Been hearing a lot about this "You didn't build that" speech...

All I get is bits and pieces and over at PJ Media, Zombie, offers a post in depth about that speech. In case you want to believe there is only coverage of the soundbite the entire speech is shown in video and in transcript form. Of course for those who saw the whole thing there probably is an opinion on whether or not they agree with his statement or not. Either way one conclusion is just a continuation of what conservatives say about Obama, that he has no clue about capitalism or about how this nation truly works.

I watched 60 Minutes Sunday night

[VIDEO] I saw the most recent edition of 60 Minutes when it aired. I really enjoyed the story about the investigation into the life and death of artist Vincent van Gogh. Tonight however I wanted to share the whole episode that in fact started with the life of two homeless families. There was no way it could be justified to favor one story over another.

Both stories are very sad but surely both stories have something that everyone could relate to. Even if you can relate to a homeless family hopefully you can still find ways to help them out. Even if you couldn't relate to a troubled dead artist hopefully you can still relate to him in some way and even find a museum where his art work is located. And even still you can help support a struggling living artist today who hopefully can prove themselves to have the stature of a van Gogh in the future.

So here's all 42 minutes of that edition of 60 Minutes. Feel free to sound off!

Negroes with Guns - A documentary

[VIDEO] I tweeted about being at ICE Theaters when I saw The Dark Knight Rises one night. Early next month well August 1st at their Lawndale cineplex and then August 2nd at their Chatham location they will show a documentary about Robert F. Williams entitled Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power as part of their monthly Black World Cinema series.

While in general the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s were often portrayed as non-violent - even when they were attacked by a power structure that sought to keep the movement from succeeding - there are those activists who were at odds with the movement. It seems people like J. Edgar Hoover back then wanted to talk Williams in the same vein as Malcolm X or even Dr. King. Now I wonder how many people know who Williams is.

This ought to be something worth watching and it was also noted at the blog Concerned Citizens of Chatham.

Capitol Fax: A truly messed up situation

Rich Miller talks about the state of pensions in Illinois. Well its an issue in a number of states and I wonder if other states have pensions in their constitution like this state does. In any event, this column talks about one of his relatives and then the issue of pensions in this state.

What's a liberal arts degree worth nowadays?

I went to a liberal arts college - Morehouse College - and well I hear a lot about those students who graduated and are doing very well in their lives. What most students who attend and eventually graduate may not hear the reality. That is how to many of them start off before they do very well? 

Doomsayers be damned: America’s higher-education model, and its price tag, ain’t broke. So says Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro. In a recent op-ed for the L.A. Times, Schapiro and Lewis & Clark College President Barry Glassner argue that the college premium — the ratio of college earning to high school earnings — justifies the investment in higher education. Individuals with a college degree now make almost 85 percent more over a lifetime than those with only a high school diploma.

But statistics are tricky — while one economist opts to focus on the long-term returns, another is focused on the immediate future, which, for many recent college graduates, is bleak. More than 50 percent of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 were jobless or underemployed in the last year. So if and when a college graduate gets a job, he’s likely to earn, on average, $20,000 more annually than a person with a high school diploma. But when the average student is graduating with $25,000 in student-loan debt, he or she might be a bit more focused on getting a paycheck, any paycheck.

This might explain why, as Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder is quick to point out, there are 80,000 bartenders and 115,000 janitors with bachelor’s degrees.

Looking at a graphic at the WBEZ article, I chose the wrong major. Should've majored in a science or engineering related field. If only I hadn't been so intimidated by science and math when I was in school!

BTW, to be fair I wasn't as aggressive as other graduating seniors when it came to looking for the next step in their futures. I never thought seriously about law school or graduate school in any way. It was more important to me to find a job, however, my search didn't really start until I finally graduated. Safe to say the ball was dropped and the situation today is what it is. 

Via Newsalert!

In honor of Sherman Hemsley

[VIDEO] I had little idea that he had an album Dance back in the early 90s. We mostly know him as George Jefferson from the sitcom The Jeffersons and another sitcom Amen. Since both of those series are no longer in production whenever we see Hemsley make an appearance his characters weren't much different that the personas he had been most famous for.

In the video above he performed one of the songs for his album on Soul Train in 1992. Ya know I wonder how many albums he sold at that time.

I'm doing all this to note that Hemsley died yesterday, he was 74.

Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion: Remembering Chicago’s victims

Been a while since I've looked that blog. Steve Bartin at Newsalert forwarded this link to me and starts off with:

A mass murder like Aurora, Colorado, naturally grabs the headlines and attention, as it should. A presidential recognition of the murders is appropriate.

Yet more than twice as many people have been murdered this month in the president’s hometown of Chicago than were killed in the Aurora shooting. They are just statistics for whom there will be no presidential visits or flags flown at half staff.

Not to be insensitive to the victims of the Aurora, Colo movie theater massacre, but why shouldn't there be presidential acknowledgement of murders in our inner cities? Especially when innocent children are the victims of such violent crimes. It seems gang warfare in our cities will touch them the most and sadly most of them lose their lives before they even get started!

Obama counts on Virginia’s black voters

I'm sure this is part of the general strategy, to get as much of the "minority" vote out as possible:

African-Americans overwhelmingly support Obama's re-election bid this year despite his three often rocky years in office and lingering economic problems. Polls show 90 percent or more of black voters supporting the president over Republican Mitt Romney. Indeed, minority support for Obama is so substantial that his campaign is reportedly projecting that he can win with as little as 40 percent of the white vote.

But there is a lingering question:

Black voters like Williams turned out in historically high numbers four years ago to help make Obama the nation's first African-American president. In Virginia alone, 200,000 more black voters went to the polls in 2008 than turned out in 2004 for Democrat John Kerry, for a jump of nearly 44 percent that made Obama the first Democratic presidential contender to win Virginia in nearly 50 years.

The story was the same in other battleground states. Turnout among blacks increased at a far greater pace in 2008 than it did among white voters in key states like Colorado, Florida and Nevada, and almost all of that black support -- 95 percent -- went to Obama.

Will Obama have the turnout that benefited him four years ago? More quotes:

But the bigger question for Obama, as Williams wondered, is whether African-Americans and other minority groups hit particularly hard by the recession will turn out this fall in the same numbers as 2008, particularly in must-win Virginia and a handful of other swing states that could well decide the race.

"[Black voters'] identity was a motivating factor in getting people who otherwise wouldn't vote to the polls because they wanted to be a part of it" in 2008, said Jan Leighley, an American University expert on race and voting patterns. "What's different this year is with the economy, and as much as the white population is unhappy about their economic fortunes, African-Americans are probably hurt more."

It is noted in this article that Obama will speak to more Black audiences during the course of the campaign. One can only wonder how this strategy will pan out!

Via Instapundit who referred to this as "racialist politics".

Should I shoot for a million hits here?

In 2010 I was the recipient of an Instalanche. In fact it was in May 2010, this blog got more hits over the course of two or so days than it ever had in its history. The only time that could've come close was when Rich Miller linked to here from the Capitol Fax.

I even wrote a post about the Instalanche the next day and shared some links about how it can happen to you. Then I realized another popular blogger Stacy McCain of The Other McCain had written about about now to get a million hits on your blog in less than a year. It makes me wonder if that goal is achievable not only for this blog, but on The Sixth Ward as well.

To be sure, I consider this blog nothing more than a hobby. This is my own piece of real-estate on the World Wide Web and while I do have to find an audience this is for me to do with as I please although it has to be done with the audience in mind. The Sixth Ward on the other hand is more serious and not just a hobby, but not quite a business or whatever as there is certainly a specific audience for that blog which covers a specific City of Chicago ward and other communities around it.

Now the question here in noting the million hits plan is, whether or not it's doable. And what steps must I take to make that happen. Also is it necessary to follow "The Other McCain's" steps?

AP: Colo. suspect planned massacre for months

Certainly this is a significant tragedy. A madman walks into an auditorium during the course of a movie and starts shooting. It looks like we're still learning more about him and this crime:

James Holmes planned the attack with "calculation and deliberation," police said Saturday, receiving deliveries by mail that authorities believe armed him for battle and were used to rig his apartment with dozens of bombs.

Meanwhile, a federal law enforcement official provided an updated account about the gunfire inside the theater, saying that a semi-automatic assault rifle used by the shooter jammed during the attack, forcing him to switch to another weapon.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to in order to discuss the investigation, said that the jammed weapon had a high-capacity ammunition magazine. Police have said that a 100-round drum magazine was recovered at the scene and that such a weapon would be able to fire 50 to 60 rounds a minute.

In Aurora, investigators spent hours Saturday removing explosive materials from inside Holmes' suburban Denver apartment a day after police said he opened fire and set off gas canisters in a theater minutes into a premiere of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." The massacre left 12 people dead and 58 injured.

His apartment was rigged with jars of liquids, explosives and chemicals that were booby trapped to kill "whoever entered it," Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said, noting it would have likely been one of his officers.

Holmes received several mail deliveries over four months to his home and school and bought thousands rounds of ammunition on the Internet.

"He had a high volume of deliveries," Oates said. "We think this explains how he got his hands on the magazine, ammunition," he said, as well as the rigged explosives in his apartment.

"What we're seeing here is evidence of some calculation and deliberation," Oates added.

As has been stated we're still learning about the suspect and his actions. Hopefully we will find out why he started shooting in a crowded theater during The Dark Knight Rises. What is clear to me already is that clearly this man has some deep rooted issues. I would expect no one in their right mind would even consider something like this that is soooo random!

Dick Morris: How the Republicans lost the Black vote

[VIDEO] Dick Morris gives a basic chronology of how the Black vote came from voting predominantly Republican to predominantly Democratic. It's a good history lesson and of course the same lessons that we hear today about the history of Blacks and the Republican Party.

OK, as well all know Dick Morris was a political advisor to the first Black President - Bill Clinton - and these days it seems he now has a right wing inclination. You will see him on FOX News often and he had been in Chicago just before the primary elections here to campaign for Republicans.

Anyway, he doesn't give a lot of hope for reversing the current 90% or so Blacks to have more of them vote Republican. He does however say that Republicans must reach out to the burgeoning Hispanic population and said this makes a good case for nominating Florida US Senator Marco Rubio for the Vice Presidency.

I didn't completely read Tejada's piece...

The one I had linked to this morning in fact. My apologies for that, I read it some more earlier today and found this near the end:

After all, we allow for people to lose their driver’s license if they show they can’t be trusted. Why should a firearm permit be any different? The circumstances that led to firearms being included in the constitutional amendments (cars didn’t exist back in the late 1700s) have changed so much that I will always believe the Second Amendment is the one obsolete provision.

OK, the beginning of this paragraph I was with that. The third sentence uhhhhhhh....

I can agree that the circumstances that lead to the creation of the 2nd Amendment is much different back then than it was today. Still it doesn't mean that that amendment is obsolete, especially if that amendment could also be used by citizens for their own defense.

Chicago Argus: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, and again, and again, and …

Gregory Tejada gives his thoughts on a measure that passed through a Chicago City Council committee which is designed to restrict the possession of guns by ex-cons. While I generally support anyone's rights to own a gun at home, if you've committed a crime of any time type then yes you should be looked at differently especially when it comes to guns. I would especially point a finger at violent offenders!

Vodkapundit: Wargaming the Electoral College

Stephen Green gives 5 potential scenarios in the electoral college this Novemeber. Two favors President Obama and the other three favors Romney. Even accounting for a squeaker by both the President and Romney where both could win the Presidency at exactly 270 electoral votes. BTW, 270 votes is the majority needed to win in the electoral college. Even if Romney wins certain states such as New York, California, and even Illinois will still go for Obama. In the case of Illinois I can't be surprised at all!

Capitol Fax: Managers recommend expulsion for Derrick Smith

This current corruption drama, I've chronicled over time on this blog. Especially chronicled was the general response by state pols. Basically the Democrats rallied to Derrick Smith in order to maintain the seat and mainly in ensure that he won the March primary when he was running against a Republican turned Democrat back then.

Then there were nothing but hearings although I will admit I didn't follow them very closely. The clock ticked as concerned pols mulled over the Smith situation. Besides does it really look good to allow a man who was arrested on suspicion of bribery to remain in office and on the ballot?

Add to that Smith wasn't about to resign or give up his spot on the ballot. Those same concerned pols helps but another candidate on the ballt against Smith in the November General Election and all the while Smith colleagues were still deciding how best to go forward. Today it looks like they have.

A Illinois state house committee recommends explusion for Rep. Smith today. A long time coming but hey while this drama isn't as big as what happened to Rod Blagojevich - well in that case it was just plain spectacular - this still doesn't look very good. Now that we know that he's definitely subject to expulsion from the Illinois House of Representatives, how soon will they vote on it. It sure took them quite a while to come to this conclusion anyway!

Also in that Capitol Fax post is stories about more pols well actually aides to pols who had been indicted by the feds here in Chicago. Oh and while this happened a while ago well earlier this month, our longtime US Attorney - Patrick Fitzgerald - is retired. Looks like his office is still busy however!

Kotkin: Are Millennials the Screwed Generation?

This column - via Instapundit! - by Joel Kotkin is very depressing when you continue to read the whole thing. I'm a long way from saying the "millennials" are screwed, but certainly things aren't looking good for them right now as many of them graduate college. There are a lot of issues worth tackling here, but let's just show a quote from this piece first:

Today’s youth, both here and abroad, have been screwed by their parents’ fiscal profligacy and economic mismanagement. Neil Howe, a leading generational theorist, cites the “greed, shortsightedness, and blind partisanship” of the boomers, of whom he is one, for having “brought the global economy to its knees.”

How has this generation been screwed? Let’s count the ways, starting with the economy. No generation has suffered more from the Great Recession than the young. Median net worth of people under 35, according to the U.S. Census, fell 37 percent between 2005 and 2010; those over 65 took only a 13 percent hit.

The wealth gap today between younger and older Americans now stands as the widest on record. The median net worth of households headed by someone 65 or older is $170,494, 42 percent higher than in 1984, while the median net worth for younger-age households is $3,662, down 68 percent from a quarter century ago, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.

The older generation, notes Pew, were “the beneficiaries of good timing” in everything from a strong economy to a long rise in housing prices. In contrast, quick prospects for improvement are dismal for the younger generation.

One key reason: their indebted parents are not leaving their jobs, forcing younger people to put careers on hold. Since 2008 the percentage of the workforce under 25 has dropped 13.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while that of people over 55 has risen by 7.6 percent.

“Employers are often replacing entry-level positions meant for graduates with people who have more experience because the pool of applicants is so much larger. Basically when unemployment goes up, it disenfranchises the younger generation because they are the least qualified,” observes Kyle Storms, a recent graduate from Chapman University in California.

Consider me one of those who graduated from college within the last three years who hasn't found the job necessary to comfortably pay off those student loans I took during my time in school. It's frustrating although hey I chose to do those loans, no one else forced me and still I'm very appreciative of my degree. Still I consider myself underemployed and it's not for lack of trying. The jobs aren't out there and there are plenty of people who are looking. At that it's certainly an employers market as they have a tough job of picking and choosing who they want to work for them and they also know there are many looking for work so they look for an excuse to get rid of one a worker and then add someone else. It's tough out there!

Read the whole thing!

Do voter ID laws affect minority turnout?

[VIDEO] Chanelle Hardy of the National Urban League discusses a report on the impact of Black voters in key swings states in this years presidential election. Looking at the info on this AP video's YouTube page those states include Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, and Florida.

The question I asked in this post's title Hardy seeks to answer in the first 20 seconds of this video. The report doesn't seek to answer that question anyway, however, she does explain that the laws in support of voter ID came about after the 2008 elections.

Though in my humble opinion, what she states is another salvo by those who think voter ID laws are a bad idea. Not that I've heard all the arguments against. When I was in school in Georgia, it was about whether or not registered voters could get an idea. That is go to the DMV (or in Illinois the Secretary of State) to get a ID to vote at least and in ATL with not a very significant public transportation system that makes it difficult for those without cars to go to a place to get an ID. It almost seems as if no one who could be affected by such laws are able to get an ID so they can vote.

Of course one counter I've heard in all the hoopla is that well can't get to a place that offers IDs, that's fine authorities can come to your home to give you an ID. That seems to get lost in all the racial pleas, economic or transportation hardships of that debate. In this video, it also seems and probably was always an argument, that voter IDs are about suppressing "minority" votes.

The Board of Trustees response to the #MorehouseLetter

Well actually the response of Morehouse College Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Davidson to attorney Imar Hutchins to his original letter and his collective statement. Mr. Hutchins isn't going to get his audience with the Trustees, but at least the concerns of the Morehouse community are being heard. Also check out Hutchins response to Davidson's letter. Perhaps the talk needs to only continue!

Previous posts

• #MorehouseLetter: Morehouse in a downward trajectory?
• Remember that #MorehouseLetter...

Washington Post: Rep. Jesse Jackson’s political future in question

On my other blog, The Sixth Ward, I discussed this story not any any length but just shared some stories. Bascially noting the controversy over Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr's medical leave from the US House of Representatives. The Sixth Ward is a local blog and therefore explored the local response to his medical leave. Later we found out that he in fact is being treated for "mood disorder".

Anyway, the Washington Post explores the trajectory of Rep. Jackson's career and it's potentially downward trajectory:

Hours before Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president at Invesco Field in Denver in 2008, Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) settled into the best seat in the house — front row, dead center. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) came along and sat next to him, and the entire arc of the American civil rights movement seemed contained in the moment.

Jackson, the scion of a legendary civil rights leader sitting next to Lewis, an American icon, waiting to watch Obama make history.

The two hugged. “It was a very moving day for him and myself. We didn’t need to speak in a verbal way,” Lewis, now 72, recalled Thursday.

The moment seemed rich with possibility for Jackson. Obama’s triumph promised to open opportunities that were specific to Jackson. An Obama victory in November meant an open Senate seat in Illinois for which Jackson would be a front-runner and an African American president could also change the career trajectory of young, black politicians everywhere.

But those events that were supposed to propel him forward are the ones that seemed to lead to his undoing. What followed for Jackson, 47, has been in a political, professional and personal free fall that has left his career in tatters and his political future in question.

Once regarded as a leading candidate to succeed Obama in the Senate and often mentioned as a possible future mayor of Chicago, Jackson has not been seen in public since June 8.

Now I can see why he's suffering from "mood disorder". He's not happy right now and yeah it probably does border on exhaustion. It seems if he seeks higher office in this nation he may have difficulty.

His name came up for Mayor of Chicago. He could've been Chicago's third Black mayor, but he missed his turn when he decided to remain in the US House after the Democrats won a majority in 2006. Now it looks like in light of his well minor role in the Blago scandal, he may have a tough time moving on from the US House. Time will tell, but hopefully he can overcome his current challenges! Besides recuperation away from the public eye is more important than a political career at this point!

Via Newsalert!

ILLINOIS REVIEW: The Surprising History of African-American Politics

Basically it rehashes what Republicans have done for Blacks over the years from emancipation, to voting, to representation, even the civil rights struggle. It's something that's good to know but not the primary way to bring Blacks into the Republican Party. The question is what is the Republican Party about now for Blacks.

Thomas Sowell’s advice on regaining the African-American vote is to boldly show African-Americans the alternatives open to them. This is exactly what Mitt Romney did this week in his address to the NAACP: “When it comes to education reform, candidates cannot have it both ways – talking up education reform, while indulging the same groups that are blocking reform. You can be the voice of disadvantaged public-school students, or you can be the protector of special interests like the teachers unions, but you can’t be both. I have made my choice: As president, I will be a champion of real education reform in America, and I won’t let any special interest get in the way.”

African-Americans have a long and powerful political history. As they become better acquainted with it, their view of the Democrat Party and their place in it may change. If African-Americans look elsewhere for a political home, we must ensure they find a viable alternative.

Yeah so just talking history is nothing. It's something but it's nothing and just because I may say that the Republicans have to offer something has nothing to do with welfare or that non-sense. It's all about education and economic development in low-income neighborhoods. If welfare is about providing for people then the next step is to teach people to fish for themselves.

It's OK to talk about the past, but it's more that important to talk about the needs of today!

Chatham from the Red Line

Sometimes on the train I snap photos on my iPhone. Post them either to my Twitter or instagram. For today a pic of Chicago's Chatham neighborhood along the Dan Ryan expressway. Chatham has historically been a bastion of Chicago's Black middle-class.

An interesting lawsuit...

From the CapFax. It was news yesterday that a retired state judge is suing the state over their plan to make state retirees pay their health insurance premiums are unconstitutional. The state constitution has a provision especially for pensions contained in article 13:

SECTION 5. PENSION AND RETIREMENT RIGHTS Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired. (Source: Illinois Constitution.)

Now I wonder why this provision is in the state constitution and can this be found in any other state constitution. Also, now a retired judge is going to argue that health insurance is protected under this provision?

Should be interesting to watch!

Tribune: Emanuel wants to make Chicago more immigrant-friendly

I think my friends over at American Rattlesnake might be interested in this story. Even if it is from out of Chicago:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today is expected to announce further protections for undocumented immigrants in what he says is a move to make Chicago appear to be a more immigrant-friendly city.

The largely symbolic proposed ordinance would add protections on the books for undocumented people who have not been convicted of a serious crime and are not wanted on a criminal warrant.

The new ordinance is meant to ensure undocumented Chicagoans will only be detained if they are wanted on a criminal warrant by local or federal authorities or if they have been convicted of a serious crime and remain in the United States illegally, according to the mayor's office.

"This Welcoming City ordinance will make Chicago a national leader in welcoming those who play by the rules, contribute to our economy and help make Chicago the incredible city that was envisioned by its first immigrant settlers," Emanuel said in a statement.

When you think about it, this makes sense. Plus the city does plan to continue to cooperate with federal authorities in those cases that may involve undocumented immigrants. It also means that police can't ask any questions about anyone's legal citizenship status.

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

[VIDEO] When Barack Obama assumed the Presidency in 2009, many seemed to hope for a return of the New Deal. He would be the transformational President that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was. In general, history seems to consider his Depression-era New Deal policies a success. Obama supporters seemed to hope that the current President will be the new coming of FDR.

Anyway it seems to be a common theme these last four years. Obama is deemed a Keynesian and this Reason.tv video isn't the first time we've heard that charge. Keynesianism to put it simply is merely government spending to spur economic growth.

And that's how this election will be decided essentially, is Obama making progress on the economy. Right now things aren't looking so good economically, however, I don't truly believe any President can really affect the economy. A President could put forward policies that could influence the economy years down the road and perhaps it's all about what's considered the right policies. That's another debate in and of itself!

Via Newsalert!

VIDEO Julius Rosenwald: A Force for Change

[VIDEO] I'm watching this video about Julius Rosenwald who was an executive at Sears in its early days. What's highlighted here was his philanthropy not just towards people of his Jewish faith, but also towards Black Americans. In fact I found this documentary in a post over at Chicagoist that talked about attempts to restore this development known as the Rosenwald Apartments in the Bronzeville neighborhood on 47th Street.

He has used his wealth to help building not only high schools for Blacks throughout the south, but also sent some money to Tuskegee Institute. They also mentioned Booker T. Washington's book Up from Slavery also. And that may well have inspired him to help Tuskegee which is a school founded by Booker T. Washington.

 This documentary is a great story!

Some student loans to become more expensive despite deal

Washington Post has the story about student loans:

College students are facing a roughly $20 billion increase in the cost of their federal loans, despite a much-heralded deal in Washington to contain the expense of higher education.

Starting Sunday, students hoping to earn the graduate degrees that have become mandatory for many white-collar jobs will become responsible for paying the interest on their federal loans while they are in school and immediately after they graduate. That means they’ll have to pay an extra $18 billion out of pocket over the next decade.

Meanwhile, the government will no longer cover the interest on undergraduate loans during the six months after students finish school. That’s expected to cost them more than $2 billion.

These changes have received little attention as lawmakers instead focus on preventing a spike in interest rates on federal student loans. They are the fallout of earlier political battles and compromises over broader issues such as the federal budget and the national debt ceiling. And they are forcing students such as Clarise McCants to make tough choices about how to pursue academic goals without jeopardizing financial security.

At least for college I hope that students going to school in the near future are much smarter about how to pay for it. Save some money at the very least!

What progress have Black males made in the past 10 years?

Courtesy of whatblackmenthink.com

'Hooray for Captain Streeter!'

'Hooray for Captain Streeter!'

I'm up in this neighborhood call Streeterville all the time. In this posts by John Schmidt, we find out the story behind this Chicago neighborhood located north of the Loop. It's the location of some of Chicago's most expensive real estate!

When you read it, it's seems like a really fun story although Capt. Streeter doesn't get to keep his land. Just one of the many colorful characters in Chicago history.

American Interest: Young Voters Cool on Obama

I've wondered how Obama fared amongst younger voters today as opposed to almost 4 years ago. My sense is that it's not as strong as it was in 2008. I would also point out his standing as far as those who either had graduated college that year and those who were about to graduate the next year from college as I had:

The New York Times reports that the generation that came of age politically during the Obama administration (18 to 24 year-olds) are much less supportive of the president than their slightly older peers. Those voters with only a dim memory of the Bush years are trending more conservative and are more skeptical about what government can do. Given the dismal economic prospects young people are facing, this is not surprising: the unemployment rate for 18 and 19 year-olds is 23.5 percent; for those aged 20–24 it’s 12.9 percent.
...
The data supports the anecdotal evidence. A study by the Harvard Institute of Politics found that Barack Obama’s lead over Mitt Romney among this age group is about half of what it is among 25 to 29 year-olds. In a close election, this could have an impact.

Clearly, this represents an opening for Mitt Romney, but taking advantage of it will require a certain finesse. Consider, for example, the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the  Affordable Care Act: one of the law’s most popular provisions is the ability for young adults under the age of 26 to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans. It is worth watching how the Romney campaign balances the commitment to repeal Obamacare “on Day One” while ensuring that young people are not priced out of the market for health insurance.

 Still quite a while before November where we will know for sure where the voters will go.

Via Instapundit!

Remember that #MorehouseLetter...

That I posted on June 20th. Now the author of that letter wants Morehouse alumni, students, and other supporters to add their names to a collective statement to be sent to the Morehouse College Board of Trustees. 134 names totals have signed onto this letter so far! Sooner or later my name will be on it!