Monday, July 16, 2012
Ms. Kitty Wells, may you rest in peace
I got another education today, from NPR, when they told of Kitty Wells passing and, of course, then, her history. I knew her name and knew she was a country singer but that was about it. I didn't know her music because, when younger, I swore I'd never listen to that style.
I changed. I was wrong. About country music, anyway, as some of it I enjoy.
Anyway, the thing that, to me, was most important about her and her breakthrough, was that she was the first woman to have a number one single in Country music.
Here, from the NPR story, is what is most important about Ms. Wells, to me, anyway:
"In 1952, she shattered the rules of country music with one song she recorded as a demo: 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.'
The song made her the first woman to score a solo hit on the top of the country charts. It even crossed over to the pop charts. But it was seen as incredibly controversial. The song defended women's behavior in the face of cheating men. The country music establishment was horrified, says historian Mary Bufwack."
It immediately reminded me of the onld, famous quote:
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” ―-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
So good on you, Kitty Wells. You spoke up. You were original and creative and had guts. You believed in yourself and loved singing and did what you wanted to do.
Thank you for all that.
Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/07/16/156869670/kitty-wells-pioneering-country-singer-dies
On this day...
On this date in 1945, the first atomic bomb was successfully tested near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
In case you've never seen and read this letter
Text of ex-slave's letter to his former master (on Yahoo! News last evening):
The famed letter written by an ex-slave in response to his former master's request that he return to the plantation, soon after the end of the Civil War. Different versions of the letter bear various spellings of the writer's name.
Dayton, Ohio,August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee
Sir:
I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable.
Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.
I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy — the folks call her Mrs. Anderson — and the children — Milly, Jane, and Grundy — go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated.
Sometimes we overhear others saying, "Them colored people were slaves" down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.
As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to.
Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.
In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.
Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.
From your old servant,
Jourdon Anderson
The famed letter written by an ex-slave in response to his former master's request that he return to the plantation, soon after the end of the Civil War. Different versions of the letter bear various spellings of the writer's name.
Dayton, Ohio,August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee
Sir:
I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable.
Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.
I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy — the folks call her Mrs. Anderson — and the children — Milly, Jane, and Grundy — go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated.
Sometimes we overhear others saying, "Them colored people were slaves" down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.
As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to.
Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.
In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.
Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.
From your old servant,
Jourdon Anderson
5 "Obamacare" Myths
From The New York Times yesterday, because it's important to get out there:
1--OBAMACARE IS A JOB-KILLER
2--OBAMACARE IS A FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF HEALTH INSURANCE
3--THE UNFETTERED MARKETPLACE IS A BETTER SOLUTION
4--LEAVE IT TO THE STATES. THEY’LL FIX IT
5--OBAMACARE IS A LOSER. RUN AGAINST IT, RUN FROM IT, BUT FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE DON’T RUN ON IT
There are other "Obamacare myths", to be sure, but these are some big ones, some real beauties. It's a good place to start.
Read the column here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/opinion/keller-five-obamacare-myths.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&hpw
1--OBAMACARE IS A JOB-KILLER
2--OBAMACARE IS A FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF HEALTH INSURANCE
3--THE UNFETTERED MARKETPLACE IS A BETTER SOLUTION
4--LEAVE IT TO THE STATES. THEY’LL FIX IT
5--OBAMACARE IS A LOSER. RUN AGAINST IT, RUN FROM IT, BUT FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE DON’T RUN ON IT
There are other "Obamacare myths", to be sure, but these are some big ones, some real beauties. It's a good place to start.
Read the column here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/opinion/keller-five-obamacare-myths.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&hpw
KS Biosciences Lab still supported by Feds
News out this morning says the Feds support--still support--the biosciences lab going in out at Manhattan, even if it is scaled down:
Fed. panel supports Kan. biosecurity lab project
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A government-backed committee of the National Research Council issued a report Friday saying the United States would have adequate biosecurity protections even if plans for a proposed $1.14 billion lab in Kansas are scaled back.
The study was prepared by a subcommittee formed this spring to look at three options for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility that is to be built in Manhattan near the Kansas State University campus. The report was in response to tighter federal revenues and budget controls that are forcing agencies to rethink spending priorities.
DHS asked the National Research Council to review the threats of foreign animal disease, the capabilities needed to address such threats and analyze options for building the lab as proposed or scaling back the size and scope. A third option included keeping the current research lab at Plum Island, N.Y.
While the committee found that the need for a lab hadn't changed since the project was first proposed in 2006, it did find that DHS had two options for completing the goal of developing the capabilities with a laboratory designed specifically to respond to a biosecurity threat. However, the report concluded that both options had drawbacks.
So rest assured, Kansas--apparently you're still going to get your lab and the money and jobs, even if it isn't as big as once promised and hoped.
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-panel-supports-kan-biosecurity-lab-project-170920861.html
Fed. panel supports Kan. biosecurity lab project
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A government-backed committee of the National Research Council issued a report Friday saying the United States would have adequate biosecurity protections even if plans for a proposed $1.14 billion lab in Kansas are scaled back.
The study was prepared by a subcommittee formed this spring to look at three options for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility that is to be built in Manhattan near the Kansas State University campus. The report was in response to tighter federal revenues and budget controls that are forcing agencies to rethink spending priorities.
DHS asked the National Research Council to review the threats of foreign animal disease, the capabilities needed to address such threats and analyze options for building the lab as proposed or scaling back the size and scope. A third option included keeping the current research lab at Plum Island, N.Y.
While the committee found that the need for a lab hadn't changed since the project was first proposed in 2006, it did find that DHS had two options for completing the goal of developing the capabilities with a laboratory designed specifically to respond to a biosecurity threat. However, the report concluded that both options had drawbacks.
So rest assured, Kansas--apparently you're still going to get your lab and the money and jobs, even if it isn't as big as once promised and hoped.
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-panel-supports-kan-biosecurity-lab-project-170920861.html
Quote of the day
While I am loathe to quote Brigham Young, I thoroughly agree with this one:
“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” ―-Brigham Young
Mitt Romney, hopefully going down
More of the hypocritical, too-frequently-caught-lying Mitt "Mittens" Romney.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Facebook research out of the University of Missouri
Posted yesterday on Yahoo! News:
What Your Facebook Page Says About Your Personality
If you think you're keeping any secrets on Facebook, think again. It's not just what you post on the social networking site, but how you post it that reveals what kind of person you are.
That's the contention of researchers at the University of Missouri who have developed a new scale that judges people's personality based on how they use the popular social media site.
The scale reveals that those who like high-risk activity tend to update their status, upload photos and interact with friends frequently. While conversely, those who are more reserved tend to merely scroll through Facebook's "news feed," and don't upload photos or actively engage with their friends.
Missouri doctoral student Heather Shoenberger developed the scale after surveying people about their use of Facebook and having them take a personality test.
Those who leaned toward high-risk activities were labeled as "appetitive," with those who were more reserved in their activities labeled as "aversive." While both personality types use Facebook frequently, Shoenberger found significant differences in how each uses the social media site.
"If you're highly "appetitive" or lean toward high-risk activities, you're more likely to want to engage with media that are more exciting, whereas those who are higher in the "aversive" trait tend to enjoy safer and more predictable media experiences," Shoenberger said.
The scale could help advertisers target online audiences easier, according to Shoenberger.
"I believe this could really help advertisers and certain types of media groups target potential customers with particular ads on social media sites," Shoenberger said. "Identifying these individuals using the motivation activation measure can give advertisers an advantage over their competitors and bring some order to online advertising."
For example, she says companies that want to target consumers for a high-risk activity should try to determine who is active on Facebook and frequently posting pictures and updating their status.
The study was recently presented at the International Communication Association Conference in Phoenix.
So, Facebook users, if you're interested, check it out. If not a Facebook user, you may just want to know what our state university is up to, at least in one department and example.
Links: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-page-says-personality-100406443.html
What Your Facebook Page Says About Your Personality
If you think you're keeping any secrets on Facebook, think again. It's not just what you post on the social networking site, but how you post it that reveals what kind of person you are.
That's the contention of researchers at the University of Missouri who have developed a new scale that judges people's personality based on how they use the popular social media site.
The scale reveals that those who like high-risk activity tend to update their status, upload photos and interact with friends frequently. While conversely, those who are more reserved tend to merely scroll through Facebook's "news feed," and don't upload photos or actively engage with their friends.
Missouri doctoral student Heather Shoenberger developed the scale after surveying people about their use of Facebook and having them take a personality test.
Those who leaned toward high-risk activities were labeled as "appetitive," with those who were more reserved in their activities labeled as "aversive." While both personality types use Facebook frequently, Shoenberger found significant differences in how each uses the social media site.
"If you're highly "appetitive" or lean toward high-risk activities, you're more likely to want to engage with media that are more exciting, whereas those who are higher in the "aversive" trait tend to enjoy safer and more predictable media experiences," Shoenberger said.
The scale could help advertisers target online audiences easier, according to Shoenberger.
"I believe this could really help advertisers and certain types of media groups target potential customers with particular ads on social media sites," Shoenberger said. "Identifying these individuals using the motivation activation measure can give advertisers an advantage over their competitors and bring some order to online advertising."
For example, she says companies that want to target consumers for a high-risk activity should try to determine who is active on Facebook and frequently posting pictures and updating their status.
The study was recently presented at the International Communication Association Conference in Phoenix.
So, Facebook users, if you're interested, check it out. If not a Facebook user, you may just want to know what our state university is up to, at least in one department and example.
Links: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-page-says-personality-100406443.html
Heard today on the Penn State scandal
"If they play football come September at Penn State, something's wrong." --Bob Costas, NBC sports reporter, writer, speaking today to David Gregory on "Meet the Press"
Question of the day
"Why is the response to economic crisis not more serious?"
Link to original article, well worth reading: http://blogs.reuters.com/anatole-kaletsky/2012/07/12/why-is-the-response-to-economic-crisis-not-more-serious/
(Sunday) Quote of the day
“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” --Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Side note: One does not see clearly with the emotions. The two should not be confused.
Side note: One does not see clearly with the emotions. The two should not be confused.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Entertainment overnight
In case you either don't recognize him or think he looks familiar, the singer is an actor on the comedy TV series "30 Rock" on NBC.
Joke of the day
"Romney proves with a little hard work and a little luck, even a multimillionaire white guy from Harvard can succeed in this country." —Jay Leno from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"
How bad do banks have to get before we regulate them better?
First there was the 2008 financial, financial implosion of the banks that took place, nearly bringing down not just the nation's but nearly the world's economies, both, simultaneously.
Next we got Countrywide Financial cheating people out of millions or billions of dollars on their home mortgages with president, CEO and owner Angelo Mozilo getting away nearly scot-free.
Next up, we more recently had the Barclays Bank manipulation of the Libor interest rates, to our detriment and their benefit.
Fourth, we very recently--this past week--had Wells Fargo getting fined 175 million dollars for putting the financial screws to Blacks and Hispanics across the country.
Fifth, next, "Visa, MasterCard and major banks agreed to pay retailers at least $6 billion to settle a long-running lawsuit that alleged the card issuers conspired to fix the fees that stores pay to accept credit cards." Sick. We're being used and thrown to the dogs.
Now, we have JP Morgan saying yesterday that they lost not just 2 billion dollars but at least nearly 6 billion dollars--it may climb higher, they said--because they didn't have the proper people and procedures in place to protect their clients, themselves and the nation from this big a fleecing and scandal.
At what point do we recognize that we need to regulate banks better and more thoroughly?
Will it be when they collapse, completely?
Is that what it has to take?
Will we then have learned our lessons?
Do we have to wait that long?
Links: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/22/morganstanley.goldmansachs
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350_1877339,00.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9398723/Barclays-manipulated-Libor-submissions-to-fit-in-with-the-crowd.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/elizabeth-magner-new-orleans-wells-fargo_n_1412412.html
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/jpmorgan-reports-second-quarter-profit-of-5-billion-down-9/
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/07/13/9579/visa-mastercard-6b-settlement-over-card-fees?utm_source=iwatchnews&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=rss
Happy 100th birthday, Woody Guthrie!
Yes sir--a very happy centennial birthday in absentia to the one and only Mr. Woody Guthrie.
Would that we had you now.
Yours are very large shoes to fill, indeed.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Now, the joke of the day
''During a speech in Ohio, Joe Biden criticized Republicans for not understanding the middle class. In response, Mitt Romney was like, 'That's ridiculous. Some of my best friends' gardeners are middle class.'' —Jimmy Fallon from his show "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"
Quote of the day
"In the Romney candidacy, the Republican party has found the apotheosis of the fact that it now represents solely the super-rich." --Robin Wells, writer for the Guardian, UK (England)
Even the British can see, from far across "the pond", that the Republican candidate for our presidency is by the rich, of the rich and for the rich, nearly solely.
Pathetic.
That he has a chance at winning is downright scary.
Keep cool, y'all and have a great weekend. Think good thoughts, in spite of everything else.
Link to original article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/mitt-romney-offer-government-billionaires
Even the British can see, from far across "the pond", that the Republican candidate for our presidency is by the rich, of the rich and for the rich, nearly solely.
Pathetic.
That he has a chance at winning is downright scary.
Keep cool, y'all and have a great weekend. Think good thoughts, in spite of everything else.
Link to original article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/mitt-romney-offer-government-billionaires
Water, oil, food--will humankind cooperate together or fight to the death?
I saw this headline last evening and it rather concerns me:
Global Fight for Natural Resources 'Has Only Just Begun,' say Experts
From the article:
"Better economic incentives, rather than ethical considerations and appeals to human morality, are needed to encourage investment in a more sustainable economy, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen.
Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen told the conference that governments would need to step in, to ensure resources were best distributed.
Speaking at the Re|source 2012 Conference in Oxford, Sen said that so-called 'free markets' could not be counted on to meet all fundamental human needs nor could the private sector be trusted to efficiently allocate the world's natural resources.
“The way to make the financial sector respond is not through moral exhortation, but by increasing incentives,” said Sen. 'The market will respond to price increases,' but world governments are required to intervene and address 'inequality and iniquity' that the market inherently generates."
The way our Capitalism is set up and the way the Republican Party, the Libertarians and far too many Right Wingers and Americans in general see the world and the world economy at present, they wouldn't get this.
Far too many of us wouldn't understand, at least at present, that whether you're talking about water or oil or corn or virtually any other commodity, once there are shortages, the item in concern can't be left to "free markets" alone unless we are willing to literally let people go without and that can, in fact, mean going without food.
Morally, we just can't let it end up being "every man--person--for themselves." We can't.
Besides being immoral, it would inevitably mean the deaths of at least thousands of us, if not millions, nation- and world-wide.
Surely we owe our fellow human beings more than that.
Rather naturally, it reminded me of this quote from the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr:
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
And the thing is, we'll have to agree to that cooperation across all nations, worldwide.
This will not be easy, ladies and gentlemen.
Link to original article: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/07/12-5
Song dedication: To Mitt Romney
The headline:
Mitt Romney stayed at Bain 3 years longer than he stated
The link: http://articles.boston.com/2012-07-12/politics/32633322_1_bain-capital-mitt-romney-financial-disclosure
That said, we "won't be sorry when we let you go" as the song might otherwise suggest.
Missouri in the news, for better or worse
Yes, we're in the news, all right:
Missouri town hopes to have first U.S. horse slaughter plant
Oh, joy.
(Reuters) - "A town in Missouri is trying to be the first of several in the United States to get a new plant to slaughter horses now that Congress has overruled animal rights groups to allow the killing for the first time in five years.
U.S. slaughter of horses ended in 2007 when Congress, at the urging of animal rights groups, halted funding to inspect processing plants. The unintended result was thousands of horses abandoned or neglected, and even more enduring hundreds of miles of travel to Mexico and Canada for slaughter.
After a government report last year detailed the abuses of horses, Congress restored inspection money to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for this year.
"People are giving away horses every day because they can't sell them," said Wayne White, president of the Missouri Equine Council. "All the rescue places are over-populated."
Horse meat is sold for human consumption in China, Russia, Mexico and other foreign countries, according to Unified Equine, a Wyoming company proposing to open a horse-slaughter plant in Rockville, Missouri. Horse meat is also used for zoo animals...
...Residents of Rockville, a town of about 150 people 100 miles south of Kansas City, turned out in force at a meeting last month to support the new plant, said Mayor Dave Moore."
Face it, some of us will do anything for a job.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/11/us-usa-horses-idUSBRE86A1GT20120711
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Black in America
What it's been like--as near as I can tell, since I'm white--to be a Black American in the last 100 years, for a lot of them, if not all:
--You may, or may not, be hired for a job;
--If you are hired for a job, it may well be for an entry-level and/or low-paying job;
--The job may also be either dirty or looked down on or both (e.g., janitor, etc.);
--If you get hired, it is likely for low-paying work;
--Consequently, because you are quite likely paid little, you also likely can't afford much of a house for your home. It will not be big, it will not be grand and it cannot be in a more "exclusive" area, if you can even afford to buy. You may have to rent;
--If you need or want a loan for a home, the chances are high you could be charged a higher interest rate by the bank or financial company (see link below);
--If you want or need a car, the car dealer may well charge you a higher price than he or she would charge a white person--just because they can;
--Many white people in your country--and even Hispanics--may well assume you are "dirty" and/or threatening and/or ignorant, just because of your color;
--One religion, at minimum, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the Mormons) had as their official policy, from the pulpit, until as late as 1979, that you, as a Black American, could belong to the religion, sure, and they'd take your money but you could never become part of their higher "priesthood" because of your color. Also, the reason is that it's based on a passage from the Bible (Go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_and_mark_of_Cain). Further, some religions--mostly fundamentalist "Christian" ones, still believe this, either formally or informally;
--Finally, to cap all this off, as if all that isn't enough, far too many people of your own country is far too likely to think you are poor because you are lazy and that it's your own fault.
The indignity.
Try understanding all this, let along living with those kinds of pressures.
This, then, is why far too many people just don't "get it" about discrimination and the status of Black Americans in the United States.
Links: http://www.latimes.com/business/money/fi-mo-wells-bias-20120712,0,4185138.story
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/18/us-usa-farmers-pigford-idUSTRE61H5XD20100218
http://www.slaverybyanothername.com/
--You may, or may not, be hired for a job;
--If you are hired for a job, it may well be for an entry-level and/or low-paying job;
--The job may also be either dirty or looked down on or both (e.g., janitor, etc.);
--If you get hired, it is likely for low-paying work;
--Consequently, because you are quite likely paid little, you also likely can't afford much of a house for your home. It will not be big, it will not be grand and it cannot be in a more "exclusive" area, if you can even afford to buy. You may have to rent;
--If you need or want a loan for a home, the chances are high you could be charged a higher interest rate by the bank or financial company (see link below);
--If you want or need a car, the car dealer may well charge you a higher price than he or she would charge a white person--just because they can;
--Many white people in your country--and even Hispanics--may well assume you are "dirty" and/or threatening and/or ignorant, just because of your color;
--One religion, at minimum, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the Mormons) had as their official policy, from the pulpit, until as late as 1979, that you, as a Black American, could belong to the religion, sure, and they'd take your money but you could never become part of their higher "priesthood" because of your color. Also, the reason is that it's based on a passage from the Bible (Go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_and_mark_of_Cain). Further, some religions--mostly fundamentalist "Christian" ones, still believe this, either formally or informally;
--Finally, to cap all this off, as if all that isn't enough, far too many people of your own country is far too likely to think you are poor because you are lazy and that it's your own fault.
The indignity.
Try understanding all this, let along living with those kinds of pressures.
This, then, is why far too many people just don't "get it" about discrimination and the status of Black Americans in the United States.
Links: http://www.latimes.com/business/money/fi-mo-wells-bias-20120712,0,4185138.story
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/18/us-usa-farmers-pigford-idUSTRE61H5XD20100218
http://www.slaverybyanothername.com/
Quote of the day
“Don’t let anybody make you think that God chose America as his divine, messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world.” --Martin Luther King
The Road to More Jobs (guest post)
From a New York Times op/ed piece today:
"How different would conditions be today economically and politically if unemployment were 7 percent instead of its current 8.2 percent? For one thing, some two million unemployed workers would have jobs, and the rate of economic growth would be comfortably above 2 percent, instead of below that pace. This scenario could have been possible if federal aid to states had been bolstered, saving hundreds of thousands of public-sector jobs.
Mr. Obama can make a convincing case that his policies — especially the stimulus and auto industry rescue — helped cushioned the effects of the recession he inherited, which pushed the jobless rate from an already elevated 7.8 percent in January 2009 to 10 percent by October 2009. It has come down, more or less, steadily since then. But it is still higher than when he took office — a point that Mitt Romney and Congressional Republicans have seized upon as evidence of failed policies.
Actually, it was the Republicans’ relentless opposition to constructive policies that has kept unemployment high, from their resistance to the 2009 stimulus to their blockage of Mr. Obama’s proposed $450 billion jobs bill in late 2011. Federal aid to states was a mainstay of both of those efforts. As the stimulus ended and further aid was delayed and denied, the effect on state budgets — and on jobs — has been catastrophic.
A recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute shows that the loss of public-sector jobs, largely because of state budget cuts, has been the biggest hit to job growth over the past three years.
The direct jobs lost — 627,000 since June 2009 — understates the drag because population growth alone suggests that the public sector should have added nearly 500,000 jobs over that time simply to restore government employment to its norm of the last 20 years. In all, the public sector is coming up short by 1.1 million jobs, including positions for teachers, social workers, public health officials and other professions that would have been filled by many of today’s unemployed college graduates.
Worse, the public-sector gap of 1.1 million jobs has translated into some 750,000 lost jobs in the private sector, the result of contractors losing government business and less spending by laid-off government workers. In addition, another 400,000 or so jobs have been lost because of cutbacks in state aid to the poor and unemployed, which reduce consumer spending.
The effects from an ailing public sector are profound because state and local spending on employees, contractors and beneficiaries reverberates swiftly through the economy. When that spending is depressed, the entire economy suffers.
The bottom line of the institute’s report is that if it weren’t for state and local budget austerity, the economy would have 2.3 million more jobs today, and the unemployment rate would be around 7 percent, not 8 percent. The lesson is that the best and easiest way to reverse job losses would be for Congress to provide fiscal aid to states. Thwarting such aid, as Republicans have done, is a way to keep unemployment elevated and their hopes to win the White House alive. Jobless Americans, struggling businesses and hard-pressed communities are hostages in the fray."
Link to original post: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/opinion/the-road-to-more-jobs.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share
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