Tent City

Huffington Post: Today, one in five Americans is unemployed, underemployed or just plain out of work. One in nine families can’t make the minimum payment on their credit cards. One in eight mortgages is in default or foreclosure. One in eight Americans is on food stamps. More than 120,000 families are filing for bankruptcy every month. The economic crisis has wiped more than $5 trillion from pensions and savings, has left family balance sheets upside down, and threatens to put ten million homeowners out on the street.

Families have survived the ups and downs of economic booms and busts for a long time, but the fall-behind during the busts has gotten worse while the surge-ahead during the booms has stalled out. In the boom of the 1960s, for example, median family income jumped by 33% (adjusted for inflation). But the boom of the 2000s resulted in an almost-imperceptible 1.6% increase for the typical family. While Wall Street executives and others who owned lots of stock celebrated how good the recovery was for them, middle class families were left empty-handed.

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It was a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference final. There were huge NBA stars in uniform and everyone in attendance was anticipating a toe-to-toe slugfest, but this game may have been over in the first three minutes.

One of Cleveland’s off-season acquisitions, veteran Shaquille O’neal, was able to draw two early fouls on Dwight Howard, which seemed to almost paralyze the Magic from the get go. Dwight was subbed out with 9:41 remaining in the first quarter to save him from further foul trouble. It was the beginning of the end.

Cavs LeBron James takes a shot over Magic's Brandon Bass (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Shaquille O’neal has been a villain to many Orlando fans ever since his move to L.A. early in his career and they booed him every chance they got. Many in the press may have been selling the game as “Superman vs. Superman” or “Dwight and the Diesel”, but in actuality neither player had a great game. One could argue Shaq outwitted Dwight by getting him in foul trouble early on, which in turn made it an easy night for the Cavs, but you won’t see any flashy numbers in the stat book for either of these giants.

On the other hand, if you came Wednesday night to see Mo Williams light up the basket with threes or King James make ridiculous fade aways, then you must have been in heaven. Mo was a perfect nine for nine in the first half on his way to a 28 point game and the King didn’t do too shabby either ending his night with 36.

Vince Carter’s shooting was keeping the Magic in the game early on, but it just wasn’t enough. Vinsanity racked up 29 points and 5 rebounds in the losing effort, but nine total assists for Orlando told the story. They had no ball movement and that wasn’t the only thing missing.

The Magic went into half down by 14 even though they had 51 points on the board. There was no defense whatsoever. The Cavs were able to do something they weren’t able to do against the Magic in last year’s playoffs – get to the rim. The Cavs were attacking the hoop early and often and they kept it up all game long.

The third quarter wasn’t much better than the first two. By the end of it, the Magic were down 20 and many fans had lost interest. There were still a few hoping for a miraculous comeback, which Orlando fans have come to expect. In last year’s playoffs it happened time and time again, but not last night.

In the fourth quarter, the Cavs gave the Magic every chance to do it again, but the shots just weren’t falling. The Magic shot one for nine to open up the final period and somehow didn’t worsen their situation. The comeback didn’t really take effect until the three minute mark. It was too little too late. Lebron and the Cavs were able to hold on for the win.

The Magic definitely didn’t look like a title contender. They were missing two of their biggest weapons from outside, Rashard Lewis and newly acquired Ryan Anderson, but Vince Carter summed it up after the game by saying, “We have to want it.”

Wednesday night, the Cavs wanted it and they played like it. The Magic didn’t rise to the occasion, but the good news is that it was just one game. The Magic will get another chance this season against the Cavs and everyone in the basketball world knows they have enough talented guys to put forth a better effort. With everyone healthy and in uniform they probably have the deepest team in the league and they’ve shown they can win. Magic fans will see better days sooner than later. It was just one game.

By: David Burleson, reporting for West Orlando News

If President Obama’s health care proposals that were narrowly passed by the United States House of Representatives are shot down by the Senate, Democrats will be the ones that pull the trigger!

Yes, the political party members that African Americans love and the one that Black voters vote for, no matter what, will be the party members that kill reform and affordable health care.

To get a glimpse of what health care trouble lies ahead in the Senate, one only has to look at how votes were cast in the House.

In the South, where most African Americans are said to live and where Black votes are the most powerful and concentrated, almost every southern state had more than one Democratic Representative to vote against the health care reform legislation and side with the devilish insurance companies and the Republican Party members that will vote against anything that the President proposes.

So-called “Democratic defectors” were in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Carolina, Virginia and other states. Democrats from Ohio, Pennsylvania and other so-called northern states also voted against President Obama’s affordable health care plan.

See, I told you the political devil was tricky! When Black people are told to vote for one party or the other no matter what, when Black voters are told to ignore the candidates and the issues and vote a straight party slate or ticket and when voters in Black communities choose to put political party members first and put themselves, their families and their communities last, you will always get legislation that you support voted down the drain!

As it stands right now, to me, Obama’s affordable health care legislation is just like Martin Luther King, Junior…..good but dead!

Well, how can the votes be changed? People can change votes by signing petitions to recall all Senators and Representatives that vote against affordable health care legislation. People can take the sheets off of recalcitrant Congress persons by revealing that many health care opponents were, and still are, bought and sold by insurance and health plan originated political campaign contributions.The people can find and support candidates to oppose incumbents that vote for greedy insurance companies and poorly run health plans and against an affordable health coverage plan for America’s masses.

Oh, I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again! The people are being misled. The people are being misinformed. The people are being bamboozled. The people are being jacked by low-down political dirty macks!

President Barack Obama has a good health care proposal that is now being considered by the US Senate but in Congress, being “good” is not enough….you have to prevail!

People of all colors and creeds must stand up and demand affordable health care!

United States President Barack Obama spent a considerable amount of time traveling across America trying to drum up votes and support for Democratic candidates seeking victories in the recent 2009 elections.

Obama is given credit for a record-breaking voter turnout in 2008, however his 2009 “coat tails” seemed to be more like a halter top, short and revealing!

It appears as though about 80% of the voters that turned out to support Obama in 2008 stayed at home on election day in 2009.

Was it the President’s fault that voter turnout was low? No, but as the national head of the Democratic Party some of the blame has to be laid at Obama’s feet.

The nation’s Democrats were out worked by their Republican counterparts.

The Democratic candidates once gave out free chicken and beer, sometimes fried mullet fish, to generate votes. Today, many Democratic candidates don’t give the voters anything. All they say is that a candidate is Black, a candidate supports Black people or that a candidate belongs to the same party as the nation’s Black president.

That political strategy is both foul and fowl, a political bird that won’t fly!

It didn’t matter in 2009 elections if the Democratic candidates were Black or white. What mattered was that Blacks put Democrats in power and in the White House and Democrats still couldn’t deliver on many of the promises that they made to the voters of all colors!

Black political activists continue to endorse first and put certain politicians first and those same politicians continue to put Black people last. Blacks are the last to get jobs, the last to get government contracts, the last to get pardons, the last to get funding, the last to get meetings with elected officials, the last to get equal rights and justice and the last to get meaningful health care and other legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President.

I’m no Miss Cleo but I think the 2010 elections are in danger of producing similar Election Day results. If the national, state and local Democratic Parties don’t stop taking Black voters for granted, don’t stop using closet Klansmen and racial opportunists to influence African American voters and Black communities and don’t stop hoarding Black campaign contributions and giving it all to white political consultants, white media outlets, white printers, white mailers, white caterers, white pollsters and other white vendors, then they will lose races again and again and again.

Black people vote for candidates they know. If they don’t know a candidate, they will be best influenced by political professionals that they know and trust.

If a white Mayoral candidate in my Atlanta hometown can get 30% of Black votes cast, then white candidates, with the right African American professional political assistance, can get more than ten percent of Black votes anywhere regardless of what political party the candidate belongs to.

It’s 2009, almost 2010, and times are hard. Times are tough for almost everybody, almost everywhere.

Tough times are inevitably accompanied by tough situations.

When problems arise in our lives, in our families, in our communities, in our careers, in our finances and in other places, oftentimes we call on our friends for assistance.

Husbands and wives call on their spouses, brothers and sisters call on their siblings , church folk call on their pastors or members of their congregations, school kids call on their classmates, frat boys call on their fraternity brothers, sorority girls call on their sorority sisters, pimps call on their Hos, junkies call on their dope dealers and so on and so forth.

When we call on our friends, we are likely to get responses like, “I’m with you sister girl” or “I got your back man”.

But how many of your friends, family members and loved ones are “down for life”?

Not many!

At the Last Supper that Jesus Christ had with his Disciples, Jesus said one of his friends and followers would betray him. One by one, each Disciple asked, “Is it I?”

Well, the dirty, low down lying fake Disciple that had already snitched on Jesus pretended he was not the betrayer of Jesus.

If you live long enough, the same type thing will happen to you! Someone you love will not love you. Someone you helped will not help you. Some people, some groups and some organizations that you supported, stood up for and spoke out for will not do the same for you.

The people in the world that do the most for the people they love will be the ones that are betrayed the most!

Those of us that help politicians the most, contribute the most, sign the most petitions and pass out the most flyers and brochures may be the ones rejected the most by elected officials.

Most Black elected officials get the highest percentages of Black votes, they get the most financial contributions from Black contributors and they get the most love and support from Black community members.

But when it comes time to support those that support them, what do they do? Do they propose legislation, sponsor bills or vote on issues that are supported by Black people or do they vote the way that Democratic, Republican or white political leaders tell them to vote?

Does your community’s political representatives spend campaign money with Black political professionals or Black community businesses or do they rush to give all of the dollars they can to white consultants, white printers, white call centers, white mailers and white campaign managers?

There will be hundreds of Black candidates seeking office in every state in the 2010 elections. Are you going to support your candidate of choice just because they may be Black or will you finally begin to support the candidates that support you, before, during and after the election?

Time will tell. Time will tell if Black voters believe that Black candidates are qualified to serve as public servants but will Black candidates, including the President and other candidates and elected officials, ever believe that there are Black people that are qualified to work on political campaigns and earn some of the billions of dollars that will be spent on elections now and in 2010?

No matter where you live in the world or where you are, someone is attempting to order you around! You can live in a big city, a small town or a little village, if you were born, you’ve experienced a bully that only wants you to do what the bully says do.

When you were a child mama and daddy told you what to do, in grade school perhaps a classmate desired to order you around and as an adult rogue cops are often bullies saying give me your license, hands behind your head or get on the ground!

But bullies aren’t so big and bad. Most “bullies” can talk a good fight but when you put up your dukes, the average bully will turn into the coward he is.

Starting today, don’t let the bullies in your life tell you what to do, what to say or what to write.

Do what you want to as long as your action is legal, honorable, equitable, moral and otherwise righteous. Say what you want to as long as your words are honest, truthful, sensitive, compassionate, caring and so forth.

I’m a writer and people oftentimes tell me what they think I should or shouldn’t write.  Devilish, modern day bullies are always telling me if I don’t write about what they tell me to I won’t be around long or that publishers would refuse to print my report. If I don’t, they say they will ruin my career, they say they will damage my reputation or they say they cause me severe economic hardship.

I tell my bullies the same thing the brave child tells the play ground bully. When the bully says “Step across that line I drew in the sand” or ”Knock this chip off that I put on my shoulder”

The kid that’s not afraid of the bully says, “You make me cross or you make me knock the chip off”!

I tell folk if you don’t like me to write about politics or religion or romance or whatever, do something to stop me. If you think I’m writing lies, sue me for slander. If you think my words are arbitrary or malicious, write a letter to the newspaper editors and call me out.

I ask all of the literary bullies that want to control reporters and columnists where would we be if our forefathers and ancestors were afraid to do the right thing because a bully asked them to be. Where would we be if Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass didn’t stand up and speak out about the overseers and other slavery day bullies. Where would we be if Marcus Garvey didn’t say Race First, if Malcolm X didn’t say By Any Means Necessary, if Rosa Parks didn’t say I’m not moving to the back of the bus or if Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t preach about ending civil rights abuses and unjust wars like the Vietnam conflict?

We have to teach our children to be men and women and not puppets and boot licking lackeys!

Don’t ever be scared to do the right thing, say the right thing or write the right words because God is on your side. Your bully can be apparently powerful and as big as a tree but when your bully is a big tree, so to speak, the truth can be a small axe!

Goliath was a Biblical bully but Goliath was slain by little old David who discarded all of the armor and weapons of war given to him by his supporters and only used a small sling shot!

The truth and the right will bring any bully to their knees. Don’t let the  modern day devils bully you around.

By Lucius Gantt

Be careful what you “Tweet”, it might not be discreet!

White House African American employee Van Jones resigned his post recently after conservative pundits called for his removal from office when excerpts from Internet and other messages rose from the shadows.

Appointed as a special adviser for “green jobs” by President Barack Obama, Mr. Jones did not go through the traditional process for administration officials who must be confirmed by the Senate. So it was not until recently that some of Mr. Jones’s past actions received broad airing, including his derogatory statements about Republicans in February and his signature on a 2004 letter suggesting that former President George W. Bush  might have knowingly allowed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to occur in order to use them as a “pre-text to war.”

I try to tell people all of the time, don’t play around on the internet because the internet never dies!

The truth is always an absolute defense. It’s the snide remarks, cruel jokes and hateful remarks that get you in trouble.

Fairness is also an advantage for bloggers, pundits and people who put their views out for public scrutiny. If you want to post harsh comments, post harsh comments about everybody and you might be considered as unbiased.

Well, if Van Jones was forced to resign after talking about Republicans, I guess those of us that spread our views all over the internet, newspapers and broadcast stations will never even be qualified for government positions.

Speaking for myself, you can post any and every Gantt Report column I’ve ever written over the Internet and it won’t bother me a bit. Yes, I talk about Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents and everybody else but not in a hateful way. I try to write the truth regardless of who likes my columns or dislikes my columns.

Before I started writing The Gantt Report I was told by a reliable source that I would never get another job in government. My reply was that I would never want another job in government!

I lied of course but at the time I never knew I would one day be poor, disabled, living off of government assistance and food stamps and in need of any job I could get.

But God never calls on the rich and governmentaly satisfied to do his will. God has a history of using the broken, the womanizing, the addictive, the thuggish and gangsterish to work HIS miracles. The Gantt Report is on a mission from God, so to speak, to inform the sleeping masses about the devilish things going on in the world!

So, if you mean what you say, write what you feel and are ready to die for your beliefs, don’t you let anyone stop you from telling the truth on the Internet or anywhere else..

However, if you want to keep your low-level government job, be careful what you post on the Internet!

Source: apnews.myway.com

When kids all across the country return to school Tuesday, some will see a welcoming message from President Barack Obama and some won’t.

Obama’s planned address to students has touched off yet another confrontation with Republican critics, who have battered the White House over health care and now accuse the president of foisting a political agenda on children.

The president will speak directly to students Tuesday about the need to work hard and stay in school. His address will be shown live on the White House Web site and on C-SPAN at noon EDT, a time when classrooms across the country will be able to tune in.

Schools don’t have to show it. But districts across the country have been inundated with phone calls from parents and are struggling to address the controversy that broke out after Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent a letter to principals urging schools to tune in.

Obama speech to students sparks new controversy

The Florida A&M University Rattlers football team had a busy weekend preparing for their season opener on Sept. 5 against MEAC foe Delaware State University.  The Rattlers held a final scrimmage in Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday.  The scrimmage was in fact a dress rehearsal; complete with fans, referees, the Marching 100 and an announcer.

Head coach Joe Taylor said it was “an opportunity for us to experience all of the distractions that occur during a game and stay focused on football.”  “I looked over a couple of times and saw players, and even coaches moving to the sounds of the Marching 100,” Taylor added.

The Rattlers didn’t seem distracted because first team offense the rolled and the first team defense stood strong.  The crowd of about 2,000 watched the 2009 edition of the Rattlers look solid as both starting quarterback Curtis Pulley and Eddie Battle looked sharp.  Running back Lonvontae Page impressed with his running power as he took in a pile of defenders for a score.

FAMU quarterback, Eddie Battle

Sunday, the Rattlers began the day in church at Bethel AME Church.  The Rev. Julius McAllister and a filled to capacity sanctuary prayed for safety of the young men in their travel, success on the field and wisdom in the classroom.

Team at Bethel AME Church

Following church, the team headed to The Moon for the annual Rattler Boosters Kickoff.  The sold-out event was one of the most spirited events in recent memory. The Marching 100 pep band as well as the cheerleaders and a host of fans brought out the spirit. FAMU President Dr. James H. Ammons bought cheers as he made an enthusiastic speech to those in attendance.

Marching 100 pep band

Rattler Booster president Mickey Clayton unveiled a new football scoreboard they have secured, complete with a jumbo video screen that they have secured for the football stadium as well as a new board for the multi-purpose teaching gymnasium.

Coach Taylor gave the team Monday off to “get their legs back” as they prepare to face Delaware State on Saturday.