The New York Post is sorely misguided in its efforts to downplay the serious lapse in judgment exhibited in today's editorial cartoon by Sean Delonas. To think that the cartoonist and the responsible editors at the paper did not see the racist overtones of the finished product should insult their intelligence. Instead, they celebrate their own lack of perspective and criticize those who call it what it is: tone deaf at best, overtly racist at worst.
"I question the judgment of the editorial editors to move this to print as well as the diversity of its staff that would let them think this passes as comedy," said Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and vice president of UNITY: Journalists of Color.
UNITY President Rafael Olmeda also criticized the explanation offered by the New York Post. "Are we to believe that the image of a slain chimpanzee juxtaposed with a comment about the stimulus package would not lead reasonable people to draw a comparison with the person with whom the stimulus package is most associated?" Olmeda said. "Surely, Mr. Delonas and the editors can't be that obtuse."
UNITY condemns the cartoon as well as the newspaper's weak explanation.
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation's diversity. UNITY, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.
Pay attention: The Earth is Changing and we are the last generation positioned to do anything about it. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Our President really cares about America
Today, I signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law.
This is a historic step -- the first of many as we work together to climb out of this crisis -- and I want to thank you for your resolve and your support.
You organized thousands of house meetings. You shared your ideas and personal stories. And you informed your friends and neighbors about the need for immediate action. You continue to be a powerful voice for change throughout the country.
The recovery plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs, provide tax cuts for working and middle-class families, and invest in health care and clean energy.
It's a bold plan to address a huge problem, and it will require my vigilance and yours to make sure it's done right.
I've assigned a team of managers to oversee the implementation of the recovery act. We are committed to making sure no dollar is wasted. But accountability begins with you.
That's why my administration has created Recovery.gov, a new website where citizens can track every dollar spent and every job created. We'll invite you and your neighbors to weigh in with comments and questions.
Our progress will also be measured by the tens of thousands of personal stories submitted by people who are struggling to make ends meet. If you haven't already, you can read stories from families all across the country:
http://my.barackobama.com/yourstories
Your stories are the heart of this recovery plan, and that's what I'll focus on every day as President.
With your continued support, we'll emerge a stronger and more prosperous nation.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
This is a historic step -- the first of many as we work together to climb out of this crisis -- and I want to thank you for your resolve and your support.
You organized thousands of house meetings. You shared your ideas and personal stories. And you informed your friends and neighbors about the need for immediate action. You continue to be a powerful voice for change throughout the country.
The recovery plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs, provide tax cuts for working and middle-class families, and invest in health care and clean energy.
It's a bold plan to address a huge problem, and it will require my vigilance and yours to make sure it's done right.
I've assigned a team of managers to oversee the implementation of the recovery act. We are committed to making sure no dollar is wasted. But accountability begins with you.
That's why my administration has created Recovery.gov, a new website where citizens can track every dollar spent and every job created. We'll invite you and your neighbors to weigh in with comments and questions.
Our progress will also be measured by the tens of thousands of personal stories submitted by people who are struggling to make ends meet. If you haven't already, you can read stories from families all across the country:
http://my.barackobama.com/yourstories
Your stories are the heart of this recovery plan, and that's what I'll focus on every day as President.
With your continued support, we'll emerge a stronger and more prosperous nation.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Urotherapy Works?
LA PAZ, Bolivia – A Bolivian woman has died from an injection of urine allegedly administered by her friend as a form of health therapy, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Investigating prosecutor Oscar Flores told The Associated Press that 35-year-old Gabriela Ascarrunz died Saturday of an "infection caused by urine that was injected by fashion designer Monica Schultz."
I cannot imagine how this works but apparently it does. I would like to know why it did not work in this woman's case but it did work in the clothing designer who allegedly gave her the fatal dosage.
I read a little on this topic and saw on Wikipedia that Madonna used it to cure athelet's foot fungus.
Apparently this urotherapy has been around for thousands of years.
Growing up I have heard old wives tales that say wipe your face or the baby's face with infant urine for healthy skin. I saw the end results of this but the person was not using cloth diapers but the modern kind. Maybe that was a factor but the baby's face was rash upon rash. Maybe as time went on it cleared up--I dunno.
Anyone else know about urotherapy?
I cannot imagine how this works but apparently it does. I would like to know why it did not work in this woman's case but it did work in the clothing designer who allegedly gave her the fatal dosage.
I read a little on this topic and saw on Wikipedia that Madonna used it to cure athelet's foot fungus.
Apparently this urotherapy has been around for thousands of years.
Growing up I have heard old wives tales that say wipe your face or the baby's face with infant urine for healthy skin. I saw the end results of this but the person was not using cloth diapers but the modern kind. Maybe that was a factor but the baby's face was rash upon rash. Maybe as time went on it cleared up--I dunno.
Anyone else know about urotherapy?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Thank You for the passage of the stimulus bill
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan has passed the Senate and is on its way to difficult House-Senate negotiations. Just three Republicans helped pass the plan on a 61-37 vote and they're already signaling they'll play hardball to preserve more than $108 billion in spending cuts made last week in Senate dealmaking. Obama wants to restore cuts in funds for school construction jobs and help for cash-starved states.
Are Katherine and T.R. Leaving Grey's Anatomy?
By Kristin Dos Santos
Tue Feb 10, 12:11 PM PST
After months of rumors that Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight may be leaving Grey's Anatomy, costar James Pickens ("The Chief") has added fuel to the fire.
"Yes, she is," he told Us Weekly when asked if Heigl will exit the show. "Wherever Katherine goes, I wish her nothing but the best."
As for Knight, Pickens said, "He's going too."
http://ping.fm/ZNto6
Tue Feb 10, 12:11 PM PST
After months of rumors that Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight may be leaving Grey's Anatomy, costar James Pickens ("The Chief") has added fuel to the fire.
"Yes, she is," he told Us Weekly when asked if Heigl will exit the show. "Wherever Katherine goes, I wish her nothing but the best."
As for Knight, Pickens said, "He's going too."
http://ping.fm/ZNto6
Monday, February 09, 2009
Will Yall Quit FN with me and pass the stimulus bill
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, urgently pressuring lawmakers to approve a massive economic recovery bill, turned his first news conference Monday night into a determined defense of his emergency plan and an offensive against Republicans who try to "play the usual political games."
http://ping.fm/vzGqH
http://ping.fm/vzGqH
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Of Interest...NWI Times
May 31st 2008
The memorial tattoos on Gary police Officer Keith Richardson and Sgt. Brian Colbert represent their connection with their fellow Gary police, and their distance from everyone else. Colbert feels he only can talk to his co-workers about his job. When Richardson mentions a time a man shot at him, he does it casually, the way another person might recall a minor car accident or a dispute with the bank.
"Until you've walked in these boots," Richardson begins.
"You'll never know," Colbert finishes.
Richardson - a slim, efficient uniformed officer - bears a tattoo for Dorian Rorex, a Gary detective shot dead by a drug suspect in 1998. The big, jocular, talkative Colbert carries a forearm full of tattoos that memorialize all fallen officers. Colbert has one tattoo specifically for a close friend, Cpl. Louis "Boochie" Donald Jr., who died in a car wreck during a police chase in 2001.
They speak the cop dialect: weary and proud, protective of society and disturbed by society. Most of all, they feel linked to other police. Others can't understand, they say.
"The reason that I exist is my two daughters, and I don't have them tattooed on here," Richardson said.
Read the remainder of NWI Times News reporter DAN HINKEL's article here.
The memorial tattoos on Gary police Officer Keith Richardson and Sgt. Brian Colbert represent their connection with their fellow Gary police, and their distance from everyone else. Colbert feels he only can talk to his co-workers about his job. When Richardson mentions a time a man shot at him, he does it casually, the way another person might recall a minor car accident or a dispute with the bank.
"Until you've walked in these boots," Richardson begins.
"You'll never know," Colbert finishes.
Richardson - a slim, efficient uniformed officer - bears a tattoo for Dorian Rorex, a Gary detective shot dead by a drug suspect in 1998. The big, jocular, talkative Colbert carries a forearm full of tattoos that memorialize all fallen officers. Colbert has one tattoo specifically for a close friend, Cpl. Louis "Boochie" Donald Jr., who died in a car wreck during a police chase in 2001.
They speak the cop dialect: weary and proud, protective of society and disturbed by society. Most of all, they feel linked to other police. Others can't understand, they say.
"The reason that I exist is my two daughters, and I don't have them tattooed on here," Richardson said.
Read the remainder of NWI Times News reporter DAN HINKEL's article here.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Get Involved in Your Schools
I found this on an e-mail list and feel that it is worth passing along to you who are concerned. This is the best way to get vital news out to the public.
These decisions have been made by the school board. No one likes change, but it is necessary in our district for us to proceed with change and progress.
Many Wirt students, special needs students included, come from the Horace Mann area. Wirt students are not exclusively from the 1st District now.
The themed high schools will launch in the fall of 2009.
At Emerson, the student has one class/school day in their major. The rest of the school day is academic work as usual. Emerson is the only Gary high school which made AYP again this year. Emerson's ISTEP scores are the highest in Gary and are competitve with other schools in NWIN. Much of the arts activity is done after school, again requiring heightened parental and student involvement. The performance aspect of Emerson alone is community outreach. The auditorium at Wirt is beautiful, and it will be fully utilized by Emerson. Emerson hasn't had a place of its own in which to perform for years.
West Side will be taking on middle school students as will each of the four themed schools. (Emerson is already 6-12 because of its charter. It's ready-made for this configuration and is ready and anxious to expand.) This all is happening this fall.
The 1st District is not sacrificing its school. Emerson has always been a 1st District school. As it has been for years now, all the Gary high schools have been schools of choice. The kids are bussed all over the city. I have some of the same students I taught at Wirt now at West Side. At least now the movement will make some sense.
Subject: get involved in your schools
First District parents are being told that a student does not have to be a prodigy to attend Emerson. That may be true, but when I went to the Indiana Department of Education website, I did not find any teacher for students with special needs at Emerson.
Not counting Learning Disabled and those with Emotional Disabilities, there are 296 special needs students at Wirt. Where will the special needs students from the 1st District go?
Another concern is where will the students who have no desire to major in the arts go? There is not going to be a new themed schools until 2010 at the earliest, if ever.
I do agree with Nora that it takes parental and community involvement for any school to succeed. I also believe that if this community puts as much effort into making its local schools work as it does for other issues, any school in the 1st District will be successful.
Here are a few more questions:
Will the education of the children in the 1st District be advanced when the majority of them are transferred to Roosevelt, Lew Wallace or West Side? Will the majority of children in the 1st District have the same opportunity to succeed as the students at Banneker and Emerson? Should the board wait until all the schools are themed schools before closing Wirt? Why is the board asking the 1st District to sacrifice its school when West Side is a larger facility and has a state of the art auditorium? Should the school district be subsidizing the Gary Theater Guild with our taxes? Should the students have to compete with the theater guild for West Side High School's auditorium? Should the board be spending money on reconfiguring the high schools or fixing leaky roofs?
Ask questions. Get involved. Here is the link to the school board committee meetings.
http://ping.fm/Gze60
Check out this link to see the number of students at Emerson and the cost per pupil:
http://ping.fm/0Rpat
You will have to scroll down to the bottom of this page to find this information,
Then check out this link to see class sizes and courses offered at Emerson:
http://ping.fm/CYRvp
Now click on this link to see the number of students and cost per student for Wirt High School. http://ping.fm/8yz6W
Again, you will have to go to the bottom of the page to find this information.
Then check out this link for class sizes and courses offered.
http://ping.fm/zsglz
There are 14 special needs teachers at Wirt.
I found this on an e-mail list and feel that it is worth passing along to you who are concerned. This is the best way to get vital news out to the public.
These decisions have been made by the school board. No one likes change, but it is necessary in our district for us to proceed with change and progress.
Many Wirt students, special needs students included, come from the Horace Mann area. Wirt students are not exclusively from the 1st District now.
The themed high schools will launch in the fall of 2009.
At Emerson, the student has one class/school day in their major. The rest of the school day is academic work as usual. Emerson is the only Gary high school which made AYP again this year. Emerson's ISTEP scores are the highest in Gary and are competitve with other schools in NWIN. Much of the arts activity is done after school, again requiring heightened parental and student involvement. The performance aspect of Emerson alone is community outreach. The auditorium at Wirt is beautiful, and it will be fully utilized by Emerson. Emerson hasn't had a place of its own in which to perform for years.
West Side will be taking on middle school students as will each of the four themed schools. (Emerson is already 6-12 because of its charter. It's ready-made for this configuration and is ready and anxious to expand.) This all is happening this fall.
The 1st District is not sacrificing its school. Emerson has always been a 1st District school. As it has been for years now, all the Gary high schools have been schools of choice. The kids are bussed all over the city. I have some of the same students I taught at Wirt now at West Side. At least now the movement will make some sense.
Subject: get involved in your schools
First District parents are being told that a student does not have to be a prodigy to attend Emerson. That may be true, but when I went to the Indiana Department of Education website, I did not find any teacher for students with special needs at Emerson.
Not counting Learning Disabled and those with Emotional Disabilities, there are 296 special needs students at Wirt. Where will the special needs students from the 1st District go?
Another concern is where will the students who have no desire to major in the arts go? There is not going to be a new themed schools until 2010 at the earliest, if ever.
I do agree with Nora that it takes parental and community involvement for any school to succeed. I also believe that if this community puts as much effort into making its local schools work as it does for other issues, any school in the 1st District will be successful.
Here are a few more questions:
Will the education of the children in the 1st District be advanced when the majority of them are transferred to Roosevelt, Lew Wallace or West Side? Will the majority of children in the 1st District have the same opportunity to succeed as the students at Banneker and Emerson? Should the board wait until all the schools are themed schools before closing Wirt? Why is the board asking the 1st District to sacrifice its school when West Side is a larger facility and has a state of the art auditorium? Should the school district be subsidizing the Gary Theater Guild with our taxes? Should the students have to compete with the theater guild for West Side High School's auditorium? Should the board be spending money on reconfiguring the high schools or fixing leaky roofs?
Ask questions. Get involved. Here is the link to the school board committee meetings.
http://ping.fm/Gze60
Check out this link to see the number of students at Emerson and the cost per pupil:
http://ping.fm/0Rpat
You will have to scroll down to the bottom of this page to find this information,
Then check out this link to see class sizes and courses offered at Emerson:
http://ping.fm/CYRvp
Now click on this link to see the number of students and cost per student for Wirt High School. http://ping.fm/8yz6W
Again, you will have to go to the bottom of the page to find this information.
Then check out this link for class sizes and courses offered.
http://ping.fm/zsglz
There are 14 special needs teachers at Wirt.
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