(Distributed through BlackNews.com)

By Akbar Muhammad

“Trouble Brewing” is the title of an October 30 article by Edward Luce published in the Financial Times Newspaper. Essentially the article is about how some Americans fear that the United States is in mortal danger, and places the blame squarely on the doorstep of President Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president. In the first paragraph of the article, Mr. Luce invoked the name of Reverend Jeremiah Wright-a scholar of Black liberation theology-highlighting the media repetition of his infamous three ‘got-dam Americas’-which he used in a sermon illustrating America’s moral and political contradictions. The second paragraph closes with “already there are rumors that he, Barack Obama, had not been born in America and was a closet Muslim.” Both are hallmarks of Tea Party talking points in their campaign against all things Obama.

In this article I would like to express my personal feelings about the views of the Tea Party group; not all Tea Party members, but only the 90% who uses the rhetoric “take back America.” The question is, take back America from whom? Is it a black man in the White House who you want to take America back from? Many of them are thinking how can we let a black man run America? Our trouble and challenge is that he’s in power. The Tea Party and their followers show every flavor of being racist. Many of us who are old warriors of the struggle for justice in America know every aspect of racism. We are sensitive to it. Some of us can sense it in a smile; others of us go so far as saying we can smell racism. The Tea Party has few men of color among them. I say “men” because I have not seen any of our sisters championing the Tea Party cause or waiving a flag or banner in support of the group. The few black men who are working with them are as flies to buttermilk.

To hear and read the Tea Party accusing President Obama of bankrupting America and see them drawing a Hitler mustache on the President of the United States, exceeds the limits of normal political differences. Remember Hitler was known for being against a whole community of people and then seeking to annihilate them.

Observing the Tea Party, the signs of old time racism are there. When the Tea Party proclaims to be a continuation of the late Jerry Farewell’s Christian moral majority, the veterans of our struggle for justice know exactly what they mean. The Tea Party also claims that under Pres. Obama, the Constitution is in danger. In danger by who? Is it in danger because there is a black man in the White House? The Tea Party asserts the Constitution is divine. However it is hard for a Black American to say the same. We can accept that the founders who framed it were inspired to write a document, well respected by the people of the world. But, we as black Americans and those who are descendents from the horrors of slavery clearly recognize that the focus and the main framers of this document were slaveholders. How do you reconcile denying us freedom, brutally mistreating the black slaves and then advance this document as divinely inspired by God?

Another Tea Party fallacy is their self description of being a movement without a specific leader, which is like being a race horse without a Jockey. Who is responsible for the direction? Who is responsible for the programs of the Tea Party? It appears the “leaderless” Tea Party need a lesson of guidance from a Constitutional scholar who can remind them that the United States Constitution is not a timeless blueprint. That’s illustrated when we become more enlightened and then make amendments. Slavery is a prime example of such modifications.

Mr. Luce plainly wrote in his article that the Constitution was a document reflecting the political realities of the late 18th-century, striking a hard front compromise between the slave states of the south and the non-slave states of the north – that is a factual reality. Among some of the Tea Party supporters, there is a call for a Christian Constitutional Commonwealth. One group, the 9/12′ers-a post 9/11 group initiated by Fox news commentator and a Barack hater, Glenn Beck-has stated that all Americans after 9/12 were Americans. I ask the question before God, what were we before that?

Beck as a voice of right wing conservative thought referred to the Obama administration Healthcare Bill as reparations. Who and what is he talking about? Again, the black veterans of our struggle who can sense and see a racist understand what the cry for reparations signals to white America. Reparation is a word our President would rather stay away from right now. But does Mr. Beck mean that Healthcare is a part of repairing the damage done to Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans by the Obama administration? We know the Tea Party does not agree with reparations because the so-called inspired Founding Fathers would never agree to reparations as slave-holders themselves. In late August Mr. Beck said, on one of his Fox News Sunday shows, that people aren’t recognizing Barack Obama’s version of Christianity and then tied Pres. Obama to liberation theology implying the president is not the right “kind” of Christian. Leading up to his rally on the mall in Washington DC, Beck characterized the President as an adherent to a liberation theology which he says represents a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ as most Christians know it.

What we have is indeed trouble brewing. The erroneous views that the Healthcare Bill poised to help 47 million uninsured Americans is a reparation program and the Constitution was a divine document from God, are being used by the Tea Party and its followers to build a case to make it difficult for President Obama to win a second term in 2012. They hope to reduce the first black American president to being a failure of the American people.

For questions and comments, please contact Akbar Muhammad at aakbar314@yahoo.com

 (A Message from Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez)

Most of us think we will never fall prey to a telephone scam.  However, telephone scams take many forms:  winning a prize in a contest you never entered; the newly formed ‘charity’ that is collecting donations for the latest disaster; someone in trouble needing money wired to them.  No matter the ruse, these fast talking con artists have one thing in common, their main goal is to separate you from your money.  No matter the scheme, there are several ‘red flags’ that can alert you to a scam: 

REFUSE TO BE RUSHED.  Always beware of hurried calls.  Whether it is for a product, service or a charity, if you did not initiate the call, do not make a rash decision to purchase or donate.  If it sounds like a product, service or cause you are interested in, ask them to mail you more information.  A legitimate company or charity will comply with your request.  Once you receive the information, be sure to check out the organization with other sources such as the Better Business Bureau or the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation before making your final decision.

 FEES.  If you receive a call stating you have won a contest but in order to collect the prize, you need pay a fee or taxes, it is a scam.  Legitimate contests figure any costs into the entry fees and any taxes due are the responsibility of the winner, upon acceptance of the prize.

 WIRE TRANSFERS.  While wire transfers are a quick, easy way to get cash to someone, beware of any solicitations that insist on a wire transfer instead of a check or money order.  Wire transfers are nearly impossible to reverse once the money is sent, meaning by the time you realize you’ve been scammed, it’s too late to recover the funds.

 ACCOUNT PROBLEMS.  If you receive a call or message that there is a problem with your account, definitely check it out.  However, do so by calling the telephone number on the back of your card or on your statement, not by calling the number left on your answering machine or caller i.d.  Calling the number on documentation you already have insures you are calling the correct institution and it may be helpful to have those documents in hand when making the call.

 ‘EMERGENCY’ CALLS. One of the more recent telephone scams involves a hysterical ‘relative’ calling because they are out of the country and need bail money.  Always verify that the ‘relative’ is in fact who they say they are.  Even though they will make you promise not to call their parents or spouse, do it anyway.  You may find out the ‘relative’ is at home, work or school, right where they are supposed to be.

 Follow your instincts – if a caller makes you nervous or confuses you with a fast talking sales pitch, don’t be afraid to say no and hang up.  If you didn’t initiate the call, don’t offer any personal information.  And most importantly, if an offer seems too good or too outrageous to be true – it probably is. 

 Anita Alvarez

Cook County State’s Attorney

 (A Message from the Better Business Bureau) 

Chicago, IL – Job hunters may get an early present this year as retailers look to increase the number of hires during the holiday season. Competition for these jobs will likely be fierce, and the Better Business Bureau recommends applying early and taking steps to put your best foot forward.

“The holiday season will create a much welcome bump in the number of job openings, particularly in the retail and restaurant industry,” said Steve J. Bernas, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “While the jobs are usually temporary, this is great news for struggling families and people who have had problems finding work.”

The BBB offers the following tips for job hunters this holiday season:

Start the job search earlier rather than later.
The key to landing a seasonal job is to start searching early. Retail, shipping, restaurants and catering companies are common sources of seasonal employment. Now is the time for job hunters to determine which job suits them best, identify companies they’d like to work for and then begin submitting applications and resumes. 

Research the companies to which you submit job applications.

Always check out the company’s BBB Business Review for free at www.bbb.org to see if the company has received a passing grade from the BBB. Also never give your credit card or checking account information to an individual or business that promises employment. Legitimate employers never charge fees to prospective employees. 

Work where you shop.
Try to identify seasonal employment with businesses you actually shop at or frequent. You will already be familiar with the company and its products and, secondly, discounts available for employees may mean significant savings when shopping for Christmas gifts.

Put your best foot forward.
Even if you are just picking up an application at stores in the mall, dress your best and be prepared for an interview. This includes being familiar with the company’s brand and its products. Retail job hunters in particular need to focus on impressing potential employers with their customer service skills-which is a must when dealing with stressed-out shoppers, long check-out lines and day-after-Christmas returns.  

Be flexible.
Full-time employees usually have first dibs on the preferred hours and shifts, so, as a seasonal employee, expect to work long, sometimes inconvenient hours including working on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. If this is a second job in addition to your day job, be upfront and clear with your new employer about your available hours.

For more holiday tips, visit www.bbb.org

Commentary

 “Job Well Done”, Madam Speaker

 By Juanita Bratcher

On Election Day 2010, after polls had closed and most of the ballots had been counted in Congressional Districts across the country, Democrats were losing seats while Republicans were steadily gaining seats in the Congress. And when it was all over, it was a bloodbath for Democrats and there was absolute certainty that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would lose her powerful Speaker’s post.

While Republicans reeled from a setback in the 2006 election under House Speaker Dennis Hastert (D-IL), their loss was not nearly as widespread as the Democrats’ loss in 2010. Democrats’ loss was almost double that of Republicans. In 2006, Republicans lost 31 seats with zero gain. In 2010, House Democrats lost about 60 seats.

On November 7, 2006, the makeup in the House shifted from 202 Democrats to 233, a plus-31 gain for Democrats. Republicans slid from 232 to 202, a gain loss of minus-30. There was one Independent.

According to Wikipedia, The final result was a thirty-one-seat pickup for the Democrats, including the pickup of the Vermont At-Large seat, previously held by Independent Bernie Sanders who caucused with the Democrats. Democrats defeated twenty-two Republican incumbents and won eight open Republican-held seats.

Republicans won no seats previously held by Democrats in either the House or the Senate for the first time since the party’s founding, and it was the largest seat gain for the Democrats since the 1974 elections.

In August 2007, Hastert announced he would not run for re-election.

 Nancy Pelosi made history in January 2007 when she took over the gavel as Speaker of the House. She was the first woman ever to hold the high-ranking post and second-in-line to the presidency behind the vice president.

There is no question; she is aggressive, feisty, gutsy, knowledgeable and hard-working – all the qualities of an effective leader. And Pelosi did a great job in her post as Speaker, spearheading major pieces of legislation and shepherding them through which resulted in the passage of historic Healthcare Reform legislation, ethics reform, mortgage and credit card reform, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Student Aid, Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007,  Fiscal Responsibility Act and energy legislation.

Reportedly over 400 pieces of legislation that passed the House is still bogged down in the Senate.

Pelosi is a Democrat and a woman that wields tremendous power. Her supporters truly believe that she has always worked – and still works in the best interest of the American people and America. But she is despised by many conservatives and Tea Partiers who see her as an “extreme liberal”. And her reputation has been falsely smeared.

Pelosi was constantly under Republican attacks. And those attacks were boosted by Tea Partiers and heated up during the 2010 election campaign. She was bashed unmercifully at every turn, and was unashamedly “vilified” and “demonized” over criticism of her leadership. Leading up to the 2010 Election year, she was targeted for defeat by detractors. Their ultimate goal was to defeat Democrats up for re-election and work to elect a majority Republican House.

A Rasmussen poll conducted in March, 2010, showed that 64% of voters viewed the Speaker unfavorably, 47% of which viewed her very unfavorably. Only 29% of voters had a favorable opinion of Pelosi. In March 2010, CBS News conducted a poll which found that only 11% of registered voters had a favorable opinion of the speaker, well below that of Congress as a whole.

Although Pelosi will lose her powerful Speaker’s post, she will still serve the people of California’s 8^th District. In recent developments, Pelosi voiced a desire to continue in a leadership post as Minority Leader in the House. But there are some Democrats in the House who expressed opposition; they would like to switch leaders and support a more conservative Democrat as an alternative.

Congressman Dan Boren (D-Muskogee) has said he will oppose Pelosi’s bid to remain in a leadership position (Minority Leader) in  the House; and Jim Matheson (D-Utah), a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of Democrat conservatives, said he preferred an alternative.

In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Pelosi said she had “no regrets” after losing her post as House Speaker, blaming the unemployment problem for Democrats’ loss.

“We believe we did the right thing, and we worked very hard in our campaigns to convey that to the American people,” said Pelosi, in the interview with Sawyer. “Nine and a half percent unemployment is a very eclipsing event. If people don’t have a job, they’re not too interested in how you intend for them to have a job. They want to see results.”

When Sawyer asked her to describe her leadership as Speaker, Pelosi stated that it was a “Job well done.”

In an article posted on her “Speaker’s Press Shop” in October 2010, Pelosi stated that the GOP agenda would cut Social Security, Reap billions for Wall Street and hurt American women and children.

“The GOP plan to turn Social Security over to Wall Street would disproportionately impact American women. 58% of Social Security recipients are women and for a majority of women over 65, Social Security provides more than half of their income.

“Social Security also provides a vital safety net for America’s children. More than 4 million young people under the age of 18 received income from Social Security survivors, retirement, and disability benefits. According to a new report by the Joint Economic Committee, 1.1 million children were lifted out of poverty in 2009 by Social Security.”

After losing her Speaker post, Pelosi said, “Based on those discussions, and driven by the urgency of protecting health care reform, Wall Street reform, and Social Security and Medicare, I have decided to run.”

And in a letter to fellow Democrats, Pelosi stressed that their work is far from finished, that their commitment to serving the American people continues.

“We have no intention of allowing our great achievements to be rolled back. It is my hope that we can work in a bipartisan way to create jobs and strengthen the middle class,” she said.

With Pelosi’s skills, experience, knowledge and know-how, she has the tools to work with and should remain in the hierarchy of Democratic leadership in the House.

(Distributed through BlackNews.com)

By Wyndolyn C. Bell, M.D., FAAP, UnitedHealthcare National Accounts, vice president of Health Care Strategies

“Give me some sugar.”

This is how we’re often greeted at family gatherings as older relatives embrace us and ask for a kiss. Unfortunately, “sugar” is also a term some used for diabetes. In the past, “having sugar” or “having a touch of sugar” was a condition that affected adults, but today an increasing number of children, including African American children, are at risk.

November is National Diabetes Month, a good reminder to raise awareness about diabetes and the threat it poses to our next generation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) has increased among children and adolescents in the last two decades. Today, more than 180,000 persons under the age of 20 in the United States have type 2 or type 1 diabetes.

There are serious implications to this dangerous trend. The CDC reports that diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the country. It can lead to serious complications such as blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, foot and leg amputations, and kidney damage which may require dialysis.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes affects the body’s ability to use blood sugar for energy. There are two primary forms that affect children: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells, which make the hormone insulin that regulates blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes usually begins as a disorder in which the cells do not use insulin properly. As the body’s need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce it.

Risk Factors

The first step in controlling diabetes is early diagnosis and knowing the risk factors. Children who develop type 2 diabetes are typically overweight or obese, and have a family history of the disease, according to the CDC. Most are American Indian, African American, Asian, or Hispanic/Latino.

Many people with type 2 diabetes have no obvious symptoms or may experience some of the same symptoms as type 1 such as increased thirst and hunger (especially after eating), frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, dry mouth, blurred vision, headaches, frequent or recurring infections and cuts that are slow to heal.

To confirm if a patient has type 2 diabetes, a doctor will order a fasting plasma glucose tolerance test.

We Can Make a Difference

High-calorie, high-fat foods and lack of physical activity can literally tip the scales and push an at-risk individual into diabetes earlier in life. Consistent exercise and a healthy diet can fight obesity and may lower the risk of diabetes. As adults, we must teach children at an early age about the importance of proper nutrition and exercise, and also practice these healthy habits ourselves.

That’s the message behind First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign – to fight childhood obesity and improve the health of our youth. UnitedHealthcare supports Mrs. Obama’s efforts to encourage more physical activity for children and healthier foods in school and at home.

For more information and health tips specifically for African-American parents about diabetes, pre-diabetes and obesity, visit UnitedHealthcare’s Generations of Wellness® website, www.uhcgenerations.com. And go to www.Letsmove.gov for information, tips and strategies to help kids grow up healthy.

 Families can help researchers by providing information that is expected to improve the health and development of children for generations to come

(Northwestern University News)

Chicago, IL – Why are so many babies born prematurely? Why do so many American children suffer from asthma, autism, obesity, behavior disorders and other health problems? Greater Chicago-area families have a unique opportunity to help better understand and prevent these conditions by participating in the National Children’s Study (NCS).

Starting this month, the National Children’s Study-Greater Chicago Study Center, which includes Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Chicago and the National Opinion Research Center, will begin enrolling Chicago-area pregnant women and women who may become pregnant in the study.

The study will then follow the children and their families from before birth until age 21 to help determine how family history and physical and social environments influence their health.

Feinberg received a seven-year, $32-million contract from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to conduct the National Children’s Study in the greater Chicago area.

“By participating in this study, women and their families can really contribute to understanding and improving the health of children in their neighborhoods and across the United States,” said Jane Holl, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Feinberg and attending physician at Children’s Memorial Hospital. “All information gathered will be held in the highest confidentiality and privacy.”

Four thousand participants in Cook, DuPage and Will counties will ultimately participate in the study. The research will focus on how key factors influence children’s health and well-being, including what they eat and drink, the air they breathe, the safety of their neighborhoods, their family history, who cares for them, and how often they see a doctor.

Specimens will be collected at birth and, over time, other samples such as blood and hair and in-depth cognitive, developmental, and physical health assessments will be collected, Holl said. Soil, water and other samples from the physical environment will also be gathered.

“We are never going to be able to effectively prevent childhood health conditions until we fully understand how and what contributes to them,” said Holl, the principal investigator of the study.

The National Children’s Study-Greater Chicago Study Center is one of 105 National Children’s Study locations around the United States. More than 100,000 children, representative of the entire population of American children, will be included in the study.

“There has never been a study as large or as long before,” Holl said. “Longitudinal studies about children have been done but none have gathered as much health information, as well as specimens from the children, parents, and the environment.”

Letters with more information are being mailed to households asking women and families to call the National Children’s Study-Greater Chicago Study Center to find out if they are eligible to participate in the study.

To find out more about the National Children’s Study-Greater Chicago Study Center, visit: http://www.NationalChildrensStudy.gov

Potential participants can call: 1.866.315.7124

Northwestern News: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter