EDITORIAL FROM THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS, MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2011 ON THE OCCASION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR,'S BIRTHDAY
Today marks the national observance of the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. In a noonday parade in Kingsport, King’s legacy of nonviolence in the pursuit of justice will be remembered and extolled, as it rightly should.
But if the civil rights leader were alive today, he would surely urge those who seek to honor him and that struggle to make this a day of action, rather than a day of rest and recollection.
That’s not to say there hasn’t been progress, for, of course, there has been. If nothing else, the election of Barack Obama is evidence of that. But there are abundant examples of progress beyond the political and symbolic.
In Dr. King’s time, census statistics revealed that nearly nine of every 10 blacks lived in poverty. Today, more than 40 percent of blacks are solidly middle class. And college attendance rates for blacks are now indistinguishable from whites. Indeed, in many ways, the progress has been so dramatic it tends to obscure the extent of a bigotry that was once a condition of life — and not just in the Jim Crow South.
The world of segregated bathrooms and lunch counters King helped to abolish is as remote in time to the average schoolchild of today as Lincoln’s assassination or the Civil War. It is a world they have seen in pictures, but can never truly know, since they did not live through it. Such is the measure of King’s success in helping to reorder society itself. King’s dream of a world in which people would be defined, “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” is now a touchstone of modern American life.
Dr. King did more than any other single figure in American history to give that dream dimension and meaning. The Martin Luther King remembered and celebrated today is a figure dramatically invoking that dream of racial harmony at the rally on the mall in Washington, D.C. in 1963.
Virtually forgotten are the later years, after the passage of the Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, when King started to decry the huge income gaps between rich and poor and began to call for radical changes in the structure of society.
“True compassion,” he said, “is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
All too soon, however, Dr. King’s exhortations would be silenced by an assassin’s bullet in 1968. He was just 39.
From noon until 1 p.m. today, the 11th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade will be held in downtown Kingsport.
The event will begin at the intersection of East Sevier and Center Street (Rikki Rhoton Allstate Insurance Co.’s parking lot) and conclude at Shelby Street at the city parking lot between Kingsport City Hall and the Justice Center.
The theme of the parade is summed up in three words: “Remember! Celebrate! Act!” Parade sponsors include Eastman Chemical Company, Food City, Office Depot, Joshua Generation, My Brother’s Keeper, Putting Babies First and the Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency.
In these local ceremonies as well as many others, we honor the icon that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has become. But hero worship was never King’s interest. Changing society was. His life was all too brief, but the dream he had goes on. More than four decades after his tragic and untimely death, it’s up to each of us to do our part in making that dream a living reality.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
New Year's Challenge from Alumnus Larry Bowditch
This is how I am challenging myself to "get better".
Are you big enough to take it on, too?
Spend one hour today, just one, totally focused on the wants, needs and interests of others.. and not yours.
Who has done it for One, Full, Hour?
All the Best to you,
~ Larry
Are you big enough to take it on, too?
Spend one hour today, just one, totally focused on the wants, needs and interests of others.. and not yours.
Who has done it for One, Full, Hour?
All the Best to you,
~ Larry
Sister's Kidney Donation Condition of Mississippi Parole
JACKSON, Miss. – For 16 years, sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott have shared a life behind bars for their part in an $11 armed robbery. To share freedom, they must also share a kidney.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour suspended the sisters' life sentences on Wednesday, but 36-year-old Gladys Scott's release is contingent on her giving a kidney to Jamie, her 38-year-old sister, who requires daily dialysis.
The sisters were convicted in 1994 of leading two men into an ambush in central Mississippi the year before. Three teenagers hit each man in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets — making off with only $11, court records said. Jamie and Gladys Scott were each convicted of two counts of armed robbery and sentenced to two life sentences.
"I think it's a victory," said the sisters' attorney, Chokwe Lumumba. "I talked to Gladys and she's elated about the news. I'm sure Jamie is, too."
National NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous thanked Barbour in a news conference Thursday at Mississippi's capital, calling the suspension of the sentences "a shining example" of the way a governor should use the power of clemency. Civil rights advocates have for years called for the sisters' release, saying the sentences were excessive. Those demands gained traction when Barbour asked the Mississippi Parole Board to take another look at the case.
The Scott sisters are eligible for parole in 2014, but Barbour said prison officials no longer think they are a threat to society and Jamie's medical condition is costing the state a lot of money — approximately $200,000 a year, according to Mississippi Department of Corrections Spokesman Kent Croker.
Lumumba said he has no problem with the governor requiring Gladys to offer up her organ because "Gladys actually volunteered that as part of her petition." Lumumba said it's not clear what caused the kidney failure, but it's likely a combination of different illnesses over the years.
Barbour spokesman Dan Turner told The Associated Press that Jamie Scott was released because she needs the transplant. He said Gladys Scott will be released if she agrees to donate her kidney because of the significant risk and recovery time. "She wanted to do it," Turner said. "That wasn't something we introduced."
Barbour is a Republican in his second term who has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2012. He said the parole board agreed with the indefinite suspension of their sentences, which is different from a pardon or commutation because it comes with conditions. An "indefinite suspension of sentence" can be reversed if the conditions are not followed, but those requirements are usually things like meeting with a parole officer.
The Scott sisters have received significant public support from advocacy groups, including the NAACP, which called for their release. Hundreds of people marched through downtown Jackson from the state capital to the governor's mansion in September, chanting in unison that the women should be freed.
Still, their release won't be immediate. Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said late Wednesday that he had not received the order. He also said the women want to live with relatives in Florida, which requires approval from officials in that state.
In general, that process takes 45 days.
Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the Scott sisters' release will be "a great victory for the state of Mississippi for two individuals who received an excessive sentence" and he has no problem with the kidney donation requirement because Gladys Scott volunteered.
"I think it's encouraging that she's willing to share a kidney so her sister can have a better quality life," Johnson said.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour suspended the sisters' life sentences on Wednesday, but 36-year-old Gladys Scott's release is contingent on her giving a kidney to Jamie, her 38-year-old sister, who requires daily dialysis.
The sisters were convicted in 1994 of leading two men into an ambush in central Mississippi the year before. Three teenagers hit each man in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets — making off with only $11, court records said. Jamie and Gladys Scott were each convicted of two counts of armed robbery and sentenced to two life sentences."I think it's a victory," said the sisters' attorney, Chokwe Lumumba. "I talked to Gladys and she's elated about the news. I'm sure Jamie is, too."
National NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous thanked Barbour in a news conference Thursday at Mississippi's capital, calling the suspension of the sentences "a shining example" of the way a governor should use the power of clemency. Civil rights advocates have for years called for the sisters' release, saying the sentences were excessive. Those demands gained traction when Barbour asked the Mississippi Parole Board to take another look at the case.
The Scott sisters are eligible for parole in 2014, but Barbour said prison officials no longer think they are a threat to society and Jamie's medical condition is costing the state a lot of money — approximately $200,000 a year, according to Mississippi Department of Corrections Spokesman Kent Croker.
Lumumba said he has no problem with the governor requiring Gladys to offer up her organ because "Gladys actually volunteered that as part of her petition." Lumumba said it's not clear what caused the kidney failure, but it's likely a combination of different illnesses over the years.
Barbour spokesman Dan Turner told The Associated Press that Jamie Scott was released because she needs the transplant. He said Gladys Scott will be released if she agrees to donate her kidney because of the significant risk and recovery time. "She wanted to do it," Turner said. "That wasn't something we introduced."
Barbour is a Republican in his second term who has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2012. He said the parole board agreed with the indefinite suspension of their sentences, which is different from a pardon or commutation because it comes with conditions. An "indefinite suspension of sentence" can be reversed if the conditions are not followed, but those requirements are usually things like meeting with a parole officer.
The Scott sisters have received significant public support from advocacy groups, including the NAACP, which called for their release. Hundreds of people marched through downtown Jackson from the state capital to the governor's mansion in September, chanting in unison that the women should be freed.
Still, their release won't be immediate. Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said late Wednesday that he had not received the order. He also said the women want to live with relatives in Florida, which requires approval from officials in that state.
In general, that process takes 45 days.
Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the Scott sisters' release will be "a great victory for the state of Mississippi for two individuals who received an excessive sentence" and he has no problem with the kidney donation requirement because Gladys Scott volunteered.
"I think it's encouraging that she's willing to share a kidney so her sister can have a better quality life," Johnson said.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Henderson is wrong about Obama
Henderson is wrong about Obama
Published November 19th, 2010 in the Times-News
I would suppose that one answer to Cecilia Henderson’s question, “What could President Obama do that would get the approval of the narrow-minded people in Tennessee?” might be to resign. Based on his approval ratings, resigning would get the approval of more voters than those “narrow-minded people” in Tennessee. But that would not appease Ms. Henderson, who by her comments appears to be narrow-minded also. I strongly disagree with Ms. Henderson, who does not speak for anyone but herself, that criticism of President Obama is because he is black.
It seems to me that all of the presidents since 1960 have endured their share of criticism and abuse from the media, the public and the butt of jokes by late night talk show hosts. One major difference among the men elected president prior to Obama is they all had experience in business, leadership in politics or the military, something President Obama does not have. And for the record, President Obama is not black. He is the son of one white parent and one black parent and so mixed black and white ancestry and therefore is a mulatto. Use of the term mulatto varies widely, and a majority of people of mixed white and black ancestry choose not to identify themselves as mulatto, but prefer African-American or another adjective other than white.
Bill Killen
Church Hill
DOUGLASS WEBSITE EDITOR'S NOTE: Many African-Americans do not like the term "mulatto" because of its association to slavery and colonial and racial oppression, according to Wikipedia. We only include it in the above letter because of the historical context.
Published November 19th, 2010 in the Times-News
I would suppose that one answer to Cecilia Henderson’s question, “What could President Obama do that would get the approval of the narrow-minded people in Tennessee?” might be to resign. Based on his approval ratings, resigning would get the approval of more voters than those “narrow-minded people” in Tennessee. But that would not appease Ms. Henderson, who by her comments appears to be narrow-minded also. I strongly disagree with Ms. Henderson, who does not speak for anyone but herself, that criticism of President Obama is because he is black.
It seems to me that all of the presidents since 1960 have endured their share of criticism and abuse from the media, the public and the butt of jokes by late night talk show hosts. One major difference among the men elected president prior to Obama is they all had experience in business, leadership in politics or the military, something President Obama does not have. And for the record, President Obama is not black. He is the son of one white parent and one black parent and so mixed black and white ancestry and therefore is a mulatto. Use of the term mulatto varies widely, and a majority of people of mixed white and black ancestry choose not to identify themselves as mulatto, but prefer African-American or another adjective other than white.
Bill Killen
Church Hill
DOUGLASS WEBSITE EDITOR'S NOTE: Many African-Americans do not like the term "mulatto" because of its association to slavery and colonial and racial oppression, according to Wikipedia. We only include it in the above letter because of the historical context.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Letter to the Editor: Bashing of Obama racially motivated
What could President Obama do that would get the approval of the narrow-minded people in Tennessee? Every move he makes there is someone waiting to criticize him. Why are we so hard on this one president? I know. And the people who are giving him so much grief know, but they don’t have the courage to say it. So I will say it for them. The president is black.
Cecilia Henderson Kingsport
Cecilia Henderson Kingsport
Thursday, November 11, 2010
What Happens When a Tower Demolition Goes Way Wrong!
“Oh no.”
Near Springfield, Ohio, those were some of the last words heard before shouts to get back as the old Mad River Power Plant’s 275-foot tower toppled in the wrong direction about noon Wednesday.
The blasts should have sent the stack onto a cleared area directly to the east, but instead the tower crashed to the southeast.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO, COURTESY THE A.P.:
No one was injured but the tower knocked down two 12,500-volt power lines and smashed a building housing back-up generators.
The electrical lines came crashing down as a crowd of about 25 media members, FirstEnergy Corp. employees, demolition crews and their family members scattered to avoid the live lines.
“It just started leaning the other way and I thought, ‘Holy cow’ ... It was terrifying for a little bit,” Springfield Twp. Fire Chief John Roeder said.
About 4,000 customers on the west side of the city lost power for more than two hours and traffic lights in at least nine intersections went down.
The explosives detonated correctly, but an undetected crack on south side of the tower pulled it backward, said Lisa Kelly, president/owner of Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc.
“It’s property damage and it’s not life,” she said. “That’s the most important thing — that no one was injured.”
Demolitions are a highly technical process.
“(But) it’s not without some uncertainty,” said Tim Suter, FirstEnergy manager of external affairs.
All of the debris landed on the FirstEnergy property and none of it went into the Mad River or onto the nearby railway tracks. An estimate of the cost of the damage wasn’t available Wednesday.
Suter said he hasn’t seen anything like it before.
“Fortunately no one was injured,” he said.
FirstEnergy has worked with the demolition contractor, Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc., on other jobs, Suter said, and a lot of preparation went into the project.
“They’ve taken other towers twice the size of this one down without anything going on,” he said.
The Idaho-based, family-owned company has been featured in a series on TLC, according to its website. They travel the country with their children doing demolitions.
The AED website says that Eric Kelly has “a perfect safety record of no accidents in 27 years.”
AED President/Owner Lisa Kelly said the crack in the tower pulled it in the wrong direction.
The most important fact is that no one was injured, Kelly said, because property can always be reconstructed.
Cleanup will be handled efficiently, she said.
“Nobody’s happy with things that go wrong in life, and sometimes it’s out of our hands and beyond anybody’s prediction ... We’re all extremely thankful no one was injured or hurt,” she said.
The plant dates to the 1920s and was last used nearly 30 years ago. FirstEnergy began razing it this summer as a company-wide effort to cleanup old sites.
Springfield Twp. Fire Chief John Roeder came to observe the tower demolition Wednesday and had fire trucks nearby if needed.
Once he saw the tower heading the wrong direction, Roeder wanted to clear the area under the wires as quickly as possible, and feared it might strike a substation and start a fire.
“It was definitely a sight to see,” Roeder said.
The power lines nearly fell on several news crews staged in the area.
“We just ran,” said Eric Higgenbotham, a WHIO-TV videographer. “We were standing underneath the power lines, it was like the end of the world. We were running for our lives.”
At least nine intersections on the west side of the city lost power, and officers were dispatched to direct traffic, said Sgt. Brian Radanovich, Springfield Police Division.
One minor crash with no injuries at High Street and Wittenberg Avenue was reported during the outage.
Fewer intersections were disabled in past power outages, he said.
“This is probably the most we’ve had in awhile,” he said.
Near Springfield, Ohio, those were some of the last words heard before shouts to get back as the old Mad River Power Plant’s 275-foot tower toppled in the wrong direction about noon Wednesday.
The blasts should have sent the stack onto a cleared area directly to the east, but instead the tower crashed to the southeast.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO, COURTESY THE A.P.:
No one was injured but the tower knocked down two 12,500-volt power lines and smashed a building housing back-up generators.
The electrical lines came crashing down as a crowd of about 25 media members, FirstEnergy Corp. employees, demolition crews and their family members scattered to avoid the live lines.
“It just started leaning the other way and I thought, ‘Holy cow’ ... It was terrifying for a little bit,” Springfield Twp. Fire Chief John Roeder said.
About 4,000 customers on the west side of the city lost power for more than two hours and traffic lights in at least nine intersections went down.
The explosives detonated correctly, but an undetected crack on south side of the tower pulled it backward, said Lisa Kelly, president/owner of Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc.
“It’s property damage and it’s not life,” she said. “That’s the most important thing — that no one was injured.”
Demolitions are a highly technical process.
“(But) it’s not without some uncertainty,” said Tim Suter, FirstEnergy manager of external affairs.
All of the debris landed on the FirstEnergy property and none of it went into the Mad River or onto the nearby railway tracks. An estimate of the cost of the damage wasn’t available Wednesday.
Suter said he hasn’t seen anything like it before.
“Fortunately no one was injured,” he said.
FirstEnergy has worked with the demolition contractor, Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc., on other jobs, Suter said, and a lot of preparation went into the project.
“They’ve taken other towers twice the size of this one down without anything going on,” he said.
The Idaho-based, family-owned company has been featured in a series on TLC, according to its website. They travel the country with their children doing demolitions.
The AED website says that Eric Kelly has “a perfect safety record of no accidents in 27 years.”
AED President/Owner Lisa Kelly said the crack in the tower pulled it in the wrong direction.
The most important fact is that no one was injured, Kelly said, because property can always be reconstructed.
Cleanup will be handled efficiently, she said.
“Nobody’s happy with things that go wrong in life, and sometimes it’s out of our hands and beyond anybody’s prediction ... We’re all extremely thankful no one was injured or hurt,” she said.
The plant dates to the 1920s and was last used nearly 30 years ago. FirstEnergy began razing it this summer as a company-wide effort to cleanup old sites.
Springfield Twp. Fire Chief John Roeder came to observe the tower demolition Wednesday and had fire trucks nearby if needed.
Once he saw the tower heading the wrong direction, Roeder wanted to clear the area under the wires as quickly as possible, and feared it might strike a substation and start a fire.
“It was definitely a sight to see,” Roeder said.
The power lines nearly fell on several news crews staged in the area.
“We just ran,” said Eric Higgenbotham, a WHIO-TV videographer. “We were standing underneath the power lines, it was like the end of the world. We were running for our lives.”
At least nine intersections on the west side of the city lost power, and officers were dispatched to direct traffic, said Sgt. Brian Radanovich, Springfield Police Division.
One minor crash with no injuries at High Street and Wittenberg Avenue was reported during the outage.
Fewer intersections were disabled in past power outages, he said.
“This is probably the most we’ve had in awhile,” he said.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Americans Sure Have Short Memories
FROM A NOTE EMAILED TO ROBERTA LANAUZE:
After The 8 Years Of The Bush/Cheney Disaster, Now You Get Mad?
You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and
appointed a President.
You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to
dictate Energy policy and push us to invade Iraq.
You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no
threat to us.
You didn't get mad when we spent over 800 billion (and counting) on said
illegal war.
You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources
than the previous 42 Presidents combined.
You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars in cash just disappeared
in Iraq.
You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn't get mad when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies
that shipped 6 million American jobs out of the country.
You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping
Americans.
You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
You didn't get mad when Bush rang up 10 trillion dollars in combined
budget and current account deficits.
You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn't get mad when we gave people who had more money than they
could spend, the filthy rich, over a trillion dollars in tax breaks.
You didn't get mad with the worst 8 years of job creations in several
decades.
You didn't get mad when over 200,000 US Citizens lost their lives
because they had no health insurance.
You didn't get mad when lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush
Administration caused US Citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in
investments, retirement, and home values.
You finally got mad when a black man was elected President and decided
that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are
sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, job losses by the
millions, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, and the
worst economic disaster since 1929 are all okay with you, but helping
fellow Americans who are sick...Oh, Hell No!!
After The 8 Years Of The Bush/Cheney Disaster, Now You Get Mad?
You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and
appointed a President.
You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to
dictate Energy policy and push us to invade Iraq.
You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no
threat to us.
You didn't get mad when we spent over 800 billion (and counting) on said
illegal war.
You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources
than the previous 42 Presidents combined.
You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars in cash just disappeared
in Iraq.
You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn't get mad when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies
that shipped 6 million American jobs out of the country.
You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping
Americans.
You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
You didn't get mad when Bush rang up 10 trillion dollars in combined
budget and current account deficits.
You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn't get mad when we gave people who had more money than they
could spend, the filthy rich, over a trillion dollars in tax breaks.
You didn't get mad with the worst 8 years of job creations in several
decades.
You didn't get mad when over 200,000 US Citizens lost their lives
because they had no health insurance.
You didn't get mad when lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush
Administration caused US Citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in
investments, retirement, and home values.
You finally got mad when a black man was elected President and decided
that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are
sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, job losses by the
millions, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, and the
worst economic disaster since 1929 are all okay with you, but helping
fellow Americans who are sick...Oh, Hell No!!
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