Month: August 2013

Categories
News

Time Square: Man Jumps on Track, Gets Hit by Train

A man was clinging to life Thursday after leaping in front of a No. 7 train at the Times Square station, officials said.

Police say the unidentified man, believed to be in his 30s, hurled himself in front of the southbound train as it entered the station on Seventh Ave. and 42nd St. about 9:45 a.m.

Paramedics rushed the man to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition, officials said.

An MTA spokesman said service on the No. 7 line was suspended between the Hunters Point station and Times Square for an hour and a half after the attempted suicide.

Categories
Domestic Policies Food And Recipes

FOR Fast Food Worker’s – AGAINST Fast Foods

The Fast Food Industry is in disarray all across America. Today, the day after the March on Washington’s 50th Anniversary commemorating one of the greatest speeches and movements this country has ever seen, employees of fast food chains across America have gone on strike in protest of their current wages and hoping to generate a minimum wage hike.

In major cities like New York, Chicago and Detroit to my hometown McDonald’s and Burger King, employees staged a ‘walk out’ in an attempt to muster support from fast food consumers of a pay hike from their employer’s.

The national minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour which averages around $15,000 a year salary. Protesters are seeking an increase to $15.25 and to become unionized in the process. Increasing the the minimum wage by that additional $8 would take the average salary to a modest $31,720 annually. President Obama has been for a hike to the minimum wage but has been fighting for $9 an hour.
While being FOR the worker’s in the fast food industry in gaining an increase in pay, I’m not FOR the fast foods being served. Just a few short months ago, weren’t we staging a War on Fast Foods and Obesity? Childhood obesity in particular has been a topic of conversation for some years now in their lunchrooms and the McDonald’s and Burger King’s of the world were asked to provide America with a ‘healthier selection’ of meals on their menus.

So today’s protest is with Mixed Emotion for me. There are staggering facts about what fast foods can do to the body. Obesity is the 5th leading risk for global deaths. At least 2.8 million people will die as a result of obesity. Diseases states such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes and certain cancers are directly attributed to obesity. While fast foods provide that quick fix of price and consumption, it’s slowly destroying the bodies functionality. Yest, the fast food industry is great at advertising what it can do For you. Fast, efficient meals that provide a quick fix for your hunger and cravings. What needs to be advertised is what it will do To you.

Even if the fast food industry gave us the best choices meals for a healthy diet, the price for eating healthy is mind bogglingly ridiculous. The cost of a Grilled Chicken Sandwich cost more than a fried Chic Fil A sandwich. Even the Salads are more expensive than the sandwich. So what will the consumer purchase? Big Macs and Whoopers have been the staple of the American dinner table for years because of it’s fast, efficient service and serving quantity but each have a high calorie intake, Big Mac at 550 and the Whopper with a whopping 670 calories. Pizza parlors and sweet shoppes are just as guilty.

Have you ever wondered why fast foods are cheaper than eating healthy meals? Have you ever gone grocery shopping and felt the ‘sticker shock’ of purchasing the healthy alternative versus the junk food that seems to creep back into our baskets? My wife and I had this conversation over a weekend of grocery shopping once. It’s got to be a racket and here’s why. Money.

Think about this for a second. Fast Foods are reasonably inexpensive to buy. On average, a fast food meal will cost under $8 with the meal giving you fries and a drink along with the sandwich. Parents have taken the bait on the ‘fast and convenient’ ads for years which is why this industry has thrived for decades. But in turning to fast foods, we increase our risk of all types of disease states mentioned earlier. So we intake the fast foods, increase our weight, go to the doctor who puts us on medications to ‘help’ our disease state, medication causes other side effects, more medication prescribed to offset current medication, healthcare companies and doctors are happy.

The alternative. Eat a healthier diet of grilled foods, vegetables, fruits and drinking water with plenty of exercise. Yes, eating the right meals versus fast foods isn’t the most cost effective way but it’s the Healthiest way.

It’s not easy letting go of fast foods. The craving of a burger, fries, doughnuts, milkshakes are an everyday occurrence for many. But as in everything, one must find balance. An occasional indulgence is to be expected but should not be the norm. When it’s all said and done, it’s Your body, Your health, Your way of living. Either you’ll live a healthy life with a shot at longevity or your life could be shortened with heart disease, diabetes, stroke and being on medications until your demise. It’s your choice.
So more power to the Fast Food Employee. Everyone deserves to live life without struggle when trying to earn an honest living. Living below poverty level is not living. I’ll always Support you in your cause Fast Food Worker, just not from my wallet. (ok, maybe sometimes :-))

Categories
Featured nigger

Retired Police Officer wants to Shoot the President

We are a civilized society.  wink wink.

Marsters, a retired Massachusetts police officer…posted a photo of Obama along with a link to a story about a Republican push to impeach the president at 8:17 p.m. Friday, writing “Shoot the Nigger” above it, according to the newspaper.

Marsters told the [Portland] Press Herald that after his Facebook post was flagged to local law enforcement by other residents, he was visited by both the Secret Service and the CIA. He said he told the Secret Service agents who questioned him that he didn’t intend to threaten the president.

Marsters told the Press Herald in a telephone interview that his post was taken out of context.

“I think it’s a lot of hogwash,” he said. “I did not threaten the president. … I might have used the wrong words. … I didn’t say I was going to do it.”

“What I really meant to say is, ‘When are we going to get rid of this (expletive),’” Marsters added. “I should have said, ‘I hope the bastard dies.’”

Categories
Education teaching

The High Schoolization Of College

Last week, President Obama made a series of speeches about making higher education affordable, which of course would be a great idea if we really had a socialist system and the government could tell schools what to charge. The problem is that we have a quasi-meritocracy with a bit of market capitalism mixed in, and that’s created the idea that expensive colleges must be good and really expensive colleges must be terrific. Meanwhile, the competitive and not-so-competitive schools that scoop up most American teenagers are considered second-tier and many of the students who attend don’t have the financial wherewithal or the intellectual stamina to stay in them.

Of course, this is not going to change any time soon because the Republicans in Congress won’t approve anything Obama wants and there isn’t enough money for the federal Government to get more involved in college financing. What’s really needed is a radical restructuring of higher education where all truly gifted students can attend schools that will challenge them and all other students who want to go to college can find affordable financing to do so. College is still a great investment, but the division between the have and have-nots is beginning to mirror larger society, which will in turn solidify the status quo.

But the president didn’t stop there. He is also proposing a rating system to rank colleges and universities by…wait for it…quantitative data that will separate schools by how much money their graduates make and how successful the schools are at making their students employable, cost and the advanced degrees graduates earn.

Let’s see…where have I heard of a system that attempts to use quantifiable data like, for example, test scores, to rank school and educators. Oh yeah; the public K-12 schools. It’s a terrible idea for them and it’s a terrible idea for colleges.

The reason it’s so bad is that the president’s proposal, and the philosophy behind it, succumbs to the erroneous idea that the purpose of attending college is to find a job. If you accept that, then measuring college’s performance by how many employable graduates it turns out makes sense. But that’s not the purpose of college and it’s a mistake to believe that it is.

A university education is an exercise in academic exploration, of ideas, of research, of trying to find truth and beauty and a sense of who you are. It is available so that a young person can have access to people who have studied a topic or subject so thoroughly that they have something nuanced to say about it and can analyze it at a deep level. It’s there so you can take a course in something that you want to learn about, rather than what you think you have to learn. It’s an exploration. It’s difficult. Unsettling. Motivating.

But it’s not job training. There’s no such thing as a readily employable English, Philosophy, Communications or Media Ecology major. You need to apply your knowledge. And to be considered an educated person, you really do need to know about more than just finance or accounting or marine biology, though they might get you a high paying job down the road. I’ll concede that an engineering or acting student has employable knowledge and skills, but even they will need to learn a great deal on the job. So when the president wants to tie all of this data to how successful a college is, I see that as bunk. What a job pays is in many ways out of a graduate’s hands. Many people would like an advanced degree but can’t afford the money, time or both.

And what of students who don’t belong in college? The default attitude now is that everyone should go, but that’s also bunk. We’ve dismantled the system we used to have that recognized that some jobs do not require a college education. We’ve even begun this in high school, where many districts have stopped offering actual job training classes because they don’t feed the everyone-goes-to-college beast. Then when the students who would benefit from those programs find that college isn’t for them and they have no discernible job skills, society suffers.

The president should find other means to boost education and job skills without turning universities into glorified high schools, where students ad parents have unreasonable expectations of what they’re paying for.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest

Categories
martin luther king family Politics

Martin Luther King’s Family Involved in Bus Accident

A charter bus carrying family members of the late Martin Luther King Jr. was involved in a minor car accident Wednesday, shortly after observances for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, according to published reports and a source close to the family.

A van ran a red light near Washington’s Tidal Basin and this forced the bus driver to slam on the brakes, TMZ reported.

In photos published on the TMZ and Global Grind websites, the company name Shore Motor Coach is seen printed on the side of the bus. But no one could be reached Wednesday evening at the 11-year-old family-owned company based in Linthicum, Md.

No one was hurt, the King family source said, although CNN reported a person in the car was injured and taken to a hospital.

Christine King Farris, King’s 85-year-old sister, and Naomi King, sister-in-law of the civil rights leader, were among those on the bus, the source said. So was reality TV personality Omarosa, according to published reports. At about 6:30 p.m., Manigault tweeted, “Yikes just got banged up a lil bit on bus-I am ok! #HitMyHead ouch.”

Categories
Politics

Republican Leaders All Declined To Speak At Dr. Martin Luther King’s Commemoration

Dr. Martin Luther King is known worldwide, and it would have been appropriate on this day, fifty years after King’s I Have A Dream Speech when thousands traveled to Washington to remember and celebrate… it would have been fitting to have the political leaders from both sides put away their partisan ideologies and come together as one.

It would have been fitting… if it had actually happened.

Reports are coming out now that leaders from the Republican party were invited to speak today, but they all declined.

Speaker John A. Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the House’s two most senior Republicans, were invited to speak at the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington — but declined.

That wasn’t a wise choice, said Julian Bond, a renowned civil rights activist, in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday afternoon.

“What’s really telling, I think, is the podium behind me, just count at the end of the day how many Republicans will be there,” Bond told news anchor Alex Wagner. “They asked senior President Bush to come, he was ill. They asked junior Bush, he said he had to stay with his father.

“They asked a long list of Republicans to come,” Bond continued, “and to a man and woman they said ‘no.’ And that they would turn their backs on this event was telling of them, and the fact that they seem to want to get black votes, they’re not gonna get ‘em this way.”

According to Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel, the Ohio Republican “was invited, but spoke at the Congressional ceremony instead, as did Sens. Reid and McConnell, and Rep. Pelosi.”

Cantor, meanwhile, was asked 12 days ago to participate in Wednesday’s event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s delivery of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, according to an aide. The Virginia Republican, however, is currently traveling in North Dakota and Ohio, touring energy sites with Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and participating in “nonofficial events,” according to an aide.

There will only be one 50 year celebration of this most important time in America’s history. Dr. King’s speech changed the directory of this nation where civil rights were concerned. We will never celebrate another 50 year mark, but not even this very important anniversary managed to convince Republicans to put aside their partisan bickering.

If this occasion failed to make them come together, then it is safe to say that nothing, absolute nothing, will make them come together to do the right thing.

Categories
Barack Obama Martin Luther King Jr Politics

From Martin Luther King Jr. to Barack Obama – 50 Years Later

President Obama today offered a tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., while also imploring all Americans to remember that the work of the iconic civil rights leader remains unfinished.

“The arc of the moral universe may bend toward justice, but it doesn’t bend on its own,” Obama said on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a rainy afternoon in Washington. “We’ll suffer the occasional setback, but we will win these fights.”

Obama, who spoke to an estimated crowd of 20,000 — far fewer than 200,000-plus who attended the March on Washington and witnessed King’s “I Have a Dream” speech 50 years ago — recalled that day in 1963.

“On a hot summer day, they assembled here in our nation’s capitol, under the shadow of the great emancipator to offer testimony of injustice, to petition their government for redress, to awaken America’s long slumbering conscience,” he said.

“How he gave mighty voice to the quiet hopes of millions, how he offered a salvation path to oppressed and oppressors alike. We would do well to recall that that day itself also belonged to those ordinary people whose names never appeared in history books.”

This ‘March’ Interactive Captures the Moment

Acknowledging his own place in history, Obama praised King and the civil rights activists of his era: “They kept marching, America changed.”

He added, “and yes, eventually, the White House changed.”

Fifty years to the day after King Jr. delivered his speech, Obama stepped into the shadows of his personal hero, standing in the same spot to deliver remarks commemorating the 1963 March on Washington, a powerful example of the progress King envisioned.

For the nation’s first African-American president, the much-anticipated speech carried with it immense symbolism and high stakes.

“Let me just say for the record right now, it won’t be as good as the speech 50 years ago,” Obama told radio host Tom Joyner in an interview Tuesday. “I just want to get that out there early. Because when you are talking about Dr. King’s speech at the March on Washington, you’re talking about one of the maybe five greatest speeches in American history.

“And the words that he spoke at that particular moment, with so much at stake, and the way in which he captured the hopes and dreams of an entire generation, I think is unmatched.”

Categories
Politics

Jaime Foxx Calls on Jay Z, Will Smith, Kanye West to be Civil Rights Activists

Speaking off-the-cuff, without prepared remarks at Wednesday’s March on Washington 50th anniversary event, actor Jamie Foxx called on his peers in the entertainment industry to pick up where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders left off. Foxx said it was up to him, “Will Smith, Jay Z, Kanye, Alicia Keys, Kerry Washington” and others to continue the struggle for equality.”

“I will tell you right now that everybody my age and all the entertainers, it is time for us to stand up and renew this dream,” Foxx began. He said he as “affected” and inspired to action by the Trayvon Martin case and the Newtown shooting and urged others to join him in speaking out.

Foxx told a story about a dinner he had with the legendary Harry Belafonte–complete with an expert impression of the singer’s voice–and his 19-year-old daughter. When Belafonte reflected on marching with “Al, Jesse and Martin” he and his daughter did not at first know he was referring to Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King.

“What we need to do now is the young folks pick it up now,” Foxx told the crowd, “so that when we’re 87 years old, talking to the young folks, we can say it was me, Will Smith, Jay Z, Kanye, Alicia Keys, Kerry Washington, the list goes on and on.”

Categories
Politics

George Zimmerman’s Wife Pleads Guilty to Perjury

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) – The wife of George Zimmerman pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to a reduced charge of perjury for lying in a 2012 Florida court proceeding concerning her husband’s arrest in the killing of Trayvon Martin, according to court records.

Circuit Judge Marlene Alva in Sanford accepted a deal in which Shellie Zimmerman agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor perjury rather than the original charge of felony perjury in an official proceeding.

Zimmerman was ordered to serve one year of probation, perform 100 hours of community service and write a letter of apology to Judge Kenneth Lester, in whose court the perjury occurred.

George Zimmerman was acquitted in July of murder in Martin’s death, but his wife still faced the perjury charge for telling Lester that they had no money at a bond hearing. At the time, the couple had accumulated $135,000 from donors to an online legal defense fund.

Categories
Domestic Policies Politics

The Dream Lives On!

Today, August 28th, 2013 commemorates the 50th Anniversary of one of the most famous marches and speeches ever witnessed, listened to and participated in during a Civil Rights Movement that took place in Washington, DC.

During that 1963 march, over 200,000 people from all walks of life participated in this gathering to let it be known throughout the United States and even the World at large that oppression, bigotry, hatred and murder of a people that just wanted the same rights as others was intolerable.

In fact, the Civil Rights Movement of 1963 had some of the exact parallels of the Moral Mondays Movement that has derived from some of the same oppressive, bigoted, hateful legislation being passed by the GOP and Republican lawmakers in North Carolina.

When Supreme Court Justice John Roberts so blindly changed the outcome of the Voters Rights Act in a surprising decision back in June of this year, the Republican Party throughout this country has begun changing their voting laws at state levels to ‘tip the scale’ in their favor for upcoming and ongoing elections.

In Texas, Ohio and North Carolina, the governors of these states and the Legislators in the state houses that are Republican run, have passed legislation to change the way Americans have voted for decades. In North Carolina alone, Gov. Pat McCrory and the NCGOP have formulated the New Voter I.D. Law, overturned students being able to Vote in the college city they live in, ended Early Voting and have closed several voting locations in many locations in the name of being more “efficient”.

Also in North Carolina, teachers are under assault with this current government in place. Wages have been cut and raises are obsolete. As educators of our children, they are deserving of the benefits and salary that should be awarded to them, but this governor and NCGOP legislators don’t seem to agree. Because of the extreme measures being inflicted on some of the teachers in North Carolina, many have decided to leave the profession all together unfortunately to pursue other employment in other states.

Continuing on the extreme, Gov. McCrory and the NCGOP sliced the Unemployment Benefits from a maximum of $535 a week to $350 max and the Unemployment Length of benefit life from 26-weeks to 13-weeks. With North Carolina ranked as the 5th highest state for unemployment, this Republican-led administration found it necessary to cut benefits to many middle class and low income families. Many layoffs and companies closing their doors have resulted in an influx of unemployment applications but as of July 1st of this year, this administration in North Carolina has turned its back on thousands from the coastal to the mountains.

The Dream Lives On though. Because of the extremism of the North Carolina, Texas and Ohio legislative moves; Abortion issues, Women’s Rights, Marriage Equality, Voter’s Rights, Students Rights, Teachers Rights, protests have been a recurring event. Chicago recently joined the fray with a protest against ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council). This group, which claims to be non-partisan, has been the spearhead and backbone to many of the statewide legislative twist and turns that have been executed at the state level.

Take note: Texas, Ohio and North Carolina Governors and State Legislators have passed the Same laws over the past three months. ALEC has designed a form of legislative format outlined to generate an extreme level of government beginning at the state level. It is passed through the Republican-led administration and will pass. Remember though, this is Supposed to be a non-partisan group yet every bill that has passed has had opposition from across the aisle.

We won’t give up the fight though. Just as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at the March on Washington in 1963, “I Have A Dream”, I too have a Dream along with Millions of other Americans throughout this Great Nation. The Dream is a United Country throwing out the Extreme Legislators in our respective states. The Dream is tossing the Hate Mongers in power out of office. The Dream is letting the Governors, the Mayors, the City Council that has been endorsed by ALEC and Tea Party affiliates, your days are Numbered and your Time is Up!

Come 2014, local elections take place. I urge everyone to register to vote if you haven’t. I urge everyone to become Active in the political movement and Stay Engaged and Stay Aware of what is going on in Your Local Government and Community. Finally, Come 2016, the National Election! Vote America! Remember, there were many that died during the 1960’s just so We could have this Very Right. And now, many on the Republican side are attempting to take that right from Us again. Don’t Let It Happen! Keep the Dream Alive. Make Sure the Dream Lives On!

Categories
Politics

Cory Booker on Possibly Being Gay – “So what if I am?”

The Washington Post once again raised the much asked question about Cory Booker’s sexual preference and this time, Booker responded.

“And people who think I’m gay, some part of me thinks it’s wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I’m gay, and I say, ‘So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I’m straight.’”

Categories
Politics

NY Daily News to Chris Christie – “Who You Calling an Idiot, Fatso!”

Chris Christie is friends with New York Jets Coach, Rex Ryan. So when a Daily News reporter Manish Mehta seemed a little eager to get an answer from Rex at a press conference. Christie had to chime in.

Rex’s decision to play quarterback and former USC star,  Mark Sanchez in a meaningless pre-season game that resulted to the quarterback getting hurt, prompted the persistent reporter to ask his series of questions second guessing Rex’s decision. Rex took offence to the reporter’s questions and Christie tried to defend his friend, referring to the reporter as an “idiot.”

Said Christie;

“Idiot. The guy’s a complete idiot. Self-consumed, underpaid, reporter. The only reason he’s empowered is we’re spending all this time this morning talking about Manish Mehta who, by the way, I couldn’t pick out of a police lineup.”

Christie apparently forgot he was talking about a reporter from a New York newspaper and not one from New Jersey and The Daily News made sure he remembered. On the Tuesday morning paper, this was The News’ headline:

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