I have a feeling that the other 14 current and former African American astronauts ... and the entire Negro American Society of Space Astronauts (NASSA) ... are feeling mighty proud today!
STEELE: The problem that we have with this president is that we don’t know [Obama]. He was not vetted, folks. … He was not vetted, because the press fell in love with the Black man running for the office. "Oh gee, wouldn’t it be neat to do that? Gee, wouldn’t it make all of our liberal guilt just go away? We can continue to ride around in our limousines and feel so lucky to live in an America with a black president." Okay that’s wonderful, great scenario, nice backdrop. But what does he stand for? What does he believe? … So we don’t know. We just don’t know.It seems to me that enough Americans knew Obama on November 4, 2008 when they overwhelmngly elected him as our President of the United States.
"Robert Mitchell is going to be the catalyst for peace. He didn't die for nothing," Sandra Hines of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality told the crowd. "It's so important to bridge together between Warren and Detroit. We want peace."The protestors also called for the termination of Warren police officers who chased Robert Mitchell into an abandoned house in Detroit on April 10 after he fled police during a traffic stop.
Drumbeats from Philip Barron let us know that the story of Pfc. LaVena Johnson is being told on Australian network television this month. A news magazine show, SBS Dateline, brings its focus to the controversial death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson and the issue of sexual assault in the US military.
"My hope is that the farmers and their families who were denied access to USDA loans and programs will be made whole and will have the chance to rebuild their lives and their businesses," Obama said.
John Boyd (shown in photo shaking Obama's hand), head of the National Black Farmers Association, has called the proposal a "step in the right direction," but said additional funds would be needed."We think this is a good step in the negotiating process. We're glad to know this issue is on the president's radar screen and we commend him for taking this step," he said. But "we need to make sure that none of the Black farmers are left out."
In August 1989, Davis and a running buddy named Sylvester (Red) Coles spent a riotous, hell-raising night in Savannah. Eyewitnesses say Coles shot at two of his neighbors at a house party with a chrome .38 pistol, hitting and wounding one.The only remaining hope is a pardon from Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue - an act of mercy we should all demand to rescue Davis from an unjust death.
Davis wasn't at that party. But he and Coles met later and wound up in the parking lot of a Burger King next to Savannah's Greyhound bus station, where one of them harassed and pistol-whipped a homeless man.
When the man yelled for help, a cop named Mark McPhail - who was moonlighting as a security guard at the bus station - came running, and was shot to death at point-blank range.
The murder weapon was never recovered, but ballistics showed it was a .38-caliber handgun.
Coles, the owner of a .38, wasn't charged. Instead, nine eyewitnesses testified at trial that Davis was the shooter.
But seven of the nine have since recanted their testimony, with several signing sworn statements that they were coerced by cops.
One recanting witness, Dorothy Ferrell, said in a sworn statement that "I was scared that if I didn't do what the police wanted me to do, then they would try to lock me up again. I was on parole at the time."
And here's witness Darrell Collins: "I was only 16 ... After a couple of hours of the detectives yelling at me and threatening me, I finally broke down ... They would tell me things that they said had happened and I would repeat whatever they said."
And so it went with seven of the nine witnesses.
Of the remaining two, one initially told police under oath that he didn't know who shot McPhail - then reversed himself on the witness stand two years later, certain that Davis was the culprit.
The only other eyewitness is Coles, who went to the police the day after the shooting, accompanied by a lawyer and claimed Davis was the killer.
Coles never mentioned that he'd been carrying a .38-caliber pistol that night.
"[The police] bought Mr. Coles' story hook, line and sinker," Davis' attorneys argued in court. "And they went out into this community, and they rounded up witnesses everywhere they could find them, and they paraded them in here."
Three new witnesses now claim they heard Coles later take credit for the murder. But none of the new witnesses or sworn recantations have ever been heard in any court - and probably never will be.
Asked if he thought Valentine was a threat to officers, Pope said, “No.”The incident has Valentine’s family asking for answers. His stepfather, Troy Terrell, said police had not talked to family members to explain what happened.
“I was as close as you could get to him,” Pope said. “I was face-to-face with him, and he was not threatening to me. He was in distress, needing help.”
After they had beaten Luis Ramirez to death, the white teenagers who attacked Luis sent an ominous message to his friends:"Tell your f**king Mexican friends to get the f**k out of Shenandoah or you’ll be f**king laying next to him."Just over a week ago, two of Ramirez’s killers were acquitted of all serious charges by an all white jury, with the jury foreman making it clear that justice for Ramirez had no chance in the town of Shenandoah, PA:
"I believe strongly that some of the people on the jury were racist. I believe strongly that some of the people on the jury had their minds made up maybe before the first day of trial…And I believe the four boys that were involved the most are racist. I absolutely do…"Thanks to the hard work of Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and others, the Department of Justice is now looking into Ramirez’ death. But that’s only part of what’s needed. Where are the leaders in the State of Pennsylvania? Why has the governor had nothing to say? His silence is shameful.
state and to Latinos everywhere to speak out and condemn what’s happened. I've joined Presente.org in demanding that he does. Please click the link below to add your voice and ask your friends and family to do the same. It takes only a moment.
comb?
aid of her?
s, family, and friends of the family try to keep you out of trouble because they know your mother and how she is?
embers, friends, school authority, etc), because you were told, 'What goes on in this house, stays in this house!!!'
ansport him to Beth Israel Medical Center. During the trip, the man went into cardiac arrest and died a short time later."Basically my nephew was killed unjustly at the hands of police," said Farrell's uncle, Racheim Farrell. "I'm really like numb with disbelief. The police are the ones to serve and protect the community. We put all of our faith and trust in the police. Newark has some great officers. They do community work with kids. We're not saying all cops are bad. There's just a few bad apples that did something wrong."Villagers, this guy was wrong for battling the police. However, the penalty for disorderly conduct is a couple of days in jail ... it is not death. There simply is no excuse for extra-judicial electrocution or taser torture. Isn't it time for congressional hearings on this matter?
I am pleased to see that the Obama Administration is taking steps to change the dynamics of the American educational system. He wants to see 5,000 failing schools close and reopen with new principals and teachers over the next five years. The plan for failing schools is part of an effort to fundamentally change perceptions about what works in education.
chronically underperforming schools need a new start.
