Florida Courier - August 01, 2014

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AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

VOLUME 22 NO. 31

SEE YOU IN COURT Barack Obama will become the first president of the United States to be personally sued by another branch of government.

BY MICHAEL A. MEMOLI TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU / MCT

WASHINGTON – The House’s vote to sue President Barack Obama is the first such legal challenge by a chamber of Congress against a president, and a historic foray in the fight over constituPOOL PHOTO BY ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES/ABACA PRESS/MCT tional checks and balances.

In February, President Obama met with Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner at the White House to discuss legislative priorities.

Ex-cop knowingly spreads HIV

Never done before Wednesday’s nearly party-line

vote followed a feisty floor debate and offered a fresh example of how the capital’s hyper-partisanship has led both parties into unprecedented territory, going to new and greater lengths to confront one another.

Two years ago, the Republican-led House became the first to hold a sitting Cabinet secretary in contempt of Congress, after lawmakers accused Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. of defying their request to turn over records

about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation.

Last year, the Democratic-controlled Senate changed the body’s long-standing filibuster rules in response to what they said was blatant obstruction by the minority GOP of presidential nominations, including the first-ever filibuster of a nominee for Defense secretary.

November’s elections could further exacerbate tensions in Washington, especially if Republicans – who already hold the See COURT, Page A2

FLORIDA COURIER / OUT AND ABOUT

Our summer vacation

Charged with infecting woman COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

RIVIERA BEACH – A former police officer is accused of knowingly infecting a woman with HIV and investigators are concerned there may be more women who have been infected with the potentially deadly virus, Riviera Beach police said.

Dexter Richardson has been charged with having uninformed HIV-infected sexual intercourse, police said Tuesday.

On May 1, a woman informed Riviera Beach police that she had been infected with HIV by Richardson. She said that when she confronted him, he first denied but then admitted that he was HIV-positive, officials said.

Investigators determined that Richardson had been aware that he had tested positive for HIV for several years. They also learned that he had not revealed that information to the woman with whom he had been in a long-term relationship, detectives said.

An agent with the U.S. Marshals Task Force arrested Richardson on Sunday.

Police officers take an oath to serve and protect, and that serve and protect is the entire person,” Rose Anne Brown, spokeswoman with the Riviera Beach Police Department, told WPTV-TV. “So you would think that someone who is a police officer would have higher standards than most.”

Not the first According to the Palm Beach Post newspaper, this is the second time this year that a current or former Palm Beach County law en-

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Cole Williams and Chayla Cherry review an exhibit at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.

See a related ‘No Chaser’ column on Page A4.

See HIV, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Some Florida doctors won’t accept Obamacare NATION | A6

Why your meat prices are going up

ENTERTAINMENT | B5

A story told with heart, humor, funk and soul

ALSO INSIDE

Zimmerman volunteered as gun store security guard

BY RENE STUTZMAN ORLANDO SENTINEL / MCT

For a time, George Zimmerman helped a friend who owns a DeLand gun store by acting as a volunteer security guard, an employee reported Tuesday.

Orlando-area news organizations Tuesday morning reported that Zimmerman was working at Pompano Pat’s, a DeLand gun and motorcycle shop.

If true, that would have been his first job in two years, since he killed Trayvon Martin, a Black 17-year-old who was walking through Zimmerman’s Sanford neighborhood in 2012.

Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, claimed self-defense and was acquitted

of second-degree murder, but the homicide and his acquittal resulted in protest marches.

‘Good heart’ Sam Porter, an employee at Pompano Pat’s, said Tuesday that Zimmerman is not an employee.

“George has a good heart,” Porter said. “We were broken into about two and a half weeks ago and had some guns stolen, so I think he took it upon himself to try to help the owner.”

After hours, Zimmerman watched over the store from his pickup, Porter said.

A police officer on routine patrol recently spotted him, Porter FILE PHOTO said, and Zimmerman said he was acting as a security guard.

George Zimmerman continues his pattern of volunteer ‘help.’

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. VINCENT POLITE: HOMEBOY, WE DON’T KNOW YOU | A5

FOCUS

A2

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

Cowardly Congressional Black Caucus endorses Israeli apartheid Back in the 1970s, when the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) began calling itself “the conscience of the Congress,” that was almost literally true.

CBC members could be relied upon not just to reliably vote for raising wages and expenditures on housing, health care and education, but to keep the issues of full employment and opposition to unjust war near the front of their public agendas.

Culture changes By the late 1980s, a gaggle of former CBC staffers had moved through the revolving doors of elite affirmative action to become corporate lobbyists, with the same ethics and table manners as their White colleagues – but with Black faces.

Thanks in large part to their efforts, by 2000, a tsunami of corporate cash began filling up the coffers of incumbent CBC members, their Black replacements, or in the cases of Alabama’s Earl Hilliard and Georgia’s Cynthia McKinney, their Black opponents.

Only a single member of the CBC, Rep. Barbara Lee, opposed President Bush’s blank check for invading anywhere he pleased in September 2001. By the 2003 invasion of Iraq, four CBC members, some of them swimming in donations from military contractors, raced down to the White House to have their pictures taken with Bush as the bombs were about to explode over Baghdad.

The 109th Congress of 20052006 had decisively reset the CBC’s political compass. Katrina

BRUCE A. DIXON BLACK AGENDA REPORT

hit in 2005. For decades, there had been predictions that whenever “the big one” hit New Orleans – a city where a majority of residents didn’t even own cars – thousands or tens of thousands would perish.

Katrina ultimately proved to be the excuse for authorities to permanently expel more than 100,000 African-Americans, including entire neighborhoods of Black homeowners and Blackowned local businesses as well.

No federal hearings As the highest-ranking Black politicians in the nation, the CBC could have demanded and held federal hearings on every aspect of the Katrina disaster and its aftermath, ensuring a real public debate on how the region would be rebuilt and for whom. But House Democrats were focused narrowly on winning the 2006 election, and in their political calculus, having Democrats identified as the party of Black people was not a winning strategy.

Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi forbade the CBC from demanding or holding hearings.

Only Georgia’s Cynthia McKinney defied her, and was forced to partner with House Republicans for the hearings to take place at

all. The only CBC member Pelosi allowed to take part in the Katrina hearings was the lazy and corrupt “Dollar Bill” Jefferson, who nominally represented Black New Orleans. The rest of the supposedly powerful and influential CBC, from its deans Conyers and Rangel on down, stayed away.

Conservative vision If they were still the conscience of the Congress the CBC would have called together some of the nation’s Black civil engineers, architects, urban planners and others to articulate a vision of a rebuilt Gulf Coast for the people who lived there before. Instead, the vision of the Heritage Foundation prevailed.

A hundred thousand Black New Orleans residents were deported to the four corners of the continental US, their public school system privatized, their rental apartments razed, their health care systems shut down, and the water, electric and gas grids not reactivated for the entire sections of town where they once lived.

Thanks to the hands-off attitude of the CBC, President Bush was even able to exclude all journalists from the teams which recovered bodies or the places where remains were assembled, so there is no independent verification of the government’s suspiciously small count of fatalities.

That was when Democrats were still the minority in Congress. We’re always told how important it is for Democrats to gain or maintain control of the House.

They got that in the 2006 elections, and Democrats have had the White House since the 2008 election as well, though they handed the House back at the end of 2010.

Meeker than ever Has all that extra power made them bolder in the pursuit of justice? Sadly, no.

Israel’s vicious apartheid regime celebrated Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration with the massacre of 1,400 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, and the destruction of a great part of the enclave’s infrastructure, down to chicken farms and water systems. The new Congress called it righteous self-defense, with 390 yeas, 5 nays and 22 “present”.

The CBC was two of those nays, Gwen Moore and Maxine Waters, and 7 of the “presents:” Edwards, Ellison, Johnson, Lee, Payne, Kilpatrick, and Watson (CA).

This month, as the civilian death toll in the latest Israeli criminal orgy of collective punishment mounted toward 1,000, the US House passed a nearly identical resolution, calling this massacre legitimate “selfdefense” as well. This time the House vote, including that of the CBC was unanimous. Not a single member of the CBC, despite their much-heralded brand of standing for civil rights and against apartheid here and around the world, bothered to publicly question the racist ethnocracy that is the Israeli state.

After signing the blank check with the rest of their colleagues, CBC members Conyers, Lee, Johnson and Ellison tried to cover their shame with a letter to Secretary of State Kerry urging a ceasefire – something that Kerry claims to have been doing anyway.

They all know All CBC members absolutely know that Israel is an apartheid society, with one set of laws applying to Jews, a second to Israeli Arabs and a third to Palestinians.

CBC members know that Israel requires different colored license plates for non-Jews so their vehicles can be profiled at a distance, and Jewish-only roads between settlements carved from the villages of Palestinians and watched over by military garrisons.

They know that Israel refuses to recognize mixed marriages, or even marriages between Palestinians in Gaza and those on the West Bank. Black members of Congress know what an ethnocracy is, and even though they claim to have opposed it in South Africa and here at home, they choose to endorse it in Israel, out of greed and subservience.

What would one of our glittering and supposedly powerful members of the Congressional Black Caucus tell a child in Gaza today? What would they tell a parent whose children have been maimed or murdered, with weaponry probably designed and/or manufactured in the US? Our nation is the armorer, financier and protector of Israel’s savage ethnocracy. We are all compromised; we are all implicated in its crimes. It’s time to call our Black political class, and each other, to account.

Bruce Dixon is managing editor of BlackAgendaReport. com. Contact him at bruce. dixon@blackagendareport. com. Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.

Floridians, Southerners are dodging bill collectors

BY KEVIN G. HALL MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU / MCT

WASHINGTON – Roughly one in three adult Americans has past-due debt that’s been turned over to a collections agency, according to a novel new study.

Southern states fare worst in the study, with most having four in 10 residents with credit files that show debt in collection. The New England states fared best.

The findings overlap other economic data that together suggest millions of Americans continue struggling to make ends meet in an uneven economic recovery that has benefited the top end far more than the middle and bottom.

‘Pervasive’ collection “Debt in collection is pervasive, and it threads through nearly all communities,” said Caroline Ratcliffe, the lead researcher on the report entitled “Debt in America,” published by the centrist think tank Urban Institute. “Every third person you see on the street has debt reported on their credit file.”

McClatchy obtained a copy of the report ahead of its release. Among metropolitan areas, Florida, hard

COURT from A1

House – gain control of the Senate. They need a net gain of six seats to do so.

GOP vs. Dems The House approved the resolution to sue in a near party-line vote, 225-201. It authorizes House Speaker John A. Boehner to file suit in federal court on behalf of the full body “to seek appropriate relief” for Obama’s failure to enforce a provision of the Affordable Care Act that would penalize businesses that do not offer basic health insurance to their employees.

That provision’s effective date has been delayed by the administration twice and now won’t fully take effect until 2016. The

hit by the housing crisis and recession, had several cities with high percentages in collections.

Miami was a hair under 40 percent. Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa showed 45 percent, 44.8 percent and 41.6 percent.

The Lakeland area between Orlando and Tampa had a very elevated 47.3 percent in collections, while North Port on the Gulf of Mexico was at 35 percent.

Southern cities fared poorly in terms of the percentage of their population with credit files that had debt in collections. South Carolina’s cities of Greenville and Charleston came in at 44 percent and 42.8 percent. Charlotte, N.C., was also elevated at 41.8 percent.

State-level data proved striking in the Urban Institute report conducted with the Consumer Credit Research Institute in San Diego. It showed that 13 states and the District of Columbia had more than 40 percent of their citizens with credit files with debt actively in collection, 11 of those states in the South.

Nevada is No.1 Nevada, slammed during the housing crisis that brought the deep national recession, led the pack at 47 percent. Other states

GOP-led House has voted to repeal the law, even as it seeks to sue Obama for failing to enforce it.

When he unveiled the suit, Boehner insisted it was about more than just Obama.

“This isn’t about Republicans and Democrats. It’s about defending the Constitution that we swore an oath to uphold, and acting decisively when it may be compromised,” Boehner said Wednesday.

Continual fight Lou Fisher, a constitutional scholar, said the House vote was a new iteration of the push-and-pull between the executive and legislative branches dating back to the nation’s founding.

Never before had either the House or the Senate sought to challenge a president’s authority in

over the 40 percent mark included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

On the better side were North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota. The three states, rich in oil and minerals, had substantially lower percentages of citizens with debt in collection, respectively at 19.2 percent, 19.8 percent and 20.8 percent.

Other findings Among the findings, based on records shared with researchers by the credit reporting agency TransUnion, are: • 35 percent of Americans with a credit file have debt in collection reported in these files. Bills more than 180 days overdue are sent to collection agencies.

• The average amount owed on bills in collection is $5,200.

• 5.3 percent of Americans with a credit file have bills reported to a credit bureau between 30 and 180 days past due.

• The average amount owed on past-due debt not yet in collections is $2,258.

• Americans with bills in collection and past-due debt owe a combined average of $9,123.

the courts. Traditionally, such disputes have been handled through political trade-offs or, in the most extreme cases, the impeachment process outlined in the Constitution.

In 1834, the Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson, although Fisher said the legitimacy of that step was questioned and the censure was later expunged.

Whether the lawsuit will become a new normal may depend on how it plays in November.

“Maybe that will be the test – who gets hurt more from this?” said Fisher, a former analyst on the separation of powers for the Congressional Research Service.

Individual members of Congress have sued presidents before. A special House panel also has represented the body in oth-

COURTESY OF RIVIERA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT

Dexter Richardson also has a checked past as a Florida law enforcement officer.

HIV

from A1 forcement officer has been charged with infecting another person with HIV. The Post reports that Greenacres Police Officer Ervans Saintclair was arrested in January on two counts of criminal transmission of HIV. After his arrest, Saintclair was placed on administrative leave, then pleaded not guilty in March. His case is due for a status check in this month.

er lawsuits, most recently before the Supreme Court on the Defense of Marriage Act. The House or a House committee can sue an executive agency or White House officials to seek documents or testimony, since the House has an independent authority to investigate.

How far?

But Rep. G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C., a former judge, said the latest suit introduces a host of new legal questions.

“Do you really want to cede to the courts the authority to resolve disputes between the branches?” he asked. “Would you want the president to sue the House for missing a budget deadline? How would it end?”

Legal experts note that the Supreme Court has previously refused to get

Troubled past Richardson has a checkered past as a former police officer in Florida, with Pompano Beach and Riviera Beach.

He was fired by Pompano Beach police in 1989 after having six to eight “unjustified accidents” in an 18-month probationary period, according to Pompano Beach police spokeswoman Sandra King.

Six more crashes in his patrol car happened between 1993 and 1996 after Richardson was hired by Riviera Beach police.

In 1996, he was arrest-

involved in political spats between Congress and the president, and for that reason the House lawsuit is expected to fail.

Constitutional defense, or stunt?

But Rep. Richard Nugent, R-Fla., insisted the House needs to make a stand and “defend the Constitution.”

He cited Obama’s own words as a senator challenging President George W. Bush for “mak(ing) laws as he goes along.”

Democrats called the suit a political stunt and defended Obama’s use of his executive powers, blaming congressional inaction and gridlock.

They warned that the House suit could be the first step toward impeachment, something that has become a staple of campaign messaging for the party and already generat-

ed by Delray Beach police after getting into an argument with a gas station clerk about using the restroom.

The clerk said Richardson told him he was a police officer and demanded to use the restroom. When the clerk said no, that caused Richardson to go to his car, start talking on his phone and point at the clerk, according to previous reports.

The clerk took it as a threat and called police, but when officers got there, they said Richardson refused to identify himself as an officer resisted as officers tried to handcuff him.

Records show Richardson was terminated from the Riviera Beach Police Department in 1998.

Others infected?

Police believe Richardson may have been involved sexually with others who may not have known that he was HIV positive.

Anyone who has been involved sexually with Richardson is urged to be tested as soon as possible.

Others who think they may have been infected

by Richardson are asked to call the Riviera Beach Police Department at 561845-4123.

Wayne K. Roustan and Adam Sacasa of the Sun Sentinel / MCT contributed to this report.

ed millions in online donations.

Speaking on the House floor, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., noted how she, after being elected speaker in 2007, faced enormous pressure to launch impeachment proceedings against George W. Bush over the Iraq war. She said Boehner’s statement that the GOP had “no plans” to impeach the president did not go far enough. She questioned the use of the House’s time even on the lawsuit resolution.

“It is yet another Republican effort to pander to the most radical rightwing voters at taxpayers’ expense,” she said.

Tribune Washington Bureau / MCT staff writers David Savage and Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this report.

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

FLORIDA

A3 tura, said his contracts with insurers require him to see members from all of that insurer’s plans — unless the agreement cites an exclusion.

“Once you’re a provider for an insurance company,” he said, “you cannot discriminate.”

Wollschlaeger said he does not ask his patients where they bought their health insurance. But, he added, on occasion some insurers have delayed reimbursements for patients who bought their plans on the ACA exchange because the companies were waiting for the patient to pay their share of the bill.

“But it’s not significant for my cash flow,” Wollschlaeger said of those experiences, “nor did I see any systematic effort by insurance companies to delay payment until the patient pays.”

Strong opposition

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Onaney Hernandez, right, a "navigator," presents information during a session at Orlando Public Library on the process for individuals to get health insurance, during the first day of the federal Health Care Exchange on Oct. 1, 2013.

Some Florida doctors won’t accept Obamacare Nearly 1 million residents enrolled in private plan finding some physicians refusing to honor coverage

BY DANIEL CHANG THE MIAMI HERALD (MCT)

MIAMI — After being without health insurance for two years, Miranda Childe of Hallandale Beach

found a plan she could afford with financial aid from the government using the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) exchange.

Childe, 60, bought an HMO plan from Humana, one of the nation’s largest

health insurance companies, and received a membership card in time for her coverage to kick in on May 1.

But instead of being able to pick a primary care physician to coordinate her

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health care, Childe says she repeatedly ran into closed doors from South Florida doctors who are listed in her plan’s provider network but refused to see patients who bought their coverage on the ACA exchange.

“I just felt that I wasn’t being treated like a first-class citizen,” said Childe, who eventually found a doctor with the help of a Humana counselor. “Nobody, I don’t care what kind of degrees they have, should ever be treated that way.”

From elation to rejection Nearly 1 million Floridians enrolled in a private health plan through the ACA exchange, but some, like Childe, are finding that some physicians refuse to honor their coverage — even when the doctors are included in the plan’s provider network.

Some physicians say they’re concerned they won’t be paid for their services by either the insurer or the patient, and that insurers are not adequately informing doctors of their inclusion in exchange plan networks.

“You don’t want to be in a situation where you provide service, and turn around and there’s no contract in place to reimburse you,” said Jay Millson, executive vice president of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.

For some patients, though, the elation they felt about being insured has been tempered with rejection at doctors’ offices.

Humiliated by doctor Sal Morales, 48, of Kendall, said a physician and her staff humiliated him when he tried to make an appointment at her Hialeah office earlier this year.

“They made me feel really bad,” said Morales, who bought a Florida Blue plan in March and qualified for subsidies to help pay his monthly premium and outof-pocket costs. “I felt, seriously, like I had a horrible disease that they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, or didn’t want to cure, or at least see and examine.”

Morales, who lost his employer-provided health insurance in October when he was laid off from his job as a TV producer, said he has been turned away by at least three primary care physicians in his plan’s provider network.

“I actually went to a doctor,” he said, “and in the lobby they had an 11-by-14-

inch sign in bright yellow that said, ‘We do not accept anything from the marketplace (Obamacare).’”

Got ugly But Morales said the worst experience was standing by at another doctor’s office as the receptionist called Florida Blue to verify his coverage.

“They got into a screaming match,” he said, “with the receptionist, a lab technician and even the doctor — and me at the dividing wall, listening to all this, with about 17 patients in that little room listening to the fact that I had what I thought was the worst insurance on the face of the earth.

“This person kept saying that they were not going to be taking any Obamacare insurance because they will never get paid,” he said.

Morales said he stood his ground and finally got an appointment. But he chose not to return after that experience.

He said he finally found a doctor he likes, near his home in Kendall, and saw him for the first time July 1 — four months after his insurance took effect.

Complained to Schultz Morales said his new doctor doesn’t make him feel like “a second-class citizen, and that is important to me because regardless of where that insurance comes from, I still pay $145 (monthly premium).”

Health plans that consumers buy on the ACA exchange are private insurance, even for consumers who receive federal government subsidies.

It’s unknown how many of the 983,775 Floridians who selected a private plan have been turned away by doctors in their network, but Florida’s Department of Financial Services reported receiving 63 complaints from consumers who bought a plan on the ACA exchange but could not get in to see a physician in their network.

Childe said she complained to the state and to her congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who chairs the Democratic National Committee.

Wasserman Schultz issued a statement saying she has heard from “a couple of constituents” about this issue. “My staff has raised it with the Department of Health and Human Services as well as directly with some of the insurance companies. … I believe the onus is on the insurers and the providers to bridge this gap and provide reliable, consistent customer service.”

Delayed reimbursements Bernd Wollschlaeger, a family physician in Aven-

Wollschlaeger, a past president of the Dade County Medical Association — the largest group representing physicians in the area — said many doctors were opposed to the Affordable Care Act from the outset.

“There was a strong opposition, specifically by physicians in Florida,” he said, adding that “even though it has simmered down a bit, whether out of resignation or exhaustion, there is an underlying resentment.”

Wollschlaeger said he supports the ACA and expects it will evolve to address issues such as physician payment rates by insurers.

He’s also an advocate of educating consumers about their health plans, particularly those who may not have been insured before and might believe that their only obligation is the monthly premium.

“They have financial responsibility,” Wollschlaeger said. “It’s not a free-for-all.”

Signed consent While it may not make sense to pass more financial responsibility onto patients whose low income qualified them for government subsidies to buy health insurance in the first place, physicians have to protect their ability to see other patients, too, Millson said.

Insurance companies, though, say they expect physicians to honor their contracts.

Nancy Hanewinckel, a spokeswoman for Humana, which sells plans on the ACA exchange in MiamiDade and Broward counties, said the insurer received signed consent from existing providers to participate in the new networks.

“In all cases, these providers voluntarily agreed to participate and signed an amendment to their existing contract,” Hanewinckel said.

Florida Blue, which sells plans on the ACA exchange in every Florida county, did not build new networks for those plans, said Paul Kluding, a spokesman.

“Based on the contracts our providers have signed with Florida Blue, they have agreed to treat our members regardless of how they obtained their insurance coverage,” Kluding said.

Growing pains He added that Florida Blue has not received many complaints from members about physicians refusing the company’s ACA exchange plans.

Wollschlaeger, the Aventura physician, said he believes much of this issue is due to growing pains of the health law, and that patients, physicians and insurers will learn to work together because the old system was inefficient.

“It’s a better deal than dealing with uninsured patients,” Wollschlaeger said.

“It provides patient retention, continuity of care, the opportunity to refer patients, and ... patients come back when you want them to come back, and not when they can afford it.”

EDITORIAL

A4

Can reparations make us free?

A caller on the Carl Nelson Show (WOL 1450AM – Washington, D.C.), at least each time I have heard him, talks about reparations and freedom. He called again when I was Carl’s guest on July 16, 2014. The caller’s passion, concern, anger, urgency, and frustration were all woven into his comments. I could not help but empathize with his position, nor could I refute what he was saying, despite his angry tone. He did apologize for the way he spoke, but both Carl and I told him there was no need to apologize. We definitely understood the reasons for his tone.

JAMES CLINGMAN NNPA COLUMNIST

culmination of true freedom, especially for Black people in the U.S., is economic freedom, I often imagine what our enslaved ancestors did when they were told they were “free.”

If all you have ever known are the limits of a plantation, where do you go when you are set free?

If you have never had money and are given none when set free, what do you do? If you have Economic freedom no land of your own and don’t Having said for years that the know any other enslaved person

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014 (or free for that matter) who has land, how will you feed yourself and where will you live? Free?

That’s a very relative term.

Make a way Nonetheless, many formerly enslaved Africans in America answered those questions by striking out, despite the circumstances of their new-found freedom, for parts and conditions unknown. They figured it out as they went along. Some walked until they ran out of land, all the way to Nova Scotia. Some went to Ontario and western Canada.

Some stayed on the plantations to scrape out a living as sharecroppers, and others maintained hope in General Sherman’s Special Orders that promised some 400,000 acres of land to formerly enslaved Africans, from Charleston, S.C. to Jacksonville, Fla. in “Forty Acre” plots. President Andrew Johnson rescinded those orders.

Efforts by Thaddeus Stevens

R.J. MATSON

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 220 QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

1965 – if you didn’t already know.

If you know or lived the South’s history, and you are 50 years old or older, the Center will strongly resonate with you.

And there are boxes of paper tissues stationed near the exhibits so people can dry their tears.

Mom and I were so immersed that we finished only one of the Center’s three floors in 2 ½ hours. We didn’t get to see Morehouse College’s collection of MLK’s papers, or how America’s civil rights movement is linked to the global struggle for universal human rights.

My initial feeling? Sadness. Seems that strong, principled, focused, strategic, visionary Black leadership worthy of “followership” has largely disappeared. It made me more pessimistic than ever about the direction of Black America. I’ll explain why next week.

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail. com.

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.

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Benefits, grants, abatements Reparations for Blacks can (and should) be given in several forms other than cash, i.e. tax abatements, education tuition benefits, land grants, and business subsidies. Whatever the means, reparations should be paid for the 250 years of free labor that brought tremendous wealth to this country. Our current president does not support reparations, the courts have demonstrated their recalcitrance

on the issue, Congress will not take up John Conyers’ HR 40, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article, while it is great, has a very limited shelf life. You know how short our attention spans are.

Could reparations truly make us “free”? I say, “Yes,” but in a larger more collective context.

To quote Coates, “Reparations could not make up for the murder perpetrated by the Nazis. But they did launch Germany’s reckoning with itself, and perhaps provided a road map for how a great civilization might make itself worthy of the name…More important than any single check cut to any African American, the payment of reparations would represent America’s maturation out of the childhood myth of its innocence into a wisdom worthy of its founders.”

Jim Clingman is the founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

CFPB returns $4.6 billion to consumers in 4 years

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GM EXECUTIVES AND CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT

Atlanta – Breezed through ATL on our annual summer road trip with Mom and the kids before making stops in the Carolinas.

First stop: the CNN Center. The kids enjoyed it; I didn’t. I worked in a TV station as a part-time news and sports producer during my last two years at Morehouse College, so I know “how the sausage is made,” so to speak. Even then, the glamour of what passes for ‘journalism’ on TV didn’t impress me. What I saw at CNN was hundreds of people hunched over computer screens waiting for something – ANYTHING – to happen…

Second stop: The Center for Civil and Human Rights. Brilliantly designed and lovingly executed, it allows ‘ordinary’ people of the civil rights movement to tell their own stories – and allows the facts to speak for themselves.

As you enter, the similarities of Black and White life in the South are readily apparent – until you see the faces and hear the voices of avowed White racists like Alabama Gov. George Wallace (whose criticism of the federal government reminded me of today’s Tea Partiers) and U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (who speaks about handling ‘the Negro problem’). In the first 30 minutes, you can get a visceral understanding of what it was to be ‘a niggra’ in the South before

and Charles Sumner to obtain reparations through Congress failed, and Black folks were disenfranchised once again, “freed” and left to fend for themselves in an environment that had little or no regard for their lives other than how much money it could continue to earn from their labor. Interestingly, prison “farms” were opened and many Black people were sent to them to be leased out as prison slaves.

In recent days, many policymakers and analysts have noted the July 21 anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). It marked the anniversary of President Obama signing the historic Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act into law.

The cornerstone of the law’s reform was the creation of a new bureau dedicated solely to ensuring that when it came to financial services, consumers would have a cop-on-the-beat, fighting for and ensuring transparency and fairness.

CFPB has vigorously pursued its mission. In celebrating the anniversary, the Bureau announced that $4.6 billion has been returned to 15 million consumers.

And here are four more consumer victories, thanks to CFPB actions: • First-time federal protections and oversight for 30 million consumers involved in abusive debt collection and another 12 million consumers who use payday loans.

• 2.8 million unique visitors to its website, where information and complaint forms are available; • $150 million in civil penalties ordered as a result of enforcement actions against businesses that violated consumer laws; and • 1.775,000 consumers who have been helped to by CFPB’s supervisory actions.

The irony is that despite these positive results, the 113th Congress has continued to propose a series of bills designed to dilute the power and effectiveness of the CFPB. From changing CFPB’s governance to a multi-member commission, or revoking its independence, the anti-regulation players are still at work and according to Open Secrets, have donated nearly $248 million to anti-regulatory candidates.

In many ways, these are the same failed arguments that were made at the height of the nation’s housing crisis and the advisability of reform.

The Bureau’s anniversary comes at a time of increasing partisan divides. Two separate reports offered diverging views on Dodd-Frank and CFPB. While one

CHARLENE CROWELL NNPA COLUMNIST

stressed that the legislation failed to end “too big to fail,” the other extolled the resulting efforts to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices and products that led to the 2008 crisis.

In a CNBC interview, the two former public servants whose names were added to the historic legislation, Barney Frank, former House Financial Services Committee chair, and Chris Dodd, former Senate Banking Committee chair, reminded viewers of why major reform was needed.

Noting the loss of $12 trillion in national wealth, 5 million homes foreclosed, taxpayer bailouts and more, Dodd remarked, “The carnage of the collapse of six years ago – we’re still paying a price for it – dearly. The point of the legislation was to bring stability to it [the system], modernize regulation so that we could have a 21st Century system and get us out of the shadow banking system.”

Speaking directly to the purpose of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Dodd added, “Have a consumer protection bureau that would give consumers with financial grievances some redress.”

Concurring, Frank explained, “The abusive mortgage loans that hurt consumers, hurt financial services and hurt the economy – we outlawed them and they haven’t been made since then. That’s a real accomplishment. CFPB has recovered a lot of money for consumers.”

From a consumer perspective, CFPB is clearly working. Further and as an old homily advises, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

Better decision-making for a better life Have you ever wondered why some people continue to make bad decisions? You see million-dollar celebrities doing it. You can see this action in government officials and business leaders. There are no discriminators. From the very rich to the poorest of the poor, we see people caught in a vicious cycle of bad decision making. Sadly, we see it much closer than that.

We witness relatives making those bad decisions.

Despite all the wise counsel, the poor decisions continue.

Why is it important to teach people how to make better decisions? Anthony Robbins, author of Awakening the Giant Within, attributes good decisionmaking as a key attribute to a happy life. Bestselling author Brian Tracy argues, “The further you think into the future, the better decisions you will make in the present to assure that future becomes a reality.” Making better decisions improves the quality of one’s life.

DR. DARYL D. GREEN GUEST COLUMNIST

stantly hear students proclaim, “I’m grown.” This statement implies I don’t have to listen to anyone. I know best. Therefore, I can make my own decisions.

Through series after series of bad decisions, the youth continues on merry ride of worsening consequences. Two things generally can stop this dead-end trap.

One lies in becoming more mature with age, and the other is experience. In going through a series of bad decisions, a wise person gains insight on the consequences of a bad decision.

Every person, regardless of their background or social standing, can benefit from good decision-making techniques. Here are some methods to use: (a) define the problem or isI’m grown sues, (b) conduct research As a young advisor and on the matter, (c) discuss college professor, I con- with respected individuals

with similar circumstances, (d) consider at least two alternatives, (e) select best decisions, based on your value system, and (f ) move on and accept any consequences.

Better decisions Making the right decision can be a difficult process. No one will usually applauds your many good decisions; however, you will probably catch heat over the bad ones.

Les Brown, author of How to Become the Person You Always Wanted to Be-No Matter What the Obstacle, explains, “Your values are not set by government or church leaders. Your values give you consistency in the way you approach life...By holding to your beliefs, you can always stay on track toward your dreams.”

By making better decisions, individuals can look forward to a better quality of life.

Dr. Daryl Green is a researcher on cultural issues and author of several books. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

Homeboy, we don’t know you I know I’m not the only person to ever experience this. You are somewhere and a person walks up to you and says, “Hey man, how’s it going? What you been up to?” And you looking at them blankly, trying to remember who they are, so you reply, “I’m sorry.

Do I know you?”

Then the person reaches out and pats you on the shoulder, and you tell yourself, “That’s strike two. He touched me and I don’t know who he is.”

So as politely as possible, you let the person know that you don’t know them or remember them.

They in return tell you a story about hanging out with you and mutual friends at a place and time you can’t recall.

Naturally, you get suspicious and wonder where this is leading.

Our internal antenna automatically tells us this person wants something from us and is working hard to gain our confidence in order to grow closer.

We as African-Americans who

LETTER TO THE EDITOR DR. VINCENT POLITE

have been mistreated and abused by the system can certainly recognize ‘game’ when we see it. To paraphrase Malcolm X, “We’ve been had! Hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray and run amok!”

And once again the fix is in in the Democratic Party.

This election year, Charlie Crist is the Democratic Party candidate for Florida governor who now assumes the African-American community will vote for him because we know him. But homeboy, we don’t know you!

The Florida Democratic Party’s record of keeping promises and championing issues that concern Florida’s Black citizens is truly sad. Yet they continue to court us at election times with promises to do better this time around as they

Treat Central American children at our borders with humanity Politicians seeking political advantage blame the Central American children crisis on President Barack Obama. They demand that the border be secured. But these children aren’t undocumented immigrants trying to sneak into America. They are refugees fleeing threats on their lives, and hoping to reach our border security guards, not avoid them. They aren’t running to America; they are running from homes where their lives are under threat. Protestors aren’t trying to help border security round them up; they are blocking buses from reaching border security.

We have a broken immigration system. Comprehensive reform has been blocked, largely by the same politicians now condemning President Obama. But the challenge posed by 50,000 children from Central America isn’t about a broken immigration system or a porous border. It is about children fleeing a violent land seeking refuge in a storm. America, famously, is a land of immigrants. Waves of immigrants — some coming voluntarily, some

REV. JESSE L. JACKSON, SR. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

brought against their will — built this country.

Children seeking safety “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” reads the Statute of Liberty, a monument to that reality. But these children are not immigrants. They are not seeking jobs. They are refugees seeking safety. When Jesus fled to Egypt, he was a political refugee.

Herod, the Roman King of Judea, feared the new born King.

He ordered the murder of every child in Bethlehem under the age of two. Warned by the angel, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the Jesus, and stayed there until Herod died. Had Egypt sent him back, Herod surely would have killed him. We should remember that teaching when we look

do each election, begging us to work within the system because this time it’s better.

Charlie Crist has switched positions so much even he doesn’t know who he is. So if he doesn’t know who he is, how can we?

As governor, Charlie Crist cut funding to numerous social programs that directly affected our communities; oversaw one the largest expansion of the state criminal justice system, with increased incarceration for AfricanAmerican men; pushed legislation for property insurance that in many cases tripled insurance costs for Black communities; refused to support an increase in the minimum wage; and raised overall taxes on the poor and middle class.

Let’s be clear. Charlie Crist, up until becoming a born-again Democrat, has never stood with or supported any issues central to those that are most important to communities of color. Now the state Democratic Party now wants us to embrace Mr. Flip-Flop himat these children. In 1938, in the wake of Kristallnacht, German Jews were desperate to escape Nazi death camps.

Over 900 bought passage on the SS St. Louis, leaving Germany for Cuba. In Cuba, they planned to wait until they could qualify under the very restrictive quotas the U.S. had imposed. When the boat got to Cuba, the Cubans had reversed their policy and refused to allow the passengers to disembark without a massive bribe. The German captain then sailed the ship toward Florida hoping to get shelter there.

Desperate times The SS St. Louis was not allowed to land in the U.S., with the Coast Guard dispatching cutters to keep it away. The Jews returned to Europe. It is estimated that one-fourth of them died in concentration camps. Guatemala and Honduras are two of the most murderous countries in the world. The drug trade that is fueled by American demand for it has produced deadly gangs and gang wars that savage the countries. These children are put in the hands of smugglers on a perilous journey because their lives would be snuffed out if they stayed.

No parent would allow their child to face those risk if they weren’t truly desperate. There are terrible refugee crises across the world. Hundreds of thousands

National Urban League conference to feature diverse points of view “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”

- Nelson Mandela Earlier this month, we announced a diverse list of speakers taking the stage at this week’s National Urban League Annual Conference in Cincinnati. They include Vice President Joe Biden; Senator Rand Paul; Democratic National Committee Chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Republican National Committee Chair, Reince Priebus; and eight dynamic mayors from across the country.

Today, in response to those who question the wisdom of offering a forum to people whose views may depart from ours, I want to share my thoughts on why inclusion is not only the right thing, but the smart thing to do. We cannot preach it without also practicing it.

Respect other viewpoints

MARC MORIAL TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

portunity Act. Nonviolent protest, civil discourse and political negotiation may be difficult and slow at times, but they lead to real and lasting success.

Agree to disagree The point is, we don’t have to agree with someone’s views to have a meaningful dialogue with them. In fact, it is only by talking, listening and reasoning together, that we build trust, end stalemates and transform conflicts into solutions. That is why we are convening such a diverse line-up of speakers in Cincinnati. These include young people, women of power, business executives, educators and political leaders who represent progressive, conservative and other points of view. We are also expanding our search for solutions beyond Washington by inviting mayors from seven cities to share their unique perspectives on jobs, education, gun violence, business development and other issues affecting urban America.

No solution or compromise is ever reached in silence. As Dr. King and Nelson Mandela reminded us, those who are motivated by hate and bitterness only imprison themselves in endless cycles of pain and conflict. We hope our Annual Conference will serve as an example of the kind of civil discourse and diversity of ideas that is essential to ending conflict and solving problems in our country and in our world. We don’t have to adopt every view that is presented to us, but we should never devolve to a place where we stop listening to – or worse – respecting each other.

At the root of recent tragic events unfolding across the globe, as well as the persistent gridlock in our own Congress and even violent confrontations on the streets of our cities, is a lack of respect for other people and for different points of view. From our beginnings 104 years ago, the National Urban League has always believed that the best way to solve problems and get things done is through building bridges of cooperation that cross all boundaries of race, class, culture and ideology.

That is how Lincoln succeeded in ending slavery and passing the 13th Amendment. It is how Dr. King, John Lewis and Lyndon Johnson led the fight for the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. It is how Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress finally defeated apartheid in South Africa. It is also how Congress and the White House were recently able to come to agreement Marc Morial is the president of the to pass the first real jobs bill in the last 10 National Urban League. Write your years, the Workforce Innovation and Op- own response at www.flcourier.com.

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: MARIJUANA

DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR

self as if he is a long-lost relative, desire to hold office. deserving of our trust and respect I’m sorry, but homeboy, we and able to benefit from our la- didn’t know you then, and we bor and loyalty to the party, when don’t know you now. nothing really connects him with – Dr. Vincent Polite, us other than his own self-serving Orlando

We have a broken immigration system.

Comprehensive reform has been blocked, largely by the same politicians now condemning President Obama. But the challenge posed by 50,000 children from Central America isn’t about a broken immigration system or a porous border. It is about children fleeing a violent land seeking refuge in a storm. to be an Egyptian pharaoh who would send Jesus back to Herod, nor a callous government that sent Jews back to Europe and eventually to death camps. We are better people than that. Our economy doesn’t work for most Americans. Our immigration system is broken, abused by low-wage employers, and needs to be fixed. It is understandable that people are angry and scared. But surely we This will take time still have the generosity of spirit We should unite those at risk to provide refuge for children in with family members where possible or find them foster homes terror of their lives. if necessary. We should be workRev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is the ing hard with authorities in Central American countries to bring founder of the Rainbow/PUSH the violence under control. This Coalition. Write your own rewill take time. But we do not want sponse at www.flcourier.com. displaced by violence in the Middle East, by the growing civil strife in the Ukraine, by civil and ethnic and religious wars.

We work with other countries that take the threatened in, seeking to provide some refuge in the storm. The children on our border are not so numerous. We should treat these children with humanity, with care. We should see if the risks back home are real.

Self-responsibility and accountability How many times have you heard people pass the blame onto political parties, social institutions, churches, and anyone who they can point to for the problems we have in this country and the international community?

Every day on television talk shows, you’re bound to hear some political strategist blame someone for problems happening. The more you listen to it, the more you to have question what is being done by the person who is pointing the finger and passing blame?

Perhaps, Micheal Jackson had it right when he sang ‘Man in The Mirror.’ In this song, Jackson says the following, “I’m gonna make a change, for once in my life, it’s gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference, gonna make it right...” The words should inspire all of us to make a change in this world. However, the change must come from within. We can’t seek an outward change until we change the way we think, feel, and act towards one another.

The notion of pointing fingers must stop and be redirected to ourselves.

Ask yourself I’m challenged every day in listening to radio shows and reading newspapers to ask myself the question, ‘What am I going to do today?’ That’s a question, we should all ask ourselves. Far too many people are allowing other people to make decisions for them. If someone has elevated and matured pass the stage of being defined and confined, then the question must be raised, where’s the level of self-responsibility and accountability? Responsibility is doing the right thing, not the popular thing. And accountability is owning up to the choices we make and are willing to live by.

Let’s face it - the news is filled with so much controversy. You name it, you can definitely read about it. From the war that’s happening internationally to the ‘hell’ that’s going on domestically, something needs to be done. Simply waiting around for other people to take the lead when you and I have the power to do something will continue to bring about conflict and chaos. Sadly, too many people in the church

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST

like to stay on their knees, hoping and wishing without doing anything. (Please don’t get me wrong, prayer is a wonderful thing and it works, however, there are times when work has to be done).

Get to work Here’s the call to action: 1. Make up your mind that you can make and will make a difference 2. Get involved. Unless you know who your leaders are and their vision, you will always remain in the dark 3. Meet as many people as you can to rally support for the betterment of this world. Not to be naïve, everyone won’t be onboard, but there are more people who want things to change for the better than those who don’t care 4. Have an accountability partner.

Whether it’s a family member, friend, coworker, or acquaintance, you need to have someone hold you responsible and accountable for doing the right thing 5. Never give up. Even though you’ll face some hurdles, don’t throw in the towel.

Just think back to the many pioneers who continued on their journey to make a difference that we can benefit from I’m confident the more we become responsible and hold ourselves accountable, the better we become as a people. It’s not a white or black thing. It’s not a religious topic. As a matter of fact, it’s not even a political issue. It’s a self-issue. When we (you and I) do better, great things will prevail.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is an inspirational speaker, motivator, radio personality, author, life coach, and committed advocate for change. Contact him at drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @ drsinclairgrey. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

NATION

TOJ A6

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

Why your meat prices are going up Price increases driven by drought that has thinned herds of cattle and a disease that has struck pork

BY PATRICK GILLESPIE MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON — Smokeys BBQ in Fort Worth, Texas, needed to do something.

The price it paid for brisket jumped a net 54 percent in just six months. It had cut its staff from 13 to seven. The only thing left was to raise prices for its customers, the first time in three years. A pound of Smokey’s brisket went from about $13 to $16. Pork spare ribs jumped from $22 to $27.

“We had to raise our prices. We had to adjust,” said owner Rosco Carrasco, who’s 47, noting his own costs. “If they continue to go up at this pace, we’ll have to do it again.”

Soaring meat prices are hitting producers, suppliers and consumers across the country. The price of beef and veal shot up more than 10 percent from June 2013 to June 2014, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index. Pork prices rose by 12 percent.

The largest price increases in three years are driven by one main thing: supply. Drought has thinned herds of cattle. Disease has struck pork.

While demand is high and technology allows more producers to get more meat than ever out of cattle, the domestic beef supply is at a 63-year low, according to beef industry experts and U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Pig virus Meanwhile, pork farm-

TISH WELLS/MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU/MCT

Ribs are grilled at a barbecue cook-off in Washington, D.C. in June 2014. As drought and disease force suppliers to raise prices for meat, retailers are forced to keep passing increases along to customers.

ers in over 40 states have reported cases of a pig virus called porcine epidemic diarrhea (PEDv), an illness most fatal to newborn pigs. The virus has hit many pork farmers in Midwest states and North Carolina harder than others. The nation’s pig population is at its lowest since 2006.

Although swine populations probably will rebound soon, experts said, the beef supply could be a problem for several years.

“We’re seeing unprecedented price levels,” said Derrell Peel, an agricultural economics professor at Oklahoma State Univer-

Much talk about voter suppression at national NAACP convention TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

Stopping voter suppression. That was a primary topic at the 2014 NAACP national convention as participants looked ahead to the crucial midterm elections in November that will decide control of both the U.S. House and Senate.

In a speech to convention attendees in Las Vegas, new NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks stressed that each vote will have an even bigger impact this fall — making voter protections more critical. He said the NAACP would focus on turning out the vote this fall and rallying support to restore the full power of the Voting Rights Act that the U.S. Supreme Court gutted.

Lighter turnouts in “off-year elections only emphasize the degree to which we need a full and robust Voting Rights Act,” Brooks told the convention. In 2012, Black voters turned out at a higher rate than White voters for the first time in American history, helping re-elect President Obama.

Florida among them But in the 2010 midterm elections, Black voter participation was considerably lower, and the GOP took control of the U.S. House, along with many state and local offices.

“As a result, we saw a wave of voter suppression laws,” Jotaka Eaddy, the NAACP’s voting rights director, said at a panel discussion focusing on the issue. Some 22 states have new and more restrictive voting laws that will go into effect before the Nov. 4 election, she said.

She cited Republican-controlled North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Tennessee as examples of states that are making it more difficult for Democratic-leaning African-Americans and young people to cast ballots.

Praise for Holder The NAACP cited the efforts of the Obama administration to oppose the wave of restrictions. Attorney General Eric Holder drew praise for his pre-convention announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice would intervene to support court challenges to laws in Wisconsin and Ohio that limit voting.

Hilary O. Shelton, vice president for policy and advocacy for the NAACP, said that

sity. He added: “Ultimately, everyone will pay part of that impact.”

‘Cautiously optimistic’ The drought that started in 2011 in many major cattle-producing states, especially Texas, cut down the grazing space for cattle. That forced farmers to sell animals to feed lots to be slaughtered. The economic recession and price shocks in cattle feed also contributed to the beef supply problem, Peel said.

The weather has improved in the past 90 days, making some cattle ranch-

ers “cautiously optimistic” that the drought might end soon and farmers could start to rebuild their cattle populations, said Mike Miller, a senior vice president at the 35,000-member National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

By and large, cattle ranchers “would probably say that they’re holding steady if not increasing.”

Miller said of their herds.

“It’ll take some time.”

Relief in 2016 Indeed, a cow can give

birth to only one calf a year, and the calf can take 18 months to reach its required weight before it’s sent to market. With the lowest cattle population in over half a century, cattle farmers are reluctant to sell much of their herds as they rebuild them, experts said.

“Even if we start rebuilding,” said Peel, the Oklahoma State professor, “that’s going to be a four- to sixyear process.”

Beef prices will continue rising until 2016 before consumers can expect any relief at the checkout coun-

ter, Peel said.

Cargill, one of the nation’s largest beef processors, closed a factory last year in Plainview, Texas, which put over 2,000 people out of work in a town of about 22,000. National Beef Packing Co., which is based in Kansas City Mo., closed a plant in April in Brawley, Calif., and subsequently fired 1,300 workers.

“We’re in uncharted waters,” said Mike Martin, a Cargill spokesman. “We’re seeing some pretty historic highs in terms of prices.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NAACP

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks gives his first speech as the head of the civil rights organization at its national convention last week in Las Vegas. the wave of laws that mostly GOP governors are pushing are aimed at keeping lowincome and minority voters out of the voting booth.

“In many areas of our country, it’s very difficult to elect an African-American. And some people are saying, ‘Why bother?’”

Shelton said. This year’s convention coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and “Freedom Summer,” a 1964 effort to overcome White supremacist control of Mississippi by registering AfricanAmericans to vote. Last year, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision threw out a section of the Voting Rights Act that required certain states with a history of discrimination to get federal clearance before changing voting laws and practices — a case that opened the door for states to impose the new restrictions. Virginia is one of those states. High-profile speakers The Republican dominated General Assembly has pushed through a bill requiring voters to show photo IDs to cast ballots as a result of the high court’s decision. Shelton said he believes the GOP is pushing voter suppression because the party is threatened by the rising tide of young voters, Latinos and African-Americans and those groups lean heavily Democratic.

He said the GOP would have to align itself more with issues important to Black people, including efforts to help them obtain jobs, housing and education, if the party wants to attract such voters.

“It’s like, you can invite me to the party, but if you’re not serving the food I want to eat or playing the music I want to dance to, I’m not coming,” Shelton said.

One highlight of this year’s convention was an address by Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke on July 23, the closing day. U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and two Nevada House members, Dina Titus and Steven Horsford, the state’s first Black congressman, also spoke at the convention.

This story is special to the Trice Edney News Wire from The Richmond Free Press.

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From casinos to historic sites, there’s plenty to see and do in Mississippi city

by golf course designed by the legendary course architect Tom Fazio, a shopping promenade, a fullservice spa and salon and more.

Each weekend, big name entertainers such as B.B. King, Jay Leno, the Four Tops and the Temptations headline at the Beau Rivage.

And for gamers, the 85,000-square-foot casino is considered to be the Gulf’s best.

Among the more than a dozen restaurants, cafes and bars, I enjoyed the chic but unpretentious BR Prime restaurant that features a classic steakhouse menu consisting of wellaged prime beef, fresh Gulf seafood and threepound Australian lobster tails.

Historic sites 2.

BY ELEANOR HENDRICKS MCDANIEL SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

S 4.

3.

1. Fresh oysters from the Gulf are on many menus in Biloxi.

2. The African American Military History Museum is in Hattiesburg, Miss.

3. Ruth Bailey Earl, a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., served as an Army nurse during World War II.

Beau Rivage

4. Families on vacation can enjoy splashing in the Gulf.

5. The Biloxi Lighthouse is said to be one of the best photo-ops in the South.

6. One of the dioramas in the African American Military History Museum in Hattiesburg, Miss.

aid to be the best place to gamble in the South, Biloxi also is one of the best places to splash in the Gulf’s crystal clear waters.

The 62 non-stop miles of shoreline have lured back thousands of summer visitors.

I approached my first trip to Mississippi with trepidation. But no worries. Everyone I met was friendly and extended lots of Southern hospitality.

So Biloxi became a perfect beach getaway.

Pick your spot along the 26-mile stretch of white powdery sand. Tranquil waves gently kiss the shore, not like my wild Atlantic. As I ventured out up to my knees, I could see my toes digging into the sandy bottom. The water was pristine.

Remarked Gloria Hopkins of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., “I go to Atlantic City all the time for the beach and to the casinos, but it can’t compare to this. Everything is so clean and beautiful.”

Back on the shore, I soaked up the sun while my friends immersed themselves in the water adventures of parasailing, kayaking and wave running.

5.

Eleanor Hendricks McDaniel is a seasoned travel journalist who enjoys writing about history, culture, food, wine, and some of the people she meets along the way. Her travels have taken her throughout the United States, Europe and other countries. She lives in Philadelphia and Ormond Beach, Fla. She provided this article special to the Florida Courier.

Follow her on Twitter: @ellethewriter and her website: flybynighttraveler.com.

6.

We stayed at the fabulous Beau Rivage Resort and Casino (beaurivage. com), and were greeted by grace and charm. As you approach the entrance under a canopy of live oaks (a la “Gone with the Wind”), a floral sign with the resort’s name (no crass neon here) welcomes you.

Beau Rivage is understated style and elegance.

In my room, the elegance continued with a canopy bed, a Grecian marble bath, and a balcony overlooking the Gulf.

The amenities include a lush tropical pool, a near-

Old cities and towns boast of their heritage and culture, and Biloxi is no different.

There are historic sites along scenic Beach Boulevard, like Beauvoir (beauvoir.org), the home of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy.

You can tour the mansion that was built in 1843, but didn’t become Davis’ property until it was bequeathed to him in 1878 by its owner, Sarah Ellis Dorsey. He lived there until his death in 1889. The house sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina but has been restored.

Another site is the OhrO’Keefe Museum of Art (georgeohr.org), an innovative collection of modern buildings devoted to the arts. Designed by the internationally acclaimed architect, Frank O. Gehry, the complex houses the avant-garde works of ceramist George E. Ohr, known as the “Mad Potter of Biloxi,” in addition to contemporary and traditional art.

Because Biloxi is trying to tempt folks to the Gulf, you can find some sweet deals for your vacation.

Hattiesburg’s military tribute Take a day trip to Hattiesburg, just a little over an hour north of Biloxi.

There you’ll find the African American Military History Museum (hattiesburguso.com). It’s housed in the very building that served as the USO Club for Black soldiers who were stationed at nearby Camp Shelby and is now listed on the National Registry for Historic Places.

Enter the hall where socials were held and view photos of the young men and women who danced there. Other photos, artifacts and realistic dioramas trace the history and heroic feats of AfricanAmerican military men and women from America’s Revolutionary War to present-day conflicts.

EVENTS

B2

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

STOJ

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR ANTHONY HAMILTON

Jacksonville: The Ritz Jazz Jamm featuring Jackiem Joyner is Aug. 2 at the Ritz Theatre.

The Tampa Urban Music Fest with Anthony Hamilton and Lyfe Jennings is at the University of South Florida Sun Dome on Aug. 23.

Orlando: Lauryn Hill is scheduled Aug. 15 at the House of Blues Orlando.

Jacksonville: The rapper T.I. takes the stage on Aug. 2 at the Aqua Nightclub & Lounge.

Tampa: Tommy Davidson will be at the Improv Comedy Club Aug. 7-10.

DMX

CHUBB ROCK Legendary rapper Chubb Rock is scheduled to perform at the Allstate Tom Joyner Reunion during Labor Day weekend. More information: www. blackamericaweb. com.

The Hip Hop Legends Jam 2014 will feature DMX, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Rakim, Biz Markie, Black Sheep and Special Ed. The show is Aug. 9 at the Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee.

Orlando: Keyshia Cole’s Point of No Return tour stops at the House of Blues Orlando on Aug. 11.

Orlando: Pain’s “Drankin Patna Tour’’ stops at The Beacham in Orlando on Aug. 11 and Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on Aug. 12.

Hollywood: The Wayans Brothers perform Aug. 15 at Hard Rock Live.

Miami: Tamela Mann and Vashawn Mitchell are sched-

uled at the James L. Knight Center on Aug. 16 for a 7 p.m. show.

Tampa: Candy Lowe hosts Tea & Conversation every Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at 3911 N. 34th St., Suite B. More information: 813-3946363.

St. Peterburg: The Steve Harvey “Act Like A Success’’ Tour will stop at The Mahaffey on Oct. 18.

Tampa: Tickets are on sale for the Drake vs. Lil Wayne concert on Sept. 4 at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Clearwater: The crooner Maxwell is coming to Florida. He will make stops in Clearwater, Orlando and Jacksonville in August. More information: www.musze. com.

St. Petersburg: Catch Macy Gray on Oct. 10 at Jannus Live.

L.A. book fair to honor Maya Angelou, Ruby Dee BLACKNEWS.COM

For nearly a decade, the Leimert Park Village Book Fair has celebrated African-American arts and culture and those talented individuals responsible for bringing the written word to life. In keeping with that tradition, the eight annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair will give a tribute to poet Maya Angelou and actress Ruby Dee. The book fair, which takes place from 10 am. To 6 p.m. on Aug. at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, in Los Angeles also will debut the first Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards.

It could be argued that no commemoration of the written word in African-American literature would be complete without the mention of Dr. Maya Angelou.

One of the most renowned and prolific voices of our time, she was truly an American treasure. In addition to mastering the art of poetry, she was a celebrated memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, dancer, historian, filmmaker and civil rights activist.

Her critically acclaimed 1970 memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,’’ was nominated for the National Book Award, remained on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and has sold approximately four million copies. The list of her published verse, nonfiction, and fiction includes more than 30 best-selling titles.

Maya Angelou, legendary author, poet, dancer, actress and singer, died on May 28 at age 86.

More than actress Most known for her acting career, Ruby Dee also was a poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and activist.

Dee was also an early supporter of the civil rights movement. She was an active member of the NAACP, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC).

In 1989, she and her husband, the late actor Ossie Davis, were voted into the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame. The couple also received Kennedy Center Honors and the American National Medal of the Arts from the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C. In an effort to recognize literary excellence in today’s writers, the Leimert

Park Village Book Fair will introduce the Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards.

Fauset was a female African-American editor, poet, essayist and novelist. The author of four novels as well poetry and non-fiction, she was known as one of the most intelligent women novelist of the Harlem Renaissance.

Awards for youth The Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards will honor the best entries in the categories of General Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry/Spoken Word, Children/Young Readers and Youth/Teen/ Young Adults.

“It’s an honor to coordinate Leimert Park Village Book Fair’s first Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards,” said Awards Director Annette Thomas.

Thomas is a communications and marketing

DENNIS VAN TINE/ABACA PRESS/MCT

Ruby Dee attends a premiere in New York on Jan. 28, 2013. The legendary stage and screen actress died June 11 at age 91. specialist who has worked with the Harlem Book Fair as Awards Director and the NAACP Image Awards as Literary Coordinator.

“We’ve received over 60 entries from all over the country. Some of the top publishing houses have submitted entries. It’s going to be a close competition and we’re very excited,”

Thomas added.

In addition, the Leimert Park Village Book Fair will feature an array of exciting events, activities and programs that focus on the literary and cultural contributions based on this year’s theme, “1970-1979: The Decade of Self-Expression.”

The annual Legacy Awards will recognize

“Good Times” creator and award winning screenwriter, Eric Monte (“Cooley High,” “The Jeffersons,” “All in the Family”); legendary musician/philanthropist Stevie Wonder; and actress Marla Gibbs.

For additional information, call 323-730-0628 or visit www.leimertparkbookfair.com.

“What will happen to us if we lose the house?”

If you have mortgage problems, call 888-995-HOPE for one-on-one expert advice from this free government program.

You’re not alone.

TOJ

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

B3

CULTURE

Wanted: More African-American male teachers Program aims to attract more Black males in American’s classroom

to go back to school to become certified teachers and training future teachers to be “culturally competent.”

At CCAC, the emphasis is on getting students the prerequisites they need at a lower tuition so they can transfer into four-year education programs, said Elizabeth Strenkowski.

BY ERIC BOODMAN PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE (MCT)

PITTSBURGH — A doctoral candidate at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) recently stood in front of high school students from the Homewood Children’s Village and asked how many planned to go to college. All hands shot up, but when he asked how many planned to go into education, the hands dropped down.

National statistics echo this scene, which involved about 20 Black students, most from Pittsburgh Westinghouse 6-12 in Homewood. Less than 2 percent of teachers in the U.S. are African-American males, according to Robert Millward, education professor at IUP. To try to increase those numbers, Millward started the Black Men Teaching Initiative, which led to the teens, male and female, from Homewood Children’s Village attending a workshop at IUP.

Difficult task Through workshops such as this one, billboards on buses and changes in admissions policies, professors and administrators at IUP, California University of Pennsylvania, Point Park University and Community College of Allegheny County are trying to persuade young Black men to pursue higher education and to become teachers.

The second task is more difficult than the first, Millward explained.

“They say that teachers don’t make much,” he said.

“They see teaching as a woman’s profession. They

No panacea

PHOTOS BY LAKE FONG/PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/MCT

Indiana University of Pennsylvania doctoral candidate Terrance Hudson instructs students in the “Becoming a Teacher Leader” workshop at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa., on June 27. The workshop is designed to encourage young African Americans to go into teaching. say, ‘I didn’t have a good experience in school, so why would I want to spend life teaching?’ ” He traces their lack of interest back to Brown v.

Board of Education, the 1954 decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional.

“The African-Americans were bused over to the White schools,” he said.

“It wasn’t a two-way route.

Many Black principals and teachers lost their jobs.”

History lesson The number of AfricanAmerican teachers was almost cut by half, going from 80,000 nationwide in 1954 to 42,000 in 1965, he said.

New book traces dynamics that shaped Black intelligentsia

BY DR. GLENN ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

With the end of Reconstruction in the 1870s, former slaves and their children were left to fend for themselves. In their quest for equal rights and opportunities, African-Americans depended to no small extent on the leadership of an intelligentsia.

The formation of an elite class committed to the betterment of the race, however, was hampered by the exclusion of Blacks from

politics, the professions, and higher education.

In “The Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia,” Martin Kilson, an emeritus professor of government at Harvard University, traces the dynamics, including intraBlack color hierarchies, that shaped the intelligentsia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And he assesses the prospects for a revival of a “communitarian” Black elite.

Kilson claims, as have many scholars and activ-

Of the few who were offered jobs at White schools, the positions open to them were often less prestigious or lower-paid than the ones they previously had held, he said.

Rich Milner, a professor at University of Pittsburgh who specializes in urban education, said that before 1954, teaching was one of the three main professions that allowed African-Americans to move into the middle class; the others were nursing and the clergy. Teachers were seen as community leaders beyond the walls of the classroom, he said.

When the number of Black teachers dropped, the number of positive

male role models dropped with it.

Walter Lewis, who accompanied the students to the IUP workshop, is a student advocate and program manager at the Homewood Children’s Village. Many of the families that he works with do not have father figures.

“A lot of the students call me ‘dad’ or ‘uncle,’ ” he said. “I am often the positive male role model.

They need someone who can say, ‘Don’t do that’ — someone who is not afraid of them.”

ists before him, that the triumph of progressive Black elites, led by W.E.B. DuBois, over those, like Booker T. Washington, who advocated accommodation to the racist status quo, paved the way for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s.

The DuBoisian leadership, he adds, a bit more controversially, set “above all else,” a goal of enlisting the capacities of the “Talented Tenth” in behalf of the needs of the Negro masses.

Kilson’s autobiographical reflections add passion to his argument. The son of the pastor of an African Union Methodist Church in a factory town in Pennsylvania, who had a penchant for telling tales about African-American history, Kilson had formative expe-

riences at the Wissahickon Boys Club (the kind of institution no longer available to many Black youth) and graduated from Lincoln University, an allBlack school, in 1953, one of many influential “college-bred Negroes.”

Brother drew stares The organizers of the Black Men Teaching Initiative hope that providing

African-American middle and high school students with mentors and role models will create a snowball effect.

Stanley Denton, the professor in charge of the initiative at Point Park University, remembers being stared at as he walked the halls of Pittsburgh schools as the district’s director of multicultural education.

“Our children were aware that someone like me was a rarity and that someone like me was an asset,” Denton said.

The initiative takes various forms at different schools. Point Park has a focus on recruiting math and science teachers, persuading teachers assistants

The Heinz Endowments, which gave $360,000 over the past three years through its African-American Men and Boys Task Force, funds the program.

Stanley Thompson, education program director, said that it complemented the work of other Heinzfunded projects, such as the fellows program, in which a few African-American college graduates are given a salary to visit schools as mentors and a stipend to work on a master’s degree, preferably in a field related to teaching.

While outside education experts applaud the effort, they also warn against viewing an increase in the numbers as the only solution.

“It can’t be seen as a panacea,” Milner said. He mentioned inequitable funding, inadequate resources and under-qualified teachers as hurdles that can trip up Black students, regardless of the number of Black male teachers.

“Black male teachers can serve as role models, especially for Black male students, but what are we going to do to support Black male teachers who take on these other layers of responsibility?” he asked.

Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, also admires the program.

“We need a diverse population of teachers, but we need to make sure that all our teachers get the special training that urban teachers need,” she said.

Who else?

He does not hide his convictions about the roles and responsibilities of a Black intelligentsia in the advancement of poor Blacks.

Responding to an assertion that 20th-century Black intellectuals devoted too much time to the subject of race, Kilson writes, “Who else, pray tell,” were the offspring of former slaves to turn to as leaders to help them navigate the “rugged terrain of the White supremacist modern American society? Who?”

Encouraging stats

JE Dunn Construction is currently seeking bids from qualified subcontractors and suppliers for the Brandon Regional Hospital construction project. Brandon, FL and surrounding area businesses are invited to attend a Pre-Construction Meet & Greet to learn more about opportunities associated with this upcoming project.

JE Dunn Construction and HCA/Brandon Regional Hospital are strongly committed to the development and implementation of initiatives which promote the inclusion of local, minority and women-owned businesses.

Bid Packages include: Surveying • Final Cleaning • Temporary Fencing • Demolition •Turnkey Concrete • Lightweight Insulating Concrete • Masonry & Stone • Structural & Miscellaneous Steel • Medical Equipment Supports • Waterproofing, Expansion Control, & Joint Sealants • EIFS • Metal Roof and Wall Panels • Membrane Roofing • Sprayed Fireproofing • Firestopping & Acoustical Sealants • Doors, Frames, and Hardware Supply • Doors & Hardware Installation • Overhead Doors • Glass & Glazing • Drywall & Acoustical • Hard Tile • Resilient Flooring • Moisture Mitigation • Specialties (Furnish and Install) • Interior & Exterior Signage • Healthcare Casework • Manufactured Heliports • Elevators • Pneumatic Tube Systems • Fire Protection • Plumbing and Medical Gas • Solid Surface Shower Units • HVAC & Controls • Test & Balance • Electrical, Fire Alarm, and Access Control • Structured Cabling & Telecommunications • Access Control • Turnkey Site work

What: The project will consist of approximately 38,000 square feet of new construction and 35,200 square feet of major renovation areas.

The project scope includes expanding the existing Emergency Department to a capacity of 72 beds, relocating the existing cardiac rehab, installing a new helipad, construction of three canopy entrances (Walk-in/ Ambulance, Pediatric), generator replacement/upgrade, and adding CT and Radiology rooms.

There will also be extensive site work involved at the existing Emergency Department areas.

This project will consist of multiple phases.

When: Thursday, August 14, 2014 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EST Where: Oakfield Medical Plaza, Suite 244 (Classroom A&B) (located on the campus at Brandon Regional Medical Center), 276 Moon Avenue South, Brandon, Fla. 33511 For information regarding the bid packages for this project contact: Dustin Turner at (615) 620-3114 or Email: dustin.turner@jedunn.com To RSVP for the upcoming Meet & Greet, contact: Rhea Kinnard at (615) 941-8396 Email: meetandgreetus@aol.com

In his concluding chapter, Kilson assesses the likelihood of the emergence of post-civil rights leaders committed to assist Blacks in the context of evidence of persistent racism and a two-tier class system of “black haves” and “black have-nots.”

The presence of almost four million African-Americans in white-collar top tier occupations, some of them holding executive positions in major corporations, and some 10,000 Black-elected officeholders, one of whom is president of the United States, is encouraging.

That said, Kilson acknowledges that there are reasons for concern.

More ‘underclass poor’ Although the comfortable and “middle classes have grown, the number of “underclass poor” has skyrocketed. As a consequence, the attitudes of some middle class and professional Blacks have

BOOK REVIEW “Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia 18802012.” By Martin Kilson. Harvard University Press. 220 pp. $29.95. shifted.

In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2007, 61 percent of Black respondents said that the values of poor and middleclass Blacks have grown more dissimilar in the past 10 years.

In a manifestation of what Kilson calls “I’m all right Jack” conservatism, 53 percent agree that “Blacks who have not gotten ahead in life are mainly responsible for their own situation.”

can-Americans.

And a very high percentage of Blacks retain liberal political views and allegiances to the Democratic Party.

Nonetheless, you have to wonder whether there is a will, and, given current political realities, a way, to mobilize the resources available to today’s African-American elite to substantially improve the lives of two-fifths of the Black families in the United States.

Shared values

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He wrote this review for the Florida Courier.

Kilson remains optimistic. A belief in shared values among poor and middle-class Blacks, he points out, is strongest among the best-educated Afri-

B4

HEALTH

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

STOJ

Major cultural shift on marijuana legalization Poll shows more support for legalizing pot than for same-sex marriage

BY MATT PEARCE AND MARIA L. LA GANGA LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

More than a third of adults have smoked it — including the last three presidents. Dozens of songs and movies have been made about it.

Marijuana is no longer whispered about, nor hidden in back rooms and basements. It has come into the open in American life despite decades of prohibition and laws treating the drug as more dangerous than meth and cocaine.

When The New York Times’ editorial board called last weekend for the U.S. government to end its ban on weed — and let states decide how to regulate it — the newspaper reflected what a majority of Americans have told pollsters: Marijuana should be legal.

The status quo, according to advocates and even the president, has resulted in the disproportionate arrests of minorities and the poor.

“The social costs of the marijuana laws are vast,” the editorial said. “There were 658,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2012, according to FBI figures, compared with 256,000 for cocaine, heroin and their derivatives. Even worse, the result is racist, falling disproportionately on young Black men, ruining their lives and creating new generations of career criminals.”

Poll results These are not new arguments.

But this time they come from The New York Times, not High Times.

Support for marijuana legalization has grown so rapidly within the last decade, and especially within the last two years, that some advocates and pollsters have compared it with the sudden collapse of opposition to same-sex marriage as a cultureredefining event.

Gallup has found more popular support for legalizing marijuana than for legalizing samesex marriage.

In Gallup’s most recent survey on the issue, in 2013, 58 percent of respondents said marijuana should be legal — up from 46 percent a year earlier and 31 percent in the early 2000s. This spring, 55 percent said gay and lesbian couples should be able to marry.

When Colorado passed a ballot measure in 2012 legalizing recreational marijuana, more residents voted for legal weed than for President Barack Obama (who carried the state). Washington state’s legalization effort also passed handily.

Presidents tried it Yet through a combination of ballot measures, legislative action and judicial action, samesex marriage has found far more

KATIE FALKENBERG/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Singer and artist Mod Sun medicates after a delivery from Speed Weed at his North Hollywood home. Medical marijuana delivery services are on the rise because of growing demand and the difficulty opening dispensaries in Los Angeles. success across the U.S., in a campaign supporters liken to the civil rights movement.

For marijuana, a better historical comparison is Prohibition — when alcohol was banned in the early 20th century. Public officials have moved more slowly on pot, in many cases taking incremental steps like decriminalizing possession of small amounts and legalizing the drug for medicinal use.

Taboos have slowly faded. Former President Bill Clinton confessed to smoking marijuana but famously claimed that he “didn’t inhale.” George W. Bush told a friend in a recorded conversation that he didn’t want to answer questions about past marijuana use because “I don’t want some little kid doing what I tried.”

Obama was bolder, declaring before he was elected, “Of course I inhaled — that was the point!”

Next Big Tobacco?

In a New Yorker interview published in January, Obama said, “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.” But he worried legalizing marijuana would create a slippery slope for legalizing more dangerous drugs.

The American Medical Association, while calling for more clinical testing, has expressed skepticism that medicinal marijuana meets federal safety standards for prescriptions. The American Psychiatric Association’s most recent policy statement says, “There is no current scientific ev-

idence that marijuana is in any way beneficial for the treatment of any psychiatric disorder.”

Dissenters also worry that creating a legal marijuana industry would simply be the next Big Tobacco, with legalization bringing higher rates of addiction and mental health problems.

“When you look back at Prohibition, what you see is that percapita use of alcohol during Prohibition dropped more than 50 percent; as a result of that, alcohol-related deaths dropped considerably as well,” says Stuart Gitlow, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

“Prohibition was an enormous public health success.”

Even light marijuana use, Gitlow said, can harm brain function.

Gitlow added of tobacco: “We’ve gone over these past 30 to 40 years from about half the population smoking cigarettes to a much smaller figure. ... Now the public wants to start that cycle again with a different drug they consider safer (when) the data aren’t all in. Why would we want to potentially start that disaster all over again?”

New tax revenue Colorado and Washington are de facto laboratories for legalization.

In Washington, where marijuana stores opened July 8, officials say it’s too early to draw many conclusions.

“There was a lot of concern

that maybe it would end up being a three-ring circus, and we’d have people abusing it or overdosing on it,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said. “Those sorts of problems have not manifest themselves in relation to the few stores that are open.”

Alison Holcomb, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who drafted Initiative 502, which legalized marijuana in the state, said, “Things seem to be going very well in Washington.” For one thing, she said, the first 10 days of sales generated $318,000 in new tax revenue.

Holcomb added that in 2012, the year that I-502 passed, law enforcement officers made 5,531 marijuana-related arrests statewide. In 2013, that dropped to 120. She said it “would take a while” to evaluate whether full legalization affects use by young people.

Some stumbles Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes was third in line when legal weed sales came to the city.

On Sunday, he said the only way to get rid of the black market was for legal stores to succeed and the unregulated medical marijuana system to be folded into the well-regulated recreational system.

“Prohibition has failed to keep marijuana out of the hands of children,” Holmes said. “It has made criminals wealthy and promoted violence and kept us in the dark about what rational reg-

ulation would look like.”

Colorado, where legal sales began Jan. 1, has had some stumbles. Sheriffs in neighboring states (where pot remains illegal) have complained they are arresting more drivers coming from Colorado with marijuana.

Deadly reactions Fourth-graders have faced discipline after allegedly selling their grandparents’ legally purchased pot to classmates. Some emergency rooms have reported treating children who accidentally ate edible marijuana.

And two consumers may have had deadly reactions — including a 19-year-old college student who plunged from a Denver balcony to his death after eating a pot cookie. Also in Denver, a 47-year-old man was accused of shooting his wife to death after taking drugs and eating marijuana-infused candy.

“Colorado is proving that legalization in practice is a lot uglier than legalization in theory,” said Kevin Sabet, president of the policy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, who opposes legalization, citing reports of increased calls to poison centers for marijuana overexposure.

“I’ve urged all the governors to go cautiously on this because I think there are risks that we’re only just beginning to understand,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said in June. “But this is going to be one of the great social experiments of the 21st century.”

Report: Fist bumps, high-fives spread fewer germs than handshakes

BY KAREN KAPLAN LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

To fight the spread of germs, doctors should ditch the handshake and greet their patients with a fist bump instead, a new study says.

Through a series of tests, researchers at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University in Wales documented that fist bumps are 20 times more hygienic than handshakes.

They are also 10 times cleaner than high-fives, according to results published online Monday in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Volunteers donned sterile gloves and dunked their hands into a soup of de-fanged Escherichia coli bacteria. Then they shook hands, high-fived or fist-bumped with one another.

The handshakes transferred an average of 124 million colonyforming units of E. coli. That was almost twice as high as for highfives and about 20 times more than with fist bumps, Sara Mela and David E. Whitworth discovered.

Duration matters In part, this was due to the large contact area of handshakes (24.4 square inches, on average).

The greater the contact area, the more bacteria moved from hand to hand, but that wasn’t the whole story, the researchers reported.

For instance, the duration of the greeting matters. Handshakes last longer — three seconds — than high-fives or fist bumps. When fist bumps were prolonged to three seconds, more E. coli spread from hand to hand. (However, lengthening a high-five didn’t make it any germier.)

There’s also the pressure between hands during a greeting.

Mela and Whitworth used an instrument called a dynamometer to measure the grip strength of various handshakes and found that those of “moderate strength” transferred fewer bacteria than “strong” handshakes.

The researchers didn’t conduct their tests with any pathogens that were actually dangerous, but they wrote that they would probably get similar results if they had tested flu virus particles or “other pathogenic microorganisms.”

In the real world, where people aren’t walking around in sterile gloves, the fist bump and highfive might fare better or worse than a handshake because “different parts of a hand would have differing amounts of bacterial fauna,” Mela and Whitworth said.

“For the sake of improving public health we encourage further adoption of the fist bump as a

Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater fist-bumps a fan as the players report for training camp at the University of Minnesota, Mankato, on July 24. Doctors are encouraging fist bumps over handshakes.

JERRY HOLT/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/MCT

simple, free and more hygienic alternative to the handshake,” they concluded.

Another experiment Indeed, there is some evidence that fist bumps spread fewer germs than handshakes under actual hospital conditions.

In a pilot study, researchers from West Virginia University asked two health care workers to make their way from a hospital lobby to a surgical ward on the fifth floor. Along the way, the volunteers pushed elevator buttons, used door handles and touched other potentially germy surfaces.

Once they got to the surgical

floor, they each shook hands with 20 other health care workers who didn’t know what the researchers were trying to measure. The 20 hand-shakers were asked to wash their hands, then placed their “clean” hands in a microbiological growth medium to see how many germs survived.

Fist-bump results Then the whole experiment was repeated, this time with the two health care workers greeting their colleagues with fist bumps instead of handshakes. (They followed the exact same route from the hospital lobby to the surgical ward.) The 20 fist bump recipi-

ents then washed their hands and placed their fists in the growth medium.

The West Virginia researchers found that the people who shook hands had four times as many pathogens on their hands as the people who fist-bumped, according to results published last year in the Journal of Hospital Infection.

But getting doctors to switch from handshakes to fist bumps won’t be easy. Studies have shown that patients feel more calm after shaking hands with their doctor, and some hospitals encourage physicians to greet patients this way to promote a sense of empathy.

STOJ

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) 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.

Florida Courier photojournalists were aboard Royal Caribbean ships with thousands of “Tom Joyner Morning Show’’ fans on previous Fantastic Voyage cruises. We’re featuring some of the “Finest” cruisers.

TONY LEAVELL/FLORIDA COURIER and DELROY COLE/FLORIDA COURIER

A story told with heart, humor, funk and soul ‘Get on Up’ shares MOVIE REVIEW James Brown’s never lets this damaged, trials, triumphs

BY ROGER MOORE MCCLATCY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

“Get on Up” is a movie of uncompromising soul, unadulterated funk and unalloyed joy.

Dazzling, witty and emotional, this warts-and-all musical biography of James Brown rides on the able shoulders of Chadwick Boseman. It turns out that his terrific if saintly spin on Jackie Robinson in “42” was just a warm-up act.

On first glance, Boseman suggests little of the pugnacious fireplug “Godfather of Soul.” He’s too tall.

He’s better looking. But Boseman juts his jaw into a fearsome underbite and utterly masters the spins, splits and sweaty stagecraft of Brown. He becomes, for two hours, “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.”

The director of “The Help” and screenwriters with “Edge of Tomorrow” experience deliver a film both reverential and self-aware. Boseman, as Brown, turns to the camera, sometimes narrating Brown’s business or music ethos in that Third Person way of his, sometimes winking, sometimes leeryeyed with mistrust.

Every now and then, he turns to the camera in pain. Other moments betray guilt — a “Yeah, I know I’m misusing my band” or abusing his wife.

No fear The thrill of Boseman’s performance is that he

very human soul lose our interest of empathy. The guts of the performance are contained in his recreation of Brown’s hoarse, Southern-fried slur of a speaking voice. It’s so thick you can’t make out everything he says or sings. But that is exactly the way Brown was.

And we still understand him and feel his pain.

Tate Taylor’s film frames Brown’s life within the day, in 1988, in which he hit bottom. Stoned, barely coherent and armed, he terrorizes a group of White folks renting a Georgia meeting room owned

by James Brown Enterprises. He went to prison for that, but it’s a hilarious mishap played for farce here, and it works.

In a positively giddy first few minutes, we get a handle on the film’s flip back and forth through his story format, beginning with an airplane ride, with the band, into a combat zone in 1968 Vietnam. The band (including Nelsan Ellis of HBO’s “True Blood” and Craig Robinson) is quaking in fear. James Brown doesn’t fear death, or the Viet Cong.

Demanded respect After the life he’s led, the trials he’s faced, a little flak hitting his plane on a USO tour was nothing. “Get On Up” proceeds to show us those trials: the abusive father, the adoring mother (Viola Davis) who abandoned him, the racist Georgia culture he grew up in. Chapters — “1949, Music Box,” “1964, The Famous Flames” — capture

Chadwick Boseman, playing James Brown, and director Tate Taylor work together on the set of “Get On Up.”

PHOTOS BY D. STEVENS/MCT

Dan Aykroyd and Chadwick Boseman star as Ben Bart and James Brown, respectively, in “Get On Up.” singular moments in his story.

He calmed Boston (among other cities) by performing just after Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 assassination. He insisted that everyone call him “Mr. Brown,” and most did, long before “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” became an anthem.

He demanded respect

and outfoxed an ingrained, corrupt and racist music business run by men he called “white devils,” by promoting his own shows, financing his own breakthrough LP (1963’s “Live at the Apollo”).

Great performances James Brown fan Dan Aykroyd must have been in hog heaven, playing

Brown’s compliant manager, Ben “Pops” Bart. Davis is stunning in just a few scenes, playing a mother who was both victim and victimizer, both sexual and nurturing, abused and codependent.

Ellis is wonderfully sympathetic as Bobby Byrd, the long-suffering singer, onstage foil and right arm to Brown for decades.

“Mr. Brown” would fine his band and other subordinates for all manner of violations of his codes of professionalism, which gets under the skin of pros like Maceo Parker (Robinson).

Jill Scott is plus-sized sexy as DeeDee, the wife he seduced from stage (while already married), then married and abused during their long lives together.

But “Get On Up” is Boseman’s tour de force. He’s perfect in concert scenes, where his mastery of Brown the performer is spot on (he lip syncs), hilariously playful as he convinces his then-new group,

The Famous Flames, to leap onstage and take over the instruments that Little Richard (Brandon Smith, electrifying in his own right) and his band have left there on a break between sets.

Taylor uses time-lapse photography to capture the passing years, skipping between the 1940s, when young James was raised by Aunt Honey (Oscar winner Octavia Spencer) in a brothel, to the 1970s, when Brown rode out disco to become the “Godfather of Soul.”

Artistically, “Get on Up” rivals ”Walk the Line,” with a lead performance on a par with the career-making turns of Angela Bassett (“What’s Love Got to Do With It?”) and Jamie Foxx (“Ray”).

With this wonder of the summer, Boseman and Taylor deliver a piece of American cultural history every bit as important as the Jackie Robinson story, a story told with heart, humor, funk and soul.

F0OD

B6

AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7, 2014

TOJ

Mediterranean Bean & Pita-Wiches, Red Cabbage, Onion & Bacon Jam, and Herbed Beet & Tomato Salad

Flavorful al fresco dining ideas

FUDGY BEET BROWNIES Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: Per package directions Servings: 24 brownies 1 jar (15.5 ounces) Aunt Nellie’s Harvard Beets, not drained 1 box dark or milk chocolate brownie mix (for 13-by-9-inch pan)* 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks Confectioners’ sugar (optional) Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom of 9-by-13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place beets in blender or food processor. Puree until smooth; set aside.

Combine brownie mix, oil, eggs and pureed beets in large mixing bowl; stir until well blended.

Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan. Bake as directed on package, checking after shortest recom­mended baking time. Remove from oven; cool. Lightly dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired. *Note: Package sizes may vary accord­ing to brand.

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

H

ere comes the sun — and the fun of dining al fresco.

When it comes to summer fare, familiar favorites are always welcome, such as burgers on the grill, sandwiches, salad, lemonade and dessert. But if the tried-and-true choices are getting a little too familiar, maybe they need a makeover.

New al fresco favorites These deliciously doable ideas start with time-saving, quality prepared products, such as Aunt Nellie’s jarred vegetables and READ classic bean salads, that provide real homemade flavors. Here’s how: • Elevate burgers from basic to sensational with a dollop of Red Cabbage, Onion & Bacon Jam, made with sweet-and-sour red cabbage, sauteed onions and smoky bacon.

• Need a new sandwich inspiration? Mediterranean Bean & PitaWiches are a combination of 3 or 4 bean salad, vegetables, olives and feta cheese stuffed into whole grain pita pockets.

• Trade the traditional greens or potato salad for Herbed Beet & Tomato Salad, an updated combo of colorful sweet-tangy pickled beets, garden-fresh yellow tomatoes and herb vinaigrette.

• What’s for dessert? Try Fudgy Beet Brownies, which are made with Harvard beets to keep them extra moist and yummy.

• Lemonade is always a welcome thirst quencher, especially if it’s pink. Here’s the simple secret: Just stir pickled beet liquid into prepared lemonade — it’s pink in a wink.

Cheers to a new twist on favorite al fresco fare. For additional recipes and serving suggestions, visit www.auntnellies.com and www. readsalads.com.

Pink Lemonade

Fudgy Beet Brownies MEDITERRANEAN BEAN & PITA-WICHES Prep time: 30 minutes Servings: 6 1 can (15 ounces) READ 3 or 4 Bean Salad 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup coarsely chopped baby spinach 1/4 cup sliced celery 1/4 cup sliced pitted black or Kalamata olives 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or basil 6 whole grain pita pocket halves Dressing: 2 tablespoons reserved bean liquid 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 clove garlic, minced Black pepper, coarsely ground Drain bean salad; reserve 2 tablespoons liquid.

In large bowl, toss together bean salad and next six ingredients.

For dressing, whisk ingredients together. Add dressing to bean mixture; toss. Fill pita pocket halves with bean mixture.

RED CABBAGE, ONION & BACON JAM Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes 1 jar (16 ounces) Aunt Nellie’s Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage 1/4 pound bacon (thick cut or regular)

1 large yellow onion (about 8 ounces) 2 tablespoons granulated or brown sugar 2 tablespoons white balsamic or white wine vinegar 1–2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme) 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste) Green onion or parsley (optional) Drain cabbage; reserve liquid.

Cut bacon into pieces (about 1/4 inch). Cook in large skillet over medium to medium-low heat until browned and crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towellined plate; reserve. Measure 2 table­ spoons drippings and return to skillet.

Discard remaining drippings.

Meanwhile, cut onion lengthwise in quarters. Cut crosswise into very thin slices (about 1/8 inch thick).

Heat bacon drippings over mediumlow heat until hot. Add onion slices, reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes or until onions begin to soften, stirring occasionally.

Stir in sugar, vinegar, thyme, peppers, bacon and 1/2 cup reserved liquid. Add cabbage and continue cooking over medium-low to low heat 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and mix­ture is very soft and thick, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onion or chopped parsley before serving, if desired.

Serve warm or at room temperature as topping for burgers or crostini, as sandwich spread, condiment for meats or tossed with pasta.

HERBED BEET & TOMATO SALAD Prep time: 20 minutes Servings: 4 1 jar (16 ounces) Aunt Nellie’s Sliced Pickled Beets 2 medium yellow tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil 1/4 cup white wine or rice vinegar 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme, parsley, basil, oregano or chives) 1 clove garlic, minced Salt and pepper Drain beets well.* Cut beets in half.

Cut tomato slices into quarters.

For vinaigrette, whisk together oil, vinegar, herbs and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place tomatoes in large bowl. Toss with dressing. Gently toss in beets.

Serve immediately or chill. * Reserve liquid for pink lemon­ade, if desired.

PINK LEMONADE Makes: 2 quarts Add 2 to 4 tablespoons pickled beet liquid to 2 quarts prepared lemonade; stir. For deeper pink color add additional beet liquid.