Cynique

"Implement" is the operative word here. You are great at offering simple solutions to complex problems, Pioneer. But when dealing with humans, their behavior is unpredictable because of the X factor and external conditions that are in a state of flux. So while the solution to a problem may look good on paper and sound good in theory, the chances of said problem being solved are elusive because the problem, itself, is fraught with variables and is not always accurately stated. In the fiinal outcome those offering solutions become a part of the problem. Putting more police on the street to combat drive-by violence has been a suggestion that has been around for years.. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to come up with this idea. But it hasn't really worked. It may scatter the problem but it doesn't eliminate it. The only people who can stop gang activity are the gangs themselves and only time will bring about a change in their mind sets. Chicago is currently in an uproar because the board of education thinks the solution to bad schoosl is to close underperforming ones and use the money saved to raise the standards of the remaining schools that will serve broader districts. But the teachers union and irate parents have compounded the problem and complicated the solution. The wars in Irag and Afghanistan were supposed to solve the problems in the middle east. But both of these solutions were utter failures. The civil rights movement was supposed to eliminate racism but all it did was to set the stage for racism to morph into a more subtle manifestation. The internet was hailed as a communication panacea but the solutions it utilized facilitated new problems I agree that probelms are more manageable on a one-on-one basis but the world at large is just one big hot bed of problems, none of which are being solved because problems beget problems and the result is managed chaos. I concede that my age is a factor in my cynical outlook because for one reason, from my perspective, everything new is old. Been there, done that.Things come and go but like ol Will Shakespeare says:"the best laid plans of mice and men oft times go awry." I was once young and optimistic but I am now old and realistic, a spectator watching others chase Utopian illusions.

I say and I say again, that all problems don't have solutions. There is no way to prevent or stop this epidemic of kids killing kids. Some times the only way for change to come is that things get so bad, all that's left is for them to get better. In the process of cycles coming and going, problems have a way of solving themselves. And, if this rotation takes too long, there's always a chance that an asteroid will hit Earth and our worries will all be over.

The truth about babyJonylah's father(Jonathan) is coming out, via the Chicago press who has given this story a lot of ink. He was not changing her diaper when they were shot at. She was sitting in his lap while he was cruising around. He is a known gang banger, having been arrested 39 times and he was the target of the shooting. He was wounded and believed to have known who the shooter was, but wouldn't snitch undoubtedly preferring to extract his own form of vengeance. He was released from the hospital and they had the baby's funeral yesterday. A really big event, with the parents wearing matching white designer jogging suits, displaying a picture of the baby on the back of the tops that featured hoodies. Thy say it went on forever, with the grandmother reading a poem that sounded like it had been written by a rapper. SMH The city is in an ongoing state of outrage about all these killings, and are not that offended about the intense news coverage of them, knowing that "Chiraq" wouldn't be getting this negative publicity if fools would stop killing each other. Nothing seems to be able to stop the carnage. One black columnist suggested that the police start using drones to survey gang terrritories and attack offenders. As for the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, the 16 year old victim was white, and the prosecution's case was strong because the 2 dumb-ass offenders were texting what was going on during the time of the rape and the messages were confiscated for evidence. The girl was reportedly drunk and doesn't remember anything, but her attackers incriminated themselves. It's really a big mess with sides being taken and death threats being made to the victim by defenders of the offenders. The social media has turned the younger generation into a bunch of idiots who NEVER seem to consider the consequences of their ridiculous behavior. One reason the military brass was always against women in the ranks, was because they knew that the male comrades of these female enlistees were more dangerous than the enemy. There are just some areas where women don't need to integrate. They do it at their own risk, and men stick together when problems arise. Plus women can't compete with men on a physical basis. Maybe they should create units that combine female and gay soldiers...

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place. ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning? WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?' ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you? WITNESS: My name is Susan! _______________________________________________________ ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact? WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks. ______________________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active? WITNESS: No, I just lie there. _____________________________________________________ ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth? WITNESS: July 18th. ATTORNEY: What year? WITNESS: Every year. _____________________________________________________ ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you? WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which. ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you? WITNESS: Forty-five years. __________________________________________________________ ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory? WITNESS: I forget.. ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot? _________________________________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning? WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam? ____________________________________ ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he? WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ. ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken? WITNESS: Are you shitting me? _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time? WITNESS: Getting laid ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: She had three children , right? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: How many were boys? WITNESS: None. ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney? ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated? WITNESS: By death.. ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated? WITNESS: Take a guess. ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual? WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female? WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney? WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. ______________________________________ ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people? WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight. _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to? WITNESS: Oral... _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time? WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample? WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question? ______________________________________ And last: ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing? WITNESS: No.. ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor? WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless? WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Little Known Black History Facts--Celebrating our brothers and sisters who may have been left out of the history books! Here are some brothers and sisters who were somehow left out of our Black History books: Dedrick "Slick" Lawrence - First person to wear a fur coat when it's not even cold outside. Charles "Sweet Mac" Farnsley - First to call someone else a jive turkey. TORNETTE PITTS: First to warp the time-space continuum by slapping somebody into next week. Sequoia Brimley - First person to go straight to church on Sunday after leaving the club earlier that morning. *LOUISE PERKINS: First person to attempt to climb into a casket at a funeral. Rodney "Hot Rod" McKenzie - First to tell someone that they play too much. THADDEUS COLLINS: First person to wear a shower cap outside. CEEPHUS MCCOY: First to ask for change back from a church collection plate. George Watley - First person to sneak an entire dinner into a movie theatre. Amelia Wooten - First to start a soul train line at a wedding reception. *Edna B. Cash - First to refer to soap operas as "the stories." MAVIS BLACKWELL : First to use the phrase "the illustrious" to describe her pastor (i.e. - "I am a member of 1st Corinthian Leather Baptist Church where the illustrious P.J. Jones is the Pastor"). Drew Graves - First to sell bootleg music and movies in barber shops and outside grocery stores. TROY BOOKER : First to refer to a flavor of Kool-Aid as "red." VIRGIL T. BANKS : First person to use the phrase "see, what had happened was..." Johnston Green - First to refer to someone as "high yellow." *Precious Robinson - First person to keep her good jewelry in a Crown Royal bag. Jamaica Masby - First to throw her hands in the air and wave them around as if she just didn't care. Bennett "June Bug" McDaniel - Coined the phrase "My name is Bennett, and I ain't in it." Jefferson Clarks - Normalized the practice of shaking up a handful of sunflower seeds before eating them. UMAR X (birth name: Tyrone Griswold): First black male militant to marry a white woman. *Roland Jones - Perfected the "make four cuts on the side to keep the middle from bubbling up" method of frying bologna. Jonathan "Lil' Johnny" Porter - First person to tell a woman he'd drink her bathwater. EUGENE J. C. MILLSTON : First person to talk to the screen during a movie. Marquita Parker - First person investigated by DCFS for burning her child's ears with a hotcomb. TAWANDA DAVIS : First person to use hair gel to create baby hair all over her head. WILL RICHARDS - First man to put something on his mama (i.e. - "TOUCH ME AGAIN AND WE GON' FIGHT, MAN, I PUT THAT ON MY MAMA!"). REV. W.J. SHANKLIN : Inventor of the church building fund Joseph Foster - First to inform people that you can't eat just anybody's potato salad. *Etta Lee Green - First person to call somebody else "worsome." Rufus Wellsley - First man to shoot someone over a game of spades VERNON MCDANIELS : First person to eat a mayonaise sandwich. Neeka "Nee" Hollsworth - First person to use the phrase "than a mug" to describe something (i.e. - "It is colder than a mug out here!"). Tyrone Clayburn - First person to refer to someone as a "play cousin." Raynard Mack - First person to put a utility bill in a child's name. JOHNNIE MAE WILKINS : First person to proclaim herself "too blessed to be stressed." Georgia Buston - First person to attempt to heal a broken limb with Robitussin and Witch Hazel. WILLIE LAMBERT : First man to slap the taste out of somebody's mouth. Trisha Jones : First person to have "been had" something (i.e. - "You just now getting that new Kenny Lattimore CD? Man, I been had that"). Jason Hill - First person to purchase $2 worth of gas at a gas station. DELORES "BIG MAMA" COLE : First person to refer to diabetes as "that sugar." ORVILLE WASHINGTON : First man to "wish a motherf**ker would...." Buford Humphries - First man to walk into a salon and request that his hair be "fried, dyed, and laid to the side." AMBROSE WILLOBY : First person to tell someone that they "don't know nothin' bout this" Tenitra Hollbrook : First person to call somebody a player-hater. Tamika Bunsen -First to begin a sentence with the phrase "me myself personally..." SAMUEL HINKLEY, JR.: First person to take a picture in a Wicker Chair RUTHIE MCCAULEY : First person to inform somebody that she "don't have to do sh** but stay black and die." VONIQUE BATES : First person to successfully slap the black off of someone. THALMA MARTIN : Cultivator of the "ni**a please" facial expression. MAYBELL BROWN : First person to cover a piece of furniture in plastic for everyday use. These Brothers and Sisters have been omitted from the history books. After having read this, you know why!

It all depends on whether the mentality that enables a person to think on his feet stems from the same source that makes a person able to have quick physical reflexes. These 2 skills both exemplify a spontaneity that comes from being right-brained. Because a person is handicapped doesn't mean that he couldn't have quick reflexes if he wasn't physically impaired. Physical disabilities are aberrations that interfere with a person's natural abilities. Similarly, a person may be very intelligent, but also a slow deep thinker who is not quick on the response. The difference between intelligence and instincts is why we have educated people with book smarts and shrewd people with street smarts. The individual who has both is a force to be reckoned with.

Why would an omnipotent god entrust the future of this planet to human beings, Pioneer? I'm more inclined to believe that Man is solely in charge, and that "god" is just another name for the inherent abilityof mortals to influence and control their own destiny. We are all divine in our own right and our greatest challenge is to cope with the results of randomness.

After winning the teacher's tourrnament, this young brother went on to greater heights! I watch Jeopardy every day, Pioneer. Been doing so since it first started. Some days I can answer all the questions, other days none. I do fairly well on the final jeopardy questions. The thing about this game is that all one needs to have a shot at winning is to be well-read and know a little bit about a lot of things.That's why folks like taxi cab drivers and mail carriers often beat out college graduates and professionals. Having the quick reflexes that allow you to be quick on the signal button also helps. Click on the link below. Fenwick teacher wins JEOPARDY! Tournament of Champions ...

There is much attention given to the "no child left behind" goal of those involved in dispensing a good education to our youth. Going hand-and-hand with that goal is the assertion that "reading is fundamental". And it is! Illiteracy is a life long handicap and the main reason some children are left behind. I remain convinced that with a computer that utilizes pictures and verbal instruction a child, going at his own pace, through trial and error and reptitiveness can become self-taught. Once he figures out how to read, the battle is half won and he's on his way He can abandon the crutch of a computor and become all that he can be because he has turned himself into a receptacle for all the knowledge the printed word has to offer. Of course a computer will not turn a person of average intelligenc into a genius, but it can enable him to become a functional member of society. Indeed, everybody isn't college material, Pioneer. That's why vocational schools exist. As for corporal punishment, it looks like we're stuck with the time-out method of controlling the litte monsters who need their butts spanked. Teachers' can't stoop to the level of their students, and physically challenging older pupils can be hazardous to one's health.

Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament: Fenwick teacher Colby Burnett ... click on to this link about the black guy from Chicago who won the Jeopardy Teacher's tournament.

Bottom line is that "experience is the best teacher". The function of schools is to equip the younger generation with the basic skills necessary to survive in an arena where experience becomes the name of the game. Schools are just one facet of preparing a child to absorb the benefits of experience. In a perfect world, institutions of learning would produce optimal results. But in reality, we are dealing with the variables and imperfections which are embodied in a teacher. That's why I give great props to the impersonable consistency of a computer. And acquiring expertise on a computer, in itself, teaches a child how to think. I disagree that computers don't foster creativity; they enable it. The modern trend points to a day when teachers will just be relegated to being supervisers and programmers and coordinators. A child captivated by a computer doesn't need constant discipline. Of course, as in every other area, replacing people with machines has the dangerous potential for mind control. But computers are inevitably becoming an integral part of progress and you can't stop progress. We can only consider the alternative and hope for the best.

I'm certainly at the point of allowing myself to question my racial persuasion. I don't how to identify myself anymore. My loyalty to blackness is dissipating, mostly because there doesn't seem to be any cure for what ails the black condition in America, a disease characterized by the ignorance and self-destructiveness that disgusts me. I've never confronted this dilemma before because I rejected the idea of a black person wanting to be white. I always found oreo types obnoxious and pathetic. Now I know it's possible to circumvent the negative stereotypes of both blackness and whiteness, and that it is all about one's frame of mind. Currently, I just want to be me, to embrace what I relate to in both races. From what I know of my ancestry, I have the bloodlines to legitimately do this. Even my appearance is hybrid. I have fair skin but my hair is not straight and my features not particularly keen. I am also "bilingual", able to speak in both the black and white syntax. But I remain in the limbo of a society that categorizes people by entrenched standards. Because I am in retreat, however, this ambivalence is no big deal. Were I young and still out there in the mix, what would I do? This I know for sure; I would never exorcise my black soul.

Schools as we know them are obsolete. They need to be re-vamped and made relevant to today's lifestyle. It has become a feasible idea to do away with class rooms that are faltering under the tuteledge of frazzled teachers. A child should be isolated and encapsulated. Alone in a confined pod, his only tools should be a computer and a set of CDs containing the sights and sounds of instruction especially devised for this format. Learning should be a self taught trial and error method that allows each pupil to advance at his own pace without any pressure until he has acquired a thorough grasp of the subject he is studying, and can demonstrate his comprehension by scoring a passing grade on a test. Manual skills should also be a part of this curriculum. Praise for achievement, and incentives that take the form of recreational pursuits on the computer could be offered as rewards. Breaks allowing students to relax and socialize with their peers in an open atmosphere could also be part of the routine. In time, as each child's individual abilities begin to emerge, different curricula should be in place, allowing him to reach his greatest potential by steering him toward the area that he shows an affinity for. Educating children can no longer be left to the ineffective methods that are reflective of a befuddled system rather than a progressive approach that computers make possible. It's time to take advantage of what has permeated every other aspect of our life and start electronically programing our children's minds to become productive and informed and skilled. The only way to do this is to put them in a controlled environment, one that will encourage and enable the learning experience by freeing them from the distractions that classmates relentlessly subject each other to. Make learning a solitary experience wherein the student is the prime participant in his own education. Since public schools can't depend on parents to step up, as surrogote parents, schools have to adopt a home schooling atmosphere and Montessori techniques to get results.

Here I was hibernating in my cave, so disgusted with the all the injustices, the corruption, the violence, and materialism in the world that I am seeking escape, focusing on all the good memories of the past and on all the ethereal possibilities that might be what compromises life after death. Then here you come, Pioneer, griping about my attitude toward black men, unable to understand why I have such a dim view of so many of them. Hummm. It’s not that I think black men are dumb or incorrigible. It's more like I find them ignorant in too many areas because they don’t even know what it is that they should be knowledgeable about. As for you, I’d judge you to be a sincere person of decent character, reasonably articulate, and civil. But I also consider you to be fraught with inconsistencies, and quite prone to making the generalities that frame your contradictory approach to issues. As worldly as you claim to be, it's like you lead a sheltered life. You diss your black brothers by declaring that they live by a set of standards that don’t require them to be responsible and after you further claim that since they are incapable of being good leaders it’s inexcusable to disparage someone like Jesse Jackson because there are so few worthy black men to replace him, you then reprimand women like me for being hard on black men. Gimme a break! With spokesmen like you pleading their case, and under-estimating their leadership abiilities, who needs black women to put black men down??? Even as hyper-critical as I am, I would not cast Jesse Jackson as the best we have to offer. There are a lot of other black men more exemplary than the glib, ego-centric, materialistic reverend who nobody really takes very seriously anymore. How could you not be aware of this??? Then, Pioneer, you proceed to chide black woman for not being supportive of black men, of not being sweet and submissive like white women. Puleeze. First of all, white women are the most prized possession in the world, put on a pedestal by the men who protect and cherish them. And prominent among the males who are enamored of white women, are a substantial number of black men, especially those who’ve achieved prestige and status. Black women as a class, however, have been relegated to the bottom of the heap, disrespected and abandoned by their men and scorned by a color-conscious society. What is the incentive for them to blindly support their black brothas? Does none of this occur to you??? Secondly, white women are who were in the forefront of the Womens’ Lib, and today they are out there exerting more independence than black ones who, incidentally, never embraced the Feminist Movement in any great numbers. Why? Because there was nothing more they would’ve liked than for black men to step up and take command, relieving their women of all the responsibilities they were burdened with. No such luck. Even so, prominent black wives do tend to stand by their husbands. It’s single black females who turn their backs because they have been kicked to the curb by the men who regularly devalue them. Is this a revelation to you??? Incidentally, I have not always been this candid. There was a time when I would bite my tongue, and exercise tact and charm to achieve my ulterior motives. Now I don’t have to do that anymore. If what I say offends inept black men, then so be it. Who gives a damn? They don't and neither do I? Well, Pioneer, this is what you get for stirring me out of my “mid winter’s night dream”. zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Always blaming the media and racism for problems just provides excuses for not analysing them. The powerful, white-funded NRA is actually who "the media" focuses on when it comes to foes of gun control. Furthermore, the media publicizes sensational mass murders comitted by white sociopaths as much as it does drive-by shooting by gangs. Concern for violence fueled by guns is not restricted to any one segment of the population, And there are just as many black gun owners who are against the government taking away their weapons as there are white ones. The right to own a gun is a personal philosophy that differs from individual to individual. It's not a black or white thing.

The Jesse Jackson, Sr. scandal has been around for years and it really hasn't had any significant effect on him. He is still the head of the ubiquitous Operation Push organization that occupies a respected niche in Chcago's community service roster, still writing a column for a major Chicago newspaper, still on the dais at high profile funerals, still leading protests, still showing up as the spokesman for the voiceless, - still the inimitable Jesse Jackson who never met a TV camera he didn't like! People just shrugged their shoulders about his piccadillos, writing them off to him just bein him, and he kept on truckin; not unlike Bill Clinton. Now that his son has been indicted for squandering close to a million in campaign funds to finance an extremely extravagant life style while womanizing, you'd think that his constituents would be outraged. Instead, most of them are just shaking their heads, grunting "uh, uh, uh", remarking that Jesse shoulda known better and since he did some good things for his district, the Feds shouldn't be too hard on him. Ever on the defensive, black folks are ridiculously forgiving of their leaders. They empathize with their fallen heroes as those who, but for a lack of opportunity, go they. Nobody has any faith in the integrity of politicians and people, themselves, do not regularly adhere to the princple of honesty being the best policy. Good guys finish last.

Citing how things were in biblical times to justify what is happening now is bogus. The bible is the best source in the world if you're looking for excuses to sanitize sin or condemn what you don't go along with. Brothers slew brothers in the bible, fathers committed incest with the daughters in the bible. Patriarchs consented to human sacrifice in the bible, All kinds of bizarre Christian cults are founded on an interpretation of some obscure biblcal passage. e.g. The snake worshipping one which refers to the verse about "taking up the serpent" as the inspiration for a religion that involves snake handling. Dietary laws against certains food are based on conditions that don't even exist today, thanks to strict laws and the elimination of harmful bacteria. But people cling to old customs without question. It saves them the hassel of thinking for themselves.Just because something is in the bible doesn't make it right or authentic. The bible enslaves people's minds as much as any other doctrine.

Well, is Pan Africanism real or a myth? Or should I ask are the results of these movements successful or a failure? I was nonplussed by what appeared at the end of this dissertation which turned out to be an endorsement of Obama and the Democrats! Like this will reap results. Puleeze. Further implications of this article involve the African disapora in this country concerning itself with lobbying for more trade with African countries in order to shore up Africa's economy and restore its stability. Say what? Charity begins at home! How about the Obama administration doing smething to create jobs and opportunities for its needy black citizens. Screw Pan Africanism. Let's get our priorities in order and concentrate on American Africanism!

I'm surprised that someone like you who believes in polygamy is so appalled by adultery, Pioneer. And what planet do you live on when you say the adulterous behavior of high profile white politicians is a well-guarded secret?? The media jumps on any hint of scandalous behavior regardless of race. Randy white politicians are all who've been in news for the past few years: John Edwards, Anthony Weiner, Elliot Sptizer and just recently General Patreus and his crony and numerous other representatives and governors who've cheated on their wives with prostitutes and strippers and other women. And of course, Bill Clinton. Puleeze. The rules that govern this society are not "white" rules. White and black men aren't that different from each other. They're all capable of being dogs on the prowl. The rules are to preserve the structure of society and guard respect for women. Your dreams of a patriarchial black culture geared toward trifling black men has the potential to be a nightmare. And it's not like black men don't already do everything they can get away with. That's why there is this ongoing conflict between bruthas and sistahs. You just can't accept the idea that black women aren't amenable to being submissive to black men who haven't earned the right to dominate by being responsible providers able to take care of the mates they want as subordinates. The behavior you think comes natural to black men has been cultivated by the slavery formula that reduced them to studs and breeders.

If you can't figure out why what you claim is happening, Pioneer, then maybe you don't know what you're talking about. Believe me, the black people in Chicago, who have been contending with gang violence for years are glad to have attention called to the accelerated killings of innocent children that are going on in the streets of its inner city. Hadiya became the face of this carnage and if focusing on her by the media is what it took to expose this disatrous situation to the nation, then so be it. She did everything right, but became the victim of her own kind. Black on black crime? You damned right. The 2 young gang bangers who were arrested for her killing looked enough like her to be her brothers. It has become a blatant case of us again us.Why should it be swept under the rug? In the white suburbs throughout Illinois, dysfunctional white kids may be committing suicide and bullying each other and popping pills and suffering from eating disorders but there is no widespread gang activity resulting in daily white-on-white killiings. As for the white city fathers, they are embarrassed by Chicago's violent reputation and are not thrilled about the bad publicity and nobody wants the dangerous gang activity to go away more than they. Are they part of a conspiracy to keep black folks down? Only if you can blame the bad economy on them. Black cops raise legitimate questions as to whether deploying more police is the answer because cops can't be everywhere at once and this is what would be required to deal with the random indiscriminate killings. Yes, everybody concedes that the schools are at fault but black teachers say they can't teach because of disciplinary problems. Then there are the apologists who are in denial about the role home training plays in the situation. All these unstable black households headed up by single women are a major contribution to the killings being committed by black youths who have embraced the gang lifestyle in order to fill the void in their lives. The situation is out of control and there is no viable solution. There's enough blame to go around.

A lot of racial uniqueness is biological. In general, black people are said to be more right-brained than left brained. They are spontaneous and creative and good at improvising. Instead of applying the Rap term YOLO to you, Troy, maybe it would've been more apt to commend you for compiling a "bucket list" ahead of time.

Of course people aren't fools, Pioneer. Nobody who gives up information openly goes up to the police and tells them what they want to know. Law enforcement in Chicago has a special hot-line for murder cases that allows anonymous callers to phone in tips that help track down suspects. Monetary rewards are also offered for information and people's identity kept confidential They've arrested 2 suspects, in Hadiya's case after posting a big reward that apparently created an incentive for people to come forward. Not snitching is more a code of gang-bangers and the reason they don't snitch is because they want to exact their own justice on people who they have a beef with, which was the case in the mistaken killing of Hadiya. The shooters were looking to avenge the murder of one of their homies and also an earlier injury one of them sustained, himself. Information gets out on the street because the real fools are the culprits who brag to others about what they've done. In the end, all the street bravado disappears when plea bargains are offered that will allow co-defendents to turn on each other in order to save their own asses.

Do you really think that's an anachronism, Troy?? It was a "given" that Robinson was a great player who was very courageous so it wasn't a case of blind admiration for him. A whole lot of black people who weren't particularly baseball fans went to see Robinson because they took pride in him. Obama is very comparable to him. Today there are a multitude of black people who, when given a choice between 2 capable individuals, will forego other considerations and go with the black person out of loyalty to their own kind, so this practice is not an anacronism. It's not like Blacks don't still have to strive for recognition and need support. Surely you don't think that color blindness now exists - as much as you'd like for it to.

Gee whiz, Troy! Sky dived? Who knew? You really are an adventurous daredevil, the personification of YOLO!

You know, Troy, I can't speak for all the stadiums but "respect" isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe the white fans at Wrigley Field. It was more like a begrudging tolerance. The alternative was to act up so bad that a riot would ensue and rather than create that problem, most people just went along with things, preserving an uneasy truce. My family members were actually white Sox fans. We just went to see Robinson play because he was black.