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SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
VOLUME 22 NO. 38
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Citing global security, President Obama announces initiatives to fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Is it too little, too late? ATLANTA – President Barack Obama on Tuesday came to Atlanta to announce that he is sending thousands of U.S. troops and health personnel to fight the Ebola epidemic sweeping West Africa, painting the crisis as a threat to global security. “Right now the world has the ability to save countless lives,” Obama told reporters at a briefing at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The world has a responsibility to act.” He said that if the outbreak is not stopped now, the toll could mount to the hundreds of thousands, with profound impacts on nations’ economies and stability that could reverberate to
U.S. shores.
Largest response Obama called the plan the largest international response in the history of the CDC. In addition to health workers, the plan calls for a military command center in Liberia to support civilian work across the region, a staging area in Senegal, and a plan to build treatment units and facilities to train hundreds or thousands of local health workers. It also is to involve an estimated 3,000 U.S. troops. Administration statements emphasized the U.S. military’s expertise in logistics, clearing the decks to move supplies and medical per-
sonnel to the right places faster. They made no mention of involvement in activities such as enforcing quarantines. Dr. Bruce Ribner, who led the Emory University Hospital team that successfully treated Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol and recently took in a third Ebola patient as well, said the medical staff’s meeting with Obama was encouraging. “I think he has a good handle on what the issues are in both the United States and the Third World,” Ribner said. “I’m very optimistic that we’re starting to get a global response that’s going to get control of this outHYOSUB SHIN/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION / MCT break.” On Tuesday, President Obama delivered remarks at the Centers for See OBAMA, Page A2 Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
KEY WEST/ THE DRY TORTUGAS
The wonders of Florida
Suicide in middle school Mother cites ‘overwhelming hopelessness’ BY TIFFANY WALDEN ORLANDO SENTINEL / MCT
ORLANDO – Shaniqua Hawkins’ voice trembled as she spoke publicly for the first time about the death of her son, Lamar Hawkins III. At times, she even rocked back and forth, taking long pauses in between sentences – an attempt to fight back tears. Surrounded by her husband, Lamar Hawkins Sr., Lamar extended family Hawkins, Jr. and Orlando attorney Matt Morgan, she told reporters at an emotional news conference Monday that bullies pushed her son over the edge. “The hopelessness was overwhelming,” Hawkins said about her son, whose nickname was Shaq. “Our hearts are broken, and our lives are forever changed. Shaq is gone.”
Bullying takes toll UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ROSENSTIEL SCHOOL OF MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE/MCT
In the remotest part of the Florida Keys, scientists are on a research mission to learn more about grouper, snapper and other reef fish that congregate at specific places at certain times to mate.
Black poverty still high as general rate declines FROM WIRE REPORTS
WASHINGTON – An improved economy with more full-time workers drove a decline in the national poverty rate in 2013 – the first in seven years – and the first decline in the nation’s child poverty rate in 13 years, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Tuesday. The poverty rate also declined for the first time since 2006, from 15 percent in 2012 to 14.5 percent last year. But the poverty rate remains stubbornly high. It was 12.5 percent in 2007, the year before the economy tanked.
Highest of all Blacks had the nation’s highest poverty rate at 27.2 percent in 2013, followed by 10.5 percent
ALSO INSIDE
for Asians and 9.6 percent for non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics were the only group to see a significant decline in their poverty rate, falling from 25.6 percent in 2012 to 23.5 percent in 2013. The nation’s median household income – the amount at which half the nation earns more and the other half earns less – was $51,939 in 2013, virtually unchanged from $51,759 in 2012.
See POVERTY, Page A2
See HAWKINS, Page A2
SNAPSHOTS NATION | A3
Will Ferguson energize Black youth voter turnout?
HEALTH | B3
Shortage of in-home dialysis solution worries patients
No change It marked the third straight year that stagnant earnings showed no statistically significant change. And full-time working women, on average, earned only 78 cents for every $1 a man earned in 2013 – up just 1 cent
The student at Greenwood Lakes Middle School in Lake Mary, killed himself in the school’s bathroom last week. His mother said they were aware of Lamar’s issues with bul-
SPORTS | B4 YALONDA M. JAMES/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
An emotional Lydia Omogun recalls the pain of losing her house, car and hair. Omogun, 54, says she is a victim of wage theft after not being paid for her home care services.
75 years ago this month — football on TV was launched
COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: BILL FLETCHER, JR.: PRESSURE MOUNTS TO DROP NAME OF D.C. FOOTBALL TEAM | A5
FOCUS
A2
SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Does anyone care that a man was boiled alive? Part 1 Editor’s note: In the September 5, 2014 issue, the Florida Courier reported on the death of Darren Rainey, who was scalded to death at Dade Correctional Institution. Does anyone care about an inmate at a Florida state correctional facility in Miami-Dade County who was boiled to death in a small shower, his skin peeled off and lying on the floor? His only crime for his painful and agonizing death was that he defecated in his cell. He was mentally ill and in prison for a nonviolent drug possession offense and was to be released one month from the date of his death. Do you care that this shower was used regularly by prison guards and the warden to torture inmates? Does it matter to you that other inmates heard this man screaming in agony for two hours before he died and that no one in authority would help? Do you care about how the weakest citizens of our country are treated?
one has done a thing about it. Not the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) and its secretary, Michael D. Crews; not the inspector general’s office; not Gov. Rick Scott. The MiamiDade Police Department, which is supposed to be investigating this case, has done nothing and is complicit in the cover-up by all the responsible agencies. The autopsy report has never been disclosed to anyone, including the family. And this is not the only torture happening in Florida state prisons. Every day, juvenile and adult inmates are beaten or killed by prison guards as wardens and others participate or look the other way.
Nothing was done
Confinement, retaliation
If this situation horrifies you, then you need to know that this inmate was killed in 2012 by guards and the warden, and no
The horrors that await any prisoner at any state prison keep inmates in constant fear of beating, sickness, death and many
ADORA OBI NWEZE GUEST COMMENTARY
other horrors. Inmates are beaten and placed in solitary confinement in boxes the size of a queen-sized bed, where they are isolated and left – sometimes for years – for no reason. Guards create false disciplinary charges and place some of these people in confinement for years, which causes severe mental and physical problems. And if the inmate or their families complain to anyone, there is severe retaliation; guns planted in the inmates’ cell, guards sneaking in knives and having other inmates murder each other, and guards murdering inmates themselves. Families are told that inmates die of natural causes, a heart attack or in their sleep. Unrecognizable food is served in dirty, black-stained trays. Sinks, showers, and sources for drinking water are polluted to the point where inmates get sick. Bottled water and canned food are sold at prison commissaries at very high prices that make them unaffordable for most inmates. Fruits and vegetables are required to be served daily, but none are provided to the inmates.
The healthcare system at prisons ends up causing the deaths of many inmates and fails to provide any meaningful care. Inmates in their 20s end up wheelchair-bound, sick or even dead. Most state prisons in Florida have no air conditioning for inmates. Temperatures reach up to 100 degrees or more, plus humidity, making the temperature on any given day over 120 degrees. Inmates are incarcerated in concrete block cells with no ventilation where the temperatures reach even higher and where breathing becomes impossible. The heat alone can burn the skin and dehydrate the inmate rapidly to the point where serious damage can occur to lungs, coupled with heart attacks, stroke and death.
Unconstitutional treatment The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Is burning someone alive cruel and unusual? Is continuously and repeatedly macing inmates for no reason cruel and unusual? Is feeding people food that will
Used dad’s gun Whether bullying led to Lamar’s death is unknown now. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the events leading up to his suicide. Investigators have said the gun Lamar used to shoot himself belongs to his father, Lamar Hawkins Sr., 34. But Morgan, the family’s attorney, said the father’s gun was “stored in full compliance with Florida law.” Lamar’s tearful father sat quietly, holding his wife’s hand, at the news conference. The family didn’t take questions afterward. “These are loving parents,” Morgan said. “These are good people who did everything in their power to protect their son.” Morgan said that years of bullying led to Lamar’s suicide.
Growth stunted GEORGE SKENE/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT
Shaniqua Hawkins fights back tears at a press conference in Orlando on Monday. Her husband, Lamar, Sr. sits to her right.
HAWKINS from A1
lies. But the boy, 14, never led his parents to believe he would take his own life, she said. “We called him Shaq because,
OBAMA from A1
‘Not enough’ Others were not so confident. “It is clearly not enough,” said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, in an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday. “We should see all of West Africa now as one big outbreak. It’s very clear we have to deal with all the areas with Ebola. If the U.S. is not able or not going to do it, that’s all the more reason to say the rest of the world has to do it.” Criticism has built for weeks that far too little has been done far too slowly. The White House rebuffed it on Tuesday, saying several times that its response began in March and ramped up this summer. But critics have charged that for the most part, nations with advanced medicine left the blooming African crisis in the lap of ill-equipped charities, at least until Americans were infected and brought to this country. “We’re fighting a forest fire with spray bottles,” wrote Ella Watson-Stryker, who is working in Sierra Leone for Doctors Without Borders. “We see entire villages wiped out. ...
despite his size, he had a largerthan-life personality and attitude toward life,” his mother said. “His smile could light up a room, and his laugh was contagious.” Another Central Florida mother, whose 12-year-old daughter, Rebecca Sedwick, committed suicide in September 2013 in
We separate sick parents from healthy children or the reverse. We listen to the broken-hearted wails of a woman who has lost the last of her 10 children, and then a week later we see her in our triage tent with her small grandson and we watch them die.”
‘Months of talking’ Watson-Stryker’s impassioned essay appeared recently on the nonprofit’s website. “No one is asking where the rest of the response is,” she wrote. “They don’t question why, after five months of talk, and more than 1,500 known deaths, the epidemic is still raging. They don’t ask, ‘Where is the money donors are pledging? Where are the boots on the ground?’ ” People are beginning to ask, particularly if they read the news. CDC director Tom Frieden last month traveled to the affected areas, and U.S. media have filled with photos of infected Africans sprawled near death on the streets with no one to help. Obama referenced those images and stories as “absolutely gutwrenching” scenes that spurred action.
Catastrophe brewing A World Health Organization official said Tuesday in Geneva that reported cases have risen to nearly 5,000, with nearly
Lakeland after months of alleged cyberbullying, also stood by the family’s side. “I believe many of these children are being brushed under the rug,” Tricia Norman said. “When they voice their issues to the administration, they are not taken seriously.”
2,500 deaths and warned that West Africa is on the brink of a “humanitarian catastrophe.” The number of cases could rise to 20,000 in the coming months, the WHO has said. That’s a frightening prospect for a disease that currently is claiming the lives of nearly 50 percent of those who fall ill. The outbreak is growing exponentially and could take nearly $1 billion to bring under control, the WHO warned. The figure is double what the organization estimated last month when it outlined a strategy to respond to the epidemic. The WHO has so far failed, many critics have charged, to mount a comprehensive, coordinated and timely response to the growing emergency. The organization acknowledges that the epidemic is out of control and issued a plea for more volunteers.
‘Unparalleled’ outbreak “Quite frankly, ladies and gentlemen, this health crisis we’re facing is unparalleled in modern times,” Assistant Director General Bruce Aylward, a Canadian physician and epidemiologist. told a news conference. “The gravity of the situation is difficult to get across with just a few numbers,” said Aylward. With the number of cases, 4,985, and deaths, 2,461, doubling in the past 14 days, “you start to get a
At the news conference, the family said health complications stunted his growth – making him an easy target for bullies. The family relocated from New York to Florida in an attempt to remove Lamar from a previous bullying environment, the mother said. “Shaq was emotionally and physically abused while at school,” Lamar’s mother said. “They pushed him down stairs, knocked him out of his chair in the cafeteria … repeatedly attacked him with an intent to emotionally harm.” Morgan said his parents met
sense of the rapid escalation we’re seeing of the virus from what was a linear increase in cases to now an almost exponential increase,” he said. “The reality here is we don’t know where the numbers are going on this. When I said we needed a capacity to manage 20,000 cases, that seemed like a lot. That does not seem like a lot today.”
Zero beds “Today, Liberia has not one single bed available for the treatment of an Ebola patient anywhere in the entire country,” said Director-General Margaret Chan, during an announcement last week that Cuba will send 165 doctors, nurses and infectious disease specialists to Sierra Leone. “Our response is running short on nearly everything, from personal protective equipment, to body bags, to mobile laboratories, to isolation wards.” Chan said the most urgent need is the “right people. The right specialists. And specialists who are appropriately trained and know how to keep themselves safe.”
Ariel Hart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; John Zarocostas of the McClatchy Foreign Staff; and Christi Parsons of the Tribune Washington Bureau / MCT all contributed to this report.
make them sick cruel and unusual? Is failing to provide adequate medical care cruel and unusual? Is abusing prisoners cruel and unusual? One of every 13 African-Americans has been incarcerated and is unable to get a job to support themselves or their families. Because of the employment difficulties, there is a high incidence of recidivism. Without opportunities, young Black men have no reason to stay in school. There then becomes a pipeline from school to prison. The guards at most of these prisons are White and many act as the Ku Klux Klan behaved in the 1900s in the U.S. They target Blacks for torture and horrendous abuse. Florida prisons represent Adolph Hitler-esque concentration camps, where torture is the rule rather than the exception. Next week: The majority of Florida’s prison torture victims are Black.
Adora Obi Nweze is president of the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.
“multiple times” with school officials about the alleged bullying. “Mr. Hawkins met with the administration a week or two before this tragedy occurred. He went to the school to voice his concerns multiple times over a two-year period,” Morgan said in an email.
District responds After the news conference, Seminole County Public Schools officials addressed the family’s bullying allegations in a statement: “This is a very tragic circumstance and our hearts and prayers remain with the family during this difficult time,” said Walt Griffin, the school system’s superintendent. “We are aware the family held a press conference this morning and allegations of bullying were discussed. The School Board has a comprehensive bullying policy that is fully enforced in all of our schools.” “Despite constant attacks, he never let the bullies see him sweat,” Lamar’s mother said. “We now know that he was unable to continue his fight against the bullies. They won, because he took his life as a result.” A GoFundMe account to raise money for Lamar, Jr.’s funeral arrangements and other expenses. As of the Florida Courier’s presstime late Wednesday night, 132 donors had contributed $5,640. To contribute, log on to http:// www.gofundme.com/Lamarslastwish.
POVERTY from A1
from 2012. The findings are some of the highlights of two annual census reports that track trends in the nation’s income, poverty and health insurance coverage. The annual reports are the leading barometers of Americans’ financial and social well-being. The number of men and women working full time, year round increased by 1.8 million and by 1 million, respectively, from 2012 to 2013, as America’s recession-battered workforce continued to find jobs and move from parttime to full-time work status.
More workers Since 2010, the number of full-time workers has increased by 6.4 million, to nearly 106 million people, the Census Bureau found. The labor market’s slow but steady recovery led to a rise in full-time employment among families with children, which helped lower the child poverty rate from 21.8 percent in 2012 to 19.9 percent in 2013 – the first decline since 2000. The number of impoverished children under age 18 also fell, from 16.1 million to 14.7 million, over the same period. “The poverty rate has finally started to decline,” said the Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread
for the World, a national anti-hunger organization. “As we continue to climb out of the deep hole the recession put us in, the government has to focus on greatly reducing unemployment and income inequality.” And while the number of impoverished Americans fell from 46.5 million in 2012 to 45.3 million last year, the decline was not statistically significant mainly because of population growth.
Recovery incomplete While the economic progress from the worst recession in a generation is undeniable, Jason Furman and Betsey Stevenson of the White House Council of Economic Advisers said in a statement that Americans haven’t yet regained their pre-recession economic stability. “There is reason to believe that this progress has continued into 2014,” Furman and Stevenson wrote. “Nevertheless, the typical family has still not seen its income recover from the deep recession which came on top of a decade in which incomes stagnated for the middle class, itself part of a longer-term trend of increasing income inequality.”
Tony Pugh of the McClatchy Washington Bureau (MCT) contributed to this report.
SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
NATION
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Will Ferguson energize Black youth voter turnout? Members of the St. Louis chapters of the NAACP and the National Urban League marched in Ferguson, Mo., in August.
SPECIAL TO THE TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE FROM NEW AMERICA MEDIA
A week before National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 23, civil rights leaders hope to increase African-American youth voter turnout by citing the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., a city where only 12 percent of registered voters turned out to vote in the last city council elections. Community organizers in New Orleans and Houston – two cities with a long history of confrontations between African-Americans and the police – have mixed views on whether outrage over Ferguson will translate into voter participation.
ROBERT COHEN/ST. LOUIS POSTDISPATCH/ MCT
Regular killings Ferguson may be a rallying call in New Orleans, but it won’t be the dominant theme for staff and volunteers as they work voter registration tables around the city on Sept. 23, says Erica Buher of VAYLA-New Orleans, a multiethnic community organization focused on youth empowerment. Big Easy youth are attuned and empathetic to Brown’s killing on Aug. 9, but, according to Buher, “what happened in Ferguson happens frequently in New Orleans.” Young people have their own Michael Browns to focus on. Their names, Buher says, are virtually unknown outside the city. Buher remembers when the police officer convicted of shooting Ronald Madison on Danziger Bridge in Hurricane Katrina’s wake was freed after a court upheld his appeal in September 2013. James Brissette age 17, also died on the bridge from police gunfire. Henry Glover was killed in a separate Katrina incident. The police officer charged in his death was also acquitted on appeal last year in December. Just weeks ago, Armand Ben-
nett, a 26-year-old AfricanAmerican man, was shot twice in the head during a NOPD traffic stop by an officer who allegedly turned off her camera before the confrontation. The incident initially went unreported to the public by the police superintendent’s office. Buher says it reminds people all over again of the NOPD’s lack of transparency. “We will work to register voters through National Voter Registration Day up until Oct. 6, which is the last day for us,” Buher says. “We work hard to reach that 18to 24-year-old transitional age group because they’re such a critical age and they’re the hardest to reach,” Buher explains, adding that in Louisiana, “you can actually register to vote when you’re 16. A lot of that under-18 age group is pushing back on the concept that voting is the only way you can be civically engaged.”
In Houston
Won’t happen overnight
Christina Sanders, the director of the Texas League of Young Voters Education Fund, is convinced that Ferguson has been an “a-ha moment” for some of her city’s youth and a catalyst that may yield an increase in voter registration rolls. “This is a time when I’ve seen more young people connect to the power of the ballot,” Sanders said. “Social media, like Facebook, and the ability to connect with people around the country who are saying the same thing, feeling the same way, that changes the conservation.” Sanders concurs with Buher that voter registration is not a panacea or silver bullet to foster change, but the Houston native sees voter registration as the gateway for young people to become more involved in determining how to define and address critical concerns within their communities.
“Youth should not expect everything to happen overnight, because things didn’t get the way they are overnight,” Sanders said. “Voter registration isn’t sexy, but if you connect with young people about Ferguson and how it affects people’s lives on so many different levels, you have the capacity to build on the fire in people’s bellies. You can build these small fires into a firestorm. What I say to young people is that voting is an opportunity, but your job is to constantly participate.” Sanders maintains that Ferguson has brought out a higher level of interest among AfricanAmerican youth in Houston than any single recent incident, an observation about other cities that is shared by Hazel Trice Edney, former Editor-in-Chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and current president of the Capital Press Club in the District of Columbia.
After a visit to Ferguson before the funeral of Brown, Edney says she had intense discussions with the media writing class she occasionally teaches at Howard University as an adjunct professor.
Student interested “The students are extremely interested in what’s going on in Ferguson. They wanted to know about the disposition of the people, about the next steps the community plans to take. Even more than the Trayvon Martin shooting almost two years ago, Michael Brown’s death has been a wake-up call to many communities.” Edney found the stories Ferguson residents told her about police abuse to be appalling, but Brown’s death seems to be a tipping point. “People are in a mood for action. They feel it’s time to do something.”
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EDITORIAL
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SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Blame the elevators Don’t blame it on the medical marijuana; blame it on the alcohol and the elevators! The latest uproar about domestic violence was escalated when a video surfaced that showed a National Football League player deliver a punch to his current wife on an elevator that knocked her unconscious! Most people commenting on the elevator punch are talking about how terrible it is for a man to strike a woman. But The Gantt Report says it is bad for anybody to hit anybody! Let me tell you about my some of my experiences with domestic violence. Well, as a child, I saw my mother and father put their hands on each other. As a teen, I saw men put their hands on my older sister. As a young adult, under the influence of alcohol, I wrongfully
LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT
assaulted a girlfriend.
Just leave Now, that was the last time in my life that I wrongfully touched a woman unless the touching, so to speak, was in self defense. I have looked for my former girlfriend for 40 years to apologize to her and to tell her how wrong I was and how sorry I was. Not too long after my terrible behavior I learned that a man doesn’t have to hit a woman. If he wants to hurt her all he has to do is walk away. All he has to do is leave.
Justice and fairness
Fair is fair
Here’s where The Gantt Report differs from the domestic violence “Johnny come lately(s).” I believe in fairness and I believe in justice. We are all guilty of doing less than we should with regard to domestic violence. To only bash men is biased, discriminatory and far from the truth about the American world of domestic problems. I’m smart enough to know the Cuban Business Association will speak positively about Latin entrepreneurs. I know the United Negro College Fund will always compliment historically Black colleges and universities. I know the Black Panther Party and the Ku Klux Klan will have good words to say about Black people and White people. And, I know The National Organization for Women (NOW) will always take up for women! That’s cool but NOW should do the right thing and tell the truth!
You see, NOW promotes fairness and equal opportunity in the work place, they encourage equal opportunity in the market place, they want equal rights in regard to salaries, promotions, education, athletics and in many other areas. I don’t know a man my age that hasn’t been punched, hit, slapped, scratched or bitten by a woman at some time or another but don’t expect NOW to say anything about that. No one suggests Solange Knowles should lose her recording contracts because she kicked Jay-Z in an elevator. I want women to have equal rights, equally good or equally bad!
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: NFL TAILGATES
STEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 227 Adrian Peterson, ‘child abuser’ – I’m an active dad. I don’t whip my kids because I don’t need to; they handle their business. However, I won’t take the threat of corporal DISCIPLINE (not punishment) off the table – and they know that Dad could “go ham” on them if necessary. The problem is there’s no balance with regard to child ‘abuse.’ Seems like the only permissible discipline these days are “time out,” and a rational discussion at the kitchen table. Everything else is now criminal child abuse – and your kid has the 800-ABUSE number that can get you locked up. I won’t pile on Peterson. He needs to be taught different disciplinary strategies. But in a era of deadbeats, he’s paying his multiple baby mamas their child support and welcoming temporary physical custody of his kids. Overboard? Yes. An abuser? NO. A brother just can’t win. Most of us parents have just as much education on parenting and child development as Peterson has – NONE. We have read a book or two. But generally we raise our children by remembering positive or negative examples (what we saw that worked or didn’t work), or our personal experiences. Now we have first, second and thirdgeneration ‘babies having babies,’ with no
QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER
CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER
formal or practical parental education, or with dysfunctional experiences as children, who are now raising undisciplined children themselves – usually without fathers or strong male role models in their lives. That’s a factor contributing to the chaos we see in inner-city Black communities and in some schools. How do we handle that? Bigger fish – As we immerse ourselves in football and other entertainment, let us also immerse ourselves in global events, especially the impact of war and peace/ life and death decisions being made for us in Washington. Next week, Florida Courier columnist Anthony L. Hall, Esq. provides a comprehensive analysis of why the Obama administration’s Middle East response is doomed to fail, how Russia will be pulled in, and why China will sit on the sidelines and benefit from the sacrifice of American blood and treasure…
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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‘What’s up with that?’ If the treatment is right that the football player got, the same treatment should be applicable when women attack and assault men. Forgive me readers, I’m just
saying! When there is domestic violence on an elevator, the perpetrator should go to jail if they are a male or a female! One more thing, Black people learned about spanking their children from slave masters and overseers who committed domestic violence every day by beating, whipping and spanking slaves. When I was a child any adult in my neighborhood could spank me if I misbehaved! Teachers could paddle me if I acted up in school. Now, if you pop a child on his leg for being bad you can go to jail. What’s up with that?
Excerpts from Gantt columns are now posted every week on The Gantt Report’s Facebook page; become a fan. Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” on Amazon.com. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.
Domestic abuse: Eradicating, educating, and empowering The issue of domestic violence has definitely permeated the media as well as it should. Without a doubt, anytime domestic violence happens, there’s no excuse for it at all. Let me be very clear and state that domestic violence should never ever occur. No man should ever put his hands on a woman and likewise, no woman should ever put her hands on a man. Unless we get a grip on ending domestic violence, we will always find ourselves talking about it, complaining about it, and hoping it will end. What happened with Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens is a clear indication that we must address domestic violence as a whole. As one who has worked with domestic abuse/violence victims and taught classes on self-empowerment, I find it equally important that discussion surrounding verbal abuse, financial abuse, emotional abuse, and spiritual abuse needs to happen. With physical violence, you see bumps, bruises, and scars, but what often times goes unseen are the emotional and psychological scars. We must never be so quick to solely point the finger at the abuser of physical violence that we turn a deaf ear to the domestic abuse happening around us.
DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST
look at some of the music being played on radio and television. Lyrics that degrade men and women are definitely abusive. Entertainers and entertainment companies may claim freedom of speech, but when that speech is offensive, they must be held accountable. Addressing domestic abuse is something that all of us should be a part of. If you’re one of the fortunate ones who has never experienced this abuse, you still have a responsibility to educate and empower others to not accept it or tolerate it. Now for those who have been victims, I would encourage you to continue to let your voice be heard. The movement to end domestic violence can’t happen, if you remain silent. How can we end domestic abuse? For the sports world, require every athlete to attend anger management and conflict resolution classes. Make this mandatory each year for all athletes (male and female) whether or not they have domestic issues. For partners of athletes, have them attend the same Hold others classes with and without accountable their partner. Implement classes that For just a moment, let’s
teach about domestic abuse in high schools and colleges. This needs to be a requirement. Notify radio stations and entertainment companies about songs and/or lyrics that are offensive to men and women. If they fail to comply, boycott them and expose them via social media. Understand domestic abuse isn’t one-sided. Develop a curriculum that teaches couples how to disagree without namecalling and/or physical altercation. Ask non-profit organizations specializing in domestic abuse to come to speak to members of the faith community.
Teach selfempowerment Victims of domestic abuse cannot ever feel as though it’s their fault that the abuse occurred. We must restore their level of self-love, self-respect, and self-worth.
Dr. Sinclair Grey III is an inspirational speaker, motivator, author, life coach, and host of The Sinclair Grey Show heard on Monday’s at 2pm on WAEC Love 860am (iHeart Radio and Tune In). Contact him at drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Write your own response at www.flcourier. com.
Preparing for the inevitable I have seen too many families break up following the unforeseen death of a loved one. It is especially hard on siblings after the loss of a parent. You must ask yourself if your children are aware of all the financial information that you have. Many children below the age of 18 do not know that if one of their parents die, they will become eligible for monthly Social Security payments until they reach the age of 18. Many young adults have children without being married. Those children should certainly be informed that if either parent dies before they become adults, they will be entitled to those payments. I bet there are hundreds of thousands of youngsters and their mothers who do not realize this. Land can also be pretty tricky. The best thing my mother did for me and my brother was to turn over the land she and my father accumulated to us. My father wasn’t too happy, but it made things so easy for us after she and eventually my father passed away. They even had my brother as a signer on their banking accounts. We transferred the money in 15 minutes. My father remarried after my mother’s passing but it made no difference to our inheritance. Mom took care of that.
tery and give a 5-gun salute as the body is being lowered into the grave.
HARRY C. Store documents ALFORD NNPA COLUMNIST
Plan ahead Fortunately, my father’s new wife died before him. So when he passed away, we inherited his house free and clear. He did some succession planning on his own. He persuaded his good friend to buy his house immediately after his death. We were shocked when his friend approached us with a documented appraisal of the home and cash to buy it. It made things so simple. Veterans also have special benefits. For the remainder of my life I can get a mortgage at very low interest rate and with no money down. A veteran with an honorable discharge can do this. I am still waiting for an opportunity to use my mortgage benefit. I may never need it but it is there if I do. There are death benefits that many families of veterans are not aware. The Veterans Administration (VA) will pay for a vet’s tombstone upon his death. The family can request and receive a military burial. It is special when you attend a family member’s funeral and soldiers or sailors in full uniform attend, play taps at the ceme-
securely
All veterans should maintain their honorable discharge certificate, known as DD 214. I have mine on my computer at home and a scanned copy at the office. A safe deposit box is the safest place to store documents. You should keep your will here. Update your will at least every year. Mortgage information, deeds to land and houses, car titles, etc. should also be stored in a safe deposit box. Hiding it in your home may not be safe enough from burglars. Transferring wealth, no matter what size, should be planned and effectively delivered. Beware of scoundrels who might be related to you. Be very careful of the Internal Revenue Service. My brother and I paid $1 for the many acres we purchased from our parents. If we had normally inherited it we would have paid estate taxes which can be as high as 50 percent of the total. Don’t leave your loved ones in jeopardy.
Harry C. Alford is the co-founder, President/ CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.
SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
There’s good news, bad news As with life on the planet, there is always “good news” and “bad news”…and the Motherland is no exception. In all actuality, there IS nothing terribly bad to report but EVERYthing can’t be great about ANYthing. Here’s the bad news first, as not to leave an un-fruity taste in your mouth at the end. Coming from the richly abundant America the Beautiful and Convenient, everyday living in the Motherland has its challenges. The culture is modernizing swiftly with home appliances available at high-rise department stores, but these labor-saving equipments are not the “norm” and are ruthlessly expensive. Clothes-washing is done by hand, either by YOU or someone in your hire – as is the dishwashing and cleaning! Our first house at Gold and Diamond Streets was a fully-furnished castle of a house advertising all of the modern conveniences of “home.” We were comforted that the description included an automatic washer and clothes dryer. Upon arrival, we recognized the nice heavy-duty washer, but were mildly peeved to find an indoor folding clothes rack made of wood with dowels on which to hang our wet laundry as being the “clothes dryer” they’d promised. In Ghana, there is no recourse for slightly stretching the truth in advertising – our first lesson in “assumptions in Africa.”
Regular outages Our next unexpected revelation was “load shed.” This is when your electricity gets turned off for scheduled lengths of time in order to accommodate the demand for power throughout the land.
EDITORIAL
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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: SMART-ASS WATCH
A new chapter CASSANDRA DIANE BACK TO THE HOMELAND
Every area of the city – and country – gets its turn being in the dark for 6 to 12 hours on alternating days throughout the week: off in the morning, on in the evening; on the next day; then off again the following evening, on the next morning and so on and so on eternally. I guess we should count our blessings because in SOME neighboring countries, they only get lights on during the four hours between 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EVERY day. Our outages, however, do not include the unscheduled, unexpected and unwelcome “faults” we experience when there is a breakdown of equipment or the electricity plant catching afire – which is all too often. During a fault, we have been without power for as many as eight days! Sigh. Well, “Dis be Ghana,” as they say. Bartering is king! Getting a fair price from the merchants in the markets directly depends on your auctioneering expertise. Unfailingly, upon hearing our “foreign” accent, the price of their wares increases at least 200 percent. Just like the social security benefits applications office, you MUST refuse the first request! Make YOUR offer next and be sure to go low. On cue, the merchant will proceed to meet you halfway, wherein the bargaining process – which can often take some hard finagling – will garner each of you a happy medium.
Now, for the “good news”: basically, EVERYTHING else! Ghana is Sankofa – “back to our roots” – when time ticked slowly, allowing us to savor life. Once I accepted the fact that living here is a new chapter in our Book of Life – unlike and incomparable to anything else we’ve ever imagined – I began to get comfortable for this extraordinary ride. In my whole born days, I have never experienced the kind of reverent respect that we receive from the young people here in paradise. I always find myself reciprocating as the children I meet on the streets pause to curtsy or bow and greet me as “Madame,” making my day so very special. They hunger and thirst for education – for which they have to pay – and make no qualms about asking for your help in obtaining it. They work hard, rising each morning to do family chores before going off to school and on weekends, knocking on doors asking for yard or laundry jobs. Yet their laughter permeates the peaceful air and their joys sparkle like embers in the night!
Electricity alternatives Computers shut down, phone batteries die, food spoils and ceiling fans cease to twirl during these fierce electrical outages, but I have learned to “never look a gift horse in the mouth.” Amazingly, I always discover something to do when I am abruptly torn from Facebooking and emailing. I finally find time to catch up on some reading or do a little writing (with a pencil and paper for a change) or cleaning out the refrigerator or straightening underneath the cabinets or painting sea
DARYL CAGLE, CAGLECARTOONS.COM
shells or working in the garden or playing chess with Baby or taking long walks or short naps or hanging out with family and neighbors who congregate on our front porch to share in these dark moments or just chilling out for a much-needed hiatus. Everything happens for a reason…even load shed.
Strong dollar The cost of living here is well under that of “waaaaaaaaaaay over yonder ‘cross the water.” Although inflation happens to us all, everything from building a house to getting your hair “did” is extremely economical. The US dollar vs. Ghana cedi currency exchange rate today is one dollar equals 3.59 Ghana cedis. That’s a pretty good bang for your buck! Yep, as with the world, there is the good, the bad and the ugly here in Eden. I am becoming more and more immune to the snafus of daily maintenance.
I warmly welcome the firm biceps and triceps I get from handwashing, rinsing and hanging up clothes. I am learning the language and perfecting my Ghanaian accent when saying in Twi, “Wa ye sen?” (“How much is this?”) and “Te so” (REDUCE IT!!) and I certainly have a much better understanding of reading between the lines…AND in the dark. Summing it all up at this point, I strongly concur with the local saying, “A bad day in Ghana is better than a good day ANYwhere else”. In my best African tone and worst Louisiana twang, “Me daa si” (“Thanks”) for joining me and “Merekoo aba” (“I will return”) if the Lord says the same and the creek don’t rise.
Contact Cassandra at Back to the Homeland Tours on Facebook, or www.weregoingtoghana.com. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.
The immigration problem: What are the health risks? Troubling facts concerning health risks related to the wave of illegal immigrants who are crossing our southern border are coming to light despite efforts by the government to keep Americans in the dark. The usual tactics of crying racism and implying those wanting answers are selfish and lack compassion have been used to silence those who have questions. Yet questions must be asked and answered because the health of the American people is potentially at risk. Proponents of accommodating this newest influx of foreigners try to say this immigration wave is no different from those in the past. They are wrong. Historically, immigrants who legally sought entry to America (such as those through Ellis Island) went through a structured process that checked them for communicable diseases. In some cases, those found to present a health risk were quarantined until they no longer proposed a
range from 42 percent to 96 percent), individuals coming in contact with people with these diseases are at risk of becoming inDR. ELAINA fected. Those most vulnerable to GEORGE contracting illnesses from illeGUEST COLUMNIST gals are the first responders such as the Border Patrol agents. In threat. In other cases, they were turn, they may pass diseases and sent back to their country of ori- conditions on to their children, gin. spouses, seniors and those they with whom they come in contact Lack of screening who have compromised immune Today, Border Patrol agents systems. have confirmed those now flooding across the border are not ad- Regional diseases equately checked for diseases beIt isn’t the diseases that we have cause of the sheer volume, lack of been vaccinated against that are proper screening techniques and the most concerning, but ones lack of manpower. like TB, which have developed Immigrants coming here have multiple drug resistance, or tropibeen documented as having com- cal diseases such as Dengue fever municable diseases such as tu- that doctors may have difficulty berculosis and swine flu. Because diagnosing and for which there is there is limited use of the vaccine no treatment. for the former and limited effecThe American population is tiveness of vaccine for the latter already at risk with illegals be(studies vary on the effectiveness ing dropped off at bus stations of the swine flu vaccine; estimates and being put on commercial air-
Place Black dollar under arrest Here’s an intriguing concept: Arrest the Black dollar. Say what, Jim? You read it correctly. We should arrest our dollars and charge them with neglect. Put them on trial, call the witnesses to testify against them, and convict them of crimes against Black people. Sentence them to a minimum of five years hard labor with no possibility of parole. That’s right, lock them up and make them work for their keep by producing distribution companies, supermarkets, financial institutions, and entrepreneurs.
JAMES CLINGMAN NNPA COLUMNIST
eryone other than Black people. They are jealous as well and are always trying to outspend one another by purchasing a bigger car, a bigger house, the latest gym shoes, clothing, and all the accoutrements of what they believe to be the “good life.” More than 1 trillion Black dollars are Sense and cents acting inappropriately, committing ecoSince our dollars are not making sense, nomic crimes against Black people. They we should discipline and punish them by really need to be controlled and contained keeping them locked up and making them before they destroy us. work until they do start making more sense. Right now our dollars are “wild- Wreaking havoc ing out” in the marketplace, making evInstead of allowing our dollars to run eryone happy and secure except us. They are “raining down” at strip clubs; they are wild, let’s circulate and recycle them beating a path to jewelry stores and ex- among ourselves as much as possible changing themselves for gaudy trinkets before they leave us. Instead of handing and ornaments; they are hangin’ out at “da them over willy-nilly to others for their club” to pay for expensive vodka, cham- fried chicken and fish, let’s just grow and pagne, and other top-shelf liquors. They cook our own, and sell it to one another and to everyone else. Instead of whindefinitely need to be disciplined. Our dollars are filling the coffers of prof- ing every time a supermarket closes, let’s iteers who know that all they have to do buy our own, bring in the best managers is make the most ridiculous item in re- and support it with our consumer dollars. turn for them. Black dollars are strewn at Rather than decrying what others are dothe feet of shyster preachers who “anoint” ing to us, let’s start doing more for ourthem by running back and forth on top selves. As we charge our dollars with being of them, as they shout, “Money cometh more responsible, let’s make sure we are taking responsibility in this matter as well. to me!” At least they are telling the truth Arrest the Black dollar; it’s wreaking about that part. havoc among Black folks.
Running wild
Jim Clingman is the founder of the Black dollars are running wild, out of Greater Cincinnati African American control, in our neighborhoods. They run Chamber of Commerce. Write your own as fast as they can to the businesses of ev- response at www.flcourier.com.
who have nowhere to go, no job and no money and who present a possible health risk? Is it moral to encourage people to travel over a thousand miles, forcing them to run a gauntlet that puts them at risk of abuse, rape and potential human trafficking on top of health risks? Is winning at all costs and staying in power so important that it trumps the safety of both these illegal immigrants and the American people? The answer is clear. The immiUnanswered questions gration problem and the Obama Why aren’t questions being Administration’s response is not raised about whether it is hu- about compassion — it is about mane to place people in unoccu- politics. pied prisons, overcrowded holding pens and now FEMA centers Dr. Elaina George, a member without adequate health screenof the national advisory couning or effective quarantine of those who are sick from the gen- cil of the Project 21 black leadership network, is a board-cereral population? Is it compassionate to dump tified otolaryngologist and host people at bus stations with noth- of a weekly talk radio show, ing but the clothes on their back “Medicine On Call.” lines. The risk could escalate this fall if sick children are placed in schools and expose their classmates, teachers and extended families. The Obama Administration is seeking over $3 billion dollars, largely for legal representation and for dispersing people to various states and into communities without notification of residents or local government officials. All this is under the guise of protecting the privacy of these immigrants.
Pressure mounts to drop name of D.C. football team Well, the season has begun and with it another round of calls for the Washington football team to rid itself of its insulting and racist name. What was, only a few years ago, a shout in the wilderness that was largely ignored except by Native Americans and some of their allies, has now become something of a clarion call which has entered the mainstream. The Washington Post, to the fury of some of its readers, decided to take the symbolic though significant step of ceasing to refer to the Washington football team by their official name on their editorial page. This action has been one of many that seem to be sweeping the scene. Despite these repeated calls for a name change, including an implicit call by President Obama, Daniel Snyder, the owner of the Washington football franchise, refuses to budge. Under other circumstances his actions would actually be quite hilarious. He has done virtually everything imaginable in order to convince the public – but probably to convince himself – that there is absolutely nothing insulting, racist, etc., about the name of his team. The problem is that
BILL FLETCHER, JR. NNPA COLUMNIST
his actions are simply not working.
Bad as the N-word? Snyder’s adamant refusal to budge forces us to come to grips with the ramifications of racist demonization. The notion of a “red skin,” as articulated by the descendants of settlers who ravaged North America and nearly exterminated Native Americans, cannot be value neutral any more than the N-word. Despite the fact that such derogatory terms may be used within the racial/ethnic group that is being attacked, such usage is quite different than when applied by society as a whole. Regardless of whether you subscribe to the late Richard Pryor’s notion that there “…are no n—— “ (a statement with which I happen to agree), there is a profound difference between two Black people using the term vis a vis one another, and a White person using it.
The same is true with regard to the notion of “red skins.” It really does not matter how many Native Americans Daniel Snyder can dig up who claim that the term is value neutral. The reality can be found in the history of the term and the manner in which it accompanied the process of the removal of Native Americans from their land – and in many cases – from Earth entirely. They have been placed them in a status whereby they exist almost in a mythical state, except for the fact that most of them live under conditions of oppressive subordination even if and when they happen to have a gambling casino on their reservation. Daniel Snyder: it really is not all that difficult. Just change the name and keep moving. History and current political realities stand against you.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the host of “The Global African” on Telesur-English and is a racial justice, labor and global justice activist and writer. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.
TOJ A6
SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD COURIER
IFE/FAITH
‘No Good Deed’ movie comes out at just the wrong time See page B5
SEPTEMBER 19 – 25, 2014
SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE
SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA
Sweets with a hidden secret See page B6
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Waist trainers mark return of the corset, for better or worse BY JENICE ARMSTRONG
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS / MCT)
W
omen are waisting away. No, not from starvation. It’s something even more surprising – waist training. Women in search of hourglass shapes are foregoing personal comfort and donning supertight, corset-like devices that supposedly whittle their midsections with lasting results. Despite numerous reports that they can bruise internal organs or cause breathing problems, many wearers keep waist trainers on 24/7 – even while exercising and sleeping. The claim is that the practice of waist training – in extreme cases referred to as tightlacing – enhances weight loss by suppressing wearers’ appetites and encouraging perspiration.
Nothing new There’s nothing new about corsets, except maybe all the hot colors and innovative fabrics they come in these days. But the 19th-century undergarment and its mid-20th-century counterpart, the girdle – which I thought had gone the way of garter belts and bouffant wigs – have resurfaced in a big way recently. In May, Khloe Kardashian posted a selfie wearing one. Not to be outdone, big sister Kim Kardashian West posted a gym selfie wearing a purple one last month on Instagram. Actress Jessica Alba reportedly told Net-A-Porter magazine that she credits the double corsets she wore following the births of her two children for getting her tiny waist back.
‘Amazing’ look
“It’s very uncomfortable,” said Carmena Ayo Davies, a Philadelphia-based public-relations guru, whose clients include PNK Elephant, an online story and party fashion accessory boutique in Philadelphia. But “the look it gives you when you have them on, it’s absolutely amazing.” “They definitely accentuate your curves. It’s very popular now in the urban world.” Lauren Diaz, of Deptford, N.J., was a casino waitress when she started BounceBackBeauty.com a year ago to sell what the site calls “waist binders,” “booty lifter shorts” and similar products. “People would actually stop me and say, ‘What do you do?’” recalled Diaz, who wore her waist trainer during her eighthour work shifts. “You sweat underneath. It’s something you need to get used to.” Yeah, but in the age of Spanx, why would you? Besides, wasn’t the women’s movement about burning bras and letting go of things that constrict us? “Why is that something that’s becoming the ‘it’ thing to do?” asked Orit Avishai, a sociology professor at Fordham University. “It’s going in the wrong direction.”
Tried it myself As an experiment, I squeezed into a bright fuchsia waist cincher sent to me by HourglassAngel.com. It wasn’t easy. It took me a few tries over a couple of days to get all of the hooks closed, but eventually I did. Walking around the newsroom with it over my shirt, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as I had imagined. Then a reporter who sits nearby called out, “Look at how small your waist looks.” Dang, she was right. My waistline was downright tiny in that thing. Yeah, but what I real-
Corsets are now being worn as underwear or outerwear to accentuate a woman’s curves. ly wanted was to have the same look without having to be constricted. I turned to cosmetic surgeon Dr. Steven Davis for his thoughts about waist trainers. His answer surprised me.
‘It does work’ “I think there’s something to it,” he said. “It does actually work, because you are losing water weight. It’s like getting a body wrap. The problem is, the results are really short-lived.” Davis also pointed out that there could be some muscular benefits from waist training on a
Body shapers are no substitute for shaping up by exercising BY KIMBERLY GARRISON PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS / MCT
While many women demonstrated their liberation in the 1970s by burning their bras, in my opinion they should have thrown their suck-the-life-outof-you girdles in the flames, too. Far more dangerous to a woman’s health and happiness than a bra, girdles and their 19th-century cousin, the corset, have made a stunning comeback. A girdle by any other name, the 21st-century garment comes with such sweet euphemisms: beauty girdle, compression garment, body shaper, shape wear and waist cinchers.
Not healthy
Kim Kardashian took a selfie of her ‘waist trainer’ and uploaded it to Instagram.
All sorts of claims are being made that using something to bind your waist will make you slimmer. These products not only do not slim your waist, they have potential health risks. You see, shape wear has to be tight, and I mean really tight, to get the job done. That causes organ compression, which is just not a good thing. Think about it. Should we be wearing anything that restricts breathing and severely squeezes our internal organs? Given how women squeeze themselves into constricting underwear, is it any wonder that so many suffer from conditions like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), abdominal pain, bloating and gas? Compression garments can also decrease blood circulation,
regular basis. “You are training your core to get stronger,” Davis explained, likening it to how experts instruct you to hold your stomach in while doing plank exercises. “A lot of people wear things like that, because you are training your transverse abdominus muscles to stay in that position.” Davis continued, “I think that there probably is some validity to the whole process. But I don’t know how long it would take for that to happen.”
Waist-training lifestyle Lisa Nguyen doesn’t exer-
which could cause the formation of deadly blood clots, or worse.
No substitute Everyone loves that hourglass look, but don’t be a fool when it comes to creating the look yourself. Body shapers and waist cinchers are no substitute for a strong and fit physique. If you want to stop faking it and really whittle your waist, then first you must get serious about your diet. A tight mid-section is about 80 percent diet. But there is no one-size-fits-all diet; you’ll have to discover what plan works best for your body. For example, carbs blow me up like a balloon, and the older I get, the more sensitive my body is to processed carbohydrates. When I’m serious about tightening up my mid-section, processed carbs are the first thing to go. Second, there is no substitute for exercise. For optimal beauty and fitness, all four regions of the abdominals must be strengthened and toned.
Three groups The abdominals are comprised of these muscle groups: rectus abdominis (vertical muscles in the front of the torso that creates the “sixpack”); external obliques (diagonal, down from the lower ribs); internal obliques (diagonal, up from the pelvis), and transverse abdominis (horizontal, from back to front). Some of these muscle groups are neglected, typically. Here are four exercises that target each:
Medicine Ball Crunch Sit on the floor and bend your knees to 90 degrees. Holding the
cise much. As she approaches 30, she feels her body changing, and not in a good way. A waist cincher “is something that seemed to be easy, that I could incorporate into my lifestyle,” she said. Nguyen watches what she eats, and she drinks lots of water. She also wears her “waist trainer” regularly, especially when she has a big event coming up. She told me she thinks that her waist is about 2 inches smaller than it was a year ago when she got her first trainer. “Once you get used to it, it’s nothing,” she said.
medicine ball, roll back until you are lying flat, with the medicine ball directly above your chest. As you lift your body, exhale, raising the ball toward the ceiling and contracting the abs. Return to starting position and repeat for 15 to 20 repetitions for two to three sets.
Flutter Kicks Lie flat on your back, hands behind your neck and legs extended. Lift your shoulders off the floor, contract your abdominals and quickly alternate your legs up and down in a flutterkick motion. Repeat for 15 to 20 repetitions for two to three sets.
Superman These are also known as reverse crunches. Lie flat on your stomach, legs extended behind you and arms fully extended in front. Simultaneously lift your legs and arms while squeezing the shoulder blades and buttocks. This exercise can be done with a static hold for 15 to 60 seconds or performed with repetitions.
Medicine Ball Plank Begin on your hands and knees. Place one hand on the medicine ball, and line your wrists directly under your shoulders. Contract your abdominals, place your other hand on the floor, and extend your legs out behind you. Hold this position for 15 to 60 seconds and then switch to other side. Forget about fashion and resolve to get fit!
Kimberly Garrison is a wellness coach and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia.
OBITUARIES
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Master keyboardist Joe Sample dies at 75 BY STEVE CHAWKINS LOS ANGELES TIMES /MCT)
Joe Sample her canonization.
‘Crusaders’ founder Sample was introduced to the piano at the age of five years of age, and stuck with the instrument. As a teenager, Sample cofounded the Jazz Crusaders (later, just The Crusaders) with his schoolmates from Texas Southern University – trombonist Wayne Henderson, bassist and saxophonist Wilton Felder and drummer Nesbert “Stix” Hoop-
‘Fathers of fusion’ As time went on, the group added various electronic instruments, including keyboards for Sample. “We are the fathers of jazzfunk-fusion,” Henderson told the LA Times in 1995. “We took pop
Former Hillsborough judge Fred Buckine funeralized Private practice, bench
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Fred LeVerne Buckine, a former Hillsborough County (Tampa) judge and prosecutor and the husband of Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, died September 6 at the age of 75. Born on October 31, 1938 in Bradenton, Buckine graduated from Lincoln Memorial High School in Palmetto. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he served for 13 ½ years. While in the military, he continued his Fred LeVerne education by taking college courses whenever he Buckine could. After two deployments to Vietnam, Buckine was discharged from the Air Force and enrolled at Bowie State College, where he received his bachelor’s degree. In 1972, he enrolled at the Catholic University of America Law School; there he met his future wife, Peggy A. Quince. Both graduated in 1975 and began a marriage that lasted 38 years. Buckine began his legal career as a hearing officer with the District of Columbia government in the Rental Accommodations Office, administering the city’s new rent control law. After leaving D.C., he returned to Florida, serving as a prosecutor for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit in Bradenton. Later he became a felony division prosecutor in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa.
He then worked in private practice for a number of years before he was appointed a county court judge for Hillsborough County. After his tenure on the bench, Buckine returned to government service first as general counsel for District Seven of the Florida Department of Transportation. He retired in 2006 as an administrative law judge with the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings.
Multiple firsts
tunes… and did them melodically with a groove, so people could dance if they wanted.” “In the Sixties, we had emotion, passion and feeling in our music and I wrote a composition to support the sit-inners and marchers in the civil rights struggle,” Sample told the Jazz Times in 2012. “The Freedom Sound” swiftly made its way into the Top 40 pop charts.
Questioned by FBI One of the Crusaders’ pieces – Felder’s “Way Back Home” – became notorious. When the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974, the radical group’s ransom demand was on a tape recording that started with “Way Back Home” – which, it turned out, the SLA had adopted as its anthem. “The FBI definitely contacted us and wanted to know what was our connection to the Army or Patty Hearst,” Sample told the Los Angeles Times in 1992. “I had no idea what they were talking about.” As the Crusaders gained traction, they attained national renown. They were among the groups playing at a 1974 Zaire music festival celebrating the
“ THE
historic Muhammad Ali-George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle.” They were the first instrumental band to open for the Rolling Stones on tour.
Great solo career After he parted ways with the Crusaders in the late 1980s, he recorded a solo album, “Ashes to Ashes,” a collection focused on African-Americans struggling to save their communities. “Sample’s experimental energy, electric virtuosity, and unique compositions made him a highly sought-after performer and composer, and laid the groundwork for him to work with the likes of Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, George Benson, Marvin Gaye, Anita Baker, Joni Mitchell, and many others throughout the height of The Crusader’s success and beyond,” according to the Jazz Line blog site. Sample worked with other musicians to record 21 solo albums in a career that spanned more than 50 years of writing, production, and performing. His last solo release, Live, hit stores in 2012. He is survived by his wife, Yolanda, and his son, Nicklas, a bass player who performed with his father in the Creole Joe Band.
FIRST GREAT
THRILLER OF THE FALL.” Joel D. Amos, MOVIE FANATIC
“ENGROSSING
AND
TERRIFYING
” .
Jeremy Smith, AIN’T IT COOL NEWS
Buckine’s imprint on the legal profession is recorded for posterity. He was one of the first 100 Black lawyers licensed to practice law in the state of Florida. He is also one of the charter members of the George Edgecomb Bar Association, the professional association of Black lawyers in the Tampa Bay area. Buckine was also a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter of the National Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the NAACP, and the Urban League. In his religious life, Buckine served as a Sunday School teacher, foreign missions ambassador, Bible study leader, and divinity student. He later was called to the ministry and became an ordained minister. Immediate survivors include his wife Peggy; daughters Peggy and Laura; two brothers; five brothers-and sisters-in law; nieces, nephews, and other relatives. Memorial services were held in Tallahassee on September 10.
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Joseph Leslie Sample, a softspoken keyboard player and composer whose blending of funk, blues, jazz, gospel and the Zydeco music of his childhood lent a distinctive sound to his well-known group, the Crusaders, died Sept. 12. He was 75. The critically acclaimed pianist and composer spent more than five decades creating music that transcended genres and inspired musicians around the world. Sample died at a Houston hospital of lung cancer, his manager, Patrick Rains, told The Associated Press. Sample had struggled with serious health problems over the years, suffering two heart attacks and a lengthy bout with Epstein-Barr virus, a condition that results in crippling fatigue. He attributed these struggles to “the vagaries of life, and a little bit of old age.” Even so, he took his recently formed Creole Joe Band on tour last year and was planning a musical based on the life of Henriette DeLille, founder of an African-American nuns’ order that started orphanages and schools, including one attended by Sample in Houston’s Fifth Ward. Sample also was an advocate for
er. The childhood pals played bebop at bars and strip clubs in Gulf states. “There was nothing city-slick about what we did,” Sample told The Independent in 1995 about the group’s musical origins. They moved from Houston to Los Angeles in the late ’50s to pursue their musical aspirations as a hard-bop group, which was the dominant style of jazz in that era. In Los Angeles, Sample and his group backed up another Houston friend, bluesman Johnny “Guitar” Watson. The group’s distinction gave them the confidence to experiment much more with their music, until they eventually hit on a winning formula by incorporating elements of soul and funk into a unique fusion that effectively pioneered the styles and techniques heard in contemporary jazz and other genres. Within a few years, they produced their first album, “Looking Ahead.”
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SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
problem.” Without access to the dialysis solution, people with kidney disease can use the hemodialysis treatment, which is most often administered at outpatient clinics. In that treatment, a dialysis machine filters toxins from a patient’s blood. Many patients prefer the convenience of peritoneal dialysis because it can be done at home or in the workplace and on their schedule, said Lori Hartwell, founder of Renal Support Network, a nonprofit that advocates for people with chronic kidney disease.
No home treatment
LUIS SINCO/LOS ANGELES TIMES
Joanna Galeas performs dialysis at her California home.
Shortage of in-home dialysis solution worries patients BY STUART PFEIFER AND CHAD TERHUNE LOS ANGELES TIMES /MCT
Unlike the hundreds of thousands of Americans who drive several times a week to dialysis centers, Joanna Galeas relies on an increasingly popular athome alternative to treat her kidney failure. Galeas, 30, of Los Angeles, is among tens of thousands of U.S. residents who use peritoneal dialysis at home. She fills her abdomen with a sterile solution that helps remove toxins from her blood, a function ordinarily performed by healthy kidneys. Now, Baxter International Inc., the nation’s leading supplier of the home dialysis solution, says it can’t keep up with demand and has started rationing the product, directing physicians to limit the number
of new patients to whom they prescribe the treatment and reducing the size of shipments sent to existing customers.
Emergency shipment Last week, Galeas’ shipment of the lifesaving solution didn’t arrive, she said. When she was down to her final dose, Baxter made an emergency shipment to her home. “I was freaking out all weekend until Monday when it arrived,” she said. Baxter, based in Deerfield, Ill., blamed the shortage on an unexpected increase in demand, which it said has outpaced its ability to produce the solution. The company said that the number of U.S. patients using dialysis solution increased 15 percent in the second quarter from
the comparable quarter last year, and that demand for the product “has never been stronger.” The shortage comes as a record number of people in the United States rely on dialysis because their kidneys failed; the U.S. dialysis population has more than doubled since 1995 to more than 400,000.
Less expensive The number of patients choosing to treat themselves at home with peritoneal dialysis jumped 24 percent from 2008 to 2011, according to the U.S. Renal Data System. The treatment is not only more convenient for patients, but also less expensive for Medicare, which typically pays for it. Medicare spent an average of $87,945 on each dialysis center patient in 2011, compared with $71,630 for
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FOR BLACK STUDENTS. NO EXCUSES. The classic guide from Florida Courier publisher, lawyer and broadcaster CHARLES W. CHERRY II PRAISE FOR ‘EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE’: “This guide for African-American college-bound students is packed with practical and insightful information for achieving academic success...The primary focus here is to equip students with the savvy and networking skills to maneuver themselves through the academic maze of higher education.” – Book review, School Library Journal • How low expectations of Black students’ achievements can get them higher grades; • Want a great grade? Prepare to cheat! • How Black students can program their minds for success; • Setting goals – When to tell everybody, and when to keep your mouth shut; • Black English, and why Black students must be ‘bilingual.’ …AND MUCH MORE!
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those who treated themselves at home with peritoneal dialysis. This is the latest in a string of drug shortages that have forced many hospitals, doctors and patients to scramble for drugs and crucial supplies, such as saline solution. The shortages are often caused by manufacturers having product-quality problems, with a lack of other companies to pick up the slack, according to a report this year by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Baxter said the dialysis solution shortage could last until early next year. “We definitely consider this a critical situation,” said Valerie Jensen, associate director of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage program. “The FDA is doing everything we can to address the
Jerry Adams, a 75-yearold retiree from Springfield, Ohio, lost a kidney during a childhood bout with scarlet fever. The health of his remaining kidney has been declining because of high blood pressure. After much research, he chose at-home therapy, only to be declined in August because of the Baxter shortage. “I’m down in the dumps,” Adams said. “I just think about it a lot.” Adams said he’s not comfortable visiting a clinic because he lives far from the city and would not want to drive after receiving the dialysis treatment. “I don’t know how it affects you as far as your energy, and my wife doesn’t drive too good anymore,” he said. Baxter intends to open a new manufacturing line in early 2015, which the company says will increase its production capabilities and “enable supply to return to a more predictable state.” In the meantime, Baxter has reached an agreement with the country’s only other manufacturer of the dialysis solution, Fresenius, to provide solution to Baxter clients. The FDA is also reaching out to foreign suppliers in an effort to temporarily import the dialysis solution, the FDA’s Jensen said. “We have taken multiple steps to ensure uninterrupted care for existing pa-
Youths consume too much salt, CDC says BY TONY PUGH MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU / MCT
WASHINGTON – More than 90 percent of U.S. schoolchildren eat more salt than they should, taking in an average of nearly 3,300 milligrams of sodium per day, according to a government report released Tuesday. That’s nearly 1.5 teaspoons of salt each day – and about 1,000 milligrams more than the federal government recommends.
Foods, not shaker But hiding the kitchen salt shaker won’t do much to curb the problem because most of the sodium in kids’ diets comes from foods prepared outside the home. In fact, 43 percent of sodium consumed by U.S. children ages 6-18 comes from 10 restaurant, cafeteria and processed food favorites that are staples of the American youth diet. Store-bought processed foods like savory snacks, cold cuts, cheese and soups account for 65 percent of the sodium that children eat. Thirteen percent comes from fast food and traditional restaurant fare like pizza, Mexican dishes, burgers and other sandwiches. Another 9 percent comes from school cafeteria favorites like chicken nuggets, pasta dishes and bread and rolls.
CDC study The findings are from a 2009-10 survey of nearly 3,000 youngsters by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the latest data to chronicle America’s dangerous love affair
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HEALTH
with salty food. Such treats may hit the spot for youngsters, but the short-term fix could jeopardize their longterm health. High-sodium diets can lead to high blood pressure, a major cause of heart disease and stroke. One in six U.S. youngsters ages 8 to 17 already has elevated blood pressure. And while federal guidelines recommend that children eat less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, African-American children and all others with hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should eat no more than 1,500 milligrams per day.
Slight decline Daily salt consumption declined slightly over the last 10 years among youngsters ages 13 and under, but adolescents have not made similar progress. The CDC study found that the average high school student consumes 3,672 milligrams of sodium each day – far more than younger children. “A poor diet in childhood can help lay the foundation for future health problems,” said Ileana Arias, the CDC’s principal deputy director. “And the fact that young kids and teens are consuming so much sodium these days and adapting increasingly bad dietary habits is certainly cause for concern.” Combating the problem will require a longterm strategy that involves schools, restaurants, food manufacturers and federal regulators. But parents also can take action by creating meals rich in fruits and vegetables, picking low-sodium options at the grocery store and requesting menu
tients,” Baxter spokeswoman Christy Noland said in a statement. “The guidance to customers is to ensure current patients have uninterrupted access to therapy and that new patients should be started based on medical need.”
Product recall At the same time Baxter was struggling to keep up with increasing orders, the company announced Aug. 13 that it was voluntarily recalling two lots of the solution because they contained stainless steel, garment fiber and PVC particulate matter. The company said the number of recalled units represented less than 1 percent of its annual global production and was not a contributing factor to the shortage. But Jensen said the recall “definitely worsened the situation.” Nearly 400,000 people in the U.S. received hemodialysis at clinics in 2011, and about 30,000 people treated themselves at home with peritoneal dialysis, according to the U.S. Renal Data System. Hartwell, who runs the patient support group, said she’s surprised that the modest increase has created supply problems for Baxter. “Maybe they just had poor planning and underestimated it,” she said. “Whatever it is, it’s unfortunate.”
Extra stress Galeas was growing concerned even before her shipment failed to arrive last week. Shipments to her home were smaller, meaning her safety net was thinner. And the shipments were sometimes dropped off by commercial carriers, who did not bring them inside her home, the way Baxter’s delivery team does. The shortage has been unnerving for Galeas because she cannot live without the treatments. “This puts an extra level of stress in my life.”
SALTY TOP 10 Savory snacks Cold cuts Cheese Soups Pizza Mexican food Burgers and other sandwiches Chicken nuggets Pasta dishes Bread and rolls SOURCE: U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
nutrition information at restaurants to make healthier choices. Just leaving deli cheese off of a sandwich, choosing low-sodium potato chips and drinking water instead of a sport drink can slash 490 milligrams of sodium from a meal, Arias said.
Collective response Some restaurants are also getting involved. Darden Restaurants, owners of Bahama Breeze and Olive Garden restaurants, has committed to reduce sodium in certain menu items by 20 percent, Arias said. So have Taco Bell and ConAgra Foods, she said. ConAgra is the largest private-label packaged food business in North America, according to the company. New federal nutrition standards are expected to cut sodium in school cafeteria meals by 25 percent to 50 percent by 2022, said Kevin Concannon, undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The CDC report found that this alone would cut sodium intake for school kids by an average of 75 to 150 milligrams per day over the course of a year, he said.
SPORTS
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SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
STOJ
75 years ago this month — football on TV was launched BY MICHAEL K. BOHN
As the Waynesburg College football team walked out onto the field in Randall’s Island Stadium, most gawked at the nearby Triborough Bridge (renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in 2008). To the players from a small college in southwestern Pennsylvania, the structure connecting three New York boroughs — Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx — was just as impressive as the skyscrapers they had seen the day before. The Waynesburg team had traveled to New York to play Fordham University on Sept. 30, 1939, in what was a season-opening tune up for a powerhouse of East Coast football. And the apparent mismatch was clear to the visitors even before playing a down. “We suited up about 30 guys,” Waynesburg freshman Bill Meighen said years later, “and when Fordham came out with 70, we were really impressed. It seemed as if one player was bigger than the next.” One of the game officials, Linesman Jack McPhee, ignored the size of the Fordham players and examined some unusual equipment on the sideline. “When I walked onto the field,” he said later, “I saw what looked like a railroad boxcar parked on the 40-yard line, with a camera on a tripod nearby.” What McPhee saw that day, 75 years ago this month, was one of two “Telemobile” trucks staged on the field by the Radio Corporation of America. A crew from the National Broadcasting Network, which RCA owned, was poised to produce America’s first televised football game. With this fall’s football spectacle well underway, fans, TV advertisers and networks are salivating over another landmark in sports entertainment — the first national championship playoffs in college football (see details below). Most Americans welcome the extra icing on the grand TV cake that already offers weekly ThursdayFriday-Saturday games (and somerimes Tuesdays and Wednesdays!). However, virtually no one appreciates the humble beginnings of the enormously successful marriage between sports and TV.
‘RADIO SIGHT’ The relationship between the mass media and sports began in the Roaring Twenties when radio helped turn games into entertainment. An early milestone in that transformation was the 1926 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees, four games to three, and a network of 21 radio stations carried Graham McNamee’s call of the game. An estimated 15 million people listened to baseball’s first national broadcast. The lash-up of stations became the NBC radio network two months later when RCA bought the lead station. As technical innovators turned to television in the early 1930s, Europe raced ahead of the United States in TV broadcasting. A reported 150,000 Germans watched the 1936 Berlin Olympics in indoor arenas and theaters across the country. During the 1937 Wimbledon Championships, Brits in 3,000 homes watched the finals. America caught up through the resourcefulness of RCA engineer Vladimir Zworykin and independent inventor Philo Farnsworth. In early 1939, RCA president David Sarnoff proudly announced to the press, “And now we add radio sight to sound.” On April 30, the first day of the 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., Sarnoff televised President Franklin Roosevelt’s opening address. Moreover, RCANBC hosted elaborate expositions of television science at the fair, including exhibits in the Hall of Television and the Living Room of Tomorrow. During the 18-month-long fair, a reported 45 million people watched TV demonstrations. NBC televised the first Major League Baseball game on Aug. 26 when the Brooklyn Dodgers hosted a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds. Famed announcer Red Barber called the games for W2XBS. Viewers of the broadcast were drawn from the pool of an estimated 400 to 500 New Yorkers who had bought TV sets following the World’s Fair hoopla. Televising a football game was a natural progression from baseball and tennis. NBC opted for a college game first, and Fordham was an easy choice because of both
its football reputation and location in New York. In stark contrast to the enlightened debut of broadcast television in the summer of 1939, gloaming clouds of war were gathering in Europe. On September 1, six days after Barber’s broadcast, radio announcers around the world reported Germany’s invasion of Poland and the start of World War II.
A ‘SOFT WEEK’ FOR FORDHAM Waynesburg, now a university located 60 miles south of Pittsburg, is a private, liberal arts institution founded in 1849 and affiliated with the U.S. Presbyterian Church. “It was a terrific thrill for a group of country boys like us to get to New York,” Waynesburg center Mo Scarry later told sports historian Stan Grosshandler. “In those days, Fordham was a real power, and this game was strictly a warmup for them. For us, it meant a good source of revenue.” Fordham University, located in the Rose Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, ended the 1936 season ranked 17th in the country and finished the next year 7-0-1 and a number three national ranking in the year-end poll. A 6-1-2 record in 1938 yielded a ranking of 17. The 1939 Rams first team boasted six seniors and five juniors. The leaders included Pete Carlesimo, later father of basketball coach P. J. Carlesimo; left tackle Jon Kuzman; running back Big Ralph Friedgen, whose son is the current college football coach of the same name; Len Eshmont, the nation’s leading rusher in 1938; Dom Principe, the leading rusher and scorer during the undefeated 1937 season; and captain Bill Krywicki, who called the plays. East Coast sportswriters expected the team to be in the hunt for the 1939 national championship.
the previous year, no one could fault the Rams for their relaxed attitude at the start. That casualness showed up five minutes into the first quarter when Waynesburg running back Bob Brooks darted past future NFL player Kuzman at the line of scrimmage, shook off a would-be tackler in the secondary and scampered 63 yards for a touchdown. After John Stefanic added the extra point, the Yellow Jackets had stung the Rams for the early lead. Coach Crowley was anything but sleepy after his team’s sloppy start. He energized his team, which responded quickly with a six-play, 65-yard drive that ended with right halfback Stephen Kazlo scoring from the 16-yard line, tying the score 7-7. Eshmont added to the Fordham momentum on the first play of the second quarter when he slipped through the middle of the Waynesburg line on the 31 and raced into the end zone. Eshmont, who would star for San Francisco 49ers after World War II, cheered as Kazlo added another point. But the plucky Waynesburg players continued to thumb their noses at the beefy Fordham team and stopped the next Rams drive with a goal-line stand. But a poor punt by the Yellow Jackets gave Fordham a short field, and soon Friedgen scored from the 2 on a line buck. After the conversion, Fordham led 21-7, the score at half. Bill Stern called the play-by-play action for NBC. The popular radio broadcaster flagrantly embellished the on-field action during radio broadcasts since no one in radio land could tell the difference. On TV, how-
While the first broadcast only reached about 1,000 television sets, the NCAA feared the “electronic feee ticket” would harm attendance. Just one month later, on Oct. 28, college football on television continued with the second TV college game, when the Kansas State Wildcats hosted the Nebraska Cornhuskers on homecoming. A HO-HUM WIN With the game scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30, the NBC crew began setting up their equipment that morning. One of the Telemobile trucks, which looked like a 25-seat bus without side windows, carried the control equipment for the two cameras. The second accommodated a 300-watt transmitter and a folding, rooftop antenna. The crew mounted one of the iconoscope cameras on a sideline dolly, with the second atop the control truck. Thirty-inch parabolic antennas used during radio broadcasts captured the distinctive sounds of tackle football. Cables carried power to the trucks from the stadium’s electrical room, as well as connected the cameras and trucks. Scarry, who later coached 19 years in the NFL, described the wiring hazards to an Associated Press reporter in 1989: “We were trying not to fall over the cables and look bad.” A stadium crowd of 9,000 fans watched as team captains lined up for the coin toss. A smaller number, perhaps a few thousand, watched the opening kickoff on a TV set, but almost all of them were at the RCA Pavilion at the World’s Fair. The real targets, mom and pop and the kids at home, probably numbered about 500 fairly well-off households. Those shopping for TV sets that fall had found a range of expensive makes and models priced between $200 and $1,000. RCA, for example, then sold a TV in a large wooden cabinet for $295, which adjusted for inflation, would be about $5,000 today. But the set came with a miniscule screen that was about four inches wide. That works today on your smartphone, but certainly can’t support a man cave with multiple Barcaloungers. Considering Fordham’s pasting of Waynesburg 53-0
ever, Stern had to stick with, “It’s third and two on the 25-yard line, and Fordham’s backfield has lined up in the Notre Dame box formation.” After halftime, Fordham stopped two Waynesburg drives with an interception and a blocked punt. The Rams showed their dominance with two more touchdowns — a plunge by Principe in the third quarter, and Friedgen’s second score in the closing minutes of the game. Fordham won 34-7, and the game stats reflected the score. Fordham outrushed Waynesburg 337-157 and in the air outgained the Jackets 64-0. The game’s outcome, as well as its significance in sports history, brought a yawn from New York Times reporter Louis Effrat. “The Rams tallied in every period and had the televised game in hand by halftime.” Principe, who later played for the football versions of the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, also minimized the game’s meaning. “The fact that the game was televised,” he told Grosshandler years later, “was of no significance to us. It is really difficult to recall much about it, other than the fact we considered them an easy team and were quite surprised when they scored first.” Waynesburg player Jack Wiley, for whom the university’s football stadium is named, offered a more nuanced assessment in a 1989 media interview. “It was a historic occasion when you think of how big TV has gotten, and it’s amazing the changes that have been made. But back then, it really didn’t mean that much to us because we didn’t know what television was.”
The College Football Playoff: A reminder Playoffs? Yep. Playoffs. For the first time in major-college football history, the national champion will be crowned this year after a four-team playoff. The College Football Playoff brings with it much intrigue and a few questions fans may have about the selection process. We’ll do our best to answer them. Who decides what teams make it? The College Football Playoff selection committee will meet and issue a top-25 ranking every Tuesday beginning Oct. 28.
So there will be plenty of time to dissect and complain about how the committee orders the teams between then and Dec. 7, football’s version of Selection Sunday. After regular season and conference championships, the committee will place teams in six bowls — Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, Peach and Cotton — with two of them serving as national semifinals on a rotating basis. This season, it’s Rose and Sugar. The remaining games will hew as close-
ly as possible to traditional conference affiliations. In the semifinals, the No. 1 seed will play the No. 4 seed; No. 2 will play No. 3. When will the games be played? The six bowl games will be played as tripleheaders on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with both semifinals occurring on the same day. This season, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are scheduled for Jan. 1. The national championship game will always fall on a Monday.
Are there any ways to qualify automatically for the playoff? No, everyone is at the discretion of the selection committee, even the SEC. Will the playoffs expand anytime soon? No. The four-team playoff is in place for at least 12 years. Will this stop all the bickering over who gets a shot at the national title? No, it most certainly will not. — Chris Hine, Chicago Tribune
STOJ
SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
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‘No Good Deed’ movie comes out at just the wrong time
Studdard wants to preserve Negro spirituals EURWEB.COM
American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard seeks to preserve the music of historical spirituals through “The Normal Hill Jubilee Documentary” Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign, which runs through September. “Please join me, in doing something special, preserving a piece of American history,” said Studdard who has found success in both the R&B and gospel music genres. The Normal Hill Jubilee Documentary will examine the evolution of an Ruben art form and the deep- seated need Studdard to express faith in song. This film will capture the untold stories from historians, Freedom Riders and include interviews with celebrities, civil rights activists and everyday people. This inspiring documentary is being constructed to understand spirituals, which are so prominent during times of strife. The Grammy-nominated, top –selling recording artist and television’s “The Biggest Loser” contender will also wants to partner with a college or university to produce and create along with current music students a live recording of 10 spirituals. Donations are being accepted via Kickstarter to fund the project at https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/1309582072/the-normal-hill-jubilee.
BY ROGER MOORE MCT
Screen Gems ignores the Ray Rice controversy and national conversation about violence against women with “No Good Deed,” a brutal thriller about, you guessed it, a “malignant narcissist” committing all sorts of violence against women. The team behind “Obsessed” serves up Idris Elba as an escaped convict savagely menacing Taraji P. Henson and assorted other females in assaults so savage you’d think they happened in a casino elevator. Screen Gems canceled preview showings of this, protecting a “plot twist,” they said. No, they were hoping the violence here would not take people out of the movie and into the evening news and sports talk radio, much the way the NFL is hoping images and a news story just go away. And unlike Disney, which postponed a comic thriller, which featured a bomb on a plane as a plot element 13 years ago, they’re just trotting this bloodstained melodrama out there and hoping we don’t notice.
Knight wants Rowland to play her in biopic
84 minutes of mayhem
EURWEB.COM
Would “No Good Deed” have anything worth talking about without the Ray Rice sucker punch tie-in? Barely. Elba plays Colin, serving time for manslaughter in Tennessee where the parole board has the good sense to not let him go. He escapes, and after checking in with an old flame (Kate del Castillo) stumbles to Terri’s door in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta. It’s a rainy night, and his disarming charm takes a while to work on Terri (Hanson). She has two tiny kids, a husband out of town and a suspicious nature. But his baritone and sleepy eyes do their magic, his cover story (he really did have a wreck in the rain) seems logical. But once he’s inside the house, it’s just a matter of time before mayhem ensues. Who knew an 84-minute mov-
Gladys Knight has the perfect singer-actress in mind to play her if a biopic was to ever be made — Destiny’s Child former second lead singer, Kelly Rowland. It turns out Knight is a big fan of Rowland’s and if anyone wanted to cast Rowland as the veteran singer, she would have a legend’s approval. “You guys remember when I asked you all who you’d like to see play the role of Gladys Knight in my biopic? Well… Here’s what I think:) @kellyrowland,” she posted on Instagram. Equally known as the lead singer of the popular group Gladys Knight and the Pips, she believes the talented “Dirty Laundry” singer is the perfect choice to play her.
Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson star in “No Good Deed.’’ ie could seem much longer?
Good acting Leslie Bibb plays the absurdly flirtatious neighbor-pal, whose come-ons are porn-video obvious. And every so often, something hilariously coincidental changes the subject of awkward conversations — a child cries, a tree crashes through the window. Elba’s a good actor, letting us see Colin size Terri up, reason out her situation, his eyes revealing cunning in one instant, future-tense guilt in the next. “I ain’t got nothing to lose,” he de-
clares, until his British grammar kicks in. “You stand...to lose ALL!” Henson does as well as can be expected, playing a fiercely protective mom whose temper apparently takes precedence over her fear, mouthing insults like she’s arguing with her husband, but at a huge, muscular stranger with a gun. The erotic touches, Terri’s coy attention to appearance after the audience has seen Colin as a man of violence, are a joke. And the sexualized extreme close-ups just underline how tin-eared “No Good Deed” would be, even without that security camera footage.
Gladys Knight
Kelly Rowland
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F0OD
SEPTEMBER 19 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
Sweets with a
SECRET
TOJ
From black beans to chickpeas: These desserts are made with hidden, healthy ingredients
BY ALISON SHERWOOD MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL (MCT)
H
ow do you hide black beans in brownies, chia seeds in pudding or avocado in truffles? Beat them into submission with a food processor. Yes, after a week of experimenting with desserts that look decadent on the outside but harbor secret, healthful ingredient lists on the inside, I’ve discovered that a food processor is the nutrition-conscious baker’s best friend. And the more powerful, the better. These desserts are all sweetened naturally and are not only filled with secret, healthy ingredients, but sometimes made more delicious because of those ingredients. CHERRY VANILLA ‘ICE CREAM’ (WITH BANANAS) This ice cream isn’t ice cream at all. In fact, in its simplest form it’s just bananas. But add in a few frozen cherries and some vanilla, or any number of additions (cocoa powder, coconut flakes, peanut butter, instant coffee) and you’ve got an all-natural alternative to frozen yogurt with no added sugar. Makes 2 servings. 2 bananas, peeled, sliced and frozen 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 frozen, pitted cherries Place bananas in a food processor and blend until a smooth, thick paste forms. Add cherries and vanilla and blend again until smooth. Serve immediately for a soft-serve consistency or store in an airtight container in the freezer until serving time for more ice cream-like scoops. FUDGY VEGAN BROWNIES (WITH BLACK BEANS) These vegan, gluten-free brownies are dense and fudgy. Don’t tell anyone the secret ingredient is black beans! The recipe is from minimalistbaker.com. Makes 12 brownies. 2 1/2 tablespoons flaxseed meal 6 tablespoons water 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Heaping 1/2 cup granulated sugar or raw sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder Optional toppings: Chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, coconut flakes, unsalted pumpkin seeds Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a standard-size muffin pan. Pulse flaxseed meal and water in bowl of a food processor and let rest about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend about 3 minutes, scraping down sides as needed, until mixture is smooth. Batter should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting; if it appears too thick, add a tablespoon of water and blend again. Evenly distribute batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger. Sprinkle with your desired toppings. Bake in preheated oven 20 to 26 minutes or until tops are dry and edges start to pull away from the sides. Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes before removing from pan. They will be tender, so remove gently with a fork. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days. Refrigerate to keep longer. PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE DOUGH BITES (WITH CHICKPEAS) These cookie bites are gooey and perfect right out of the oven — you’d never know they’re essentially just nuts, beans and chocolate chips. The recipe is adapted from texanerin.com. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Stir all ingredients except for the dates together in a medium bowl until completely combined. Stir in dates then chill mixture overnight or at least four hours. Pour the soaked mixture into a highpowered blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Mixture should be thick and creamy. Transfer mixture back to the bowl and chill until you’re ready to churn it. Churn mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to a lidded container and freeze until firm enough to scoop. Note: If left in the freezer too long it will freeze solid and be difficult to scoop without first thawing. COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM (DAIRY-FREE) Well, the secret ingredient isn’t so secret, but it’s a good option for those with a dairy intolerance, looking to cut down a bit on fat or who just love coconut flavor. 1 can (16 ounces) coconut milk (not light) 1 tablespoon powdered sugar Chill the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours. Remove can from fridge and do not shake. Flip can upside down and open immediately. The cream should be concentrated at the bottom; pour off the translucent liquid from the top and reserve, if desired, for another use (it works great in a smoothie). Scoop the thick cream from bottom of can into a mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar and whip using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons natural peanut or almond butter, room temperature (see note) 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor and process until very smooth, scraping sides as needed. Stir in chocolate chips. Mixture will be very thick and sticky. Form dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down lightly on the balls so they become small mounds. Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on the cookie sheet 10 minutes. The dough balls will still be very soft and will not set like normal cookies. They’re best when served warm. Note: Check the ingredients list and be sure to use nut butter that does not have added sugar. If it also does not have salt, add a pinch to the recipe. CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES (WITH AVOCADO) These truffles get their creamy texture from avocado, making them
as decadent as chocolates made with heavy cream, but much healthier. And don’t worry, the avocado flavor is masked by the chocolate. In their simplest form, they use just three ingredients, but cacao nibs add texture and flavor (without additional sugar). You could also simply reserve and chop 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips to add in for texture. The recipe is adapted from Food52.com. Makes about 20. 1 medium ripe avocado 10 ounces dark chocolate chips 1/4 cup cacao nibs 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder Cut avocado and scoop out flesh. Use a fork, an electric hand mixer or a food processor to mash the avocado until there are no more chunks. Melt the chocolate chips by microwaving in 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring after each, until completely melted. Scoop avocado mixture into the bowl with melted chocolate and mix until well-blended. Stir in cacao nibs, if desired. Refrigerate 1 hour. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball using your palms. Repeat with rest of mixture. Put cocoa powder in a shallow bowl and roll balls in the cocoa powder until they’re completely covered.
Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days, but note that they taste best when served fresh or at room temperature. CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM (WITH CHIA SEEDS) Chia seeds are touted as an ancient superfood rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The little black seeds don’t have much flavor, but when soaked in liquid they form a gelatinous texture, making them popular for faux-pudding recipes. Not sure about chia pudding? Put it in an ice cream maker and naturallysweetened chia ice cream might be more your style. This recipe is from topwithcinnamon.com. Makes 2 to 4 servings. 1/4 cup chia seeds 1 2/3 cups milk (unsweetened almond, coconut or cow’s milk) 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 3 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted 4 pitted Medjool dates or 8 pitted California dates
ALMOST INSTANT CHOCOLATE PUDDING (WITH CHIA SEEDS) Chia seeds turn gelatinous when chilled in liquid, making them a healthy, vegan substitute for egg yolks and cornstarch typically found in homemade pudding. Most recipes for chia pudding (or traditional pudding, for that matter) involve chilling the recipe for several hours or overnight, but if you keep a batch of almond milk ice cubes in your freezer this recipe lets you enjoy healthy chocolate pudding almost instantly. This recipe is adapted from ohsheglows.com. Makes two servings. 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (divided) 1/4 cup chia seeds 5 pitted Medjool dates or 10 pitted California dates 2 to 3 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of fine-grain sea salt Preparation Pour 3/4 cup of the almond milk into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid. To make the pudding, add the almond milk ice cubes, the remaining 3/4 cup almond milk and the rest of the ingredients to a high-power blender. Blend on the highest speed until smooth. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge, where it will thicken up even more.