2008-03-31

The Tiger Woods of the 80's and early 90's

World Champion Figure Skater (center) Debi Thomas
-- picture by Corbis --

She is the Tiger Woods of the mid-1980's through the early 1990's and the sole reason why figure skating in prime time on television. Her name is "Dr." Debi Thomas.

Debi Thomas was the hopes and dreams of African-Americans throughout the 1980's and early 90's.  Thomas became a world champion in a sport that few Blacks competed in, for whatever reason.

Relive and/or treat yourself for the first time with an elegant, classy, delightful, and graceful figure skating performance of Debi Thomas. Click the link below to see Thomas in 1987 perform in Canada competing against the world's best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVRy31nVpFA&feature=related

Few will forget the tension behind the skating performance of Debi Thomas in the 1988 Olympics. A good score by Thomas would mean the Gold Medal in Calgary 88 Olympics.

The nation at attention as Debi Thomas loosend up in preparation for what we all had hoped to be the Gold Medal performance by Debi Thomas, which would have been the first ever Gold medal by an African-American singles' figure skater.

The audience in Calgary Canada was in total silence as Debi posed elegantly awaiting for the needle to drop on the album of her selected music. Hundreds of millions viewed this 1988 Olympic moment throughout the world.

The long awaited battle between Debi Thomas and Katarina Witt peaked once again as the Thomas-Witt rivalry was a highly touted competition. The contest for Olympic Gold twenty years ago was even mor intense. The competitive Thomas-Witt Olympic 88 battle was dubbed "The Battle of the Carmens" as both of their long programs were performed to the music of Bizet's Opera "Carmen". While we all were glued to our television sets for Debi Thomas once again showing the world that an American was the World's best, the shining Olympic moment turned out "not" to be Debi Thomas's best performance. After Debi Thomas fell down the first of a few falls in this challenging suspenseful long program, we all turned our hopeful joy into sadness.



Simular to Tiger Woods, a champion in a sport that few African-Americans participated in, we were fully aware that Debi Thomas was a multiple year champion. Debi Thomas was the first African-American singles Amatuer U.S. and World Champion in 1986. Thomas' 1986 achievements earned Debi Thomas ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year award and a rare Time magazine cover shot. Debi Thomas was number two in the World in 1987. In 1988 Debi Thomas re-claimed her US Championship and number two in the World behind Olympic rival East Germany's Katarina Witt.

Debi Thomas was "thee" American representative to the world in figure skating. That was an impressive achievement to make it to that level. Her courageous attempt to win the Olympic Gold in 1988 made all Americans, especially African-Americans, proud. Thomas as an true American hero.

Her Figure Skating career up to that point was chronicled in our collective minds as Debi Thomas was a rarity that deserved our undivided attention as Tiger Woods has for the past decade.

The disappointment of Debi Thomas not fulfilling one of her many highly-driven dreams of being an Olympic Champion, did not deter her from becoming a medical doctor after her Professional Skating tour around the world, where she dazzled crowds around the world. Debi Thomas's classy performances inspired a young twelve year old Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, sitting in his Dad's Cerritos, California home gleaming with overwhelming hope. Another witness was the father of eight year old Tennis champions, Venus Ebony Starr Williams and six-year old Serena Williams.

Both Tiger's Dad and the father of Venus and Serena Williams were hopeful and energized to continue their work of bringing these three African-Americans to world champion status in sports not participated by too many Blacks.

Debi Thomas professional tour in Figure Skating came to an end in 1992. Thomas then continued her pursuit by attending Medical School. Debi Thomas -- now Dr. Debbie Thomas -- went out with perfection, class, and the most elegant performance in the artistic category. See it for yourself in the YouTube link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bRWj5fEGbM&feature=related

Debi continues inspiring us to this day, as she is Doctor Debi Thomas. A few Public Service Announcements of hers below:

Debi Thomas became an orthopedic "surgeon". Thomas graduated from Stanford University in 1991 with a degree in engineering and from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 1997. Thomas followed this with a surgical residency at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Hospital and an orthopedic surgery residency at the Martin Luther King Jr./Charles Drew University Medical Center in Los Angeles. In June 2005, Debi graduated from the Orthopedic Residency Program at Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles. Debi spent the next year preparing for Step I of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons' exam and working at King-Drew Medical Center as a junior attending physician specialist. In July 2006, she began a one-year fellowship at the Dorr Arthritis Institute at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, California, for sub-specialty training in adult reconstructive surgery. In September of 2007, Thomas joined the orthopedic staff at Carle Clinic in Urbana, Illinois.

Debi Thomas still remains involved in the figure skating world as a frequent committee member and judge. Thomas was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. In 1988, Thomas married Brian Vanden Hogen, a fellow college student. They later divorced and she re-married Chris Bequette, a sports attorney, in 1996. She gave birth to a son, Christopher Jules ("Luc"), in 1997.

While Debi Thomas was winning the US and World Amatuer Championships from 1986 - 1988, Debi Thomas had a full load of difficult medical courses at Stanford University in Palo Alto in Northern California. Debbie skated on the weekends only while studying.

"We all wonder if she had dedicated her full attention to figure skating as East German's Katarina Witt did, she probably would have dominated" says her weekend figure skating coach.

Debi Thomas revealed to an interviewer during her college days: "Skating is not life, my studies are first priority. If I spent all of my life skating, then what would happen to me if I severely broke my leg and could not skate anymore? Where would I then be?"

We all thank you Debi Thomas. More important my figure skating step-daughter Amunique Lee thanks you, as it was Amunique that inspired me to show her you, so she can see for herself that before Amunique was even born, there was an African-American world champion named Debi Thoms.

In a conversation between Amunique and myself, she told me that friends and family of hers teased her that Figure skating is "a sport for white people." All the more that I appreciated showing Amunique the impressive performances of Debi Thomas

I further bought tickets to take my step-daughter to see current Professional Figure Skating champion Sasha Cohen this week. But it is more of an inspiration to see an African-American figure skater in Debi Thomas. Amunique face gleamed with pride re-playing the videos of Thomas. Thank you Debi.

Two Professional Skating performances linked below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJkz_px_4WM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fGRrn2x6sQ&feature=related

I will close with a big thank you for being there 20 years ago when we needed that well-rounded champion. Thank you Debi Thomas from me and all the readers.

2008-03-19

"A More Perfect Union" by Sen. Barack Obama

-- picture by Kirk Tanter --
Audio of Senator Obama's Speech: "A More Perfect Union"
Full Text of Sen. Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech
March 18th, 2008 Philadelphia, Pa.
“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787. The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations. Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time. And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part – through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren. This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story. I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible. It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one. Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans. This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well. And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn. On one end of the spectrum, we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it’s based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike. I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed. But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam. As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all. Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity: “People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend’s voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn’t need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.” That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America. And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years. I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love. Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias. But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality. The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students.Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us. This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What’s remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician’s own failings.And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time. Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding. This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union. For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.Ironically, this quintessentially American – and yes, conservative – notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright’s sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change. The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well. For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies. We can do that.But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time. This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together. This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit. This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned. I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election. There is one story in particularly that I’d like to leave you with today – a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King’s birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta. There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there. And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat. She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother’s problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn’t. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.” “I’m here because of Ashley.” By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children. But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins. END
Your Thoughts

2008-03-12

Hillary refuses to denounce and reject Geraldine Ferrero, nor return Geraldine's campaign funds

  • Geraldine's Statements

Former Vice-Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro makes racist and sexist comments towards Senator Barack Obama
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8489268

Senator Obama campaign's senior advisor calls for Hillary to denounce and remove Ferraro
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8533686

Ferraro defends her statements? Obama camp replies
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8540911

Hillary refuses to denounce nor reject Geraldine Ferraro's racist and sexist comments against Obama, Geraldine's financial support, nor does Hillary apologize to Senator Obama http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=6938857&ch=4226716&src=news

Senator Obama denounces Ferraro's comments and thanks Mississippi and Wyoming voters
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=6939513&ch=4226716&src=news

The Clintons are throwing the kitchen sink -- including Geraldine -- at Obama http://www.nypost.com/seven/03092008/news/nationalnews/its_time_to_call_in_hatchet_men_against__101033.htm

  • Geraldine refuses to apologize to Obama
Geraldine Ferraro resigns from the Hillary campaign but refuses to apologize to Senator Obama and Ferraro further attacks Obama for bringing up her sexist and racist comments. Ferrero states that the statements were taken out of context. Ferrero's statements are: "Obama's campaign is successful because he is Black" and, "if Obama was a White man, he would not be in this position" and, "if Obama was a woman, he would not be in this position." I think we all read the American English language very well Geraldine. It is unfortunate that Bill Clinton (who barfed out a series of race baiting comments during the South Carolina Primary) or Geraldine can raise their heads up and apologize to Senator Obama, Super-Delegates, and voters for their foul comments. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/12/ferraro.comments/index.html


Geraldine's picture above - courtesy of Getty Images

  • Shame on you Geraldine Ferraro

Instead Geraldine Ferraro stated in a letter to Hillary: "I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign. The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you. I won't let that happen." Ferraro told CNN's Suzanne Malveaux Wednesday that she was "absolutely not" sorry for her comments. "I am who I am" (Ferraro must have been a Popeye fan) "and I will continue to speak up," Geraldine said. The former congresswoman also criticized the Obama campaign for efforts she characterized as trying to "block her First Amendment rights." We have heard that one before Ms. Ferraro. When someone disrespects an African-American(s) it is called Free Speech, but if Geraldine made racist or sexist remarks against Jews or Italians, she would not hesitate to apologize without the commonly used First Amendment rights statement that African-Americans too often hear after a racist statement is raised.

  • Geraldine remains bitter Geraldine Ferraro has spent the last 24 years trying to understand how the Republican incumbent Ronald Reagon won the 1984 Presidential campaign against the Democratic ticket of Mondale-Ferraro, in the biggest landslide in the history of United States Presidential Elections. We know now that the American voter has substance both today and in 1984.

  • "Tone setting" emails from Senator Obama

Dear Mr. Kirk Tanter,
When we won Iowa, the Clinton campaign said it's not the number of states you win, it's "a contest for delegates."
When we won a significant lead in delegates, they said it's really about which states you win.
When we won South Carolina, they discounted the votes of African-Americans.
When we won predominantly white, rural states like Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska, they said those didn't count because they won't be competitive in the general election.
When we won in Washington State, Wisconsin, and Missouri -- general election battlegrounds where polls show Barack is a stronger candidate against John McCain -- the Clinton campaign attacked those voters as "latte-sipping" elitists.
And now that we've won more than twice as many states, the Clinton spin is that only certain states really count.
But the facts are clear.
For all their attempts to discount, distract, and distort, we have won more delegates, more states, and more votes.
Thank you for your support and for everything you've done to build a movement that is engaging voters and winning contests in every part of this country.

David Plouffe -- Campaign Manager, Obama for America



Mr. Kirk Tanter --

It's tough to think of two states more different than Wyoming and Mississippi.
But we won Wyoming on Saturday, and we just learned that we won Mississippi by a large margin tonight.
Between those two states, we picked up enough delegates to erase the gains by Senator Clinton last Tuesday and add to our substantial lead in earned delegates. And in doing so we showed the strength and breadth of this movement.
But just turn on the news and you'll see that Senator Clinton continues to run an expensive, negative campaign against us. Each day her campaign launches a new set of desperate attacks.
They're not just attacking me; they're attacking you.
Over the weekend, an aide to Senator Clinton attempted to diminish the overwhelming number of contests we've won by referring to places we've prevailed as "boutique" states and our supporters as the "latte-sipping crowd."
I'm not sure how those terms apply to Mississippi and Wyoming -- or Virginia, Iowa, Louisiana, or Idaho for that matter.
I know that our victories in all of these states demonstrate a rejection of this kind of petty, divisive campaigning.
But the fact remains that Senator Clinton's campaign will continue to attack us using the same old Washington playbook. And now that John McCain is the Republican nominee, we are forced to campaign on two fronts.
It's up to you to fight back. Please make a donation of $25 today:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f6b17ce013778eaf/oOPPjv/VEsH/

Thank you,
Barack

2008-03-06

Broadcasters: "Know your Radio Business"

The elimination of Smooth Jazz in Washington DC, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, and New York City have loyal listeners commenting on varioius blogs and phoning into radio stations. Fans are wondering have they forever lost a special sub-conscious friend. One of the blogs that has received tons of admirable comments about Washington DC's Smooth Jazz 105.9 is this one: http://talking-stuff.blogspot.com/2008/02/smooth-jazz-1059-is-gone.html.

The relationship between a radio station's format and listener is an intimate one. The marriage is much more special than a relationship with TV, Film, and other mediums. A radio format that's lasted for ten years -- or more -- becomes a "heritage radio station" meaning it is one with the local community that it serves. Smooth Jazz 105.9 was just that. I hosted a few on-air programs on SJ105.9 for 3 of those 14 years with decent adult ratings (#1 on Saturday night and #2 on Sunday afternoons).

Judging from the comments in the fellow blogger in the above link, Smooth Jazz 105.9 in Washington DC had quite a strong following. The January trend rated Smooth Jazz 105.9 as the sixth rank radio station in the market. Reasons why the intimate relationship were that the on-air hosts remained local during the 14 year run. What is meant by the hosts being local residence? Aren't all the radio hosts local? Most do know that announcers can be voice track (pre-recorded) or a satellite show from elsewhere. The fear in radio (amongst the many fears) for the past fifteen years for the local DJ is that a national satellite radio show or computer will replace them in a volatile industry. While money is saved with a computer or satellite show, radio's strength is being local. I am convinced that there is a greater connection when radio commits to being right there, especially in the larger markets. The audience will leave when it is not serviced. Radio's main ratings service is Arbitron, and they cannot measure how many people are actually listening, only have 2-5 thousand people participate in a monthly survey. When a station becomes a juke box with little contact with the radio host nor able to attend station events, then that station becomes a jukebox. The jukebox must contend with the internet, ipods, music choice, and so on. The radio station then loses it's nitche to involve the local listeners. If too many local radio stations in a market succumbs to distancing themselves from the local listeners then the listeners leave those stations.

Smooth Jazz 105.9 fm in DC did last a bit longer than most radio stations in the metro area, until 2007 when the Ramsey Lewis morning show out of Chicago was introduced to the morning. Smooth Jazz 105.9 FM local personalities were not only local, but they were veterans from top to bottom. The Smooth Jazz 105.9 management team also understood the necessity to market on television, newspaper ads, direct mail pieces, busboards, billboards, birthday calls, computer calls, on-air, and street promotions. Smooth Jazz 105.9 had a signature "trip-a-day giveaway" contest, giving away an airline trip 365 days a year. Benchmarked times were promoted for the next day's "trip-a-day" contest driving listeners to a timeslot. Close to a million unique names were on the database. Registration was completed on-line on our website driving listeners to our advertising banners there. The ultimate results from the total efforts were Smooth Jazz 105.9 fm was a consistent top ten station for 14 years.

Local listeners also frequented weekly basis at our advertised Smooth Jazz styled clubs in Georgetown(DC), Alexandria Virginia, and Largo Maryland...to name a few spots. We also had a good relationship with the elegant Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and the modern Strathmore Mansion in Bethesda, Maryland. Legend would perform there throughout the year. All of these well known local venues where DC, Maryland, and Virginia listeners often got together with their local radio hosts consistently hosting these events.

Other consistent events we had were "free" monthly ballroom concerts at 4-star hotels. We called these monthly concerts 'The Free After-Work Party" as they were held from 6:30 to 9:30pm each first Thursday of the month. Selected Smooth Jazz artists only. Pitched in the promos were "get there early to guarantee your seat". Our annual New Years Eve gala took place in Reston, Virginia, highly anticipated featuring a major Smooth Jazz artist. The package included a bottle of champaign, an overnight stay, free breakfast, late check out..."The Works". The summer kick off classic was the "Five-Day Capital Jazz Festival" with dozens of major Smooth Jazz acts at the Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Maryland.

You get the picture. We super-served our local listeners with the support of management. Cuddles to the hard working mobile promotion team at Smooth Jazz 105.9 in Washington DC. They not only clocked in more hours than other radio operations, but they were damn good. The Smooth Jazz promotion team always dressed up an event to fit our elite and classy "wine and cheese" listeners.

While there were say three or four owners of the WJZW Smooth Jazz 105.9fm during the 14 year span, never did the owners nor Program Directors spoil the flow. I credit our captain veteran personality Al Santos for maintaining the status quo. Al Santos make sure that our focus of being a community station would not change. Santos has been with the station for 12 of the 14 years. Al hosted the highly rated sold out Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch from 9a to 2p and was our mid-day host weekdays from 9a to 3p.

Below is Al's farewell letter on 3/3/08:


From: Al Santos
Sent: Mar 3, 2008 7:18 PM
Subject: The future of Smooth Jazz in the DC area

The recent changes at Smooth Jazz, 105.9 have brought so many emails of inquiry… Where are you? (“you”, meaning the entire staff which this past Friday, was terminated) What happen? Did they move the station? Where can we hear Smooth Jazz? Will you ever return? What of the Sunday Brunch and Lights Out Washington?The music, which was played at 105.9 (Smooth Jazz), is no more. That came to an end this past Friday afternoon (Leap Year Day) at 3 PM with the announcement of the new music format, “True Oldies”.None of the air-staff saw it coming, until, one by one we were called into General Manager Jeff Boden’s office to be given the news. Actually I was the only one who had a suspicion of what was going to happen, when at 10:30, during what would be my last shift on Smooth Jazz, a listener emailed me with something he’d read on DCRTV.COM about an impending format change. I can assure you, the final 2 hours on the air for me were anything BUT, “Stress-Free”!The decision to take 105.9 in a different direction was, more then likely, made by the company which owns 105.9, Citadel Broadcasting. Several emails from listeners have suggested mounting a letter writing campaign but, my suggestion to those would be to show the same respect and class in your letters and/or emails you’ve demonstrated in your years with the old format.I echo Chris Core’s feelings about not having any bitter feelings toward Steve Allan, Jeff Boden or even Farid Suleman, the head of Citadel Broadcasting and wish them well.Smooth Jazz has been a part of the Washington, DC radio landscape for 14 years… a long run in the world of radio formats… will it return? Perhaps. Radio is an ever- changing landscape with companies breathing live into music formats some thought DEAD! Case in point, in “Jazzy100” which in 1993 was displaced by “Oldies100”, was resurrected, 2 years later on 105.9 as, “Smooth Jazz”. (I hope it doesn’t take THAT LONG for some other radio company in town to breath life into it again)As far as, “what next?”… As for myself, I’ll take some time to try and figure that out. I’d like to remain in the DC area, which has been home since my arrival here in late 1995. The others effected by this situation (Jay Lang and Vanniece Johnson), have expressed the same feelings so, hopefully you’ve not heard the last of us but, in what capacities, God only knows. (Hey, wasn’t that a Beach Boys “oldie”? Grrrrr…just kidding!)>Respectfully yours,>Al Santos


Thank you my drag-racing friend Al Santos. The Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch was ecletic and unique that fit that relaxing Sunday perfectly, and will be missed.
There have been many journalists that have made attempts to write a historical perspective about Smooth Jazz. Read this article in the link below from Washington Post's Marc Fischer http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030700946.html.
Unfortunately Marc makes embarrassing false statements. The song "Feels So Good" by Chuck Mangione was the first Smooth Jazz hit Marc? A little late in time to be the first Smooth Jazz hit. Mr. Fischer is another of the many writers that distort history. Marc probably thinks that "Hound Dog" was an Elvis original, and "Shout" a Beatles original. The Post's deadline must have come to quickly for Marc to call the experts. Marc Fischer just printed whatever came to mind.
Marc could have easily googled the biggest selling "Jazz Album of All Time" before the Breathless CD by Kenny G in the early 1990's to find out two big smooth jazz hits by George Benson from that CD. The CD was titled "Breezin'" by George Benson. "This Masquerade" and "Breezin'" were the two big radio airplay and chart toppers. Marc what about Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mr. Magic" in 1974. You could throw in many artists with multi-hits prior to "Feels So Good". Some of the pioneers of Smooth Jazz are Michael Franks, Steely Dan (Their Album had several Smooth Jazz hits), Ronnie Laws, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and Patti Austin to name a few.
The Pioneer radio station Marc is KJLH in Los Angeles Marc. KJLH marked the absolute beginning for the "Smooth Jazz" format. KJLH played the music mixture common to the Smooth Jazz format, which is R&B, Latin Jazz, International Artists, Reggae to mix in with dominant Smooth Jazz tunes. KJLH pioneered the format in 1968. Marc I really cannot understand how you missed the first format label that preceeded the popular "Smooth Jazz" brand right in your own back yard. "Smooth Jazz's" immediate predecessor was called the "Quiet Storm". Legendary Broadcaster -- and owner of Radio One -- Cathy Hughes coined the "Quiet Storm" phrase. "Smooth Jazz" was a carbon copy of the "Quiet Storm" that flourished for nearly twenty years from the mid-70's to the early 90's. How could you miss that one Marc, as the format was in nearly every major city including on heritage WHUR in Washington DC. Do you live in Washington DC Marc, or this country. The Quiet Storm was also popular radio formats in Europe and Japan, in case you lived in those areas from the 70's through the 90's.
The long time "Smooth Jazz" format was born out of the death of the "Quiet Storm" 24-format (Quiet Storm is now normally a nighttime program on many stations). Smooth Jazz's beginning came after the wave of Programmers changed formats from the "Quiet Storm" to various forms of Urban due to the popularity of R/B and Hip Hop music. The Broadcast Architecture's "NEW" Smooth Jazz format was simply a void filler format.
Today, broadcast companies are panicking, feeling the pinch of diminishing advertising sales. The niche 'wine and cheese' lifestyle advertiser common with a "Smooth Jazz" sell, radio stations no longer have time to search for. The Smooth Jazz format is not a tough sell, there are just not enough generic advertised products that will sponsor Smooth Jazz. Broadcast companies want advertiser-friendly music formats that play the biggest charted hits is the reason why an ecletic format like Smooth Jazz will have to take a seat despite the consistent top ten ratings. Most of the now defuncted "Smooth Jazz" formats were replaced with CHR or Pop/Rock/R&B oldies formats. These are hard times for advertising-based business as consumers are not buying the products advertised and the first thing that a business pulls back on is advertising. Businesses that rely on advertising are not doing as well as years past today.
  • The financial reality of Smooth Jazz radio can best be illustrated by an article written by former Smooth Jazz Programmer Director Nick Francis:
My two cents, backed up by years as a commercial radio PD (post-consolidation) and as an ex-Smooth Jazz programmer to boot.Commercial operators don't care about programming; all they care about is audiences. Specifically----audiences that can easily be SOLD TO ADVERTISERS.If someone came up with a 24/7 format of pigs farting, and the audience was big enough and in the right demo, the radio industry would be all over it.It's not about programming. All four of those SJ stations (NYC, DC, Denver, Houston) had sizeable audiences. The problem is that the audiences are too old. When the majority of your listeners are over 50, you might as well hang it up. The overwhelming majority of ad buys are in a few "money demos" (18-34, 18-49, 24-44, 25-54, 35-54). If your station's core audience lies outside of thosedemos, there will not be enough buys available from the ad industry to support you. WQCD had a larger cume than the majority of NYC stations, yet they rankedpretty close to the bottom in billing and revenue. That is the reality on the ground these days. (And the pressure on PDs and sales managers from corporateheadquarters is god-awful; it is the main reason I bailed out of commercial radio.)Where smooth jazz programmers failed, IMHO, was in not finding a way to find some kind of mix that would appeal to a younger listener (35 rather than 50 yearsold). The only station that I know who moved in that direction was KIFM in San Diego. And they're succeeding.I understand everyone's aesthetic disdain for smooth jazz, and for the most part, I share it; but I really don't understand all the righteous gloating and smirking here, particularly from the broadcasters. (A bunch of people have lost their jobs--friends of mine, good people, and good broadcasters too). It's as if some of you feel vindicated by these events. Vindication for what? Your good taste in music? Can you tell me with a straight face that non-comm jazz radio doesn't have essentially the same survival issues within its own sphere? Do youreally think you're superior radio programmers? Please. Have a little mercy, people. You may be the next one voted off the island.That Kenny G joke is 15 years old, by the way. zzzzzzzzz
Nick Francis - KPLU Music Director

2008-03-03

The Challenge for Congressional Districts

Well, well, well, what do we have here. It now seems as if long time Congressional Representatives that support(ed) Hilary are facing formidable opponents in November. Last week Congressman John Lewis' endorsement reversal from Hilary to Senator Obama may have been because of competition from a vibrant young 30 year old Reverend Markel Hutchins. Hutchins entered the Georgia Congressional race to challenge Civil Rights legend John Lewis the week before Lewis's final decision to endorse Senator Obama. Congressman Lewis said that making the decision to change his vote from his friend Hilary to Senator Barack Obama was tougher than crossing the Edmund Pettus bridge over 40 years ago. Rev. Hutchins wasted no time attacking Lewis for 'waffling' for two weeks on casting Lewis' super delegate vote for Senator Obama.

Hutchins pictured above left, Lewis pictured above right

Hutchins sent out a press release and in it he stated "It is time to send somebody to Washington who is actually willing to represent the district". We were lead to believe that John Lewis changed his super-delegate vote from Hilary to Senator Obama solely based on the will of his District voters overwhelming support for Obama during the Georgia primary on Super Tuesday February 5th, 2008.




I predicted that African-American Congressional Representatives that support Hilary may have problems winning their district in the November election on the February 2nd blog. http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=33772760&postID=6027352291910946624
The list of several African-American Congressional Representatives and Elected Officials that endorse Hilary is on the earlier blog. The political challenge for them is to either change their super delegate vote to Obama or not, if their voting district majority vote favored Obama. After reading my February 2nd blog noted author Earl Ofari Hutchinson from Los Angeles emailed me saying that the "Congressional Representatives have the freedom to cast their 'super delegate' to whomever they wish." Technically and legally Ofari (Hilary supporter) is right, but I disagree. Elected officials have the freedom to vote their own personal vote at their designated polling place in private, but these elected Representatives were voted in by the voters in their district and they should cast the DNC "super delegate" vote in accordance to the will of their constituents. District Representatives going off on their own accord and not backing the will of their voters could be viewed by voters as they are not properly representing them. Trust is very important to voters and if the Representatives cast their super delegate publically at the Democratic Convention then trust is no longer valid. What if "quality of life" issues arise and need to be addressed, will the Congressional Representative then take a vacation?


Another formidable challenge is in New York. New York Congressman Edolphus Towns will face off against popular author and community organizer Kevin Powell. Towns faced Powell in 2006 but Powell pulled out of the 2006 race because of his commitment to the victims of Katrina -- according to Powell. The resume' for Kevin Powell is impressive and includes high-level recommendations http://aalbc.com/authors/kevin.htm.

Congressional New York Representative Edolphus Towns pictured above.


Kevin Powell also chimed in on the sudden denegration of District Representative incumbents whom support Hilary -- Towns supports Hilary, if the majority of the voters in their Congressional district cast their ballots for Senator Obama. In Kevin Powell's own words:

"Good day everyone. If you are like me, you've been deeply inspired by the message and the movement that is Barack Obama's presidential campaign. I was at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston when Senator Barack Obama gave his now historic keynote address. His inspiring message is, for sure, one of the reasons why I am running for a seat in the United States Congress here in Brooklyn, New York in 2008. We need a new kind of leadership in America, at every level of government."

(Kevin Powell pictured left)

Powell continues: "And I take that challenge and that responsibility very seriously.My opponent, 26-year incumbent Congressman Edolphus Towns, represents the old brand of leadership, the old way of thinking. He is a superdelegate who refuses to change his vote, which he pledged to Senator Hillary Clinton months ago. Barack Obama won the majority of Super Tuesday primary votes in our Congressional district, so clearly the people of Brooklyn, including the multicultural waves of younger people who are engaging in politics for the first time, want something different, something fresh, bold, and exciting. But unlike, say, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, who came to understand he had to follow the will of the people and change his superdelegate vote to Mr. Obama, Congressman Towns refuses to budge."

Judging from these two well publicized Congressional races in Georgia and New York seems as if the challenger does not shy away from bringing up the fact that the incumbent failed to cast their super delegate vote with the will of the people.