s token.  Nor am I a punchline of what you think is a bad joke.  If seeing me in the film was such a shock to your cerebral, then why didn’t you grow a sack and interview me yourself?  Or is Breitbart right and your lack of a set is shown in your need to hide behind a blogpost.  Are you a Eunuch?

That’s not a name calling on my part, it’s more a need to understand.  Bannon would’ve told me if you had asked for an interview.  My name in plastered all over the web and social networking, so I’m very easy to find.  Why not come and ask me your questions and alleviate your surprise?  Isn’t that the job of a journalist?  Or is this your version of how a white boys chooses when its appropriate to play the race card? 

Well let me introduce you to a new breed of Black Conservative.  We are not your Carlton Banks, Clarence Thomas, or Condi Rice.  We learned conservative values from our black churches and the frugal nature of single parent homes.  We learned capitalism from Street Corners, while also trying to escape the traps Liberals set for us.  We’ve fallen, gotten back up, and now have families that we are willing to fight for.  Our Hip Hop culture has done more to disprove the idea of mutual salvation than all other sources of Conservative Talk, Blog, or TV and we are here to be a voice for those you and your Liberal cohorts have stereo typed for years.

If you want to know how Black I am, I dare you interview me yourself.  Just tell me when and where.   I’ll come to you.  It would be my pleasure.  Until then be grateful that, temporarily, you still have Obamacare.  If my appearance was a shock to you, then just wait until our voices are really heard.  You are going to need High Blood Pressure pills to keep your heart in your chest.  We are finding each other, becoming active in our communities, and giving blacks a choice to your Elitist and Dismissive Arrogance.

  In the end, if it’s a choice between you and I, it won’t be my blackness that puts you in your place.  It will be my voice, that will wish had remained silent.  My passion, which if you aren’t careful, might pull you in.  But most of all my “The Undefeated” nature that makes me a perfect fit for the film.   Sonskystar@aol.com.

The Dream Act of Black Irrelevancy

January 24th, 2011 | By

On election night 2010, Harry Reid’s re-election to the Senate put the final nail in the coffin of the Black relevance.  I didn’t understand, at the time, the impact that one race held for black communities all around the United States of America.  Blacks in Nevada didn’t show up for Harry Reid but the Hispanics did.  In the end, the majority leader in the Senate got 70% of a ever growing electorate.

Why does this matter to the black community?  We once again proved we can’t be trusted to show up,  even with Barack Obama as our President.  We can sing my Presidents’ Black and all those dumb songs but when it’s time to put up or shut up, we can’t be found.  Is it any wonder Senator Harry Reid is going full speed ahead with the Dream Act, a stealth form of Amnesty?   As Obama said, “reward your friends and punish your enemies”.

This concept was reinforced  when I attended the Republican Party of Virginia’s Advance.  The rank and file Republicans showed up and were seated on time.  The minority leadership, on the other hand, thought it was more important chit chat with the powers that be.  When we finally did get started, thirty minutes late and minus a moderator, I learned a lesson of how blacks are viewed by other minorities.  The Hispanic population in Virginia has grown by 18% in the last ten years, the Vietnamese population has grown by 18%, and the Black population by 1.2%.  As it stands, blacks in Virginia are now the third minority group, after Whites and Hispanics.  They made sure to point this out numerous times during the presentation, basically telling all the people in the crowd who were asking how to reach the black community, “why bother?”.

On our side  was me and an older black gentleman, who spent the entire time telling everyone in the room how long he’s been a Republican.  As I sat in frustration and anger, staring at the ceiling to prevent myself from saying something I shouldn’t, I remembered an experience I had over the summer.  I walked into a convenience store and there was a conversation between the two black employees.   One woman said, “times are hard and they won’t give us any help.”  The other woman replied, “you have to be a foreigner to get anything these days.”  I looked at the panel, of which I was the only born American, and thought “look what we’ve done to ourselves”.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the forefathers of Communism/Socialism/Progressivism, believed some groups didn’t belong in a socialized society.  “Racial trash” is the name they gave to the groups who hadn’t even evolved into a capitalist state yet.  Every ethnicity in America has built it’s own network, except the black community.  I’ll say it again, if you want to find Communism/Socialism/Progressivism, then look to the black community.  Our blood, sweat and tears have stained every aspect of this country, but other than incomplete history books, we have nothing to show for it.   No local businesses, large property ownership, or successful communities to use as a model.  Every Black neighborhood is invaded by Democrats and left to falter into “traps”.  Either we have no interest in voting, have felonies and can’t vote, or vote blindly for the Democratic Party.

The irony lies in the Dream Act.  We have so dwindled our numbers with Abortion and Incarceration, we don’t realize the American Dream is being handed to someone else.  Here’s the rub, I don’t blame the Illegal Aliens for coming to America.  America is the greatest country on planet Earth and if I lived in Mexico, I would try to cross the boarder as well.  With that being said, I was born in America and my loyalty lies with what’s best for this country.  I’m also aware that many Mexican-Americans believe the best thing for this country is to forgo the Black Vote and legalize as many Illegal Aliens as possible.  You can see it’s beginning with Illegal Aliens being counted in the Census.  They can’t vote but their numbers can be used to select representation.  You can see the Democratic push in Al Sharpton spending the entire summer lobbying the Country for “Brown People”.  What about the Black people who have been supporting you for years and have a 18% unemployment rate.  Do you think the two could be problems of the same coin? More unskilled illegals, less unskilled jobs for those in the Black Community that need a hand up, not a hand out.

While we’re busy worrying if the Tea Party is racist, the real racial impact is coming from those that will legislate the Black Community into irrelevancy, yet again.  They push Abortion,  they push more regulation which leads to more laws and reasons to lock you up, and they push Amnesty which replaces our numbers with a fresh new stock of people.    And the Black Elite stand beside them as Champions of the little man.  When will we wake up and realize the Dream Act is a nightmare for Black America?

Black History Month Without White People: Part One

February 4th, 2010 | By

method2madness

White people, don’t be mad. This isn’t about you. This is about the Black communities constant need to equate Black History Month with “What White People Did to Black People History Month”. I have but one request. Don’t learn about what happened to Black people, learn what Black people did against all odds. We need a little change in perspective.

 This is coming from one angry Black woman who only now is learning what the schools refuse to teach. We learned about slaves, sharecropping, and Civil Rights, but there was never a true conversation about the Black Faces and who they were as People. The power of Black History is not in the pain of slavery, the injustice of Jim Crow, or the segregation of the ’60’s. The true motivating force behind Black History are the INDIVIDUALS who wielded extraordinary strength againt overwhelming odds.

Normally, a myriad of names would enter the spotlight but what’s the point?   We will hear they invented this, said that, or became the first to…..whatever.  We will learn they were spit on, hung from trees, and separated from their families.  Then February will fade and so will all those Great People until next year.  As a people, we should be ashamed.

We glimpse over a Rich American Black History and claim Africa as our homeland.  Why?  Africa didn’t want us, that’s how we got on slave ships.  Our ancestors’ African enemies won, rounded us up, and sold us off to build up their territory.  We were casualties of War or God had a plan for us.  He knew that this GREAT NATION lay on the horizon and would be incomplete without his beautiful Black Children.

Should we forget where we came from?  NO.  But we can’t forget African Kings like Gezo of the Dahomey who said “The slave trade is the ruling principle of my people.  It is the source and the glory of their wealth……the mother lulls the child to sleep with notes of triumph over an enemy reduced to slavery….”  Now, this may sound silly but I have a little more hatred for another black man that tries to break my spirit.  While we picture Kunta Kinte being broken in America, imagine how he felt when his own kind lead him to those ships and away from everything he had ever known.  Turned from a man into property long before he reached America.

And this is where the BS starts.  The constant chatter and talk about my personal attachment to master or my inability to couple reality with history.  It’s my inability to uncouple reality with history that makes me write articles like this.  I can’t look past people like Anthony Johnson, one of the first slaves to reach America.  He worked, got his freedom, made some money, and bought himself an indentured servant, John Casor.  When Casors time was up, he demanded his freedom.  Johnson said “NO” and went to the courts to maintain possession of his property.  He won and Casor became his slave until death do them part.

A black man, who was once a slave himself, knew the potential of America and took advantage.  Was it right?  Of course not.  But it happened.  Since the very inception of slavery in America, black men have been slave owners. Even when their brothers and sisters were in chains, they were looking out for their own self interest.   That’s important imformation to have in this day and age of blacks leaders like Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson. 

Don’t you even say it.  No, we are not going to talk about white slave owners, it’s Black History Month.  I want to talk about the strength of a WOMAN.  Imagine having no rights due to the color of your skin and top it off with having no respect due to your gender.  Imagine not only risking your life on the Underground Railroad but also trying to protect yourself in a male dominated society.   Image you’re Harriet Tubman trying to convince a slave God has ordained their freedom and all they have to do is trust a BLACK WOMAN.

While we revel in the wonder and strength that is Harriet Tubman, she would be nothing if there weren’t people willing to follow her.  They had jobs, shelter, food, and a structured existence but they RAN away from it all.  They left everything and everyone they had ever known because GOD had sent them an Angel and Guide away from the conformity of slavery.  No longer was everything given to them, now they had to work for it because “not even God will do for man what man can do for himself.”  Nannie Burroughs

Another great lesson to learn in this day and age.  Slavery is about conformity and acceptance.  You conform to your surroundings and you accept what ever is handed to you.  While we fester in Ghettos and public housing accepting welfare and food stamps, there is a modern day Harriet Tubman.  She is a mother that walks her child to school everyday in Chicago because she believes God has ordained him to be more than a street thug.  Now imagine her son looking at the holes in her shoes or naps in her hair, wondering if he should have faith in this BLACK WOMAN.

And this is just part one.  Both good and bad aspects of Black History told without white people.  A focus on how the Matriarchs and Patriarchs of our history treated each other, in addition to their contributions to America.  A glaring mirror into what is loss when we value the actions of others and forget the inaction of our own.  A plea to remember not just inventions, but faith in God, character, determination, and strength.

Katrina Pierson Of Texas: Pink Slips For Washington

April 21st, 2009 | By

I wouldn’t post Jeaneane Garafalo’s rant on MSNBC but I am pleased to let you meet Katrina Pierson. I can’t say it like her:

Congratulations Michael Steele

January 30th, 2009 | By

Had to run to my computer and shout it from the rooftops. Michael Steele is the new head of the Republican Party. The time of the new fight is upon us. From Steele’s own words. We are no longer fighting to sit at the counter. We are now fighting to own the diner.

Go Michael Steele

Michael Steele For the RNC

November 14th, 2008 | By

For those of you who say I bash black politicians, you are wrong. I bash politicians that rail against free market, family values, self responsibility, and the right to life. This doesn’t come in color, it comes in my values.

With that being said, Yes, I have a black man to support. Michael Steele, the former Lt. Governor of Maryland. I have given my support to the grassroots effort of electing Steele to head the RNC. Here is the interview with Steele hearing our call for new leadership in the Republican Party.

You can throw your support behind Michael Steele. Sign the petition and let the Republican Party know we mean business. Change is coming and this is change I can actually believe in.
Draft Michael Steele

“We are no longer fighting to sit at the diner. We are now fighting to own the diner.” Michael Steele

Once we understand this, we can really bring change.

Sonskystar Wants Your Vote

October 16th, 2008 | By

Local Politician Sonskystar gave a speech in front of Any Town U.S.A. today.  Here’s a copy of her words:

Hello, Everyone.  We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s go.  I know this is usually the part where I throw out names and Thank You’s but I think we have more important issues to discuss.  So for all the assistance I’ve garnered along the way,  Thank You.

Now, I know you are surprised to see a Black Woman running as a Republican.   And I know people will try to scare you about me.  But this is not the time to let their tactics interfer with your future. I’m not asking for your vote.  I’m asking for your ear, a little of your time, and eventually your success.

The Civil Rights movement in this country came at a high cost.  We lost some of the bravest most dedicated Americans to ever grace this country.  But their fight was not in vein.  Some would try to tell you we are in the same fight now.  I beg to differ.  We are in a new age.  And we need a new movement, a Hip Hop Movement.

We can not overlook tragedies from the past.  We can not act as though slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation never existed.  But we can refuse to let it control our futures.  We can give honor and respect to those who came before us, but that can not cause us to stand idle like the battlefield hasn’t changed.   We must stand and say Thank You Dr. King,  Malcolm X, and all the rest but this is our time to pick up where you left off.  You gave us the level playing field and now we have to take advantage of your sacrifices.

If you’re listening right now and thinking to yourself, ‘You know she doesn’t sound like your average politician.’  You are right.  I am not.  See most politicians would come out and make you every promise under the sun.  You give them a problem, they come  up with a promise for a solution.

The lower class and lower middle class have given our votes to the Democrats for years.  What have they done for you?  Have your communities gotten cleaner or safer?  Have your schools gotten better?  Are there more after school programs and assistance towards getting into college.  And I’m not talking about paying for college.  I’m talking wanting to go to college.  What’s the use of throwing money at people, if they don’t have the skills to make it in college because they weren’t taught properly in public schools.

Okay, now she’s starting to sound like a politician.  I’m not finished yet. This will shock you.  I will not make you any promises.  I’m not going to stand here, pull out my book of magic spells, my wand, and whip up all the change we need.  It doesn’t work that way.  My plans will fail if I can’t get you to fight with me.

The Democrats want to give you.  And that sounds great.  But what happens when the funding runs out?  What happens when they deem the program unworkable.  The promises made by Politicians fade and beauracracy flourishes.  And you are left with the same old problems, this time compiled with dashed hopes and dreams.

What I offer is priceless.  I offer self sufficiency.  I don’t want to give you fish, I want to teach you to be fisherman.  I want to give you the power to take care of yourself and your community, no matter how the wind blows in Washington.  I want to take away the promises and replace them with actual results.

I think most Politicians get into office and forget their role.  They get into office and start to think they know best.  I’m not that smug.  If one single person had all the answers, we wouldn’t have any problems.  As your elected official, my job would be to give you every tool available to do it by yourself.  And to fight anyone that impedes on your progress.  I mean anyone.  Because I know my success will only come when you are first successful.

Real change comes with a price tag attached for everyone.  I can not bring change.  That’s one promise I will make you.  I can not do it.  But you can.  You can decide to stand up and fight.  Because the fight of our time is coming.  And you’ve already taken the first step.

In just listening to another point of view.  Just giving me the chance to show you, I understand.  I grew up in a rural community where Confederate Flags still waved from flag poles.  Then I lived in the projects with my single mother.  I know the struggles are real and seem insurmountable but they aren’t.  Did you hear me?  If we all get together and start taking one step at a time, we can crush what seems to be an ever present road block.

That’s how the Civil Rights movement started.  Single acts from brave Americans.  Before there were large marches, there were small marches.  Before there were recognizable names, there were people fighting.  Before there was light at the end of the tunnel, there was a dream.

So when they tell you, ‘She’s a Republican.  She’s an Uncle Tom.  A trader to her race because she sides with ‘Whitey’.  Then you say, ‘I have white friends and family.  What’s wrong with loving all Americans not just those with the same skin color?’  So when they bring up things from the past, you question how that will get you into the future.

Guess what?  You have started to pile stones onto your foundation. And that’s how it starts.  A few brave Americans deciding to longer go with the status quo.  A few brave Americans willing to stand up when everyone wants them to fail and say I’m still going to fight.

And the change starts to come.  Little changes to fix little problems, making the bigger problems seem less threatening.  And we have some major problems that need fixing.

Communication is our major barrier.  We have so many people pointing to the past.  And hell, in some cases the right here and now.  But you don’t hear a way out.  A real way towards self sufficiency.  Now I could point fingers but what would that solve.  Nothing.  We would still be in this downward slide with more weight dragging us down.

Instead let’s start talking about the real issues that plague our communities.  And that’s where it all starts.  In our communities.  Everyone is interested in the Presidential Election but what about your local elections.  This is where the majority of the issues that face average Americans are really hammered out.  What does it matter if the Federal Government pledges Millions of Dollars to this or that, if your local officials decide the money would be better spent some where else.

The Federal Government gives a state $10 Million for new computers in schools.  But the state and local governments decide to give that money to the Teacher’s Union because they supported them in the last election.  Then they complain that the school doesn’t have the resources it needs.  Local Officials have to be held to a higher standard of accountability and transparency.  It’s not enough to have meetings where people voice their opinions to have them overturned by the very people they voted into office.

Then you get parking lots instead of community centers.  Students are forced to pay for school books, while politicians get pay raises.  And then they come back to you with the same promise that next time will be different.  Next time I’m going to do something about substance abuse in our communities.  Next time I’m going for better social programs.  But those programs never come.  The solutions never appear.  And the problems are never solved.

That’s a major reason to let faith based initiatives continue.  Government can not fix every problem with the same solution.  Each community faces different challenges.  And who better to know the challenges than the people who live there.  If you are tired of waiting for a new community center and you want to open one through your church, funds should be made available.  I trust you more with caring how that money is spent than a politician with campaign debts to pay off.

My family is saturated with drug abusers.  My biological mother was an addict when I was born and is still addicted today.  And that breaks my heart.  But my oldest sister was an addict and now she’s found her way back. All praises to God.  She’s working two jobs, trying to settle her debts of the past, and not making any excuses why it’s too hard.  Recovery is possible.

For my sister, it all started with a small business in her community that was willing to give her a chance. A white couple who lived in her Ghetto community didn’t see color or her past.  All they saw was a woman trying to get her life back.  All they saw was an opportunity to help.  And they should be rewarded so they can give that chance to as many people as possible.

The federal government couldn’t reach my sister.  The local government couldn’t reach my sister.  One couple of brave Americans not only reached her, they grabbed her, held her tight, and refused to let her fail.  And in return, she refuses to let their outreach be in vain.

There is something to be said about people who faced adversity and come out the other side.  They develop this wonderful trait called character.  They can look back and realize the mistakes they made.  And they begin to notice those decisions also had an affect on their communities.  And this is when great men and women are born.

And that’s what we need.  A real rebirth in our communities.  Who cares how the drugs got here?  How do we get them out?  Who cares how low our property values are currently?  How can we get them to rival  other neighborhoods in the city?

The problem is, we look to government to solve those problems.  Let’s look to the great men and women being born out of these hard circumstances.  They know why the problems exist, they were there.  Let them have a hand at revitalizing our communities.  Let them have the victory and pride in knowing they are the stewards of the people.  Let them fight for job growth by opening businesses.  Give them unused city buildings or space to start financial counseling and debt elimination.

People, when I say we are on the door step of a new movement, please believe me.   We are in the ‘Keep it Real’ stage in our history.  But we don’t apply it when in matters.  If somebody steps on my shoes, I’ll knock him out.  If you look at me wrong……you know what I mean.  We need people who will say the things people don’t want to hear.

We need the former drug dealers and addicts to speak up.  We need the single mother’s and once absentee father’s to speak up.  I can follow in Cosby’s footsteps and tell you bluntly all the problems in our communities or I can let the men and women you see everyday explain how to help you out of your current situation.  I can let them work and prosper.  My job would be to fight anyone that would dare say they aren’t qualified.  My job would be to fight anyone that said money could be better spent paying for my next election.  My job would be to make sure anyone that tells you it’s not worth the fight is silenced, by any and all means necessary.

And with each new stone, with each new victory, you will see change.  I’ll still be me.  But I doubt you’ll still be the same.  Success is contagious.  Today we are surrounded by all the reasons we can’t make it.  What happens when you start seeing everyone around you prove that theory wrong?  You get that little flutter in your heart thinking, ‘Why can’t that be me?’.  And you hear my loud mouth saying, ‘It can be you’, drowning out all the reasons and excuses.

You decide to go to Malik’s debt management class.  Not only do you come out with a sense that things are going to be different because this plan depends on you; you also found out about Mrs. T’s new daycare program,  Rev. Johnson’s new job training program, Shantel’s new health and awarness clinic, and a host of other programs and businesses set up by people just like you.

You go home happy.  Dare I say, optimistic.  And you look into the eyes of your child and now you want more for him or her.  Now you want to attend every P.T.A. meeting to let every parent know that you are starting a new tutoring program.  Not just for the kids but for adults that want more than they presently have.  And you become infectious. And you bring change.  And you strengthen the foundation of your community.

And when it’s time to pick the city counsel, the people will cry out for you, Mrs. T, and Shantel.  You will get your opportunity to start building your community floor by floor, because each and everyone of you worked together to make a solid foundation.  And no one will be able to take it from you.  And no financial crisis will cripple you.  Because your progress was not built on false promises but hard work by new movers and shakers.

A new generation with new problems.  We are no longer fighting for our right to learn to read.  We are now fighting for schools that don’t pass students even when they can’t read.  We are no longer fighting for our right to not be called property.  We are now fighting to be responsible home owners.  We are no longer fighting to to be called men and women despite color.  We are now fighting to become men and women by character, dedication and sacrifice.

Our schools need help.  That’s why charter schools are so important.  And vouchers to make those schools affordable are even more important.  Now that you’ve started your tutoring program, more parents are getting involved in their child’s lives.

Let me point something out real quick.  Some may say, these ideas have been tried before.  To that I say, by the wrong people.  You can not give this job to the government to handle.  The government doesn’t know how to make a tutoring program interesting in the Urban areas.  If you leave it to the people in those areas, I’m sure they will create the buzz needed to get people to participate.  They know the people, what they want, and they know how to get them there. The programs are more effective.

The targets are reached.  Young boys one step away from being haunted for the rest of their lives by a felony.  Young girls one step away from being single mothers.  Young men and women one step away from contracting H.I.V.  Young men and women one step away from taking my job, they just don’t know it yet.  And I welcome that.

Some people will tell you it’s a right to own a home.  I am not one of those people.  Home ownership is a privelage and a responsibility, not a right.  But it is also a struggle.  Saving for a down payment while trying to start your own business is almost an impossiblity.  Saving while trying to finish school and take care of a family fits into the same category, nearly impossible.

That’s where my job comes in.  I’ll fight to get social programs that do not help propel self sufficiency removed, freeing up money for new programs.  Cut government programs that should be handled by locals and give them vouchers for home down payments.  Reward small business owners with better loan options depending on the number of jobs they create.  This gives them incentive to make their business grow.

And other programs that I think miss the target will have to be adjusted as well.  I don’t understand why you can get welfare for not working but the minute you get a job, you are cut off.  It’s like the government wants to reward you for relying on them.  Take that power from them.  Don’t let them control your vote by controlling your destiny.

If you currently live in public housing, I don’t expect you to miraculously solve all your problems in a month or two.  It takes time to catch up on old bills and buy a car that allows you to get back and forth to work. It takes time to balance a budget; to figure out how much you can afford to spend on housing, insurance, and every thing else it takes to make it in this country.

You should be awarded for taking a step forward.  And I will fight to make sure your food stamps aren’t cut off because you have a minimum wage job.  I’ll fight to help keep your benefits until you complete your G.E.D., college courses, technical school courses, or save enough to know you can handle it on your own. I’ll fight to make sure you see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Because I know when you come out the other side, you will have character and courage to know nothing can stop you.  And you will want to give back to the community that gave you that feeling.

And the cycle will continue.  One victory at a time.  A new movement, with a new voice.  A new Hip Hop generation that refuses to go unheard or to let someone else shape our development.  A new foundation  to build upon.  Forged by fixing the problems of the hear and now, not of the past.

But all this means nothing without you.  Whether I’m elected or not, I will continue to fight.  I don’t want your vote because I think I know what ‘s best.  I’m depending on you to tell me what your community needs.  And I just your words aren’t enough.  I need your action, passion and motivation.  There are some people in some high places that don’t want you to think for yourself.  They have more education than you.  They have years on capital hill to prove they know better than you.

But what they can’t give you is results.  They promise them but where are they.  You are the only one that can get results. And you need someone that tells everyone else, back off and watch this new generation in action.  You don’t need another politician that wins your vote with promises.  I’ll be a servant to you.  If you say that policy isn’t working.  I’ll cut it, even if I fought for it in the first place.

Who knows how many projects and programs will fail before we get it right.  Like I said, I don’t have a book of magic to make the problems disappear.  But together we have a chance to try.  To take each little victory and build upon it.  When we find a crack, we won’t ignore it or let it fester until it drags us all down. We’ll fix it, learning from each lesson along the way.

And you will be the Author in this new chapter in History.  Names that aren’t known yet, will fill the history books with little stories that lead to massive change.  And all the haters that tell you it won’t happen, will remain nameless.  History seldoms records the neigh sayers.  It always records the accounts of the one’s willing to fight.

So will you fight with me?  Will you stand up and say enough with the promises?  Will you say my votes’ new cost is character not entitlements?  Fight with me for your future, the future of those in your community, and for your community as a whole.  Let’s get that first victory, so we can start to build a foundation that can not be broken.  Let’s show the Hero’s of the past, our time is now.  And we will fight just as they did.  And will win just as they did.

God bless you, your family and the United States of America.

I Love Teachable Moments

August 19th, 2008 | By

Now I don’t like to Post other People’s Work, but I have to tell this story, in short. Read Whole Story.

This is Tony Petite, a 12 year old boy from New Orleans. When Katrina hit, his family was forced to move to Denver. When Tony arrived, he felt out of place because the other students were more advanced. But Tony got something he wasn’t used to. Help. The teachers spent extra time with Tony getting him caught up.

Tony’s family moved back to New Orleans. They came back to their neighborhood where houses still had spray painted markings from when Katrina Hit 3 Years Earlier. He came back to his school, to see his A’s and B’s turn to D’s and F’s; he came back to fighting instead of learning.

Now the two People standing next to him are not his parents. They are the Principals of A New Charter School for Boys in the New Orleans Area, Miller-McCoy Academy. Tiffany Hardrick and Keith Sanders both come from Memphis and were Principals. They were also members of an Organization called New Leaders for New Schools, a non profit that targets leaders to become Principals in Urban Schools.

They left Memphis just as their schools were beginning to flourish to help in New Orleans. “I remember sitting in my living room and just crying, just really feeling for the people who were involved,” Sanders said. “Now we’ve been given the opportunity to be a part of the rebirth of New Orleans. How often do you get a chance to contribute to something like this?”

I could go into the fact they re-elected Nagin when He was inefficient at handling the build up and the aftermath of Katrina. I could point out that a lot of Misplaced Targets of the Storm have found a new life in other parts of the Country. I could tell you it is a disgrace that we complained so much when we saw the Storm unfolding, Now we have moved on with our lives like it never happened, while people are still suffering.

But I won’t. Instead I will give Praise to Tiffany Hardrick and Keith Sanders. I bet if I tried, they would say for what. Because they see the big picture and know they play a part. I will Praise Tony’s mother for seeking out a better school for her Son. I will Praise Tony for accepting the help when he moved to Denver. And I will Praise the Reporter that still believes we want to hear stories of inspiration.

Tell Elon Bomani She Can’t Do It

June 3rd, 2008 | By

I’d like to see you try.

What would you do if your spouse walked out and left you penniless? What would you do if you couldn’t even get a bed in a homeless shelter?

ELON BOMANI, a black woman, raised on the streets of Philadelphia to a drug dealing father and welfare mother found herself there. Reliving the cycle set forth by her mother. She refused.

“I was not going to play the victim blame game. My greatest fear was that i was going to be in the vicious cycle that my mother fell into; a single mom on welfare.”

BOMANI, with her perfect credit, took a chance on herself. With nothing more than faith, hardwork, and a refusal to give up, she brought herself from homeless to prosperous.

“I believe in multiple incomes. Your not wealthy until your making money in your sleep.”

After investing in one property, she took that equity and bought a duplex. This was right in the real estate boom. So, she took her profits and moved to Houston, where she now lives well.

It would’ve been easy to get a check for ELON BOMANI. She could have applied for public housing and sat around and let the Democrats take care of her. Instead she decided she could control her future better.

She realized the social programs that didn’t push her mother forward, were not a path to financial freedom or peace of mind.

No one was going to hold her down. She had good credit, so she got a loan. If you opened a credit card account, maxed it out, and aren’t paying it, you’re not getting a loan because you are irresponsible. It has nothing to do with the color of your skin. The only thing that matters is the color of your money, and I’ve never seen someone get credit with foodstamps.

There is no magic man trying to hold you down. If you don’t have faith you can do it, write to me and I will give you all I have, because I know you can. I have had people tell me writing is not a real job. I’d like to see you try and stop my words.

So to ELON BOMANI, I say thank you for having the courage to follow your dreams, thank you for not following the easy path, and thank you for sharing your story. Now I have another example for those who say ‘We Can’t Do It’.