Project 21: New Visions

Last year, I wrote a column asking "Whatever Happened to Chandra Levy?" It turns out Chandra's been dead in Rock Creek Park - just a few miles from her Washington, DC apartment. This mystery is finally over. In Miami, Florida, however, a beautiful black child named Rilya Shenise Wilson is still missing. She's been gone for over a year, and her disappearance hasn't received the attention given to Chandra's case. Born in 1995 to an addicted mother who couldn't take care of her, Rilya was a ward of the Florida foster care system. She was eventually sent to the home ...
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Hopes among Bush Administration officials for a more democratic Venezuela as a result of the recent coup attempt in that country in mid-April earned the President criticism from the American media. Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, survived a coup that came about due to his own anti-democratic and socially-divisive governing policies. In shutting down the free press, battling labor unions, seeking to nationalize portions of the industrial sector and preaching an empty Marxist rhetoric rather than seeking practical, free-market economic solutions, Chavez essentially drove Venezuelans of all socio-economic classes into the streets to oppose him. The coup - which was ...
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If a federal agency is found guilty of violating someone's civil rights, the Department of Justice pays any monetary damages. Taxpayers foot the bill, while the offending agency is all but unaffected. The "No Fear" bill (officially titled the "Notification of Federal Employees Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act of 2001"), considered the first civil rights legislation of the 21st century, would make government agencies responsible for their actions. Under the provisions of the bill, an agency would have any monetary damages paid from their own budget. The bill also provides additional protections for whistleblowers that expose abuse, mismanagement and fraud. No ...
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For fans of science fiction and mysteries like me, the acronym TANSTAAFL means a lot. It refers to the notion that if something is too easy it is either too good to be true or has much larger and harsher consequences down the road. When it comes to the reparations debate, black America needs to learn about TANSTAAFL: "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." Many of us believe the government "owes" us reparations for the years of slavery in the United States and British Crown Colonies. Members of the so-called "black elite" such as former TransAfrica head ...
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Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and other leaders of the African-American community have not had the opportunity to be "up to speed" with the rest of America when it comes to computer technology - the so-called "digital divide." As Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), former chairman of the CBC, once said: "Until we eradicate the divide that is growing between those who have access to the Net and those who do not have access, we must press on. We cannot afford to leave behind any of our children in this Information Age. Failure to bridge the gap will relegate ...
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Bill Clinton used the fact that he was born in Hope, Arkansas to campaign for president as the "man from Hope" - using the name of his birthplace to enhance his image. Lavenski R. Smith, a trailblazing black jurist, is another son of Hope. Unlike the former President, Smith was not just born, but also raised in Hope. There's another difference: Smith isn't blessed with Clinton's skill at advancing himself. Smith's current nomination to a federal judgeship, in fact, is "hopeless." At least until the liberals controlling the Senate quit stalling. On May 22, it will be a full year ...
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While pretending to be nonpartisan, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) recently published a "report card" grading politicians on their environmental voting records. Internet ads hyping the rankings tease "Did your senator vote to trash the environment?" We are supposed to believe the LCV's ratings are an accurate portrayal of politician's positions on conservation issues, but they are really just a propaganda tool designed to support liberal policies. Groups engineering vote ratings that make their friends look good while demonizing their opponents is nothing new, but why should this concern African-Americans? Throughout history, various tactics have been employed to undermine ...
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When I heard about veteran CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg's new book, Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News, I knew I had to read it. It's not that I had to be convinced. I noticed the media's egregious bias years ago. This was just more proof coming from someone who was once actually a part of it all. I have told people for years that if all they watched was the news on ABC, CBS, CNN or NBC, all they really "knew" - particularly about economic and social issues - was what they were told. Sadly, ...
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Have you heard black Americans might lose the right to vote in 2007? It's nonsense, but it's caused a lot of us anxiety. While we're not about to lose the right to cast a ballot, we - and all Americans - stand to lose the economic freedom of last year's tax cuts. In the case of voting rights, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution ratified in 1870 guarantees our ability to participate in elections. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 reinforced the Constitution at a time when Jim Crow laws in the South erected barriers that kept many from exercising ...
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A dream died on March 13th. Derrick Lemell Breedlove robbed a liquor store and was fatally shot by a frightened clerk. Police found Breedlove's dead body on the floor of Modern Discount Liquors with a pellet gun in one hand and a bag full of cash in the other. According to his accomplices, two teenagers who were charged as accessories to the crime and will be prosecuted as adults, Derrick had robbed the store twice before and was attempting to do so again to get money to pay for the apartment he was renting. Derrick was just 17. Those are ...
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It's three steps forward, but two steps back. Policies removing barriers to minority homeownership are favored by governments, but the competing objective of combating the perceived threat of urban sprawl by some of these governments is simultaneously restricting homeownership opportunities for people of color. More than 70 million American families own their own homes. Of that number, 6.1 million families are African-American, 4.2 million are Hispanic and 2.2 million are Asian-American. African-American homeownership is at 47 percent. Financial institutions such as Fannie Mae advertise their commitment to raising the level of black homeownership, and it is one of many sponsors ...
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We were shocked and horrified to learn police officers were using race as a factor to identify potential criminals. "Racial profiling" is condemned for generalizing entire classes of people. But that was then and this is now. In the liberal-controlled U.S. Senate, it's all the rage to openly discriminate against President George W. Bush's nominees simply because they are conservatives. Liberal senators, with the backing of political special interests, are engaging in "nomination profiling." In the process, the reputations of good people are being dragged through the mud for no defensible reason. With Judge Charles Pickering, Sr. of Mississippi, the ...
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Reprints permitted provided source is credited.In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a new species of businessman sprung up across the land. Known as "robber barons," they were known, sometimes unjustly, but often accurately, for their ruthless tactics and their aggressive use of government connections to acquire vast wealth.Many current rules and laws regarding insider trading and anti-trust were inspired by the activities of the robber barons. Kenneth Lay, until recently head of the Enron Corporation, fits of mold of the historical robber barons. Lay allegedly took advantage of perceived loopholes as he built Enron into one of the ...
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Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) rang the dinner bell, calling the starved and downtrodden media to feast on their first real bite of Bush-flesh since the election. The media had been hungering since the inauguration. Then came Lieberman's trial balloon: someone needs to look at the connection between Enron and the White House. Until then, there was nothing of substance to hang on W. Since the 9/11 attacks, the President's poll numbers were high at one point, the highest ever recorded. So starved and desperate were the media that the Bush daughters' drinking habits once were elevated to near Clinton/Lewinsky proportions ...
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Atlantic Beach needs help. Along with Eatonville, Florida, Atlantic Beach, South Carolina is one of the last remaining chartered predominately black towns in America. Located on the coastline, it earned the nickname of the "Black Pearl of the Grand Strand." Once upon a time, it really was. Founded by blacks in the 1930s, it was the place for black professionals to relax and vacation when Myrtle Beach was off-limits to blacks because of segregation. When integration finally came, many rushed to visit and spend their dollars in Myrtle Beach. Atlantic Beach was almost forgotten. Mayor Irene Armstrong and the Atlantic ...
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We are taught that there are three official branches to our government: the executive, legislative and judicial. Some consider the media a fourth because it shapes public opinion. But there is reason to believe one person - Mary Frances Berry, chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights - considers herself a fifth branch. Although she's only a political appointee, Berry engages in behavior setting her apart from the rules normally governing her pay grade. Her actions spur charges that she's turned the Commission and its $9 million budget1 into a soapbox for her liberal political views. When challenged, she ...
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Shortly after Osama bin Laden's terrorists attacked New York City, the photograph of three firemen raising an American flag in patriotic defiance burned an indelible image in my psyche. I saw three proud Americans engaging in spontaneous and heart-wrenching act of remembrance for those who were cowardly murdered as well as to the firemen, police officers and other rescue workers who died a heroic death trying to save the lives of others. I vicariously felt the emotions those men must have felt exuding from the portrait. I only saw Americans demonstrating an untiring and indomitable pride in their country. They ...
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Laws are supposed to make our society orderly and protect the public interest. But red tape can overwhelm and actually cause more harm than good. The process can also be corrupted. Take, for instance, "environmental justice." This policy empowers the government to stand up for the rights of the poor and minorities who may not have the political clout to stop a polluter from coming into their neighborhoods. A success story occurred when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) second-guessed the Missouri Department of Natural Resources approval of a proposed landfill. The EPA feared porous rock and geological faults in the ...
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There's something more to celebrate during this year's Black History Month observance. The dream of a Smithsonian Institution museum celebrating the lives, accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans is closer to becoming a reality. President George W. Bush signed legislation on December 28 to establish the location of the museum and the means of supporting it. This is big news not just because we are getting some long overdue recognition, but also because conservatives brought this dream closer to a reality. After the racially divisive 2000 presidential campaign, when candidate Bush received less than 10 percent of the black vote, it ...
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I'm not a firearm enthusiast, but I am a staunch defender of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Based on years of watching the gun control debate in the public square, my conclusion is that some Second Amendment opponents clearly advocate disarming all law-abiding citizens. Adding to their clout is the fact that all court victories by these groups are widely covered while coverage of the legal victories of pro-Second Amendment organizations are seldom, if ever, reported. While I normally stay away from controversial issues, a recent flurry of letters and columns in the media from anti-Second ...
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