I Want the Money Back

Story by Urbanbuzz
Written by Kevin Fleming

By now you’ve more than likely come to the conclusion that the Jacksons are just as dysfunctional as any other family in chaos. 

Truth is we have no idea who’s right, who’s wrong, who’s telling the truth and who’s running game. One thing you can bet on is at the end of the day this hot mess is about Michael’s billion dollar estate and who controls it. 

Today a judge appointed TJ Jackson, the 34-year-old son of Tito Jackson, as temporary guardian of Michael Jackson’s three children in the absence of their grandmother Katherine Jackson. “We have reason to believe that Mrs. Jackson has been held against her will,” 

Katherine Jackson’s attorney Sandra Ribera told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff at a hearing. Beckloff suspended Katherine Jackson as custodian for Prince, Paris and Blanket, because she may be “prevented from acting as a guardian because of the acts of third parties.”  

You think it's crazy now, wait until Joe gets started!

Snoop Lion produces a documentary from Jamaica

U.S. Women's Gymnastics Wins Gold

Story by AP
Photo by Getty

LONDON -- The Americans grabbed hands and backed up, eager to get a better view of the scoreboard.

There was really no need. That Olympic gold medal was in the bag the minute they took the floor.

The Americans lived up to their considerable hype and then some Tuesday night, routing Russia and everybody else on their way to their first Olympic title since 1996. Their score of 183.596 was a whopping five points ahead of Russia, and they were so far ahead their last event, floor exercise, was more like a coronation.

With the Russians on the sidelines crying, the Americans stood at the center of the flow, clapping, cheering and basking in a golden glow. When the score for captain Aly Raisman flashed, the Americans screamed and a chant of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" rang out around the arena. The women held up their index fingers for the cameras -- just in case anyone had a doubt.

The Americans had come into the last two Olympics as world champions, only to leave without a gold. But this team is the strongest, top to bottom, the USA has ever had, and the rest of the world never stood a chance.

After the U.S. opened with a barrage of booming vaults, everyone else was playing for silver.

Breaking News: Aurora killer get 142 counts

James Holmes (photo above), the 24-year-old former doctoral student accused of opening fire inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, was charged today with 142 counts, including first-degree murder.

Written by Kari Huus, NBC News

James Holmes was charged with 24 counts of murder Monday in the deaths of 12 people at a Batman movie premiere in Aurora, Colo.

The murder charges included 1 count of murder, and 1 counts of "murder of extreme indifference," for each of the victims, according to NBC's Mike Taibbi.

Holmes was also formally charged with 116 counts of attempted murder, according to The Associated Press.

The defendant spoke once during the hearing, saying "yes" to waive his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days, according to a tweet by Denver Post courts reporter John Ingold.

A former University of Colorado graduate student, Holmes is accused of carrying out the bloody attack on moviegoers at the midnight premiere of "A Dark Knight Rises" on July 20, and wiring his apartment with enough explosives to have leveled the building if they had detonated.

The trial could turn on questions of Holmes' state of mind, according to The Associated Press.

"I don't think it's too hard to predict the path of this proceeding," said Craig Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney in Denver told the AP. "This is not a whodunit. ... The only possible defense is insanity."

According to the law in Colorado, defendants are not legally liable for their acts if they cannot differentiate between right and wrong, the report said. However, "care should be taken not to confuse such mental disease or defect with moral obliquity, mental depravity, or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred, or other motives, and kindred evil conditions," the law stipulates, the AP said.

Holmes was enrolled in the University of Colorado Ph.D. neuroscience program but withdrew last month. Neighbors said withdrawal from the program would likely have triggered his eviction from the building, which is reserved for people affiliated with the school.

Investigators said Holmes had amassed weapons, ammunition and explosives over the course of several months.

He was arrested in the parking lot of the movie theater shortly after the shootings, and told officers his apartment contained explosives, police said. That information prompted evacuation of Holmes' apartment building and those surrounding it until law enforcement teams could disarm the jumble of wires and explosive devices set to detonate by trip wires.

In his initial court appearance, Holmes was dressed in red prison garb, and had his hair dyed bright red. He looked off into the distance or down at the table, at times knitting his brow in a quizical expression or as if he was trying to concentrate. He did not speak.

Denver Post reporter Ingold tweeted that "Holmes was more put together today. His hair was combed — though still red. He seemed to pay attention. Not quite engaged, but listening."

The courtroom was packed, reported Denver Post staff reporter Kristen Painter, with an overflow room for victims and family who could not get in or did not want to be in the room.

Painter tweeted: "A woman, escorted by victims advocate, walked into courtroom crying-clutching a photo of 6-year-old Veronica & her mother," apparently referring to Ashley Moser, mother of Veronica Moser-Sullivan.

Philadelphia and the Nation Mourn the Passing of Radio Legend Joe “Butterball” Tamburro

Clear Channel Media+Entertainment in Philadelphia joins Philadelphia and the nation in mourning the passing of WDAS Radio Legend Joseph “Butterball” Tamburro, who died Friday morning at the age of 70.

Everyone from devoted listeners to recording artists who got their start from Butter to national figures such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton have been calling in to a tribute show hosted by WDAS FM’s Patty Jackson.

Clear Channel Media Entertainment Philadelphia President Dennis Lamme said. “Butterball was a broadcasting icon.”

Program Director for WDAS FM/AM and Power 99 fm Ken Johnson said, “ I have met and worked with quite a few legends in my career. Butter was the pinnacle.   

He will be missed but never forgotten.” Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter remembered listening to Butter growing up. “He communicated the mood and attitude of the times.  The Mayor went on to say, “ We celebrate a wonderful person, a great man and a kind individual.  I will never forget him.“

WDAS FM was in the process of planning at 50^th anniversary of his career in broadcasting.  “Butter” was a broadcasting icon who never lost personal touch.

Throughout his years in radio – Butter was responsible for giving many RB artists their start.  In addition to his contributions to broadcasting and the music industry, butterball was also an important figure in the local civil rights movement offering the airwaves to leaders like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Cecil B. Moore.

In 1964, Butter was able to get his foot in the door of WDAS as an advertising salesman. He was nicknamed “Butterball” by Jimmy Bishop, the program director at the time. Within a few months, Butter became a part-time DJ and he began doing the first oldies show on black radio. Listeners loved both the oldies show and Butterball, and both remained a hit on WDAS. Butter was Program Director for WDAS FM and WDAS AM until a recent illness but was still active as an on air personality on WDAS AM. 

 ”Butter” spoke to his listeners rather than at them and created a strong connection.  He once said, “I smile when I speak on the air.”

Throughout the years, Butterball has been honored for excellence and service by two of the City of Philadelphia’s former mayors (W. Wilson Goode and William Green). The NAACP, F.B.I., Philadelphia City Council, Pennsylvania State Legislature, American Jewish Committee, Martin Luther King Center for Change, and numerous other organizations have also paid tribute to Joe Tamburro.

He has received awards and honors in the music industry from The Black Music Association, and from many trade publications such as R and R, Billboard Monitor, B.R.E. Magazine, Gavin Magazine, Impact and Jack The Rapper. Joe was the 1997 recipient of the Ken Garland Lifetime Achievement Award from the March of Dimes’ A.I.R. Awards, and a 1997 Philadelphia Music Alliance inductee onto the Art Bank’s Walk of Fame. Joe was the 1998 recipient of the Salute to Excellence Award.

However, of all of his various accolades, he held dearest the love he felt from his listeners who welcome him into their homes each week as they listened to his broadcast and continued to support his show and WDAS-FM with high ratings.

Joseph Tamburro, born 1942, was  married and the father of five children and the grandfather of five. He collects old records and classic cars. He once aspired to become a race car driver. He was also a skilled auto mechanic, a lover of good foods, and a connoisseur of restaurants.

For more about Joseph “Butterball” Tamburro go to www.wdasfm.com. To comment on his legacy go to WDAS FM’s Facebook Page  or on Twitter @wdasfm

Sherman Hemsley Dead At 74

Story by Hello Beautiful

Written by Deborah Bennett 

Sherman Hemsley, aka George Jefferson of the ’70s hit show “The Jeffersons,” has died at his home in El Paso, Texas, reports TMZ.

Hemsley had no wife and kids and it’s unclear how he died.

Hemsley, who was 74, became famous for his role on“All in the Family,” which led to a spin-off show, “The Jeffersons” which became a monster hit. He also starred in the TV show, “Amen.” He was also a professional singer and even released the single in 1989, “Ain’t that A Kick in the Head.”

Sherman has really moved on to that deluxe apt in the sky! You will be missed.

Raising the Demo

Talk radio hosts and programmers should avoid the temptation to narrow their “target demo” to a number, says consultant Holland Cooke.  “Recently published Nielsen data affirms what you may have suspected all along: The vaunted 25-54 demo is malarkey.  Although only 5% of ad dollars are aimed at ‘em, 35-64 accounts for half of product purchases.”

Cooke writes that the key to making the sales department happy is cutting through the clutter and being “remarkable” to people who have children, of any age, still living at home.

Read Holland Cooke’s piece: http://kirktanter.blogspot.com/2012/07/your-target-demographic-not-number.html

Drive to End AIDS in U.S. Stalls as Epidemic Grips Blacks

Monique Moree is the new face of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. The 31-year-old stay-at-home mom, who is black, was pregnant with her third child in 2005 when she found out she had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“I was shocked,” Moree, of Summerville, South Carolina, said by telephone. “Being a wife, I didn’t think I could be HIV positive. I hated myself and God. I wanted to kill myself.”

Now Moree takes three pills a day to fight the illness and, so far, has been free of its most damaging effects.

While she’s thrived, others she knows haven’t been so fortunate, she said. She blames the government for not doing enough for minority communities increasingly at the center of the U.S. epidemic.

“African Americans have been hit so hard,” she said.

While black men and women are 14 percent of the population, they accounted for 44 percent of 48,000 new HIV cases in 2009, the latest year available for definitive data, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infection rate in black men was more than six times that in white males, and black women were 15 times more likely to become infected than their white counterparts, the CDC data shows.

Read more »

Theater massacre suspect appears in Colorado courtroom

James Holmes in Arapahoe County Court facing charges for the Theater Massacre in Colorado(photo: NBC News)

Written by NBC News

James Eagan Holmes appeared in court for the first time Monday after he was arrested last week in the deaths of 12 people in a mass shooting at a sold-out movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

The hearing was held to advise Holmes, 24, of his rights. Official charges aren't filed at a so-called "advisement" hearing; under Colorado law, prosecutors will now have 72 hours to file charges, but in especially complicated cases, judges have the leeway to give them more time.

Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester told Holmes he was accused of having killed 12 people and wounded 58 others early Friday in a crowded theater was showing the premiere of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

Sylvester set a hearing on formal charges for next Monday at 9:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET). Holmes wearing a red prison jump suit, said nothing during the hearing. He mostly looked down at the table under a shock of dyed bright red hair and occasionally raising his eyebrows in a quizzical expression.

When Holmes was arrested early Friday, he told police he was the Joker. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Sunday that investigators had found a Batman mask inside Holmes' apartment.

Investigators found the mask after they finished clearing the home of booby traps and ammunition, a law enforcement official close to the investigation said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the news media.

Penn State sanctions: $60M, bowl ban

Story by ESPN
Freeh Report: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=33772760#editor/target=post;postID=7366856070680177424

The NCAA has hit Penn State with a $60 million sanction, a four-year football postseason ban and a vacation of all wins dating to 1998, the organization said Monday morning.

The career record of Joe Paterno will reflect these vacated records, the NCAA said.

Penn State must also reduce 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:8191216

The NCAA revealed the sanctions as NCAA president Mark Emmert and Ed Ray, the chairman of the NCAA's executive committee and Oregon State's president, spoke at a news conference in Indianapolis at the organization's headquarters.

Read more »

Your Target Demographic: Not a Number

Story by Talkers
By Holland Cooke
MCVAY/COOK & ASSOCIATES
News/Talk Specialist


“What’s our target demographic?”

Two-part answer:

1. NOT 25-54.  Recently-published Nielsen data affirms what you may have suspected all-along: The vaunted 25-54 demo is malarkey:

• Although only 5% of ad dollars are aimed at ‘em, 35-64 accounts for half of product purchases.
• Baby Boomers – 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 — account for roughly half of all packaged-good sales, almost $230 billion. In five years, they’ll control 70% of the USA’s disposable income.


2. If you’re thinking numbers, you’re overthinking it.
Want to make sales very happy?  (NOT a trick question.)
Cut through the clutter and seem “remarkable” to people who have children, of any age, still living at home.

a) That mental clutter is dang near hip-deep.  Assume your listener is 10 minutes late and hearing every third word. Cut to the chase and get to the phones.

b) Why people with children: They’re retail consumption MACHINES…the cars retail advertisers want to see pull into the parking lot.  And that Nielsen intel’ affirms the value of resonating with Boomers too, young grandparents now; many of whom are newly-monied by inheritance as their Greatest Gen’ parents pass on.  Which is why I wince when I hear well-intentioned programmers speak of “younging the station.”

c) What I mean by “remarkable”: not “miraculous.”  I mean that your work would cause the aforementioned people to…remark.  Example: “Hmmm!” as the listener turns up the volume.  That “Hmmm!” is a receipt for the deposit you just made in his/her memory bank.  And that deposit pays dividends whether you’re in a diary market (where ratings are a memory test) or PPM-land (where awareness drives use).  And even if your station doesn’t subscribe to ratings, some of those remarks are shared over lunch, real valuable cume promotion.

Accordingly: OBSESS over relevance.  Know these people, tee up “survival information” and issues tangible to them, and get to the phones.  Media consumption habits of the target listener I’ve profiled favor interactive media and shun blah-blah-blah.  Callers call when they hear other callers, and sounding popular will extend TSL and impress advertisers.

Said another way: Think twice about typecasting yourself as talk radio’s small, same-old-same-old caricature.  Note how PPM punishes talkers whose lengthy “I,” “I,” “I”-laden monologues about the politics and the excruciating minutia of government process topics which were confined to the Sunday morning public affairs ghetto, back when many stations’ ratings were higher.

Penn State University: Paterno statue to be removed

Story by CNN wire staff

 The statue of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno outside the campus' football stadium will be removed, the university's president said Sunday.

The tribute to Paterno had become an object of contention after the child rape scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno's statue and legacy came under fire after the release of the Freeh Report http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=33772760#editor/target=post;postID=7366856070680177424 , the scathing investigation led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh.

Read more »

Michael Jackson's Mother Katherine Jackson reported by family members as missing

Story by TMZ
7:44 AM ET -- The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department issued a release that says, "Katherine Jackson is reportedly with family members. Late Saturday night, a different family member reported that he was unable to speak with her and is concerned for her well being.

Deputies are continuing to make efforts to reach her and ask that she contact the Malibu / Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department." (TMZ reports)

Below update by CNN

UPDATE: MICHAEL Jackson's mother Katherine is not missing, says her son Jermaine.
Jermaine Jackson went to Twitter to explain her sudden disappearance and lack of contact.
"I want to reassure everyone (inc all sudden medical experts) that Mother is fine but is resting up in AZ on the orders of a doctor, not us," he tweeted.

"This is our mother and her health is paramount. We are not inventing or plotting anything. We are following doctor's advice. Period.”

A missing person's report was filed on Saturday night for the 82-year-old matriarch of the Jackson music family, after relatives were unable to get in contact with her for a week, CNN reported.

Below story by CNN
Written by Alan Duke

A nephew of Katherine Jackson reported the Jackson family matriarch missing late Saturday night after her grandchildren were unable to get in touch with her for a week.

It is the latest chapter in a messy dispute between several of Jackson's children and her advisers over her finances and legal affairs.

Jackson's nephew, Trent, filed the report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. But one of her sons involved in the dispute said she was fine and resting in Arizona.

"I want to reassure everyone (inc all sudden medical experts) that Mother is fine but is resting up in AZ on the orders of a doctor, not us," Jermaine Jackson tweeted.

"This is our mother and her health is paramount. We are not inventing or plotting anything. We are following doctor's advice. Period," he added.

The missing persons report follows a letter made public Wednesday in which two daughters -- Rebbie and Janet -- and three sons -- Jermaine, Randy and Tito -- charge that Jackson, 82, was being mistreated by the executors of Michael Jackson's estate and mis-advised by her manager and lawyer.

According to Jackson's lawyer, Sandra Ribera, Jackson left her Calabasas, California, home on July 15, to fly to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to attend a Jackson brothers concert two days later.

Traveling with her was her oldest daughter, Rebbie.

But when Paris, Michael Jackson's 14-year-old daughter, called her aunts Rebbie and Janet over the past several days, she was told each time she could not speak to her, Ribera said. "yes, my grandmother is missing . i haven't spoken with her in a week i want her home now," Paris tweeted Sunday morning.

In another tweet, she gave out her bodyguard's phone number and asked people to call the authorities if they saw Jackson.

"The kids were trying to get a hold of their grandmother and they haven't been able to reach her for almost a week," Ribera said. "They are told she's unavailable."

"I'm concerned that she's not safe," Ribera added.

Jackson has not called Michael Jackson's three children, who have lived with her since their father died three years ago, the lawyer said.

Jackson "has never gone 24 hours without talking to her kids," she said.

"I'm concerned that she would never do this," Ribera said. "We have no idea what's going on with her. No one has talked to her."

CNN reached out to Janet Jackson's representatives several times but did not hear back.

Jackson's manager Lowell Henry questioned Jermaine Jackson's claim that a doctor ordered her to leave her home and not communicate with her grandchildren.

The sheriff's rhomicide-missing persons unit has been asked to investigate, Ribera said.

R/B Singer Usher's stepson dies after watercraft accident

  

Story by NBC Entertainment
Written by Brandi Fowler, E! Online

Usher's former stepson, 11-year-old Kile Glover, has passed away following a tragic personal watercraft accident at Lake Lanier in Georgia earlier this month.

The son of the "Climax" singer's ex-wife, Tameka Foster, was removed from life support Saturday at 9 a.m., E! News has confirmed.

"It's very, very, very difficult time right now," Foster's friend, producer Jodi Gomes, told E! News. "As a mother, I'm devastated for my friend. Tameka is holding up strong. She is very faithful and puts all her trust in the Lord, truly."

Glover was struck in the head by a personal watercraft driver while riding an inner tube on the lake a couple of weeks ago. Police later identified the driver of the watercraft as family friend Jeffrey S. Hubbard.

Neither Usher nor Foster has released a statement regarding Glover's death yet, but Foster did tweet a photo of her son Friday morning.

Following the sad news of Glover's passing, celebs like Russell Simmons, Justin Bieber and more shared their condolences and prayers for the family via Twitter.

President Obama Weekly Address: Remembering the Victims of the Aurora, Colorado Shooting

President Obama honors the victims of the tragedy in Colorado, those who knew and loved them, and those who are struggling to recover.

Police set off blast inside Colorado theater shooting suspect's apartment

Firefighters move a propane tank outside the apartment complex where suspect James Eagan Holmes lived. (Joshua Lott / Reuters)

BREAKING: Cox to sell stations in six markets.

In a move that will remake its radio station portfolio Cox Media Group is selling radio stations in six markets and TV stations in four markets. The deal will leave Cox with a portfolio more concentrated in larger mid-sized and major markets, including several where it owns television stations and newspapers.    As part of the realignment, Cox is also shuffling several managers.

Cox is selling its clusters in Birmingham; Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.; Honolulu; Louisville; Richmond; and Southern Connecticut, as well as television stations in four markets   ̶   El Paso; Johnstown, Pa.; Reno, Nev.; and Steubenville, Ohio.

“This simplified structure will enable Cox Media Group to capitalize on continued growth and synergies, while retaining its size financially,” said CMG President Doug Franklin. “All of our media outlets, regardless of size, are valuable, profitable brands with strong futures thanks to the hard work and dedication of our talented professionals who serve their audiences, advertisers and communities.  We thank the leaders and employees in the locations we’re selling for their outstanding contributions to this company over the years and the valuable service they will continue to provide their respective communities.” 
The move has led to several management changes.  Former Group VP Kim Guthrie is CMG’s new Senior Vice President responsible for radio markets, and former Austin American-Statesman Publisher Jane Williams is the company’s new Senior Vice President responsible for TV markets, both reporting to Bill Hoffman, EVP over broadcast.  Additional leadership changes effective immediately include:

• Former Group VP Rich Reis is now VP and GM of Digital Operations reporting to EVP Neil Johnston.
• Former Group VP Ben Reed is now VP and Market Manager of Atlanta radio reporting to Kim Guthrie.  Ben succeeds Dan Kearney, who is now VP and Market Manager of Miami radio. Kearney succeeds Jerry Rushin, who is retiring from the company later this month.
• Former Group VP Jay O’Connor, as previously announced, is the new VP and GM at KIRO TV in Seattle.

 Additionally, EVP Mike Joseph continues to oversee CMG’s newspaper operations and CMG Ohio. The company will announce the new publisher of the Austin American-Statesman in the near future. 

Gunman kills 12 in Colorado movie theater

Tom Sullivan embraces family members while searching his son Alex Sullivan. (Barry Gutierrez / AP)

Story by CNN
Written by Chelsea Carter and Michael Pearson

A heavily armed gunman attacked an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater early Friday, tossing tear gas before opening fire on the terrified audience and killing 12 and wounding 58, authorities said. The theater was showing the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

Witness recalls chaos after gunman bursts into theater

One of the injured was just 3 months old, according to hospital workers.

Police arrested a man believed to be the shooter in a rear parking lot of the theater, Frank Fania, a police spokesman, told CNN.

"He did not resist. He did not put up a fight," Fania said. Police seized a rifle and a handgun from the suspect, and another gun was found in the theater, he said.

Two federal law enforcement sources involved in the investigation identified the suspect as James Holmes, 24, of Aurora, Colorado.

KMGH: Mass shooting inside Aurora movie theater

Read more »

Why is Morally Questionable Behavior More Celebrated Than Drama-Free Success?

David Steward, founder and Chairman of the Board at World Wide Technology

Article by Raynard Jackson

From Black Enterprise Magazine

One of my favorite expressions is, “when all is said and done, there’s more said than done.”  But when it comes to businessman, David Steward, I want to revise my expression to read, “when all is said and done, there is more done than said.”

Dave Steward is a longtime friend from my hometown of St. Louis.  He is the founder and chairman of World Wide Technology.

So often, in the Black community, we talk about all the negative images that are put before us; but yet, these are the images that we choose to accept.  We know what celebrity is pregnant, the baby’s name and all other sorts of baby mama drama.

But yet, a person like Dave Steward is hardly known within the Black community.

Steward was born in Clinton, MO (about four hours west of St. Louis) and graduated from Central Missouri State University with a degree in business.  He worked for a series of Fortune 500 companies before founding World Wide Technology in 1990.

WWT is a major systems integrator of technology that provides powerful, yet cost-effective technology and supply chain solutions to the commercial, government and telecom sectors. They specialize in delivering and supporting advanced technology solutions to customers around the world.  Their expected revenues for 2012 are in excess of $5 billion U.S.

By any objective measurement, Steward is a great success.  But, the most amazing part of his success is that his success is built upon Biblical principles.

Steward is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Doing Business by the Good Book (Hyperion). Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush wrote, “David Steward has come up with an idea that betters the way we live and work. He contends that the same qualities of integrity, trust, commitment and loyalty that we expect from our friends and family are also appropriate in the workplace. His story of success epitomizes the American Dream and his example is an inspiration to us all.”

Steward reminds me a lot of NBA basketball players David Robinson and Tim Duncan.  They both played their whole career for the same team—the San Antonio Spurs.  Robinson retired several years ago, but Duncan is still playing.  Both are 7 footers, Robinson at center and Duncan at power forward.  They both are considered within the top 10 best of all time at their respective positions.

They were not considered flashy players, but yet they averaged double digits points and rebounds on their way to winning four NBA championship rings.  Robinson has already been inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame and Duncan will follow upon his retirement.

Neither have ever had any hint of scandal surrounding them—no DUIs, no womanizing, no arrests, etc.  Yet, they were considered bland, boring players because they were drama free, no chest thumping after a great play, no histrionics after they blocked a shot.  In other words, “they acted like they had been there before.”  They were the consummate professionals.  But, by todays Hip Hop standards, they were not “down enough.”  But they commanded the respect of owners, management and players simultaneously.

Steward is similarly viewed.  He has been married to the same woman, Thelma, for over 35 years and has two grown children.  He is a pillar in the St. Louis business and philanthropic communities. He serves on the board of directors of civic groups, hospitals, universities and banks; but just as important he’s on the board of the local Boy Scouts and an active member of his church, Union Memorial United Methodist Church.

His work has been recognized by major publications, like Black Enterprise (ranked #1 in the 2011 BE 100 list of the nation largest Black-owned business), 100 Leaders for the Millennium (St. Louis Business Journal) and ranked # 50 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.

So, the next time you hear a politician berate corporate executives as being greedy, selfish, and uncaring, please ask them if they know a person by the name of Dave Steward.  Wealthy? Yes. Giving? Yes.  Caring?  Yes.  He has created 400 new jobs this year alone, given away millions of dollars to various charities, and created a work environment that makes his employees want to come to work everyday.

Dave doesn’t seek the spotlight, but rather, his actions are the spotlight that reflects the Biblical principles that he uses in his approach to business.  What a shame that Beyonce', Kanye West, and Jay Z are better known than Steward; even though Steward will have a more lasting impact on our society.

With Steward, when all is said and done, there is more done than said.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. The views expressed in this article of those of Jackson, and do not necessarily represent www.kirktanter.blogspot.com.

MRC accredits PPM data in more markets.

Story by Inside Radio

The Media Rating Council has given accreditation to Arbitron's PPM-based ratings in Los Angeles, Baltimore and San Antonio for the first time. 

Two other markets – Riverside-San Bernardino and Tampa – are regaining accreditation after losing the status in January after performance metrics declined. 

The MRC has also voted to continue accreditation in nine markets, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and St. Louis.

Gilead Wins U.S. Approval for First HIV Prevention Pill

Paul Sakuma/AP Photo. Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Truvada pill in their lab in Foster City, Calif.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) won U.S. approval to market its HIV treatment Truvada to prevent the virus that causes AIDS in healthy people who are at high-risk of contracting the disease.

The daily drug is the first aimed at reducing the risk of HIV in uninfected people as part of a strategy that includes other prevention methods such as safe sex practices, risk reduction counseling and regular HIV testing, the Food and Drug Administration said today in a statement. Truvada will carry a boxed warning to physicians and patients that the drug should only be used by those confirmed HIV-negative prior to prescribing the drug and at least every three months during use.

The preventative is targeted at an estimated 415,000 Americans who are among those at highest risk for contracting HIV from sex. The strategy has divided AIDS advocates as some say people wouldn’t adhere to the daily regimen or may spread resistance to the treatment. Truvada’s expanded approval and how to best use the pill will be among the topics discussed by the 20,000 activists and researchers arriving in Washington this weekend for the International AIDS Conference.

“Today’s approval marks an important milestone in our fight against HIV,” FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said in the agency’s statement. “Every year, about 50,000 U.S. adults and adolescents are diagnosed with HIV infection, despite the availability of prevention methods and strategies to educate, test, and care for people living with the disease. New treatments as well as prevention methods are needed to fight the HIV epidemic in this country.”

Current Use

Truvada was approved in 2004 in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-infected adults and children 12 years or older. It generated $2.9 billion in revenue for Foster City, California-based Gilead last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors don’t expect the expanded use of Truvada to add much to sales, Mark Schoenebaum, an analyst at ISI Group in New York, said in an e- mail when FDA pushed back its decision in June.

“Today’s decision is the culmination of almost 20 years of research involving investigators, academic and medical institutions, funding agencies and nearly 20,000 trial participants around the world, and Gilead is proud to have been a partner in this effort,” Norbert Bischofberger, the chief scientific officer at Gilead, said in a statement.

Risk Strategy

The FDA delayed its decision June 9 on Truvada by three months to September to review a plan by Gilead to ensure people wouldn’t misuse the drug. The drug will include a risk mitigation strategy to train prescribers to counsel people that take Truvada. Gilead will provide vouchers for free HIV testing and condoms, the company said.

The risk mitigation strategy includes information about the importance of strict adherence to the dosing regimen and emphasizes that Truvada is part of a comprehensive prevention strategy and should only be used by those who are confirmed HIV negative, Gilead said in its statement.

“Truvada alone should not be used to prevent HIV infection,” Debra Birnkrant, director of the FDA’s division of antiviral products at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said today on a call with reporters.

Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nation’s largest HIV/AIDS nonprofit medical provider, said the approval without a requirement for HIV testing “is completely reckless.”

“The FDA’s move today is negligence bordering the equivalence of malpractice which will sadly result in new infections, drug resistance and serious side effects among many, many people,” Weinstein said in a statement.
As a condition of approval, Gilead also will study the effect of the drug as a preventative on resistance to it in treating HIV, the FDA said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Edney in Washington at aedney@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

40 years later, Mississippi waiter's 'magical moment' renews race relations; and Film Producers and Civil Rights Reporters relive 'exposing' Mississippi life of 1964-1966

Watch the above original 1966 NBC News documentary, "Mississippi: A Self-Portrait" in its entirety.

Former NBC News producer Frank De Felitta recalls a time he and his film crew faced some real danger in 1960s Mississippi.

 Ray De Felitta and David Zellerford discuss the significance of the Tallahatchie Flats – old sharecropper's cabins given new life as tourist lodgings.

Story by DatelineWritten by Tim Beacham and Paul Ryan
Videos by NBC News 

WARNING:  Some of the language in this story could be considered shocking to some.

The Mississippi Delta is thousands of miles and a lifetime away from Southern California where Raymond De Fellita and Yvette Johnson grew up.

Ray is white and pushing 50. He was raised in the Hollywood Hills, the son of a successful filmmaker and novelist. Yvette, is black and more than 10 years younger than Ray. She grew up in a gated community in San Diego, the daughter of former NFL football star.

Until the spring of 2011, the two of them had never met. But in a strange twist of fate, both discovered that they shared a unique bond, rooted in an NBC News documentary that aired only once, on a Sunday evening in May 1966.

Read more »

President Obama Weekly Address: It’s Time for Congress to Pass the Middle Class Tax Cut Extension

President Obama calls on Congress to act now to extend tax cuts for the 98 percent of Americans making less than $250,000 for another year.

Penn State's Dark Fellowship

Commentary by CNN's Dr. Joseph Loconte

The results of the investigation into the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University, released last week, suggest a crisis of conscience in the academy. The report blames “the most powerful leaders at the university” for concealing vital facts about football coach Jerry Sandusky’s chronic record of child abuse. Singled out are university President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley, Vice President Gary Schultz, and head Coach Joe Paterno. “Our most saddening and sobering finding,” the report said, “is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State.”

Last month Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse, including rape and sodomy. If the investigation’s conclusions are correct, he had help. It seems that all these individuals, men of public achievement and outward propriety, conspired together to protect a serial pedophile. How is it possible?

An intense desire to shield the reputation of the school, a jealous regard for its venerable football tradition, a determination to avoid the financial fallout of a sex scandal—these are the usual suspects, and they all played a part in this criminal episode. Yet even taken together they don’t fully explain the alleged conspiracy of silence.

In their 162-page report, investigators said that “a culture of reverence” for the football program contributed to the abuse and its cover-up. This “culture of reverence,” in fact, functioned more like a quasi-religious cult than a college football program. At Penn State—as well as at other competitive football schools—we find the secular equivalent of high priests, holy rituals, secret initiations, unquestioned dogmas and fanatically devoted followers.

And, like any religious cult, there is a sanctified hierarchy: a cadre of elite who stand guard at the temple to protect its power and prestige—and its darkest secrets. They are individuals who, once welcomed into this fellowship, will not break faith with one another.

Christian author C.S. Lewis called this dynamic “the Inner Ring.” Based on his own experience at Oxford and Cambridge universities, Lewis discerned a powerful desire to enter these elite societies, to experience “the delicious sense of secret intimacy.” He described an equally potent fear of being shut out of the inner ring and, once admitted, to close ranks at the first sign of trouble.

In book three of Lewis’s space trilogy, "That Hideous Strength," we watch the moral descent of Mark Studdock, a university professor who comes under the influence of the N.I.C.E. (National Institute of Coordinated Experiments). The leaders of the N.I.C.E want to distract attention from their wicked machinations in the town of Edgetow. In an effort to consolidate their stranglehold over the community, they ask Studdock, a writer who craves their approval and acceptance, to fabricate a newspaper story.

“This was the first thing Mark had been asked to do which he himself, before he did it, clearly knew to be criminal. But the moment of his consent almost escaped his notice; certainly, there was no struggle, no sense of turning a corner,” Lewis writes. “For him, it all slipped past in a chatter of laughter, of that intimate laughter between fellow professionals, which of all earthly powers is strongest to make men do very bad things before they are yet, individually, very bad men.”

It now appears that the circle of leadership at Penn State, not unlike the N.I.C.E., was ruthlessly devoted to its vision of glory: a secular mission that took on the righteous urgency of a religious cause. The cult of football, like any other cult, not only produces heroes and saints. It creates hypocrites and charlatans.

None of the men implicated in the scandal at Penn State began his career determined to abandon his most basic moral obligations: to protect children from physical and sexual abuse. And, yet, the report found “a striking lack of empathy for child abuse victims by the most senior leaders of the university.” How could it happen? It probably happened in “a chatter of laughter,” in that dark fellowship that invites decent men to quietly condone the most indecent of acts against their neighbors.

If the report’s findings are true, the inner ring at Penn State manipulated a power structure that made dissent costly. University janitors, who knew what was happening to the children, reportedly kept quiet for fear of reprisals. “They were afraid to take on the football program,” said Louis Freeh, the former FBI director who led the investigation. “If that’s the culture on the bottom, then God help the culture at the top.”

The great tragedy here is that God and his moral law were excluded from the culture at the top. If that culture is to change, it will require more than tough talk and secular therapy. Maybe it’s time to recall that the God of the Bible is portrayed as the great defender of society’s weakest and most vulnerable. Jesus showed a special regard for children—a countercultural quality in his day—and admonished his followers about taking advantage of them.

His stern warning, repeated several times in the gospels, might serve as a moral signpost for coaches everywhere: “It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin.”

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dr. Joseph Loconte.

Sarah Brame almost catches first fish

The Freeh Report on the Penn State Child Sex abuse scandal

 

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves the Centre County Courthouse in handcuffs after a jury found him guilty in his sex abuse trial June 22, 2012, in Bellefonte, Pa. (Getty Images)

Freeh Report on Penn State University Child Sex Abuse Scandal: http://www.thefreehreportonpsu.com/REPORT_FINAL_071212.pdf

 Penn State Child Sex Abuse Scandal Press Conference: http://thefreehreportonpsu.com/#!prettyPhoto

Report: Joe Paterno reworked deal

Story by ESPN and AP

In the midst of the Jerry Sandusky child-sex abuse investigation, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was planning his exit strategy, according to a report by the New York Times.

The newspaper reported that in January 2011, the same month he testified before the grand jury regarding Sandusky, Paterno began negotiations on a package that gave him $3 million if he retired from coaching after the 2011 season.

The amended contract, reached in August, months before charges were filed against Sandusky, also included perks such as use of a plane and hydrotherapy equipment for his wife that totalled $5.5 million.
Paterno's contract was not set to expire until the end of 2012, according to university documents.

According to the newspaper, the university's full board of trustees were kept in the dark about Paterno's arrangment until November, when Sandusky was fired.

When Paterno was fired in the wake of the scandal, board members who raised questions about whether the school should go forward with Paterno's retirement package were shot down due to mounting pressure and the threat of a lawsuit from Paterno's family.

On Friday, a lawyer for the Paterno family said that it was Penn State that proposed the retirement and that many aspects of the lucractive deal -- use of plane and a luxury box at Beaver Stadium -- had existed in prior contracts.

Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI who was hired by university trustees to look into what has become one of sports' biggest scandals, produced a scathing 267-report Thursday.

Freeh, after an eight-month inquiry concluded that Paterno, then-president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley and now-retired vice president Gary Schultz "failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade."

Freeh called the officials' disregard for child victims "callous and shocking."

Sandusky is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of 45 criminal counts for abusing 10 boys. He faces a minimum of 60 years in prison.

The Penn State Child Sex Abuse Scandal led to the ouster of Paterno and Spanier. Curley and Schultz are awaiting trial on charges accusing them of lying to a grand jury and failing to report abuse. They have pleaded not guilty.

Legal experts said emails and other evidence in the Penn State Child Sex Abuse investigative report released Thursday suggest Paterno may have misled a grand jury when asked when he first heard about Sandusky's misconduct.

Experts have said Paterno, if alive today, could be looking at charges such as child endangerment, perjury and conspiracy.

First Lady Michele Obama

President Obama Gains Advantage Over Romney on Economy in Pew Poll

Story by Bloombeg

Written by Mark Silva

(Photo: Getty Images) Supporters with President Barack Obama at James Day Park on July 5, 2012 in Parma, Ohio.

President Barack Obama has gained an advantage over Republican Mitt Romney in a Pew Research Center poll of public confidence in handling of the economy.

Obama leads Romney by 50 percent to 43 percent among registered voters surveyed, Pew reports, with the Republican Party's presumed presidential nominee losing 3 percentage points since its previous poll in early June.

Public opinion on which candidate would do a better job of improving economic conditions has shifted from an advantage for Romney in Pew’s June survey to support for Obama in the latest survey of 2,373 registered voters conducted June 28-July 9.

“Romney has not seized the advantage as the candidate best able to improve the economy,” the Pew Research Center states in its website report on the survey. “In fact, he has lost ground on the issue over the past month.”

The shift in opinion is notable after two months of reports from the U.S. Department of Labor that the nation’s rate of unemployment has held steady at 8.2 percent, with just 77,000 jobs added in May and 80,000 jobs added in June.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, called the latest jobs report a “kick in the gut” and evidence that the president’s economic policies aren’t working.

Obama has pointed to more than two years of consecutive job growth from month to month, with more than 4 million jobs added, and maintained that “inch by inch, yard by yard, mile by mile,” the economy is improving. He has campaigned against Congress for not enacting measures which might add more jobs.

Health-Care Ruling

The Pew survey found that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling on June 28 upholding the core of the president’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has had little impact on the presidential campaign.

The law is intended to provide health insurance for millions of Americans who don’t have coverage.

Romney and Republican congressional leaders have called the law’s requirement that most people obtain insurance or pay a penalty a “tax.” Yet the Pew report states that “health care remains a secondary issue” in the campaign.

The nation’s job situation is the leading issue in the campaign, the survey finds. Romney, a co-founder and former chief executive officer of Boston-based Bain Capital, is campaigning as a candidate who knows how to create jobs.

More voters voice confidence in Obama’s ability to improve the job situation -- by a margin of 46 percent to 42 percent. Voters surveyed said Obama can do a better job of improving economic conditions by 48 percent to 42 percent.

The survey also found stronger support for the president among his backers, with 64 percent of Obama’s supporters in the poll saying they strongly support him and 34 percent of Romney’s backers saying they strongly support the Republican.

The survey’s margin of error is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

Vice-President Joe Biden NAACP convention speech 2012

Romney and the NAACP: A Missed Opportunity

Commentary by Raynard Jackson

NNPA Columnist

July 12, 2012

As anyone who has followed me knows, I have been extremely critical of President Obama’s non-engagement with the Black community. Obama has deliberately ignored the plight of the Black community while giving preferential treatment to the homosexual and Hispanic communities.

But I can’t in good conscious criticize Obama and then give the Republicans a pass when they display similar behavior towards the Black community.  I can’t excoriate Black Democrats for following Obama blindly and then remain silent when Black Republicans do the same towards Romney.

Yesterday, as I watched Mitt Romney address the NAACP, I tried to force myself to be optimistic about what he would say. But my years of being an avid Republican prepared me for the worst.  And that’s exactly what I saw.

Romney had a golden opportunity to make a credible argument for Blacks to support him. But because he doesn’t have experienced Blacks in his inner circle, he thoroughly embarrassed himself and deserved to be roundly booed.  For Romney to speak before a Black audience and not talk about the Black entrepreneur is like going to church and not mentioning God.

This is what happens when you don’t have the right people around you, people who understand communications, messaging and the nuances of the audience being addressed. That’s the elephant in the room.

Contrary to what the White media thinks, the preachers and politicians are not the leaders in the Black community – businessmen and businesswomen are. That Black business person is typically head of the board of trustees or the deacon board of the church.  So, if you get the business leader on your side, he or she will bring along the minister and the congregation.

Business leaders have a vested interest in having an educated Black community because they have to hire people in order to grow their business. Like everyone else, those leaders care about crime and don’t want employees to be victims as they travel to and from work. More than anyone else, business leaders understand the cost of capital issues and therefore are more likely to support a reduction or total abolition of the capital gains tax. He or she is more likely to support school choice and vouchers, all topics the NAACP members can relate to.

 So, the point is, the Black business leaders are the most important entry point to the Black community and Republicans, of all people,  are totally ignorant of this fact. And they will remain ignorant of what’s important to the Black community until they have campaign staffs that look like America.

Like Jeremiah of the Bible, I have been labeled as one crying in the wilderness. And I am not about to surrender that label now. Am I the only one who is offended that Romney has fewer than five Blacks on his national campaign staff and none in top decision-making positions?  I am talking about someone who controls a budget, has the final say on hiring, and has the ability to put an event on the candidate’s calendar or arrange a private meeting with the candidate.

Am I the only one who noticed the optics of Romney not having photos of any Black Republicans on his campaign web site?  Am I the only one who is puzzled as to why Romney has never met with a group of Black entrepreneurs?

I was stunned to learn that Romney had chosen a recently converted Republican, Ashley Bell, to be one of his surrogates and to help him craft his speech to the NAACP. Bell is a decent guy, but

am I to believe that Romney couldn’t find any veteran Black Republicans who have both party credentials and relevant presidential campaign experience to help him craft the speech that would define his relationship with Black America?

Does his staff know people such as Shannon Reeves, Allegra McCullough, David Byrd, Aaron Manaigo, Francis Johnson, Ada Fisher or James House?  If they don’t, I will be happy to put Romney’s staff in touch with them and many other able Blacks. For Romney to pick a Republican-come-lately over Party vets who have taken all kind of criticism for supporting the Grand Old Party is a grand old insult to those Black Republicans who have toiled for years in the fields of Republican politics. 

Where are the voices of Black Republicans who know better? Their silence is deafening. In this respect, they are just as bad as the Black Democrats I have been criticizing.

With Romney’s speech to the NAACP and making Bell one of his surrogates, the candidate has spent more time with Black Democrats than he has with Black Republicans.  Where is the outrage from Black Republicans?  Oh, they can criticize Obama for his treatment of Blacks, but when Romney does the same thing they get laryngitis. As I often say, “the best way to get attention from the Republican Party as a Black Republican is to be a Black Democrat.” 

 _____________________________________________________________________________

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. His website is:  www.raynardjackson.com.

Widow of Nat 'King' Cole Dies of Cancer at 89

 

The two were married in 1948 by then-U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church. (Photo: Retna)

Story by AP

BOCA RATON, Fla.— Maria Hawkins Cole, widow of jazz crooner Nat "King" Cole and mother of singer Natalie Cole, has died in South Florida after a short battle with cancer. She was 89.

A representative of the family confirmed that she died Tuesday at a Boca Raton hospice, surrounded by her family.

Before and after marrying the famed singer and piano player, Maria Cole had her own long singing career, performing with greats such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Born in Boston in 1922, she lived as a child in North Carolina after her mother died, according to a statement from the family. She later moved to New York to pursue a music career

According to her family, Ellington heard recordings of Maria Cole singing and hired her as a vocalist with his orchestra. She stayed with him until 1946 when she began soloing at the city's Club Zanzibar as an opening act for the Mills Brothers. There she met Nat "King" Cole.

The two were married in 1948 by then-U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church.

Maria Cole traveled and performed with her husband throughout the '50s. After her husband died from cancer in 1965, Maria Cole created the Cole Cancer Foundation.

Her children, Natalie, Timolin and Casey Cole, said in a joint statement, "Our mom was in a class all by herself. She epitomized, class, elegance, and truly defined what it is to be a real lady. ... She died how she lived — with great strength, courage and dignity, surrounded by her loving family."

At the time of her death Maria Cole lived in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Private services will be held in Glendale, Calif.

Direct foreign investment in Russia grows by 22%

Story by RT
Photo by Reuters

Russia now ranks 7th in the world for foreign direct investment as investment grew by 22 per cent, reaching $53 billion in 2011, according to an annual report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD.)

­Out of $100 invested into the economies worldwide $3.50 went into Russia, with foreign direct investment reaching 3 per cent of GDP, more than in China and the United States.

Foreign investors were primarily attracted by Russia’s growing domestic market as well as by affordable labor costs and the rise in production capacity.

Repayment of investment primarily in the energy sector has also encouraged foreigners to invest in the Russian economy. One of the examples is a joint venture between Russia’s state Rosneft and ExxonMobil in developing the Arctic shelf

But according to 174 companies polled, Russia's attractiveness to investors could decrease in the next three years. China was named top priority country for investment between 2012 and 2014, while Russia and Germany shared 8th place. In 2005 Russia was in the top five according to UNCTAD, together with the BRIC countries and the United States.

The report says that between 2012 and2014 investors will focus on China, the United States and India as countries for direct investment followed by Indonesia and Brazil.

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. in Arizona for treatment

Story by NBC News

Written by Andrea Mitchell

Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. faced new pressure from Democratic leaders Wednesday to explain his month-long absence from Congress, even as friends and colleagues tell NBC News that he has been at a treatment facility in Arizona.

 A family friend who is in close touch with Jackson’s parents says the congressman is suffering from “severe clinical depression” and has an alcohol problem – although his wife and staff have a different view of his condition.

His wife, Sandi Jackson, texted NBC Chicago on Wednesday saying that her husband is “not in rehab.” His staff issued a statement denying Jackson was being treated for alcoholism – they say he is being treated for a “mood disorder.”

“The Congressman is receiving intensive medical treatment at a residential facility for a mood disorder,” his office said in the statement. “He is responding positively to treatment and expected to make a full recovery.”

A statement from Jackson’s physician also said that he is responding well.

Vice President addresses NAACP convention here in Houston

After presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got booed by the NAACP crowd on Wednesday when he said he’d repeal the Affordable Care Act, Vice President Joe Biden makes a stop at the 103rd convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Congressman Clyburn (SC) on Patients' Rights Repeal Vote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    July 11, 2012

CONTACT:   Patrick Devlin, 202-226-3210

CLYBURN FLOOR STATEMENT ON PATIENTS’ RIGHTS REPEAL VOTE

WASHINGTON, DC—Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn delivered the following statement on the House floor today.

“I rise today in opposition to this partisan charade to repeal the Affordable Care Act. 

“This is the 31st time the Republican Majority has orchestrated a vote to repeal, in whole or in part, this very important and long-awaited law to increase accessibility and decrease the cost of quality health care for all Americans.  Fortunately, the other body rejected this ill-fated effort the first 30 times, and this 31st time will be no different.  Why, then, are we having this debate? 

“Do my Republican colleagues really believe that a majority of the other Body is now ready to take from children born with diabetes the right to have health care coverage under their parents’ health care policies?  Do my Republican colleagues really believe that a majority of the other body is now ready to take from children who are seeking employment the right to remain on their parents’ health care policies up to their 26th birthday?  Do my Republican colleagues really believe that a majority of the other Body is now ready to take from women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer the ability to keep their coverage when they get sick?  Are these the things Speaker wants to rip out at their roots? 

“The American people are smarter than that.  They know the deal.  They do not wish to be taken down this primrose path for the 31st time. 

“The American people want stability in their lives, security for their families, and safety in their communities.  Americans want us to stop jerking them around.  They cannot have stability in their lives when we are shipping American jobs overseas.  They cannot have security in their homes when they are fearful of getting sick.  They cannot have safety in their communities when their teachers, policemen, and firefighters are being laid off while we engage in symbolic episodes.  The American people want real action to address our real problems: job creation, deficit elimination, and debt reduction. 

“Volume verses value has been at the heart of the health care debate from the very beginning.  And this vote holds that issue in high relief.   And just as in the health care they receive, the American people prefer value over volume. 

“So let me remind my Republican colleagues, that in spite of their volume of 30 previous votes, I doubt very seriously that there is much value in this 31st vote.  I urge a no vote on this repeal and invite the Republican Majority to work with us to restore the American Dream.”