Stefan

Troy, Like most things in this country, Journalistic and Writing standards are based on what is best for White people. For Black people to make it as a magazine or news writer, they have to learn what is important to White people and use that as their starting point. Regarding your point and eating pretty good food, as I get older, I am wont to leave out words. That's why editors will always be needed. I am not harsh on the writing of others because so few people in this discussion actually WRITE. They simply fill up a comment box with quotes from people who can actually write. That is what I am harsh about. It is kind of funny that those who can't write, but think the use of endless quotes of someone who can is getting them somewhere. Yeah, it is. To a good laugh. Leaving out words such as prepositions is a mental typo but the thought is there. Quoting someone ad nauseum without delivering your own thought process and self-defeating. Because the one who quotes has not advanced their view. They've buried it. Now, when I used attribution, it came from a professional news website. One cannot become an accomplished or well paid writer without doing that.

Delano, Time is a hard concept to describe. But an easy thing to waste. I prefer watching films about time travel or time displacement. But that's Sci-Fi entertainment.

I guess in the next life or next planet or next galaxy we will learn the truth about the Origin of Earth Man. Personally, I could care less since most anthropologists subscribe to the belief that the earliest of men were not the same to what they refer to as modern man. I'll be patient and wait for the books and movies from the aliens. Or the angels. Or the Creator.

Well, the good general has been nominated and introduced to the nation. And already, Democrats who claimed that they like him are going to oppose a waiver that would allow the General to head the Defense Department. I bet a number of Republicans say the same thing. At issue is a waiver from Congress that would allow the General, who retired in 2016, to take a job that is reserved for a civilian. In order to avoid needing a waiver. Gen. Austin had to be retired for at least seven years. People in this country demand civilian leadership of the Defense Department. As if Biden is as crazy and incompetent as Trump.

I was a full time staff writer who got to travel, eat some pretty good, took my son with me on many trips, filed expense reports and had health benefits. But that's only if one is on staff. Yes. freelancers are treated pretty badly at many publications. But not all. Depends on your writing talent and personality. I was always a staff writer and later staff editor. My value as a fluid writer who could generate multiple sources for each news story and my friendly and outgoing demeanor made me a positive asset. This is why an innate talent for writing, being personable and able to ignore obvious racism was crucial to surviving as a Black Journalist. Sourcing is iron-clad proof of one's ability to back up what they write. When I posted snippets or links from news stories from reputable news websites to prove my contentions, those supported my ledes. When I said more Blacks were voting for Trump, I posted news stories which said the same thing and that was the proof! It is amazing that certain ones couldn't figure this out. Some of you could be excellent writers. But do you know what you need? An Editor.

I just love the insecure egomaniacs in news forums. especially the ones who CANNOT WRITE! Always on the attack. Never with something new. A constant with the negative. Because Hope rejects their view.

First of all, Pioneer, I am not crying. You are. Remember when you labeled me "ignorant?" There is supposedly a GED teaching section on this forum, I taught English Composition. This Bud's for you:

Troy, We are a nation of TERRIBLE writers. People can call themselves what they want to. But the proof is in the sum total of their output. If they've made a habit of not writing much themselves but are wont to quote others, then they're not writers. Name the opinion or Op-Ed writers at major publications who quote others every five or six sentences? Do you know of anyone at any major publication who does that? Don't tell me to lower my expectations. I demand excellence. Or at least a faithful and honest try. I know most people will never be professional wordsmiths. But they can improve their writing ability. I created this meme about 10 minutes ago as a critique of those who think quoting someone every six sentences should be the norm.

Daniellegfny, Certain people in this forum fancy themselves as well informed and in the know. A few are. But some are faking it and get really ticked off when they are shown up. There is one basic rule of all Discussion and News Forums: The goal is an actual discussion of news events. But if all a person is going to do is quote someone else throughout their own comment, I tend to ignore such comments. That original poster knows what he or she wrote. What they're looking for is a written response to their opinion, minus quotes of their original short comment. A commenter's job is to stay on point, not get so off topic that all they do is go after that person's opinion. Once they do that, they've already lost. Their views are lost through the haze of someone else's words. I attacked you for supporting Donald Trump. I joined a wolf pack and was so sure I was correct in doing so, I focused on only one thing: Skin color. So, please accept my most humble apology. Because I knew more Black people. and Latinos, were flocking to vote for Donald Trump in this election. Despite the childish comments from those who don't know their arse from their elbows. And I did prove that I was right. I believe you support Donald Trump for old fashioned ideals that we as Black People have gotten away from: 1) Personal Responsibility 2) Pride in supporting education 3) Financial Illiteracy 3) Pride in supporting and celebrating our offspring's success 4) Love and Respect for our Women 5) Rejection of charlatans, phonies and grifters in our communities Now, I could be wrong. Daniellegfny. But since you remain so calm and aboveboard, that I was why I believe you love hard work and cheer those who make it through their honest, creator-given or learned talent. And not through misdeeds or cheating.

Hoo boy, a lot of Conservatives, especially pro-war hawks, are not gonna like this development one bit: President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate retired four star Army General Lloyd Austin to become Defense Secretary. He'll be the first Black man to hold that role if approved by the U.S. Senate. Oh, yeah! I can hear the grousing and gnashing of teeth now. Onward and upward for our people! . . .

Daniellegfny, I admire you because you always express honesty. You do not try to denigrate anyone. However, I am a professional writer. And I am personally disappointed with the writing in this forum. Because I am witnessing several adult Black people who can't seem to author two or three stand alone paragraphs on their own. But the worst part about this is too many of them think this is okay. It's not.

Troy, Give it up. You are NOT a writer, dude. You're not even close to being one. No wonder you believe inserting quotes of what someone else has penned is a proper mechanism for responding to a point. I taught Writing. And not once in any of my Writing classes did I instruct a student to include a quote from someone else's paper. For the last time, since you refuse to believe your own eyes, I proved my point.

Delano, The Black executive at Merrill Lynch & Co. you are referring to is Stanley O'Neal, the bank's former CEO and chairman. Not only did O'Neal run this storied Wall Street bank into the ground, (he presided over the largest quarterly loss in Merrill Lynch's 93-year history), O'Neal was a bit of an azz hole. That quarterly loss totaled $2.3 billion. As far as his personality, financial publications referred to O'Neal as being acerbic, which means caustic when it comes to dealing with others. But you know what else O'Neal was responsible for? Being part of the subprime mortgage crisis wherein bank managers approved hundreds of million in mortgage loans to individuals they knew might default. And default they did. Which was one of the leading causes of the 2007-08 financial meltdown which eventually morphed into the Great Recession. The government was so ticked off at what Merrill Lynch did, they ordered the bank to pay a $8.4 million fine. Oh, but what happened to Stanley O'Neal? Why, the board told his light skinned butt to leave in 2007, but gave him a nice $161.5 million severance package. As my older friends in Journalism used to joke all the time: "Nice work if you can get it." You have an attentive mind, Delano.

There were a lot of Black people who actually believed Obama was their Messiah. Not in the religious sense. But in a political terms. And they were quite reasonable in their everyday life. Most Obama detractors refuse to accept that Barack Obama possesses a massive intellect. He's beloved not just because he was Editor of the Harvard Review. Not just because of he's adept at producing soaring oratory. It's because Barack Obama is able to articulate our angst, our pain and our dreams with such academic prowess, he ticks off those Blacks who are jealous of his communication talent. And some Blacks brag about not voting for this country's first African American President whom the world admired and celebrated? And whom many in our country would like to see back in the White House? There was no one else Black who could have won over the U.S. Not one Black person who ban boast Obama's communicative skills, his penchant for negotiation instead of war and his global likability, except in nations with hateful leaders. There must be many closet haters of their own race in here.

Delano, There is a huge difference between the quality of writing and reporting in daily general circulation newspapers and business and financial publications. And are you talking about publications with a paywall that limits access? Because the writing is much better when there are good editors in a news room and a paywall increases an owner's revenue. This means they can hire talented editors. Weekly and monthly publications usually have fewer permanent staffers and rely on freelancers or long time correspondents. But at daily publications, reporters are up against deadlines and some of them force reporters to file their stories in the late afternoon. What most people don't know is that at legitimate publications whose quality and accuracy is rarely questioned, reporters usually have to fight to get their stories into the publication. Those stories must have dependable attribution and good sourcing. That's because there are so many reporters on a staff who are also good writers and good reporters. I've known and managed both. Good reporters who were not good writers. And good writers who were not strong reporters. Now, imagine yourself a Black man in a sea of Whites some of whom resent you for being in their midst. Think that Black person can be incompetent and keep their job for long? There are times when a source cannot be named, which we editors call using a quote without the attribution, because the source might get fired for revealing information. If the editors are of poor quality, then you're going to get poor quality writing. And this is also true with teachers. If a teacher does not how to write well, their students will not learn how to write well either. ---------------------------------------------------------------- I am not sure if anyone who posts in these discussion forums believe they have the right stuff to write for the print news media. But if you do, take a gander at this analysis piece: https://toughnickel.com/self-employment/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Writing-Magazine-and-Newspaper-Articles

You are a Republican. Most Republicans have a dim view of Blacks.

Umar Johnson is nothing but a con artist. Intellectual? He's as phony as his head is the size of a mini-Cooper.

Neither Barack Obama, nor any of his family, avoided assassination because of 44's abilities. It was because we had at the time, a Secret Service that was determined to keep alive and keep from harm our nation's first Black President and the First Family. Obama is brilliant. A man so inspiring, even a few Conservatives were in awe of him. People around the world knew Obama's greatness even though many in the U.S. refused to acknowledge it. Unlike those with who don't understand U.S. political history, I never put all my faith in Barack Obama. I knew better. Those who did and who now claim they are disappointed, are not really disappointed. You were naive. Did you really think four centuries of brutal hatred would be erased by electing a single Black man to the White House? WTF were you expecting? You did not understand this country's awful history of the realization that it runs on the whims of not just brazen and bigoted White people, but now White without consciences who are rich and who are powerful enough to elevate or deflate certain politicians and programs. The country needed a change and a big slap in the face for being stupid. That is why Barack Obama was elected. But was blocked by racists in Congress. Gee, no surprise there. Why were you surprised? Dumb azz third party voters and an ego-driven Socialist named Bernie Sanders then undermined Hillary Clinton's quest for the White House. Believe it or not, there are an awful lot of really stupid Black people who didn't want a White woman President. So they sat on their backsides and allowed a maniac to take the White House.

We are nation of terrible writers. PERIOD! I am not talking about the writing in scholarly journals because, um, name the scholars in these discussion forums? Also, name any scholarly journal that contains essays and scientific analyses, but also employs writers who use someone else's quotes every few paragraphs. No one who has learned to write correctly does that. And that's the problem. Because most schools in the U.S. fail to teach writing. It is an afterthought. Which is why you will occasionally come across online the publishing of teachers' notes to parents that contain misspellings, bad grammar and sentence misconstruction. If teachers can't write correctly, what makes anyone think they are qualified to teach their pupils how to write? If one disagrees with a stance, particularly in online forums, a rebuttal written response can be offered. And it is best if one keeps this to a minimum of five paragraphs. Which is the exact basic standard for essay writing. The very fact you are defending such horrible writing skills is proof of what I say. We are the Dumbest of the Dumbed Down countries on this planet. Not only do we accept Mediocrity, we revel in it. The following is a teacher's first hand account of his teaching experience. He does recall one particular student. https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/why-are-americans-such-lousy-writers/

From Health.com website analysis on Environmental Racism: “Pollution is not race neutral,” Colleen Callahan, deputy director of the Luskin Center for Innovation at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, tells Health. “Instead, race matters in the distribution of environmental hazards, dirty air, and polluted soil and water. Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color (BIPOC) systematically experience greater environmental hazards, and fewer quality parks and other positive environmental benefits, compared to white communities.”

Sending prayers and good thoughts to Chevdove for her father.

Troy, I do not expect perfect grammar and spelling on any news forum. But if you want the truth, Black news forums have the most emotional and angry participants. And some are quick to show their immaturity because they take offense immediately. I am not female, so I do not enter Women news forums. There are a lot of Conservatives who also cannot hold their temper. But on most general news forums, there are always good writers who are patient and would rather wait for further explanation before tossing a stick of dynamite. It depends on the topic. Some issues generate intense emotions such as Israel and U.S. relations with Muslim countries. Or Barack Obama. Reparations for descendants of Black Slaves and discussions of Black American achievement also generate a lot of discussion, some of it quite nasty. But on Black forums, I've run into a lot of people who will look at a single paragraph and are ready to blow their top. Personally, I don't expect to find wordsmiths on forums unless they have nothing else to do. We are a nation of terrible writers. But I eschew childishness and those who express disdain for anyone simply because their worldview does not match that of their churlish detractors. Folks should at least try to be polite. Now, Troy, are a terrific writer. And I enjoy reading your comments. I'm on a search for good conversation and hopeful and truthful thoughts for the Black Community. Oh, and some darn good humor.

Because you and Pioneer, (who seems to lack the ability to write complete paragraphs), were so intent on being negative on someone else's opinion. Turns out that opinion, as I told everyone weeks ago, would be correct. You operate a book selling website. And some on here disparage good writing? You should celebrate someone who communicates through the written word. Just as I admire your efforts to get books on the Black Experience into the hands of those who want them.

Welcome to the universe of the disappointed, the disillusioned and the disenchanted. I learned about these feelings in 1968 when the world lost Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. This is not so much the result of getting behind a particular political candidate or leader of a movement. It's the realization that the world truly is cruel and there are scores of individuals who have no problem cutting short someone's life if it means years of mayhem and discord will ensue. Sen. Barack Obama was not the Messiah too many Black people believed he would be. Our long standing problems with racism, discrimination and poor education would not disappear. Reparations cash would not be flowing freely. To this day, I remain amused by Blacks who thought all of our problems would be over because we elected a Black man to the White House. Do you know when we are getting close to being viewed as true equals? When we are treated like Jews. Because Jews have received many an apology for the Holocaust as well as reparations. When the U.S. Congress and perhaps, a sitting President, manages to eke out a national apology for centuries of Chattel Slavery, a huge psychological barrier will have been pierced. Until then, the struggle for full acceptance will continue.

Yeah, the United States is a nation of poor writers. And it always will be. Don't ask me what Black social media websites I go to. There are not that many that deal with politics and current affairs. So, I've been on a lot of Conservative websites and sometimes a few Leftist ones. I leave if there are nothing but petulant children within. Do you expect sub-par writing for the books that are offered on this website? Would any of your customers purchase a tome that boasted rebuttals of the manuscript every two lines? A change of book themes every three pages? I taught Writing. I trained news reporters. But most importantly, I stay well informed. Most schools do not put an emphasis on good writing. Which is why one sees a mish mash of poor sentence construction, lack of coherent themes and wild and disparate claims that are never proven on many news forums. Oh, and let's not forget the ubiquitous childish putdowns when posters run out of intelligent things to say.