Florida Courier, August 10, 2012, #32

FC

EE FR

PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BEACH, FL PERMIT #189

www.flcourier.com

Read us online Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/ flcourier

Celebrating Ramadan: A closer look at this Islamic observance B1

Follow us on Twitter@flcourier

VOLUME 20 NO. 32

www.flcourier.com

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

TIME TO VOTE With early voting under way around the state, here are some elections myths vs. facts, courtesy of the Florida Division of Elections.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Voter purge fight continues

Early voting is defined as “casting a ballot in person prior to Election Day at a location designated by the Supervisor of Elections and depositing the voted ballot in the tabulation system.”

The voter uses the same type of voting equipment that is used at the polls on Election Day. Contact your county’s supervisor of elections office for dates, times and location.

Voters who want to vote early should present a valid photo identification and a signature identification at the early voting site.

• MYTH: Voters will be turned away if they are wearing campaign apparel.

FACT: “Voters may wear campaign buttons, shirts, hats, or any other campaign items when they enter the polling place to vote; voters may not otherwise campaign there.” (Source: The Polling Place Procedures Manual incorporated within Rule 1S-2.034, Florida Administrative Code.) So merely going to the polls wearing campaign paraphernalia is okay, but, by Section 102.031(4), Florida Statutes, one cannot solicit voters within 100 feet of the entrance to any polling place.

• MYTH: The address on the driver license must match the address in the voter registration record in order to be able to vote.

FACT: The address on the driver license does not need to match the address in the voter registration record. If you have moved and haven’t changed your driver license to reflect your new address, that’s okay. What is important is that you vote in the precinct where See TIME, Page A2

2012 SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES / LONDON, ENGLAND

Focused on finishing

May not be settled until after elections FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

A legal battle over Florida’s controversial attempt to purge ineligible voters might not be resolved until next year – after this fall’s elections, according to a document filed Wednesday.

The federal government filed a lawsuit in June, arguing that Florida was violating election laws in the way it was conducting the purge. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle signed an order Wednesday that indicated a scheduling conference could be held in January to set a trial date.

Hinkle also ordered the state to meet an Aug. 17 deadline to turn over a variety of records to the federal government, including a 180,000-name list that has been at the center of the controversy.

Settlement ‘possible’ In a document filed last week, the federal government said a settlement of the case is possible, though it would hinge on “prompt disclosure” by the state of the list, the name of voters removed from the election rolls and the reasons.

The document also said that the federal government issued subpoenas July 30 to nine elections supervisors, seeking information about the lists and voters removed from the rolls. It does not name the nine supervisors.

The state countered in the document that there is no need for a lengthy “discovery” period in the case. It said the state is receiving access to a federal Department of Homeland Security database that will allow it to better verify voter eligibility.

“Since the state of Florida wants to verify that properly registered voters were not removed from the rolls, the secretary (of state) will promptly use the … database to check whether any of the voters removed from the rolls pursuant to the process challenged in this case were, in fact, citizens,’’ the state said in the document.

“In the event that any eligible voters were wrongfully removed, the secretary will ensure that they are immediately restored to the rolls and notified that any prior notice of ineligibility was in error.”

ALSO INSIDE

CHUCK MYERS/MCT

The USA’s Dawn Harper, right, and Kellie Wells clear a hurdle in the final stretch of the women’s 100-meter hurdles at Olympic Stadium. Harper won the silver medal and Wells claimed the bronze.

Read an Olympics-related “No Chaser” column on Page A4 and view a page of pictures on Page B3.

Thousands of qualified ex-felons not registered to vote

BY MICHAEL PELTIER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

More than 13,000 ex-felons may be eligible to vote but don’t know it, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said last week, citing data it obtained from the Florida Parole Commission.

The ACLU said the commission is sitting on more than 17,000 Restoration of Civil Rights certificates that would notify former felons that they can now register to vote, but which have not reached their intended recipients. The civil rights group crosschecked the names on those certificates with voter registration lists and found that 13,571 of them are not registered voters, presumably because many of them don’t know they’ve been cleared to register.

Not automatic Florida is one of a minority of U.S. states that does not automatically restore civil rights once a felon has completed a sentence.

The certificates were sent between 2007 and March 2011, during which time a change in policy spearheaded by former Gov. Charlie Crist allowed nonviolent ex-felons to have their rights automatically restored.

The policy was repealed in March 2011 after Florida Gov. Rick Scott and newly elected members of the Florida Cabinet voted to eliminate automatic restoration and again make it more difficult for ex-felons to get their civil rights, including the right to vote, restored.

Searching for ‘non-citizens’ Scott has been aggressively pursuing efforts to clean up the state’s voter rolls because, he says, there are some non-citizens who are ineligible to vote who are registered.

Following a legal battle, the state last month gained access to a federal Department of Homeland Security database to continue the effort to re-

SNAPSHOTS NATION | A3

Black president, but no Black agenda FLORIDA | A6

State sees spike in ‘noparty’ voters Carroll on trade mission to homeland

See VOTE, Page A2

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: THE AMERICA WE BELIEVE IN | A5

FINEST | B5

Meet Andre

FOCUS

A2

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

Civil rights group targets disproportionate school discipline • A 10-year-old Black elementary student in Suwannee County was suspended more than 20 times during the 2010-11 school year for nonviolent behavior. He was provided no homework, nor the ability to make up the work he missed while suspended.

• A Black school student in Flagler County was written up 19 times during the 2011-12 school year. Each instance was for minor nonviolent misconduct.

SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has filed a series of civil rights complaints against Florida school districts that subject Black students to harsh disciplinary policies at rates that are far higher than for White students.

The complaints, filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, describe how Black students in the school districts in Escambia, Bay, Okaloosa, Flagler and Suwannee counties are suspended, expelled and arrested at school for relatively minor and non-violent conduct.

Practices unchanged

Time for reform “Unforgiving disciplinary policies are cutting short the futures of countless Black students across Florida and the entire nation,” said Stephanie Langer, a staff attorney for the SPLC’s Florida office. “If school districts truly want to provide a quality education to all of their students, they will reform these discriminatory policies.”

SPLC says the school districts’ own annual reports to the Florida Department of Education demonstrate the discriminatory impact of their disciplinary policies: • In Escambia County (Pensacola) schools, Black students account for 65 percent of all outof-school suspensions, but they represent only 36 percent of the student population.

• In Okaloosa County (east of Pensacola) schools, Black students account for 24 percent of all out-of-school suspensions even though they make up only 12 percent of the student popu-

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed complaints against Florida school systems that allegedly discipline Black students more harshly. lation.

• In Bay County (east of Pensacola) schools, Black students account for 30 percent of all out-ofschool suspensions even though they comprise only 15 percent of the student population.

• In Suwannee County (northwest of Gainesville) schools, Black students account for 31 percent of all out-of-school suspensions, but represent only 14 percent of the student population.

• In Flagler County schools (north of Daytona Beach), Black students account for 31 percent of all out-of-school suspensions even though they are only 16 percent of the student population.

The complaints explain how

the school districts have imposed long-term suspensions on children as young as 8 years old for minor rule infractions such as tardiness, inappropriate cell phone usage, talking in class and dress code violations.

The complaints also describe how the school districts fail to provide school principals with specific disciplinary guidelines and procedures. This allows principals the power to remove students from school for vague and often minor rule infractions.

Harsh punishment Several cases described in the complaint illustrate how Black children are punished more harshly and more frequently than

White students: • A Black student in Escambia County was suspended and arrested for “trespassing” after purchasing a hot meal at a neighboring high school. Before this incident, the student had no history of disciplinary issues.

• An 11-year-old Black elementary student in Okaloosa County received a five-day suspension for having a cell phone in class.

The school district classified it as “inappropriate behavior.”

• A 12-year-old Black student in Bay County received 23 days of out-of-school suspension during the 2011-12 school year for minor infractions such as chewing gum, “mouthing off,” and talking in class.

Florida, like many states across the county, has amended its zero-tolerance discipline law to encourage schools to handle minor behavioral problems with in-school discipline rather than harsh policies that decrease a student’s time in the regular classroom.

While each district has changed its written policies, practices have not changed. Many school districts continue to suspend students for lengthy periods, send them to alternative schools, expel them or unnecessarily refer them to the juvenile justice system.

“Local school districts and state officials must make reforms that improve the effectiveness of school disciplinary policies without forcing children out of the classroom,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney of the SPLC’s Florida office.

“School discipline should never deprive a child of an education, but that is happening in these school districts. What was once considered minor misconduct has become an opportunity to punish or even criminalize a student’s behavior.”

Zimmerman trial unlikely before 2013

BY MICHAEL MUSKAL LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin in Sanford, will probably not face trial until early next year, his lawyers said.

The Zimmerman case was scheduled on Wednesday for a docket sounding, a pro forma court procedure in which the court is given an update on the progress in the proceedings. However, Judge Kenneth R. Lester on Tuesday granted a defense request to continue the matter – that is, push the docket sounding back – until Oct. 3.

“We filed our motion to continue because there is still a great deal of information to be gathered regarding this case, and we are in the early stages of preparing our reciprocal discovery – a process that can take a few months – and it is simply too early in the process to set firm trial dates,” defense lawyer Mark O’Mara said in an online posting.

“Moving forward, we expect there will be additional motions to continue, and it is anticipated, though not certain, that this case will not be ready for trial until early next year,” O’Mara said.

Out on bail Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, on Feb. 26.

Zimmerman has acknowledged shooting Martin, but has insisted that he acted in self-defense, invoking Florida’s so-called standyour-ground law. Zimmerman was not charged until weeks after the incident and after the appointment of a state special prosecutor.

Martin’s family, civil rights advocates and Florida prosecutors dispute Zimmerman’s defense, alleging that he profiled Martin because of his race and followed him even though Sanford police dispatchers told Zimmerman to stay back.

Zimmerman is out of jail after posting a $1 million bail bond.

The defense asked Judge Lester to step aside from the case, questioning comments the jurist made at the most recent bail bond hearing. Lester rejected that request, which could still be appealed by the defense.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Thousands of ex-felons can now vote, but don’t know they are eligible. Check online at https://fpcweb. fpc.state.fl.us.

VOTE from A1 move ineligible voters. An initial effort stalled when local supervisors of elections balked because of possible inaccuracies on an earlier list of potentially ineligible voters that was sent to the counties by the state.

“The contrast between the baseless claims that Governor Scott has made about voter fraud and the lengths to which he has gone to

TIME from A1

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

The fact-finding process has begun in the trial of George Zimmerman.

you currently live, no matter what your driver license says.

• MYTH: If your house is under foreclosure, you will not be able to vote.

FACT: A foreclosure notice does not necessarily mean that a person no longer resides in the home, as people often remain in the home after foreclosure begins and are sometimes able to refinance the home. Voters whose homes have been foreclosed but who remain in their homes may continue to vote in their assigned precinct. Voters who have physically moved from their foreclosed residence with no intention of returning to that address as their residence may still vote but should provide a change of address to the supervisor of elections.

make voting more difficult, and the inattention to the thousands of voting rights restoration certifications gathering dust...could not be sharper,” Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida executive director, said in a statement.

Figures are accurate Tammy Salmon, a parole commissioner administrative assistant, said the figures were correct and reflect certificates mailed to recipients who could not be found and left no forwarding address.

You must vote in your correct precinct.

• MYTH: If you are a Florida college student, you have to change your permanent residence to your college address.

FACT: If a college student registers with a legal residence in a Florida county, then no further proof of residency is required, regardless of where the college student’s parents reside or whether the student intends to move back to where the parents are located.

• MYTH: Provisional ballots are only counted when there is a close race.

FACT: A provisional ballot is always counted when the voter is shown to be registered and eligible, regardless of the closeness of the outcome of the election. A person who votes provisionally simply because he or she forgot ID at the polls will not have to do anything else. If the signatures on that ballot cer-

In some cases, the agency made “multiple attempts” to make contact, but to no avail, she said.

The parole commission’s website – https://fpcweb.fpc.state.fl.us/ – allows viewers to search to see if an ex-offender’s rights have been restored.

“We are going above and beyond to try to reach these folks,” Salmon said.

Eligible residents must register by Oct. 9 to vote in the general election in November.

tificate and the voter roll matches, the provisional ballot is counted.

• MYTH: Absentee ballots are only counted when there is a close race.

FACT: All absentee ballots are counted if properly executed, which includes making sure that the return envelope is signed and that the signature matches the voter’s signature on record.

• MYTH: If a voter owes child support or has pending warrants against him or her, the police will arrest the voter at the polls.

FACT: The voter registration rolls at the polls don’t have information about whether a voter owes child support or has outstanding warrants against him or her.

Law enforcement personnel are not allowed in the polling place without the permission of the election board, so ordinarily there will not be any law

enforcement personnel in the polling place to identify a voter who may have outstanding child support payments due or warrants against him or her.

• MYTH: If the voter is homeless and has no legal residence, the voter may not vote.

FACT: State registration laws may not discriminate against the homeless in voter registration as long as the homeless applicant for voter registration intends to remain in a locale and has either a place where he can receive messages or an effective mailing address. The homeless person will vote in the precinct where the applicant receives messages (e.g., rescue mission) or the precinct in which the applicant‘s effective mailing address is located.

Source: Florida Division of Elections website, htt ps://doe.dos.state. fl.us/mythsFacts.shtml

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

NATION

A3

Black president but no Black agenda Grassroots activists struggling to motivate African-Americans to vote this time around

and had such high hopes.”

Stressing the alternatives

BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

With Black unemployment rates still stuck in double digits while Whites remain consistently below the national average, economic frustration and suffering in the Black community is making it difficult for grassroots organizers to motivate people to the polls Nov. 6.

“We are in crisis,” says Baltimore Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant, whose Empowerment Movement is holding a “Code Red” conference Aug. 15-17 at the Empowerment Temple where he pastors.

“In 2008, we were excited to see a Black man running for president. But we were so excited by the prospects of a Black president that we failed to establish a Black agenda.”

Why Obama?

Bryant says President Obama is simply “not motivating Black people to go to the polls” and he has found that many who are planning to vote “can’t even articulate why” they will vote for the candidate they’ve chosen.

Blacks turned out for Obama at a record 98 percent four years ago.

This time around doesn’t appear so certain as the frustration appears pervasive and Black leaders are struggling to create a sense of urgency.

Lee Saunders, the first Black president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, made it plain before a packed house with hundreds of activists and youths last week at the A. Philip Randolph Institute National Education Conference in Downtown D.C.

Uphill battle “Sisters and brothers, make no mistake about it. We’ve got to work like hell and re-elect Barack

SUSA TUSA/DETROIT FREE NEWS/MCT

R&B singer Usher Raymond helped to kick off a voter registration drive in Detroit on Aug. 21, 2008. With him was hip-hop legend Doug E. Fresh. Activists say they’re struggling this year to get Blacks motivated to vote again for President Obama.

Obama as our president in November,” he said. Saying that Mitt Romney has sent jobs to other countries, exploited tax loopholes while refusing to show his tax returns, and wants to give tax breaks to millionaires, Saunders told the applauding audience, “Sisters and brothers we’ve got to make sure that the only way that Mitt Romney gets into that White House is that he stands in that line with everybody else and he’s on a tour.”

Both young and seasoned grassroots activists interviewed at the conference expressed the uphill battle they face.

“A lot of our young people are actually not real excited about this election. They feel that there were some things that should have changed or should have happened over the last four years that didn’t, so they really don’t feel the need to get out and vote,” says Jessica Brown of Tampa, national field coordinator for Black Youth Vote, a program for the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP).

Getting creative She says she tries to inspire her youthful peers by telling them that it’s not just about the presidential election but even trickles down to state and local leaders. “We really try to teach them about what voting is and bring it home literally to their communities.”

But their frustration links to real life says, William C. Kellibrew IV, who manages Black Youth Vote as deputy director of NCBCP. “Young people are out of work right now.

You can go to any city and find 50 percent unemployment rate or over 40 percent unemployment rate for young people, so it’s a huge issue and they’re looking for jobs at this point. So, who’s going to be creating jobs at this point?”

In Florida, with its infamous history of voter disenfranchisement, African-American activists are being creative in their get out to vote efforts.

Unity Campaign Salandra Benton, manager of the Unity Campaign in Florida, says other than jobs, a major con-

cern is the number of convicted felons who have not received the restoration of their voting rights.

“We’re also encouraging those people who have felonies and cannot vote to take five [registered] people to the polls to vote,” she said.

The Unity Campaign is a partnership between the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an organization of African-American trade unionists, and the NCBCP. Letetia Jackson of Alabama, manager of the Unity Campaign nationally, says the effort is targeting 14 states where African-Americans can make a specific impact.

“We understand that people had high expectations and there’s still a lot of hurt,” Jackson said. She specifically described Black males who have lost jobs and can’t feed their families; also the loss of Black wealth through the housing foreclosures.

“I don’t think the national agenda is talking about the pain that’s being felt in these communities with our voters, our constituencies, and our people that turned out in such large numbers in 2008

Despite the positives, such as health care reform, there is still much to be done Jackson said.

Jackson says the Unity Campaign attempts to motivate people by educating them about the alternatives.

“We talk to them about what’s at stake, about the issues, what the alternatives are, how we have to continue the growth and the changes that we started in 2008. It doesn’t end with just one election and let them know really and truly the alternative is so much worse,” she said Compounding the voter apathy is the fact that many Black pastors have withdrawn their support for Obama because of his support for same-sex marriage, Bryant points out.

Churches withdraw support The Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative, says his organization has taken an informal poll of approximately 1,000 of its members and 23 percent say they will not support President Obama because of his support of gay marriage, the slow growth of jobs in the Black community and various issues pertaining to his use of the military.

“This is clear evidence the support for our beloved President Barack Obama is beginning to erode among Black churches and Black congregants,” Evans says. “Beyond him changing his position on gay marriage I don’t see anything that could turn this tide around.”

But if activists like Jackson has her way, African-Americans will at least go to the polls: “We have to make people understand that while we haven’t gotten everything we needed and everything we wanted, we still have an opportunity to fight and to improve our community. Things are just turning around so in the midst of things starting to turn around for us, we can’t change the game. We have to stay the course.”

EDITORIAL

A4

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

‘Our work is in the streets’ Editor’s note: The Final lives of the people of our Call newspaper published communities can be transformed, for it is written, this letter on July 26, 2012.

“Be ye not conformed to Dear Believers in Allah this world, but be ye transand Followers of the Hon- formed by the renewing of your minds.” orable Elijah Muhammad, The Honorable Elijah I am exceedingly grateful to the brothers of the Fruit of Muhammad’s teaching – Islam (F.O.I.) and the sisters Islam – placed love in our of the Muslim Girls Training hearts for our suffering (M.G.T) and General Civili- people and a desire to see zation Class (G.C.C.) who our communities made inanswered our call to go out to decent places for all of us into the streets, to the most to live.

The sisters of the M.G.T dangerous parts of the cities of America, to see if we and G.C.C. were the great can initiate a process of real supporters of the F.O.I. and had a tasty meal waiting for and meaningful change.

The message of the Hon- the brothers when they reorable Elijah Muhammad turned from the streets.

Soon, the sisters will be transformed our lives. The

No money offered

MIN. LOUIS FARRAKHAN THE NATION OF ISLAM

led into the streets to inspire our women to do that which will make us to be seen as a highly civilized, self-respecting and spiritual community of Believers in Allah (God). All of us will be coming together to help our communities to rise from their present state.

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: CAMPAIGN 2012

We desire for the world to know that we do not do these things for money, nor were we offered any money from any municipality to come out into the streets to try to stem the rising tide of violence. We came into the streets, and by the Grace of Allah (God) will stay in the streets out of the love that we have for our people and our desire to serve them.

It is written in the Holy Qur’an, “Do no favor seeking gain.” Do the favor or good work and the gain will come. We do not do what we do seeking any honor or praise, for all honor and praise belongs to Almighty God Allah.

Neither are we doing this for media attention, so I am asking that no minister or representative of the Nation of Islam give any interviews. Should not we be tired of talking? Let them interview our work and let our work speak for our noble motives.

Honor from God

NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 148 2012 Olympics – Loving it! Best way to watch? Online. You can pick little-known events not focusing on USA athletes and replay often.

FYI, I’m a 100-percent heterosexual male. I watch ANY event with women, even soccer. Most men, including me, are primitively and unapologetically fascinated by the mature (not little girlish) female body in motion – a fact wise wives and girlfriends already know. (We’d pay to watch you walk to the bathroom in your “draws.”)

And brothers, where else can you watch a glorious diversity of fine, athletic women from all over the world, in motion and many in skimpy clothing, without having to “make it rain?” (Sisters, don’t hate – I know they’re all serious athletes. But I’m still a MAN, dammit!)

My favorite events, in random order: trampoline (the greatest!), kayaking, handball, weightlifting, volleyball, cycling, gymnastics (high bar, rings, floor exercise) badminton, table tennis, pole vault, high jump (my event in college), sprints.

Finest women? Volleyballers; sprinters (Dawn Harper’s a favorite); pole vaulters; tennis players (Serena and Venus, who looked like old-school Jamaican dancehall star Patra in her dookie braids); synchronized swimmers; field hockey players.

Finest team? Dominican Republic women’s volleyball team, by far. My, my, my...

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

Who’s missing? African women’s teams.

Most African countries can’t prioritize funding and developing world-class teams.

Could you imagine a women’s beach and indoor volleyball team from Nigeria, or a synchronized swimming team from Ethiopia? Brothers would follow them from first competition to last...

We can only look; the athletes are taking action. According to England’s Daily Mail newspaper, this Olympics could be “the raunchiest games ever,” with the International Olympics Committee giving out 150,000 condoms during the 17 days of events – an average of 15 condoms per competitor. They should change the Olympic motto from “Faster, Higher, Stronger” to “Longer, Stronger, Safer”...Wonder if all the condoms are the same size?

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com; holler at me at www.facebook.com/ ccherry2; follow me on Twitter @ccherry2.

Opinions expressed on this editorial page are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of the newspaper or the publisher.

THE CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes that Americans can best lead the world away from racism and national antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person. The Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief...that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

W W W.FLCOURIER.COM Central Florida Communications Group, LLC, P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, Fl 33646, publishes the Florida Courier on Fridays. Phone: 877-3524455, toll-free. For all sales inquiries, call Lynnette Garcia, 877-352-4455 ext. 4; e-mail lgarcia@floridacourier.org.

Subscriptions to the print version are $59 per year. Mail check to 5207 Washington Blvd., Tampa, FL 33619, or log on to www.flcourier. com; click on ‘Subscribe’.

SUBMISSIONS POLICY SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO NEWS@FLCOURIER.COM. Deadline for submitting news and pictures is 5 p.m. the Monday before the Friday publication date. You may submit articles at any time.

However, current events received prior to deadline will be considered before any information that is submitted, without the Publisher’s prior approval, after the deadline. Press releases, letters to the editor, and guest commentaries must be e-mailed to be considered for publication. The Florida Courier reserves the right to edit any submission, and crop any photograph, for style and clarity. Materials will not be returned.

Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1929-2004), Founder Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Cassandra CherryKittles, Charles W. Cherry II, Managing Members Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Chief Executive Officer Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources Lynnette Garcia, Marketing Consultant/Sales Linda Fructuoso, Marketing Consultant/Sales, Circulation Angela VanEmmerik, Creative Director Chicago Jones, Eugene Leach, Louis Muhammad, Lisa Rogers-Cherry, Circulation Jenise Morgan, Senior Editor Starla Vaughns Cherin, Karin Davis-Thompson, James Harper, Andreas Butler, Ashley Thomas, Staff Writers Delroy Cole, Kim Gibson, Photojournalists MEMBER National Newspaper Publishers Association Society of Professional Journalists Florida Press Association Associated Press National Newspaper Association

There were good words written and spoken about our initial effort by members of the press, by members of the city government, by members of the police community and by the common people. Although we appreciate that, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to us, “Honor is never truly given until the work is done.” We have just started. So although we are grateful for the good words and thoughts, we must do the work and let the honor come from God. It is written in the New Testament, “Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Father which art in heaven.” If it is the Will of Allah (God), we will be going into the streets en masse every Monday, but also throughout the week into those areas which we touched on Monday to meet with the people and to set up local organizing committees made up of members of the community as we did for the Million Man March.

whom I spoke said, “Brother we do not have any money, we do not have any jobs; we do what we do just to survive.” I was deeply touched by this brother’s words and saw in him and so many others of our young men and women powerful leadership qualities.

We have to find that method that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said will make Muhammad Mosques the employment centers for our people.

In the very near future we hope to call all our pastors, and all our civic leaders and activists into the streets for our work is no longer in the mosques, the churches, the synagogues or our office buildings. We must all dedicate and devote time to the problem in the streets.

‘A beautiful people’ Our people are a beautiful people; all they need to bring out their true beauty is to be loved; and to be loved means to feed them the knowledge that will remove the blight of ignorance, which makes us the playground for the wicked (Satan).

The love that I am referring to is not this emotional feeling that is not accompanied by duty. I am referring to the awesome Power of Allah’s (God’s) Love that is bound up in His Word.

In the Book of John it reads, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…and that Word became flesh and dwelled among men.” The Word comes first, and the work to fulfill the Word comes next.

Then, we will see the vision that the Word gives us manifested into flesh or in reality.

Be dressed up

All F.O.I. must be in ‘Class A’ dress when we go to meet our people. I remember when I was young, on Saturday nights my Mother would make my brother and I bathe and clean up; and on Sunday morning we would put on our “Sunday go-to meeting-clothes” so that we may go to church to worship God. The Honorable Elijah We must be Muhammad said to us, consistent “Whenever you look at a One young man with Black man you are looking

at God.” Although this may sound strange, the Scriptures teach, “Ye are all gods, children of the Most High God.” In the Genesis of the Bible it teaches we are all made in the image and likeness of God. And in the Holy Qur’an, Adam (man and woman) are said to be Allah’s (God’s) “Khalifah” or vicegerent, which means we have the capacity or potential to stand in the place of God as good stewards over His Creation.

So when we go into our communities to look after our people, it is more precious, more meaningful, more righteous, more spiritual than going to church; for in our going to serve our people, that is the highest form of the worship of Allah (God).

Fast and wise In conclusion, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to me, “We must jump up and make a faster pace.”

In the Book of Proverbs, we are instructed to study the ways of the ant and become wise.

The person who is asked to study is called a sluggard.

A sluggard is a lazy person who loves much sleep, a procrastinator who puts up excuses for the doing of work; and one of the excuses that this lazy, trifling person puts up is, “I cannot go out because there is a lion in the streets.” Although our young people are like great young lions, yet we who say we love them must not be afraid to go out into the streets to serve them.

We all must be like the ant, working to produce the Kingdom of God that Jesus and Muhammad represented wherein we all would be able to live together on this earth in peace based on the principles of freedom, justice, equality and submission to do the will of Allah (God).

Best wishes for our continued success in serving our people. As-Salaam Alaikum.

Your Brother and Servant, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Servant to the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the West

The poverties of a decaying system A preview of new Census figures indicates that poverty in the United States will likely soon reach the highest levels in 50 years.

Now, some of you optimists out there are saying, “Well, there’s nowhere to go but up.” Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily true.

What I think is so depressing to many people about this particular historical juncture, is that there is absolutely nothing on the economic horizon on which even optimists can pin their hopes. There are no new industries on the verge of some huge explosion, no scientific breakthrough just around the corner. With education costs soaring, people can’t even hope to study themselves out of hard times.

Nothing sadder

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

parties have no ideas worth listening to, simply means that the Democrats and Republicans can no longer even pretend that they can serve the 1 percent and take care of the rest of us at the same time. There’s no need to despair – just direct your political energies, elsewhere.

In times of crisis – and capitalism is in terminal crisis – political decisions may come more easily. In recent months, we have experienced two “scandals of the century” – the mortgage robo-signing debacle, and the unfolding LIBOR interest rate rig-the-wholeworld scheme.

If these actually were scandals of the century, we could look forward to 200 straight years of clean banking.

However, when systems are in collapse, they produce an accelerating cascade of crises and scandals and emergencies of all kinds, each arriving more quickly than the last, and with greater severity. Like the old song said, “We’ve only just begun.”

It’s not a good time to be a child, because there is nothing sadder than growing up around adults who have themselves lost hope that our world will become a better place. It’s not a good time to be middle-aged, knowing that the Golden Age was 40 years ago, when the proportion of Americans in poverty was the lowest ever: only 11.1 percent. It’s expected to hit 15.7 percent under a president elected as an agent of Hope and Change.

But actually, there’s really nothing wrong with the world that a social revolu- Dramatic end This crisis of capitalism tion can’t fix. The fact that the two corporate political will be full of drama. At

the end of the story, we either get rid of the capitalist class or they bring the whole planet down with them. Along the way, the political choices get easier as the crisis becomes more acute. The Lords of Capital will make the process even simpler by their behavior; they’ll get meaner as their universe implodes.

One thing we do know: the Lords of Capital will never go broke, in the way normal people understand it. That’s because they don’t own things the way the rest of us do. Otherwise, how could there be hundreds of trillions of dollars in derivatives in a world that is only worth $75 trillion a year.

Who owes what to who, and where did it come from?

The intricacies of speculative hyper-capital become moot when you remove the speculating class.

Once the Lords of Capital are no longer the lords of anything, humanity gets another shot at rational development of the species and the planet. That’s the idea, anyway – to make a world in which its always a good time to be a child.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com. E-mail him at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

EDITORIAL

A5

The America we believe in Editor’s note: Here are excerpts from President Obama’s speech to the National Urban League’s annual convention in New Orleans on July 25.

recognize the traditions of gun ownership that passed on from generation to generation – that hunting and shooting are part of a cherished national heritage.

Hello, Urban League! And it’s good to be in “the Big Easy.”

For nearly a century, the National Urban League has been inspiring people of every race and every religion and every walk of life to reach for the dream that lies at the heart of our founding – the promise that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you came from, no matter how modest your beginnings, no matter what the circumstances of your birth, here in America, you can make it if you try.

Of course, this dream has never come easy. That’s why the Urban League was formed. In the aftermath of the Civil War...waves of men and women who traveled north to urban centers discovered that...opportunity was not guaranteed. It was something you had to work for, something you had to fight for – not just on your own, but side-by-side with people who believed in that same dream.

And so the White widow of a railroad tycoon and a Black social worker from Arkansas founded what would become the Urban League, to strengthen our cities and our communities brick by brick, and block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood, life by life.

Gun owners agree

‘I understood’ Decades later, I arrived in one of those cities my hometown of Chicago. (South Side!) And I was driven by this same cause. Like many of my classmates, I felt, I understood, the pull of a hefty paycheck that might come from a more conventional job.

But ultimately the pull to serve was even stronger. So I moved to the South Side of Chicago, and I took a job with a group of churches, mostly Catholic parishes, working to help families who had no place to turn when the local steel plants shut down, and when panic-peddling had led to enormous turnover in these communities. And we worked with laypeople and local leaders to rebuild neighborhoods and improve schools, and most of all, to broaden opportunity for young people, too many who were at risk.

And I confess that progress didn’t come quickly and it did not come easily. Sometimes, it didn’t come at all. There were times where I thought about giving up and moving on.

But what kept me going, day in and day out, was the same thing that has sustained the Urban League all these years, the same thing that sustains all of you, and that is the belief that in America, change is always possible; that our union may not be perfect, but it is perfectible; that we can strive over time through effort and sweat and blood and tears until it is the place we imagine. It may come in fits and starts, at a pace that can be slow and frustrating. But if we are willing to push through all the doubt and the cynicism and the weariness, then, yes, we can form that more perfect union...

Hard work should pay off We’re not a nation of people who are looking for handouts. We certainly don’t like bailouts. We don’t believe government should be in the business of helping people who refuse to help themselves, and we recognize not every government program works.

But we do expect hard work to pay off. We do expect responsibility to be rewarded. We do expect that if you put in enough effort, you should be able to find a job that pays the bills.

You should be able to own a home you call your own...to retire in dignity and respect...to afford the security of health care... to give your kids the best possible education...

That idea that everyone should have equal opportunity – that’s what brought me to Chicago. That belief that this country works best when we are growing a strong middle class and prosperity is broad-based – that’s what led me into politics. And it is those values that have guided every decision that I have made as president of the United States.

Now, today we’re battling our way back from a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis... When I took office, we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs a month. Our auto industry was on the brink of collapse. Factories were boarding up their windows. We’d gone through almost a decade in which job growth had

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

been sluggish, incomes had declined, costs were going up – all culminating in the financial system coming close to a breakdown.

Things are better Today, three and a half years later, we’ve had 28 straight months of private sector job growth. Three and a half years later, the auto industry has come roaring back.

Three and a half years later, companies are beginning to bring thousands of jobs back to American soil.

We still have much more work to do...what’s holding us back from meeting these challenges is not a lack of ideas or solutions...

What’s holding us back is a stalemate in Washington between two fundamentally different views about which path we should take as a country. And it’s up to the American people to decide what direction we should go...

I believe that strong communities are places that attract the best jobs and the newest businesses. And you don’t build that kind of community by giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. You build it by giving tax breaks to companies that create jobs in Detroit and in Cleveland and in Chicago and right here in New Orleans, right here in America – using American workers, making American products that we sell around the world, stamped with three proud words – “Made In America.”

Small businesses critical You build it by investing in America’s manufacturing base and providing the dollars for research so that we have the most advanced products in the world.

You do it by investing in small businesses – the way we’ve provided 18 tax breaks to small businesses since I’ve been in office.

And if you’re a company that wants to relocate in a community that’s been particularly hard hit when a factory left town, I believe you should get help financing that new plant or equipment, or training for your workers – because we can’t leave anybody behind if we want to grow America the way it can grow.

We also believe that every entrepreneur should have the chance to start a business...That’s why we’ve supported financing and assistance and exporting to small businesses across the board... (and) helped African-American businesses and minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses gain access to more than $7 billion in contracts and financing – that allowed them to grow and create jobs.

That’s why we’ve emphasized helping our veterans create small businesses – because if they fought for us, they shouldn’t have to fight to get financing...for a job...for a roof over their heads when they come home. ...(S)trong communities are places where people can afford to buy what their local businesses sell...Today, taxes are $3,600 lower for the typical family than they were when I came into office.

(M)ore than 2 million AfricanAmerican families – are better off thanks to our extension of the child care tax credit and the earned income tax credit – because nobody who works hard in America should be poor in America. That’s how strong communities are built...(W) hen working folks have money in their pockets, businesses do well because they’ve got customers, and all of us grow.

Parents, early education ...If this country is about anything, it’s about passing on even greater opportunity to the next generation. And we know that has to start before a child even walks into the classroom. It starts at

home with parents who are willing to read to their children, and spend time with their children – and instill a sense of curiosity and love of learning and a belief in excellence that will last a lifetime.

But it also begins with an early childhood education, which is why we’ve invested more in childcare, and in programs like Early Head Start and Head Start that help prepare our young people for success... ...(W)e challenged every state in the country to raise their standards for teaching and for learning...We have seen the biggest transformation in terms of school reform in a generation, and we’ve helped some of the country’s lowest-performing schools make real gains in reading and math, including here in New Orleans.

We’ve made it our mission to make a higher education more affordable for every American who wants to go to school...That’s why we’ve fought to make college more affordable for an additional 200,000 African-American students by increasing Pell grants. That’s why we’ve strengthened this nation’s commitment to our community colleges, and to our HBCUs.

New initiative That’s why...I’m establishing the first-ever White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African-Americans – so that every child has greater access to a complete and competitive education from the time they’re born all through the time they get a career.

And that’s why we’re pushing all colleges and universities to cut their costs – because we can’t keep asking taxpayers to subsidize skyrocketing tuition. A higher education in the 21st century cannot be a luxury. It is a vital necessity that every American should be able to afford. I want all these young people to be getting a higher education, and I don’t want them loaded up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just to get an education... ...(T)hat means all of you all have got to hit the books...Don’t cheer and then you didn’t do your homework. Because that’s part of the bargain...America says we will give you opportunity, but you’ve got to earn your success.

You’re competing against young people in Beijing and Bangalore. They’re not hanging out.... They’re not playing video games. They’re not watching “Real Housewives.”...You’ve got to earn success. (That wasn’t in my prepared remarks. But I’m just saying.)

Helping homeowners (S)trong communities are places where you and your family can work and save and buy your home. That’s why we’ve helped more than a million responsible homeowners – these are folks who were making their payments – refinance their mortgages at these historically low rates, saving thousands of dollars every year.

Because people who did everything right shouldn’t pay the price for somebody else’s irresponsibility. So now we want to expand that refinancing opportunity to every homeowner who’s making their payments on time. ...(L)et’s put construction workers back on the job...not only rebuilding roads and bridges and ports, but also rehabilitating homes in communities that have been hit by foreclosures, businesses that have been hit hardest by the housing crisis...It raises property values, and it strengthens the economy of the entire nation. ...(W)e believe that in the richest nation on Earth, you shouldn’t go broke when you get sick. And after a century of trying, and a de-

cision now from the highest court in the land, healthcare reform is here to stay...

Insurance companies will no longer be able to discriminate against those who are sick. Prescription drug prices will be lower for our seniors. We’re going to close that “doughnut hole.” Young people will be able to stay on their parent’s insurance until they’re 26 years old. Thirty million Americans without health insurance will finally know the security of affordable care...

Three pillars Good jobs, quality schools, affordable health care, affordable housing – these are all the pillars upon which communities are built. And yet, we’ve been reminded recently that all this matters little if these young people can’t walk the streets of their neighborhood safely; if we can’t send our kids to school without worrying they might get shot; if they can’t go to the movies without fear of violence lurking in the shadows.

Our hearts break for the victims of the massacre in Aurora. We pray for those who were lost and we pray for those who loved them. We pray for those who are recovering with courage and with hope. And we also pray for those who succumb to the less-publicized acts of violence that plague our communities in so many cities across the country every single day. We can’t forget about that. ...(E)very day and a half, the number of young people we lose to violence is about the same as the number of people we lost in that movie theater. For every Columbine or Virginia Tech, there are dozens gunned down on the streets of Chicago and Atlanta, and here in New Orleans. For every Tucson or Aurora, there is daily heartbreak over young Americans shot in Milwaukee or Cleveland. Violence plagues the biggest cities...the smallest towns. It claims the lives of Americans of different ages and different races, and it’s tied together by the fact that these young people had dreams and had futures that were cut tragically short.

And when there is an extraordinarily heartbreaking tragedy like the one we saw, there’s always an outcry immediately after for action. And there’s talk of new reforms, and there’s talk of new legislation...those efforts are defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere...

Taking action (W)e’ve been able to take some actions on our own, recognizing that it’s not always easy to get things through Congress these days. The background checks conducted on those looking to purchase firearms are now more thorough and more complete...

(T)he federal government is now in the trenches with communities and schools and law enforcement and faith-based institutions, with outstanding mayors like Mayor Nutter and Mayor Landrieu – recognizing that we are stronger when we work together.

We’re partnering with local officials to reduce crime, using best practices...we’ve been able to help connect more young people to summer jobs so that they spend less time on the streets... we’re helping communities set up youth prevention and intervention programs that steer young people away from a life of gang violence, and towards the safety and promise of a classroom...

Other steps to reduce violence have been met with opposition in Congress...particularly when it touches on the issues of guns. I... believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. And we

But I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals – that they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities. I believe the majority of gun owners would agree that we should do everything possible to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons; that we should check someone’s criminal record before they can check out a gun seller; that a mentally unbalanced individual should not be able to get his hands on a gun so easily. These steps shouldn’t be controversial. They should be common sense.

So I’m going to continue to work...to arrive at a consensus around violence reduction – not just of gun violence, but violence at every level...looking at everything we can do to reduce violence and keep our children safe – from improving mental health services for troubled youth – to instituting more effective community policing strategies. ...(E)ven as we debate government’s role, we have to understand that when a child opens fire on another child, there’s a hole in that child’s heart that government alone can’t fill.

It’s up to us...to make sure our young people don’t have that void inside them...to spend more time with them, to pay more attention to them, to show them more love so that they learn to love themselves – so that they learn to love one another, so that they grow up knowing what it is to walk a mile in somebody else’s shoes and to view the world through somebody else’s eyes. It’s up to us to provide the path toward a life worth living; toward a future that holds greater possibility than taking offense because somebody stepped on your sneakers.

‘Big Easy’ knows (T)his proud city and those who call it home, they know something about hardship...But what this city also knows is resilience, and determination, and heroism...(O) ne person I want to end with is... the superintendent of schools in St. Bernard’s Parish, Doris Voitier.

Now, when Katrina’s waters rose, Doris and the faculty and staff of Chalmette High School saved the lives of hundreds of their neighbors, many of them old and sick, by moving them to shelter in the school’s second floor...

Of that first night she said, “There were no riots; there were no disruptions; there were just hundreds of people just like you and the person sitting next to you, in the blink of an eye, having lost everything they had worked for over their entire lifetimes, who now looked to us for rescue. And we accepted that responsibility because that’s what school people do.” ...(I’ve) discovered is that’s not just what school people do...

That’s what Americans, at their best, do...

Hasn’t been easy For more than two centuries, our journey has never been easy, and our victories have never come quickly. And we have faced our share of struggles and setbacks and climbs that have seemed too steep – just like we do today.

But we know what we’re fighting for. We can see the America we believe in –- a country where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share, where everybody is playing by the same set of rules. And if we don’t keep fighting as hard as we know how for that America, if we don’t keep fighting for better jobs and better schools and a better future, who will?

That’s our challenge. We don’t quit. Folks in New Orleans didn’t quit. Americans don’t quit. We accept responsibility. We keep on going...keep marching...keep moving forward. Failure is not an option. This is not a time for cynics...for doubters. It is time for believers. It is time for folks who have faith in the future.

I still believe in you. And if you still believe in me, I ask you to stand with me, march with me, fight with me. And as I do, I promise we will finish what we started, turn this economy around, seize our future, and remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth.

Source: The White House

FLORIDA

TOj A6

august 10 – AUGUST 16, 2012

State sees spike in ‘no party’ voters 4.6 million Democrats, 4.1 million Republicans as Florida heads into Aug. 14 primary

BY DAVID ROYSE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Just under 4.6 million Democrats and about 4.1 million Republicans are registered to vote in Florida’s Aug. 14 primary, according to final registration figures from the Division of Elections.

Registration for those wanting to cast a ballot in the primary closed July 16, but official figures weren’t tallied until late last week.

The book closing statistics also show just under 2.4 million Florida voters registered with no party affiliation.

The only other significant parties in terms of numbers are the Independent Party of Florida, with 258,968 voters and the Independence Party of Florida with 55,945. The Libertarian Party has 17,708 voters and the Green Party 5,622.

Interesting trends While Democrats have been out-registering Republicans in recent months, and lead the GOP in numbers of registered voters, the current registration figures also show some longterm trends that are interesting.

Backing up conventional wisdom, registration for the Democratic Party in Florida peaked in 2008 before the election of Barack Obama. Democrats numbered nearly 4.9 million in the state that year, but that figure dropped off, sinking to 4.61 million by the 2010 election, down to the current figure of 4,581,056.

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Supporters of Barack Obama erupt as CNN shows Obama the winner during the Democratic Party of Orange County election night celebration on Nov. 4, 2008. Florida primary election. Democrats numbered nearly 4.9 million in the state that year, but that figure dropped off, sinking to 4.61 million by the 2010 election, down to the current figure of 4,581,056.

By contrast, Republicans have largely held steady for a few years. As of book closing for this year’s primary, there were 4,137,890 registered Republicans in Florida, nearly the same as

Resignation prompts more FCAT criticism Critics of test see Robinson stepping down as opening for change

BY BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – With Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson resigning in the wake of a series of public-relations miscues and grading mistakes surrounding Florida’s high-stakes testing and accountability regime, critics are sensing an opening to change the direction of the school-reform movement in Florida.

Lawmakers and parent organizations who want the state to focus less on FCAT results in evaluating schools are trying to Gerard use the search for a replacement Robinson for Robinson – who has resigned to spend more time with his family – as a reason to re-evaluate the system he oversaw.

“It’s a chance to throw out the old status quo of high-stakes testing and look at what might be best for kids and make some changes,” said Kathleen Oropeza, one of the founders of Fund Education Now, an advocacy group.

Collapse in scores Rep. Perry Thurston, a Plantation Democrat set to lead his party in the next legislative session, was more blunt.

“The FCAT has failed students, teachers, and our state,” he said in a statement responding to Robinson’s resignation. “A new state education commissioner can help Florida install a better and broader education accountability system for every school receiving taxpayer dollars that takes into account all the things students and teachers accomplish throughout the year.”

Robinson’s tenure was marked by a major collapse in FCAT writing scores, blamed on increased standards, and a revision to school grades that changed the marks for more than 200 schools after the grades were released.

Letters of discontent The PTA has pressed members to send emails to Gov. Rick Scott encouraging him and state Board of Education members to appoint “a Commissioner of Education who values a wellrounded, high quality public education and reduces the emphasis on high-stakes testing.”

The emails have poured into Scott’s inbox.

Another form email of unclear origin that has shown up several times in Scott’s inbox –

in 2008, when there were 4,106,743 GOP voters in the state.

More NPAs, others No party affiliation vot-

ers, or NPAs, and “other” parties have seen a spike, particularly when looking at the full last decade.

Election officials say going into this year’s primary there are 2,385,323 no

party voters. They won’t be able to vote in the primary elections in most cases.

Counting the minor parties in addition to the NPAs, there are just over 2.7 million voters who

aren’t Democrats or Republicans. That’s up from 2.5 million in 2008, about 2.2 million in 2004 and just 1.7 million “other” candidates a decade ago.

which can be publicly viewed on the governor’s Sunburst email system - hits many of the same notes.

“Commissioner Robinson’s resignation will not quiet the discontent of Floridians for current politically-driven reform efforts,” the letter begins.

Serious discussion Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who also serves as CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, is not as critical of the FCAT as some other Democrats but still said the state should re-evaluate the test regardless of Robinson’s decision.

“Let’s have a serious discussion about, is this the best approach?” he said.

Even Scott recently questioned in off-the-cuff remarks whether Florida might “test too much,” though he hasn’t elaborated on that thought since, and hasn’t made any suggestion that he is likely to push for a major change in that area.

But Republicans seem unlikely to budge from the reform effort that has formed the backbone of their education agenda since former Gov. Jeb Bush pushed accountability during his tenure.

And Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future remains influential in school debates in the Legislature.

Overhaul under way Patricia Levesque, executive director of the foundation, praised Robinson and the state’s high-stakes testing model in a statement following the commissioner’s resignation.

“He kept Florida an education-reform model for the nation,” Levesque said. “Under his leadership, Florida pushed forward with important improvements to its standards and accountability system to better prepare students for success.”

An overhaul of the state’s testing system is already on the way as Florida and other states move toward a more standardized curriculum.

But the idea of testing as a major barometer for schools is still endorsed by Republicans, and at least one key lawmaker says the state shouldn’t dump the FCAT in the meantime.

“This is an opportunity to take a breath and renew our commitment to the FCAT done right,” said Sen. David Simmons, a Maitland Republican who chairs the panel that oversees school funding.

Need ‘skills and vision’ While he didn’t question the reasons for Robinson’s resignation, Simmons said the change “gives us an opportunity to put those mistakes behind us and move on.”

As for what the state should look for in its next commissioner, Simmons suggested the state make sure that the person is able to fill the dual roles of running the Department of Education and advising state leaders on policy.

“Obviously, we need somebody with both management skills and vision,” he said.

And Montford said it should be someone familiar with the landscape in Florida.

“We’re moving so fast ... we can’t afford the luxury of someone coming in and learning on the job,” he said.

FILE PHOTO

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll is shown during an interview with the Florida Courier.

Carroll on trade mission to homeland NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll leads a trade delegation to the country of her birth, Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday. Officials from 27 companies in 23 industries will accompany Carroll on the trip to the Carib-

Supreme Court to hear lesbian in-vitro case in October The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments Oct. 2 in a possibly first-of-its-kind case pitting two lesbian partners who used in-vitro fertilization to have a child but later ended their relationship.

The case could be unprecedented in Florida because the fertilized

bean island nation.

“As the first Trinidadian-American elected to statewide office, I am especially honored to return as Trinidad celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence,” Carroll said in a statement. “However, I am most pleased to return to the country of my birth in my official capacity as Florida’s lieutenant governor with the sole purpose of strengthening our shared economic interests.”

There are about 40,000 Trinidadians in Florida, it is No. 23 on the list of largest trading partners with the state. In 2011, bilateral trade between Florida and Trinidad and Tobago totaled $1.9 billion, a 24.1 percent increase in bilateral trade over the previous year. egg of one woman was implanted in her then-partner, who gave birth. A legal battle over parental rights began when the woman who gave birth stopped allowing her former partner to have contact with the child – at one point even taking the child to Australia.

The 5th District Court of Appeal last year ruled that the woman who provided the fertilized egg should have parental rights, which led to the dispute going to the Supreme Court. The case has drawn attention from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, which have submitted briefs urging justices to uphold the appeals-court ruling.

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD August 10 - August 16, 2012

IFE/FAITH

Mary J. Blige among artists scheduled in Florida this month See page B2

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

The scoop on making ice cream treats at home See page B4

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA www.flcourier.com

|

SECTION

B

Celebrating Ramadan Muslims around the world honor the ninth month of the lunar calendar with fasting and prayer. We take a closer look at this Islamic observance.

WHAT IS RAMADAN? This year, 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide will take part in Ramadan.

The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Ramadan is the time when, many Muslims believe, the angel Jibril (Gabriel) began his revelations to the prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. These revelations became the Quran, the Islamic holy scripture.

During Ramadan, Muslims seek to deepen their faith by abstaining from worldly pleasures — including eating, drinking and smoking — from sunrise to sunset.

Exemptions from fasting are made for people who are sick, pregnant or nursing. Children are not required to fast until puberty.

Like Lent for Christians and Yom Kippur for the Jewish, Ramadan is also a time of contemplation and introspection.

It is a time to make sure one is following the will of Allah (God).

In addition to praying, fasting and studying the Quran, Muslims spend more time with friends and family, especially at evening meals when they break the fast.

COMMON PRACTICES During Ramadan, Muslims typically wake up before dawn to have suhoor, a pre-fast meal.

It consists of plenty of fluids, fruits, grains and other foods that are harder to digest and will sustain them throughout the day.

Even if they do not eat a full meal, Muslims are encouraged to follow in the tradition of Muhammad and at least drink some water and eat a date. Following suhoor, Muslims say fajr, the morning prayer, and begin their fast. Following a day of fasting, families break the fasting together with an evening meal following sunset and the adhan, a call to prayer.

Following the meal the adhan is said again, followed by the Salat al-Taraweeh, the night prayer. Often following the prayers, the Quran will be recited. During Ramadan, the Quran is broken into 30 sections so the faithful can read the entire Quran by the end of the month.

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL

A young boy looks across the crowd of bowing Muslims during the Eid prayer observance, commemorating the end of the Ramadan holiday, at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando.

EID UL-FITR

FIVE PILLARS

Ramadan culminates in a three-day festival, Eid ul-Fitr (EED al-FITTER) “the Feast of Fast Breaking,” which marks the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Islamic year.

The day begins with prayer that takes place in a community gathering at a mosque or outdoors. The fajr, morning prayer, is followed by the Takbiir, which is repeated until the Eid prayer is said.

Before the Eid prayer, people are required to participate in the third pillar of Islam, almsgiving, by contributing zakat al-fitr, which is a measure of grain for each person. Typically people donate enough food for another person’s meal, or the monetary equivalent.

The donations are then given to the poor. Following zakat alfitr, there is a sermon, the khutba.

At Eid ul-Fitr, people purchase new clothing or wear their best while celebrating with friends and family.

Decorations are put up at homes and children receive money from relatives.

The religion of Islam is grounded on Five Pillars: Declaration of Faith (Shahadah) Every Muslim states the phrase, “There is no deity but God (Allah) and that Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Prayer (Salat) Muslims pray five times a day facing Mecca — at dawn, at noon, in mid-afternoon, after sunset and at nightfall. Since there is no hierarchy or priesthood in Islam, a person is chosen in the group to lead prayer.

Almsgiving (Zakat) Almsgiving can be in the form of money or food but Muslims are required to donate as a form of “social responsibility and service to God.” It is usually 2.5 percent of a person’s wealth.

Fasting (Sawm) During the ninth month of the lunar year, Ramadan, Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink, tobacco, gum and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset.

Pilgrimage (Hajj) At least one pilgrimage to Mecca — Islam’s holiest city, which is located in Saudi Arabia — is required of all Muslims who are physically and financially able to take the trip during their lifetime.

— Beth Ward, McClatchy-Tribune

MCT

For many Muslims the food of Ramadan reflects cuisine from Islamic countries including India, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

TERMS TO KNOW ■ Suhoor (Soo hore): The pre-fast meal before dawn.

■ Iftar: The evening meal and prayer during Ramadan.

■ Halal: Means “released” and pertains to what is allowed, specifically when it comes to food.

■ Haram: Means “forbidden for sacred reasons.”

■ Zakat: Stands for purification; Muslims give up a portion of their wealth in excess of what is needed for sustenance to “purify” or legitimize what they retain.

■ Zakat al-fitr (ZA-kot alFITTER): The contribution given at the end of Ramadan.

■ Lailat-al-Qadr (LAY-LA-

tool-KA-dar): Means “night of power” or “night of destiny.” It marks the night the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad.

■ Takbiir (TAK-beer): The morning prayer recited during Eid ul-Fitr.

■ Imam (ee-mahm): The prayer leader.

■ Mecca: The holiest city in Islam, located in Saudi Arabia about 80 kilometers (49.6 miles) from the Red Sea coast at 21 degrees 29 minutes north latitude and 39 degrees 45 minutes east longitude. When Muslims pray they are supposed to face Mecca and can use a compass to find its direction.

COMMON PHRASES Here are some common phrases heard during Ramadan: ■ Eid Mubarak: “Have a happy and blessed Eid ul-Fitr.” (Universal) ■ Kullu am wa antum bikhair: “May you be well throughout the year.” (Arabic)

■ Atyab at-tihani bi-munasabat hulul shahru Ramadan al-Mubarak: “The most precious congratulations on the occasion of the coming Ramadan.” (Arabic) ■ Elveda, ey Ramazan: “Farewell, O Ramadan.” (Turkish)

LUNAR CALENDAR While Americans typically follow the Gregorian calendar, the Islamic calendar is lunar — days begin at sunset rather than sunrise.

A lunar year has 354 days rather then 365. While it still has 12 months, each month is 29 or 30 days, and the start of each new month is marked by the hilal, crescent moon.

Since the Islamic calendar is shorter, the dates of Islamic holidays change every year, even

though they have a set date on the Islamic calendar.

Each year the holidays are 11 days earlier. It takes approximately 35 years to complete the lunar cycle. Every Muslim will experience Ramadan in the winter, when the days are shorter, and summer, where the days are longer and fasting is harder. This cycle evenly distributes the difficulty of the fast for Muslims living in the northern and southern hemispheres.

SALEEMA N. SYED/MCT

The Quba Mosque, just outside Medina, Saudia Arabia, was the first mosque built in the history of Islam.

SOURCES: COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, HOLIDAYS.NET, WIKIPEDIA.ORG, HTTP://COLOSTATE.EDU/ORGS/MSA/EVENTS/RAMADAN.HTML, “THE CONCISE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAM” BY CYRIL GLASSE, “ISLAM” BY PAUL LUNDE, McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS, HTTP://WWW.BOULDER.LIB.CO.US/YOUTH/HOLIDAYS/RAMADAN.

S

CALENDAR

B2

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

S

SHAWN AND MARLON WAYANS

Shawn and Marlon Wayans will be at the Palm Beach Improv on Sep. 7 for an 8 p.m. show.

Fort Lauderdale: The Rootz Foundation Inc. along with the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation Department will host a Marcus Garvey Birthday Extravaganza – 125th anniversary celebration Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at Joseph Carter Park.

Hialeah: Over 25 bands will be in attendance along with music by the Pantastic Steel Orchestra, Silver Stars USA and over 10 top deejays during a celebration of cultures to mark the anniversaries of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago on Aug. 26 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., at Hialeah Park - 2200 East 4th Ave. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door and at Caribbean outlets.

Lauderhill: A 20/20 Cricket match between the Jamaica National Team vs.

Trinidad & Tobago National Team will be held at Central Broward Regional Park Aug. 11 at 6 p.m. More information: Susan Davis 954-6482800.

Fort Lauderdale: Xernona Clayton, president and CEO of the Trumpet Awards, will be the luncheon speaker at the Women of Color Empowerment Conference on Aug. 11 at the Urban League of Broward County’s Community Empowerment Center, 560 NW 27th Ave. More information about the free conference, call 954345-7745.

Fort Lauderdale: Rapper Yo Gotti will be in concert at Revolution Live in on Aug. 17 for a 10 p.m. show.

MARY J. BLIGE Mary J. Blige and D’Angelo are scheduled at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Aug. 30.

REGGIE WATTS

Reggie Watts and T.J. Miller will be at the UCF Arena Orlando Aug. 21 for an 8 p.m. show.

Miami: The King’s Men Tour with Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Donnie McClurkin and Israel Houghton is scheduled at the American Airlines Arena on Sept. 30.

Miami: The Art of Bellydance Studio presents “A World of Dance” showcasing Middle Eastern dance and other world dance forms Aug. 12 from 7 p.m.10 p.m. Venue: 1431 Alton Road. More information: www.artofbellydanceflorida. com.

Vero Beach: The Christian Student Fellowship at

Indian River State College is hosting a 10th anniversary celebration and fundraising banquet. It is Sept. 21 at the college’s Richardson Center on the Mueller Campus. Seating is limited.

Tickets are $20. More information: Elsie Mokoban at 772-559-8325 or emokoban@aol.com.

Miami: The Children’s Trust 2012 After-School Programs Guide is available online at www. thechildrentrust.org and in all Miami-Dade Winn-Dixie stores. The information also can be accessed by calling

211, the Children’s Trust helpline.

Fort Lauderdale: Live jazz, blues, pop and everything in between along Hollywood’s signature 2.5 mile Broadwalk is every Friday of every month. More information: 954-924-2980.

Hollywood: The “Guess Who’s Back” tour featuring comedian Chris Tucker will stop at Hard Rock Live Hollywood on Aug. 10 for an 8 p.m. show.

Fort Lauderdale: A threehour cooking class with

professionally trained chefs is scheduled at City College Fort Lauderdale, 2000 W. Commercial Blvd. The class is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. MondaySaturday. Cost: $39.99 per person per class. More information: 954-703-6745 or www.chef954.com.

Boca Raton: An open mic night for 18 and up featuring comedy, poetry and music is held every Monday at the Funky Biscuit in the back of Royal Palm Plaza, 303 SE Mizner Blvd. Signup is at 8 p.m. The show begins at 8:30 p.m. More information: Richy Lala

561-512-8472.

Miami: Miami-Dade County hosts a Downtown Harvest Market every Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Residents and visitors have the opportunity to purchase seasonal produce directly from Miami-Dade growers at the Stephen P. Clark Center’s Courtyard, 111 NW 1st St. More information: www. earth-learning.org.

Miami: Tickets are on sale for a show featuring Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez at the American Airlines Arena on Aug. 31.

‘Some of My Best Friends’ explores integration in America DR. GLENN C. ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Review of “Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America.’’ By Tanner Colby. Viking. 294 pp. $27.95.

Born in 1968 in Richmond, Va., Vann Graves learned from his father (who had gone to jail for desegregating lunch counters and moved his family to a White neighborhood so that his children could attend a good public school) that he would have to “run faster, work harder and aim higher just to be considered average.

You can’t make everything about race, even if it is.”

Throughout his career in advertising, Graves has embraced race as a blessing and a burden. On lily-white Madison Avenue, he experienced plenty of slights and affronts, including directives not to meet with a client, or make a pitch. On the other hand, some colleagues reached out to help and became friends.

“In this business,” he realized, “only networking with other African-Americans is like me networking with myself.” Last year Graves became the highest-ranking Black creative in the history of McCann Erickson.

Tracing ‘color line’ in four places The “take-away,” according to Tanner Colby, is that although affirmative action has provided access to education and jobs, “real opportunity” (in a nation where Blacks constitute 11 percent of the population, earn 6.5 percent of personal income, and control 0.7 percent of total wealth) necessitates accumulating white social capital and “assimilating with the majority.”

BOOK REVIEW

In “Some of My Best Friends Are Black,’’ Colby, who has written biographies of comedians John Belushi and Chris Farley, traces the “color line” in four places he has lived and worked – a “white flight” high school in Birmingham, Ala.; a neighborhood in Kansas City fighting housing discrimination; advertising agencies; and a Catholic parish in Louisiana, contemplating the merger of a Black church and a White church – in an effort to understand “the mistakes that were made in trying to take it down.”

Colby’s case studies illuminate the lived experience of Blacks and Whites.

He indicates, for example, that at Vestavia High School in the early ’90s all but two of the Black students (the daughter of a teacher and a superstar athlete) were bused in from Oxmoor.

Met with hostility and “tracked” into lower level classes, they gravitated to the Black table in the cafeteria – and middle-class Black parents turned to John Carroll, a Catholic school, and Ramsay, Birmingham’s public magnet school, which had a sufficiently large Black population to be “culturally comfortable.”

‘Squabbling over loose change’ Colby demonstrates as well that redlining and racial covenants kept Blacks from participating in the “suburban land grab,” a great engine of wealth creation. And that Martin Luther King, Jr. was right: 11 a.m. on Sunday, when the Holy Sabbath is celebrated, is the most segregated hour in the United States.

Solutions, however, aren’t easy to come by.

Colby, at times, seems to have it both ways. He understands that separate institutions create “sanctuaries” and that Black churches exert “the strongest gravitational pull of all” because they provide something more important than jobs, money, and power.

He remains convinced, however, that “separatism begets separatism” and that Black businesses “are squabbling over loose change” and spending precious time demanding that government enforce affirmative action mandates that “keep them squabbling over loose change.” And he acknowledges, without elaborating, that “you can be authentically Black and still be assimilated.”

“Some of My Best Friends Are Black’’ is silent on politics and policies. Vestavia’s culture changed, Colby suggests, because White administrators and Black parents “decided to change it.”

Similarly, Graves decided that, although there was “racist stuff going on” in advertising, he needed to understand how the game was played and create opportunities for himself.

You can’t help hoping that Colby is right. But it’s hard not to wonder if that is all it will take.

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA A KENNEDY/MARSHALL PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH CAPTIVATE ENTERTAINMENTMUSIC STACY KEACH OSCAR ISAAC JOANPRODUCEDALLEN ALBERT FINNEY DAVID STRATHAIRN SCOTT GLENN BY JAMES NEWTON HOWARD RENNER RACHEL WEISZ EDWARD NORTON “THE BOURNE LEGACY” JEREMY INSPIRED BY THE BOURNE SERIES STORY EXECUTIVE CREATED BY ROBERT LUDLUM

BY FRANK MARSHALL PATRICK CROWLEY JEFFREY M. WEINER BEN SMITH BY TONY GILROY PRODUCERS HENRY MORRISON JENNIFER FOX SCREENPLAY DIRECTED A UNIVERSAL PICTURE

BY TONY GILROY & DAN GILROY BY TONY GILROY SOUNDTRACK ON BACK LOT MUSIC AND VARÈSE SARABANDE

THIS FILM CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF TOBACCO CONSUMPTION

© 2012 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

STARTS FRIDAY, AUGUST 10

CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES

MOBILE USERS: For Showtimes – Text BOURNE with your ZIP CODE to 43KIX (43549)! No charge from 43KIX, Msg&data rates may apply. Text HELP for info.

STOJ

B3

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

L o n d o n

Justin Gatlin celebrates following his bronze medal in the 100m dash at Olympic Stadium during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England, on Sunday.

Harry E. Walker/MCT

g a m e s

2012 OLYMPICS: MORE WINNING MOMENTS The second week of the 2012 Olympics in London, England, generated a lot of great moments in track and field and some controversy over Gabby Douglas’ hair and Serena Williams’ Crip Walk dance. Here are some images from this week at the Games of the XXX Olympiad.

WALLY SKALIJ/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt wins the men’s 100m sprint on Sunday. Jamaica’s Yohan Blake won the silver medal and USA’s Justin Gatlin captured bronze.

WALLY SKALIF/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Allyson Felix of the USA, center, pulls ahead to win her heat in the women’s 200 meters during the Summer Olympic Games in London, England on Monday.

ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

USA’s Claressa Shields savors a win over Sweden’s Anna Laurel during a women’s middleweight boxing match for the Summer Olympic Games in London, England on Monday.

WALLY SKALIJ/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

USA’s Michael Tinsley celebrates after winning a silver medal in the men’s 400m hurdles on Monday.

VERNON BRYANT/DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MCT HARRY E. WALKER/MCT

USA’s Chris Paul (13) passes the ball to teammate Kevin Love (11) after avoiding Argentina’s Juan Gutierrez (9) during their game at the Olympic Park Basketball Arena on Monday. USA defeated Argentina 126-97.

USA’s Sanya Richards-Ross leans forward for the victory as Botswana’s Amantle Montsho attempts to catch her in the women’s 400-meter final on Sunday.

Richards-Ross finished with a time of 49.55 seconds to take gold.

ice cream FOOD

TOj B4

S

august 10 – AUGUST 16, 2012

The scoop on whipping up

Bre’Anna Johnston of Lathrup Village, Mich., looks at maple bacon crunch ice cream.

treats at home

BY SUSAN M. SELASKY DETROIT FREE PRESS (MCT)

Baby, it’s hot outside.

Chilling out with some good old-fashioned homemade ice cream or fruity sorbet is a time-honored summer pastime, and a pretty cool activity for all ages.

At Treat Dreams ice cream store in Ferndale, Mich., owner Scott Moloney said sorbets really start flying out the door when the temps reach 90 and above. Watermelon Mint and Orange Juice Clover are current hot sellers, he says.

“Buying patterns change a little when it’s

that hot out,” Moloney says. “We also sell more pints of ice cream that people take home and eat in air-conditioning.”

You’ll need an ice cream maker to whip up today’s recipes. Prices range from about $25 to $200 or more. A Cuisinart frozen yogurt, ice cream and sorbet maker, available in a variety of colors, is $59.99 at Sur La Table. It makes soft-serve ice cream in about 30 minutes; regular ice cream and sorbets take about 2 hours with freezing time.

So go ahead, try your hand at making some of summer’s coolest comfort foods. There are no shortages of recipes and ideas out there.

Here’s a selection to get you started.

STRAWBERRY SORBET Serves: 4 / Preparation time: 20 minutes / Total time: 1 hour, plus chilling time

GREEN TEA ICE CREAM WITH SESAME CARAMEL SAUCE Serves: 8 / Preparation time: 20 minutes / Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, plus chilling time

½ cup sugar

FOR ICE CREAM 2 cups whole milk ¼ cup green tea leaves 2 cups heavy whipping cream ¾ cup granulated sugar Grated rind of 1 lime (reserve the lime for the sauce) Few drops of vanilla extract

1 cup water 2 cups strawberries or raspberries, hulled and sliced 1 tablespoon lemon juice In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring to completely dissolve the sugar.

Remove from the heat.

When the syrup is cool, place it in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the strawberries and lemon juice.

Purée the mixture.

Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on the mixture with the back of a spoon.

Chill completely.

Place the mixture in an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a freezerquality container and freeze until firm.

FOR SESAME-CARAMEL SAUCE 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup water Juice of 1 lime (reserved from above) ½ cup heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds Warm water, as needed, to thin the sauce In a heavy saucepan, bring the milk and tea to a boil. Remove the mix from the heat and infuse for 1 minute. Pour it through a finemesh sieve into a heatproof bowl, pressing hard on the tea leaves

to extract as much of the liquid as possible. Put the milk mixture in a clean saucepan, and add the cream, sugar and lime zest. Bring the mix to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves completely, about 5 minutes.

Remove it from the heat, cool, then add the vanilla extract. Chill the mixture until it’s cold, then freeze it using an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

To prepare the sauce: In a heavy 1-quart saucepan, bring the sugar, water and lime juice to a boil over medium to high heat. Cook until it’s golden brown, swirling the pan a few times, but do not stir. Do not allow the sugar to burn; the mixture should become an amber color.

In a small saucepan, heat the ½ cup of cream until it’s warm, then add it, a few tablespoons at a time, to the sugar mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to blend, being careful not to splatter, as this mixture foams up the sides of the pan. When the sauce is blended, add the toasted sesame seeds.

Because this sauce will thicken upon standing, thin as needed with warm water before serving.

PHOTOS BY JESSICA J. TREVINO/ DETROIT FREE PRESS/MCT

MAPLE-BACON CRUNCH ICE CREAM Makes: about 1 quart / Preparation time: 40 minutes / Total time: 2 hours, 40 minutes, plus churning time FOR ICE CREAM 3 large egg yolks ¼ cup sugar Pinch of salt 1 cup 2 percent or whole milk 1 cup maple syrup 2 cups heavy whipping cream FOR BACON BRITTLE 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for the baking sheet 3 strips thick-sliced smoked bacon 1 cup sugar ½ teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or a pinch of cayenne pepper To make the ice cream: In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan and whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until almost simmering (the mixture should be thick enough to coat a spoon), about 5 minutes.

Stir in the maple syrup. Transfer to a

bowl and refrigerate until very cold, about 30-45 minutes.

To make the bacon brittle: Butter a rimmed baking sheet. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to paper towels to drain. Let the bacon cool, then finely chop.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add the sugar and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it melts and turns golden, about 4 minutes. (If lumps form, remove from the heat and continue stirring until melted.) Continue to cook, stirring, until light amber, about 2 more minutes.

Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the butter. Carefully stir in the baking soda, then stir in the bacon and chile powder. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and let cool until set, about 10 to 15 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces, then smash about one-third of the brittle into shards with a meat mallet or heavy skillet. Reserve the remaining brittle in a container for up to 3 days.

Stir the cream into the chilled custard.

Churn in an ice cream maker. Stir in the bacon brittle shards. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. Serve sprinkled with some of the remaining bacon brittle, if desired.

How do you save? Let us count the ways.

Begin with BOGOs—buy-one-get-one-free deals you’ll find throughout the store. Then check out our Publix private label values. Finally, figure in the hundreds of items on sale every day. They all add up to a lower grocery tab.

Go to publix.com/save right now to make plans to save this week.

STOJ

AUGUST 10 - AUGUST 16, 2012

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

submitted for your approval

monique

FINEST & SPORTS

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

E-mail your high-resolution digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier.com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

andre

South Florida-based model Monique is this week’s female Florida’s Finest.

Andre is a Miami Beach resident and a retired computer specialist tech.

He models swimsuits from time to time and loves nature, gadgets and tech.

Contact him at nut4692000@yahoo.com.

Did hater hair talk make Douglas stumble this week?

Criticism of hairdo came mostly from sisters on Twitter FROM WIRE REPORTS

Gabrielle “Gabby’’ Douglas earned team and individual all-around gold medals, the first gymnast in history to do so. Douglas also was the first African-American gymnast to win the individual all-around gold medal.

This week, the Virginia Beach native faltered in her two individual competitions, the uneven bars and balance beam.

Overall, the 16-year-old’s press coverage following her historic gold medal win in the individual all-around competition was positive. Douglas graced the covers of major newspapers throughout the country and she was dubbed “America’s Golden Girl” and “Golden Gabby” by sportswriters, blogs and her growing throng of fans on Facebook and Twitter.

“I just made history and people are focused on my hair? It can be bald or short, it doesn’t matter about (my) hair,’’ Gabby Douglas responded to criticism of her hairstyle.

Taunting tweets TMZ reported Douglas’ mother, Natalie Hawkins, filed for bankruptcy months before the London Games. Perhaps the more

painful coverage came in the form of criticism of Douglas’ hair — mostly from African-American women via Twitter.

“Can Dominique Dawes fly to London to comb gabby Douglass’ hair ???!!!!?!?!” read one tweet. “I wanna do Gabby Douglas hair so bad. She makes me so sad,” read another.

In addition, a conservative radio host slammed Douglas and her teammates’ Olympic outfits, suggesting the team wasn’t displaying the appropriate level of patriotism.

Douglas pushed back and said she didn’t know where they were coming from because her ’do while performing has been the same since the beginning.

Gel, clips and confidence Douglas uses gel, clips and a ponytail holder to keep things in place while she competes, a style she’s worn for years. ”I don’t know where this is coming from.

What’s wrong with my hair?” Gabby asked the Associated Press. ”I’m like, ‘I just made history and people are focused on my hair?

It can be bald or short, it doesn’t matter about (my) hair.”

Some sisterly support Serena Williams told USA Today Sports, “It’s gorgeous! People don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s ridiculous. It’s so ridiculous. Her hair is gorgeous.”

Even Gabrielle Union took to Twitter in defense of the athlete. “@gabrielledoug is a winner. I am proud of her. She is beautiful exactly the way she is. Shes #Gabulous#byehaters.”

She later added, “Any1 who insults a TEEN whose accomplished so much while displaying grace & dignity is beyond lame & should be ashamed of themselves #byehate.”

My Skills. My Benefits. My Future.

Are you a 35 to 60 year-old unemployed Veteran looking for a new career?

Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) Provides eligible Veterans with education benefits for up to 12 months of training Now accepting applications

For more information visit

www.benefits.va.gov/VOW or call

888-442-4551 "Helping Veterans Attain Personal and Economic Success"

TOj B6

AUGUST 10 – AUGUST 16, 2012

You can power your TV for 40 days

With the savings you get in one month by turning your air conditioner up 1 degree Get energy fit with the improved FPL Online Home Energy Survey, and make your bill even lower, visit www.FPL.com/energyfit

stoj