DETROIT: Race and Remembrance...

I recently ran into a couple of articles about the African-American community that made me stop and take notice.

One was a letter in the editorial section of a Detroit newspaper. The letter was penned by Dr. Arthur L. Johnson, a former executive of the Detroit branch of the NAACP and former executive at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Dr. Johnson goes back quite some time in the whole civil rights movement and was president of the local NAACP till 1993. What prompted his long letter was a disappointment with the current local chapter of the NAACP leadership. According to Dr. Johnson, when he left his leadership position, the branch was the largest, the richest and the best run branch in the whole country; it is now destitute!

He specifically mentions the Rev. Wendell Anthony as the man who took control of the branch after he left and, it seems, as the man that brought the branch down to its present sorry state. The Rev. Anthony, if you remember, is one of the Baptist ministers that I mentioned as part of the Detroit culture that supported the now imprisoned Kwame Kilpatrick, former mayor of Detroit.

Dr. Johnson presents a partial list of transgressions of NAACP policies and practices which included the non-payment of dues to the national NAACP which led to delegates from Detroit to the national convention unable to be seated.

The branch headquarters is now in foreclosure due to non-payment of property taxes.

The Rev. Anthony established a Freedom Institute which hosts events and collects funds that do not go to the NAACP but to Anthony. The insinuation here is that Anthony collects these funds under the pretext of collecting them for the NAACP.

Dr. Johnson is calling for a forensic audit of all finances of the branch. These are very serious allegations but up to today, the Rev. Anthony continues to collect funds representing the NAACP and is featured in the papers and on TV as representing the NAACP but no one knows where the money is going and it appears, at least to me, that no one is questioning where the money is going.

Usually, the papers or TV news will investigate such serious allegations but nary a peep from them. Are they afraid of being called racists? Are they afraid to anger such a prominent Detroit leader and churchman? Is this the Kwame Kilpatrick story all over again?

Dr. Johnson probably resorted to writing such a scathing letter in a public forum, exposing the inner shenanigans of a once proud branch of the NAACP because he probably did not get any satisfaction when he presented his case to the leadership of the organization; it appears the public does not care either.

Related articles

• Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony to Receive the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 2010 Director's Community Leadership Award (prnewswire.com)

UNIONS: All the other ones too...

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I am most knowledgeable about the UAW unions here in Michigan but unions in general like the AFL-CIO, Teamsters, etc. will be in the news in the coming months and especially what we call the Public Workers unions like government unions, teacher unions, etc.

The reason for unions to be in the news is that for us to fix our economy, we have to address taxpayer largesse towards the unions and how that needs to be ended.

I lump the Teamsters and the AFL-CIO with the UAW as greedy and corrupt unions that want to force themselves on our economy because, lets face it, they have it good and want the gravy train to continue.

Public unions like government workers, teachers, etc. I have special issues with.

Number one, public unions should not be getting higher benefits and pay than normal workers get in the private job sector. I think the old adage about civil service work still applies today when we say that they are lazy and really don’t have to try hard because they work for the government and that means they cannot get fired. Well, that needs to end and as in the Postal Service, that will end because the Postal Service will end.

Many states are broke and to balance their budgets, like in Michigan, they have to cut and the fat public unions are a good place to start and I know our governor definitely intends to do just that.

Public union workers like garbage collectors and teachers cannot strike but they do and we let them. I remember Ronald Reagan handling of the airport traffic controller’s strike; he fired them all and that is what needs to be done when public employees illegally strike. In many cases, such as the garbage collectors; their jobs need to be privatized.

Also, public employees are too cozy with elected officials that are supposed to be their bosses; give me what I want and I will vote for you and not make any trouble for you so you can get re-elected. That needs to end.

This year will be an interesting year as far as these unions are concerned because the taxpayers are mad that some people are somehow privileged and on a taxpayer gravy train while they suffer…things will have to change.

Related articles

• UAW's King Admits Union Will Fall Without Foreign Transplants (redstate.com)
• Fred Siegel: How Public Unions Took Taxpayers Hostage (online.wsj.com)
• The Evil Empire Attempts to Strike Back*: Unions to Spend Millions on PR Battle (redstate.com)
• UAW under fire for trade deal support (politico.com)
• A House Divided: Andy Stern's Ex Slams UAW's King Over South Korean Sell Out (redstate.com)

UNIONS: The UAW wants forced unionism...

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Unions and unionism is another pet issue of mine even though many in my family were and are union members; mostly UAW.

Unionism had its place in history; there is no doubt about that. Workers were mistreated and they needed to have some protection from unscrupulous bosses that could fire people on a whim.

Unions did help create a middle class in this country and especially in Michigan as the auto capital of the world. Many people came to Michigan, including my family, because of the potential of good, stable jobs that were available in the auto industry.

Unionism was a success because their main weapon was the strike which crippled a specific company allowing competitors to gain market share.

The UAW grew fat, lazy, greedy, stupid and corrupt. My brother-in-law who was union for over 40 years complained about the gradual degeneration of the union.

The recent collapse of the auto industry pointed fingers at the complicity of the UAW in the collapse. All of a sudden the UAW wanted to be partners with the auto companies; willing to take lower wages just to preserve their jobs.

Things got better with a taxpayer bailout but now the unions want to go back to the days of yore’ and the taxpayers are in no mood for that nonsense to happen again.

The UAW, with the lowest number of members in their history, is now fighting for its life and Bob King, the president, readily admits that fact. He also says that the UAW must unionize foreign auto companies and he wants to force those companies to allow the UAW to unionize their plants knowing full well that the auto companies and their workers DO NOT WANT THE UNIONS THERE.

Our newspapers are filled with articles by union leaders trying to justify the need for unionization, even by force, as something this country must have; it makes my blood boil.

One of the positives of Republican rule in the House is to stymie forced unionism which Obama was willing to grant, knowing full well it was unfair and had a negative economic effect on the country just like unionization did during the Great Depression.

I will call attention to and write my Congressmen, every time unionism raises its ugly head to force itself on industry, especially the UAW.

Related articles

• UAW's King Admits Union Will Fall Without Foreign Transplants (redstate.com)
• The UAW's Next Act (online.wsj.com)
• "Will UAW Seek Foreign Help to Unionize American Workers?" and related posts (openmarket.org)
• UAW stakes future on organizing overseas carmakers (reuters.com)
• "UAW tries to strongarm Honda, rebuffed" and related posts (pamibe.com)

RELIGION: Pie in the sky or down to earth...

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I promise this is the last religion topic; I will switch gears after this.

One of my favorite or at least frequently read religious writers is Ronnie McBrayer, author of “Leaving Religion, Following Jesus”. He has a column in the Saturday Detroit News.

The reason I read him is because he is not the fundamentalist that many Christians have become; he is a down to earth Christian that asks where does Jesus fit in among all this fundamentalism.

In his latest article “Death challenges us to keep faith”, he disappoints me by going back to the age old emotional argument for unfair death.

He raises the old questions about why do good people have to die. Why do good people suffer? Why an all powerful and loving God allows this suffering and death to happen?

But he does not answer them but uses the same ole’ pabulum remarks made at all funerals; they are reunited with loved ones, in the presence of Jesus, no longer in pain, free of cancer.

He says that our faith tells us that one day, God’s kingdom will come and all will be right with the world. No more doctor visits, no more cancer, no more anguished families and no more unanswered questions.

Sure, these are very comforting words and maybe that is what the grieving want to hear and it may make them feel better and this is what I was talking about when I said religious beliefs are natural to humans. We don’t want questions, voids, stress…we want answers…we want someone to tell us definitively that our loved ones are in a better place and we all will be there someday.

Unfortunately faith is exactly what it means; a belief in something imagined and hoped for but not something that has a snow ball’s chance in hell of being true.

I thought that Ronnie McBrayer should have stressed our shared humanity. We are all part of this world and are all brothers and sisters in our humanness. Suffering and death are part of being human and living on this earth.

But being humans we can also strive to make our lot on this earth a better lot by joining in battles to defeat sickness and death instead of offering up pie in the sky nonsense that is soothing but in the end worthless.

We invented a God that is all powerful but has no power over our well being. We invented heaven and hell to give us direction and purpose and maybe our brains have evolved to keep inventing these beliefs that make us feel better.

I would prefer that we start putting some faith into our shared humanity and what we can do together as humans which is very real and doable and quit playing with all this supernatural mumbo-jumbo that just makes us feel good...

Related articles

• Letter to a Christian Nation: AFTERWORD (samharris.org)
• Martin Thielen: What's the Least You Can Believe and Still Be a Christian? (huffingtonpost.com)
• Jeffrey Small: Faith is Trusting God, Not Belief in Doctrine (huffingtonpost.com)
• The Other Jesus (Intro Excerpt) (theotherjesus.com)
• What limits theology (wiki.answers.com)

RELIGION: The Jack-Ass of Alabama

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Not to pick only on the Catholic Church; have you heard the one about the governor of Alabama telling a church crowd in Birmingham that those who have not accepted Jesus as their savior are not his brothers and sisters, meaning to many, I am sure, that he will only favor Christians as governor of Alabama and neglect all non-Christians.

I was stationed in the South during my Air Force days in the 1960s so I know of the good ole’ days down South but this is 2011 the last time I checked.

This time it is not about color but it is all about religion?

Governor Robert Bentley said he did not mean to insult anybody but I guess he forgot that even in lowly Alabama, there are people that may not be Christian, may not be Baptist, may not be from the U.S. and may actually belong to a religion that is not Christian. I wonder if Catholics and Mormons can be his brothers and sisters?

The South has always been the butt of jokes for years and this governor had just bared his butt and put a target on it. Hope the Alabamians are happy they elected such a jack-ass!

Related articles

• Alabama Governor Declares Christian Brotherhood (outsidethebeltway.com)
• The Governor of Alabama is Backpeddling... (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
• Robert Bentley Apologizes For Controversial Remarks (huffingtonpost.com)
• Alabama governor's remarks on non-Christians raise eyebrows (irreligion.org)
• Imbecile of the Week is Alabama's new Governor, Dr Robert Julian Bentley (freethinker.co.uk)
• Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley really sorry for religious comments (shortformblog.com)
• Alabama Governor Apologizes For Saying Only Christians Are His Brothers (tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com)

CATHOLIC CHURCH: A Smokin' Gun in a criminal cover-up?

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It is nice to discuss why we as humans are naturally religious but reality does come a’ knocking and we have to turn to issues at hand.

One is the discovery of a 1997 letter from the Vatican instructing Irish bishops not to report suspected child-abuse cases to police. It appears that in 1996, the Irish Catholic Church wanted to help police identify pedophile priests after the first wave of publicly disclosed lawsuits; the Vatican told them NO!

I have always maintained that the Vatican, including the pope, were engaged in covering up the pedophile priest scandal that was developing; it appears the proof is there.

Since I have beaten this issue to death, I ask you, what now?

Is the Vatican immune to earthly law? Did they commit a crime by hiding the abuses? Should they go to jail?

Should they (The Vatican) pay for their crimes by giving their riches to the victims of priestly abuse? Parishes in the U.S. have gone bankrupt over these lawsuits; time for the Vatican to sell some of Michelangelo’s stuff?

I don’t think this can be just swept under the rug. I think the Vatican’s leadership position in the Catholic Church must be challenged. In the history of the Church, usually a pious monk or humble priest came out and helped topple the corrupt, sinful and incompetent Vatican; is there such a person or group?

Related articles

• Did The Vatican Tell Irish Bishops To Protect Priests? (npr.org)
• Vatican Instructed Irish Bishops Not to Report Abuse (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• Vatican: 1997 letter warning Irish bishops against reporting abuse was 'misunderstood' (nj.com)
• Is This Proof The Vatican Specifically Told Churches To Cover Up Pedophile Priests? (queerty.com)
• Vatican ordered bishops to hide abuse (nwoandsecretsocieties.wordpress.com)
• Vatican insists 1997 Irish abuse letter has been 'deeply misunderstood' (guardian.co.uk)
• Vatican ordered bishops to protect and not report pedophile priests (boingboing.net)
• Secret Vatican Edict: Don't Report Abusive Priests (newser.com)

RELIGION: Religious Beliefs are Part of Human Nature

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As you have noticed, Religion is big topic for me. It has been a big topic for me since my high school days at Holy Redeemer where I was told not to ask my questions during religious class because the teacher could not answer them or better yet, could not even address them or he would be fired. You are in religious class to listen and obey and not to ask questions; I chose not to be part of the herd.

Since that time I have amassed a body of knowledge about Christianity and Catholicism that could rival that of any priest or bishop.

My problem is not with religious faith; my problem is with religion as an organization and with the leaders of that organization especially the Catholic Church.

My family is Catholic and some family members practice their Catholic faith which is important to them. They are cognizant of the difference between their faith and the actual church and its leaders, many of whom are not even very good humans.

I don’t have a problem with religious faith as long as those holding their specific beliefs realize that they are beliefs only and do not construe those beliefs with reality or try to impose those beliefs on others as well as on society as if they were somehow mandated by their God that they themselves invented.

I have written on a number of occasions about the John Templeton Foundation which offers grants for the study of humans and religion. One recent Templeton Report by Julia Vitullo-Martin titled “Is Atheism Unnatural”.

The question posed is “Why do human beings believe in God?” Oxford psychologist Justin Barrett answers; because of the way our minds are designed. Belief in the supernatural is a natural and predictable product of human development.

The question now is how and why did evolution make religious beliefs part of human nature?

I have always maintained that one’s brain naturally moves to a creator God of the things before us because not thinking that way causes stress since there are no easy alternative answers.

If religious beliefs are so natural that, according to this study, it might take particular, aggressive cultural conditions to deviate from that path, why am I the way I am and have been for a long time especially coming from a strict Catholic home environment?

I will have to explore that a little further…

Related articles

• John Templeton Grants (cash-bandit.com)
• Amelioration by divine decline (new.exchristian.net)

2011: Let the discussions begin...

What a start to the New Year. I planned on being semi-retired by now and have been only working three (3) days a week but this week we have the FDA inspecting our facilities and so semi-retirement on hold for now.

Did get a vacation in (cruise the Caribbean) in early January; glad I did not wait.

Still seems like I don’t have enough free time to do what I want and I hope this is not something that will go on for the rest of 2011.

I do have grandkids that I love to spend time with and of course I have a mother (88) that requires some tending to and let us not forget my kids who although grown and living their own lives, I would like to stay active in their lives too.

Then there are issues that interest me that I want to comment on when I find the time. It does appear that the issues never really change for me so I must be interested in the same ole’ issues all the time?

I suppose we all have certain topics that attract our attention more than others. Why is that? I don’t really know but I suppose it has something to do with our early years, our upbringing and the experiences we encountered early on and throughout our developing periods.

The internet has given all of us a chance to express our thoughts and opinions like never before in the history of man. In the past, only the few could have their thoughts published and read by others; now everyone has the chance to do the same.

Is this a good thing? Well, as with anything that involves the masses, you can get a lot of detritus. That is a nice word meaning loose material left after disintegration as in debris but hey, we learn from each other about things and matters we would probably never discuss with those we are close with so it is all good.

I also think that in the internet age it is easier to dispel rumors, misinformation and just plain lies especially by professional spin doctors who were and are paid big money to confuse and mislead the great unwashed masses; something Bush did when he invaded Iraq and the FOX Network continues to do every day.

LET THE WORDS FLOW…

POLISH RESETTLEMENT CAMPS IN THE UK 1946

POLISH RESETTLEMENT CAMPS IN THE UK 1946


This is a part of my history that I will be delving into at some length when I get more time. Facinating to re-visit the world around you when you were under 10 years old.

VACATIONS 2011: First we cruise the Caribbean...

Just got back from our January cruise in the Caribbean.

Didn’t want to go the whole month of January without some diversion of the warm kind and a cruise seemed perfect to get us out of the freezing doldrums.

The ship was the Celebrity Solstice and it left Ft. Lauderdale for a week long cruise going first to San Juan, Puerto Rico, then to St. Thomas and finally to St. Martaan (Dutch and French) and a 2-day sail back to Ft. Lauderdale.

We have been on an Alaska cruise quite a few years ago but this Caribbean cruising is just insane; I could not believe all the people doing this all at the same time!

In Ft. Lauderdale, there were nine (9) cruise ships in port. Each one would average 3-4,000 passengers x 9 = 36,000 people – insane – and there is an economy problem here?

There were two (2) ships that were the largest in the world so far: Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas and they made our ship look like a dinghy.

Anyway, we had a fab time and I will report more details later; right now I have to shovel snow!!!

UNIONS IN THE NEW YEAR: UAW needs to go away...

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Unions and union issues will be huge this year. I am not just talking about the UAW (United Auto Workers) but also teacher’s unions and other public worker unions.

We, as a nation, are taking a hard look at our economy, looking at what is working and what is not. Practically all states have to cut their budgets deeply to make ends meet and unions are sticking out like sore thumbs of waste and greed; cuts will be made.

Let’s start with the UAW. Bob King, the new president has to play dual roles. On the one hand he has to tell us that yes, the unions helped bring the auto industry down but now they are different and want to actually help bring the auto industry back…imagine that. On the other hand, he has to tell the rank and file that he will unionize all those bloody foreign auto companies making cars in the U.S. by hook or by crook.

The problem with those bloody foreigners is that their workers are happy and love their jobs and don’t want no stinkin’ union coming in and spoiling things. There is a reason those foreign auto companies located in the South; Southerners don’t like unions, Southern states are Right-to-Work states and they don’t want to see what happened to Michigan, happen to them so STAY THE HELL OUT.           

The UAW had a Democratic majority in the last Congress and desperately tried to pass a “Freedom of Choice” Act which was anything but about Free Choice. The act would have allowed union bullies to intimidate workers to do a “card check”; no voting, just check this box and the unions are in. Well, this bill stunk so much that even pro-union Democrats could not bring themselves to support it. Now that the Republicans are in charge…try passing that nonsense again.

The basic reality with the UAW is that it is not needed anymore; no reason for existence. But obviously they will not just turn over and die.

The auto companies have already started to hire workers at the new wage and benefit rates that make sense if the auto companies are to survive. The old geezers from the old fat days will basically just retire and disappear.

King will make some noise but I think even he can see the writing on the wall. The UAW will still cause trouble in 2011, especially for Ford but I think Ford is smart enough not to give into their demands because they have to, to stay competitive with the new GM and the new Chrysler.

Related articles

• Report: UAW may seek board seats at Chrysler, Ford and GM (autoblog.com)
• The UAW looks for market share (powerlineblog.com)
• Detroit 3 in discussions with UAW on how to share benefits of "amazing turnaround"? (autoblog.com)
• UAW Chief: Workers Must Share in Turnaround (businessweek.com)
• UAW's King Announces 2011 Goals: Target Foreign-Owned Auto Plants (redstate.com)
• The UAW Ultimatum: Let us in or we'll huff and we'll puff and tear your house down... (redstate.com)
• UAW Sets a Strategy on Foreign Car Plants (online.wsj.com)
• Report: Auto workers planning protest on eve of Detroit Auto Show (autoblog.com)

POLITICS IN THE NEW YEAR: Tea Party in control?

I have been following the national political scene, watching as all those fresh Republican faces (95) enter the House of Representatives. Many were elected under the Tea Party banner and aim to please their supporters who sent them to Washington to “clean the place up” as in an old movie about a Mr. Smith going to Washington.

They became instant network starts as every news network battled each other for exclusive interviews trying to find out what exactly will these freshman do.

I think it is exiting and I am trying to remain optimistic that new blood is what is needed to stir things up a bit. The Republicans are as scared as the Democrats of this group of unknowns and in many cases, non-politicians. After all, the Tea Party blamed the Republicans for abandoning their principles when they allowed Bush and his Republican supporters to spend more than any other administration in history.

Will these Washington virgins stick to their voter mandate? Will they succumb to big moneyed influence? Will they wander off the path of economic reform into conservative social issues like abortion and stem cells and Church and State separation?

They have vowed to read the Constitution on the House floor and today they started reading it (Democrats and Republicans) but will they abide by what the Constitution instructs them to do or will they interpret (ala Supreme Court) what they think the Constitution really says?

These are very exiting and I may add, dangerous times and I will be following developments closely…

Related articles

• "House of Representatives Reads Constitution Aloud" and related posts (hawaiireporter.com)
• What Would a Return to the Constitution Entail? (pajamasmedia.com)
• The 112th Congress convenes: In discord assembled (economist.com)
• House GOP: Constitutional experts? (politico.com)

POLITICS IN THE NEW YEAR: Michigan...a new direction?

The State of Michigan is also entering an exiting time in politics. Our new governor Rick Snyder is a self-described nerd and a successful businessman and NOT a politician, has some great ideas which he will start implementing immediately.

He seems to listen to the advice of a Michigan economic think-tank called the Mackinac Center which I support full heartedly. The center is conservative in that it doesn’t play politics; they recommend what is necessary to bring the state back into economic viability.

Democratic governors such as Jennifer Granholm could not bring themselves to do what is necessary such as putting unions in their place but Snyder will or at least, I hope he will.

Snyder has to make some very unpopular decisions that will irritate a lot of people but that is the only way things will get better and if his decisions turn things around in the first two years, he will be re-elected by a grateful electorate.

Snyder has the benefit of a Republican majority in the State legislature which I am hoping will make things much easier for him to accomplish his plan.

I will be following what he does quite closely because it is historic in nature; changing the way Michigan has operated since the 1920s.

Related articles

• Michigan Set to Lead America's Industrial Recovery (prweb.com)

POLITICS IN THE NEW YEAR: Detroit Renaissance?

Well here we are in the new year 2011 looking forward to a pretty exiting time in politics…on all levels.

In the City of Detroit, honest and smart Mayor Dave Bing will fight the forces of entrenched corrupt and incompetent black political culture to make the city work again. He is trying to implement a plan that will downsize the city into viable neighborhoods with the vacant land left to be made into urban farms.

This is a bold and innovative plan that will need the support of the citizens but the aforementioned culture is rearing its ugly head to thwart his noble efforts.

Many of the politicians on the City Council are economic incompetents who have had their homes foreclosed and owe a lot of back taxes; a situation that makes them ripe for some bribery. Charles Pugh, the president of the Detroit City Council is only one such politician, there are many more.

Also the citizens of Detroit voted to have a city council made up of wards with each member representing a specific ward of the city. Currently they are all at-large meaning they are representing the whole city and only need to live somewhere in the city. They don’t like what the citizens want because they may not get re-elected unless they represent a specific ward.

Some city council members are already trying to undo what the citizens of Detroit voted for which is to mandate a ward system for the city council.

Detroit is made up of a variety of ethnic communities such as Mexican, Asian, etc. who would want to elect someone to represent their specific needs which could mean an end to an all black city council.

I am cheering on Mayor Bing and it appears that he has the support of the new governor of Michigan Rick Snyder so maybe; just maybe, Bing can bring about a true renaissance of a dying city.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today : 1-1-11

We usually go out to a Roma Hall party on New Year’s Eve and celebrate with family and friends. This year we decided to stay home and celebrate the New Year with my mother who will turn 89 in 2011. Maybe the passing of my father-in-law in 2010 at 92 just took the wind out of our sails somewhat and made us remember that people do not live forever and every New Year maybe their last.

On the other hand, it was my grandson Luke’s FIRST New Year!

CHRISTMAS 2010: How in the hell do we get back home?

My son Zak, who works and lives in New York City, usually comes with his wife to visit us a number of times a year and especially for Christmas (our Wigilia).

This time they flew in on Thursday and were planning to leave Monday evening; they are very busy and had much to do before the New Year.

But alas there came a wicked storm that closed all three (3) New York Airports (LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark). This was obviously very bad for the people at airports all over the country waiting to get back to New York City; they had to spend countless hours at the airport as more and more flights were cancelled.

All in all, we now know over 10,000 flights were cancelled around the nation.

I have travelled most of my life and have been stuck by weather at many an airport but I have never seen something like this: My son can get to Newark (not even LaGuardia where he flew out of) at the earliest ON FRIDAY NIGHT (New Year’s Eve) and maybe get home in the early hours of 2011…that is got to be some kind of record…

I hope the hell he can get out at least on Friday night…too bad he cannot spend New Year’s Eve with us…

Related articles

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• Airports Open In NYC Flights Resume After Days Of Waiting For Blizzard To End [Video] (realestateradiousa.com)
• Flights resume at Newark, JFK, LaGuardia airports (nj.com)
• Airline passengers grapple with days-long delays in getting home (cnn.com)
• Blizzard Brings Tri-State Area To Virtual Standstill (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• N.Y.-area airports running (mostly) on time (msnbc.msn.com)

DETROIT: Honest criticism is not racism...

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I have reported on what I call THE DETROIT BLACK CORRUPT POLITICAL CULTURE for many years. You can just type Black political culture in the “search” box to see just how many times I have mentioned the topic.

I did this knowing full well that using the word “black” would bring on criticism of racism BUT I felt I could explain my use of the word sufficiently enough to show that racism is not an issue here…but I was wrong and I blame it on not explaining my position sufficiently enough in the past so let me try again.

Obviously corruption knows no color or better yet, corruption may involve people of all colors.

Unfortunately, the word “black”, for many people, is understood only in a black vs. white context and that is the problem with using the word “black” to describe an ethnic group as is the use of the word “white”.

Ethnic groups have names and those should be used as in African-American, Poles, Italians, Germans, etc…I will blame my laziness and generational habit for not using the proper descriptive terms and I obviously assumed that when I was talking about black Detroiters, everybody knew who I was talking about.

But to expand the term black Detroiters to mean all African-Americans in this country is a false assumption and an assumption that should never be raised because it is specious to do so.

New Yorkers (all colors I guess) are singled out as belonging to a special culture that is found only in New York City. Boston has an Irish culture particular to Boston, etc. etc.

The African-Americans in Detroit (those that stayed) cultivated a culture particular to the city of Detroit. It is ultimately, a self-defeating and destructive culture that I have tried to define throughout the past few years. It does not mean all African-Americans subscribe to this culture. In fact, many African-Americans living in the city of Detroit deplore this culture but in most cases, do not have the power or the organization to change that culture…until now.

Mayor Bing and his supporters address the “culture” of corruption directly because they have to defeat it first if the city is to move on and this is black vs. black, one type of culture vs. a different sort of culture, both Detroit cultures; one corrupt and one progressive and honest.

I guess I could have not used the word black in describing the particular culture of corruption in the City of Detroit but it would not have the same meaning. New Jersey has been known as a den of iniquity and corruption involving people of all colors but that is not what happened in Detroit.

The black leaders in Detroit (including some Baptist pastors) took control over the city… originally to benefit the citizens of Detroit; blacks for blacks. But that control soon turned to benefiting the ones in control and those in control kept staying in control by manipulating the black electorate, convincing them that they should stay in control or the white man in Lansing will come and take the city away from them.

The corruption went so deep that even those taking care of Detroit’s students saw no problem with stealing student’s books and computers and using the money intended for the student’s education to throw lavish parties, fix up their homes or go on lavish vacations…and this was seen as OK because somehow they saw themselves as deserving everything that they can get from the man even if they were the man.

So yes, race was a crucial part of this specific culture in the City of Detroit and writing about it does not make one a racist just like criticizing Israel does not make one an anti-Semite.

Related articles

• Rep. Hansen Clarke and Detroit's New Renaissance (newsweek.com)

SARAH PALIN: Ignorant and out of touch on the issue of child OBESITY...

An interesting note about Sarah Palin came to my attention recently. Seems Michelle Obama has been trying to influence the child obesity problem which is huge (no pun intended) in this country with every one out of three kids OBESE.

Michelle Obama stressed the need for more nutritious school lunches and the need for parents to make sure their kids eat healthy foods and for God’s sake, EXERCISE!

Well to Palin this is big government telling us how to be parents. Palin said “Just leave us alone, get off our backs and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given right to make our own decisions.”

Palin went out of her way to visit high schools to hand out cookies to students to make her point.

Is this not the biggest dumb-ass you have ever seen? -  And obnoxious as they come.

Even fellow Republican candidate for the presidency in 2012 Mike Huckabee had to gently tell her that she is full of shit; he had a weight problem as a child.

Even the Wall Street Journal (as Right as they come) had to admonish her to maybe pick issues that are real and not something all Americans agree with; our children, hell we also, are too fat and because of this pandemic obesity, diabetes is decimating our ranks and causing the cost of health care to sky rocket…and Palin thinks we should do nothing?

Palin is trying so hard to be a populist right-winger that she has lost sight of reality here in America. She is such a good parent that her daughter was screwing her boyfriend right under her nose. Maybe she should look to her own parenting skills before she attacks Michelle Obama for suggesting parenting skills could be improved in this country.

Everyone agrees that selling high calorie pop in school is plain stupid and feeding kids nothing but pizza in school is also plain stupid so why is Palin against trying to make school lunches healthier? Does she honestly think that this will happen without government intervention? It hasn’t so far and we keep on getting fatter by the day.

Ladies and gentlemen, this will be our Republican candidate for president in 2012.

Related articles

• JUST DESSERTS: Jesse Jackson defends FLOTUS (politico.com)
• Quote of the Day: A Republican Strategist on Sarah Palin's Comments About Michelle Obama's Anti-Obesity Campaign (themoderatevoice.com)
• Republican Mike Huckabee Defends Michelle Obama in Obesity Fight (theroot.com)
• Wall Street Journal Sticks A Fork In Sarah Palin's Criticism Of First Lady (mediaite.com)
• Palin disses Michelle Obama's "anti-obesity thing" (seattlepi.com)
• Combating obesity need not be partisan (washingtonmonthly.com)

CHRISTMAS EVE: WIGILIA feast at a new place...

After nearly 40 years of having the traditional Polish Christmas eve feast called WIGILIA, we finally decided that we were too old and the task was just too demanding for us to continue. The family has grown from the original which included my parents, me and my two sisters to over 40 people on some occasions.

We decided to look for a hall to contain the growing multitude but to my surprise, my daughter Tanya said she would like to try her hand at having the Wigilia and boy what a fine job she and her husband did.

Their house is bigger than ours so they were able to keep the kids and presents in the basement while the upper floor was for dining and visiting among family members; it turned out to be perfect and I am so proud of their efforts and imagination.