Florida Courier - December 02, 2016

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

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CELEBRATING OUR 10TH YEAR STATEWIDE!

‘New Lens on Aging’ conference shines spotlight on Black seniors See Page B1 www.flcourier.com

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

VOLUME 24 NO. 49

ON BORROWED TIME A resurgent Republican Party will repeal ‘Obamacare,’ possibly with chaotic results – especially in Black America.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON – Congressional Republicans are considering a “lightningstrike� rollback of the Affordable Care Act – “Obamacare� – early next year to kick off the Donald Trump era, but first they have to agree on a plan.

Republicans won’t have much room for error to successfully repeal Obamacare, a top campaign promise of Trump and congressional Republicans.

Even if they delay the re-

peal to allow more time to come up with a replacement, there will be pressure to use the legislative maneuver to push through other top GOP priorities, such as defunding Planned Parenthood.

The Republican plan would take advantage of “reconciliation,� a bud-

Active 2016 hurricane season officially ends

Painful near-miss Florida also came close this year to a direct hit by a major hurricane as Hurricane Matthew, which was the first Category 5 storm in the Atlantic basin since 2007, came within 50 miles of Florida’s East Coast, raking the state Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 before making landfall Oct. 8 in South Carolina as a 75 mph Category 1 hurricane.

Matthew’s near-miss extended the United States’ streak of avoiding a landfall by a major hurricane, defined as a Category 3 storm with winds of 111 mph or higher, for 11 consecutive years, the longest streak based on records dating to 1851, according to Philip Klotzbach, the Colorado State University researcher who wrote the analysis. The last major landfall was with Wilma in 2005.

Although Matthew was a “close call� for Florida, the powerful storm caused extensive damage in coastal counties including Brevard, Volusia, St. Johns, Flagler and Duval. It knocked electrical power out for more than 1 million Florida homes and businesses.

Lessons learned Gov. Rick Scott, who faced his first hurricanes since taking office in 2011, said several lessons were learned from the storms.

From Hermine, which plowed through Tallahassee and blacked out 80 percent of the electric power in the state capital, Scott said it underscored the need to better coordinate utility resources to restore power. From Hurricane Matthew, Scott said the state “can work better at getting our schools opened faster.�

In terms of storm damage, the 2016 hurricane season fell far short of some of Florida’s worst seasons, including 1992’s HurSee SEASON, Page A2

ALSO INSIDE

“There is significant risk of chaos,� warned Ian Morrison, a health care consultant who advises health sysRICHARD B. LEVINE/SIPA USA/TNS tems nationwide. “If they Signups for the “Obamacare� Healthcare.gov website don’t get this right, a lot of have accelerated since Donald Trump was elected See TIME, Page A2

president.

No prosecution

FLORIDA COURIER / 10TH STATEWIDE ANNIVERSARY

An 80th birthday, Orlando’s Black female chief 0!'% "

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

3/5, $ISHES TO PLEASE A

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Florida ended its 2016 hurricane season Wednesday, marking the first time in more than a decade that the Sunshine State was hit by a hurricane.

When Hurricane Hermine came on shore near St. Marks, a coastal community south of Tallahassee, in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, it ended a record string of 3,966 days, or 10.87 years, without a hurricane making landfall in the state most prone to being hit by tropical storms, according to a new analysis by Colorado State University.

Prior to Hermine, a Category 1 storm, Florida was last hit by Hurricane Wilma, a 120-mph Category 3 storm which struck Southwest Florida on Oct. 24, 2005.

Dramatic changes coming

&2

BY LLOYD DUNKELBERGER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

get-related mechanism to circumvent the 60-vote threshold in the Senate and prevent Democrats from being able to block legislation on their own. By striking early, the GOP could set itself up to invoke the same procedure again later in the year on a broader range of targets, including tax cuts.

Passing something in Trump’s first 100 days would allow Republicans to claim a big win early on, and conservatives are demanding the GOP deliver quickly.

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Nine years ago, the Florida Courier reported on Val Demings becoming the first Black female police chief in Orlandoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. The newspaper also paid a birthday tribute to Julia T. Cherry, the newspaperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s then-chairwoman of the board.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Thurston chosen as Black caucus chair

NATION | A6

Trump soon will receive nuclear briefings

FOOD | B5

Some tips for a healthier holiday

Charlotte cop not charged in Scott killing

BY MICHAEL GORDON, MARK WASHBURN AND FRED CLASEN-KELLY THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER /TNS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; No charges will be brought against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer Brentley Vinson in the September shooting death of a Black man killed as his wife watched, District Attorney Andrew Murray announced Wednesday.

Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot Sept. 20 in a confrontation with officers outside his apartment. Murray said that evidence Keith Lamont in the case shows that Scott Scott stepped out of his SUV with a gun in his hand and ignored at least 10 commands from the five officers on the scene to drop it.

Murray said that Scott obtained the gun â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which had been stolen in Gaston County, N.C. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 18 days be- Brentley fore the confrontation. Vinson One bullet was found in the chamber of the gun, the safety was off and Murray said Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA was found on the grip and ammunition slide.

No book inside Murray said that speculation in the community that Scott was unarmed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; initial reports from a family member on Facebook said he was holding a book â&#x20AC;&#x201C; were untrue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A reading book was not found in the front or back seats of Mr. Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SUV,â&#x20AC;? Murray said.

Vinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gun was examined after the shooting and four bullets were missing, Murray said. Guns taken from the other officers at the scene had not been fired, he said.

People who claimed on social media that they had seen the shooting and Scott was unarmed were later found to be in error â&#x20AC;&#x201C; three people whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d made the claim told State Bureau of Investigation agents in interviews that they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t actually seen the shooting.

Vinson, 26, was in plain clothes but wore a vest that identified him as a police officer. He joined CMPD in 2014 and was assigned to the Metro Division. At the time of the shooting, he had no disciplinary actions on his personnel record.

Rolling a joint CMPD Chief Kerr Putney said Scott drew the attention of officers trying to serve an arrest warrant on an unrelated suspect when they saw him rolling marijuana in his vehicle. Police were going to let it go and continue on their original mission until an officer spotted a weapon in the vehicle, Putney said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was not lawful for him to possess a firearm,â&#x20AC;? Putney said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was a crime he committed and the gun exacerbated the situation.â&#x20AC;?

See SCOTT, Page A2

COMMENTARY: GLEN FORD: OBAMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MUSINGS ON FALSE NARRATIVES AND FAKE STORIES | A4 COMMENTARY: ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: TRUMP WILL MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN | A5

FOCUS

A2

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

The Fidel Castro that Black people knew When politicians of any nation disagree with or hate another political leader, the haters are quick to call their adversaries “thugs, tyrants or dictators.”

Whenever Western powers want to invade, colonize, rob or destroy, they justify it by calling the political leader of that country “a despot.”

Wrong descriptions The way “El Comandante,” the late leader of the Cuban Revolution, is being described by the imperialist press is biased, onesided – and in many cases, flat out wrong!

When the legislators and media discuss Cuba and talk about “democracy,” they are talking about capitalistic democracy where the rich get rich by taking advantage of the poor.

Cuba is a different democracy.

It is a Socialist democracy.

A dictator is a ruler with absolute authority. Well, what is the difference between the queen of

SCOTT from A1

Putney said he found nothing in the days after the shooting to indicate that Vinson, who shot Scott, acted inappropriately, given the totality of the circumstances, and said he did not think his officers broke the law that day.

Officers made repeated commands for Scott to drop his weapon, Putney said. Police were, he said, reacting to what appeared to be an imminent threat.

Unanimous agreement Murray said he ran the evidence in the case past 15 veteran prosecutors in his office and they were unanimous in their recommendation that there was insufficient evidence to charge Vinson in the case.

In the aftermath of Scott’s death, Charlotte was roiled by two nights of rioting and nearly a week of street demonstrations.

After street violence, dozens of arrests and the death

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

England, the queen of the Netherlands, the king of Saudi Arabia, the king of Jordan or the former shah of Iran – who all have similar powers – and Fidel Castro?

Good and bad If the West likes you, you are good; if they don’t, you are bad.

If you threaten to kill the United States president or plot to overthrow the United States government, you will be arrested and jailed. If you talk about Cuba’s leader and you are arrested, you are being denied freedom of speech!

If you only get your news from social media, the imperialist press or people who voluntarily (perhaps) left Cuba and now call

yourself an “exile,” I can understand why you would feel some kind of way.

But when I hear the phrase “Make America Great Again,” it makes me think about the good old days in Cuba that the media and politicians will never tell you about.

A different Cuba It is safe to say that Cuba was once a mobster and gangster paradise, so to speak. Some of the people that once had wealth and owned many of the casinos, hotels and other lucrative businesses in Cuba have familiar names.

Don’t act like you’ve never heard of Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Luciano urged all his “friends” to meet with him in Cuba at a meeting called the “Havana Conference.”

People that met with him included Meyer Lansky (whose silent business partner was former Cuban President Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar), Joseph Lan-

za, Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, Al Capone’s cousins Charlie, Rocco and Joseph Fishetti, Albert “The Mad Hatter” Anastasia, Vito Genovese, and a long list of others.

Of course, these guys came to Cuba to restore “democracy” and to enable “free speech.” They would never exploit the Cuban citizens even if they were allowed and encouraged to do so by President Batista.

So, many of the people that lost businesses after the Cuban revolution, were friends and cohorts of Batista.

What did Castro do?

Now what did Fidel to for Blacks and Africans?

Well, before Castro, there was rigid and very harsh discrimination and segregation against Black Cubans by the government. After Castro gained leadership, those government policies were ended.

Fidel dispatched thousands and thousands of Cuban soldiers to join Africans in their fight for African liberation from Western racists and colonialists, while the country you love looked the other way.

When Castro came to New

Impact on Blacks According to 2015 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statistics, an estimated 6 in 10 uninsured African-Amer-

Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere.

“Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook. Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants. net.

Rarely charged

‘Cut and dry’ Robert Taylor, a professor of criminology at the University of Texas at Dallas and a former police officer in Portland, Ore, said clearing Vinson of any criminal wrongdoing in the shooting was an easy call.

A person with a gun under those circumstances represents a danger to officers and the public, Taylor said. “This is pretty cut and dry,” he said.

Taylor said CMPD likely intensified public outcry by initially refusing to

DAVIE HINSHAW/CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/TNS

Rakeyia Scott, right, widow of Keith Lamont Scott, stands with her sister Rachel Dotch and brother-in-law Cory Dotch during a press conference after the family met with local prosecutors. release video footage that captured the confrontation. Given the outrage in recent years about police use of force, Taylor said,

STEPHEN M. DOWELL/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

people will suffer.”

Avoiding major instability has become a central focus for senior Republicans scrambling to plot a health care strategy. But it won’t be easy, given the sheer number of people who may be affected.

About 11 million Americans, most of whom get government subsidies to offset their insurance premiums, depend on insurance marketplaces created by the health law that Republicans have proposed eliminating.

Another approximately 75 million poor Americans are enrolled in either the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid, which would be scaled back in most GOP health plans.

When the government you love was slow to assist Blacks after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Fidel offered to send doctors and others to help and assist hurricane victims. President George W. Bush refused the offer.

Fidel gave amnesty to Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, a sort of Black Robin Hood who was active in the Black Liberation Army – a group far more revolutionary than Huey Newton’s Black Panther Party.

It doesn’t bother me that some Cuban-Americans celebrated the passing of Fidel Castro.

But they shouldn’t be mad with me and other Black and African people for considering him a friend and supporter.

ings of fear in the AfricanAmerican community. You have to build trust over a long period of time. You just can’t wait until something else happens … The onus is on the police department to take a positive approach and look for what good can come out of this. Where do we go as a community?”

A section of A1A was washed out in Flagler Beach on Oct. 8 after Hurricane Matthew devastated the area.

from A1

Offered help

of one man, Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency.

CMPD was the original agency investigating Scott’s shooting, but the State Bureau of Investigation took over when his wife, Rakeyia Scott, exercised her right under N.C. law to have the independent agency do the inquiry.

Scott, father of seven, the son of a police detective and a former mall security officer, suffered from traumatic brain injury sustained during a motorcycle crash in South Carolina in November 2015.

it remains baffling why CMPD didn’t make the video public sooner.

Now, he said, Charlotte leaders must try to rebuild

the fractured relationship between the police department and the AfricanAmerican community.

“There are real feel-

SEASON

counting for about 3,500 of the 18,222 claims.

Hurricane Matthew has resulted in more than 100,000 property-damage claims, representing $606 million in value. Volusia, Duval, Brevard, St. Johns and Flagler counties represented more than 70 percent of those claims.

from A1

TIME

York and was unhappy where he was staying, he gathered his entourage, left, and stayed at Harlem’s Theresa Hotel, showing his support for Black business.

icans qualified for CHIP, Medicaid or lower costs on monthly premiums through Obamacare marketplaces.

• More than 2.3 million African-Americans ages 18-64 gained health insurance coverage since Obamacare was enacted, lowering the uninsured rate among African-Americans by 6.8 percentage points.

• More than 500,000 young Black adults between the ages of 19 and 26 who would have been uninsured got coverage under their parents’ plan.

• If all states expanded Medicaid coverage under the Act, 95 percent of eligible uninsured AfricanAmericans might qualify for Medicaid, CHIP, or programs to help lower the cost of health insurance coverage in the marketplaces.

Moving too fast “Any time a party has been out of power … there is an instinct to try to do everything as rapidly as possible and to do it in a way that satisfies their appetite for change,” said former

Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who served as Health and Human Services secretary under President George W. Bush.

Across the country, hospitals, doctors, insurers and others are deeply anxious.

“Perhaps Congress can lead us in a direction where we fix the things that are wrong with the ACA, because there are many, and preserve what is good,” said Sheryl Skolnick, research director at investment bank Mizuho Securities USA. “From where I sit, I think it’s a very risky bet.”

Several senior GOP senators in recent days have emphasized that they want to avoid turmoil.

“Congress will make sure that the transition is a smooth one for Americans,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the leader of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. “People have already faced too much disruption in their health care due to Obamacare.”

Multiyear process?

To reduce potential cha-

ricane Andrew, which caused an estimated $24 billion in insured damages in Florida and Louisiana, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

With data reflected through October, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said Hermine resulted in $95 million in property-damage claims, with Leon County acos, congressional Republicans have been discussing a multistep, multiyear process for repealing and replacing the health law.

They would vote early next year on legislation that would scrap large parts of the law, including the unpopular insurance mandate and funding for insurance subsidies and for Medicaid expansions that 31 states have enacted.

That legislation would delay the effective date of the repeal for a year or two, however, giving Republicans time to develop an alternative.

While this “repeal-anddelay” strategy may not jeopardize coverage immediately for Americans who gained it through the health law, it could seriously destabilize insurance marketplaces.

Sicker than expected Many insurers in the marketplaces have been losing money, in large part because consumers who signed up for coverage were sicker than anticipated.

Insurers remained in hopes that the marketplaces would be stabilized by

Accurate prediction The six-month hurricane season was in line with an August estimate from Colorado State University, which had predicted 15 named storms in the Atthe next administration.

But if the marketplaces are being eliminated, many insurers would likely reevaluate, according to industry officials and health care experts.

If insurers walk away, millions of consumers would be forced to switch plans or pay big premium hikes, reprising the kind of turmoil that occurred in 2013, but potentially on a larger scale.

Generally pleased Although consumer frustration with premiums and other problems has intensified this year, polls show most marketplace users are satisfied.

More than two-thirds rated their coverage as “excellent” or “good” in a nationwide survey this year by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.

Congressional Republicans have also attacked the current administration for providing financial assistance to low-income marketplace consumers to help them pay deductibles and co-pays, arguing that that money was not appropriated by Congress.

Samuel Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and nationally-known police accountability expert, said it was always unlikely that Vinson would be criminally charged.

Nationwide, few officers face legal consequences following police shootings, Walker said. Even when they are charged, judges and juries usually exonerate them, he said.

Prosecutors are reluctant to bring cases against officers, Walker said, because they depend on a cooperative relationship with police to do their jobs. lantic basin. There were 15 storms, although the three major hurricanes and seven overall hurricanes each exceeded the estimate by one storm each.

The season began with Hurricane Alex, a rare powerful January storm that remained far out in the Atlantic. The season ended with Hurricane Otto, the latest calendar year Atlantic hurricane on record to make landfall. It hit southern Nicaragua as a Category 2 storm on Thanksgiving Day. If the Trump administration stops those payments, as some conservatives have advocated, many more insurers would likely cancel their health plans.

Whether they would return will depend on what kind of replacement Republicans ultimately develop.

No details Trump transition officials have not detailed any of the new administration’s health care plans.

“This is an area that is very fraught and very difficult because the policy is complicated,” said Dean Rosen, who served as health care adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

“It is one thing when you are painting on a blank canvas. It is another when you are taking down someone’s version of the Mona Lisa and trying to put up something that you think is better.”

Noam N. Levey of the Tribune Washington Bureau and Steven T. Dennis and Billy House of Bloomberg News / TNS all contributed to this report.

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

FLORIDA

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Thurston to chair Florida Legislative Black Caucus

FLORIDA HOUSE PHOTO

Florida Senator Perry Thurston, shown above while a member of the Florida House of Representatives, represents Fort Lauderdale.

Judge backs DOC on Orlando substance-abuse treatment program dispute

BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – An administrative law judge has sided with the Florida Department of Corrections in a contracting dispute that delves into the way substance-abuse treatment services are provided in the corrections system.

Judge Lisa Shearer Nelson last month recommended the dismissal of a challenge filed by Bridges of America, Inc., which contracts with the state to run an Orlando facility that includes an inmate work-release program and a transition program that provides substance-abuse treatment services.

The department in August released what is known as a “request for proposals” – a contracting process somewhat similar to soliciting bids – for operation of a community release center in the Orlando area. While the proposal included an increase in workrelease beds, it did not include the transition program with substance-abuse services.

Contract to expire Bridges of America, whose current contract for the Orlando program is scheduled to expire in December, launched a legal chal-

lenge, arguing the department violated part of the state budget by moving forward with the proposal without submitting it for review by the governor’s office and House and Senate budget chairmen.

Bridges of America also publicly took issue with the concept of the changes, which would shift more substance-abuse services into prisons.

But Nelson ruled against Bridges of America in a 30-page recommended order On Nov. 23, saying in part that it had not shown the proposal is “arbitrary and capricious.”

“The specifications are consistent with the department’s intended restructuring of substanceabuse treatment and work release opportunities for inmates,” Nelson wrote. “Whether or not the plan is ultimately successful, the thought process behind the specifications included in the RFP (request for proposals) is to address legitimate concerns for providing the most treatment to the greatest number of inmates.”

Major change As a recommended order, Nelson’s ruling goes back to the department for a final decision about whether to dismiss the challenge.

Along with the legal challenge,

Electric bills going up for FPL customers

FAMU and Lockheed Martin officials are pictured last month at the Kennedy Space Center.

BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

FAMU, Lockheed Martin sign agreement for NASA space exploration project SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Florida A&M University (FAMU) Interim President Dr. Larry Robinson and Scott Jones, Lockheed Martin director of Supply Chain Management on Civil Space Programs, executed a master agreement last month that enables FAMU students and faculty to work on NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Program and other Lockheed Martin space exploration projects.

FAMU is the first historically Black college or university to participate in these efforts.

During the five-year collaboration, Lockheed Martin will provide up to $5 million in funding to FAMU through a series of task orders commissioning work related to space exploration. The contract signing ceremony was held at the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center.

Bridges of America launched a public-relations campaign against the proposed changes in Orlando. Bridges of America and the department also tangled earlier in the year about the operation of facilities in Broward and Manatee counties before reaching an agreement.

In a document filed in October, attorneys for Bridges of America said the changes in the Orlando area are a first step toward a major change “whereby substance abuse transition beds are eliminated from community correctional centers in favor of providing substance abuse treatment behind prison walls.”

“Bridges fully intended to submit a proposal to continue providing a community correctional facility offering substance abuse transition beds and work release beds, however, Bridges has determined that it is financially infeasible to operate a facility in Orange County that only houses up to 75 work release inmates,” the document said.

But Nelson wrote that state law doesn’t require such transition services at community-release centers.

“What petitioner (Bridges of America) is really challenging is the department’s intention … to expand its work-release beds at community release centers and move more of its substance-abuse treatment behind the fence where more inmates may be served,” she wrote. “While the department is hoping that this model will result in savings and the ultimate increase in treatment of more needy inmates, it will also result in less lucrative contracts for vendors.

“FAMU is excited about the opportunity for our talented faculty and students to work with the Lockheed Martin and NASA team on the journey to Mars,” Robinson said. “The world-class researchers and laboratories at the FAMU- FSU College of Engineering, the FAMU College of Science and Technology, and other STEM disciplines will help make discoveries and develop new technologies needed for deep space exploration.”

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor building the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, NASA’s first spacecraft designed for long-duration, human-rated deep space exploration. Orion will transport humans to interplanetary destinations beyond low Earth orbit, such as asteroids, the Moon and eventually Mars, and return them safely back to Earth.

TALLAHASSEE – State regulators Tuesday unanimously approved a settlement agreement that includes $811 million in base-rate increases for customers of Florida Power & Light – with $400 million slated to take effect Jan. 1.

FPL, which early this year proposed $1.3 billion in rate increases, negotiated the settlement with representatives of consumers and two business groups. The Florida Public Service Commission approved the agreement despite continuing objections from the senior-advocacy group AARP and the Sierra Club.

Commissioner Ronald Brise said the settlement addressed issues regulators heard from consumers during meetings across the areas served by FPL. “One is that the quality of the (FPL) service is good. People were concerned about their pockets,’’ Brise said. “And I think ultimately, this settlement handles all of those things, and it allows for the service to continue in a way that people will continue to receive the satisfaction that they are looking for and that their pockets won’t be injured in

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Legislative Black Caucus (FLBC), made up of 28 elected AfricanAmerican state senators and representatives, has elected State Senator Perry E. Thurston Jr. as its chair for 2016-2017.

The mission and goals of the caucus is to enhance the welfare and lives of constituents served in Florida.

Historically, it has been a champion for quality and affordable health care, proper funding for education, business and economic development, civic, social and criminal justice, alternative energy resources and environmental advancements.

“I am honored to serve and represent my constituents once again in the Florida Legislature and grateful that my colleagues have elected me to serve as the chair of the FLBC,” said Thurston, (D-33), Fort Lauderdale.

Other new officers are Rep. Bruce Anton, (D-46, Orlando), vice chair; Rep. Barbara Watson (D-107, Miami Gardens), secretary; Rep. Sharon Pritchett (D102, Miami Gardens), treasurer; and Sen. Randolph Bracy (D-11, Orlando), parliamentarian.

ADOPTIONS

A home for Janiya One Church One Child of Florida is reaching out to families and individuals in local communities across the state in efforts to help share the truth that the children shown in this monthly spotlight are waiting for a permanent home and/or mentor.

Daily, over 700 children are in need of a family to call their own; many of them are minorities.

Churches are asked to partner with One Church One Child in sharing information with congregations and extending Watch-Care Ministries to children.

The Rev. Beverly Hills Lane, state president of One Church One Child of Florida and vice president for National One Church One Child, is challenging fellow pastors to get involved and encourage families to open their hearts and homes to children in foster care.

A big heart Kind, compassionate, and incredibly intuitive, Janiya is a natural-born caregiver. She has a big heart and the uncanny ability to know exactly how others are feeling and what they need.

She can be a little shy at first, but once she’s comfortable she allows her playful and fun per-

the process, while allowing the growth that is necessary to occur.”

‘Hedging’ addressed In addition to the $400 million increase slated to take effect Jan. 1, the agreement calls for a $211 million increase in January 2018 and a $200 million increase in mid-2019 when a new Okeechobee County power plant starts operating.

The settlement addresses numerous other issues, including potential solar-energy projects for FPL and a halt on a controversial financial practice known as “hedging” prices of natural gas. It also includes a target return on equity – a measure of profit – of 10.55 percent for FPL. AARP argued in a filing last month that the utility’s rates should decrease by $300 million in 2017, not increase. Earlier this year, the state Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers, also argued that FPL’s rates should go down.

But the Office of Public Counsel ultimately reached the settlement with FPL, as did the Florida Retail Federation and the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association, which were parties in the rate case.

“In any given case, you have to evaluate the risks of you winning your positions and losing your positions,” state Public Counsel J.R. Kelly said after the vote Tuesday. “At the end of the day, we came together with the other signatories and Florida Power and Light, and we felt

PHOTO BY PEZZ

Janiya is one of the many children in Florida waiting for a permanent home. sonality to shine through. Janiya’s proud of her “beautiful brown eyes” and how fast she can run.

She loves to sing, swim, be outdoors, and go shopping.

Janiya has overcome an incredible amount of self-doubt and difficulty in her young life and she deserves a loving family that will celebrate and reinforce her strength every day.

For more information about becoming an adoptive or foster parent, mentor, partner or volunteer, call 888-283-0886 or send an email to info@ococfl. org. The website for One Church One Child of Florida is www. ococfl.org.

this was a reasonable resolution to all of the issues.”

FPL defends hike Eric Silagy, president and chief executive officer of FPL, said the agreement will allow the utility to continue making “smart investments” that will help ensure relatively low bills for consumers and provide other benefits such as clean emissions from power plants.

He said FPL has had the lowest electric bills in the state during the past several years and pointedly used that to address AARP’s objections.

“We’ve been able to keep prices low and reliability high, and that benefits every single AARP member,” Silagy said after the vote.

Base rates make up a major portion of electric customers’ monthly bills, with other portions involving costs such as power-plant fuel.

A common industry benchmark is a residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month. With the settlement approved Tuesday and other changes, such FPL customers will see their bills go from $91.56 to $99.02 in January, according to information from the utility. Those bills are estimated to go to $102.50 in January 2018 and $103.70 when the Okeechobee County plant starts operating, projected for June 2019.

EDITORIAL

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DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

Obama’s musings on false narratives and fake stories President Obama traveled to Berlin last week to browbeat Europeans on why they should continue to play junior partners in Washington’s quest for global domination, but kept returning to his post-election obsession: the existential threat posed by “fake news” on social media.

It was as if the realization had just dawned on the lame duck president that his own powers to create “facts” and manufacture “news” out of thin air would soon be gone. Without the Clintons in the White House, history might conclude that the First Black President’s only enduring legacy was...that he was the first Black president.

Fake news is a grave danger “in an age where there’s so much active misinformation and its packaged very well and it looks the same when you see it on a Facebook page or you turn on your television,” according to Obama.

“If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won’t know what to protect,” he told the Germans.

A magic moment The legendarily cool and collected Obama had just let out the secret: the ruling class, which he so faithfully serves, has lost control of the social and political narrative, without which it cannot “protect” its wealth, privilege and power.

Was the world’s most powerful individual (until January 20) in despair over Facebook’s failure to erase three or four fictitious, yet

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

ultimately inconsequential, stories from its pages? Of course not.

Obama’s problem – and capitalism’s crisis – is that people no longer believe the fake “news” and bogus narratives issued by the ruling class and its corporate and military misinformation specialists.

This is the man that told the nation’s assembled bankers, a year after the Greet Meltdown of 2008, “My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks.” When the people come to believe that the president and the corporate media’s narrative – that the system can be fixed with a little tinkering – is a bunch of “propaganda,” rather than “serious argument,” then future Obamas will no longer be able to protect the Lords of Capital from the pitchforkers.

Lost control Losing control of the narrative is what happened after Michael Brown’s murder in Ferguson, Mo., when Black youth stopped listening to Obama’s fictitious sermon that racism is not endemic in America, a fake history that candidate Obama had successfully dispensed in his 2008 “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia.

What’s in a name?

The movement that began as THE One Million Conscious Black Voters and Contributors, while aspirational as it rapidly moves toward its goal of one million members, it is also dynamic as opposed to static.

This movement is participatory and calls on all members to bring their talents to the table to “contribute” to its progress.

In that vein, although there are a few rock-solid principles upon which the moment was established and built, not everything is written in stone and immune to critique and suggestions for improvement. The name of the movement is a perfect example.

Several changes Since 2005, when Dr. Claud Anderson’s group attempted to develop what he called “Maroon City” in Detroit, THE One Million Movement has been through several iterations and has had several names. Beginning with “Bring Back Black,” coined by Bob Law in 2006, it became known as The National-

JAMES CLINGMAN TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

ist Black Leadership Council in 2007. That same year, the name was changed to The Nationalist Black Leadership Coalition (NBLC) in an effort to illustrate openness and inclusion rather than the perception of a small esoteric group.

Added to the NBLC was the acronym, “POBA,” which meant President of Black America, a champion for Black folks who would work for and be paid

by Black people, advocate for Black causes, and be totally accountable to Black people. That concept was shelved because it was obvious to Black people that Barack Obama had a good chance of being elected, and most of our attention was focused on helping him become the “first Black President.”

Three things Black Americans must do after Trump wins The election of Donald Trump has brought about mixed emotions. For many African-Americans, emotions have ranged from anger to worry.

It’s okay to be emotional, because it’s through the expression of emotions that something gets done. We cannot keep our emotions suppressed. To do so will only lead to more frustration and aggravation.

Where’s Trump going?

Within a few weeks, unless something drastic happens, Trump will be sworn into office on January 20, 2017. Just looking

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST

at his choices for key cabinet positions, we’re getting a glimpse into how he will run the country.

Choosing people with little to no experience to lead departments and agencies shouldn’t surprise too many people, because Trump is more concerned with catering to those who have shown unwavering loyalty to

Obama’s targeted handful of phony social media articles generally favored Donald Trump.

But the biggest “fake news” of the recent campaign, promulgated

by Hillary Clinton’s Supersized Tent, was that the Russians were scheming to despoil and disrupt the U.S. elections – crimes Americans commit all by themselves every cycle through massive voter purges and other racist conspiracies.

The Big Tent – Wall Street, the national security establishment, and their media – have lost all credibility with the public, and Obama was still shaken by the realization when he traveled to Berlin. Donald Trump and his crowd’s credibility – their ability to weave a believable narrative – was nonexistent from the start among half the country, and will shrink even more over time.

Systemic crisis The root of the crisis of credibility, which is really a systemic crisis of legitimacy, lies in the inability of late-stage capitalism to offer anything that will stem the steady decline in the mass of people’s living standards and economic security. So deep is the decay, every amelioration of public pain would require the dismantling of capitalist structures of power, which is unacceptable to the rulers.

The U.S. does not have universal health care because capital has entrenched itself in all aspects of health care delivery. The rulers cannot provide affordable From 2008 until 2013, the core group of “conscious” Blacks continued their individual work in their locales and waited for the opportune time to get busy once again.

Economic emphasis After getting back together and revving up our Black empowerment engines again, we named the movement “One Million Conscious Black Voters and Contributors” and began to recruit members, many of whom are some of the brightest minds among our people.

Several months had passed when one of our members, Sister Shandra Witherspoon, who has been a teacher for many years, proposed an additional word to our name: “Conscientious.” We also moved “Contributors” ahead of “Voters” to show more emphasis on economics versus politics.

I can hear some of you saying, “But the name is long enough, Jim. Why add yet another word to it?” It’s important to THE One Million that you know exactly what we stand for. Compared to names of other Black organizahim throughout his campaign.

In addition, Trump and his administration continue to demonstrate how divided this country is and will be during his presidency.

African-Americans can no longer be party loyalists. More than 90 percent of AfricanAmericans identify themselves with the Democratic Party. This needs to stop.

Is it time to switch to the Republican Party? No. It’s time for us to call out both political parties. No longer must we allow the Democrats to assume we will vote for them. No more allowing them to pander us for a vote. Whenever African-Americans become so attached to a political party, it’s easy to be misled. Not every Republican is a racist and not every Democrat has the best interest of the Black community in mind.

This is the ideal time for African-Americans to do the following:

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: ONLINE SHOPPING

DAVE GRANLUND, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

housing because Wall Street has financialized the nation’s land and dwellings. Good jobs at living wages are impossible, as long as corporations are empowered to maintain their carefully crafted international supply chain for manufactured goods – the foundation of corporate globalization.

Breaking the status quo Black America cannot break free of the Mass Black Incarceration State until Black people eject the police, as presently constituted, from their communities, which will also require ejecting the corporate collaborators of the Black Misleadership Class from positions of power. There can be no peace while predatory corporations and cartels dictate U.S. foreign policy. The cycle of decline and repression will continue until corporate power is tions, there is no trying to figure out what THE One Million represents.

It’s not enough just to be “conscious,” which means “aware, awake, and knowledgeable.” We must also be “conscientious,” which means, “...governed by conscience; controlled by or done according to one’s inner sense of what is right; principled.”

Being conscientious causes a conscious person to take appropriate action to solve the problems of which he or she is well aware and knowledgeable.

A large part of our problem as Black people is that many of us are “Rapolutionaries,” “Radio Activists,” Political Pontificators,” “Afrocentricksters,” “Hotep Hustlers,” “Pulpit Pacifists, and “Barber Shop Rhetoricians.”

None of those classifications actually move us forward; they only keep us on a conversational treadmill.

‘Black’ vs. ‘black’ THE One Million Conscious and Conscientious Black Contributors and Voters, because we know that everything black • Start a small business. Because the Trump administration can’t promise they will increase the federal minimum wage, it’s imperative that entrepreneurship be explored. Don’t let other people or the economy stop you from going into business for yourself.

• Get more involved in local politics. What happens locally has a way of affecting what happens nationally. If you care about your community and where your tax dollars are going, GET INVOLVED. If possible, run for public office so that “fair and just” public policies can be written and implemented for all people.

• Protest economically.

Marching in the streets brings media attention, but an economic protest demands something must be done. When those in Congress and/or those in organizations commit injustice, they listen to protesters when their bottom line is impacted.

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher

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broken and the banks are nationalized.

The rulers offer nothing, because the system is no longer capable of providing relief to the working and “superfluous” classes (that means most Black folks).

They can only spin tales of fantasy and distraction – fake stories and phony narratives.

American “Exceptionalism” is “Manifest Destiny” with Native American genocide and Black slavery blotted out. It is the falsest narrative of all, tailored for imperial conquest and an “end of history” – meaning the end of everyone’s narrative except the imperialist.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com.

Click on this commentary at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. (small “b”) ain’t Black (capital “B”), has added another level of consciousness to our name.

We are looking for “Conscientiously Conscious” Black people who are willing to work on and “contribute” their skills, knowledge, and treasure to solving our problems and bringing solutions to fruition.

What’s in a name? Take some time to analyze that name, and see if it fits your personal agenda for Black empowerment. If you are a “Conscientiously Conscious” Black person, then join THE One Million and get to work with members in 42 states throughout the country. And when you write your check, just make it out to OMCCBCV – the short name.

James E. Clingman is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. Click on this commentary at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Getting too emotional over Trump’s election and the people he chooses can be draining.

Does that mean we should not care? Of course not. Does that mean we shouldn’t do our research on the people he chooses? No. We must do as much research as possible. As people who care about justice, fairness, and equality, we must come together and be solution-oriented.

It’s through planning that things will get better.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker and author. Contact him at www.sinclairgrey.org, drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Click on this commentary at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.

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DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

Trump will make the Middle East great again The election of Donald J. Trump signals very dark days ahead. Not for the American people, of course, but for our nation’s enemies and adversaries in the Middle East.

The American people turned out to the polls in record numbers for the election, and they delivered the future President Trump an undeniable and strong mandate to lead. With the Republican Party in control of both the House and the Senate, Trump is poised to avoid the gridlock that has perpetually plagued Washington, and actually get things done.

A new day It’s a new day in America, and we should expect tremendous changes when it comes to how America approaches conflict in the Middle East. President Obama withdrew from the region, minimizing American power and diminishing our much-needed presence and leadership. President Trump will bring that indispensable leadership back to the Middle East, and the world will be better for it.

Notably, the presidency of Donald Trump signals a rekindling of the historic ties that have bound America to its closest ally and the only true democracy in the region: the Jewish state of Israel.

Trump has a strong affinity for the Jewish people. It’s not just politics – it’s personal. His daughter Ivanka is a convert to Judaism, and his Orthodox Jewish sonin-law Jared Kushner has been a trusted advisor on the campaign trail. Trump has spoken with pride about his Jewish grandchildren.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS NNPA COLUMNIST

As we transition to the Trump administration, our friendships across the globe will be restored.

Will protect Israel His affection for Israel will be reflected in his policies, too.

Trump’s Israel advisors recently issued a position paper noting that his administration will veto any United Nations vote that unfairly singles out Israel. It shames UNESCO for its clear egregious bias against Israel.

It pledges that he will move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the holy city as the uncontested capital of Israel. Trump has also derided the idea that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be imposed from outside parties, including the UN. And Trump is not the only rock solid pro-Israel leader on his ticket. During his time serving in Congress, Vice President-elect Mike Pence was one of the most stalwart supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

A devout Christian, Pence has said that his support for Israel is rooted deeply in his faith. Among his many laudable achievements in office, Pence signed one of the

How not to protest Donald Trump Thousands of progressives are taking to the streets in opposition to the Donald Trump presidency. After eight years of Obama-induced slumber, they awoke with quite a start.

Many of these individuals and organizations protested as part of the anti-war, Occupy and Black Lives Matter movements, but others weren’t concerned about very much until the reality show host became president-elect.

Historical footnote The awful Hillary Clinton should be inaugurated the 45th president of the United States, because she won the popular vote.

But for the second time in less than 20 years, a Democrat preferred by the people will instead be an historical footnote. If nothing else, the Electoral College is rightly condemned.

But where else should protesters direct their anger? If they are concerned about fascism, they could protest police killings or United States government murders committed during numerous interventions abroad. They might have revolted against the

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

mass incarceration state. The list of outrages that should get people moving is quite long.

White liberals here in New York City didn’t care very much when Black and Brown residents were subjected to nearly one million police encounters. Mayor Bloomberg’s infamous stop and frisk program was a tailor-made opportunity for public anger. Yet every poll indicated that White people were in favor of this very fascist, 21st-Century slave patrol.

Those same people are now upset. But what exactly has raised their ire?

Eight-year silence They say they are concerned about the rights of undocumented people, but they didn’t say much when Obama acted as the deporter-in-chief. The so-called

There will never be another Fidel Castro Born August 13, 1926 out of wedlock on his father’s sugar cane farm in the Third World nation of Cuba, Fidel Castro grew up to attend and study law at the University of Havana. It wasn’t long before he became a radical and soon drifted into socialist rebellion.

Fought the power He participated in foreign rebellions in the Dominican Republic and Columbia. Courageous, he returned to Cuba to attack a military barracks. That landed him in prison for one year. With his brother Raul, and close friend Che Guevara, he journeyed to Mexico to thoroughly form his revolutionary agenda. It was called the 26th of July Movement.

Landing by sea from Mexico in 1955, he formed an army and began revolution against the government of Cuba. By 1959, he led the fight and eventual victory over dictator Fulgencio Battista. This was the beginning of President Fidel Castro in Cuba, became a socialist nation.

It wasn’t long before the world

HARRY C. ALFORD NNPA COLUMNIST

considered Cuba to be a Communist state. Fidel was ruthless to his opposition. Thousands faced his firing squads. When he allowed a national election for the country, no opponents stepped forward.

Targeted by America The United States considered this too close a threat and sanctioned the CIA to assassinate him.

Dozens of attempts failed. He became increasingly intolerant.

When U.S. President John Kennedy became equally intolerant of Fidel, he authorized an invasion made up of CIA agents and Cuban exiles from Florida. The invasion was a miserable failure.

To counter these threats, Fidel sold the Soviet Union on collaborating with Cuba. Knowing the United States managed missiles

EDITORIAL

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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: FIDEL CASTRO, 1926-2016

strongest laws against the antiSemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. He advocated for robust military aid to Israel, and he led bids to place conditions on funding for the Palestinian Authority.

With Donald Trump in the White House, Israel can be assured that the United States will fight alongside it to protect the Jewish state from the many perils of its neighborhood.

Opposing Iran Both Trump and Pence have repeatedly spoken of the dangers of the disgraceful Iran deal. Both have opposed the agreement, which hands $150 billion to a thuggish, terrorist regime. Trump has pledged to revisit this misguided and dangerous deal and address its many shortcomings.

While negotiating this deeply flawed agreement, Obama bent over backwards to give Iran concession after concession. Secretary of State John Kerry was outfoxed and maneuvered, time and again. The unelected mullahs in Iran must surely feel much more uneasy about the future.

Donald Trump has been making deals throughout his entire illustrious career, and he is a master of negotiation. With him in the Oval Office, the world should expect an end to America’s bad deals with tyrannical dictatorships that put our allies in danger. Now, America’s interests will be put first.

Meanwhile, U.S. allies in the Middle East should be breathing a collective sigh of relief. No longer will our country be so quick to turn its back on long-time friends.

Countries like Egypt that are fighting terrorists should be gratiMuslim registry of men from 25 countries under the auspices of the NSEERS program lasted from 2002 to 2011, including two years of the Obama administration.

They may be concerned about climate change and Trump’s promise to end America’s participation in the most recent climate agreement. But that agreement allows for a rise in carbon production and thus in world temperatures. They would have been smarter to challenge the phony climate change process itself.

They say they are afraid that Trump will muzzle the press. His shouting match with network executives should not be a cause for alarm. Eventually they’ll start saying good things about him, so he was foolish to be so hostile. But he is no more hostile to the rights of the press than Obama was. When Obama used the Espionage Act to punish leakers and whistleblowers, many of the now-distraught progressives didn’t say much.

Why now?

So, what has gotten progressives so angry? There is nothing new about the so-called “altright” movement. There is always a way to brand White nationalism. They may be the Tea Party one day and alt-right the next, but it all amounts to the same thing.

The dictates of White supremacy in Turkey along the Soviet Union border, he convinced the Soviets to get payback by placing intercontinental missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from our Florida coast.

They both underestimated the resolve of President Kennedy.

He demanded their removal and placed an embargo around Cuba. Eventually, the Soviets backed down and removed their missiles.

By the way, the U.S. removed their missiles from Turkey as a concession.

This made Fidel Castro one of the most feared leaders in the world. Through the help of the Soviet Army, the Cuban Army was trained as a fighting force. Fidel and the Soviet Union became close allies and Cuba’s government was fully converted to a oneparty, pro-Socialist state under Communist Party rule.

International impact

NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

fied that the most powerful country in the world will be led by someone who understands, and is unafraid to confront, the existential threat that radical Islamic terrorism poses to the democratic way of life. In fact, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was among the first foreign leaders to call and congratulate the President-elect.

As President Trump looks to “Make America Great Again,” that includes demonstrating to our closest allies in the Middle East that we stand with them. It will mean showing them that America is not just a paper tiger, and that we are unafraid to stand strong against tyranny.

Smart and strategic

The Obama administration purposefully and irresponsibly showed hostility toward allies, including Israel, and that damaged our standing in the world. As we transition to the Trump administration, our friendships across the globe will be restored.

Americans should take comfort in knowing that President Trump will boldly lead, and that our essential relationship with our partner Israel will be stronger than ever.

Moving forward, America is going to be smarter and more strategic in the choices it makes in the international arena. Gone are the days when America draws a “red line” in Syria and backs away from it, showing dangerous and bloodthirsty regimes that America is afraid to live up to our commitments and that we lack the moral courage to follow through on our pledges.

A lack of leadership in the Middle East created a vacuum filled by nefarious actors, including ISIS. We will not make that mistake again. There’s a new commander-in-chief in town, and our enemies should be frightened. are ever-present and the numbers of White people who do anything serious about it are small.

If the sight of Naziesque salutes to Trump are upsetting, just keep in mind that there is an ample supply of domestic fascists.

They are the people who wear police uniforms. They may not “Hail Trump” or anyone else, but they kill three people in this country every day.

Donald Trump should be given credit for providing so much lowhanging fruit. His appointment of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions to the post of attorney general provides ready-made ingredients for fear and anger. Sessions was once denied a federal judgeship in part because of racist remarks directed at a Black attorney. And who can ignore the glorification of the Confederacy in his name?

Obama did nothing But what did Obama and his two Black attorney generals do?

There were no prosecutions of killer police. That fact is a curious one in the age of murder caught on video. The Obama Justice Department argued against giving the right to request resentencing for those convicted during the years of draconian drug crime prosecution. Barack Obama and Eric Holder quite literally kept thousands of Black people in jail Grenada, Ethiopia, Somalia, Algeria, Chile, North Vietnam, etc.

With Soviet money, Cuba was becoming a militant force in the Third World. Cuba even sent 4,000 troops to Libya to help fight in the Yom Kippur War against Israel.

They brought Viet Cong fighters to Cuba for formal guerilla training.

Soon this brazen program would end. The Soviet Union was going bankrupt! It formally reorganized itself and changed its name back to Russia and liberated the seized states of the 1940s.

It also cut Cuba out of its budget.

This was a crippling blow to Castro’s Cuba. The attempted spread of Communism via military activity would soon end.

Castro would start steering Cuba towards humanitarian programs.

The famous medical delivery program that Cuba touts started replacing tanks and troops. They have aided millions of sick people over the years and all over the world. Castro has even offered to send doctors to America’s impoverished Mississippi Delta. The nation is 30 percent Black, but there is no sickle cell anemia. Every citizen gets a six-month physical exam. Their medical system is free.

The nation also began relationships with other Communist states. Eventually, we would find out that Cuban military forces were going to various Communistlinked Third World nations. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev kicked off the program with an official visit to Moscow by Fidel and a 14-city Skilled construction tour.

Cuba became equally profiAfter that, we the Cuban military went to nations like Angola, cient in infrastructure programs.

Friendships restored

Armstrong Williams is author of the book “Reawakening Virtues.” Contact him via www. rightsidewire.com. Click on this commentary at www.flcourier. com to write your own response. who could have been freed.

It is difficult to take protesters seriously when they won’t even direct their anger at the party which displayed such gross incompetence during the recent campaign. The inability to defeat the man who seemed so unsuited to the presidency should stir anger towards the people whose hubris brought him to the White House.

There is always a need to engage in struggle, whether a Republican or Democrat is president. There are many unique characteristics to the Donald Trump story, but the institutional evils that permeate this country persist – no matter who sits in the Oval Office.

We can gauge the true level of concern about justice when a Democrat next emerges victorious. A president who provides a greater opportunity for scorn should not be the last one who faces opposition.

Margaret Kimberley’s column appears weekly in BlackAgendaReport.com.

Contact her at Margaret.Kimberley@ BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this commentary at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

They now build bridges, highways, and hotels all over the world. I have seen Cuban contractors building a five-star hotel in Paris. It is amazing!

Fidel Castro stepped down as president in 2008. The last years were spent as a figurehead, while his brother Raul took the reigns as a virtual leader until his death.

There are few individuals in modern history that became as controversial as Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. Love him or hate him, his influence on our world was definite.

After 90 years, there is no more Fidel Castro. I predict Cuba will become more capitalistic and at peace with the United States. My mentor, the late Arthur A. Fletcher predicted, “One day Cuba will become the Hong Kong of the Caribbean.” That appears to be happening.

Harry C. Alford is the cofounder and president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Contact him via www.nationalbcc.org. Click on this commentary at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

TOJ A6

NATION

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

Nuclear briefings for Trump coming soon From the day Trump takes the oath of office, a military aide will shadow him everywhere, carrying a black satchel containing the system to convey a nuclear launch order.

BY TIM JOHNSON TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – Sometime in the next few weeks, Donald Trump will sit down for one of the most consequential briefings of his transition, when military commanders will train him on the procedures for launching a nuclear attack or counterattack and go over potential targets.

If history is any indication, the briefings will mark the moment when Trump feels the momentous weight of the presidency on his shoulders.

Whether these nuclear briefings will sharpen Trump’s focus on nuclear issues is unclear.

During the campaign, his off-the-cuff statements indicated limited concern about nuclear proliferation and only a dim awareness of the cascading dangers that experts say the spread of nuclear weapons might bring

Complex, awe-inspiring Trump has mused aloud about South Korea and Japan obtaining nuclear weapons, and he indicated the U.S. might limit its commitments to defend other regions from nuclear attack.

“For the issue of nuclear proliferation, this election could be an enormous game changer,” said Jeffrey

Knopf, an expert on nuclear weapons at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Calif.

By all accounts, the nuclear briefings a presidentelect receives before inauguration are both complex in detailing procedures for a nuclear launch and aweinspiring in explaining the physical consequences of selecting a target, letting loose with a nuclear barrage and girding for the fallout.

“These are the aspects that reportedly left President Kennedy ashenfaced,” said Peter D. Feaver, a security and conflict expert at Duke University who worked on the National Security Council under the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.

‘A long process’ Those familiar with the nuclear briefings say they demand a sharp focus.

“It’s not something that someone even with vast experience can easily digest,” said Leon Panetta, a former secretary of defense intimately familiar with the briefings.

“He’s got to be ready from the get-go to respond if necessary,” Panetta said.

“There really is a long process, a classified process, that involves a lot of checks in the system to make sure no mistakes are made. It involves a number of key people.”

very top-down, and we rely on the prudent judgment of an American president to make the right call with respect to crises and potential conflicts,” said Scott D. Sagan, a senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.

Trump’s position on nuclear issues zigzagged during the campaign, and experts are divided on whether that is because his views are not well-formed or simply because he wants to appear unpredictable.

Impulsiveness a concern

ALBIN LOHR-JONES/SIPA USA/TNS

Following his meeting with senior staff from the New York Times, Presidentelect Donald Trump is seen in the lobby of the New York Times’ offices on Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan in New York on Nov. 22.

From the day Trump takes the oath of office, a military aide will shadow him everywhere, carrying a black satchel containing the system to convey a nuclear launch order. The satchel is popularly known as “the football.”

“His first briefing will be just about how the process works: ‘There will be a military aide with you at all times and he has the football,’” said P.J. Crowley, a retired Air Force officer and special assistant on national security affairs to former President Bill Clinton.

The black satchel Trump will learn how a launch order would “send key people to underground bunkers,” Crowley said.

“That’s a critical dimension of this. Even for the Strategic Command out in Nebraska, this would send an airborne command up in the air.”

The black satchel operates with a dual key system, and part of the system is for the president to take a card from his pocket to input the correct codes.

“The card itself is critical to begin the process that ac-

tivates the system,” Panetta said.

While the system is designed with overlapping triggers that ensure that nuclear weapons are not launched by mistake, it is also designed for a president to make a snap decision.

“It’s a very short period of time, measured in minutes,” Feaver said.

The president’s call In theory, no one stands in the way of the commander in chief and a nuclear launch.

“We have a system that is

Some voice concern about what they see as Trump’s imprudence.

“He seems to be quite impulsive. He sends off tweets in the middle of the night,” said Ira Helfand, co-president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, an anti-nuclear advocacy group.

“You can’t backtrack a nuclear weapon once it’s been fired.”

During the campaign, after initially stumbling on even basic nuclear knowledge, Trump offered many points of view, saying limited proliferation was inevitable, nuclear war would be horrific and that the United States should always leave nuclear use as a possibility.

“I don’t think you could predict with confidence where he is going to come down on a question like this,” said Feaver, the Duke University expert.

Whether those proliferation issues are addressed in further briefings for Trump will depend largely on his level of interest, experts said.

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IFE/FAITH

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

ABC sitcom to address Trump’s election See page B3

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Fire safety tips for holiday season See page B4

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‘New Lens on Aging’ Scholars shine light on Blacks and aging during annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America

BY PENNY DICKERSON SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

L

ittle Freddie King is a New Orleans Blues legend. He’s a self-taught guitar player who has always used his thumb versus a pick. It allows him to feel the music better. King appeared alert, spry and possessed the mental facility to fully engage a standing room only audience as he told the story of how he hopped a train from Mississippi to New Orleans when he was merely 14 years old. “The Big Easy” has been his home since.

King is now 76 and lives as a statistical example of aging elders who served as the focus of study at the 2016 annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society held Nov. 16-20 in New Orleans. A field of study often confused with geriatrics, gerontology defined is the scientific study of old age, the process of aging, and the particular problems of old people.

Aging African-Americans A legion of diverse gerontology researchers trained in areas such as physiology, social science, psychology, public health and policy were among those in attendance. In the year 2010, there were 40.2 million aging elders who helped comprise the population. It is estimated that by 2040, that number will rise to 81.2 with the fastest growth being elders of color.

Additionally, 17.7 of those are African-Americans and Latinos are deemed poor or near poor like King whose only income comes from CD sales. His healthy outlook on life is attributed to staying abreast with trends and a strict diet.

Eat right, be nice “I play new music blues and add a little hip hop and hard rock to help the young people who weren’t around to understand the Blues,” said King, who owns a toothless, yet vibrant smile. “I don’t eat any fried food. I cook for myself and eat boiled chicken simmered with a little celery and carrots.’’

Most notable is King’s advice to everyone for living and aging with grace: “Stay away from stress. Don’t worry about anything and treat everybody nice – who will let you (treat them nice),” added King.

The complexity of aging More than 3,600 scholars, physicians, educators and stakeholders were in attendance at the conference specifically referred to Editor’s note: “New Lens as a “scientific meeting.” on Aging: Changing Among them were comAttitudes, Expanding mitted African-Americans Possibilities’ ’was the who led symposiums, pretheme of the annual sented academic papers scientific meeting of the and served as panel disGerontological Society cussants. of America (GSA) which “The Demographic Imconvened Nov. 16-20 in pact of Minority Aging: New Orleans. Florida America’s Changing Map Courier writer Penny and the Burden of SteDickerson was one of a reotypes” and “Eldercare select group of journalists Policy on the Agenda: The chosen nationwide to Post-Election Prognosis,” attend the conference. are among the titles that make the study of gerontology seem complex yet necessary as the nation faces a new presidential administration.

1

Shifting policy 2

During the Eldercare Policy presentation, Dr. Toni P. Miles posed the following to attendees, “How many of you live in states that have not expanded Medicaid?” Miles serves as the director of the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Georgia and sought to emphasize two important points.

“Local, local, local. Forget about Washington (D.C.) right now,” stated Miles. “Everything you hear is just wide speculation. The first question you have to answer for yourself is why is your state house red? We are basically living under one party rule everywhere…we have no opposition.’’

Miles further emphasized an often overlooked relevance of last year’s 50th anniversary celebration of the Civil Rights Act. “Civil rights did two important things: It desegregated hospitals, which allowed African-Americans access to better health care,” said Miles. “It also offered a means to pay for that health care through the benefits of Medicare and Medicaid.’’

3

More research needed

4

5 PHOTOS BY PENNY DICKERSON / SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

1. Little Freddie King is a 76-year-old Blues master and New Orleans icon whose performance range includes appearing in Beyonce’s “Lemonade” video and portrayal on the 2015 poster for the French Quarter Festival.

2. Dr. Toni P. Miles delivered a poignant presentation for the “Eldercare Policy on the Agenda: The Post-Election Prognosis’’ session. Miles has authored 125 publications.

3. Dr. Keith Whitfield (Duke University) served as a conference discussant and was the 2015 recipient of the Gerontology Society of America’s Minority Mentorship Award.

4. Rita Choula is a senior advisor with the AARP Public Policy Institute with a specific focus on identifying and supporting the needs of multicultural family caregivers.

5. Dr. Roland J. Tharpe, Jr. (Johns Hopkins) chaired the Minority Issues in Gerontology Committee symposium with emphasis on agerelated physical functioning in late life.

Caregiving, HIV/AIDS, mental health, dementia and elder abuse were each scientifically delved into along with a plethora of more subjects that affect the life course of the aging populous.

“We still need more research” said Rita B. Choula, senior advisor of long-term services and supports and livable communities for the AARP Public Policy Institute. “AARP is steadily looking for more information on multicultural families, including aging African-Americans with complex needs and a high level of care they can’t readily afford.’’

According to AARP, the poverty rate for African-Americans age 65 and older is more than twice that of all older people (23.9 percent and 10.4 percent respectively). In fact, without Social Security benefits, the portion of African-Americans age 65 and older who fall below poverty would increase from 23.9 percent to 58.2 percent.

The aforementioned data exemplifies the stark reality of aging African-Americans whose plight is daunting even when viewed from a “New Lens on Aging.” Through new programs and policy along with continued gerontology research, the current disparities applied to elderly African-Americans will reach an equitable standard.

This article was written/produced with the support of a journalism fellowship from New America Media, the Gerontological Society of America and AARP.

CALENDAR & OBITUARY

B2

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

STOJ

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Miami: The Miami Urban Contemporary Experience (MUCE) partners with Chef Creole to present the Now or Neverland Art Fair: Urban Uproar Edition during Art Basel weekend through Dec. 4 at the Chef Creole Performance Park at 200 NW 54th St. Details and schedule: www.muce305.org.

Tampa: The Tampa Bay SoulFest featuring Brian McKnight, Johnny Gill and Al B. Sure is Jan. 15 at the USF Sun Dome.

Orlando: Jodeci is scheduled Dec. 11 at the House of Blues Orlando for a 7 p.m. show.

MIAMI MASS CHOIR

The Miami Mass Choir will headline the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County’s free Gospel Sundays concert on Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. The choir is releasing its fourth album this month. More info: www.arshtcenter.org.

Jacksonville: The Comedy Get Down show featuring Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez and Charlie Murphy will be at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial on Dec. 9.

TLC

The I Love the 90s Tour stops at the Amway Center in Orlando on Dec. 3.

Performers: Salt N Pepa, Coolio, Tone Loc, All-4One and Young MC.

BELL BIV DEVOE

The 2016 Miami Funk Fest takes place Dec. 9-10 at the Miramar Regional Park with Bell Biv Devoe, Dru Hill, H-Town, Jodeci, Mystikal, SWV, TLC and Guy featuring Teddy Riley. Tickets: Funkfesttour.com.

Actor Ron Glass dies at 71

BY CHRIS BARTON LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Ron Glass

Ron Glass, a prolific television actor best known for roles in the ’70s police sitcom “Barney Miller” and Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” has died. He was 71 years old.

His death of respiratory failure was confirmed on Nov. 26 by one of his representatives.

Born on July 10, 1945 in Evansville, Ind., where he eventually attended the University of Evansville, Glass began to rise to prominence as a comic actor in the 1970s, appearing in the sitcoms “Sanford and Son,” “All in the Family” and “Good Times.”

He was later cast as the thoughtful, stylishly dressed Detective Ron

Harris on the groundbreaking half-hour comedy series “Barney Miller,” which aired for eight seasons on ABC starting in 1974.

The series was a standout in its time by offering a diverse, often darkly funny look at life in the squad room of a New York Police Department precinct in the ’70s and early ’80s.

Won Emmy for role With a cast that also included a Polish-American

Orlando: The Roots will perform Dec. 29 at the House of Blues Orlando and at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on New Year’s Eve. St. Petersburg: Lauryn Hill’s The MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling! Concert stops at The Mahaffey Theater on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 at House of Blues Orlando.

Ponte Vedra: The Stanley Clarke Band performs Dec. 2 at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall.

He also performs Dec. 4 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Pompano Beach: Boyz II Men takes the stage at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Dec. 2. The 7:30 p.m. show will include Al B. Sure.

and an Asian-American, it frequently touched on issues of racial and ethnic stereotypes. In 1982, Glass earned an Emmy nomination in the supporting actor category for his work as Harris.

After the end of “Barney Miller,” Glass was a regular TV presence, appearing on a 1982 reboot of “The Odd Couple” as well as a memorable turn as a fast-talking devil in a 1985 episode of “The Twilight Zone.”

He also appeared on

episodes of “Murder, She Wrote,” “The Practice” and “Friends,” where he portrayed a divorce lawyer, along with recurring roles on “Amen” and “Mr. Rhodes.”

In 2002, Glass joined the cast of Joss Whedon’s scifi western “Firefly,” where he played the mysterious, spiritually inclined figure Shepherd Book for two seasons. In 2005, he also appeared in “Serenity,” the series’ move to the big screen.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FOR BLACK STUDENTS. NO EXCUSES. The classic guide from Florida Courier publisher, lawyer and broadcaster CHARLES W. CHERRY II PRAISE FOR ‘EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE’:

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIAMI DOLPHINS

Ryan Tannehill, left, greets a young fan during the Thanksgiving distribution.

Dolphins help provide thousands of meals for Thanksgiving DAVIE – The Miami Dolphins are continuing their long tradition this holiday season by assisting those in need with funds for Thanksgiving meals throughout South Florida.

In all, more than 10,000 people benefited from this year’s Thanksgiving meals distribution from Homestead through Miami Gardens and in Davie.

“This is a great event that we’ve been doing for a number of years here in South Florida. It starts with the leadership of our owner Stephen Ross, who gives us every resource to be successful on the field and encourages us to give back to the community,” Miami Dolphins Senior Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum said.

In the lead-up to the holiday, Dolphins alumni, cheerleaders and staff made visits throughout Miami-Dade County to schools and community centers in Miami Gardens,

“This guide for African-American college-bound students is packed with practical and insightful information for achieving academic success...The primary focus here is to equip students with the savvy and networking skills to maneuver themselves through the academic maze of higher education.”

– Book review, School Library Journal • How low expectations of Black students’ achievements can get them higher grades; • Want a great grade? Prepare to cheat!

• How Black students can program their minds for success;

Kenyan Drake pushes a cart with items to help a family have a good holiday.

Hialeah, West Miami, Little Havana and Liberty City.

“On behalf of the thousands of Miami-Dade residents impacted by their Thanksgiving distribution efforts, I thank Steve Ross and the Dolphins for all they do,” MiamiDade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said. “From delivering Super Bowls to delivering turkeys, the Dolphins are great community partners that know how to win both on and off the field.”

500 meals distributed The Dolphins players, Miami Dolphins Women’s Organization members and mascot TD also partnered

with Hyundai, Publix Super Markets and Feeding South Florida to distribute 500 Thanksgiving meals to local families in South Florida.

The meals were purchased by the players, the coaching staff and Hyundai.

“We wanted to do our part to make Thanksgiving a little better for families in need in South Florida,” Hyundai Motor America Experiential Marketing Senior Group Manager Trea Reedy said. “The Dolphins are very active in supporting their community and we were delighted to join them in distributing Thanksgiving meals.”

The families were preselected by Feeding South Florida from 50 nonprofit partner agencies.

• Setting goals – When to tell everybody, and when to keep your mouth shut; • Black English, and why Black students must be ‘bilingual.’ …AND MUCH MORE!

www.excellencewithoutexcuse.com Download immediately as an eBook or a pdf Order softcover online, from Amazon, or your local bookstore ISBN#978-1-56385-500-9 Published by International Scholastic Press, LLC Contact Charles at ccherry2@gmail.com

Facebook ccherry2 excellencewithoutexcuse

for info on speeches, workshops, seminars, book signings, panel discussions.

Twitter @ccherry2

STOJ

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

Singer, songwriter and musician Teddy Riley, credited with having a major impact and influence on the formation of contemporary R&B, hip-hop, soul and pop, was honored with the Legend Award during the “Soul Train Awards,’’ which aired on BET and Centric. The all-star tribute to Riley included performances from Guy, Bobby Brown, Doug E. Fresh, Wreckx-NEffect, V. Bozeman and Tito Jackson. BET.COM

B3

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier. com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/ glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

Actress and singer Brandy Norwood, better known as just Brandy, was crowned the Lady of Soul during the “Soul Train Awards’’ Sunday night.

Her debut album, “Brandy,’’ was released in September 1994, when she was just 15. She went on to star in her own TV show, “Moesha,’’ and appeared in other sitcoms and movies. During the “Soul Train Awards’’ show, Brandy performed “I Wanna Be Down,” “The Boy Is Mine,” “Full Moon,” and other hit songs. BET.COM

‘Black-ish’ episode to focus on Trump’s election

BY GREG BRAXTON LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

The Emmy-nominated ABC series “black-ish” has won critical accolades since its 2014 premiere for exploring provocative issues surrounding race.

The show, about an uppermiddle-class African-American family living in a predominantly White neighborhood, has managed to wring humor out of episodes tackling police brutality and the complexities of the Nword, along with more traditional sitcom plot lines.

But when the show’s creator, Kenya Barris, came to grips with the fact that Donald Trump, who had built much of his campaign around racially inflammatory comments and viewpoints, had been elected president of the United States, he found little to Kenya laugh about.

Barris

Jan. 4 airdate Barris, a big fan of President Obama and a supporter of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, wrestled with his own shock while also trying to comfort his distraught wife and children.

Although he had distanced himself from “black-ish” this season in order to focus on developing other TV projects, Barris felt compelled to return to the series and write an episode to sort through his conflicted feelings

about Trump’s election. That installment will air Jan. 4.

He also said that the series, which had become relatively lighter in its current third season, will use humor to further examine the country’s racial and cultural divides. (One of the projects Barris is developing is a show about an interracial couple who are pundits on opposing sides of the political aisle. Felicity Huffman is set to star.)

Election response In a recent phone interview, Barris explained his response to the election and his plans for “black-ish” in its wake.

The election and re-election of President Obama, along with the popularity of “black-ish,” “Empire” and other series that show inclusion of cultures, felt like an indication that there had been an embrace of multiculturalism in the last few years.

Barris: (Laughs). “Yes, it seemed that way.’’

But this election seemed to demonstrate otherwise. What do you feel happened, or was that opinion wrong?

“Like many people, I have been in a reflective place since the election. I believe there was a sense of smugness that began to permeate our thinking, the feeling that “We’re right. Our argument against this person is an easily won and right argument.”

That point of view, I believe, infuriated the right, the conservatives. They took a stance of “We’re going to show them,’’ Barris said.

Above is the cast of the ABC hit show “black-ish.’’ An episode about Donald Trump’s presidential election will air in January.

“As someone who grew up in poverty or poverty-adjacent, there’s nothing that speaks louder to you than ‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I wonder if my lights are going to be on.’ There is a huge part of the left that forgets that fear comes first for a lot of people,’’ he continued.

“Someone put it to me like this: I have cancer, and Hillary is saying, ‘I’m going to increase the amount of cancer clinics. I’m go-

ing to increase your medicine so it can be cheaper. I’m going to increase cancer awareness.’ Then the other candidate says, ‘I have the cure to cancer.’

“I’m going to listen to that person with the cure, even if in my heart I know it’s not true. Just the chance that it might be true — you can’t fight that. Trump offered a sense of change.’’

Barris continued, “There was talk in our writers room about

maybe the electoral college will turn over the election. I said, “What? So we can start a civil war? I don’t want this president either, but, guys, let me tell you, I’m Black and we’ve never gotten what we want. This is not the way.”

Do you feel when someone can express inflammatory views about race, as Trump did, a sensible person can say, “Yeah, that’s not great, but otherwise he’s a great guy?”

“As a logical person, I feel it’s really hard to excuse the gross atrocity of a person and follow that with ‘But he’s a nice dresser’ or ‘He’s still a sweet man,’ ’’ Barris noted.

“There were 50 million people that voted for Trump. Fiftymillion people are not crazy, or racist or misogynist or xenophobic. Maybe 1 million of them are, maybe 5 million are. The point is, we can’t just call them all crazy.

“We have to find a way to reach out to each other and find common ground or else we’re literally never going to make it and this country is going to get worse.

He added, “I wasn’t going to write on “black-ish” this year. I have pilots. I have some movie things going on. But as a show runner, I woke up that Wednesday and said, “I have to write. I have to write about this election, how I feel, how I want us to heal.”

The last week of my life has been gearing up for the episode that comes on when we return in the new year.

Teen’s documentary to air on PBS BLACKNEWS.COM

“A Queen’s Discovery’’ follows a father and daughter’s mission trip to Africa. The film is told from the perspective of 16-yearold Nzinga Anasa Braswell as she and her father participate in an annual LEAP for Ghana mission in 2015.

Her journey to the country as a first-time visitor gives her a unique comparison between her Black-American experience as a youth and what she discovered in Africa.

The film is the winner of PBS’s

“To The Contrary: All About Women’’ International Category.

It is scheduled to begin airing nationwide on Dec. 9. Check your local listing for airtime.

“I had no idea that my story would be of such interest to others. I want to give back to those girls I met in Ghana. This has turned out to be a way to do just that,’’ Nzinga said.

Film fest winner She is currently a senior at North Springs Charter High School in Atlanta and has been

accepted to attend Kennesaw State University in Georgia. She plans to pursue a career in sports medicine.

“I am so proud of Nzinga. I watched her transform over the nine days we were in Africa,’’ says her father, who is executive director of Fathers Incorporated.

When she said she wanted to raise funds to send girls to secondary school, it blew my heart away.’’

The film recently won Best Film in the Delta Sigma Theta International Film Festival in Atlanta and was showcased at the Great-

JVE PHOTOGRAPHY

Nzinga Braswell and her father, Kenneth Braswell, were interviewed by Tavis Smiley on his show last month. er Cleveland Urban Film Festival.

A portion of the proceeds from the documentary, which is about 23 minutes, will go to a scholarship fund for furthering the edu-

cation of youth in Ghana.

For more information on the documentary, email fathersincorporated@gmail.com or call 770804-9800.

HOLIDAYS

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DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

STOJ

Take precautions to

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

BE SAFE

this holiday season

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

Although good tidings and joy abound during the holiday season, this time of year can also pose a serious threat to your family, friends and home. The holidays bring an elevated risk for fires and burns, and many Americans may have a false sense of security.

A new survey conducted by Shriners Hospitals for Children® shows that most Americans know basic fire and burn safety tips but do not practice them in the home. Failure to implement safety precautions only adds to the danger.

A myriad of seasonal activities puts the action indoors, where families gather for cooking, decorating and other pursuits that may involve an open flame. Unfortunately, enjoying some of those treasured pastimes means the risk of house fires and burns increases drastically.

Many burn injuries and fire risks can be avoided by practicing a few simple safety measures.

Shriners Hospitals has provided some practical steps to keep your home and family safe.

Seasonal decor Live Christmas trees need water daily. However, according to the survey, less than half of Americans perform the task.

A dry tree can ignite in seconds, making tree fires one of the most

EXPERT PEDIATRIC BURN CARE

Since the 1960s, Shriners Hospitals for Children has been a leader in burn care, research and education. During this time, the survival rate has doubled for children with burns over more than 50 percent of their bodies. Today, patients with burns over 90 percent can survive and go on to lead full, productive lives.

The state-of-the-art burn facilities are staffed and equipped to provide reconstructive and restorative surgery for healed burns, as well as treatments for other various skin conditions.

With 22 locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the Shriners network of hospitals provides advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of the families’ ability to pay.

Learn more at shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.

dangerous types. Well-watered trees significantly reduce this risk. Set a reminder to add water daily to keep your tree safe and supple throughout the season.

Choosing the right place for your tree involves many variables. As you select the perfect vantage point, remember to keep trees away from heat sources like fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, candles or heat vents.

Consider using wickless or flame­less candles. There are numerous inexpensive options that cast a warm, flickering glow so you can enjoy the ambiance of a lit candle without the risk.

Lights and electricity Before installing decorative lights on a house or a tree, closely inspect each strand for frayed

TURN UP THE HEAT SAFELY

During cooler weather, many households increase reliance on natural gas for heat. Entertaining during the holiday months can also raise natural gas usage. However, natural gas can be dangerous and even deadly.

Help minimize the risk of a natural gas leak with these tips: • Leave the house immediately if you think you smell natural gas; call your gas company or 911 for assistance once you are safely away.

• Teach every member of the house how to recognize the slightly sweet, sickly smell of natural gas. Some compare it to the smell of rotting eggs or food.

• Schedule annual service by a qualified professional for all appliances, gas lines and other gas-consuming elements of your home.

wires, bare spots and excessive kinking or wear. Discard and replace any lights that show signs of damage, which can pose a fire hazard.

Nearly half of survey respondents admitted they overload electrical outlets. During the holiday season, when you are likely

to have more decorations, lights and other electrical items in use, take extra care to prevent overburdening an outlet and use certified surge protectors and power strips.

Exposed electrical cords and uncover­ed outlets can attract the attention of inquisitive children.

Take care to secure cords out of reach and cover any outlets not in use.

Despite the obvious risk of leaving lit candles unattended, 27 percent of Americans admit to this practice and 25 percent of respondents report leaving them in reach of a child. If you must use a flame-burning candle, do so only while you are in the room and extinguish any lit candles if the room will be vacant.

Cooking safety According to the U.S. Fire Administration, holiday cooking is the leading cause of residential building fires in the month

of December. With more cooking during this time, the risk of house fires and pediatric burns increases drastically. Outturned handles can be easily grasped by curious hands or snag on clothing or aprons and potentially scald a youngster underfoot. Be sure to turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, out of children’s reach.

Follow the lead of nearly 50 percent of Americans who know to keep a lid or cookie sheet nearby when cooking to help extinguish a fire.

Use electric appliances on a counter­top, safely away from the sink or other water sources, but remember to avoid using an extension cord to supply power to kitchen appliances.

For more information, activity books for kids, tip cards and additional tools for families, visit beburnaware.org.

STOJ

DECEMBER 2 – DECEMBER 8, 2016

FOOD

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

The holiday season evokes thoughts of delicious, hearty and festive meals. Whether planning a family feast or flitting among gather­ings, you may find it harder than ever to maintain a healthy life­ style and keep your weight manage­ ment goals on track. However, with the right approach, you can still en­ joy many of your holiday favorites and serve foods your guests will ap­ preciate as much as your waistline does. The key is managing your car­ bohydrate and sugar intake.

If you’re looking to lose or main­ tain weight, you know the impor­ tance of relying on a lifestyle with proven results – without feeling deprived. A low carb approach is backed by more than 80 scien­ tific studies and still allows you to enjoy a wide variety of delicious foods. When you control your car­ bohydrate intake, you start burn­ ing stored fat as your fuel source instead of carbohydrates. A longterm, well-balanced, low carb eat­ ing plan such as Atkins encourages reduced levels of refined carbohy­ drates and added sugars, while op­ timizing levels of protein, high fiber carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables

B5 LOW CARB CRANBERRY-GINGER PORK ROAST Servings: 4 Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 8 hours Cooking oil 2 pounds pork chops or roast (center rib, bone-in) 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus additional for seasoning 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning 1/2 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce 1/2 cup cranberries 1/8 cup sugar-free maple syrup 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger 1/2 cup chicken broth, bouillon or consomme 1/2 cup (4 ounces) water 1/8 teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum 1 tablespoon unsalted butter stick (optional) Prepare skillet with small amount of oil over medium-high heat. Season chops or roast with salt and pepper then place into skillet and brown each side for about 1 minute, 4 minutes total, to help seal in moisture and give it color.

Set aside on plate to cool slightly.

Finely dice chipotle pepper and chop cranberries, if desired.

In small bowl, combine syrup, diced chipotle, ginger, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Rub mixture onto roast then place it into slow cooker.

Add cran­berries and pour chicken broth down side of pan (avoiding rinsing rub from roast).

Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

Remove roast and set on serving platter covered with tent of aluminum foil; reserv­ing liquid.

Keep slow cooker on low and add water and guar gum or xanthan gum to reserved mixture, whisking to combine.

Continue to cook on low heat until sauce thickens slightly. Once thick, enrich sauce, if desired, with butter, adding additional salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve sauce over pork roast.

Tip: While it is not necessary to chop cranberries (they will break down while cooking), chopping them makes sauce smoother.

and healthy fats.

This wide range of foods makes it easy to find delicious ways to cel­ ebrate the holidays without feeling restricted. Colette Heimowitz, vice president of nutrition and educa­ tion at Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., of­ fers several tips to help stay on track this season: • Leading up to the big meal or holiday party, snack on proteins that contain healthy fats such as nuts or grab some cubes of cheese.

• When crafting a holiday menu, identify a savory main dish that of­ fers a healthy serving of protein, such as this Low Carb CranberryGinger Pork Roast. Finish off the meal with a Low Carb Pumpkin Pe­ can Cheesecake, and you and your taste buds will be very satisfied.

• When alcoholic beverages are being served, confine yourself to a glass (or two at most) of wine or one glass of spirits. Just be sure to have your spirits with club soda and a slice of lemon or lime, or a mixer made without sugar. And make sure to drink plenty of water to stay hy­ drated.

For step-by-step instructions for this tasty, low carb holiday roast, watch the video and find more recipes at Atkins.com.

RECIPES COURTESY OF ATKINS.COM

LOW CARB PUMPKIN PECAN CHEESECAKE Servings: 4 Prep time: 25 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes 2/3 cup halved pecan nuts 2/3 cup sucralose-based sweetener (sugar substitute), plus 1 tablespoon 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 3/4 tablespoon unsalted butter stick 1/2 large egg white 9 2/3 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 6 ounces canned pumpkin, without salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 1/4 large eggs To make crust: Heat oven to 350 F. In food processor, combine pecans, 1 tablespoon sugar substitute and cinnamon. Process until finely ground. Toss with butter and egg white; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan, round­ing up to cover pan seam. Bake until golden and set, 8-10 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

To make filling: Reduce oven heat to 325 F. In large bowl, combine cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar substitute and cream. With electric mixer at medium speed, beat until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice, mixing to combine. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined.

Pour batter over crust. Bake until just set, 45-50 min­ utes. Turn off oven and let stand 10 minutes; transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled, 4 hours or overnight.

Slice and serve.

LOW CARB BROWNED PUMPKIN WITH MAPLE AND SAGE Servings: 4 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter stick 1/2 pound pumpkin 1/8 cup chopped shallots salt freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup bouillon vegetable broth 1/16 cup sugar-free maple syrup 1/8 teaspoon sage, ground In medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter. Cube pumpkin into 3/4-inch chunks.

Add pumpkin and shallots to pan; season with salt and pepper. Saute until pumpkin is lightly browned and shallots are translucent, approximately 5-6 minutes.

Turn heat to low, add vegetable broth and simmer, covered, 8-10 minutes until pumpkin is tender.

Add maple syrup and sage, toss­ing to combine. Serve immediately.

Tip: Use fresh sage (7-8 leaves), if possible.

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DECEMBER 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DECEMBER 8, 2016

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