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There are plenty of people. I was asked to buy a carton of cigarettes here in Florida for someone up in New York City who smokes two packs a day. My mother easily smokes a pack a day and has been doing that for the better part of 3/4 of a century. certainly, we as a people can do a much better job and investing in our own businesses. We do have experience with this already. There are mega churches all over the country that are supported by relatively small contributions by large numbers of people. Some of those churches have schools and provide a wide variety of services for the community in addition to ensuring contributors get into heaven. But churches have all types of tax advantages that regular businesses don’t. The real issue, I think, is creating wealth for the investors rather than lighting the pockets of some charismatic preacher. It is not just a matter of organizing the investors it’s coming up with the viable business. Alternatively, people can be content in simply contributing to a business without expecting to be rewarded financially. People contribute to my business simply because they want to support what I’m doing, which is beautiful because it actually does help.

MVmedia Black Love Day Spotlight: Second Kiss by Milton J. Davis! Jason Stone and Lisa Hollis thought they would be high school sweethearts. A terrible first kiss said otherwise, so they became great friends. Ten years later a chance encounter in Atlanta brings them together again and rekindles their friendship. But everything changes after their second kiss. As a special bonus, this eStory also includes a sneak peek of Milton J. Davis's upcoming romance novel, Cynda! Happy Black Love Day! Second Kiss

Understood. We should embrace our own tribes and do whatever it takes to encourage and uplift them. Got it. At the same time, 1) 1st amendment and 2) technology, gives us the freedom of speech and a platform to express our ideas, thoughts, views, opinions, etc. Like writing a piece of music or a book or an article, with freedom of speech, we can release it out into the world. The person hearing or reading may very well enjoy it. A little over a week ago, we lost a master teacher in the honorable Neely Fuller Jr. His teachings did not appeal to a huge segment of Black folks. That didn't stop him. Even when a Black person calls out to the *community-at-large*, only those who share the vision need to heed it. Other tribes can ignore it and roll their own program. No problem.😎

Exactly. It's an investment that makes sense to many Black folks especially those who grew up in the church. They were indoctrinated a long time ago. Coming up with viable businesses is important. Educating Black people in investing is even more critical. All types of charities receive money from donors both small and large. That includes Black folks too. Unfortunately, some Black folks seem to be hardest on themselves when it comes to trust and doing business with each other.😎

So true, but it's still 'the spice of life'. We, as a humanity need to find that balance and move on. We can leave the negativity behind and benefit from those of us who know how to appreciate the goodwill of all humanity.

That website is defaulted. It has not been maintained for years and the length to the forms is broken. The fact that it ranks well in search seems to indicate there is no active website in the space. I wonder if there’s even a desire for one. I suspect most church communities have their own websites and online social platforms. Well, from the example that Richard provided the idea of a Black Christian website didn’t seem to work. As far as a black on website, the equivalent of what’s already out there we already know that won’t work at least not originating in the US. Of course anyone buying in stock in Meta or Alphabet are doing so to make money for themselves. Now, while Facebook makes itself out itself as bringing in the world closer together people don’t invest in them for that they invest solely to make money. There are other businesses types that are mission, driven B corps and not for profits. people invest in them to improve society, but those aren’t the organizations that make all that make money for investors or create wealth. It has been suggested buy some, that AALBC should become a not for profit.

Talk about redundancy. As there is a war on fraud, waste and abuse in government spending being investigated by DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), there is already a group of folks who are supposed to be doing that work. The US House Committee of Oversight and Accountability has the same responsibility. A bipartisan body is split down the middle between doing their jobs and supporting DOGE. DOGE was stood up by POTUS OJ. The quasi-agency is headed by the unelected, South African, Elon Musk. A billionaire who has conflicts of interest due to his government contracts. POTUS OJ has given Musk the latitude to find $1 trillion dollars or more of fraud, waste and abuse. In addition to eliminating programs, they're on a mission to shrink the federal government too. The craziest part of this whole thing: 1) Congress gets paid in part to perform a similar function 2) Congress is responsible for the money that gets appropriated 3) No shortage of Inspector Generals (IG) throughout government who are responsible for investigating fraud, waste and abuse 4) POTUS OJ has fired IGs 5) Placing some federal workers on paid leave (DEI & USAID) while ordering other employees back into the office While DOGE has been tasked with making the government more efficient by eliminating fraud, waste and abuse, their mission is duplicative of what folks are already getting paid to do. I believe whatever monies DOGE *finds* and deems being wasted will be redirected to enrich POTUS OJ's cronies. Nevermind that they want to raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion dollars. That means more spending not less. Congress is letting it happen. Not only because the GOP has a majority. Both political parties are two sides of the same coin. Watch their hands. Follow the money.😎