USA Ranks #17 in the World for 'Reading' ... and Black Folks Are Doing Worse

Soulclap to the Black Star Project for sharing this information with us.   It is a scary situation when the rest of the world is reading better than us ... especially those of us of African descent here in America. 

The bottom line is that we need to get busy reading again!

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international assessment that measures the performance of 15-year-olds in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy. Coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization of 34 member countries, PISA was first implemented in 2000 and is conducted every 3 years. PISA 2009 was the fourth cycle of the assessment.

Each PISA data collection effort assesses one of the three subject areas in depth (considered the major subject area), although all three are assessed in each cycle (the other two subjects are considered minor subject areas for that assessment year). Assessing all three areas allows participating countries to have an ongoing source of achievement data in every subject area while rotating one area as the main focus over the years. In the fourth cycle of PISA, reading was the subject area assessed in depth, as it was in 2000.

Sixty countries and 5 other education systems (located in non-national places like Shanghai-China) participated as partners in PISA 2009. This report focuses on the performance of U.S. students in the major subject area of reading literacy as assessed in PISA 2009. 

Let's get to it ... I invite 'villagers' to take a look at the international ranks shown below for 'combined reading literacy'.

            International Ranking - Country/Other Education System - Comparative Score

1.       Shanghai - China 556

2.       Korea, Republic of 539

3.       Finland 536

4.       Hong Kong - China 533

5.       Singapore 526

6.       Canada 524

7.       New Zealand 521

8.       Japan 520

9.       Australia 515

10.   Netherlands 508

11.   Belgium 506

12.   Norway 503

13.   Estonia 501

14.   Switzerland 501

15.   Poland 500

16.   Iceland 500

17.   United States 500

18.   Liechtenstein 499

19.   Sweden 497

20.   Germany 497

21.   Ireland 496

22.   France 496

23.   Denmark 495

24.   Taiwan - China 495

25.   United Kingdom 494

26.   Hungary 494

27.   Portugal 489

28.   Macao-China 487

29.   Italy 486

30.   Latvia 484

31.   Slovenia 483

32.   Greece 483

33.   Spain 481

34.   Czech Republic 478

35.   Slovak Republic 477

36.   Croatia 476

37.   Israel 474

38.   Luxembourg 472

39.   Austria 470

40.   Lithuania 468

41.   Turkey 464

42.   Dubai-UAE 459

43.   Russian Federation 459

44.   Chile 449

45.   Serbia, Republic of 442

46.   Bulgaria 429

47.   Uruguay 426

48.   Mexico 425

49.   Romania 424

50.   Thailand 421

51.   Trinidad and Tobago 416

52.   Colombia 413

53.   Brazil 412

54.   Montenegro, Republic of 408

55.   Jordan 405

56.   Tunisia 404

57.   Indonesia 402

58.   Argentina 398

59.   Kazakhstan 390

60.   Albania 385

61.   Qatar 372

62.   Panama 371

63.   Peru 370

64.   Azerbaijan 362

65.   Kyrgyz Republic 314

 Where various U.S. racial populations would rank among the world's best readers:

• U.S. average 500 - Rank 17 out of 65 reporting countries
• Asian, non-Hispanic 541 - Rank 2 out of 65 reporting countries
• White, non-Hispanic 525 - Rank 6 out of 65 reporting countries
• Hispanic 466 - Rank 41 out of 65 reporting countries
• Black, non-Hispanic 441 - Rank 46 out of 65 reporting countries

Please click here to see full report.

Old School Friday * This Christmas

Are you in the full glow of the Christmas season yet? If not, we'll try to help you with a couple glorious versions of 'This Christmas'. The first is the original stylings of Donny Hathaway. The second is from one of my favorite old school groups, The Whispers.





The Whispers had a number of Christmas songs back in the day. This was always one of my favorites.

What is your favorite Christmas song?

Taser Lawsuit: Jose Martinez (Waukegan, IL)

I was pleased to see that the wife of Jose Alfred Martinez filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court earlier this week claiming that her husband died as a result of being electrocuted-to-death by a Waukegan Police officer. [SOURCE]

Villager may recall that an unarmed Martinez was killed on May 29 by Waukegan police officer Ken Piton who used his taser gun twice in the taser-related killing.


The lawsuit claims that the amount of force used by Piton was unnecessary and excessive. Martinez was down from the first jolt of 50,000 volts from the officer's taser gun. The second jolt of 50,000 volts from Officer Piton was delivered directly to the victim's chest area.

Martinez died as a result of Piton’s use of excessive force, according to the lawsuit.

The four-count suit, which also names the city of Waukegan, seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and court costs.

Am I The Only One Sick and Tired of Rev. Jesse Jackson?

I was checking out a great blog, 'The Intersection of Madness & Reality' today and came across this video clip of Rev. Jesse Jackson on The Ed Show.






I felt my stomach turn the moment that Jackson started to speak. Am I the only one who remembers when Jackson indicating that he wanted to "cut his nuts off" in reference to President Obama?

I'm sad that I have some a negative reaction to Jackson whenever he mouths off about the president. I just think that Jackson is an opportunistic, two-faced hypocrite when it comes to Obama. 

I didn't always feel this way.   I used to think that Jackson was an American hero in 1984 and 1988 when he ran for president.   I was so moved by the 1988 speech he gave at the Democratic National Convention that I posted it on this blog for posterity.

But, all of that turned sour when Jackson let his jealousy of Obama show that day in the newsroom.   What man would talk about castrating another man?  Jackson did ... and I've never been able to get right with him since then.

Am I the only one sick and tired of Rev. Jesse Jackson?

President Obama Honors His Campaign Promise to Black Farmers and Native Americans

I'm a straight-up city boy. I think that the only time I've been on a working farm was to take my youngest daughter on a field trip. The only other time was to take my son to his Pee-Wee football game that was played on a football field rented out by a local farmer. Neither of those farms were Black-owned.

As such, I haven't been as close to the situation with the decades-old claims of discrimination by African American farmers and Native Americans that the government mistreated and swindled them out of billions of dollars. However, I am glad the federal government is finally going to do right by these farmers and original Americans ... and that the settlement process will be starting soon.


My understanding is that President Obama is going to sign the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 authorizing payment of $4.6 billion to settle claims that arose in class-action lawsuits. This is another example of President Obama working with Congress to honor one of his campaign promises.

The package would award some $3.4 billion to American Indians for royalties for resources like oil, gas and timber. Another $1.2 billion would go to African American farmers who claim they were unfairly denied federal loans and other assistance.

Well done President Obama!

Obama Administration Earns $12 Billion Profit on Citigroup Bailout

President Obama has been taking a lot of grief from his political friends and his political enemies. I suspect that he must be feeling good at knowing that his administration continues to do well behind the scenes. The U.S. Treasury is selling off the last remaining shares from the Citigroup bailout. All told, taxpayers will reap a $12 billion gain on the government's multi-billion dollar investment in Citigroup.

Good News Tuesday: Most Powerful Black Women in Europe

One of the first bloggers that I met when I jumped into the afrosphere was Adrianne George. She is the creator of blog called, Black Women In Europe. I've watched her grow the network of nubian women working together across the European continent. I was proud to see Adrienne come to America in 2008 to participate as an official blogger during the Democratic National Convention held in Denver.

Adrienne was proud of the fact that First Lady Michelle Obama was named the most powerful woman in the world in various publications last year. However, she noticed that no Black women from Europe made any of those lists. Instead of complaining about it ... she created her own list!

Enjoy the first annual list of the 'Most Powerful Black Women in Europe' as compiled by the BWIE Blog:

Were you already familiar with any of these powerful Nubian sisters?

2010 Hasn't Been Good for Black Male Icons Like Tiger Woods or President Obama

This is the time of year when people begin doing the "Best of 2010" lists. I know at least two people who won't be on those lists -- Tiger Woods and President Barack Obama.

Tiger Woods didn't win a single golf tournament in 2010. That is the first time he's been shut-out of the victory celebration in many moons. Now, I need to admit that I don't play golf ... nor do I watch it unless Tiger is in the mix. As such, I haven't had many weekends in 2010 where golf was on the television. However, I was watching the Chevron World Challenge today. I thought that Tiger would end the year with a win. Instead I ended up watching the greatest comeback ever against Tiger Woods. Tiger had a 4-shot lead when the day began ... but, he ended up losing in the first playoff hole.

Woods had never lost a tournament as a pro when leading by at least three shots going into the final round. But, it happened this year ... 2010 ... a bad year for Black male icons.

President Obama is having a terrible year as well. I can still remember how I cried when I watched Obama giving his victory speech after the Iowa primaries in early 2008. I remember how proud and happy I was when he won the presidency in November 2008. I have watched him deliver on some big promises with health care reform, Wall Street reform and many, many, many other things in the first 23 months of his presidency.

However, 2010 has been a disaster for President Obama. His party took historic losses in the mid-term elections last month. And now it seems that the GOP leadership in the congress is rolling him every which way on issues like middle-class tax cuts, START treaty and unemployment insurance. My president is event getting elbowed in his backyard pick-up basketball games.

I started to add LeBron James to this list ... but, he did give a butt-whipping to the Cleveland fans ... so I 'spose that LeBron is not having as bad a year after all.

Oklahoma Coroner Rules 'Homicide' in Taser-Death of Damon Lamont Falls

The wheels of justice are turning in Oklahoma where six Oklahoma City police officers were involved in the taser-related death of 31-year old Damon Lamont Falls back in July. We learned today that the state medical examiner's office has ruled that Falls died as a result of a homicide. [SOURCE]

Villagers may recall that police killed Falls after responding to a call about a disturbance at a Dollar General. Officers found Falls wearing a wig, a fake mustache and beard, a ball cap and sunglasses. According to a police report, during their struggle to get Falls into custody, police used a taser on him, but he then continued to struggle with officers after he was shocked.

Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Gary Knight said that as officers were trying to walk Falls back to a police car, he collapsed. Falls was taken by paramedics to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.


The six officers who were involved in the incident, 27–year-old Jacob Cole (four year veteran), 34-year-old Aaron Wake (four year veteran), 27-year-old Zachary Miller (four year veteran), 28-year-old Ramon Castro (one year veteran), 30-year-old Daniel Herring (one year veteran) and 23-year-old Tyler Duncan (one year veteran), were all placed on routine administrative leave pending the investigation. It is unclear when or if the officers were ever taken off leave.


Member of Falls' family said the officers involved used too much force. In July, the family said if those officers are not fired, they'll consider legal action. It is unclear if any legal has been taken.

The next step in this process belongs to the Oklahoma City district attorney. The district attorney needs to determine whether to bring criminal charges against one or more of the police officers involved in this extra-judicial electrocution.

Please let this blog know if you learn of any new information in this taser-related killing.

Taser Death: Clayton Early James (Elizabeth City, NC)

It happened again! Clayton Early James was stopped by North Carolina State Trooper W.A. Hardison for some traffic violation on December 2. He made a fatal decision to try to resist arrest ... first in his car ... and later on foot. State trooper Hardison jolted 50,000 volts of electricity from his taser into James at least three times.

James lost consciousness while Hardison was holding him on the ground after handcuffing him. He died a little while later.

Please let this blog know if you find any new information about this taser-related killing.

The BDPA Insider - December 5, 2010

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue: 

1. 5 Steps to a Remarkable Personal Brand Strategy
2. 10 Best-Selling Gadgets of Holidays Past
3. Advance your Career with a College Degree or Certificate 
4. A message to all members of Connectors Club
   
5. BDPA Students: HTML 1, Learn the Basics (Zack Garbow) 
6. BDPAToday (Dec 2, 2010)
7. BDPAtoday (Washington DC)
8. Gartner's Top 10 Technologies for 2011
9. IT Job Seeker Survey Results - Analysis Report Now Available  
10. Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller (Spelman College): Future Face of Technology 
11. Secrets to Being More Strategic
12. Slideshare, History: (BDPA New York) 
13. Three BDPA Students Showcase Entrepreneurial Talents with 3D Virtual Integration  of Facebook Called StartLounge 
14. Wintino Jones Memorial Award for Outstanding Member of the Year

It would be great to hear from you about this week's BDPA Insider.  Which of these articles or blog posts did you enjoy the most?   What issues or topics would you like to see covered in future weeks?

Computer Science Education Week (December 5-11, 2010)

The Electronic Village encourages all of our supporters to find a way to get engaged in the upcoming Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek). CSEdWeek 2010 is a call to action to raise awareness about computer science education and computing careers. CSEdWeek is endorsed by the U.S. Congress and designated as December 5-11, 2010 in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper (December 9, 1906).
CSEdWeek aims to:

• Eliminate misconceptions about computer science and computing careers.
• Communicate the endless opportunities for which computer science education prepares students in K-12, higher education and careers.
• Provide information and activities for students, educators, parents, and corporations to advocate for computer science education at all levels.

Why Computer Science?
Computer science is ubiquitous; it touches everyone’s daily lives and plays a critical role in today’s society by driving innovation and economic growth. The field is shaping the future by solving some of the world’s grandest challenges and creating today’s most exciting innovations. Computing related jobs remain strong despite the nation’s extraordinary economic challenges.

Why Computer Science Education?
Computer science education is essential to:

• Expose students to critical thinking and problem solving.
• Instill understanding of computational thinking for success in the digital age.
• Train students for computing careers that are exciting, plentiful and financially rewarding.
• Prepare students to tackle the world’s most challenging problems.

Yet as the role and significance of computing has grown, the teaching of computer science in our K-12 education system has dramatically declined. There is insufficient innovative computing curricula for students at all levels; few students have the opportunity to study computer science in an engaging and rigorous way; there is a lack of ethnic and gender diversity among those who do take computer science courses; and teachers have few opportunities for professional development and certification in computer science education.

Join In! Everyone can participate:

• Take the CSEdWeek pledge! Register your support and share your plans to celebrate at www.computinginthecore.org.
• ‘Like’ CSEdWeek on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CSEdWeek and join the conversation.
• Blog, tweet, and post to spread the word and raise awareness.
• Use the #CSEdWeek hashtag.
• Celebrate CSEdWeek in your BDPA chapter, school, club, or workplace.
• Visit http://www.CSEdWeek.org for other suggested activities and resources.

Sponsors and Partners
CSEdWeek is a collaborative effort of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), National Science Foundation (NSF), Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT), WGBH, Computing Research Association (CRA), Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology (ABI), Microsoft, Google, SAS, Intel, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

CSEdWeek is an activity of Computing in the Core, a non-partisan advocacy coalition of associations, corporations, scientific societies, and other non-profits that strive to elevate computer science education to a core academic subject in K-12 education.

Next step is yours.  Will you be engaged with CSEdWeek this year?

Weekly Address: Tax Cuts and Unemployment Insurance

With President Obama visiting troops in Afghanistan, Vice President Biden says Congress must extend both the middle class tax cuts and unemployment insurance for the sake of those families and the broader economy.

Is Bobby Rush (D-IL) Opposition to Net Neutrality a Threat to Future of the Open Internet?

I’ve shared information with you about Net Neutrality in the past.


Methinks that it's time for each of us as individuals to take a stand on this issue. Earlier this week it became clear -- the FCC is wavering on net neutrality. And no matter what kind of rule the FCC makes, Republicans in Congress are waiting for an opportunity to gut Internet freedom.

But the person seeking to lead Democrats on the House subcommittee with oversight over Internet policy has been a staunch opponent of net neutrality, even calling it "a solution in search of a problem."

And due to his seniority, he may get the position. The decision on the position is being made right now.

That's why this blog is joining with friends at ColorOfChange.org in calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other key leaders to oppose Congressman Bobby Rush's bid for Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) has a strong record of service in our communities -- let there be no mistake. And we want to see Black members of Congress in leadership positions wherever possible. But when it comes to the Internet, Congressman Rush has repeatedly supported the interests of the telecom industry over the interests of regular people, and he's been a leading Black voice in opposition to network neutrality.

In 2006, Rush worked with Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) and other Republicans to enact legislation that would undermine network neutrality.   Recently, he supported an effort by Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) to prevent the FCC from instituting network neutrality rules. It would be dangerous to the future of the Internet for Bobby Rush to become the ranking member on the House subcommittee in charge of net neutrality.

Rush's financial relationship to the telecom industry also raises the question of whether he can stand with everyday people vs. the big broadband providers. AT&T, Verizon, and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association have been among his strongest campaign contributors, with AT&T's PAC being his second biggest life-time contributor. From 2001 to 2004 the company donated $1 million to a community technology center Rush founded in Chicago that bears his name.

Speaker Pelosi has been a steadfast supporter of the open Internet and has promised that any legislation to gut net neutrality is "not going to be a Democratic initiative."

In my opinion, allowing Rush to become Ranking Member would simply be a mistake for any of us that support continuation of 'net neutrality' and threaten the future of the open Internet.

What say u?

Police Taser Denevious Thomas TWICE ... Yet, Report Claims Tasers Were Not Cause of Death

I continue to be amazed by the contortions that the Powers-That-Be go through to avoid admitting that tasers kill. This time we learn from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that 36-year old Denevious Thomas died on November 23 from something he ate ... not from being tasered twice by Dougherty County Police Department officers. [SOURCE]

Thomas made a foolish decision to run away from the police at 2:00 a.m. in the morning. The police caught up to him and tased him twice in order to get him into the back of their squad car. He died in the back of that car.

Officer Liv Davis, Officer Matt Stone and Lt. Mike Woods were suspended with pay during the investigation into the incident. They are expected to return to work next week.




In the meantime, the family of Denevious Thomas still doesn't understand why he is dead. After all, the penalty for 'resisting arrest' isn't supposed to be death.

Waco Police Identify the Three Police Officers Involved in Taser-Death of Rodney Green

Waco police identified the three officers placed on administrative leave after a man was killed with a Taser and then restrained as Anita Gomez, D.J. Adams and Jason Taylor. [SOURCE]

Villagers may recall that 36-year old Rodney Green died after a traffic accident and a confrontation with these three officers on Thanksgiving Day.

Wordless Wednesday: Mr. President, We Need You to Get Your Mojo Back...

Taser Death: Rodney Green (Waco TX)

Waco police officers used multiple taser shots on a man who was already dazed and confused from a non-injury car accident. 36-year old Rodney Green was unarmed and simply heading home to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. He wasn't attacking or posing any threat to police officers who approached him.  From all accounts, he was simply dazed and confused after his car hit a nearby pole. The accident occurred at 6:30pm ... this wasn't some late-night escapade.

Instead of helping Green, the unidentified Waco police officers decided to electrocute him three times with 50,000 volts of electricity from their taser guns in less than six minutes. Thanksgiving Day (when this taser-killing occurred) wasn't such a good holiday for Green or his family.

Watch the video report from the local news station:

The police spin indicates that the first unidentified officer arrived and encountered Green and began trying to identify him as well as asking questions of him.

"He was not responding to her in a normal way and was not answering her questions. Whenever she noticed him she immediately called for an assisting officer to come out with her," said Sargent Melvin Roseborough with the Waco Police Department.

When the second unidentified officer arrived they tried talking to Green again but he was acting strangely and still continued to try to walk out into oncoming traffic. That's when officers say they had to fire a taser at him.  All in all, it appears that three taser shots were taken in a span of six minutes.  I guess the idea of simply diverting the flow of traffic didn't occur to them. Their first reaction was to electrocute the young Black man.   Shyt, if there had been a wandering deer on that Waco road ... the police would have stopped or diverted the traffic.   Why doesn't an African American citizen get the same consideration?

"Since he was trying to walk out into traffic the officers were afraid for his safety, as well as their own," said Roseborough.

A third unidenfied officer arrived on scene to help get Green under control. The officer was able to place leg restraints on him, but he broke them into separate pieces. Police were finally able to bring him under control, and one officer noticed that the subject was no longer responding to them verbally or physically.

In other words, they figured out that they had screwed this one up completely. A citizen who needed their assistance was dead ... and for no justifiable reason. Why did the first two unidentified cops feel a need to brandish their weapon in the first place. Green was unarmed and dazed. How was he a threat to the officers?

The officers immediately requested paramedics and tried to revive him until the paramedics arrived. Green was transported to a Hillcrest Hospital and arrived in critical and unstable condition. Emergency room staff continued perform life saving measures until he was pronounced dead at 10:24 p.m.

Of course, it didn't take any time at all for the police to begin to blame the victim. They found no drugs, no drug paraphernalia, no criminal record or any other on-the-scene justification for killing Green. However, that didn't stop them for denigrating his reputation to the news media.

The police official in the above video poses a couple of rhetorical questions, "Was there an underlying medical condition, was there something in his system? What actually caused this individual to pass on us?"

From my perspective it looks like the answer to the second question is self-evident. He died because trigger-happy police officers went 'Rambo' on him with their taser guns instead of adhering to their motto of 'Protect and Serve'. Rodney Green had no protection from the Waco Police Department.

The family of Rodney Green is being more patient as they await answers on why their son is dead.





All of the unidentified officers involved have been put on administrative leave with pay while the investigation is pending.

Please let this blog know if you have any updated information on this taser-related killing.

Gallatin Police Department Finally Identify the Names of the Officers Involved in Taser-Death of Jeffry Woodward

Soulclap to the Gallatin News Examiner for getting their hands on the 199-page internal police investigation report into the taser-death of Jeffry Woodward. [SOURCE]

Villagers may recall that Woodward was killed in October 2009 by three unidentified Gallatin police officers.   It always amazes me that the police officers involved in these weekly taser-killings around the nation are so rarely identified in the initial press conferences and news articles.   In this case, the names remained unknown to the public for over a year.

According to the internal report, the Gallatin Police Department officers involved in the incident were Sgt. Chris Shockley, Officer Mark Hill, Officer Kris Ford and Officer James Perry.

The report backs up the department’s claim that Woodward was combative with officers, who used shackles, a K-9 dog and Tasers to bring him under control, even after he was handcuffed. Officers said Woodward exhibited “superhuman” strength while struggling, which was attributed to methamphetamine use.  The police figure that his death was tragic ... but, it didn't violate any police department policies or procedures.

The Woodward family disagrees.  Woodward’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Sumner County Circuit Court on October 26 — nearly one year to the date of the 33-year-old’s death — and the suit was moved to the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee on November 9.

The victim’s mother, Sandra Rutter and the victim’s widow, Andrea Woodward, seek a total of $21 million in compensatory and punitive damages from both the city and Taser International.

GOP No Longer Needs a Black Man as Chair, Therefore Michael Steele is Dead Man Walking Within Republican Party

The vote for the next chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) takes place in two months. The current GOP chairman, Michael Steele, indicates that he will be running for re-election. However, a significant bloc of Republican National Committee members wants embattled chairman Michael Steele to step aside, but the rank and file have failed to settle on a clear alternative. [SOURCE]

More than four dozen interviews with members of the 168-member central committee found fear that a badly damaged Steele could emerge from the wreckage of a knockdown, drag-out fight to head the party as it challenges President Barack Obama in 2012. While most agree that Steele’s time has been rough — and costly — the members also recognize that a leadership fight could overshadow gains that Republicans made in the midterm elections. [SOURCE]

“You can’t keep spending the kind of money they’re spending every month just to operate the RNC,” said committee member Ada Fisher of North Carolina. “I would hope he would step aside.”

“The question is who should be hired for the next two years, It’s not a matter of firing anybody,” said James Bopp, a committee member from Indiana who holds great sway among social conservatives on the panel. “I just don’t think Steele has performed at the level we need for the presidential cycle.”

Steele appears to have delivered for the Republican Party.  Didn't they just win a historic landslide victory in the mid-term elections earlier this month?    Shouldn't Steele get some credit for the fact that Republicans won at least 63 new seats in the House. Republicans picked up 10 governorships and added six Senate seats. The party also gained control of 19 state legislative chambers and now hold their highest level of state legislative seats since 1928.

I think that the Michael Steele served his ONLY PURPOSE for the Republican Party.   He was an African American face for the GOP elected in January 2009 to serve as a counterbalance for the remarkable election of Barack Obama ... the first African American president in our nation's history.

Be honest.  That is the ONLY reason that Michael Steele was elected GOP chairman in the first place.  The Republicans couldn't afford to have another old white man as their 'talking head'.   Michael Steele became the puppet.

Steele didn't mind.  In fact, he enjoyed it.   Steele did his 'Bojangles' best to entertain the media and the public when he first got elected. 

But, it's not January 2009 any longer and the Republican Party is now powered by the Tea Party ... and the GOP doesn't see any need to pretend like they are a diverse political party.   They are very comfortable being the party for white folks in America as evidenced by the prominent role that Senator McConnell (R-KY) and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) have as party spokesperson.

Michael Steele served his role.   The Republicans are now laying the groundwork to remove him in January 2011.

“He’s a wonderful man. He’s done a good job,” said Cindy Costa, a committee member from South Carolina. “But it would be better for him — and I want the best for him — to step down knowing he gave an honest shot and did a good job this election cycle.”

Dead Man Walking.

That's my view.  What say u?

The BDPA Insider - November 28, 2010

 

The BDPA Insider – November 28, 2010

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:

1. Bemley Scholar Caroline Tremain Heads to University of Minnesota 
2. BETF Executive Director Wayne Hicks Voted One of the Top 50 Amazing Tech Tastemaker
3. Happy Birthday: George Williams, Past National BDPA President
4. HSCC Testimonial: Matthew Clark (Detroit, 2008-2010) 
5. The Power of 'Thank You' 
6. Winter 2011 enrollment period is open for the BDPA IT Institute
7. Zymic Webmaster Resources, 11/11/2010 (Nicholas Reid) 

Much love to National BDPA past president Milt Haynes for pulling this information together every week.  

Kudos to the following websites for providing the articles used in this week's BDPA Insider: BDPA Detroit Technology Automation Committee blog, BDPA Foundation blog, BDPA-In-The-News blog, BDPA Your Membership and Blacks Gone Geek.

Mississippi Powers-That-Be Ponder Criminal Charges Against the Police Officers Who Electrocuted Jermaine Williams

Jermaine Williams, 30, was electrocuted on multiple occasions by two taser-happy Cleveland Police Department officers, Stanley Perry and Bryan Gozan, who were attempting to arrest him on July 23.    The local coroner concluded that the taser-related death was a homicide.

The family has filed a $25 million civil lawsuit against the officers and the police department for wrongful death. They do not feel that the homicide was justified in any sense of the word.

The only open issue is whether or not the police officers will face criminal charges for their role in the killing of Williams.   The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) completed its report concerning this taser-related death. [SOURCE]

“The investigation is complete,” said MBI Spokesperson Jon Kalahar. “It was completed sometime this month. It was turned over to the Bolivar County District Attorney office to Ms. Brenda Mitchell a couple of weeks ago.  Ms. Mitchell decided that because she works so closely with the Cleveland Police Department, she did not want to handle the report.  She believed it would be best that it be handled by an outside agency such as the attorney general’s office."

Everyone is now waiting for the district attorney to determine if the officers were justified in killing Williams or if the case will be handed over to a grand jury for consideration of criminal charges.

The police continue to maintain that the extra-judicial electrocutions were proper.  Police chief Buster Bingham and his boys spin the story as follows:

Cleveland Police officers responded to a complaint around 3:18 a.m. of people loitering in the 700 block of Cross Street. During conversations, a bag of suspected cocaine was found on top of one of the vehicles where the individuals were standing.


As is normal procedure, the officers asked for identification of everyone. One particular individual gave the officers several false names. Another person, later identified as Williams, came up and said he was “gonna call someone.” He then grabbed the bag of suspected cocaine and ran.

An officer pursued him and finally caught up with Williams at Lucy Seaberry Boulevard and Cross Street. Williams would not comply and continued to resist the officer. The officer then deployed his taser gun on Williams.


Even then, according to the read statement, he was still combative and actually tried to take the taser from the officer. A second officer then arrived and Williams received a second taser jolt.

Other officers made it to the scene at which time they had to physically pull Williams’ arms out from under him. He was cuffed and officers noticed that he was having medical difficulties. Emergency services was called and prior to their arrival, the officers themselves gave Williams’ medical attention.

He was taken to Bolivar Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.   We figure that the MBI report may answer some of the open questions in this case:

1. Did Williams die at the scene, on the way to the hospital or at the hospital?
2. What happened to the bag of suspected cocaine? (did Williams ingest it;  was it recovered or not at the scene?) 

Please let this blog know if you have additional information to share about this taser-related death.

Am I Not Human? World AIDS Day

I realize that many of you are still full from the Thanksgiving feasts that you shared with friends and family. Disease and suffering are not likely to be on your mind.

But, this blog wants to remind you that between Thanksgiving and the holiday festivities to come, there's another important event often overlooked: World AIDS Day on December 1st.

AIDS is one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history, and especially devastating for the most vulnerable: children. Over 2 million children worldwide are HIV-positive, and 50% of infants infected with HIV from their mothers die before their second birthday.

The good news is that a proven solution for curbing mother-to-child transmission of HIV now exists: testing and counseling for mothers, combined with anti-retroviral drugs. But to make this successful on a global scale, the world must demonstrate the will to fund this solution.

World AIDS Day exists to mobilize support for taking the steps necessary to end the global AIDS epidemic. Soulclap to Change.org and the US Fund for UNICEF for issuing a call to all Americans to make a pledge to support solutions to end the AIDS epidemic now.

Make the pledge to help put an end to the global AIDS epidemic now.

Worldwide, the funds to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS infections can't keep up with demand. There are 7,000 new infections every day, which means two people are still infected with the virus for every one starting treatment.

We are in an era of tight foreign-aid budgets, and developed nations are showing resistance to additional funding for preventing and treating AIDS. But as we go around shopping for friends and family this holiday, let's not forget to include the world's most vulnerable in our list of those we want to support.

Take action to help end the AIDS epidemic once and for all, and pledge to support life-saving programs around the world that protect children from HIV/AIDS and get treatment to those who are infected.






These Malawi victims are surely asking the universal question, "Am I Not Human?"

Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?

(Th)ink by Keith Knight: 'Black Friday'

(Th)ink is an editorial cartoon written and drawnby cartoonist Keith Knight (the K Chronicles).

Old School Friday * Band Aid, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'

Band Aid was a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year.





The record was released on November 29, 1984, and went straight to No. 1 in the United Kingdom singles chart, outselling all the other records in the chart put together.  It became the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at No. 1 for five weeks, selling over three million copies and becoming easily the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK.

Greenville County Officials Debate Criminal Charges Against Police in Taser Death of Andrew Torres

Andrew Torres was killed by two Greenville (SC) police officers who electrocuted him with their taser guns on August 9. The coroner ruled that the death was a homicide. The only remaining question is whether or not the police officers will be charged with a crime or not.

We learned that the Greenville County Solicitor Bob Ariail isn't willing to make the decision. He is punting the decision about whether to charge the police officers with a crime for their role in the death of Torres. [SOURCE]

Ariail said he has forwarded the State Law Enforcement Division's report on Torres death to 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett. He said he is sure that Brackett will handle the matter in an expeditious and professional manner.

Brackett will decide if criminal charges will be filed against the three officers involved in the August killing -- who have been identified as officers Dale Dirton, Kevin Hill and Eric Koepke.

OURstory: Charity Adams Earley (1918-2002)

The folks at the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) recently issued a provocative slideshow called 'The Facts'. It talks about the challenges faced by women in the IT industry.

If it is tough for women in 2010 ... how much tougher must it have been for a Black woman back in the 1940s?

That is the thought that came to me as I learned that Charity Adams Earley will be honored in the America I AM exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center on June 19, 2010 thru January 2, 2011.

It turns out that Earley held a degree in math and physics while attending Wilberforce University and the Ohio State University. She taught and attended graduate school before joining the Army. She did not let racism hinder her superior work. In fact, our BDPA Dayton chapter often celebrates their annual banquet at the auditorium in Sinclair Community College named after her.

At a time when a segregated military provided few opportunities for Blacks, Charity Adams was one of only two to hold a wartime rank in the WACs as high as major. A subsequent promotion made her a lieutenant colonel briefly before she left military service in 1946.

The Army first permitted Black members of the WACs to serve overseas in the winter of 1945, when it created the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black unit, and assigned some 850 African American women to it. The unit, based in Birmingham, England, and later in Rouen, France, and Paris, routed mail to millions of members of the armed forces in Europe.

The assignment of Major Adams as the battalion commander seemed a natural choice. Having grown up in Columbia, S.C. -- her father a minister in the A.M.E. Church, her mother a teacher -- she joined the WACs in 1942. She was among 39 Black women in the corps's first training class, at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and became one of its first Black officers. She then held administrative and command positions at Fort Des Moines for two and a half years.

The members of the 6888th postal unit were the first Black women many Britons in Birmingham had ever seen, and they shattered stereotypes.

"These WACs are very different from the colored women portrayed on the films, where they are usually either domestics or the outspoken old-retainer type or sloe-eyed sirens given to gaudiness of costume and eccentricity in dress," The Birmingham Sunday Mercury said. "The WACs have dignity and proper reserve."

After her military service, she received a master's degree in vocational psychology from Ohio State, then became a dean at Tennessee A&I College and Georgia State College. The Smithsonian Institution has included her in its listing of the historically most important Black women.

In 1996, Mrs. Earley was honored at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum for her wartime service. Before leaving Dayton for the ceremony in Washington, she said: "When I talk to students, they say, 'How did it feel to know you were making history?' But you don't know you're making history when it's happening. I just wanted to do my job."

We need to know OURstory for inspiration and direction. I hope that this blog post has been an eye-opener for you ... and for our daughters!

Taser Death: Denevious Thomas (Albany, GA)

It's happened again. This time unidentified Doughtery County Police officers decided to perform an extra-judicial electrocution of 36-year old Denevious Thomas when he was pulled over for a traffic stop in Albany, GA earlier this morning. [SOURCE]

Thomas' car was stopped near his home. In fact his aunts and other family members were nearby when the unidentified police officers drove away with his body still in handcuffs. The family members were understandably outraged and hysterical.

"He's dead. He's dead in handcuffs. It's not right," said Thomas' aunt Mary Ward.

His grandmother, who had kept her composure all morning, couldn't hold it in any longer.

"A dog deserves better than what he got, it's just so sad," grandmother Mary Ward cried.

The police spin the story this way: An unidentified Dougherty County police officer tried to pull over Thomas because he "appeared impaired". Police say that Thomas didn't stop ... and police chased him at a speed of about 30 miles per hour for a few miles until he crashed.

"The driver attempted to run from the vehicle. And in the attempt to take him into custody a taser was deployed," said Dougherty County Police Chief Don Cheek.

Cheek says Thomas struggled with the officer. After tasing Thomas, an unidentified officer put him in handcuffs and placed him inside the police car. When EMS crews arrived to check on Thomas' condition, Thomas was found to be dead, leaving behind his girlfriend Margaret Johnson and three children including a one-year-old.

"I'm still in shock, very much so. Because I was just standing in the doorway waiting for him to walk in," said Johnson.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is getting statements from everyone involved in this taser-related death. It seems very funky to me based on the little information that has currently been released.

Please let this blog know if you hear of any additional information.

Tune In Tuesday: The Drifters (White Christmas)

I'm officially in a Christmas mood. There are so many great Christmas songs that I think we will be popping up with them on and off over the next month or so.  

We begin today with an animated Christmas cartoon (by Joshua Held) featuring the vocal stylings of The Drifters, featuring Bill Pinkney on lead bass and Clyde McPhatter on tenor.





I'm curious ... what is your favorite Christmas song?

White House: The Rebirth of the American Auto Industry (VIDEO)

One of my summer jobs as a teenager in Detroit was working on the auto assembly line. I understand how important the auto industry is to America. It always amazes me when folks like Sarah Palin and other Tea Party activists continue to chant about how poor a decision it was to 'bail-out' the auto industry.

Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, discusses the President’s tough decisions on the American auto industry in light of the General Motors IPO:






What say u? Was the 'bailout' of the auto industry a good or bad policy decision by the federal government?