Florida Courier - September 21, 2012

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UF’s Black alumni to celebrate 50 years of achievement B1

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SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

VOLUME 20 NO. 38

‘DEPENDENTS, VICTIMS AND BUMS’ According to Mitt Romney, that describes 47 percent of the American voting population.

What’s the truth?

MARK BOSTER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney addressed an audience at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 33rd Annual National Convention at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles on Monday.

Early voting saga continues Brown argues for additional Sunday voting

The comments were made at a private fundraiser earlier this year in Florida and published Monday by the news organization Mother Jones. In the video, whose authenticity the Romney campaign did not dispute, the Republican nominee told donors that he doesn’t need to worry about supporters of Obama, who rely on government services and pay no income tax.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

‘That’s an entitlement’

Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, already pushing back against suggestions that he was losing ground to President Obama, confronted more difficulty Monday when a secretly taped video showed him describing nearly half the nation’s population as “dependent on government” and unwilling to take responsibility for their lives.

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it,” Rom-

MERCEDES BENZ FASHION WEEK / NEW YORK

Now available here in Florida

BY BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

The hearing was the latest chapter in a legal morass that lawyers, state officials and advocates are still trying to settle little more than a month and a half before a high-stakes presidential election that could be decided by Florida’s 29 electoral votes.

Even U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan, who pressed both sides during the hearing, voiced some concern that going back to the old rules could cause problems, and might in some areas lead to less of the Sunday voting that the plaintiffs say is central to their case.

The suit was brought by Congresswoman Corrine Brown, who lives in Jacksonville, and other Democrats. They charge that the new law, passed in 2011, was aimed at suppressing Black turnout after early voting helped propel President Obama to victory Corrine in Florida in 2008.

Brown “It was a whole list

Florida HBCUs get millions from feds

The five-year grants – known as Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities – will include activities such as curriculum reform; counseling and student service programs; establishing teacher education programs designed to qualify students to teach; acquiring real-estate property in connection with construction, renovations, or additions that may improve campus facilities; and funding faculty and staff development.

In addition, funds may be used for the purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment and the development of academic instruction in disciplines in which African-Americans are underrepresented.

SNAPSHOTS WORLD | B4

A primer on understanding Islam

FLORIDA | A6

First lady gives pep talk to college students Meet Lynn

See ROMNEY, Page A2

Multiple uses

See VOTING, Page A2

FINEST | B5

Romney’s controversial claim that 47 percent of Americans “pay no taxes” and are “dependent upon government” is an overstatement that put his presidential campaign on the defensive Tuesday as it scrambled to explain what he meant.

The claim that nearly half of

Florida’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) – are slated to receive approximately $12.8 million of a $227.9 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education this week, which continues grant-making to HBCUs that started under the George W. Bush administration.

Ninety-seven HBCUs in 19 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be able to strengthen their academic resources, financial management systems, endowment-building capacity, and physical plants as a result, according to a press release from USDOE. FAMU received $6,596,639 – the largest single amount of any HBCU in the country. Bethune-Cookman University received $2,926,836; Florida Memorial University $2,025,731; and Edward Waters College, $1,297,176.

Every school that was funded received a minimum of $250,000.

Latest battle

NATION | A3

An overstatement

COMPILED FROM STAFF REPORTS

A lawyer for opponents of a controversial change in early voting in Florida told a federal judge in Jacksonville that the law would disproportionately harm Black voters and should be blocked.

But supporters of the change said it was allowed under the Voting Rights Act and a reversal now would cause chaos on Election Day.

Hispanic Dems upset about DNC contract going to Republican leader

ney said. “That-that’s an entitlement. And (they think) the government should give it to them.

And they will vote for this president no matter what...These are people who pay no income tax.”

Romney said he would focus on unaligned voters and not on Obama backers. “(M)y job is not to worry about those people,” Romney said. “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

MARGOT JORDAN PHOTO

Fashion designer B Michael’s collection kicked off couture fashion at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City. He’s responsible for fashion in the movie “Sparkle,” and fans can purchase his B Michael AMERICA collection at many Macy’s stores in Florida.

‘Staggering contributions’ “HBCUs have made enduring, even staggering contriSee MONEY, Page A2

ALSO INSIDE

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. WILMER J. LEON: NETANYAHU’S ‘RED LINE’ JUST A RED HERRING | A5

FOCUS

A2

SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Why I won’t vote, Part 2 Preparing for war

Editor’s note: What follows are excerpts of a commentary NAACP co-founder Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote in 1956 justifying why he would not vote in the presidential election.

GUEST COMMENTARY

On the presidential ballot in a few states...a “Socialist” Party will appear.

Few will hear its appeal because it will have almost no opportunity to take part in the campaign and explain its platform.

If a voter organizes or advocates a real third-party movement, he may be accused of seeking to overthrow this government by “force and violence.” Anything he advocates by way of significant reform will be called “Communist” and will of necessity be Communist in the sense that it must advocate such things as government ownership of the means of production; government in busi-

ness; the limitation of private profit; social medicine, government housing and federal aid to education; the total abolition of race bias; and the welfare state.

Any American who advocates them today, no matter how sincerely, stands in danger of losing his job, surrendering his social status and perhaps landing in jail. The witnesses against him may be liars or insane or criminals. These witnesses need give no proof for their charges and may not even be known or appear in person. They may be in the pay of the United States government.

DR. W.E.B. DU BOIS

The present (Eisenhower) administration is carrying on the greatest preparation for war in the history of mankind...The weight of our taxation is unbearable and rests mainly and deliberately on the poor. This administration is dominated and directed by wealth and for the accumulation of wealth. It runs smoothly like a well-organized industry and should do so because industry runs it for the benefit of industry.

Corporate wealth profits as never before in history.

We turn over the national resources to private profit and have few funds left for education, health or housing.

Our crime, especially juvenile crime, is increasing. Its increase is perfectly logical; for a generation we have been teaching our youth to kill, destroy, steal and rape in war; what can

we expect in peace?

We let men take wealth which is not theirs; if the seizure is “legal,” we call it high profits and the profiteers help decide what is legal. If the theft is “illegal,” the thief can fight it out in court, with excellent chances to win if he receives the accolade of the right newspapers.

Corporations own government Gambling in home, church and on the stock market is increasing and all prices are rising. It costs three times his salary to elect a senator and many millions to elect a president. This money comes from the very corporations which today are the government. This in a real democracy would be enough to turn the party responsible out of power. Yet this we cannot do...

Negroes hope to muster 400,000 votes in 1956.

Where will they cast them?

What have the Republicans done to enforce the edu-

cation decision of the Supreme Court?...What has the administration done to rescue Negro workers, the most impoverished group in the nation, half of whom receive less than half the median wage of the nation, while the nation sends billions abroad to protect oil investments and help employ slave labor in the Union of South Africa and the Rhodesias?

Will the (Democratic) Party...do better than the Republicans if the Negroes return them to office? I have no advice for others in this election. Are you voting Democratic? Are you voting for Eisenhower and his smooth team of bright (Republican) ghostwriters?

Will your helpless vote either way support or restore democracy to America?

‘Dogged hope’ Is the refusal to vote in this phony election a counsel of despair? No, it is dogged hope...that if twenty-five million voters refrain from voting in 1956

because of their own accord...this might make the American people ask how much longer this dumb farce can proceed without even a whimper of protest...

Stop running Russia and giving Chinese advice when we cannot rule ourselves decently. Stop yelling about a democracy we do not have. Democracy is dead in the United States.

Yet there is still nothing to replace real democracy.

Drop the chains, then, that bind our brains. Drive the moneychangers from the seats of the Cabinet and the halls of Congress.

Call back some faint spirit of Jefferson and Lincoln, and when again we can hold a fair election on real issues, let’s vote, and not till then.

Is this impossible? Then democracy in America is impossible.

W.E.B. Du Bois was a founding member of the NAACP. This article was republished in Hartford Web Publishing.

VOTING from A1 of things that they’ve done to disenfranchise or suppress the African-American vote,” Brown said outside the courthouse after the hearing.

Hours or days?

Brown’s lawsuit challenges a portion of the 2011 legislation that scaled back the number of early-voting days from as many as 14 to eight. Supporters of the law have noted that they also provided elections supervisors with the flexibility to provide up to 96 hours of early voting – the same as previously required – but counties could also offer as few as 48 hours.

Black churches sometimes used the Sunday immediately before Election Day for “souls to the polls” voting drives; the new law would only allow the Sunday a week-and-a-half before the election to be used for early voting.

Neil Henrichsen, representing Brown and other plaintiffs, said the state couldn’t arbitrarily dial back the number of early voting days, particularly in a way that harmed minority voters, after it decided to institute the early voting system. And he said the state had provided no compelling reason to cut back early voting.

“Once that right is given, that is a protected right,” Henrichsen said.

ROMNEY from A1 Americans pay no taxes is based on a 2011 finding from the Tax Policy Center, a joint tax research arm of the centrist Urban Institute and center-left Brookings Institution. The center reported in 2011 that 53.6 percent of an estimated 164 million U.S. households paid some federal income taxes, while the rest – actually 46.4 percent – paid none.

More than 76 million households paid no income taxes last year, according to the Tax Policy Center. But about 60 percent still paid federal payroll taxes that support Medicare and Social Security, said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the tax center. Many also paid federal excise taxes, along with state and local sales, property and income taxes.

“So it’s not that they’re not paying any taxes,” Williams said. “It’s just that they’re not paying federal income taxes.”

The reason, he said, is that more than 38 million, or roughly half of the 76 million households that paid no taxes last year, simply didn’t earn enough to

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Bethune-Cookman University students marched to the polls during early voting in Daytona Beach in 2010.

Not racial But George Meros, representing Secretary of State Ken Detzner in the lawsuit, said any changes in the law affected all voters equally. He also pointed to Gadsden County, where the Black supervisor of elections has proposed 62 hours of voter registration, as an example that illustrated that smaller counties’ desire to cut back early voting had nothing to do

with race.

“This is a careful, county-by-county evaluation of how best to do this,” Meros said. “That’s what the Legislature wanted. In fact, that is what has occurred.”

And defenders of the case argued that throwing out the new law now would cause widespread confusion 48 days or less before voters head to the polls, something Corrigan said was “a fair question.”

Henrichsen said Brown

Taxes and benefits

Nearly half of those who filed a 2011 U.S. tax return owed no federal income tax. Here’s a look at why and who received certain federal benefits.

Total tax filers Paid federal income tax

53.6%

Did not pay federal income tax

46.4

Among those who didn’t pay income tax, why didn’t they?

Income too low

50.2%

Tax benefits for seniors

21.9

Credits for children and working poor Other tax breaks 12.8

U.S. residents who received federal benefits 17.5%

Medicaid

15.5

Medicare

15.4

Food stamps

14.3

Subsidized school lunches

6.7

Subsidized school breakfasts

3.3

Program for women, children

2.9

Source: Tax Policy Center

Graphic: Los Angeles Times

have a tax liability under the current tax code.

Married with kids In a July 2011 blog post, Williams cited as an example a married couple with two children who earn less than $26,400.

“Their $11,600 standard deduction and four exemptions of $3,700 each reduce

their tax liability.

Apart from the more than 38 million households that paid no taxes because they didn’t earn enough, the other half of the 76 million without federal tax liabilities are mostly low- to moderate-income families that benefited from special tax deductions targeting specific populations.

Seniors and families

15.1

Social Security

was trying to wait on the ruling of a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., that later turned down the state’s request to preclear the law in five counties with a history of racial or language discrimination in elections.

The U.S. Department of Justice eventually cleared the law after supervisors in the five counties assured federal officials they would offer the full 96 hours, including 12 hours of vot-

NOTE: Figures are for 2011, except Medicare and Social Security (2010) and Medicaid (2009) © 2012 MCT

their taxable income to zero,” he wrote.

But it isn’t just low-income households that pay no federal income taxes, Williams said. He estimated that 1,400 millionaires didn’t pay federal income taxes in 2009, with many likely taking advantage of foreign tax credits or charitable donations to lower

Nearly two-thirds of these households – 28.3 million – are made up of seniors and low-income families with children. In fact, nearly 17 million elderly households paid no federal taxes last year because tax laws allow them to exclude municipal bond interest and some Social Security benefits from their taxable income, Williams said.

Another 11.6 million low-income families with children paid no income taxes because they benefited from the child earned income and child care tax credits, which erased their tax liability. The Earned Income Tax Credit is the nation’s largest anti-poverty program and helps pull the incomes of more than 5 million families over the federal poverty line each year.

“It’s a subsidy for people who work,” Williams

ing on Sunday. That action does not bar Brown’s suit from moving forward.

Required vs. optional Corrigan noted that striking down the law now would take away required Sunday voting and send the state back to a system in which that voting is optional.

“What would I have accomplished then, or what

MONEY from A1 butions to American life despite the steep financial challenges many have faced,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said.

“The grants will help these important institutions continue to provide their students with

explained of the tax credit, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support. “You don’t get the EITC if you’re not working. So (recipients are) not leeches. They’re not just sitting around waiting for the government to give them something.”

The tax credit is just one example of Congress using the tax code to provide financial support for families. The tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush, which targeted billions in tax relief for wealthy Americans, also canceled out the tax liability for 7.8 million lowand moderate-income families as well, according to a 2004 study by The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan

would you have accomplished then?” he asked.

Henrichsen argued that a ruling would require all 96 hours to be used statewide. And outside the courthouse, Brown disputed the idea that all Sundays were the same for early voting.

“Everybody starts thinking about voting right before the election,” she said.

Corrigan told lawyers for both sides that he would rule “as soon as I can.”

the quality education they need to compete in the global economy.”

USDOE’s Office of Postsecondary Education administers the Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant. For additional information on the grant program, including a list of previous grants, log on to http://www2.ed.gov/ programs/iduestitle3b/ index.html.

tax research group.

Romney benefits In 2010, Romney himself saved $2 million in income taxes because his capital gains income was taxed at a lower rate, Williams said.

“He pays a 15 percent tax rate on his capital gains income as compared to the 35 percent rate that somebody getting the same dollars of income from a job would pay, so he’s benefiting to the tune of 20 percent” in tax savings, Williams said.

Tony Pugh of McClatchy Newspapers and Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times (MCT) contributed to this report.

september 21 - september 27, 2012

Lawsuit challenges state on nursing home residents’ incomes

BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – In what could become a class-action lawsuit, attorneys for a disabled Tallahassee woman allege that many nursing-home residents are required to turn over too much income when they enter Florida’s Medicaid program.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Leon County circuit court, stems from a longstanding requirement that Medicaid beneficiaries help pay for a portion of nursing-home care if they have income from sources such as Social Security. They are allowed to retain some money to cover expenses like health insurance and relatively minor personal needs.

But the lawsuit contends that Florida is violating federal requirements by preventing beneficiaries from keeping income to pay nursing-home bills that were wracked up before they became eligible for Medicaid.

The lawsuit, which names Tallahassee resident Gabrielle Goodwin as the plaintiff, says the state’s position has allowed the Medicaid pro-

gram to pay less for nursing-home care than it otherwise should, prevented beneficiaries from having money to pay their old bills and led to nursing homes providing uncompensated care.

Unpaid expenses not figured The lawsuit says the Department of Children and Families (DCF) approved Goodwin’s application for Medicaid benefits in March, after she was denied last year. It says she had monthly income of $1,414, and DCF determined she needed to pay $1,032 a month to help defray costs of care – with most of the remaining amount going to healthinsurance costs.

Goodwin’s attorneys, however, said in the lawsuit that DCF also should have taken into account $70,607 in unpaid expenses from her prior nursinghome care. If that would have been considered, she would not have been required to pay the $1,032 a month until the time when past nursing-home bills would be paid off.

The lawsuit seeks to become a class action, saying it could include “tens of thousands of people.”

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NATION

A3

Hispanic Dems upset about DNC contract going to Republican leader Planners had announced onethird of contract dollars would go to diverse group, including minorities and women

BY FRANCO ORDONEX MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCT)

WASHINGTON — Some Hispanic Democrats are angry that one of the few major contracts for minority businesses at the Democratic National Convention went to a leader of North Carolina’s Republican Party.

Convention organizers made a big effort to contract with minorityrun businesses. But some Hispanics see contracting with the chairman of North Carolina’s Republican National Hispanic Assembly as anathema to the mission of the Democrats, especially considering the partisan differences on major issues such as immigration.

The contract also has reopened existing rifts between advocates for undocumented residents and more conservative members of the Hispanic community who are more integrated into the business community.

“The DNC convention people were hoodwinkled,” said German de Castro, cochairman of the Hispanic Voter Coalition of Charlotte and an active member of the Hispanic American Democrats of North Carolina. “We have people in our party that needed those contracts that we

G.J. MCCARTHY/DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MCT

Musician will.i.am (left) shakes hands with San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro during The Huffington Post “What is Working” panel discussion at the Democratic National Convention on Sept. 5 in the Ritz-Carlton Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C. While Hispanics and Blacks were prominent at the convention, some Democrats are complaining about how contracts were issued. should have supported because they support us.”

Ambitious goal Victor Guzman, who leads Republican campaigns across North Carolina, received an $80,000 contract to produce thousands of blue reusable water bottles emblazoned with the skyline of the host city, Charlotte, for DNC volunteers and other attendees. Before the convention, he had spent the past several months campaigning across the state and leading the work of Republican

Latino offices in Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro.

Guzman credited the Democrats for putting the economic benefits of Charlotte ahead of party affiliation.

“The fact that they were blind to whatever party you belong to, I think, is a good thing,” Guzman said in an interview. “I would hope that the Republican Party was the same way.”

In March, Democratic convention planners announced an ambitious goal to spend at least onethird of contract dollars

with businesses owned by a diverse range of groups, including minorities and women.

Convention organizers said last week that they were still tabulating expenditures, but they expected to reach their one-third goal for diversity spending.

They would not answer questions about concerns from Hispanic Democrats about Guzman.

His contract was chosen by the convention host committee, which is nonpartisan.

EDITORIAL

A4

september 21 - september 27, 2012

House, Field Negroes still exist in 2012 Three or four hundred years ago, there were two distinct kinds of Black people living in America.

There were so called House Negroes and Field Negroes.

The House Negroes were preferred, not loved, by their masters.

The House Negroes ate leftovers and the Field Negroes ate pig guts and other foods that no one else wanted. The House Negro got the used top hat and the Field Negroes got the straw hat or the Aunt Jemima head scarf. The House Negro slept on the floor and the Field Negroes slept on the ground regardless of how cold or hot the weather was.

The House Negroes did anything and everything their masters ordered them to do. The House Negroes chastised the Field Negroes, they spied on the Field Negroes, they snitched on the Field Negroes they even whipped and

Lucius Gantt THE GANTT REPORT

beat the Field Negroes if the master told them to do that.

Definition of slavery

are exploited and victimized by political slavery!

In political slavery, only certain African-Americans can enjoy political success. I know you like to say since President Barack Obama was elected that any Black man or Black woman can one day be elected and become The President of the United States.

While it is good to tell Black children that anything is possible, the truth of the matter is that most Blacks in political office and those seeking political office are controlled today just as much and just as easily as slaves were controlled back in the day.

person running for the Legislature or the Congress and you’ll probably be naming someone controlled by political parties, political action committees and political campaign contributors.

Most Black candidates of today can’t speak out strongly on issues of importance to Black citizens and Black voters. They can’t “look Black,” “talk Black” or “act Black” for fear their white political benefactors will withdraw their financial support.

Black candidates have to hire the campaign consultants, the campaign media staff, the campaign managers and other campaign workers that campaign contributors want hired.

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to re- Dollars substitute chains fuse to work, or to demand comChains were once used to keep pensation.

Blacks under control, now dollars Blacks don’t hire own The ancestors of African-Amer- or lack thereof, control Blacks in And the same people that work icans endured chattel slavery and politics. for Black candidates on the camFor example, name any Black paign, will be the same people that the African-Americans of today

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: AS THE WORLD BURNS

Eric Allie, Caglecartoons.com

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 154 FDLE’s FAMU ‘findings’ – Somebody dropped a dime on the Marching ‘100’ in the immediate aftermath of drum major Robert Champion’s death. They told Florida’s version of the FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, that the 100’s leadership was corrupt. After expending hundreds of investigative hours and thousands of Florida taxpayer dollars, what did Florida’s FBI produce and find? A four-page report that says a few non-band members hitched a ride on the band bus, one person padded their expenses by less than $2,000 and the band director improperly kept cash lying around that was subsequently stolen. In short, sloppiness, but no major crime.

FAMU’s got problems in the wake of the Champion death; I’ve been tough on them in this column. But let’s keep things in proportion. The school is far from being the dysfunctional hellhole its haters, many of whom want to merge FAMU with Florida State or control FAMU via puppet trustees, portray it to be...

HBCU grants – Always good to see our Black schools get some money. But check the record; HBCUs have been in the federal budget at least since Dubya’s administration, and many HBCUs were actually getting more federal money from that Republican administration than they’ve gotten since Bro. Prez was inaugurated.

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

Still, Bro. Prez’s campaign will have us think that funding HBCUs was his idea...

Bro. Prez disrespected again – Used to be that a president was like British royalty – untouchable, other than a brief handshake. How is it that a weight-lifting, swole-up White man can grab this Black president of the United States, pick him up bodily, and not get an immediate beatdown by the Secret Service? Look closely at the video, and Obama himself looked shocked. Is it just me, or is it that folks just don’t respect the presidency, at least while he’s in office? Could you imagine one of the Bushes, Reagan, or even Clinton going to a soul food joint in South Florida and getting grabbed and squeezed by an enthusiastic brother?

We’d be visiting him in the cemetery...

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

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

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

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Black candidates will hire if he or she is elected. The staff hires of President Obama is a perfect example.

Back in slavery days you had many runaway slaves and today you have Black men and women that want to run away from the voting booths because even when you think you’re voting for one of your own you’re voting for the political devil and his satanic and misguided government policies!

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 and from bookstores everywhere. Contact him at www.allworldconsultants.net. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

The poor could be strong swing vote Nearly 50 million Americans now are in poverty. One in four children will grow up in impoverished households. Redressing poverty is a national emergency and a moral imperative. In our money-drenched political debate, the poor receive little attention. Yet they could be the key swing vote in this election.

Mitt Romney invoked the poor as part of his attack on Barack Obama’s policies.

But his own agenda features devastating cuts in basic support for the poor — Medicaid, food stamps, Head Start, aid to poor schools, public housing, training — to help pay for another round of corporate and personal tax cuts, largely pocketed by the very rich.

Democrats lose focus Democrats have historically been the advocates of the vulnerable. Social Security, the crown jewel of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, is the nation’s greatest anti-poverty program, dramatically reducing misery among seniors.

Medicare and Medicaid, centerpieces of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, have provided vital health care to the disabled, the poor, the elderly and the dying. Yet now, Democrats focus their rhetoric on the middle class, and not on the vulnerable.

I grew up in a struggling

be the margin of victory in

Rev. these key swing states.

Jesse L. And appealing to the poor Jackson, — fighting to raise the minimum wage, defending afSr. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

household, and I can tell you that for the poor, the middle class isn’t the next step; it is a distant shore. The middle class seems rich — two parents, good jobs with healthcare benefits, homes, paid vacations, college educations.

Non-voting poor ignored Because the poor tend not to vote, they are often ignored by political campaigns seeking to appeal to “likely voters.” But this reality makes the poor potential swing voters. If they show up in large numbers, they can transform an election, particularly one like the current presidential race where there are few undecided voters left and the biggest question is who shows up to vote.

The battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia contain vast areas of impoverished Appalachia. As Lyndon Johnson showed, appealing to the poor in Appalachia helps to de-racialize the poverty vote. In fact, most poor people are not Black or Brown; they are White, female and young.

Their vote or non-vote could

fordable health care for all, pushing for greater investment in public transport and aid to schools, putting forth an agenda to revitalize our urban core areas — can mobilize non-voters in urban and rural areas.

How poor can be rich I know this from personal experience. In 1984, my campaign for the presidency focused on reaching and registering poor and minority voters. In 1986, what one southern Senator called the “new voter” transformed the electorate in Georgia and elsewhere and helped Democrats take back the Senate.

Jesus warned we would be judged by how we treat the “least of these.” Feeding the hungry is a moral imperative. But in a democracy, poor people are potentially rich voters. Their votes count as much as those of wealthy voters, and there are many more poor people.

In a democracy, standing up for the poor is not only morally right, it can be politically powerful.

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is president and CEO of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Obama fails to score touchdown with speech To use a football analogy, during the Democratic National Convention San Antonio mayor, Julian Castro, Mrs. Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden advanced the ball for President Obama to the ten yard line. All he had to do was move it into the end zone, which he failed to do.

At best, the President may have moved it to the five yard line. Since his surrogates had so thoroughly and brilliantly explained and defended his accomplishments during his first term in office, what he should have done was focus on concrete plans for the next four years if re-elected.

Skilled workers needed For instance since creating jobs seems to be of the utmost importance, he could have said, “I recently heard about a company in Chicago desperately seeking 600 welders but couldn’t find them in Chicago. During my next term we are going to make sure that doesn’t happen again anywhere in the country.

We will work closely with anyone currently involved in productive job training.

And in places where there is a need but no program, we will provide serious tax breaks to anyone who develops one.”

tury economy.”

A. Peter Bailey TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

Also, the president can continue, “I have become aware of Hospitality High School right here in Washington, an institution where young people receive a regular high school education, while at the same time being prepared for jobs and careers in the hospitality industry, the largest employer in the District after the federal government.

We will support others who take such an approach, especially in the field of medicine which has a constant need of skilled people such as X-Ray Technicians, Record-Keepers and Medical Assistants.

Finally, the president could have added, “We will encourage corporations and organizations, where feasible, to provide internship opportunities for young people to get on-thejob training. Again we will support such efforts with tax breaks and other incentives. These are just some of the ways in which we will become seriously involved in encouraging the preparing young people for jobs and careers in the 21st Cen-

Unemployed vs. unemployable Instead of taking such an upbeat, positive approach, President Obama, in his speech, basically re-stated and re-explained what had already been said by Mayor Castro, Mrs. Obama, former president Clinton and Vice President Biden. This was a political blunder.

Some may consider such an approach as thinking too small, not grand enough for a president to deal with when accepting the nomination of his party for reelection. Those who believe this should have to explain what is more important than preparing people, many of whom are not just unemployed but unemployable in 21st Century terms, an opportunity for a more productive future?

If President Obama had answered that question precisely in his speech he would have made it into the end zone.

Peter Bailey, a former associate editor of Ebony, is currently editor of Vital Issues: The Journal of African American Speeches.

Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.

SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

EDITORIAL

Netanyahu’s ‘red line’ just a red herring The Huffington Post and other sources have reported that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu requested a meeting with President Obama to discuss tightening restrictions on Iran and President Obama has rejected his request. Netanyahu has been trying to get the Obama administration to support Israel’s attempt to set a “red line” or boundary around Iran’s nuclear development program.

Netanyahu stated during a recent trip to Bulgaria, “The world tells Israel ‘wait, there’s still time.’

And I say, ‘Wait for what? Wait until when…Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

The Obama administration has denied Israel’s claim that the President has rejected the request for a meeting. According to NBC News, the White House has stated, “The president arrives in New York for the U.N. on Monday, September 24th, and departs on Tuesday, September 25th… The prime minister doesn’t arrive in New York until later in the week.

They’re simply not in the city at the same time.”

DR. WILMER J. LEON III TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: BIBI CHAMPING AT THE BIT

with his own Reaganesque October Surprise? Some believe that he’s attempting to lay the foundation for an Israeli attack on Iran as early as October. By Netanyahu’s calculation, an Israeli attack before the Nov. 6 election would force President Obama to provide U.S. military support to avoid alienating Jewish voters.

Others argue that this is a veiled attempt to draw the U.S. into backing Israel’s artificially and unilaterally determined “red lines” making it easier for Israel to construct the case for Iranian violations and a rational for war.

Netanyahu’s jingoistic rhetoric does not appear to be backed by some in his own government. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is on the record as stating, “Despite the differences and importance of maintaining Israel’s independence of action, we must remember the importance of partnership with the United States and try as much as possible not to hurt that.”

real issue. What American’s need to ask is why is Israel, a purported ally trying to bait the U.S. into another senseless war? Also, why does Netanyahu feel so comfortable insulting and trying to bully an American president?

There is a subtle yet significant difference between the U.S. and Israeli policies towards Iran. President Obama has clearly stated his objection to a “nuclear armed Iran.” “My policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.”

The Israeli position focuses on nuclear capability.

There’s a very big difference between a nuclear bomb and isotopes for medical purposes such as cancer treatment. There’s a very big difference between nuclear armament and capability.

There’s an even bigger difference No bomb in Iran between capability and delivery Reuters has reported as recentand all credible studies show that ly as March, “The United States, Iran is years away from that pos- European allies and even Israel sibility. generally agree on three things about Iran’s nuclear program: Another senseless war?

Alienating Jewish voters Tehran does not have a bomb, has Did Netanyahu request a meetWhat’s behind Netanyahu’s not decided to build one, and is ing and did the Obama adminis- rhetorical escalation? Is he at- probably years away from having tration reject the request is not the tempting to impact U.S. elections a deliverable nuclear warhead.”

The significance of struggle One of the main themes in the political conventions was centered on how hard it was for the speakers’ families, their parents and grandparents, and how they struggled to make it. Virtually every top speaker reflected on the hard times they went through and how their relatives struggled to put food on the table, how their parents worked two jobs to support their families, and how they lived in a small apartment.

They wanted to believe they were “special” because they knew what it was like to struggle. It was kind of funny hearing all the stories and seeing them worn as badges of honor that merited our votes.

Well, I may as well get in on the act with my personal story. My great-grandfather was enslaved in North Carolina. My grandfather somehow got a little piece of land

JAMES CLINGMAN NNPA COLUMNIST

and turned it into the business of farming and keeping chickens and hogs. He dug a well and used an outhouse, which I also had to use when I visited during the summer.

Real stories of struggling My father left home as a teenager, after not finishing high school, came to Cincinnati and started working as a janitor and night watchman. The first four of his five children, me included, were born at home. We lived in a threeroom apartment where the living room was converted to a bedroom every night by a rollaway

bed for my older brother and me, and the bathroom was in the hall for others to use as well.

Our parents took care of us through my father’s job that paid $35.00 per week. My father was crippled but walked to work every day. My mother went to work as a “domestic” in the White suburbs, which ended up being the norm for many Black women back then. Remember the movie, “The Help”? She later got a job at a hospital making a whopping 50 cents per hour as a cafeteria helper.

She worked at that same hospital for 28 years and when she retired she was earning $4.50 per hour, which was around 1980.

As for me, I worked odd jobs from the age of eight, selling papers, loading trucks, hauling groceries in my wagon, paper routes, working in a grocery store, and washing cars. With a story like

What a difference a week makes What a difference a week makes!

Two weeks ago, compelled by a need to know, I tuned in daily to the harsh, warmongering, mean-spirited, hate-filled, and angry, untruthful rhetoric of the Republican Convention in Tampa.

As I listened, I wondered if the folks at that convention cared for anyone else or were happy with anything. Their nostalgia was stifling as they took us back to a day to which many of us have no intention of returning.

A week later, I went to Charlotte, N.C., where the Democratic Party met. People there were actually glad to see each other. We embraced each other. We had genuine smiles—never laughing at anybody’s losses or misery, but we sure did a lot of applauding! I was finally with my kind of people.

Smelling victory

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

ership as positive in the passage of the Massachusetts health care plan. I can’t understand why Mr. Romney continues to back away from something that might be called one of his greatest achievements while governor; but now threatens to repeal the Affordable Care Act on day one!

A price was paid On the second night of the convention, the master campaigner, former President Bill Clinton was in the house and performed masterfully as he made the case for why President Barack Obama deserves four more years. He weaved together President Obama’s accomplishments in a way that my grandmother would understand to describe what a great success the President has been.

I know there’s a lot of work yet to be done to insure victory for the Obama team, but Charlotte sure was a confidence builder! If anybody plans not to vote, I would remind them that many of our ancestors died to gain that right for us, and we don’t have the right to destroy their dream.

Can you imagine what Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or Rosa Parks would say if they knew we cared so little for the price they paid to gain our right to vote on Nov. 6, 2012?

The positive energy was electric! I don’t know who these people are who aren’t as excited about 2012 as we were in 2008! Everybody in Charlotte seemed to be looking forward to November 6, 2012 and everybody in Time Warner Arena appeared to be smelling victory. As a matter of fact, the enthusiasm seemed to be leading toward a big victory - not only in the Presidential race, but in numerous others.

First Lady Michelle Obama opened up the first night of the convention with a breathtaking description of the President, sealing the deal on the President’s character, his role as a father, a spouse, a friend and President. In addition to looking absolutely gorgeous, she did a brilliant job at the podium.

She followed a line of the most diverse speakers I have ever seen at any convention. San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro was a great fresh new voice that should go a long way in turning his city Dr. E. Faye Williams is chair of the completely blue.

Instead of bashing him about any- National Congress of Black Women, thing, Massachusetts Governor Deval Inc. Click on this story at www.flcouPatrick described Mitt Romney’s lead- rier.com to write your own response.

A5

Taylor Jones, El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico

Defense Secretary Panetta said on “Face the Nation, “Are they (Iran) trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they’re trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that’s what concerns us. And our red line to Iran is do not develop a nuclear weapon.

That’s a red line for us.”

By not being lured into Netanyahu’s trap President Obama has shown some backbone and done the right thing. He, like the rest of America has seen this movie before; it was called Iraq. False claims of an imminent nuclear threat that led America into a protracted unnecessary war were wrong then and are wrong now.

American’s need to ask themselves what type of “ally” or this, I should run for office.

Struggle gets votes I really think it’s disingenuous for candidates to use struggle as a way to get votes.

Most of these guys and gals are multi-millionaires and they are reaching back in their pasts to tug at our heart strings; quite frankly, it’s insulting.

Look at the struggling people of Haiti, recently having taken another blow from Hurricane Isaac.

They have not yet received the funds that were donated to them after the earthquake of 2010.

What about the folks in New Orleans who have still not recovered from Hurricane Katrina, and have not been made whole after billions in relief funds were donated to them?

And let’s not even talk about Veterans; there is so much hypocrisy from politicians toward that group that it’s not even funny.

I don’t want to hear about struggle from politicians. Their strug-

“friend” tells lies of catastrophic proportions in an attempt to entice the other into war?

If “friends don’t let friends drive drunk” then surely, allies don’t allow each other to attack innocent sovereign nations and start a regional war of cataclysmic proportions.

Netanyahu’s “red line” is just a red herring.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is a teaching associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. gle, if they insist on having one, should be to help those who are really struggling in today’s economy.

They should be struggling to fix the broken places, like Nehemiah did; they should be struggling to help their people, like Esther did; they should be struggling to feed the hungry and heal the sick, like Jesus did.

The significance of struggle is not in the words we speak; it’s in the deeds we perform.

Jim Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati and can be reached through his Web site, blackonomics.com.

Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Double whammy for African-Americans We have learned that African-American unemployment rates stayed level last month with an absurdly high official unemployment rate of 14.1 percent.

Unemployment rates for African-American men fell, while those for African-American women rose.

These rates are way too high and understate the extent of pain that exists in the African-American community. The philosopher Albert Camus wrote, “Without work all life is rotten” because so many people value and define themselves by the work they do.

Indeed, at many professional social gatherings the first, second, or third question is “What do you do”? Work seems to anchor us to stability and to the world. Too many African-American people have no anchor.

Effects of unemployment While President Obama, Vice President Biden and other key Democrats have acknowledged unemployment rates are not falling quickly enough, few deal with the psychic effects that unemployment has on people.

For many it causes a malaise and a sense of absolute disconnection. Others feel disillusioned and depressed, although others use their own talent at entrepreneurship to create work where there is none, using skills to offer goods and services to their neighbors.

We don’t need government data to validate the pain that many in the African-American community experience, far more pain than experienced in other communities.

The overall unemployment rate dropped from 8.3 to 8.1 percent with African-American unemployment staying level, means some are enjoying our tepid economic recovery, while others are waiting for gains to trickle down.

Unemployment data were released on Sept. 7, and the poverty data released on Sept. 12. That’s a double whammy for African-Americans.

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

might describe these numbers as ”not statistically significant”, but try telling that to the 200,000 more African-Americans in poverty.

Overall, poverty rates dropped slightly from 15.2 to 15.1 percent. This means that nearly one in six Americans experience poverty, while one in four African-Americans and Hispanics experience poverty.

Incomes have dropped by more than 8 percent in 2007, and again African-Americans have lost more. While household incomes fell by 1.5 percent between 2010 and 2011, African-Americans incomes fell by 2.7 percent, the largest drop of any racial or ethnic group.

I don’t mean to underestimate anyone’s pain. All incomes fell, but African- American incomes fell most. African American incomes hit their peak in 1999 at $38,700 Today, with dollars adjusted, the amount is $32,200, the lowest level since 1997, or more than 15 years. At the top or at the bottom, African Americans lost ground.

In the face of this double whammy, how do we answer the Reagan question –“Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

As President Barack Obama says, we have choices; we are at a fork in the road. With an unresponsive congress, I am not sure how quickly President Obama can lead us to economic recovery, but with a change in strategy, I am absolutely certain that Romney-Ryan will plunge us into disaster.

The double whammy of poverty and unemployment is a body blow. Spending and tax cuts will take African-Americans from the hospital into the emergency room.

Julianne Malveaux is a D.C.-based economist and author. Click on this story The poverty rate among African-Ameri- at www.flcourier.com to write your own cans rose from 27.6 to 27.8 percent. Some response.

Poverty high among Blacks

TOj A6

FLORIDA

SEPTEMBER 21 – september 27, 2012

First lady gives pep talk to college crowds Michelle Obama speaks in Tallahassee, Gainesville to appeal to youth vote

BY MARY ELLEN KLAS AND BRITTANY ALANA DAVIS THE MIAMI HERALD (MCT)

TALLAHASSEE – Florida became the battleground for the youth vote Monday, as Michelle Obama and the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush arrived within hours of each other on college campuses in Tallahassee and Gainesville hoping to drum up support for their candidates among pivotal young voters.

The first lady spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of 10,750 cheering supporters at the Stephen O’Connell Center at the University of Florida and then darted to Tallahassee to another packed house of 8,850 at the Leon County Civic Center.

“All our hard work, all the progress we’ve made is all on the line; it’s all at stake this November,” Obama told a rowdy crowd of supporters in Gainesville. “This election is even closer than the last one, and it could all come down to what happens in just a few battleground states like Florida.”

Voter registration

by Oct. 9 urged She delivered a similar 30-minute speech in Tallahassee, and coached her audiences not to take a day off for the next 50 days and “work like you’ve never worked before.”

Part pep talk, part get-out-thevote drive, Obama’s remarks also underscored the importance of registering to vote by the Oct. 9 deadline in Florida.

Four years ago, she said, her husband won by 236,000 votes in Florida. “That’s just 36 votes per precinct,” she said. “That could mean just one vote in your neighborhood, in your dorm, in your apartment.”

The greeting was more subdued for George P. Bush, son of Florida’s former governor and nephew of the former president, as he launched his six-college bus tour on behalf of the Maverick PAC, a political action committee designed to increase activism among young Republican professionals.

Small rally for young Bush About two-dozen members of Florida State University’s Young Republicans Club greeted Bush for the first-of-its-kind event in-

ROBERT DUYOS/SUN SENTINEL/MCT

First lady Michelle Obama speaks to the audience at a rally on Aug. 22 in Fort Lauderdale. She spoke to students in Gainesville and Tallahassee this week. tended to counter the Democrats’ successful youth campaign four years ago.

In 2008, voters ages 18 to 29 turned out in record numbers and voted for Barack Obama 61 percent to 37 percent over John McCain. Bush estimates they also outspent Republicans 20 to 1 on the “digital campaign,” and the Maverick PAC hopes to match the effort. The group has raised about $200,000 from low-dollar fundraisers and its super PAC has collected another $1.4 million, Bush said, to finance an aggressive social-media campaign, Bush’s bus tour and a pro-Romney outreach effort.

“We feel if you make a physical presence, make an effort, they’ll come out,” Bush said to the small rally outside Doak Campbell stadium.

Polls show Obama with an edge over Romney among voters ages 18-29, but the president has lost the support of large numbers of White young people.

Not as fervent about president The top priority for the millennial generation: job creation, according to a Harvard University

poll. Affordable access to health care and lowering the tax burden tie was the next priority, the poll conducted in the spring found.

Today, the national unemployment rate among voters ages 18 to 29, at 17 percent, is more than twice the state average, and concerns over the fate of the economy and their future job outlook haunt many students.

Lemane Delval, a graduate student at the University of Florida, stood in line two hours to get tickets for Michelle Obama’s event.

But the food science major who voted for Obama in 2008 said more students went out of curiosity than fervor for the president.

“I think students are still enthusiastic about (Obama), but not as much as in 2008,” he said.

Worried about jobs and future Obama’s policies have helped make student loans affordable, Delval said, but many young people are worried about graduating without jobs.

With jobs scarce, polls also show disillusionment in politics is much worse among college students than among other voting groups, and polls also show

that young Americans are more anxious and dispirited than they were four years ago.

Republicans want to capitalize on that angst.

“More younger Americans are open to a different message than what the president has provided.

They see a disconnect between the rhetoric and the results,” Bush said. “You combine that with the concern about the fiscal cliff — that we will be the first generation that is handed a big fat bill, as opposed to a hand-up — it’s starting to have some resonance.”

Thousands of student volunteers The Romney campaign has established organizations at 30 colleges across Florida and has enlisted student volunteers to make 50,000 calls to voters, said Justin York, chairman of Young Americans for Romney in Florida.

The Obama campaign has not retreated from the successful grassroots efforts that have gotten young people to the polls in record numbers. This year, it has expanded its youth volunteer program and trained 1,100 “Fall Fellows” to work on voter registration and get-out-the-vote ef-

Scott still embracing ‘7-7-7’ plan Governor says he’s on track to create 700,000 Florida jobs within seven years

Focus on education Fresh off a statewide school tour, Scott said he will again focus on education, a year after he successfully pushed for a $1 billion increase in state funding, which came on the heels of deep budget cuts in previous years.

“The goal would be, if we can control the growth of Medicaid and the economy continues to

State rejects DOJ allegations about disabled kids NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

BY MICHAEL PELTIER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday his “7-77” plan is alive and well as he pointed to private job gains while vowing to continue separate quests to bolster education funding and cut corporate taxes.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with the Cabinet, Scott dismissed reports that unemployed Floridians are exhausting benefits without finding work and that much of the drop in unemployment is due to a shrinking workforce.

The governor instead said he’s focused on the creation of 130,000 private sector jobs since he took office, a figure that puts him on the mark to reach his goal of 700,000 jobs in seven years, the litmus test for his campaign mantra.

“Absolutely, no question,” Scott said when asked if he would reach that goal.

forts for the last 50 days of the campaign.

Young people “have always driven Barack’s campaign with your energy and your passion,” Michelle Obama told the energized crowd in Tallahassee.

The crowd roared when she touted the president’s health care reform plan that allows young people “to stay on your parents’ insurance” until age 26 and requires insurance companies “to pay for basic preventive care, like contraception and cancer screening.”

She then urged them to vote early in the event some of them might oversleep on Election Day. “We want as many of you to vote early as possible so that you can spend Election Day to get other people to the polls to vote,” she said.

Bush’s bus was scheduled to arrive in Gainesville 30 minutes after the first lady’s speech. A handful of students held pro-Romney signs on a street corner outside the forum that read: “Romney: the real job creator” and “We did build that.”

“She’s stiff competition,” Bush said of Michelle Obama. “We definitely have our work cut out for us.”

RED HUBER/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Florida Gov. Rick Scott shops on first day of the back-to-school tax holiday at a Wal-Mart in Orlando on Aug. 12. grow, we’ll be put more money into K-12,” Scott said.

A strengthening economy would also allow him to fulfill another campaign promise to repeal the state’s corporate income tax, which the governor said remains an impediment to attracting jobs to Florida.

“If you didn’t have an income tax…. you could buy more equipment, hire more people. That would be a big draw,” Scott said. “If we can do

that that would be great, but it is going to be tied to how fast our economy grows.”

Defending report Scott was dismissive of questions about whether at least some of the drop in the unemployment rate was due to people dropping out of the workforce.

An Office of Economic and Demographic Research report recently said a shrinking

labor force and long-term unemployed residents no longer seeking work had played a significant role in lowering the state’s jobless rate. When asked to address that, the governor bristled.

“Look at the chart. Look at the Department of Revenue numbers,” Scott said. “That is 130,000 jobs. That is 130,000 families that now have work that didn’t have it before – 130,000 jobs.”

In a terse, two-page response, Florida said it “fundamentally disagrees” with a U.S. Department of Justice letter that alleges the state has unnecessary placed disabled children in nursing homes.

“Florida prioritizes the health care of its citizens and has processes in place to ensure that medically complex or medically fragile children are cared for in the most-integrated setting possible – whether at home or through community-based care,’’ said the response, which state attorneys sent to the Department of Justice late Friday, Sept. 14.

“Medicaid-eligible children can receive key medical services in their homes – including private-duty nursing; personal-care assistance; home health aide services; and occupational, physical and speech therapy – whenever a doctor, in coordination with a child’s parents, determines such services are medically necessary.”

The Department of Justice on Sept. 4 sent a 22-page letter to the state that alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and raised the possibility of a lawsuit to force changes in the way Florida cares for disabled children.

Federal investigators alleged the state unnecessarily placed children in nursing homes instead of providing adequate services that would allow them to live with their families.

The state’s response offered few details but said Florida “fully complies with all relevant laws and regulations concerning the provision of medical services to children and young adults.”

Also, the state requested copies of documents and other information that federal investigators used in putting together the allegations.

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD September 21 - September 27, 2012

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Should you buy the new iPhone?

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University of Florida’s Black grads to celebrate milestone

Willie Jackson, right, was one of the first Black players to sign at UF. He and other pioneer Black athletes will be honored next month.

UF’s Association of Black Alumni plans weekend to commemorate 50 years of history, diversity, achievement FROM STAFF REPORTS

V

irgil D. Hawkins was denied admission to the University of Florida in 1949, solely on the basis of race. With the help of civil rights leaders and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he waged a determined, nine-year legal battle against Florida to undo the state’s Jim Crow segregation in higher education.

Even after the United States Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v Board of Education decision in 1954, the state of Florida remained defiant and refused to integrate in the state until George Starke Jr.’s enrollment at the University of Florida in 1958.

Starke integrated the University of Florida (UF) and the state’s segregated higher education system. And in 1962, W. George Allen became the first Black graduate of UF. Those achievements and more over the past 50 years will be recognized Oct. 1214 in Gainesville by the University of Florida Association of Black Alumni. It will be a weekend to commemorate integration milestones and noteworthy diversity success stories featuring some of UF’s most illustrious Black graduates.

Mickle to speak at opening program Allen’s accomplishment as the school’s first Black graduate will be commemorated on Oct. 12 when the University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law hosts university officials, faculty and staff, alumni, students and guests at an opening ceremony and program that chronicles some of the pioneers who were instrumental in ending the state’s segregation policy in higher education.

Federal District Judge Stephan P. Mickle of Gainesville, the second Black student to graduate from UF and the first to earn an undergraduate degree in 1965, is among the speakers on the Oct. 12 program to honor Allen’s historical achievement.

Quince among speakers at brunch, symposium Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, MSNBC News Vice President and Executive Editor Yvette Miley along with NAACP National Vice Chairman Leon Russell will headline the Oct. 13 Celebratory Brunch and Virgil Hawkins Legacy Symposium.

Quince and Russell will focus their symposium remarks on the legal system’s role in integrating the state’s higher education system and civil rights pioneers’ strategies and collaboration with like-minded allies to dismantle Jim Crow laws in the state of Florida.

Insider’s view of ‘Black Thursday’ Gwyn Francis, who lives in St. Petersburg, will provide an insider’s view of the

strategies student leaders employed during “Black Thursday” on April 1971, one of the darkest days in UF black alumni history, when more than 60 African-American students were arrested for staging a sit-in at the office of then-President Stephen C. O’Connell.

When the president refused to grant the students amnesty after their jail release, an estimated 123 students, nearly a third of the Black student enrollment, along with some faculty members and staff, left the university.

Dr. Samuel L. Wright, Sr., a Tampa resident from Boynton Beach, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in 1975 and currently serves as chairman of this year’s Black Alumni Weekend planning committee.

“I arrived on campus immediately after the tumultuous spring of 1971 and agree these stories must be told. The Association of Black Alumni hopes participants will find the brunch and symposium both informative and an excellent opportunity to learn about the courage and determination of our early alumni,” Wright said.

“Having been one of the students arrested on Black Thursday, Gwyn Francis was up close and personal to those tense moments; she is uniquely suited to educate recent alumni and current students on the events of the early ’70s,” he added.

Pioneer athletes to be honored Attorney Terry Nealy, national president of the UF Association of Black Alumni, also points out the impact of AfricanAmerican athletes.

“Alumni athletes have made significant contributions to Black alumni history since integrating the UF athletics program 44 years ago. Their contributions go beyond integration.

“They performed well under a great deal of scrutiny and have played significant roles in games that are today considered Florida classics; not to mention their role in helping the University of Florida win SEC and National Championships in all sports. Our alumni athletes will have a visible role during the commemoration weekend, as well they should’’’ Athletes to be honored will include Ron Coleman, a Jacksonville area resident from Ocala, UF’s first Black scholarship athlete (track and field) in 1968; Willie Jackson, Sr. of Jacksonville who grew up in Sarasota, one of the first two Black football players to sign with UF in 1969; and Don Gaffney of Jacksonville, Florida’s first Black quarterback.

At a 50th Commemoration Dinner and Awards Program, the alumni association also will honor the following: Former UF President Marshall Criser, Jr., who approved the concept and formal establishment of the Association of Black Alumni; Harley Herman, a UF alumnus who preserved the legacy of Virgil Hawkins; Mike Ricketts, president and CEO of Quality Packaging Specialists International, LLC; and Eugene K. Pettis of Fort Lauderdale, president-elect of the Florida Bar, who will become the first African-American leader of the Florida Bar in the organization’s 105-year history.

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Virgil Hawkins

George Starke Jr.

Justice Peggy Quince

Leon Russell

Judge Stephan P. Mickle

Yvette Miley

Dr. Samuel Wright

Eugene K. Pettis

For more information about the reunion, visit www.ufalumni.ufl.edu

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FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR St. Petersburg: Enjoy an evening of jazz with Victor Wooden at State Theater on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

Orlando: Tyler Perry’s “Madea Gets a Job’’ makes a stop at the UCF Arena in Orlando on Nov. 8 and the American Airlines Arena in Miami Nov. 9-10.

Tampa: The Center for Equal Health-Community Advisory Board University Area Community Development Center is hosting a community talk on health equity titled “Cancer disparities in the community: What really matters?” It will be Sept. 26 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the University Area Community Center, 14013 N. 22nd St. To RSVP or more information: Thometta Cozart Brooks at 813-974-7042 or tbrooks1@health.usf.edu or www.centerforequalhealth. org.

Kissimmee: The Freestyle Legends Tour returns to the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee for its fourth flashback into the ’80s and ’90s Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. The old-school lineup features Lisa Lisa, Sugar Hill Gang, Sweet Sensation, Brenda K Starr, C&C Music Factory, Trinere, Charlie Rock, Debbie Dee, Clear Touch, Nayobe, Noel, Corina, Soave and Giggles.

Tampa: A Heritage bid whistspade tournament will be held Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. - noon at the Heritage Isles Golf and Country Club, 10630 Plantation Bay Drive. A portion of the proceeds will generate a scholarship fund to promote the arts. $36 individual, $67 team of 2 or $124 team of 4.

Must register by Oct. 1. More

information: tampablackheritage.org.

Orlando: The seventh annual Recovery Walk/Run “ Step in the Name of Love” is Sept 22 at Barnett Park 7:30 a.m. to noon in celebration of National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month. The event is sponsored by the Multi-Cultural Addictions Network and the Orange County Drug Free Coalition. Online registration at http://recovery2012.eventbrite.com or call 407-2971185 or 407-836-7335.

SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

TOJ

BRUCE BRUCE

Funny man Bruce Bruce will be at the Miami Improv in Coconut Grove on Oct. 19 for an 8 p.m. show.

Orlando: The Unity in the Community Voter Registration & Stop The Violence Rally will be held at the Well of Hope Church, 5320 Indian Hill Road from 10 a.m. to noon. Pine Hills pastors and organizations will come together to encourage people to vote and to take a stand in the community to stop the violence on Sept. 22.

Jacksonville: Jennifer Holiday will perform at Edward Waters College during its 11th Annual Fine Arts Scholarship Benefit Concert at the TimesUnion Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 14 at 8 p.m.

Orlando: Frankie Beverly & Maze will be at the House of Blues Orlando Oct. 5 for a 7:30 p.m. show.

KELLY PRICE AND DRU HILL A Forever R&B concert featuring Kelly Price, Dru Hill, Carl Thomas and Shirley Murdock will be held at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables on Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.

Jacksonville: Aaron Bing will perform at the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center Sept.

15.

Orlando: Sen. Gary Siplin will host a free housing workshop on Sept. 29 at the Pine Hills Community Center, 6408 Jennings Road. More information: 407-207-2071.

Jacksonville: The Price is Right Live! presented by The Artist Series will be held Sept.

25 at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. The

interactive stage show will give contestants pulled right from the audience the chance to “come on down” to win prizes. Todd Newton will be the host. Tickets start at $32 and can be purchased by call-

ing 904-632-3373 or visiting www.artistseriesjax.org.

Jacksonville: Comedian and actor Kevin Hart will be at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 12 for a

7 p.m. show.

St. Petersburg: First Fridays are held in downtown St. Petersburg at 250 Central Ave. between Second and Third Avenues from 5:30 p.m.-

10:30 p.m. More information: 727-393-3597.

Orlando: Comedian Sinbad will be at the Hard Rock Live Orlando Oct. 12 for an 8 p.m. show.

Novel about president overflowing with robbery, murder and mayhem

BY DR. GLENN C. ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Review of “The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln: A Novel.’’ By Stephen L. Carter. Alfred A. Knopf.

516 pp. $26.95.

Stephen Carter’s fifth novel opens two years after Abraham Lincoln has survived the assassination attempt by John Wilkes Booth. At odds with the radicals who dominate his own Republican Party, the president has been charged with suspending habeas corpus, censoring newspapers and seizing private telegrams during the Civil War and failing to protect freed slaves or obey the authority of Congress during Reconstruction.

The House of Representatives has impeached Lincoln – and the Senate is preparing to try him.

Two young clerks at Dennard & McShane, the law firm retained by Lincoln, join forces to defend the president against what appears to be a conspiracy involving the highest levels of American society and government: the wealthy and White Jonathan Hilliman, scion of New England merchants; and Abigail Canner, a brilliant African-American graduate of Oberlin, from a middle-class Washington, D.C. family.

Carter’s ‘plotboiler’ A law professor at Yale University (and the author of nine non-fiction works), Carter has proven himself to be a master of what might be called “the plotboiler.”

“The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln’’ is filled to overflowing with burglary, highway robbery, arson, prostitution, murder and mayhem. And in Carter’s Washington, D.C., which has secret ciphers, couriers, spies, and double agents, hidden motives always lurk behind stated motives, secret motives behind the hidden ones, and

BOOK REVIEW

Ocean Park,’’ Carter is adept here at unearthing the (often overlooked) middleclass social experience of African-Americans.

Ambitious course

beyond them all “a true motive, almost never discovered.”

As in his much acclaimed novel, “The Emperor of

Abigail grew up in a twostory brick house on Tenth Street, not far from the Smithsonian Institution, Carter tells us, in a neighborhood that had several “better colored families” and plenty of poor folks.

She kept a safe distance from the shanties out of fear that if she strayed from the straight and narrow she might wind up as “just another negro, utterly irrelevant to the course of history.”

And she came to understand how much her ambition, including a craving for

the respect and admiration of White people, was set by a desire to escape the “rejection, exclusion, and condescension” that constituted the price exacted each day from her race, “like a special tax on darkness.”

On Lincoln’s side Along with action, intrigue, melodrama, romance, and credulitystraining coincidences, “The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln’’ raises important, relevant, and timely questions about our system of checks and balances.

In times of crisis, Carter asks, how far can a president of the United States stretch the Constitution? Is impeachment “a political disagreement dressed in the language of high crimes

and misdemeanors”? And if it is, isn’t the ballot box the “proper forum” to settle partisan differences over policy?

In the end, although they have considerable sympathy for the political agenda of the Radical Republicans, Abigail Canner (and Stephen Carter) side with Abraham Lincoln.

World-weary politician Dismissed by many of his contemporaries as a poorly educated, ugly, slangy, story-telling bumpkin who would have “made an excellent farmer, a fair mayor and a poor governor,” the president was a wily, witty, and world-weary politician.

He did not destroy slav-

ery as quickly or fight the war as aggressively as the Radicals wanted, Carter suggests, but he may well have done “better than anyone else would have.”

Great people can also “do terrible things,” Carter adds. So it is rather surprising that he concludes with Abigail’s observation that history “is larger than any one man, even when that man is Abraham Lincoln.”

And rather strange that she claims as well that in 1865 the destiny of the United States was fixed.

Does she believe, one wonders, that the abolition of slavery was inevitable?

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

STO

SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

SPORTS

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Wins for EWC, FAMU; Miami defeats tough B-CU BethuneCookman University defenders Dion Hanks (29) and Terence Griffin (95) attempt to tackle University of Miami player Duke Johnson (8).

COMPILED BY ANDREAS BUTLER FLORIDA COURIER

FAMU pulls away from Hampton James Owens ran for 157 yards with three touchdowns to lead Florida A&M University past Hampton University 44-20 in the MEAC opener last weekend for both teams.

Damien Fleming also threw for 184 yards with three scores with an interception. He alJames so ran for Owens 38 yards for FAMU. Hampton (0-3, 0-1) took a 7-6 lead when Travis Champion connected with Antonio McCloude from eight yards out with 8:27 to go in the first quarter.

Florida A&M (1-2, 1-0) responded with a two-yard touchdown run from Owens to retake the lead at 137.

Hampton got within 2317 on Travis Champions 33 yard touchdown pass to Andre Griffin with 13:29 to go in the third quarter.

Owens broke loose for a 56-yard score to give FAMU a cushion at 30-17.

Champion finished with 347 passing yards with two scores and an interception to lead Hampton.

Lenwood Lennon and Travis Henry each had seven catches for 62 yards with a score for the Rattlers.

Jeremiah Schwartz added 101 rushing yards, Twarn Mixson five catches for 100 yards and Griffin four catches for 85 yards to go with his score for the Pirates.

Both teams committed two turnovers. FAMU held the edge in rushing yards

KIM GIBSON/ FLORIDA COURIER

HBCU FOOTBALL ROUNDUP 253-127 while HU had the advantage in passing yards 347-236.

Brandon Hephburn also had 10 total tackles to lead FAMU defensively.

B-CU falls short against Miami Duke Johnson accounted for 246 total yards with four touchdowns to lead the University of Miami to a 38-10 win over BethuneCookman University.

Johnson ran for 94 yards with two touchdowns, caught three passes for 57 yards with a touchdown and returned a kickoff for a score for the Hurricanes.

The Wildcats were actually competitive with the HurricanesT:5.6875” for the second straight year.

Bethune-Cookman struck first, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run from Isidore Jackson with 2:37 to play in the first quarter. The drive followed a Hurricane turnover.

Miami responded with Johnson taking the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to tie the game at 7-7.

The Hurricanes took a 17-7 lead into halftime after a Johnson touchdown run and a field goal from Jake Weiclaw.

Stephen Morris connected with Johnson, who ended up with a 50-yard touchdown reception to give Miami a 24-7 lead in the third quarter.

B-CU got within 24-10 after a 31-yard field goal from Sven Hurd with 9:49 to play.

Rodney Scott ran for 72 yards and Jackson 66 with a score to lead B-CU. Broderick Waters also

added 129 total yards (60 rushing) for the Wildcats.

Morris added 211 yards passing and Mike James 77 yards rushing for Miami.

B-CU had 233 of its 355 total yards of offense on the ground. The Wildcats also led in time of possession 36:57 to 23:03.

Edward Waters tops Livingstone

T:10.5”

Edward Waters College won a shootout over Livingstone College 42-36.

Brandon Turman threw for 191 yards with three scores and ran for 50 yards to lead Edward Waters.

Drew Powell threw for 295 yards with three touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead Livingstone.

The Blue Bears outgained the Edward Waters Tigers 440-372 in total offense yardage but still lost.

Edward Waters (2-2) took a 7-0 lead on Suwayne Hylton’s 18-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Turman with 11:11 to go in the first quarter.

Livingstone (0-3) tied the game at 7-7 on Drew Powell’s five-yard touchdown pass to Austin Higgins with 9:24 to play in the opening quarter.

EWC pushed its lead out to 28-7 after Turman found Devion Laws from six yards out with 14:54 to go in the second quarter.

The Blue Bears got within a touchdown several times throughout the rest of the game.

Edward Waters went 4-for-4 in the red zone while Livingstone was 3-for-5.

Phillip Teamer added 101 yards rushing and Hylton five catches for 155 yards and two scores for the Tigers.

Javon Williams also ran for 116 yards and Higgins had five catches for 49 yards with two scores for the Blue Bears.

Jalen Hendricks also had six catches for 92 yards, Williams three catches for 63 yards and Avery Collins four catches for 50 yards and a score for Livingstone.

Ray Dukes and Ralph Shuler each ran for a score for EWC.

Howard ekes out win over Norfolk

A message from the NBA and its players

THINKB4YOUSPEAK.COM THINK B4YOUSPEAK.COM

Julien David blocked Parke Munoz’s extra-point attempt and Howard University escaped with a 3736 win in overtime over Norfolk State University.

Howard (2-1, 1-0) scored first in the extra period on Greg McGee’s two-yard score.

Norfolk State (2-1, 0-1) scored on its overtime possession behind Brendon Riddick’s four-yard score.

The Norfolk Spartans outgained the Howard Bison in total offensive yardage 439-321 including 38299 passing. Howard held the edge in rushing yardage 222-57.

Howard led 23-0 in the third quarter after Parker Munoz’ 40-yard field goal.

Norfolk got on the board

at 23-7 when Nico Flores found Riddick for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 4:49 to play in the third quarters.

Howard responded with a 100-yard kickoff return from Rodney Tyson to lead 30-7 with 4:34 to go in the quarter.

The Spartans tied the game at 30-30 on Everett Goldberg’s 38-yard field goal with five seconds to play.

Flores threw for 387 passing yards with four touchdowns and Riddick had 79 total yards with two scores (one rushing, one receiving) to lead Norfolk.

McGee had 109 total yards (63 rushing) with a score and Terrence Lefall ran for 122 yards to lead Howard.

Derrick Demps added five catches for 123 yard and a touchdown for the Spartans. Xavier Boyce also had 70 yards receiving with a score and Joseph Hawkins 78 receiving yard with a touchdown for NSU. Keith Pough had nine tackles with a sack for Howard and Terrance Pugh had 11 tackles for Norfolk State.

Mississippi Valley defeats Southern In a defensive struggle, Mississippi Valley State University walked away with a 6-0 shutout win over Southern University.

The Delta Devils beat the Jaguars for the first time since 2005.

Mississippi Valley State (1-2, 1-1) scored on a threeyard touchdown run by Trey Bateaste with 1:35 to play in the second quarter.

Southern (0-2, 0-1) went 0-for-3 in the red zone and committed three turnovers in the game.

Brandon Stensell ran for 100 yards to lead Mississippi Valley. Kevin Woods added 14 tackles and forced a fumble for the Delta Devils.

Dray Joseph threw for 114 yards with an interception to pace Southern.

Alabama State edges Grambling Greg Jenkins’ 29-yard touchdown run with 4:15 remaining lifted Alabama State University to a 19-18 win over Grambling State University.

Jenkins’ touchdown run was set up by a 14-yard run for a first down by Bobby Winzig on a fake punt.

Grambling (0-3, 0-2) led 12-7 with 28 seconds to play in the third quarter after Frank Rivers connected with Jeremy Hernandez from five yards out.

Alabama State (2-1, 2-0) took a 13-12 lead on Isaiah Crowell’s three-yard score with 12:49 to play.

Grambling retook the lead at 18-13 on Rivers’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Anthony McGhee with 6:41 remaining. Jenkins finished with 138 yards passing with a touchdown and ran for another 65 and a score for Alabama.

Rivers finished with 173

passing yards with two touchdowns for Grambling.

Crowell added 98 yards rushing with a touchdown and T.C. McWilliams five catches for 56 yards with a score for the Hornets.

D.J. Williams added 107 yards passing with a score, Hernandez eight catches for 135 yards with two scores and McGhee nine catches for 78 yards and a score for the Tigers.

Other HBCU scores Akron-66, Morgan State-6; North Carolina A&T-40, Lynchburg-7; Arkansas Pine-Bluff-24, Alcorn State-6; WinstonSalem State-55, Morehouse-21; Bowie State-24, Fairmount State-17; Shaw-31, Stillman-6; Johnson C. Smith-28, Concordia-18; Kentucky State-35, Lincoln (Pa)-23; Shorter-28, Chowan-17; Duke-54, North Carolina Central-17; Arizona-56, South Carolina State-0; Cincinatti-23, Delaware State-7; Alabama A&M42, Prairie View A&M-30; Jackson State-45, Texas Southern-35; St Augustine’s-30, South Connecticut State-14; Millsaps-54, Point-28; Tuskegee-45, Lane-17; Virginia State-30, Benedict-20; Elizabeth City State-13, Albany State-12; Ft Valley State-26, Clark-3; Fayetteville State-28, Virginia Union-17.

This week’s top games Tennessee State (3-0) at Bethune-Cookman (2-1): This is a big game at the HBCU and FCS level. Tennessee competes in the tough Ohio Valley Conference. Both teams have good offenses so the defenses may decide the winner.

Florida A&M (1-2, 1-0) at Delaware State (1-2, 0-0): The Rattlers hit the road to face the Hornets, who played FBS Cincinnati well. It’s another key game in the early MEAC race so this could be a thriller.

University of New Orleans (N/A) at Edward Waters (2-2): The Tigers are looking to get above the .500 mark but they will have to fight with the Privateers. The New Orleans team plays football as a club sanction sport and is not under the NCAA or NAIA. Alabama A&M (3-0, 2-0) at Texas Southern (1-2, 1-1): Alabama A&M is playing well and looks to stay in the drivers in the SWAC division races. Texas Southern is looking to be a factor and shake things up.

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (2-1, 1-1) at Alabama State (2-1, 2-0): Arkansas goes on the road to try to knock off one of the best teams in both the SWAC and HBCU ranks.

WORLD

TOj B4

STOJ

SEPTEMBER 21 – SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

DAVID P. GILKEY/DETROIT FREE PRESS/mct

Muslim men gather for Friday prayers and the official start of the holy month of Ramadan outside the Pul Khashti mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2004.

Understanding Islam With more than a billion followers, Islam is one of the largest religions in the world, yet many misconceptions persist about Muslims, their practices and their faith.

Common Practices Islam is a diverse faith practiced in different ways by Muslims across the globe. However, some commonalities exist across the spectrum. Muslims are encouraged to read the Quran — especially during the holy month of Ramadan, and the Hadith. Most practicing Muslims offer Salat, or prescribed prayer, five times a day at prescribed intervals. Both men and women are encouraged to dress modestly and generally pray in either separate rows, sections or rooms. Muslims view pork and pork products as unclean and try to stay clear. And, whether a Muslim regularly attends Friday worship services or worships at home, most Muslims rejoice at the end of the 30 day Ramadan fast, which culminates in a three-day festival, Eid ul-Fitr “the Feast of Fast Breaking.”

Five Pillars The religion of Islam is grounded on Five Pillars: Declaration of Faith (Shahadah): Every Muslim states the phrase “There is no God but (Allah) and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Prayer (Salat): Muslims pray five times a day facing Mecca — at dawn, at noon, in mid-afternoon, after sunset and at nightfall. The prayers are usually spoken in Arabic and consist of a series of prostrations.

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

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

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

Denominations Like Christianity, Judaism and many other faiths, Islam has many denominations. As with other faiths, practices within each denomination vary widely depending on historical, cultural and geo-political influences. Many Muslims do not affiliate with a denomination at all and instead just refer to themselves as “Muslim.”

Sunni: More than 80 percent of Muslims are Sunni, making it Islam’s largest group. Sunnis believe God did not name a leader to succeed the Prophet Muhammad after his death and that the first four religious leaders elected by the newly formed religious community were the rightful successors.

Shiites: Islam’s second largest denomination. Shiites believe the leadership following the prophet’s death rightfully passed to Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and succession would continue through familial

Islam has been a part of the American fabric for centuries, arriving with African explorers on early expeditions and later with Africans who came to the Americas either as free blacks slam was founded in seventh century Ara- or slaves. bia and shares many teachings with JudaMuslim women often express pride that one ism and Christianity. Today the world’s sec- of their faith’s key figures was Khadijah, the ond largest religion, with 1.5 billion adherents, Prophet Muhammad’s first wife, a well educatIslam is a culturally diverse and multifacet- ed and wealthy businesswoman. Scholars argue ed faith. Whirling dervishthat early Muslim societies es in Turkey practice an angranted women greater financient art of meditative spincial and property rights than ning, while Muslim hip-hop their counterparts of other groups such as Native Deen faiths, and lament that some speak to a more modern aesof those rights have been curthetic. Egyptian bloggers and tailed in modern times by ulMalaysian religious scholtra-conservative groups in ars might all consider themconflict-ridden parts of the Isselves Muslims, yet they lamic world. could spend hours debating Similarly narrow interpretahow to express devotion and tions of Islam — such as those adapt to 21st century global promoted by al-Qaida, the Isculture. lamist terror network, and the Islam translates from the Taliban, the hardline Islamist Arabic for “submission to movement in Afghanistan — God,” and the religion’s folhave been used to justify the lowers are known as Muslims, repression of women and asor “ones who submit to God.” sault against civilians in severMost American Muslims folal countries. low a mainstream and modThe headline-grabbing vioerate version of the faith, are lence of such groups have left middle class, educated and ordinary Muslims in an uneasy live near urban centers where position in the West, where mosques have stood for genthey’ve experienced hate erations. Fewer than 10 percrimes, legal challenges to the cent of Muslims are Arabs, building of mosques and othand roughly a quarter of Muser results of an anti-Muslim The Quran is lims in the United States are backlash. The vast majority native-born African Amerithe central Islamic of Muslim groups in the West cans. There are more than 2.5 and abroad have rejected terholy text. million and perhaps as many rorist attacks as a distortion of as 6 million American Mustheir religion and point to Islims, according to different reCHERYL DIAZ MEYER/ lam as a faith built primarily search groups.

DALLAS MORNING NEWS/mct upon principles of peace.

By Halimah Abdullah McClatchy Newspapers

I

connection.

Nation of Islam: A predominately African-American religious organization with about 100,000 members that blends some traditional Islamic beliefs and practices with a black empowerment and a racial separatist approach to the faith.

Progressive Muslims: A small but growing liberal movement in Islam that focuses on individualist interpretation of religious scripture, interfaith dialogue and gender equality in prayer, leadership and observance. Islamic feminism, which is concerned with the role of women in Islam, is often closely aligned with the

movement’s key thrusts.

Sufi: Adherents focus on a mystical and ascetic approach to Islam. Sufis seek divine understanding through a direct and personal connection to God. Wahhabism: A Sunni Islamic sect that dominates religious

Allah (ah-lah): The Arabic word for God. Eid ul-Fitr (eed al-fitter): “the

Islam has exerted political, social and artistic influence throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

Divinity

Beliefs and afterlife

Allah, the only God and Creator of the universe

Life and death: Life is a proving ground, death the gateway to eternal life; believers should follow a strict moral code

Symbol Crescent and star

EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/MCT

Terms to Know

Islam overview

Based on the revelations of Muhammad, a prophet born in Saudi Arabia around 570 A.D.

Judgment day: Angels in heaven record a person’s deeds; on the last day, the book is read and all the dead are rewarded or punished

Practice

Sacred writings

Duties: Profession of the unity of God and the prophethood of Muhammad, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage Pilgrimage, or hajj: All able Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city, at least once

The Quran, God’s word given to Muhammad; also contains some stories with Biblical references.

In Islam Jesus, Isa in Arabic, is honored as a prophet and messenger of God, and his mother Mary, Maryum in Arabic, is one of the faith’s most highly regarded women.

Muhammad, the faith’s founder, is revered as both a prophet and the final messenger of God.

Beginnings

A whirling Sufi dervish spins everyday both in public and private as part of his religious practice.

practice in Saudi Arabia and advocates a literalist approach to Islam.

Worship: Muslims worship five times a day, at home, at work or with a congregation; an iman or scholar leads special services at a mosque on Fridays

Sources: Multifaith Resources, Dictionary of World Religions, CIA World Factbook Graphic: MCT

Elizabeth Flores/ Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT

The chador is a full-body cloak, sometimes covering the face, that some Muslim women wear.

Feast of Fast Breaking,” a threeday celebration that marks the end of the Ramadan 30 day fast.

Hadith (ha-deeth): The reported sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad recorded by followers passed down and over the centuries.

Hijab (hee-jab): Means “cover” or “curtain.” This is a reference to the modest style of dress as proscribed in the Quran. Muslims interpret hijab in varying ways. Most Muslim women will wear a headscarf when praying or entering a mosque. Some wear a headscarf in public, others steer clear of revealing clothing, and still others cover completely with flowing robes known as burqas or niqab.

Imam (ee-mahm): The religious leader in Muslim communities. An imam’s position of importance and influence varies depending on denomination and community.

Jihad (gee-had): Though it translates to “struggle,” some interpret it as an internal battle to maintain the faith and others interpret as holy war.

Jummah (joo-mah): Congregational prayer held on Friday.

Madrasah (mah-drah-sah): The Arabic word for school and can include both religious and secular institutions.

Masjid (mas-jeed) or mosque: An Islamic house of worship.

Mecca: The holiest city in Islam, located in Saudi Arabia.

When Muslims pray they face Mecca and can use a compass to find its direction.

Mullah (muh-lah): An Islamic scholar versed in traditions, sharia and theology.

Quran (ko-rahn): The central Islamic holy text. Muslims believe the angel Jibril (Gabriel) began his revelations to the prophet Muhammad and these revelations became the Quran.

Ramadan (rah-ma-dahn): The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar when many Muslims believe the Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad.

Zakat (za-kot): Stands for purification; Muslims give up a portion of their wealth in excess of what is needed for sustenance to “purify” what they retain.

McClatchy Newspapers correspondent Hannah Allam contributed to this report.

SOURCES: COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY; THE PEW FORUM; “THE CONCISE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAM” BY CYRIL GLASSE; “ISLAM” BY PAUL LUNDE; ABOUT.COM

SToJ

SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

submitted for your approval

Brian Sleepy, 28, is a global analyst in the United States Navy.

Brian is an avid gym rat who loves traveling and staying in shape to look and feel good. His ambitions are to earn a college degree, remain positive, become successful, and to congregate with motivated and thriving individuals.

Contact Brian at briansleepy619@ gmail.com Credit: T I Photography by Phil.

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

lynn

brian

South Floridian Lynn describes herself as very cool and down to earth, loves to laugh, and is very passionate about singing, dancing, and modeling. Most of all she lives life to the fullest. Contact Lynn at twitter. com/_LynnAllen_.

Should you buy the new iPhone?

BY SALVADOR RODRIQUEZ LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)

Jay Pharoah will portray the president on the Saturday night show.

‘Saturday Night Live’ reveals new Obama There’s a new President Obama on “Saturday Night Live.’’

Comedian, actor and impres-

Mariah Carey

Randy Jackson

Taping of new ‘Idol’ season begins with new judges FROM WIRE REPORTS

The “American Idol” judging panel for the upcoming season

sionist Jay Pharoah debuted his POTUS impression on the show’s season premiere on Sept. 15, replacing Fred Armisen in the role.

In the opening sketch, Pharaoh’s Obama reminded voters that while he may have his flaws, the alternative — a Mitt Romney presidency — would be far worse.

Jason Sudeikis reprised his awkward-rich-guy impersonation of Romney and Taran Killam rocked a Wisconsin accent to play arithmetic-challenged running mate Paul Ryan.

Nicki Minaj

Keith Urban

is now complete with the naming of rapper Nicki Minaj and country singer Keith Urban.

The Fox network officially tapped the pair with an announcement Sunday, just hours before the first round of judging for next season was due to begin in New York.

Randy Jackson will be back to represent as the only remaining original “Idol’’ judge. Also on board as a judge for the new season is Mariah Carey, which means there will be four judges next season instead of three.

The 12th season of “American Idol” returns in January.

After months of speculation and rumors that often precede new Apple products, the iPhone 5 has arrived. And with pre-orders set to begin Friday, the question is: Should you buy one It depends. The iPhone 5 is an improvement over its immediate predecessor, the iPhone 4S, with the new phone sporting a bigger screen and faster processor. But the iPhone brand, which revolutionized mobile technology when it debuted in 2007, is no longer the unchallenged technological leader.

Other smartphones have screens bigger than the iPhone 5’s, and with the same if not better quality.

And although Apple fans will welcome the fact that the iPhone 5 has 4G LTE connectivity, that’s been available on phones using Google’s Android mobile operating system for a couple of years.

That isn’t to say that the iPhone 5 won’t turn out to be a great smartphone — the others in the line have been sophisticated marvels. It’s just that the iPhone 5 is not a huge leap forward, and the line now has significant competition.

Reasons you should Which leads back to the original question: Should you get one?

You should, if …

• You already own an iPhone.

In that case, you’ve probably bought a bunch of apps and other items that will easily transfer to the new device.

• You own a bunch of Apple products. If there’s one thing at which Apple is still the best, it’s building an ecosystem. No other company has developed a technological environment that lets you jump from laptop to phone to tablet the way Apple has with its Mac, iPad and iPhone.

• You want the best operating

Out with the old

Apple’s new iPhone 5 features retina display and a larger screen, while their iPod line also saw some upgrades.

In with the new 1. New maps Appledesigned; turn-by-turn navigation

Take a picture • Panoramic options • Low light performance • HD video recording

2. Aluminum body With glass inlay

1

3. Bigger screen Additional row of icons

2

4. ‘Lightning’ connector Adapter available for old connectors 3 iPhone 5

4

A new look Nano • Redesign, widescreen • Starting at $149 Source: Apple

iTouch • Widescreen • Improved camera • Starting at $299

© 2011 MCT Graphic: Melina Yingling

ANALYSIS system. Google’s Android has gotten a lot better recently, but Apple’s iOS is still the best.

• You want style points. The iPhone is still the most stylish phone.

Reasons you shouldn’t You shouldn’t buy the iPhone 5 if …

• You want to save money.

There are other phones available that are cheaper than the iPhone 5 with the same storage space and similar features. The HTC One X, one of the best Android models, costs half the price of the iPhone 5.

• You want the biggest screen.

The iPhone 5’s 4-inch looks very nice, but other phones have screens larger than 4.5 inches.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note phone has a screen that’s more than 5 inches.

• You want the most technologically advanced phone. The iPhone 5 sports Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 6, but other phones have longer-last-

iPhone 4

4.9 x 2.3 x 0.29 in.

(12.4 x 5.9 x 0.76 cm) • 18 percent thinner • 12 percent lighter 16 GB $199 What it costs 32 GB $299 64 GB $399

NOTE: With a 2-year contract

ing batteries and more features, such as near-field communication, which allows devices to exchange data when in proximity.

You own a non-Apple tablet computer. If you have a tablet that uses the Android system — or if you plan to buy one of the upcoming Windows 8 tablets, such as Microsoft’s Surface — you should get a smartphone that runs the same operating system. That way, you can more easily share data and apps.

One other note: If you recently bought the iPhone 4S, you may still be able to return it.

Some major companies that sell the phone — including AT&T, Target, Best Buy, Virgin Mobile and Apple itself — give you at least 30 days to return the phone, as long as it’s undamaged, in its box and has all its accessories.

Other companies, such as Verizon, Sprint and RadioShack, give you 14 days, while Wal-Mart will match the return policy of the carrier you chose for the phone.

TOj B6

FOOD

SEPTEMBER 21 – SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

toj

Roast Beef Baguette Yield: 2 servings 1 tablespoon butter 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced 1/4 cup Port or Madeira 1 medium baguette (approximately 12 to 14 inches) 4 ounces Roth Grand Cru Gruyere, sliced 8 ounces deli roast beef, shaved or thinly sliced 1 cup au jus or dark beef broth Preheat oven to 375°F. Over medium heat, sauté onions in butter until soft, lightly browned and caramelized. Turn heat to medium-high, add Port or Madeira, and cook until liquid has almost evaporated. Set aside until serving.

Split baguette down the center, leaving loaf intact.

Place cheese in bottom of baguette. Top with roast beef and caramelized onions. Wrap baguette in aluminum foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until hot.

To serve, remove foil and slice baguette in half.

Serve each portion with a small cup of hot au jus or beef broth for dipping.

Savory Quiche Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1 9-inch store bought or homemade pie crust, pre-baked 1/4 pound bacon, chopped 1/2 pound oyster and shiitake mushrooms, sliced 2 small leeks, cleaned, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped Salt and pepper to taste 6 eggs 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup whole milk 8 ounces Roth Grand Cru Gruyere, grated Preheat oven to 425°F. Sauté bacon in skillet. When fully cooked, remove bacon and reserve half the drippings in skillet.

Add mushrooms and cook for 3 to 5 min­utes, until tender. Add leeks and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Return bacon to skillet. Season mixture with thyme, nutmeg, chives, salt and pepper; remove from heat.

In large bowl, vigorously beat eggs; beat in cream and milk.

Layer cheese and bacon mixture onto crust.

Pour egg mixture over top.

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temper­ature to 350°F and bake for an additional 30 to 40 min­ utes, or until egg mixture is set.

Remove from oven and allow to cool at least one hour before serving.

FROM Family Features

C

omfort food is dif­ ferent for every­ body, but the deep satis­faction each mouthful brings is the same. To warm the body and the soul on a chilly day, give your favor­ ite comfort foods a de­ licious makeover with recipes that use Wis­ consin-made Grand Cru Gruyere cheese. Gruyere is a great melting cheese with lots of flavor, which means you get more fla­ vor in every bite.

• Instead of Swiss, try Grand Cru Original — Cured over four months; smooth, mellow, light floral notes; melts easily.

Try in fondue, ham and turkey Panini, and classic onion soup.

• Instead of cheddar, try Grand Cru Gruyere Reserve — Cured six to nine months; nutty undertones and hints of fruitiness. Try in om­ elets, quiche, and lobster mac and cheese.

• Instead of Parmesan, try Grand Cru Gruyere Surchoix — Cured at least nine months; firm texture, complex flavors of car­ amel, fruit and mushroom. Grate onto risotto or pasta carbonara.

To satisfy your comfort food cravings with more recipes like these, visit www.roth­ cheese.com.

Bacon Mac & Cheese Recipe by Chef Michael Symon Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1 quart (4 cups) heavy cream 4 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped Salt and cracked black pepper to taste 1/2 pound bacon, diced, fried crisp and drained 1 pound elbow macaroni or short hollow pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained, reserving 3 teaspoons pasta water 8 ounces Roth Grand Cru Gruyere, grated Chopped chives for garnish Place cream in large saucepan with rosemary. Add salt and pepper. Bring to boil and keep at boil until reduced by half (be patient, this takes some time).

Stir in bacon and pasta and simmer until hot; add the cheese and reserved pasta water. Stir until cheese is melted. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Swiss Sliders Yield: 4 sliders 1 pound ground beef Salt and pepper to taste 6 ounces Roth Grand Cru Gruyere, thinly sliced 4 slices bacon, cooked and cut in half 4 small hamburger buns, lightly toasted Lettuce, tomato, roasted red peppers and onions (optional) Preheat grill.

Season beef with salt and pepper, and form into 8 small, thin patties.

Evenly place 3 ounces cheese in the center of 4 patties. Top with remaining patties, and firmly press edges to seal.

Place sliders on grill. Just before sliders reach desired internal temperature, top with remaining sliced cheese and cook for 1 to 2 additional minutes, or until cheese begins to melt.

Layer garnishes and bacon on bottom buns; transfer sliders to buns and serve.