The Gnatt Report
By: Lucius Gantt
A recent column about HCBUs resulted in a couple of harsh attacks about me personally but that kind of reaction is par for the course for opinion writers. I was accused of wanting a job and I was encouraged to go to a white school to get a Journalism PhD so I could teach at an HCBU. Hmmm? Well, the accreditation bodies that evaluate colleges say to teach Journalism, a combination of education and experience is sufficient. A Masters Degree with some experience is enough to teach Journalism at most schools. Well, I finished two graduate schools and it appears that some instructors teaching at Journalism schools in Florida don’t even have a Masters and merely has or had a family member that attended their HBCU place of employment. Once again, the truth for editorial columnists is an absolute defense.
Although several government economic stimulus bills have been passed, Black Americans still find it difficult to access money for jobs, mortgages and other loans. The rich continue to get richer while the poor get poorer. Wasteful spending is not good spending. If the government wants to cut costs, one thing it can do is to quit paying thousands of dollars to investigate disabled and unemployed people that get $10 a month in food stamps. It’s easy to harass a poor person but it seems very hard for the government to investigate banks, insurance companies and predatory lenders. Why can’t the government investigate corporations the way they do the impoverished?
I’m ashamed to say that I and other Black media owners are often bamboozled by special interest groups that want exposure for their issues in the Black Press but don’t want to advertise in Black papers and in other media outlets. We give devilsh asociations and organizations chance after chance to respect the Black community and treat us the same way they treat white media but interest group snakes are still snakes and will poison our people with the slightest bite of venomous information.
More and more women are becoming wannabee pimps! They will say, “Buy me this or take me there” but when you make a suggestion they say “You can’t control me or tell me what to do!” Truth of the matter is in a capitalistic society men and women both operate under the golden rule. He or she who brings in the gold rules regardless of their sexual gender. If you want to make your own decisions, make your own money. Most guys are like Jamie Foxx, they love a girl that’s got her own! We love to hear them say, “I got it. I got it. I got it!”
Don’t blame it on the alcohol, blame it on Kendrick Meek! Meek’s decision to pursue a US Senate seat has caused a host of Black elected officials to line up against each other in domino fashion to take over Congressional and State Legislative positions. Everyone, of course, has a right to seek election to the position they desire but with all of the political action taking place in our communities in preparation for 2010 elections, keep an eye on how many Black candidates spend money with Black political professionals and how many buy ads on white television but not in Black media outlets.
Speaking of 2010 elections, many folk think Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is the best candidate to run for Florida Governor if Charlie Crist chooses to run againt Kendrick Meek for US Senate. Well, if you want to know how Sink will do as governor, take a look at the job she has done as CFO. Florida is and has been a safe haven for ponzi schemers, predatory lenders, financial forgers and defrauders. If Sink wants my support she must first address Florida’s inability or hesitation to investigate financial criminals. There are a plethora of financial companies operating illegally in the Sunshine State right now. A rudimentary investigation by Sink would show that lenders indicted in other states for financial crimes operate freely in Florida. Some crooks are allowed to transact mortgage business in Florida without paying the reqiired government fees and the government wants to complain about a lack of money. Just make corporate devils pay the damn law staute required fees that the law says they should pay before they are allowed to foreclose on and harass Florida homeowners or communicate withFlorida homeowners at all!
