Bias at Montco swim club | Philadelphia Inquirer | 09/23/2009

"A state investigation found that a Montgomery County swim club racially discriminated in June when it revoked an agreement to allow a Northeast Philadelphia day camp to use its pool after 56 African American and Hispanic children made their first visit.

'The racial animus . . . and the racially coded comments' by club members at the Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley were the reasons the club revoked Creative Steps Inc.'s contract, according to a 33-page report by the Human Relations Commission that was released last night by an attorney for four of the campers."

The Human Relations Commission report said the club had 155 paid memberships in 2009 and 179 in 2008, none held by an African American. Additionally, the report noted that when Valley Club tried in 2009 to expand its membership by recruiting in areas outside its township - Lower Moreland, which has a 0.8 percent black population - mailings were "mainly directed at areas with overwhelmingly Caucasian populations," including Rhawnhurst, Fox Chase, and Churchville.

The relatively diverse townships of Cheltenham and Abington, like other nearby areas with "significant African American populations," the report says, were passed over.

This is just sad! These are just kids. I think that this decision my very well put them out of business. If all 56 parents of these kids file a lawsuit we are talking upwards of almost 3 million dollars.

Read the full story for more detailed information.

Minorities feel sharper recession pain - report - Sep. 23, 2009

'This has been the longest recession since the 1930s and it's triggered the sharpest increase in unemployment to date,' said Christian Weller, a senior fellow at the center and author of the report."

Overall unemployment reached its highest level in 26 years in August, and the rate for minorities grew by more than the rate for whites, according to the report. Between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of this year, African American unemployment climbed at 4.2 percentage point annual rate and joblessness among Hispanics rose at 4.1 percentage points per year, while the rate among rates increased 2.8 percentage points annually.

The disparity isn't unusual. During the recession lasting between March 2001 and November 2001, unemployment rates also rose at a sharper rate for all minorities, and the increases lasted longer for African Americans, the report said. While unemployment rates fell for whites and Hispanics after June 2003, they continued to rise for African Americans for four months longer.

My objective with our Blog is to make information more prevalent and for all Minority groups to see how everyday politics and politicians have an overwhelming impact on our lives. We need to support candidates that support us.

Hispanic and African American Adults Are Uninsured at Rates One-and-a Half to Three Times Higher Than White Adults - The Commonwealth Fund

New York, NY, August 1, 2006—Hispanic and African American working-age adults in the U.S. are at greater risk of experiencing gaps in insurance coverage, lacking access to health care, and facing medical debt than white working-age adults, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund.

Sixty-two percent of Hispanic adults ages 19 to 64—an estimated 15 million adults—were uninsured at some point during the year, a rate more than three times as high as that for white working-age adults (20%). Uninsured rates for working-age African-American adults are also high, with one-third (33%)—more than 6 million adults—uninsured or experiencing a gap in coverage during the year.

These numbers are from 2005. I will get updated numbers, but imagine how grime the news will be when you add a recession in the mix. As we continue to talk about a National Health Care program I will look for data that shows who is being impacted by indecision and politics on the hill. We need to put people first instead of politics. Real people are being impacted here!

Here is what happen today

Let the National Conversation Begin

If we are going to have this conversation we should start off with what we should all be talking about health care. That has stirred up all the other conversations about racism, Socialism, why the Republicans fear this and why the the Democrats are not doing more to get this passed.

Health Care

I have posted a link just below about the public option and why this is issue that everyone is fighting about. The public option would drive down cost, hopefully. The whole point of having a national health care program is to infuse competition into the mix and drive down the cost of health care as we know it today. Only competition can do this. The insurance company has had a great run and obviously will not change
unless its hand is forced to change.

The health insurance issue has been the juggernaut that has kept business from hiring more, or the cost per employee that we all hear so much about has been the reason why people are laid off. This is not really a issue for big companies but for mid-size businesses it is a big cost. The pubic option would help drive down cost. Look what happen when Wal-mart decided to offer generic drugs at $4 a shot. Then Target followed, now for these two companies it resulted in increase consumer traffic and it help drive down cost of generic prescription drugs. The generic pricing for those with insurance was no big deal, but for those on a fixed income or no income it made a world of difference, it meant some extra money in their pockets at the end of the month. This was a big shift. This is not exactly a perfect fix but for many it made a difference. Which begs me to ask the question, why are Seniors against this national health care? In all bills that I have seen they all mention overall hauling the Medicaid program, making it better not worse. This is the big issues that seniors complain about the most is prescription drug cost. One would think that the Seniors would be in lock step with the President on this issue. A national health care insurance program with a public option could only result in lower cost for seniors.

Public Option explained in 70 Seconds

Carter Cites 'Racism Inclination' in Animosity Toward Obama | 44 | washingtonpost.com

Carter Cites 'Racism Inclination' in Animosity Toward Obama | 44 | washingtonpost.com: "Carter, who is famously from Georgia: 'And that racism inclination still exists. And I think it's bubbled up to the surface because of the belief among many white people, not just in the South but around the country, that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country. It's an abominable circumstance, and it grieves me and concerns me very deeply.'"

I think President Carter hit the hammer on the nail! This is what I want to talk about. It's this fear being played up. Also, what does President Obama's presidency mean to African-American's if he fails? Or, what no one wants to say out loud, if he is assassinated? Now, had the health care debate been better "Primed and Framed" we may not be talking about under tones of racism, especially 9 months into his presidency. However, we would have had this conversation anyway.

inclination - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Inclination - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: "* Main Entry: in·cli·na·tion
* Pronunciation: \ˌin-klə-ˈnā-shən, ˌiŋ-\
* Function: noun
* Date: 14th century

1 a obsolete : natural disposition : character b : a particular disposition of mind or character : propensity; especially : liking
2 : an act or the action of bending or inclining: as a : bow, nod b : a tilting of something
3 a : a deviation from the true vertical or horizontal : slant; also : the degree of such deviation b : an inclined surface : slope c (1) : the angle determined by two lines or planes (2) : the angle made by a line with the x-axis measured counterclockwise from the positive direction of that axis
4 : a tendency to a particular aspect, state, character, or action

— in·cli·na·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-nəl\ adjective"

I love this word!!!

Obama, His Critics & Racism: Connected? - The Two-Way - Breaking News, Analysis Blog : NPR

Obama, His Critics & Racism: Connected? - The Two-Way - Breaking News, Analysis Blog : NPR: "The conversation continues about whether racism is playing a part in the criticism aimed at President Barack Obama by some conservatives.

On Morning Edition, NPR news analyst Juan Williams told host Renee Montagne that many in the black and Hispanic communities see what they think is a pattern that adds up to a 'lack of basic acceptance of the stature that's to be accorded any president.'"

For the last two weeks I have been reading articles and pondering the idea of this new form of racism, code words, and what's going on? " Is calling President Obama a Socialist" the new N-word"? I thought that by electing our first black President that we would all be more accepting of each others differences, is this not the case? I will blog more on this later, but check our some of the discussions taking place

The Toledo Journal - FIT FOR LIFE

The Toledo Journal - FIT FOR LIFE: "(NAPSM) – High blood pressure (or hypertension) affects about 73 million adults age 20 and older in the U.S. and is often called the ''silent killer,'' with African Americans being more likely to develop the condition than any other racial or ethnic group.
The continued high prevalence within the African American community is of great concern to the medical community, especially given the many external pressures we all juggle every day, such as jobs, finances and family care."

You never really hear of African Americans dying from High Blood pressure. What we usually find is that it is the results of High Blood pressure that kills us! Informative article and Website. Check it out!

What President Obama could learn from President Bush.

After you recover from my tag line you may embrace what I am suggesting. President Obama has all the smarts and eloquence to eclipse President Bush. However, there are a few things he should take note on. Whatever you think about President Bush, he may have been a better politician then a public speaker, there are aspects of his presidency that any president that follows may want to emulate.

Many would like to quickly forget about President Bush and look to better days and a brighter future. And whatever you think about if we are better or worse since he was in office is another blog for another day. I believe there were three things that President Bush did very well, at least for the first six years of his Presidency. Bush was able to galvanize his base, was not afraid to make unpopular decisions and kept everyone on the same talking points.

President Bush did one thing very consistently, he not only pandered to his base he held those core Republicans, twenty to thirty percent, for eight years. He galvanized the religious right, and ultra-conservatives. His policy administration was focused on keeping their support. We all remember faith-based initiatives. While pushing his conservative agenda he was able to grab Independents that shared similar conservative beliefs.

The second thing that Bush did well was make unpopular decisions. Even after eight years of watching mangled public statements on any of his skewed policy implementation, you got the feeling that he really was convicted by his belief. His conservative views were some how ordained from God. It was Bush who said that God wanted him to be President. Despite public outcry, he stayed the course and did not buckle to the criticism; he didn’t care. In 2005, President Bush told Mahmould Abbas, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization since November 2004, "I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George go and end the tyranny in Iraq,' and I did. The Iraq war will probably be his most notable of unpopular and bad decisions.

Lastly, Karl Rove wasn’t Bush’s best adviser; it was Karen Hughes. When Bush had a problem getting his point across, often, he would call in Hughes to help frame the argument. It didn’t stop there, they were able to create talking points that allowed all the Republicans to speak off the same page, and everyone was on message. Whatever the problem was, whatever the program you were watching, the message was the same. It was clear and apparent that everyone got the memo.

Obama was ushered in on a wave of hope. Nine months ago the President’s popularity was unbelievable. Now the reality of the job has set in. The Obama campaign was able to create this great Internet support during the election. How they would use those supporters after the election was and still is unclear. The troops need to be galvanized. The Internet supporters would be helpful for going after Republicans in their voting districts. Want to make a Politicians’ nervous? Start sending them tons of emails and letters from their own voting block and you see them very quickly change their position to something closer to yours.

Who would have thought that President Obama would be afraid to make hard decisions that were unpopular? How did the Republicans manage to frame the health care issue against you, a democratic issue, and your campaign promise? Now you look like a sad puppy dog trying to figure out how to create a win-win with the Republicans. Call Steven Covey he will tell you, sometimes you have to move forward without popular support.

And what the heck is the problem with the Democrats’ on the hill? They have become your biggest opponent, how did this happen? No one is speaking off the same page and no one is on message. So, If Obama Called President Bush he would tell him, first get your house in order, this means those on the hill. Secondly, use your Internet supporters to go after those who are playing obstructionist and lastly, you need to do a better job of framing the issues. I can’t support you if I have no idea what I am supporting.

Health care problems hit close to home

"Poor health care in our country is no longer a question for the imaginary 'those' people - it affects all of us. The idea that President Barack Obama is facing a tough fight to get improved health care is horrifying. We as a nation need better health care, especially in the area of preventative care. We need expanded coverage, lower co-pays, more patient choices, and better customer care from health insurance companies and pharmaceutical firms."

What has troubled me about the health care discussion is that it has been poorly framed by the President. "Those People "are African Americans, Hispanics, and other minority groups.

Poll: Republicans make gains, but still trail Democrats - CNN.com

Story Highlights:
- 52% say Obama's policies will move U.S. in right direction -- a big drop since May
- 43% say GOP's policies will move country in right direction
- Despite GOP gains, Democrats still more trusted on economy, Medicare, poll finds
- CNN polling director: Numbers show Republicans in more competitive position"

Who should take the blame for the President's Falling numbers?

Jobless rate at 9.7 pct.; 216,000 jobs lost | Philadelphia Inquirer | 09/05/2009

"The unemployment rate among African American men is now 17 percent, one of the hardest-hit groups."

Is this a surprise to anyone?

WBIR.com | Knoxville, TN | African American men more likely to die from prostate cancer

"September is national prostate cancer awareness month and a time to encourage men to go to the doctor and get tested for the potentially deadly disease.

It could be even more critical for African American men, who are much more likely to get the disease and die from it than any other group."

Important!! Important!! I get tested Annually, I have done so for the last two years. There is usually no symptoms, so please get tested.