Where is the game plan

Jonathan Ray, CEO of the Urban League suggested at the Men of 's meeting that as an organization it can't be everything to all people. Ray was suggesting to the Men of Action group a need to focus on one area and do that area of focus well. This was after I had suggested that many of the programs that Men of Action were brainstorming were readily available resources in the community. Just knowing how to access these resource and incorporate them would free up valuable manpower and hours. To my surprise many leaders of the group were not aware of resources or contacts. How can this be,as I begin to feel frustration. How can you lead when you can't provide the people what they need or show them where to get their needs met?

Anyways, I goes over to Villager, and I find a lovely article about NAACP disagreement with Bruce Gordon. Gordon wanted to incorporate a service element in growing membership. The Board members did not necessary want to provide services but to continue battling the corporations on the legal battle fields. In essence, NAACP was leaving the component of meeting the service needs of the people to the Urban League. The lack of mutual agreement and the NAACP lost Bruce Gordon.

What it is means that the Board privileges its historic identity and therefore, honors the struggle to achieve full civil rights by a forceful agenda and set of strategies.

This calls into question any attempt to change the organization's mission into a service role. Without question, as Gordon has indicated, there is a huge role for leadership in turning inward and marshalling the strengths of the Black community to do what is necessary to achieve our goal of self-determination. However, the NAACP cannot do both civil rights and social service, effectively. And why should it, there is a fine black social service organization in existence known as the National Urban League, created just one year after the NAACP, such that they were clear then of the difference between the functions of the organizations. We have gotten somewhat confused today.

The article suggest that the Board members and Bruce Gordon could have come to a mutual agreement, I believe. The article suggest that the civil right organization battled for laws to be written. But, implemented of the law for the needs of the people is the current and even harder battle in which the NAACP should be focusing on.

What we are seeing is that in some ways, the fight to establish civil right laws was easier than its implementation, since all of them have been distorted to a major degree. Thus, the mission to infuse meaning into these laws is essentially one that pre-supposes a constant confrontation with systemic oppression, and it should do the work of such organizations - even if it continues to make all of us uncomfortable. For, as Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, it is this discomfort that produces the seeds of change.

In essence, the people needs to know how these laws are being used to further oppress them rather than used in a manner to improve their lives. The purpose of the law is not to help the servant but to maintain the master house. This is the distortion. The gatekeepers may appear as nice guys, but they lack a pure,clean and good heart. It's a difference.

So, when I suggest that gun amnesty program is a front and not meeting the needs of the people. I say it is a photo op for a political objective rather than meeting the social needs of the community. The community wants crime reductions for safe neighborhoods and jobs for their families. And I surmise to achieve these goals, to reduce crime and fund jobs for our youth, both the Urban League and the NAACP can do this. And not allow Sheriff Fries to waste precious dollars to help our community be used for photo ops. So why is not the NAACP addressing the laws and the Urban League the jobs to achieve this goal simultaneously? Men of Action what is your strategy or is this one more photo op moments, here, here and here.

Skating around the Issue

The Men of Action held a meeting at the NAACP Office at 1521 E. Pontiac Street to address the issue of guns in the community and Sheriff Ken Fries MetroSquad. I believe the focus should be on jobs for youth in reducing the amount of drug traffiking. Many of these youth will be arrested for drugs and receive a felony record which will prevent them from obtaining legal work. Gun Amnesty programs are good photo ops, does nothing for reducing crime.

However it was great to see three generation of men in the room talking about issues impacting our community. Now, if the group could focus on meeting the needs of the community rather than flossing for the Sheriff's program. The Men of Action is planning a job fair to be held at the Urban League on April 21, 2007. The next meeting will be held on the first Monday of May. Urban League President Jonathan Ray was in attendance at this meeting.

Can a woman running for president raise more funds than a man?

Senator Hillary Clinton know that question is one of many for a woman running for any political office. The question becomes even more relevant when an African-American male enters the race. The deadline for financial reports to the Federal Election Commission is April 15. Senator Hillary Clinton has reported over #26 million. This amount was collected from January through March with additional $10 million from the Senate campaign. Senator Clinton earned the title for collecting a record amount for any candidate. The amount is even more surprising because of the fact that women campaign fundraising does not rise to the level of their male counterpart.

Senator Clinton had a secret weapon that help build her coffer beyond the Clinton name recognition. It became a two person team, with former President William (Bill) Clinton raising funds for his wife run to the White House.

Now folks are waiting with baited soundbites to report on the fundraising success of new comer, inexperienced Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Senator Obama, a first term senator, entered the presidency race as a relatively unknown. How will this candidate measure up against the more experienced Bil-liary Clinton team?

The Washington Post reports that the lean mean machine precision machine of Obama 08 may be closer than many people would expect to come from the Obama camp.

The biggest shoe waiting to drop is still Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) Rumors are pegging Obama at more than $20 million -- a staggering sum if true.

If the number are there exceeding Senator Clinton's millions it may cause some critic to rethink whether or not Senator Obama, an African-American can compete with the name recognition of a former president. Nevertheless, Obama fundraising ability is impressive when viewed in terms of competing with names like Senator John Edwards and other in the field of Democratic nominees. USA Today reports that Senator Edwards doubled the amount raised from the last time he ran from #7.4 to $14 million.

However, even the high number of $26 million for Senator Clinton does not tell the truth of a female contender's ability to raise funds when competing among the men. Blogger weigh in here. A lot is at stake if Senator Clinton is unable to beat Senator Obama in the fundraising category.

First Amendment Protection-Amy Sorrell

No surpise that Amy Sorrell would be fired by EACS. Where is all these first amendment right folks? And what happened to her legal protection under the law, she is not a criminal? Silence, because she supported students' right over the status quo, the principal and board members. Was the law applied to Sorrell in a fair and just way? If not, Sorrell was not treated as an equal under the laws that govern our country.


Harvard Crimson reports on censorship by administrators:

Due to Supreme Court precedent set 19 years ago in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, public high school and middle school media are currently only entitled to full first amendment protection if they are established as “public forums” for student expression. A recent decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extended the Hazelwood decision to public colleges as well. That ruling was extremely troubling in its failure to see a clear distinction between a high school and college environment—in the latter, there is a far greater need for strong, independent press, a greater emphasis on the freedom and diversity of ideas, and a greater capacity for responsibility among journalists.

Hat tip to Indiana law blog

Dan Stockman and mortgage Fraud

Yet, it just the other day, I asked a friend, where in the world is Dan Stockman? When my youngest daughter came to town, I had to take her pass some of the fraudulent mortgage deals in the city.

I talk a lot, and I found out a lot of times people have to see stuff for themselves. So, that's how it is sometimes with my daughter. I even showed her a case that was mailed to me about the fraudulent mortgage deals.

This one has to do with a man in Michigan. The United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division is going after property the man purchased with allegedly drug money. The man has died, so it's the wife who will more than likely lose the property. There is supposedly enough evidence to trace the purchases to drug money. The person providing the information was a confidential informant. It appears the CI was pretty close to the man, and after the man death, spilled the beans, naming places and where the loots was stored.


Sounds like the CI didn't care for the wife. The wife is charged will allegedly laundering money at a casino. How much money you say? Let try in the tune of over $6 million. And after the husband died she was allegedly going to houses collecting money. Some of these houses were used to hide money. The houses were rental property.

Now this is where Dan Stockman comes in. Real estate was the main business of these folks for over 20 years. That's right for 20 years, these folks were buying and renting houses. They would buy houses in other folks names and sell them at a higher price. The target buyer did not use his or her own money to purchase properties. The buyer provided the signature on the loan, allegedly. In fact, the buyer would receives funds just by signing those papers. Not a bad deal, until the federal Marshall comes around asking questions.


The man had friends in high places, like with the City of Detroit to acquire real properties. Properties like the one that was bought for $3,500. Three months later the same property was sold for $53,000. Pretty cute, it was made to appear like a slight computer glitch with the transposing of the first two numbers, and adding one more zero. Criminals think they are being clever and cute when they are able to get away with fooling the public. The cuteness is too make you not question their criminal behavior, because they seem so nice.

Remember Fort Wayne's scheme of over appraisal and what did they do? They drew a map, colored it in red and called it a computer glitch. They have a new assessor, but she's cute, so you would not dare question the new reassessment of your unimproved property, now would you? Just a fact.

Back to Dan Stockman. Other houses were sold in Detroit, like the one purchased for $10,000 and sold seven months later for $120,000. Another house was purchased from HUD for $24, 660 and sold $43,000. It couldn't happen to hardworking folks here in Fort Wayne, Indiana now could it. Just ask Dan Stockman. Stockman had the audacity to write about the fraudelent activities going on in Fort Wayne.


Stockman wrote about such horrors. And the people were called stupid. Not stupid, as Stockman current article reminds us, in his own words:

These deals are hardly the only ones being examined: New national statistics say new mortgage fraud cases are being prosecuted at a rate of one a day. In February, The Journal Gazette exposed a mortgage scheme in which a middleman optioned houses for one price, then sold them for sometimes double or triple that price to “investors” who got mortgages based on the higher amounts.

Now correct me if I am wrong but did I not read that the city is doing an appraisal after the land was purchased for investor or developers ? It sounds a little like the Detroit case here:
One home was purchased for $4,500 and sold 11 days before even having possession of the property for $42,000. That's pretty good wouldn't you say?

Finally before closing, the moral of the story is this. These folks in Detroit were supposedly in legitimate businesses. Nevertheless, some of the folks were conducting illegal business under the cloth of being legal to deceive. These Folks remained in business undetected because they operated within businesses that are held to a higher standard when working with the public. But nobody told because they were afraid of losing their jobs !

Amro’s suit claims breach of contract, fraud, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, defrauding a financial institution, deception and criminal mischief, and it asks that Justin Stuckey of Maximum Mortgage and James Pappas, owner of Accelerated Title, be held personally responsible.

DAn Stockman can only provide you evidence leading to the fraudulent activities, he can't make you act up on. But some folks are unwilling to believe good people do bad things. These folks need to be under the jail.

Attorney alleged to have his own meth lab

In Evansville Courier Press' Gavin Lesnick reports an attorney was arrested for allegedly having a meth lab.

An Evansville attorney accused of having evidence of a meth lab inside his law office and adjoining apartment is now free on bond.

WOW.

Hey, Rev. Michael Latham do you think any of Fort Wayne's attorneys could ever be arrested for drugs here in our city, do ya? Oh I forgot,
Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries does not want to even submit his officers to mandatory drug testing. So, it is silly to think the sheriff would ever arrest agents in the criminal justices system like attorneys for dealing or using drugs. Geez, Rev. Latham you think his hands are tied so to speak?

Rev. Latham, here's another question for ya. So do you think Sheriff Fries is foolin' wit black folks on fighting crime in the neighborhood? And the media is going right along with him and his charade by focusing on getting the guns off the streets, rather than focusing on getting or making drug arrests? Cause I think the media likes the idea of tasering the hell out of African-Americans, so to heck with any program about preventing African-Americans from being killed! Tell me why, Rev. why racialists try to play African-American stupid?

Me thinks, the media and the likes are cheering every time a child is killed. Sad huh? Otherwise, the media wouldnt keep writing that fluff stuff about tasers and guns, and focus on the real deallio, drugs. I know you're busy and all, NAACP, but give me a call so we can get some of your friends together and figure out the real deallio or reason why Sheriff Fries is not taking the heat off of drug dealers and users?

Disclaimer: I ain't saying any of Sheriff Fries friends or associates are drug dealers or users. Cuss, Sheriff Fries wouldn't want to expose his family to no kinda of drug users or dealers, you think? Dang, Rev. Latham..just thinking outloud you don't think any prominent upstanding leaders in the African-American community or their friends might be involved in drugs or stuff like that either do you? Cuss, I ain't saying, that could be a reason why so much drugs is in Fort Wayne, I was just typing out loud. And when you see the Sheriff tell him that house on Warsaw is still in operation..and tell him you heard it from me.

Supplemental income, has a nice ring to it, have a nice day.

Wellllll....

If I never worked in a school system and had I not read about Shaquanda Cotton or read about the little seven year old boy who was placed in handcuffs, I could say what! But here it is again, this time a little girl taken away in handcuffs from her school. This is too much, Florida.

Police arrested a 6-year-old Florida girl and even handcuffed her when she acted out in class. Police officers said Desre'e Watson, a kindergarten student at Avon Elementary School in Highlands County, had a violent run-in with a teacher on Thursday

.

The police must be hard up in finding criminals. They have entered the school system and began arresting little ones. It ain't right. No it ain't right. If they are scared of the criminals on the street, give up the job. I don't care, how you try to sell it this is not community policing. Leave these children alone in the school.

Parents its time. It's time you went to school and take back your schools for educating your children. And if the teachers don't like the students they are teaching it is time for school boards to tell these so called wannabees to find another career. Parents it is time.

Fort Wayne Obama 08 held at the Allen County Main Library

Voters came out to the webcast viewing of Obama 08 to support, share and learn more about Senator Barack Obama. Senate Obama spoke from a public library in tiny Onawa, Iowa. NOw that made me proud !! There was over 5000 sites throughout the United States plugged in watching Senator Obama. However, the community webcast kick off allowed local internet users to meetface to face.
Local attendees at the Allen County Main Public Library were concerned parents, students, small business owners and other Internet users with an interest in knowing more about Senator Obama. I received promises of pledges totally over $100. You can help me reach my goal of $1000 by donating online by going to my page at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/FWAAIW

If you are interested in hosting an event go to: http://www.barackobama.com/ or call me at 260-602-1878. Below are some pictures from Fort Wayne's local event.













Thanks to all who came and supported this event.

Fort Wayne Fusion Inaugural Win 36-28

Fort Wayne Fusion beat out Green Bay Blizzard to win 36-28. Proceeds from the shirt off their backs are to benefit the United Way of Allen County.