Roland Burris, Senate-appointee

Roland Burris made history in Illinois almost thirty years ago by becoming state comptroller, effectively, the first black to even attain state-wide office in Illinois. After three terms as comptroller he also served as Attorney General for one-term. Indeed as the news trickled in yesterday about his appointment people brought up his failures in attaining high office in Illinois especially three attempts for the Governorship, one at the expense of the man who's appointing him to the US Senate, and one failed attempt at Chicago's Mayoralty.

I personally believe that Burris, a resident of the 6th Ward, is an honest man who may very well serve well in the US Senate. If times were different and less controversial I'm not sure I could raise any objections to it. Besides I don't think that Mr. Burris actually bought this seat, it certainly wouldn't look good on him anyway.

While I can heed the calls of both Gov. Blagojevich and Rep. Bobby Rush to separate "the appointer from the appointee" it's still problematic in that this appointment is just a way for Governor Blagojevich to prove something. Some will say this is his way of thumbing his nose at those people who believe he should step aside as well as those who seeks to remove him. He might be trying to prove that he's still the Governor and still relevant. Of course this power play illustrates that he isn't ready to go yet, even if his continued presence as Governor is proving more harmful to Illinois than just resigning.

Let's talk about the race angle.

Throughout the existence of the US Senate, a black face there has been exceptionally rare. From Hiram Revels thru to Edward Brooke and then to Barack Obama. As a matter of fact the President-elect sat in the sit that was formerly head by Carol Moseley Braun who herself was the first black woman to hold a US Senate seat.

That being said there were those who attacked the comments of Rod Blagojevich and Rep. Bobby Rush, who approached the podium during said press conference, to highlight the need for a Black US Senator. The term lynching was used and that was evidence to some that this was blatant race-baiting.

Mostly I'm on the fence on this issue. If this person was right for the US Senate it wouldn't matter much to me if this person was black. Of course that's not to say Burris isn't right for this appointment, I just don't like how his appointment has come about. Appointing by a Governor who was arrested for attempting to sell that US Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Basically I view yesterday's news like this.

Basically this is the same old game he played last year. Unwilling to just sign a sales-tax increase for public transit at around this time last year, he was very willing to use his amedatory veto (AV) to change legislation that allows for not only this tax increase but also create a new entitlement. That entitlement being allowing free-transit rides for senior citizens. That is without a doubt the most blatant and cyncial move I have ever seen and certainly it wouldn't look good for the General Assembly to oppose this and possibly face a two-front revolt by both senior citizens and transit riders.

It is in that vein that I can view Blagojevich's decision to appoint Burris to the US Senate. Let's note that the Governor sighted the unwillingness to tackle legislation for a special election to fill Obama's vacated Senate seat in the wake of the Governor's arrest to make this appointment. The General Assembly left the door open and the Governor went right thru it. Even with the threat by the IL Secretary of State Jesse White, who is black himself, and Sen. Harry Reid to not accept the choice of this Governor.

That being said the Governor might very well hope that his choice will be grudgingly accepted. The one base the Governor was said to have been able to depend upon was the black base. Perhaps black voters want to see a black US Senator enough to force White or Sen. Reid to accept this appointment and allow Burris to be seated. Even if they didn't entirely like who appointed an otherwise honest public servant.

That makes this even more cynical. In some sick way Blagojevich wants to see what happens if Burris' appointment will run into opposition. That or watch them get hurt by their own opposition to the appointment of Roland Burris to the US Senate. All I can say is that we'll have to see how this will play out, but this really looks like a game of poker and brinksmanship. That's the type of game the Governor seems to like to play.

Links
Capitol Fax covered the press conference yesterday.
An AP Video on the Burris Senate appointment.
Chicago Argus on the Burris Senate appointment.
Morning Blago bits from Marathon Pundit

Black-on-black murder rates: What are the solutions?

The new intern at the Capitol Fax blog seems to have an interest in minority crime and violence. I'll have to hand it to him to bring it to the attention of the general audience over there. As long as there are something of that worth sharing you'll see it here. Not that I want this blog to be known as a black-on-black crime blog.

Article from St. Louis Post Dispatch:

A story today by the Associated Press tells of a study by Northeastern University that black teenagers are killing each other in rising numbers, despite an overall falling crime rate across the nation.

FBI crime statistics show overall decreases in murder and other violent crimes. The a report by criminal justice professors James Alan Fox and Marc Swatt uncovers other disturbing trends within that data. (Related: Updated FBI crime statistic)

Among their findings: an increase of more than 39 percent in the number of black males between the ages of 14 and 17 killed between 2000 and 2007, and an increase of 34 percent in the number of blacks that age group who committed homicide.

Easy question, what can we do about this?

Brown says that families and community groups and churches need to do more to help solve the problem.

But with dysfunctional and broken family units in many areas where there are high unemployment rates, high school drop-out rates and preponderance  of drugs and guns, how should civic and city leaders better address the high murder rate among young blacks – by young blacks?

Coming up with a solution will surely take some time and some creativity. One place to start might be in the schools. Of course there's only so much education can do if the home situation isn't ideal for sure.

Suburban Elgin to commemorate Black settlement

This AP story is worth noting. I originally saw it in the site feeds on the Capitol Fax blog yesterday:

A heritage commission in the Chicago suburb of Elgin plans to publicly commemorate the community's settlement of former slaves for the first time.

The Elgin Heritage Commission says it will install a historical marker on a corner of the four-block area that African-Americans fleeing the South first settled in October 1862. Blacks reached the community through the Illinois Central portion of the Underground Railroad.

African-American Elgin residents lived within the four-block area until the late 1950s.

The sign is scheduled for dedication in May. Bill Briska, the heritage commission chair, says it will be the first public memorial of the settlement. 

Wow, black American history is truly found in a lot of places isn't it?

Ridley Report: Building micro-radio-stations near jailschools

New Hampshire free-stater Dave Ridley rants about the public school system and ways to open up the minds of public school students.

Want more Dave Ridley, please visit his website.

Study: Murders among black youths on the rise

Bad news from the AP:

The number of young black men and teenagers who either killed or were killed in shootings has risen at an alarming rate since 2000, a new study shows.

The study, to be released Monday by criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston, comes as FBI data is showing that murders have leveled off nationwide.

Not so for black teens, the youngest of whom saw dramatic increases in shooting deaths, the Northeastern report concluded.

Last year, for example, 426 black males between the ages of 14 and 17 were killed in gun crimes, the study shows. That marked a 40 percent increase from 2000.

Similarly, an estimated 964 in the same age group committed fatal shootings in 2007 - a 38 percent increase from seven years earlier. The number of offenders is estimated because not all crimes are reported, said Northeastern criminologist James Alan Fox, who co-authored the study.

"Although the overall rate of homicide in the United States remains relatively low, the landscape is quite different for countless Americans living, and some dying, in violence-infested neighborhoods," Fox said.

Someone has to be blamed for this phenomenon:

The study partly blamed Bush administration grant cuts to local police and juvenile crime prevention programs for the surge in crimes by young black men and teens. Incoming Vice President Joe Biden has promised funding to put 50,000 new police officers on the street to help bring violent crime rates back to a decade-long annual decline that began in the mid-1990s, after then-President Bill Clinton provided local officials with money to hire 100,000 new cops.

Read the whole article. Found via CapFax morning shorts!

Ill. State Rep. Wyvetter Younge dies at 78

AP:

Wyvetter H. Younge, one of the longest-serving current members of the Illinois House, has died. She was 78.

Younge was taken to a hospital with a bleeding artery on Dec. 9. She died Friday night from complications that arose during surgery, said her daughter, Margaret Hewitt.

Younge, a mother of five, represented East St. Louis as a Democrat since 1975. Hewitt, who is now 43, was nine years old when Younge was first elected.

Hewitt remembers that her mother drove 90 minutes each way to Springfield every day so she could see her children in the mornings and evenings.

Funeral arrangements are pending and also Younge was an alumni of Hampton University. Here's her General Assembly profile.

ADDITION: Illinois Review pays tribune and links to an article about the late state Representative courtesy of St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Rep. Younge was first elected to the House in 1975 and promptly made urban renewal one of her primary focuses.

In Springfield, Rep. Younge was known as a champion of causes on behalf of her largely poor district. Many of the bills she sponsored in the current legislative term were typical, focusing on issues such as substance abuse treatment, services for the homeless and economic development in St. Clair County.

"Wyvetter was a tireless advocate for East St. Louis who never stopped trying to improve life for her constituents," Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said Saturday through a spokesman. A statement from Gov. Rod Blagojevich had similar sentiments.

According this article state law indicates that local Democratic Party officials must declare a replacement in Younge's district within 30 days.

Blagojevich post I found

Peoria Pundit found the blog of a law professor called Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion that has a post that offers a series of go-to links on the whole Blagojevich scandal. Too bad that my Scandal/Impeachment items over at the Sixth Ward wasn't included.

Anyway I saw this other post from Bill Dennis, the blogmaster at Peoria Pundit, who wrote this nice entry back in September of this year. If only we knew back then what would happen almost three or so month later with this governor. That post indicated that an indictment was coming in the near future and sure enough it did although I'm not sure the governor was indicted but he certainly was stopped by Federal authorities. Here's an excerpt:

It’s one thing to be a popular politician facing indictment. It’s quite another to be as reviled as Blogo. There’s no one who’se going to be fighting behind the scenes for leniency or mercy because he did “some good” while in office. George Ryan could point to the death penalty moratorium. What will Balgo point to? All Kids, the health program that he created with a memo and no cash?

Remember though, folks, that there’s little we know about Blago’s ethics and leadership style that we didn’t know two years ago when virtually every Democrat — including those who obviously hated his guts — lined up behind him on election day.

The electorate knew he was a crook with no leadership skills. But a majority of us felt compelled to vote for him because his commercials so successfully portrayed the far more competant and far less corrupt Judy Baar Topinka as a bobble-headed buffoon. That, and he promised us a bigger cut than she did.

A damning indictment of us the voters. I didn't vote for the Governor because I can't be said he offered anything that would be of any use to me. Still it's funny how things turned out since he's been re-elected Governor. He couldn't get along well with those who helped him get re-elected especially Speaker Michael Madigan who chaired the Governor's re-election campaign.

You know this morning I watched this show on Cable Access. Boyse Edwards and Kofi Malik and another familiar face to those of us who might have followed the career of Congressman Jackson, Harold Davis Jr. Recently Mr. Davis has engaged in demonstrations against Rep. Jackson especially in light of his connection in the recent Blagojevich scandal.

Anyway I'm sure that there have been many ideas thrown about as to what happened with this Governor. I rarely have heard anything positive until this morning. The panel especially Malik had said that they believe there was an attempt to pull Blagojevich from power because he simply was uncontrollable and he deviated from standard rules and practices of those who helped him get elected. The effectively believed that he was seeking to get things done not for the elites of Illinois, but for the people.

I can certainly agree that the Governor has proven himself uncontrollable. He turned against those who helped him get elected, especially his own father-in-law for who this turn was exceptionally painful and even worse might have paved away for the moment when the Governor would really find himself on the wrong side of the law. Still in "getting things done" for the people he didn't let committees, legislative defeats or anything else get in the way and of course it's largely proved nothing.

So the question is for bucking what is considered proper business in Illinois, what has the governor actually accomplished. The atmosphere is poison right now and it doesn't look like it will clean up anytime soon until we either the next election or the current Governor resigns.

Also I wonder if law students are enjoying this impeachment intrigue. Both law students, political scientists, or political junkies. It was mentioned on this program I saw that Ed Genson, he represents Gov. Blagojevich, was able to delay for years on continuances the trial of R. Kelly. He could single handedly hold up the impeachment of Governor Blagojevich and surely one can't blow that prospect off-hand. Especially when he has a history.

Until that comes up the impeachment hearings of the Special Investigative Committee is close to wrapping up. They offer their recommendations to a full IL House of Representatives and at that time they can vote to effectively "indict" the Governor on whatever charges they may bring against him. These charges might be regarding his conduct as Governor in addition to what got him arrested earlier this month. "Indicting" the Governor in the House will commence a "trial" in the IL Senate where if the Governor is "convicted" that is when he will be removed from office

Merry Christmas

May all of you have a very safe and merry, merry, Christmas. Stay warm out there and whatever it is you do for the holidays, whether opening gifts or enjoying family I hope it's a very good holiday for you all. Have a great one!

As Debts Mount, Morris Brown College Will Not Reopen Next Semester

I Twittered a story about the issues regarding Morris Brown College (MBC) by linking to a story courtesy of My Urban Report (just figured out that the link didn't work, sorry). Indeed in the past MUR's Amani Channel has helped produce some videos for the College to advertise that they are open for business.

Courtey of Black Politics on the Web some more details of what's going on over at MBC...

Well before city officials shut off the water at Atlanta’s Morris Brown College last week, the 127-year-old college was already buckling under the weight of $32-million in debt.

Now, without the money to pay $380,000 in water bills dating back to 2004 — let alone faculty and staff salaries and other key operating expenses — the historically black college will not reopen next semester and may soon close permanently, officials told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this weekend.

Campus officials were scheduled to meet with bankers today to negotiate short-term loans as Morris Brown tries to work out its financial situation, Rhonda Copenny, a trustee, told the newspaper. Without such bridge financing, she said, the college could shut its doors for good in three weeks.

This is only the latest struggle for Morris Brown, which in recent years has suffered from plummeting enrollment, financial corruption, and a revolving door for presidents.

In 2002 the college lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools because of heavy debt and a criminal investigation into the financial dealings of a former president, Dolores E. Cross. Four years later, Ms. Cross (who resigned from the college in 2002) pleaded guilty to embezzlement, admitting that she had fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in federal student loans and grants to cover the college’s expenses, which increased sharply during her tenure.

Very unfortunate for one of the institutions of the Atlanta University Center. Perhaps unfortunate that an HBCU might not be able to make it into the 21st Century. Let's see what happens with this situation.

Police Get The Wrong House In Galveston, Allegedly Assault 12-Year-Old Girl

Well this is one instance of the police getting this so horribly wrong that this might cause some trouble. This story eminates from Galveston, Texas. This was simply too good just to transmit this on my Twitter...

It was a little before 8 at night when the breaker went out at Emily Milburn's home in Galveston. She was busy preparing her children for school the next day, so she asked her 12-year-old daughter, Dymond, to pop outside and turn the switch back on.

As Dymond headed toward the breaker, a blue van drove up and three men jumped out rushing toward her. One of them grabbed her saying, "You're a prostitute. You're coming with me."

Dymond grabbed onto a tree and started screaming, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." One of the men covered her mouth. Two of the men beat her about the face and throat.

As it turned out, the three men were plain-clothed Galveston police officers who had been called to the area regarding three white prostitutes soliciting a white man and a black drug dealer.

All this is according to a lawsuit filed in Galveston federal court by Milburn against the officers. The lawsuit alleges that the officers thought Dymond, an African-American, was a hooker due to the "tight shorts" she was wearing, despite not fitting the racial description of any of the female suspects. The police went to the wrong house, two blocks away from the area of the reported illegal activity, Milburn's attorney, Anthony Griffin, tells Hair Balls.

After the incident, Dymond was hospitalized and suffered black eyes as well as throat and ear drum injuries.

Sounds awfully excessive doesn't it? It almost seems like kidnapping doesn't it? It almost seems like lazy and bad police work doesn't it?

That's what I can pick out in the facts of this case. She a young girl who's confused about what's going on. One could ask if the police might have based their judgement off of some stereotype. You know I should be a lawyer!

Does the Governor have the right to fight his accusers?

On this blog and perhaps on The Sixth Ward I have often indicated that I don't support Governor Blagojevich. It could be in writing blogs here (by blogs I mean essays) or I post links and excerpts to articles. I never voted for him in his two past elections for Governor and if he was deluded enough to try for a 3rd term, it's unlikely that I would vote him in for another term as Governor.

That being said there are those who belives that he is innocent until proven guilty. Indeed there are those who might believe that all the attempts to either convince him to resign or remove him from either office or his gubernatorial powers is just a way to get rid of one part of a strained relationship. I do try to bring things back to perspective.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan's failed attempt to use an obscure law to either remove the Governor or strip him of his gubernatorial powers might be seen as evidence that this is personal. To that I can only say that under the circumstances, that is the Governor's arrest and questions about his ability to perform as Governor, what she did wasn't so out of line. Although it is unfortunate that an arrest was the only reason anyone decided to make a move against the Governor that resulted in his ultimate removal.

I've read plenty of stories especially since 2007 that have indicated that there were signs of discontent with the Governor. Some sources might state that it started in 2003 with the death of a revered state Senator or how he renegged on an agreement with regards to the state budget in his first term (well you know trust issues). And we can also talk about 2007 and his inability to convince state lawmakers on giving him more money for a state health care plan. The seeds were sown even if the situation didn't become what it is until the Governor was inaugurated for his second term.

Let's keep in mind that Gov. Blagojevich does have the right to defend himself against impeachment and an eventual (or possible) indictment against him. The unfortunate thing about this is that we do have to worry abotu the political aspect of this. Will the Governor be so pre-occupied with his current legal troubles to be able to perform his duties? Might these trouble force him to temporary hand over his duties to Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, the man whom he doesn't really have much of a relationship? Might the state be better off if the Gov. instead handed over his powers to his Lt. Gov. especially if Blagojevich chooses not to resign?

The Governor has the right to face his accusers, unfortunately he has to juggle the issue of running the nation's fifth largest state. It's a big responsibility that he seems to have largely neglected up until his arrest (well that what it seems to me according to news reports for the past two years since his second inauguration). One wonders if the reports of him signing bills into law or ruling on some overdue pardons or even approving a contract is an indication that he'll take his job seriously. Could it be too little, too late?

I would say it's too little to late. He's had the better part of 6 or 7 years to prove that he can do the job. There are those who will still say that the wrong person got elected Governor back in 2006. And surely there are those who might wince because they elected him again the second time especially if he was a disappointment to them before his second gubernatorial campaign. Indeed I wonder if either Emil Jones (the outgoing Senate President) or Speaker Michael Madigan regret their support for the governor. Indeed Speaker Madigan (father of Lisa Madigan) was Blagojevich's 2006 re-election campaign co-chair.

Unfortunately for right now we are in this boat. Impeachment could take some time as long as the Governor thru his legal team are able to continue to fight this. It looks like we're in for a good fight and it almost does seem one-sided against the Governor, but that's what we will have. While we have this fight, we may see more stories about the Government of Illinois in paralysis.

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry Passes Away

I have fond memories of discovering the original Star Trek (ST) when I was about 12 or 13 years old. It was something new and probably more interesting that those eps of one of the orignal series' spin-off The Next Generation (TNG) which I also discovered at that time. In fact I discovered TNG first before the original series.

I just found out last night that the lady who played Nurse Christine Chapel on the original series has passed away. When I started watching both incarnations of Star Trek I had no idea that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was the wife of the man who created Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry. My only thoughts about her revolved around the two main characters she playes on the series Nurse Chapel and Lwaxanna Troi (who's the eccentric mother of USS Enterprise counselor Deanna Troi). Also she was the voice of the computers you might hear on both the Original series and the spin-offs up until Enterprise. She's even the voice of the ship's computer in the new Star Trek film coming out next summer.

Mrs. Roddenberry was a beautiful lady especially in her youth as during the course of the original series she seemed to care for Mr. Spock. There was an episode, "The Naked Time", where it seemed as if things could become serious between the two of them. Spock seemed to be a man, in fact he was a Vulcan man devoid of emotions seemingly and very alien, who probably has no use for romance. Still he contracted a virus from Chapel that seemed to have caused his emotionless veil to become more than lifted and was running around the corridors of Enterprise sobbing just after Chapel expressed her feelings for Enterprise's first officer.

Another memorable episode, "Amok Time", was when Spock was experiencing pon-far. Vulcans aren't much different than salmon they have to return home to mate and this has a lot of ritual to it. Of course what this means is that ST fans will see a lot of emotinal outbursts that are generally not expected from Vulcans. At the very beginning of the episode Chapel attempted to give Spock some soup and was thorougly rejected with Spock throwing the soup out of his quarters. Unfortunately both Dr. McCoy and Capt. Kirk were right outside in the corridor when it happened because McCoy was increasingly concerned about Spock.

These two scene illustrated how I feel about Nurse Chapel and it was unfortunate that no other episodes addressed anything between the characters. Perhaps the writers never intended to go there, but I saw the possibility of a storyline where Spock might have a relationship with the nurse. It never materialized and I must say that I never thought much about it until I saw the news of Mrs. Roddenberry's passing.

Memories of her other famed character Lwaxanna Troi well they aren't as fond. Perhaps it's because I grown to not care for The Next Generation as much as I grew to care for the original series. Still her character has yeilded some memorable moments. She often embarrassed Capt. Picard, especially by constantly hitting on him or forcing Picard to carry some heavy luggage when it turns out that her helper can move it with ease.

Also she made an appearance in a Roddenberry series that was produced posthumously, Earth: Final Conflict. I grew to loathe that show, but her appearance was a connection to the man who created that program. Plus she was also an executive producer for not only Earth: Final Conflict but also Andromeda which was another series produced postumously that was created by Gene Roddenberry.

Anyway to me Nurse Chapel will always be the Majel Roddenberry I would recognize. Especially the one that appeared in the original series. That character was a favorite and I think that Mrs. Roddenbery has done well as not only Chapel, Lawaxana, but also as the First Lady of Star Trek. May she rest in peace!

Are you ready for the digital conversion?

On FOX 32 at about 10 PM last night there was a message that came across my screen up top that said that my TV was ready for the digital conversion. At home there are two other TVs both are LCDs and only one was ready for the digital conversion. One is connected to cable but not digital cable while the other is still wired for regular analog signals over an antenna.

The TV I was watching was ready by virtue of a digital cable box provided by those great people at Comcast. In the summer of 2007, we converted to digital cable after seeing that we could get a digital converter for free, but because that converter was no longer reliable a technician came by with a much larger cable box. Of course the unfortunate thing is that this box cost money.

I wonder what it costs to have a cable box when my household first got cable. I remember the day we got cable. I don't remember a lot of details just that one day there was cable box on top of the TV and it was my first exposure to Chicago Blackhawks hockey.

Surely the cable box is around the house somewhere. We've been discarding a lot of junk as of late, but I'm sure it's around this place somewhere. I still remember that it was of a greenish color with bright red numbers to denote channel and it came with a very simple remote that's not as complicated as the remote and box that we use today. Perhaps it wasn't too much different than the box you see to the right.

Eventually we found that we didn't need that box. My family put aside that original box and the cable connected directly to the TV instead of the box and that's the way it has been even when we have had our cable cut off once or twice. During those years we didn't have cable I can only imagine what was missed.

Today having cable is a lot different. For one it costs more if a cable box didn't cost anything to the consumer back that it costs the consumer now. I understand that it's not enough for a household to be wire for cable but each room is charged for the service. Sounds like an unnecessary squeeze even on top of those taxes we pay for cable. So we have taxes, fees for boxes and wiring different rooms for cable.

My mom likes to complain so much about how much it costs that she often threatens to cut it off because to her it's not worth the costs because there's nothing on for her. She's often cost conscious anyway sometimes in the extreme. Perhaps she has a point especially with the digital conversion coming up.

You know I should mention I wonder if we need a box anymore if the TV upstairs is thought to still be on analog cable, but yet it tested fine for digital conversion. Seems to me that if that were possible that by February of next year analog cable would become a thing of the past and that TV will have the same service that is available on the non LCD TV.

Well perhaps not all services. Just the ability to watch the channels that are available on another TV with a cable box even though there are other services that probably could be accessed with the cable box although it might cost a small fee to utilize.

Still fact is, would it even be possible that if we still cling to analog cable that the digital cable will be coming through to most of our TVs even without a cable box. I wonder if that'll be the next possible evolution as America converts to digital broadcast signals. Well we'll see about that.

BTW, I ordered two coupons for the digital conversion equipment I had no idea that it would be a while before they would be recieved in my hand. They would be worth the wait since if these converters cost $40 and these coupons would effectively insure that a dime wouldn't be spent on them. :)

I almost forgot to mention. Cable was around a long time, my mom remembers cable as something that was advertised as being commercial free and we see how well that has turned out. If that was what enticed many consumers to order cable (a jingle from my youth in the 1990s, 1-800-cable-me!) they might have eventually found themselves very disappointed.

Random link
Instapundit links to a story about one man talking about ending his cable subscription. Cable is the first to go in tight economic times, unfortunately.

Obama's New New Deal: As bad as the old new deal?

There has been a lot of allusions to the New Deal in the ascension of Barack Obama to the Presidency, but I don't have great faith in a "new" New Deal. This is supposed to be an election of change perhaps there needs to be a break from past solutions. This vid from Reason seeks to dispel the idea that FDR's new deal saved America.

Also for your reading pleasure, Obama's role in political art in the 21st Century. Also from Reason via Instapundit!

Not sure I miss this show

Watching this show many times on ABC's TGIF block. I would be on the floor laughing watching this show, assuming that my parents would even let me watch it. The opening of this show was hilarious with that optimistic 80s cadence in the theme.

Today it could be entirely difficult for me to watch. Although I have to admit that watching Larry and Balki scramble to a Cubs game was amusing. Not much different than any other Cubs fan out there.

Perfect Strangers

Let's not forget about the Dance of Joy!

Governor Dictator

Heh, I stole this title from an earlier post by Backyard Conservative.

You know this occured to me thanks to the Governor's attempt to extort the Tribune Company to change their editorial staff. The whole story about getting state money for Wrigley Field either for purchase or renovation as was discussed for the past year. As we know already the Cubs have been up for sale and the Tribune Company has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Anyway this activity almost reminded me of what two-bit dictators would attempt in banana republics. Although at least in banana republics the attempt would be even less subtle. That is they would outright takeover a media outlet especially if said media outlet wasn't exactly on board with a particular regime's programs. The case of Governor Blagojevich is different.

An opportunity presented itself when it involved the Governor's beloved Cubs and Wrigley Field. I call this subtle because at least the Governor wasn't trying to shut down the Tribune Co, but he sure wanted to hurt them using his power as Governor. In exchange for getting these funds he wanted Editorial Staff fired and then hopefully he would get some editorial support. Of course can you demand any media outlet (and in that definiton I will include blogs, TV, radio, and/or newspapers) provide you with editorial support. If you dared use your position as a public official to force people to accede to your will (i.e. force their opinions to be more in line with yours) is the mark of a person who probably should have earned the title of dictator.

Thankfully this scheme and other schemes for which Blagojevich is accused and will likely lose his office as a result were unsuccessful. The Tribune company will one day recover. Wrigley Field will continue to host not only a baseball game, but also a Blackhawks game on New Years Day. Hopefully in the future the Cubs will continue to be successful and more so under new ownership!

In spite of Patti Blagojevich's profane statement against the Governor's beloved Cubs I would think that the storied baseball club will be just fine. In spite of the Governor attempting to force the Trib to change their editorial page in favor of him, the Trib was able to have the scoop of his arrest and had more visitors to their website than ever. Things didn't turn out too well for "Governor Dictator" now did it?

Tangent: I saw SNL last night. The very first segment showed the Governor attempting to get a bailout probably for his own purposes. Even threatened to burn down the committee room where Elizabeth Dole effectively insulted Illinois by telling the "faux" Governor that in any other state he would be a disgrace. Even offered up the wedding ring and skeletal hand of Abraham Lincoln for sale. Even Patti Blagojevich broke in to seek a seat on the board of NASA. And all the bleeps was hilarious. Sadly it may have just proved that Illinois is a joke!

And now you can see more reviews of the 12/13 edition of SNL especially the initial sketch from...
Marathon Pundit: Saturday Night Live skewers Blago and his wife
Cal Skinner: Rod Blagojevich Mocked on Saturday Night Live

And as we start a new week let's see what the future holds the latest rumor is that the Governor could resign. We'll have to see since you know, I've often seen speculation that he wouldn't be very willing to resign his office.

Quote of the day!

I found this quote and it's not necessarily related to anything news related it's just worth your attention.

"Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It's beyond me."

~Zora Neale Hurston.

I found out that this quote comes from Hurston's book, How It Feels to be Colored Me.

Read more about her at Wikipedia!

A Pay-to-Play PATRIOT Act

The Southern Avenger relates the spy tactics of the Patriot Act to the arrest and criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Mary Mitchell talks about the election of Barack Obama as President

It's been a while that I've posted any of her columns here, but at least we can hear her talk about Barack Obama and other issues on Jeff Berkowitz' Public Affairs cable access program. Very interesting discussion worth watching for about 30 minutes.

My governor was under arrest!!!

Today is a day for my memory. It may not reach the heights of a 9/11 or Obama's ascention to the Presidency, but man I never thought this day would come. I never thought the feds would ever outright arrest a sitting governor without even as much as an indictment.

I never thought in my lifetime that extremely criminal conduct would be exposed for the world to see. This man was nasty and wanted to continue to game the system for his own personal benefit. We've seen that in how he's conducted himself as a Governor. He didn't mind closing state parks and historical sites, he didn't mind cutting  a mandate that he created, he didn't mind vetoing an entire state budget that probably could have been used to garner more support for him in the future, and this is something that gets me he was willing to turn his back on the man who helped get him to the governorship in the first place.

Today, what really got my attention was his attempt to put the President-elect's old US Senate seat that he just resigned last month up for sale. He wanted to game this attention he's been getting to get something for himself. I saw a transcript of this on WBBM-TV, he outright told a member of Obama's team "[Expletive] them!" because they wouldn't offer him anything for an appointment of an Obama replacement. Especially if Obama had a preference for who might succeed him.

Oh let me just say that I would like to thank Senator Barack Obama, because he ascention to the Presidency of the United States might have paved the way for this action that we have seen today! If Obama had lost the election this year, Blagojevich wouldn't have had a Senate seat to game for his own personal benefit. Surely no one could have imagined that this day would come the way it had today.

Also I saw some of the coverage online from WBBM. I saw for the first time how fired up Mike Flannery was. Flannery, I just learned today was a Beverly liberal, is a political reporter at WBBM-TV. He's never seen the activity in his years of political reporting that he's seen with Rod Blagojevich. NEVER!!! That just has to say something!

Another website the Beachwood Reporter quoted Flannery as saying that the Governor has got to be the stupidest politicians he had ever met. Well this day might have cemented that, but it's just plain believeable also that Blagojevich's head just plain grew too big for his britches. I'm sure someone out there believes that this man should never have been governor in the first place and let's not only talk about the crimes for which he and his chief of staff was arrested by federal authorities. Perhaps we should also talk about his record as governor and let's face it ladies and gentlement in the Bloggosphere, it's a very dismal record. Even George Ryan has a stronger record as governor than Rod Blagojevich.

I also saw coverage on this from WGN today as well. One guy said that while he voted for Barack Obama for President, he would honestly vote GOP for governor. Yeah people are fed up with corruption in the state of Illinois, but you know I wonder if they were more fed up with the man himself. Were the people fed up with Rod Blagojevich and would it matter if he did everything he could to enrich himself as Governor. I was certainly fed up by the activity out of the governor's office notwithstanding his apparent corruption.

You know I've been all over this governor since probably before the 2006 gubernatorial elections. I had hoped at that point in time that his GOP opponent then state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka would defeat the man only to discover that the election was quickly called for Blagojevich. How did this man get re-elected just over two years ago? The odds was against but some how he eked out just enough votes to bring about "overtime in hell" in Springfield back in summer 2007.

 Now it seems things have finally come back full circle. The games Blagojevich has played in the Governor's office with public policy and his own personal enrichment has finally come to a close. Unfortunately I wonder who else might go down around him. This scandal might even touch his wife who just so happened to be the daugther of the man who he had turned against who helped him get to this point. Well the point unfortunately where he's likely to find himself in jail.

I hope that this might be the start of a purge. Perhaps politics won't ever be for those people who only want to enrich themselves again. Well it's a bit idealistic, but one can only hope!

More Blagojevich stories here!
Governor Blagojevich a "homeboy" - not anymore!
What went wrong with Rod?
Beleaguered gov singing different tune
A recurring theme apparently - Democratic politicians biting their lips
Did gov break vow to help church?
Mr. Un-Popularity
Newsalert has more about the Governor campaigning at a black church
Governor Blagojevich going down...
Governor's power grab could hurt the office
Fearless Governor makes InstaPundit again...
Governor Defends Expansion Of State Health Care
Our fearless Governor has made InstaPundit
Blagojevich pits North vs. South in Illinois
The Governor not governing
The Governor and Recall
Two posts about the governor of Illinois

Actually I had plenty of posts but you can search  for other stories, I think I've posted more than enough links here.

Source: Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody

You have got to be kidding me? Please tell me this isn't for real. Indications are that yesterday he was talking all tough about the federal investigations only to find himself in custody this morning. I mean WOW!!!

Hat-tip Second City Cop.

ADDITION: You know I'm thinking that this is a good reason to take him down, NOW!

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich and Harris were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. The governor was also accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning.

Heh, the CapFax actually has copy and pasted a press release from the US Attorney! Scroll down and look for 8:45 AM.

Nasty!

I had a taste of home when I was in Chicago for Thanksgiving.

A day or so before Thanksgiving Day I visited Dominicks on Roosevelt Road. I had to use the bathroom and there was someone already in the toilet. He left the door to the toilet open and being polite I didn't really look too hard in there. So I basically have no idea whether or not he was doing the no.1 or the no. 2.

To be sure and this may not be proper etiquette, but I'll give me two cents anyway. If all your doing is urinating in the toilet there shouldn't be a problem if you leave the door open. No one is likely to see you urinate and your back will be turned to me. If you're taking a serious dump that is nasty in the worse possible way and I do think that at some point someone did walk in on him as he did his business.

We as if this man wasn't nasty enough when I finally was through in the bathroom all he did was walk out of the bathroom without washing his hands. Again probably not proper etiquette, but I don't necessarily begrudge those who choose not to wash their hands. I wash my hands every time I use the bathroom or at least use hand sanitizer, but to take a dumb while leaving the stall door open and then walking out without washing your hands just makes a person who does that look even nastier.

There are those who simply don't care, they just go on automatic pilot when then they do what they do. That's how some people are they have no qualms about not doing the polite thing. He might be the type that was never socialized into closing the door behind him especially in a public bathroom or even socialized into washing his hands when he's done his business. As a result this is a man who might act like he is at home, by leaving his bathroom door open and then not washing his hands when he is thru.

Of course I can only imagine who else who do this, ex-cons. This came to mind when I thought about this. I remember that I was on the train to Dallas, Texas one time and when we rode thru Texarkana we saw the yard of a jail. There was a toilet right in the courtyard of this jail amongst other things (for some reason I seem to remember there being weight benches and maybe a basketball court). In any case this toilet offer some semblance of privacy if I recall correctly but not much.

There was like a wall around the toilet, but no door to close. See if you're an inmate you don't have many rights let alone privacy. There might be an expectation that you're up to something especially in the toilet in jail. So correctional officers might be someone to watch everyone's moves. That of course is true perhaps if you watch too much OZ or indeed read up on any news about what's going on in America's correctional facilities.

Now you may want to know how this relates to my brief anecdote. I started thinking that this man may have found himself in jail once upon a time. Perhaps he's gotten so used to lack of privacy he probably don't think that it might be important to close the door behind him when he uses a public toilet.

Of course I can't say for him not washing his hands. I'm sure there are reason why some of us out there might choose to leave the washroom without washing the hands. However it would be nice if some of us out there would take a few seconds to put soap and water to our hands to clean them up a little. Let's not be like this man I ran into at a Dominick's store before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Louisiana voters oust indicted Rep. Jefferson

Wow! This gives me some hope in our voters. Rep. William Jefferson was indicted for bribery in 2007. I have heard that Louisiana is as corrupt a state as Illinois although Jefferson was a US Congressman, so perhaps his bribes may have nothing to do with Louisiana politics.

All the same his replacement in Congress is a Republican who just so happens to be of Vietnamese descent. Interesting, Republicans have opened the door to two ethnic minorities with and Indian-American as Governor and a Vietnamese-American going to Congress. Ever better we see this in an unlikely state because I never would have thought Louisiana was open to electing ethnic minorities to political positions in the state. Well Congress shouldn't have been a big feat but Governor? Could anyone have imagined?

In anycase in reading this AP article this sort of disappointed me:

In a speech that was gracious but stopped short of concession, Jefferson blamed low voter turnout for his showing and said supporters may have thought he was a shoo-in after he won a Nov. 4 primary in the predominantly black and heavily Democratic district.

"I think people just ran out of gas a bit," he said. "People today flat didn't come out in large numbers."

Greg Rigamer, a New Orleans political consultant, said his analysis showed turnout in predominantly white sections of the district was double that in black areas. He said that helped push Cao to victory over Jefferson, who became Louisiana's first black congressman since Reconstruction when he took office in 1991.
...
New Orleans voters had long been loyal to Jefferson, re-electing him in 2006 even after news of the bribery scandal broke. Late-night TV comics made him the butt of jokes after federal agents said they found $90,000 in alleged bribe money hidden in his freezer.

"People are innocent until proven guilty," said Faye Leggins, 54, an educator and Democrat who moved back to the city six months ago and still has fresh memories of Hurricane Katrina. She voted for Jefferson on Saturday. "He has enough seniority, so he can do a lot to redevelop this city."

Well disappointed yes, but probably not surprised. I hated to think black folks would have continued to support a politician who was indicted for corruption. If nothing else this revelation should give any voter pause before they cast a ballot. Do Blacks want to stick it to Uncle Sam or do they want honest politicians?

Like I've said already Jefferson hasn't been convicted but now he won't have his seat on Congress while he fights this in court. The fact is that since he's already been indicted, he may not be guilty, but it doesn't look good if the suspicion becomes eventually a day in court when you're headed to trial. At least a scandal tainted Congressman won't still be in office so that he'll find himself ineffectual in helping to rebuild New Orleans as one of his voters would have hoped.

The next question is what will the new guy do? If people are concerned about clout and seniority in the US Congress, Representative-elect Anh "Joseph" Cao might have a problem and even worse Republicans are in the minority. What do you suppose that being a bright light in an otherwise dismal year for Republicans might give him a little clout? And if it turned out that Cao might have some staying power in that district, then who knows he might be able to do more to rebuild New Orleans than Jefferson would have been if he stayed in his position.

Yahoo! Pulls the Plug on Flickr for AT&T and Verizon Subscribers

This news is especially disappointing to me because I actually use the service and I enjoyed the perk unfortunately not enough to want to pay almost $25 for a pro-account. A pro-account is a step above a regular account in that a pro-account allowed me to post unlimited pictures, unlimited sets, and allowed me to see the image in a larger resolution. By February I will no longer have that perk.

Reading this article on the subject (I found it using Google) they attributed this decision to the ails of Yahoo's business. I recall that it was in the news when Microsoft seemed very keen on buying Yahoo, but nothing could be finalized. Indeed it's probably safe to say that Yahoo wasn't so keen on being bought by Microsoft. In any case cutting off their relationship with AT&T and Verizon is one way to get an infusion of cash although this article indicated that there might be an exodus to other photosharing websites on the internet.

I've only had a Flick Pro account for the better part of a year. I've only had DSL at home for over a year as well. Ironically enough Flickr became the program of choice when Yahoo decided to close Yahoo!Photos in favor of Flickr. At that point I moved some of those pictures over to Flick and started by Pro account.

I should also note that up until recently Yahoo seemed to have had a deal with SBC and then AT&T to pool their services. Thus I could lot onto my AT&T email thru Yahoo! Mail and other services such as the aforementions Yahoo! Photos and even a service I used to use frequently MyYahoo!. I don't know when that partnership ended but I suppose that is how one could view the end of the free ride by bother AT&T and Verizon users on Flickr.

I hate to say that I'm going to give up on Flickr, the primary reason is because I like Flickr. It's less of a place that merely stores your pictures, but it's certainly a social network that allows other photographers to let you know how much they like your images. Unforunately it looks like I must consider other options.

Perhaps Zoomr is one possible alternative and it is the most like Flickr.

Should George Ryan get a pardon or commutation?

My former governor George Homer Ryan was convicted and then sent to prison because of his role in the "License for Bribes" scandal during his time as the Illinois Secretary of State. Recently there was talk that President Bush might allow prisoner 16627-424  to leave prison and return to his family in Kankakee. Good luck with that.

Even though Sen. Dick Durbin, who was recently re-elected in the wave that saw Obama become our next President, has taken up the cause of seeing that Gov. Ryan might be released from prison it's not very likely that Ryan will get freed anytime soon. Even a future occupant of the federal prison our current Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Ryan's immediate successor thinks Ryan should get his pardon. You must not be doing that great if a person who thinks you should get a pardon is under suspicion on charges of corruption himself.

Let me prefernce the comments about Blagojevich by saying that he is under investigation and perhaps I some point I could say more when an indictment is finally sent his way however that may come about. The US Attorney could serve up an indictment or the less likely option which could be impeachment by the Illinois General Assembly. Although at least in Blagojevich's case, any possible corruption from his administration may not have resulted in any high profile loss of life.

In any event I'm sure many might say that George Ryan should be freed from prison thanks to his age. Unfortunately the news reports I've seen has indicated that he's isn't particularly remorseful about the events that sent him to prison. Indeed some reports have portrayed him as upset that a federal jury dared to find him guilty.

Kind of unfortunate for a guy who was lauded for not only placing a moratorium on the death penalty, but also in communiting the sentences of all felons who drew a death sentence. Also unfortunate since he was also nomination for a Nobel Prize for taking action on the death penalty. It was probably significant only because there are those out there (not sure if they are in the minority or majority) who opposes the death penalty for whatever their reasoning might be. At which point it leads me to believe, cynically, that his move before he left his single term as governor was more or less a publicity stunt designed to garner himself more support, especially since at some point he might find himself in a courtroom as a defendant.

My view on this is that if he's convicted of the crime he should do the time. I understand that he may have a point as far at the jury, two jurors were dismissed during his trial because they had prior criminal convictions that they did not reveal. At the same time Ryan was found guilty of his crimes back in 2006. For that reason and thanks to the rather perceived corrupt political culture in Illinois that Ryan should continue to further serve his prison sentence.

In my mind, George Ryan's only serious crime for which there isn't a law against was that he was a part of a culture where some of his activities were accepted. He spent many years in Illinois politics starting in 1968 and ending in 2003 and probably during most of that time that activity was considered appropriate. However as the 20th century turned into the 21st century perhaps the rules was about to change. Ryan probably wasn't able to switch gears enough. The point I'm trying to make is that Ryan could have saved himself a lot of the heartache that he's going thru now.

Sometimes I would have been smart to get ahead of an issue even though it probably would be difficult. That's true especially if one benefited from the status quo. Instead from my understanding of this story Gov. Ryan chose the status quo and probably never anticipated in his whole life that he'd be not only convicted but also sent to jail. Honestly I think there ought to be a lesson here.

Also for your reading pleasure this commentary from Dan Proft on this subject.

2000 posts

Last year saw this blog make 1ooo posts. Near the end of the year this blog has amassed 2000 posts. I look forward to the next thousand. Actually after this post is post 2001. BTW, have you noticed that I like to note these small milestones.

The American President

I forget the last time I've seen this movie starring Michael Douglas and Annette Benning with Douglas playing President Andrew Shepherd and Benning playing a lobbyist who caught the romantic attention of the widower President. This was a great movie and it came to mind after I did a search for this film, A Chorus Line, at random and found that Douglas was in it. Then my attention turned to The American President.

This film was released in the mid-1990s and I was there to watch it at the Ford City theaters at that time. It was a good movie then and when my folks got it at home on VHS it was still a good movie. As a matter of fact the most recent time I watched the film was whenever it was reviewed over at The Movie Cabinet. It might need to get another viewing after witnessing not only history in the making, but also noting the excitement of so many people over a brand new Presidency.

To describe this movie and to be sure I've always felt this way, this movie describes a very idealistic Presidency. Of course this might be an ideal Presidency from a liberal perspective and it is there is talk of gun control and making fuel efficient cars to clean the environment. One can only imagine the most ideal conservative Presidency, but then I throw a curve ball. How about the most ideal Presidency period? What should that entail?

I figured that if the film just showed the President of the United States following the US Constitution in his everyday dealings as the Chief Executive it might be a boring film. It might be likely that the President won't allow himself to do anything although I'm sure that's what most of our fellow citizens would like anyway. Of course what most Americans want in a President doesn't exactly entail that. Perhaps some if you have an answer.

Perhaps I offered a bit of info as to what I'd like to see in a President. Although to be honest in the mid-1990s Douglas played a President who I believed in more than Bill Clinton. How messed up is that? A fictional man in a scripted film portrayed a much better President or a much more ideal President than the one who was actually sitting in the hot seat at that point in time! That was my feelings on it at the time.

Now we're living in an era where the new future President is offering more excitement than ever before. It might certainly go beyond the fact that he is the first black President, but certainly the fact that he has a certain youth and he's a fresh face. Although to be sure Bill Clinton also had youth and a fresh face. I wonder what it is about Obama that gives people excitement about him and the future of the United States of America?

Hopefully we'll find out that answer. I also look forward to the future Obama Presidency. Also perhaps the writer of The American President and the creator of the TV series The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin, can create another idealized Presidency for a new generation. Especially to tap into this excitement that people now have in this country.

Of course for right now we might just have to settle for The American President and perhaps watch the real-life idealized Presidency in action but only after his inauguration and he gets settled in. Some might not have foreseen the crises that have erupted late in this year before the elections even commenced, but I sincerely look forward to seeing what Obama can do. May my President be a good one!

A black woman says she's not emo

I would say there are deeper issues here than the fact this young lady enjoys music that her peers wouldn't want to listen to in the first place. At least that is how I would take this story.

See this young lady, Josetta Adams, got into rock music instead of hip-hop and R&B because she fell into depression. In general, Black people don't generally talk about depression. In fact the subject might be avoided entirely until someone does the unthinkable and comitts suicide.

Is it true that black families don't talk about their "feelings"? Is it true that going to seek help thru a mental health professional is considered a failure because we didn't pray about it? Can depression be cured thru prayer alone and with nothing but faith?

Surely this young lady didn't have to turn to rock music in order to find something that matched her mood. Is this an indictment of black music itself? And is expressing herself make her a "sellout"?

You know I have a saying. Black folks don't get emo, but we do get the blues? If rock music can match the mood of a depressed person I can only imagine what happens to a person who listened to the blues. Of course that's not the most popular musical form today.

There are some issues worth discussing here, what do you think out there?

Consensus emerging on universal healthcare

I think there needs to be some change in the system of course I know that I don't know everything that there needs to know about this "health-care crisis". I do know that I wouldn't want a European style single-payer universal health care system. You don't have to look no further than at some of the vids on this blog to be able to understand why such a system gives me some pause.

So anyway here's an excerpt from the LA Times:

The idea of a federal, single-payer system patterned on those in Europe and Canada, long a dream of the political left, is now virtually off the table.

Rejected as well is the traditionally conservative concept, championed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during the presidential campaign, of reforming healthcare mainly by giving incentives for more Americans to buy insurance on their own.

There also is a widespread understanding that any expansion of coverage must be accompanied by aggressive efforts to bring down costs and reward quality care. And key players in the healthcare debate increasingly back a massive investment of taxpayer money for healthcare reform despite the burgeoning budget deficits.

Beyond those areas of basic agreement, the details of what would be one of the most momentous changes in domestic policy since World War II remain vague.

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama embraced both expanded insurance coverage and preservation of the job-centered system, but since he won the White House he has provided few specifics about his plans once he takes office.

Disagreements over specifics could again lead to a stalemate. Even the most sanguine advocates of sweeping reform concede that difficult negotiations lie ahead.

Well it sounds like a start. The problem is that these days there is little to no will to act on these proposal. No one had the will to act on universal health care. Indeed even if there was more support for that than against there was no will to implement it.

Although there is a possibility that there is still a long way to go yet on this issue.

Via Newsalert!

Lawmaker suggests merging historically black colleges

Well I was almost concerned especially since some of the well-known HBCU's are located in Atlanta, GA. Still I'm torn on this one, I could see this as either a knock against HBCU's or perhaps an important step in looking forward.

Plus it is understood that these HBCUs are state schools and the state have to find ways to allocate their resources according. If that means that these publicly supported HBCUs have to be merged with predominantly white public universities then so be it.

From AJC.com:

The chairman of a key state Senate committee wants the University System to consider merging historically black public colleges with nearby white-majority schools to save money.

In making the suggestion Monday, Senate Higher Education Committee Chairman Seth Harp (R-Midland) immediately ran into opposition from supporters of the black schools who say they serve an important role as independent campuses.

“I think it’s a bad idea,” said Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), who has taught political science at two historically black private colleges, Morehouse and Morris Brown.

But Harp said the University System, which has 35 public schools and a $2.3 billion state budget this year, will have to make some hard choices to come up with budget cuts that could top $200 million.

And he said in two cities, Savannah and Albany, white- and black-majority schools are part of the legacy of segregation.

“The white schools were begun as segregation schools. It’s time Georgia closed that ugly chapter,” Harp said during a hearing on the University System’s budget Monday.

Harp suggested the system consider merging two Savannah schools — historically black Savannah State University and historically white-majority Armstrong Atlantic State University. And he said the system should look into merging another historically black college, Albany State, and white-majority two-year Darton College in Albany.

I was in class one day and I ran across a series of quotes that Morehouse should strive to attract students of different ethnic backgrounds. Should Morehouse be a school that only caters to black males?

My answer would certainly be yes it should, but it's shouldn't be hamstrung by that goal. Morehouse should attact the best male students possible and it doesn't matter if these students are black, white, hispanic, Asian, or whatever. Plus the all-male college is a dying breed these days, while there are plenty of all-females schools out there.

In fact for one Morehouse, there are two HBCUs that are all female. Those schools are Spelman College located not too far from Morehouse and Bennett College located in North Carolina. In fact my understanding is Bennett is officialy Morehouse's sister school.

A sports business blog from Crain's Chicago Business

I look forward to reading the posts from one Ed Sherman. I can really look forward to seeing on the money flows or doesn't flow in sports. Might be a little more interesting than politics.