What the President Has Signed Into Law – July 2007
Filed under: Blog Entries, Our Rights, Politics, Society & Culture
I’ve always felt informed people are happy people (in most cases). In building this blog, this is something I’ve always wanted to achieve. I’d like to introduce to you a new segment on the site that I hope to keep up with on a monthly basis called “What the President Has Signed Into Law”. In my visits to whitehouse.gov, I thought it would be interesting to find out what new laws are being passed to see what G.W. and our elected officials are doing in DC. I’ve learned a lot in the process and thought I’d share with you. Let me know your thoughts on what’s going on and feel free to research the new laws in more detail.
On Friday, June 29, 2007, the President signed into law:
H.R. 57, relating to real property taxation in the Virgin Islands;
H.R. 692, the Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007.
On Saturday, June 30, 2007, the President signed into law:
H.R. 1830, An Act that Extends the Andean Trade Preference Act through February 29, 2008.
On Tuesday, July 03, 2007, the President signed into law:
S. 1704, the “First Higher Education Extension Act of 2007,” which extends programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 through July 31, 2007.
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What I’m Talkin’ About – #27 – 07/29/07
Show Notes – Episode 27 – The Neighborhood Cycle
Covenant with Black America Topic for July – Affordable Neighborhoods
What I’m Talkin’ About
Continue thoughts from “The Covenant with Black America”
Michael Vick
What the President Has Signed Into Law
New Domain to Get to the Site – theotalks.net
Black History College
Paul Quinn College – www.pqc.edu
Independent Music Artist Showcase
“Breakin” by Shemekia Copeland
Illinois
Blues
Music Website
Announcements
I’ll be in the DC area on business. Hit me up on the email for more info.
Visit the blog as I chronicle the trip.
Hear My Show on the Blubrry Network
Spread the word about this podcast
Contact Information
Feel free to leave comments on the website or call the voicemail line at 972-464-1899
Intro & Background Music
The intro & closing music clip was written and performed by PsykoSoul Music
“Family Affair” by PsykoSoul Music featuring CB Harris and Calvin
Technorati Tags: Paul Quinn College, Shemekia Copeland, Neighborhood Cycle, Black America, African-American, Michael Vick, President, Laws
The N-Word
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, General, Politics, Society & Culture
by Darrell Holmes
Recently I was perusing some of the hip hop websites I scan regularly for news & info and came across a new posting about the “n word”. That word has gotten much internet play since the NAACP has decided to formally “bury” it at their national convention in Detroit this year. Few words in the American dialect illicit a wider range of emotions depending on the user and the context in which it’s used. You know how Black people use it like an unlimited debit card but get real possessive when folks of non-African decent throw it in the air. Though I could use the actual word for reference in this article, I’ll pass since I’ve vowed to cease using the word anymore going forward. Yes…it’s THAT serious. I was an addict. I may consider myself to be an educated, higher thinker and a daily unwilling participant in “the struggle”, but I wore that word out y’all. I’ve since realized that I really had no reason behind doing so. Most of the time it just felt like the word to say at the time. I even heard the good Deacon Holmes (my Pops) use the word a couple of times recently which was unusual for him. Maybe he thought it was a good way to bridge the generation gap.
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Fat Albert Ahead of His Time
It’s funny what you see when you re-watch cartoons when you’re older. I was watching Fat Albert the Greatest Hits Collection. There was an episode called “Poll Time” and it was about voting. There were two people running for class president, one black and the other white. During their campaign, both were targeting their specific race and encouraging their potential voters to vote for them because of the color of their skin. Vote for me because I’m black/white and you want someone as class president that looks like you, was the reasoning for both candidates. But Fat Albert didn’t fall for it and saw through the both of them and their tactics. I won’t ruin the ending, but that episode got it’s point across that you shouldn’t vote for someone on race alone.
I looked up the year for that episode on Amazon and it was done in 1972. I wasn’t even born, so I’m sure the focus was on fighting racism. But with the diverse group battling for the 2008 election, I just thought it was funny that they were running for class office. I try not to vote on race or gender, but right now the top two candidates are an African-American and a woman. I have mixed feelings about both. Barack doesn’t give me enough information and substance on his goals for the country and Hillary is just too politicianish (I know that’s not a word) for me. It is going to be interesting to see what happens because every time I see them I think of the movie “Head of State” by Chris Rock. Either way, I think the Democrats have something to prove so it’s going to be a good presidential race no matter which candidate gets the nomination.
If you get a chance to rent it, let me know what you think. A lot of the topics that Bill Cosby covered with that cartoon are still relevant today. He covered some interesting topics. Funny I didn’t realize that when I was younger. My brother and I just like to hear the opening song. Hey, Hey, Hey!Technorati Tags: Fat Albert, 2008 elections, bill cosby, politics
Road Home Project Deadline
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, General, Society & Culture
 
I posted a blog post about the Road Home Project where they will give survivors of hurricane Katrina and Rita up to $150,000 to rebuild or replace their damaged homes. I’ve been hearing more about it on multiple radio stations over the past two weeks, so I thought I’d post this reminder.
I haven’t heard about anyone who has tried it, but it may be worth filling out the forms to get on the list. The deadline is July 31st. If anyone has any experiences or knowledge of the program, please leave a comment. For more information, visit www.road2la.org or call 1-888-ROAD-2-LA.Technorati Tags: Louisiana, Katrina, Rita, hurricane, road home
Home from Travels
For those who listened to this last podcast, I mentioned I was going on a business trip to the East Coast. I did and as I type this, I’m on my way back to the crib. I had a lot of fun and my brother-in-law got to go with me. I can honestly say it was an adventure from the very beginning.
Instead of typing it all out, I might talk about it a little on the next podcast. I got to meet up with some family members I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. We traveled through Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Philadelphia and DC. The ride we had was top notch and got us where we needed to go. I’ll post pictures of the places we visited and what we learned in our nation’s capital.
I’ll be back to blogging this week!
What I’m Talkin’ About – #26 – 07/10/07
Show Notes – Episode 26 – Fostering Community-Centered Policing
Covenant with Black America Topic for June – Police Accountability
What I’m Talkin’ About
Continue thoughts from “The Covenant with Black America”
Gang Video in Houston, Texas
Gang Video in New Orleans, LA
Black History College
Claflin University – www.claflin.edu
Independent Music Artist Showcase
“Come Talk to Me†by Pharns Genece
Murrieta, California
Music Website
Announcements
I’ll be in the DC area on business. Hit me up on the email for more info.
Visit the blog as I chronicle the trip.
Hear My Show on the Blubrry Network
Spread the word about this podcast
Contact Information
Feel free to leave comments on the website or call the voicemail line at 972-464-1899
Intro & Background Music
The intro & closing music clip was written and performed by PsykoSoul Music
“Family Affair” by PsykoSoul Music featuring CB Harris and Calvin
Technorati Tags: Claflin University, Pharns Genece, Podcast, police, accountability, black, America
Supreme Court Limits Use of Race in School Assignments
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Legal, Society & Culture
Check out the latest on a ruling by the Supreme Court limiting the use of race when assigning kids to schools in Seattle and Kentucky. This is interesting because I’m sure it’s the first step in getting rid of affirmative action. If affirmative action shouldn’t apply to kids getting into school, then why should it for adults wanting to get into the business world? I’ll be honest with you. I have mixed feelings about affirmative action. I believe in my people and feel we are some of the smartest and most intelligent people in the world. I hate to hear people say affirmative action replaces qualified people with unqualified minorities. But at the same time, we aren’t that far off from the years of segregation so it is still a bias that affects us.
My pre-collegiate education was in majority black schools and I’ve talked to friends of mine who’ve graduated from majority white schools. Trust me when I tell you there’s a difference. It’s not that the kids there are smarter, they just have more access to information and funding. They also have a different way of thinking, which is something I’m learning even today (I’ll get into that later).
While we try to remain politically correct and keep everything”fair” for all, we also have to admit race does matter. When you meet someone, the first thing you notice is their race. Let’s be honest with each other. If two people are applying for a job with equal credentials, subconsciously we’re going to choose the person we feel we’ll more comfortable with. And in most cases, it’ll be based on race. I know first hand the Good Ol’ Boy Network is alive and kickin’ and a lot of times who you know makes a big difference.
High Court Limits Use of Race in School Assignment
Thinking Blogger Award
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Education, General, My Thoughts
I have been tagged by Vanessa, blogger of On the Black Hand Side and vanessabyers.net, with the Thinking Blogger Award. I appreciate it a lot and am humbly honored to receive this award. The award was started by ilker yoldas and in receiving it I am to select 5 blogs that make me think. If you check out Vanessa’s post, my list would be similar to hers, but I think I can come up with some others.
The participation rules are simple:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).
Here’s my list:
- Benin Mwangi – I’m really interested in learning how to do business in Africa. I think the media in the U.S. has given us a skewed view of the country and in the process, we’re missing out on the opportunities they have to offer. Benin does a good job in discussing and informing his readers about the potential for entreprenuers who seek to do business overseas.
- Black In Business – I’m a black business owner, so this one caught my eye the first time I visited the site. JD has some informative posts about being an African-American in the business world. I enjoy reading about some of his personal case studies and there’s always something good to comment on.
- Dallas South Blog -Shawn does a great job about keeping me informed about things going on in the south side of Dallas. Even if you’re not from the Dallas area, the posts he writes covers topics regarding things that every black community faces at some time or another. Definitely a quality blog.
- Who is M.L. Hodges? – I don’t consider myself to be a writer, but if I had to model myself after one, Martin would be it. I enjoy reading his posts because he writes them exactly as I hope to do someday. He’s also one of the guys that participates in my Brothas Podcast.
- Our World My Perspective – Jimmy is new to the blogging world, but I know him personally, so this will be a blog to keep an eye on. He’s definitely a thinker and I can’t wait to see what he has for us in the future.
Well, that’s my fave five. Thanks again Vanessa for the award and I hope you all enjoy the blogs I’ve mentioned. I plan on putting together another podcast this weekend, so be on the lookout for it.
Web Design For Kids
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Community, Education, Technology
I wanted to share this new DVD with you all called “Web Design for Kids”, created by Brian Richardson. I found this on Black in Business and thought it was a good idea. I’m a tech guy and understand the importance of teaching kids about technology at a young age. Once a skill used by an elite few, the need for being computer literate is important skillset for everyone to have. This is just one product that people can use.
I’m amazed at how kids pick up on things so quickly. My two year old sits at my PC mimicking me and uses the mouse like he knows what he’s doing. I also find this skill important because the African-American community needs this type of training. We are opening more businesses every year and the Internet is an easy and affordable way to market our products/services. I’ve taught classes on web design and people are amazed at how easy the process has become.
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