My "Pound Puppies" (w/Pics)

"Jam Session" (because my husband is a musician...)
"Pepper" (because "Piper"--the name I really liked--is a girl's name...)

 

We adopted our two dogs in May 2002 and December 2007 from the Detroit shelters--the Michigan Humane Society and the Detroit Dog Pound.

Remember those toys from about ten or so years ago called "Pound Puppies"? That's what I call my shelter dogs--my "pound puppies". They aren't really puppies anymore--"Jam" is about 9 1/2 years old and "Pepper" is about 6 years old.

I don't have anything against people purchasing pure-bred dogs--especially if they want/love a particular breed or they show dogs or breed dogs professionally.

However, our dogs are just our very spoiled house pets, and buying "new" just didn't make sense when there were so many "gently used" beautiful and loving dogs who needed and wanted homes--even if the dogs are mutts of questionable parentage. Plus, the $100 it cost for adoption (which included shots and neutering) was WAY less than the hundreds of $$$ it would cost for a purebred.

Both of our dogs were even already housebroken when we adopted them--a pleasant surprise! Jam Session (80 lbs.) is mostly a Hungarian Pointer (Vizsla) and Pepper (20 lbs.) is mostly a spaniel/terrier something-or-other. They get along beautifully. Pepper, younger and smaller, acts more like a guard dog protecting the house; while Jam is content to be "Jabba the Hut" on the sofa.

They get a Beggin' Strip every day at noon; and dinner is usually about 5. I work from my home office and at 11:57am and 4:57pm, I look down at my feet and there they are-waiting not too patiently. I swear they can tell time!

Unless you have a special reason for getting a purebred dog, consider adopting a homeless mutt. You will be rewarded over and over and over. It's almost as if they know what the alternative to adoption would have been.

 

 

 

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Happy Kwanzaa! Day 2: Habara Gani? Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

 

Kwanzaa Daily Greeting: Habara Gani? (What's the news?) 

Daily Answer: the name of the Principle of the Day

The second Principle of Kwanzaa is "Kujichagulia" which is Swahili for  "Self-Determination".

To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.  

You have choices: you can either name and define yourself or let others name and define you.

You have choices: you can either create your own life or just a consumer of what others decide you should have.

You have choices: you can either speak for yourself or let others tell your life story and history.

 

Kwanzaa is an African-American and Pan-African cultural holiday

celebrated annually worldwide from December 26 - January 1st.

It was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga to celebrate and reaffirm the roots of people of the African Diaspora in the culture of Africa. Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday or a "Black Christmas". It is a celebration of family,  community and  culture for all people of African descent.

(For more information on Kwanzaa, please refer to the Official Kwanzaa Website from which much of this information is paraphrased.)

 

The Symbols of Kwanzaa

A special table is set up during Kwanzaa in a place of honor in the home, community center or wherever Kwanzaa will be celebrated. The Kwanzaa table setting consists of symbols that hold a special cultural meaning to people of the African Diaspora:

Mazao (The Crops): Food from the harvest is placed on the table to symbolize and celebrate the rewards of productive and collective labor.

Mkeka (The Mat): A woven mat is placed on the table as the foundation for the other symbols to celebrate tradition, history and our foundation.

Kinara (The Candle Holder): A wooden (preferably hand-carved) candle holder symbolizes continental Africans.

Muhindi (The Corn): The corn (preferably native corn) symbolizes children today and in the future. It is traditional for the family to have a ear of corn for each child.

Mishamaa Saba (The Seven Candles): The candles symbolize the Nguzo Saba (the Seven Principles) and one candle is lit each night of Kwanzaa until all candles are lit. The candles are lit left/right/left/right, etc. until the last night of Kwanzaa when the middle black candle is lit last.

Kikombe cha Umoja (The Unity Cup): A symbol of the communal spirit of the people of the African Diaspora.

Zawadi (The Gifts): These may include small hand-made gifts for and/or commitments to parents to children and all to the community fior the coming year.

 

"Kwanzaa" is taken from the Swahili phrase, matunda ya kwanza, which  means "first fruits".

Kwanzaa celebrations are based on the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles):

 

1) Umoja (Unity); 2) Kujichagulia (Self-Determination); 3) Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility); 4) Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); 5) Nia (Purpose); 6) Kuumba (Creativity); 7) Imani (Faith). 

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Happy Kwanzaa! Day 1: Habara Gani? Umoja (Unity)

Kwanzaa Daily Greeting: Habara Gani? (What's the news?) Daily Answer: the name of the Principle of the Day

The first principle of Kwanzaa celebrated on Day One is "Umoja" which is Swahili for "Unity".

To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

What actions can you take locally, nationally, or internationally to promote unity?

Kwanzaa is an African-American and Pan-African cultural holiday celebrated annually worldwide from December 26 - January 1st.

It was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga to celebrate and reaffirm the roots of people of the African Diaspora in the culture of Africa. Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday or a "Black Christmas". It is a celebration of family,  community and  culture for all people of African descent.

(For more information on Kwanzaa, please refer to the Official Kwanzaa Website from which much of this information is paraphrased.)

Although gifts may be exchanged, the wanton commercialization of gift-giving and the giving of store-bought presents are both inappropriate for Kwanzaa. Homemade gifts and/or donations of time and/or money to community groups is how Kwanzaa is celebrated.

"Kwanzaa" is taken from the Swahili phrase, matunda ya kwanza, which  means "first fruits". Kwanzaa celebrations are based on the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles):

1) Umoja (Unity); 2) Kujichagulia (Self-Determination); 3) Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility); 4) Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); 5) Nia (Purpose); 6) Kuumba (Creativity); 7) Imani (Faith).

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Slows-to-Go Bar-B-Q Now Open in Midtown Detroit!

http://goo.gl/maps/EtCc

 

Still cold? Slows-to-Go Bar-B-Q is now open in the Midtown Area of Detroit and ready for take out with great food and service!

4107 Cass Avenue

Detroit MI 48202

Chef Brian says:

SLOWS TO GO, located at the corner of Alexandrine and Cass Avenue in Detroit’s thriving Midtown district will soon be available as your go to answer for barbecue TO GO.  This place is built to kick out some seriously large amounts of delectable, flavorful, some say over-the-top Detroit barbecue, SLOWS style.  Over the Top like Sly in that sweet movie of the same name.

I’m putting together some new menu items that will only be available at SLOWS TO GO. We are planning on bringing some specials on line once we are up and running.  If you didn’t know, our ability to add menu items at SLOWS BAR BQ has been limited by a small kitchen and your demand (THANK YOU!).  Now we can stretch out in our new kitchen at SLOWS TO GO.  That’s exciting.

Slows Bar-B-Q is a true Detroit gem and success story with its original location in southwest Detroit. Now you can come to Midtown and get some 'que to go while you do your holiday shopping at the independent local retailers of the University Cultural Center!

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Wordless Wednesday: Cold Weather? Go Iceskating!

Do you know that Campus Martius Park Skating Rink in Detroit is LARGER than the one at 30Rock in NYC?

RINK HOURS (November 20, 2010 thru Jan 2):

Monday - Thursday 11am - 10pm

Friday 11am - Midnight

Saturday 10am - Midnight

Sunday 12pm - 8pm

RINK HOURS (Jan 3 thru March 6, 2011):

Monday - Thursday 11am - 9pm

Friday 11am - midnight

Saturday 10am -11pm

Sunday 12pm - 8pm

 

ADMISSION PRICES (2010-2011 winter season):

Adults 13 Years to 49 Years $7

Children 12 Years and younger $6

Seniors 50 Years and Older $6

Skate Rental $3

Shoe Check available for people with their own skates $2

Skate Sharpening $10

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Today in Black History

Did you know on December 13:

in 1944 saw the inclusion of Black women into the U.S. Women's Naval Corps (WAVES).

in 1957 the first ambassador from the newly-independent African nation of Ghana to the United States, Daniel A. Chapman was installed.

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Monday Milestones: Detroit Artists Market

I did not know until recently that the DAM (Detroit Artists Market), now located at 4719 Woodward Avenue in the Detroit Midtown Cultural Center, began way back in the Depression Days!

The Detroit Artists Market and all of the stores and shops in Midtown are open for your holiday shopping! Support your local businesses and get original and unique gifts this year!

From the DAM website: 

The Detroit Artists Market (DAM) was founded in 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression.  A group of local art patrons, led by Mrs. H. Lee Simpson, recognized that local artists needed a place to exhibit and sell their work.

Originally called Detroit Young Artists Market, the gallery was created to provide a source of income for artists under the age of 30. In 1936, the gallery’s name changed to Detroit Artists Market (DAM), which reflected the growth of the organization as it began to exhibit both emerging and established Detroit artists of all ages and stature.  In addition to providing artists with the means of a livelihood, DAM’s founders had another goal: educating public taste through the exhibition and sale of work by the finest of Detroit’s local artists.  DAM ran solely on the help of volunteers and board members, up until the first salaried manager in 1969.

Today, the gallery is rooted in the history of Detroit art and culture, and continues to be one of the finest nonprofit contemporary art galleries in the Midwest.  DAM has a distinguished history of creating a lively culture characterized by experimentation and artistic creativity.

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Today in Black History: December 6 2010

Today's Black History Facts:

1) 1869:the Colored National Labor Convention, the first Black U.S. labor organization met in Washington, D.C.

2) 1871: P.B.S. Pinchback was elected President Pro Tem of the Louisana Senate and acting Lieutenant Governor.

3)  1963: Dr. Ralph Bunche (Detroit native and Nobel Peace Prize winner) and Miss Marian Anderson (Opera singer) were presented the Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson. The award was announced by President John F. Kennedy who was killed before the award was presented.

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Thanksgiving Saturday in Detroit MI

Do you remember going to Hudson's during the Christmas season? Me, too!

Do you remember going to the Ford Rotunda during the Christmas season? Me, too!

Do you remember taking your children to Cobo Hall during the Christmas season? Me, too!

Well, now you can take your grandchildren to Paradeland on Saturday, November 27 and continue the fun experience of the America's Thanksgiving Parade!

Located at the Parade Company Studios at 9500 Mt. Elliott in Detroit, A Day at Paradeland will feature the parade floats and balloons, arts and crafts, sing-a-longs, games, food, and the Radio Disney D-Tour Show. You will be able to see all of the floats and balloons right up close. Of course, Santa will also be there for those photos!

Come by this Saturday, November 27 2010 from 10am to 6pm--it's only one day, and start a new Christmas in Detroit tradition with your family. OK, it's not Hudson's or the Ford Rotunda, but it looks like a lot of fun and supports all of the charities and non-profits assisted by the Michigan Parade Foundation.

Admission is $6.00 for ages 3 and up; a $1 off coupon is available at The Parade Company Website.

What is Black Friday, Really?

Many people give an incorrect connotation to "Black Friday". In its present common usage, it is the first official shopping day of the holiday season when many retailers, having operated "in the red" all year, finally start making a profit, putting them "in the black".

The term actually actually first appeared in the 19th century in Philadelphia when the police were faced with disruptive pedestrian and vehicular traffic the day after Thanksgiving. There was also a market crash in the late 1800s the day after Thanksgiving, causing the day to be named "Black Friday".

The Friday after Thanksgiving did not become the largest shopping day of the holiday season until very recently; about 2003. Until then, it was the day after Christmas when stores put everything on sale to clear their leftover inventory before the end of the calendar year. 

Stores now have hyped "Black Friday Sales" which are starting earlier and earlier--sometimes days before the Friday after Thanksgiving. Many stores open at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning on Friday; some stores actually opened at 10pm Thursday night.

What will "Black Friday" mean for you? Hopefully, even though the economy is slowly improving, and it is good that people are shopping again, you and your family will not go "into the red" by over-shopping on "Black Friday". 

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Small Business Saturday for Holiday Shopping

Wait! Before you spend all of your holiday money at the malls on Black Friday or online on Cyber Monday, save some bucks to support small businesses in America by shopping on Saturday at your local small business.

American Express is sponsoring the 1st annual Small Business Saturday to encourage holiday shoppers to shop locally. Small businesses provide almost 80% of the jobs in the United States, and as the economy slowly comes back to life, YOU can help your local small business by doing some of your shopping at a small business--especially this Saturday, November 27 2010.

You can register your small business on the Small Business Saturday Facebook Page.

Here in Detroit, there are many unique shops, stores, restaurants and outlets ready for your shopping pleasure.

Detroit's famed Cultural Center in Midtown will be ready for you with scores of specialty shops and restaurants. The Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore on Livernois near Davison has everything you need for your Kwanzaa table and African-themed Christmas decorations, as well as books and gifts. At Pewabic Pottery, you can find unique handmade tiles for gifts or home decoration.

Malls are fun and online shopping is convenient, but remember to support your neighbors right in your own city. They pay local taxes and hire local people and they are ready for you to shop with them.

America's Thanksgiving Parade: Detroit MI

Today is the 84th Annual Thanksgiving Parade down Woodward Avenue in Detroit MI. Originally the J.L. Hudson's Thanksgiving Parade, it is one of the largest Thanksgiving parades in the United States.

After Hudson's left Detroit, the Thanksgiving Parade was almost doomed to extinction due to lost sponsorship. But former Michigan First Lady Paula Blanchard Stone, along with Art Van Elslander, founder of Michigan-based Art Van Furniture, stepped in to form the Michigan Parade Foundation and save the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade.

Today, the America's Thanksgiving Parade has scores of local and national sponsors and can be viewed every Thanksgiving morning all over America.

In addition to the big and beautiful balloons and exquisite floats, the Parade includes special groups and activities that help with funding and scholarships through and for the Michigan Parade Foundation:

• The Hob Nobble Gobble: an evening of fun, dinner, artists--black tie now held at Ford Field.
• The Distinguished Clown Corps: businesses and individuals pay a sponsorship fee to appear as clowns in the Parade.
• The 5K Turkey Trot: run early Thanksgiving morning; most runners accept donations for the Parade Foundation.
• The Big Head Corps: similar to the Distinguished Clowns, people again pay sponsorship fees to walk the parade in those huge papier mache heads. 

The Parade ends every year with an appearance by Santa himself, who is given a key from the current Detroit Mayor to the City of Detroit and to the hearts of every child in the metro Detroit Area.

Happy Thanksgiving: Be Grateful!

It often seems as if the world is falling apart, but you do have things to be grateful for: can you list a few?

While you make your list, enjoy this oldie but goodie from the Hawkins Family.

(R.I.P. Rev. Walter Hawkins)

 

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

ReDeux News: Chase Bank to help Detroit mortgage holders Sat-Mon

Information from the American Banking News Website:

 JPMorgan Chase has decided to send loan advisors to set up shop in Detroit for three days, trying to help struggling homeowners find the best solution. The efforts are aimed at homeowners with Chase mortgages, and the customers that attend will have access to (1) Initial counseling to apply for a mortgage modification, (2) Counseling for those who are current on their mortgage but are struggling, (3) Short-sale assistance for those who cannot afford their home or don’t want to stay in it, and (4) Document signing and drop off for modifications.

In total, the effort will include forty Chase loan counselors, between Saturday, November 13^th and Monday, November 15^th during the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It will be held at the Doubletree Detroit/Dearborn, which is located at 5801 Southfield Expressway at Ford Road, Detroit. The firm’s statement has indicated that no appointments are necessary, and expects to sit down with most borrowers within 15 minutes of their arrival.

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Veterans' Day: The Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit MI

[This is a rewritten post originally published at The DSpot Redeux Blog. Read the original here.]

The Gatehouse of Elmwood Cemetery. Established in 1846, the Historic Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit MI is the final resting place for many of the famous people and war veterans of Detroit and the State of Michigan. To read more of the fascinating information about the Historic Elmwood Cemetery, click here.

 

 The Civil War Memorial at Elmwood Cemetery honors those from Michigan who gave their lives during "The War of the Rebellion". This area is one of the few in the United States where the flag is flown day and night to honor fallen soldiers and sailors. This is also the area where the remains of the "Michigan Colored Infantry" are interred; one of the very first places where whites and blacks were buried in the same cemetery in the 1800s.

 

 The Joy family of Detroit is interned here. Founders of the Packard Motor Company, the United Foundation, and financiers of the Newberry Theatre and Gardens, "Joy Road" in Detroit is named for them.

 

Six generations of the Lewis Cass family are here. Lewis Cass was Michigan Territorial Governor, U.S. Senator, Secretary of State, Minister to France. His namesake is my alma mater, Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Also Cass Park, the Cass Corridor, Cass Avenue, etc.

 

 Martha Jean ("The Queen") Steinburg was a legendary Detroit radio personality and believed to be the first African-American woman to own a radio station. She holds many honors, including being inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

 

Coleman Alexander Young was the longest-serving mayor in Detroit history. He was also a WWII veteran, a member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, a Michigan State Senator, and an awardee of the Springarn Medal, the highest honor of the NAACP.

 

 

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Wordless Wednesday: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

35 years ago, 29 crew members were lost in Lake Superior, Michigan on November 10 1975.

A famous tribute song to the Edmund Fitzgerald was written and performed by singer Gordon Lightfoot.

Every year at the Mariner's Church on the Detroit River, the bell is rung twenty-nine times in honor of each lost crew member. The memorial service also reminds people of the beauty and power of Lake Superior.

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Keith Olbermann Suspended from MSNBC: Why We're Angry

Keith Olbermann, long-time host of “Countdown” on MSNBC, was “suspended indefinitely without pay” on Friday, November 5 2010. 

 

Note: I did not provide many definitions of terms, explanations of my opinions, or links to media corporations in this post--on purpose. If you are a Progressive and regular viewer of MSNBC at night, I'm talking to you and you know exactly who and what I'm talking about.

His infraction: unabashedly liberal-leaning and Progressive Democrat Keith Olbermann, a private citizen who was hired as a commentator and entertainer to provide a nightly deliberately liberal-leaning and Democrat-focused television show, donated his personal funds ($2400.00) to three Democratic candidates. Keith was never presented as an objective journalist for his show. It is said that Keith did not ask for permission to donate his personal funds beforehand, he interviews Democrats on his show, and that is why he was suspended. But there is more to the story. 

MSNBC is now owned by Comcast, whose chairman gave $50,000.00 to a 3rd party organization that campaigned against Democrats this last election. One of the Democrats targeted by this organization was also one of the Democrats who received $800 of Keith’s personal money. Coincidence?

According to Dr. Rachel Maddow, who is also a liberal-leaning and Progressive Democrat with a TV show on MSNBC right after “Countdown”, said that “the point has been made” and that “Keith should be re-instated”. More importantly, there is a BIG difference between Fox “News”, which is a total media organization for the Republican party, and MSNBC, which is a true news organization with hosts with more than one political point of view (are you listening Jon Steward?). Also MSNBC does not itself directly donate to political parties as does Fox. In addition, MSNBC deals with facts, while Fox continually dishes out faux. When MSNBC hosts make a mistake, they actually correct themselves-on air.

While Keith thankfully never has Republicans on his show (that I remember), he will *call out* Democrats when he feels it necessary. Rachel does have Republicans on her show--those Republicans who have the courage to face her. She is presented as a *journalist* and just won the Walter Cronkite Award for Journalism. Keith also recently won a major award for one of his famous commentaries.

For those of us who are very upset about this, it is more than the fact that we really like Keith. It is about selective punishment. It is because Republican-leaning Comcast was looking for an excuse to *get* Keith; just like they did with David Schuster. Just as we know that Joe Scarborough is a Republican, we know that Keith Olbermann is a Democrat. Keith was hired to do a Democratic show. Keith is one of only a very few truly progressive hosts on a major media outlet.

There are some progressives who think that our outrage is overblown, that there are more important things going on in the world than Keith getting suspended.

Of course there are. Many people in Pakistan were blown up by suicide bombers while at Friday prayers. A hurricane is descending on Haiti; people are still living outside because of the January earthquake. There are landslides and murders and people are still unemployed and John Boehner will probably be the next Speaker of the House. Fox “News” is reporting as fact that the President’s trip to India and other parts of Asia will cost $2 billion a day, that he will use all 504 rooms of the “Taj Mahal Hotel”, and that he will deploy half of the U.S. Navy to accompany him. And the Teabagger people believe that garbage! Geez. Keith Olbermann is rich while the “99ers” ran out of benefits long ago. (If you watch the five progressive hosts on MSNBC, you know who the 99ers are; if you watch anyone else, you’ve probably never heard of them.)

We are angry about Keith's suspension because it is another case of a Republican corporation silencing a progressive voice on very thin charges. We are angry because David Schuster is still on “indefinite leave” from MSNBC because he said something the Republicans didn’t like. We are angry because the Republicans have a whole “news” organization that openly supports them on air and financially and all we have are Ed, Keith, Rachel, and to a lesser extent Chris and Lawrence standing up for the Progressive agenda on a major media outlet every day. (I'm still mad at Lawrence for fawning all over Tom DeLay last week. Tom DeLay: now there's a real criminal for you.)

So yes, many of us are very angry about what happened to Keith. Of course it is not as important in the great scheme of things as some of the other things that happened in the world on Friday, but it is important.

MSNBC already decided that Markos would be blocked from appearing on the network. Now Keith. We have to get our message out and past the entire Fox organization who works every day for the Republican Teabaggers, the Fox millions of dollars donated openly to the Republican Teabaggers, the millions of dollars of the shadow corporations who were declared to be people by the SCOTUS and are trying hard to silence us. The Progressives have Ed, Keith, Rachel, The Nation Magazine and one billionaire: George Soros (sometimes).

We not only love Keith, we need Keith.

This was not the week for MSNBC to make progressives angry. We have a lot of fights on our hands, and getting Keith back on the air is another fight we are ready for.

“Sidebar”: MSNBC asked Chris Hayes of The Nation to sit in Friday night; Chris often sits in for Keith and Rachel. Chris, to his credit, declined. 

“Sidebar 2”: You may be thinking: this is the “Black Liberal Boomer” blog and except for Tamron Hall, MSNBC doesn’t even have any Black hosts. I know. That is another post and another fight. Van Jones, maybe? On MSNBC? Yeah, right. Don’t hold your breath. Meanwhile, I’ll fight for Keith. This is the "Black Liberal Boomer" blog.

 

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Ten Midterm Lessons for My President

The first twenty-two months of the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. had more successes than failures, but you would never know it by the political themes (or lack thereof) that helped the Republicans take control of the House of Representatives and score major gains in many states. I truly hope that the President will take some time to really study “what happened” to his mandate, the Democratic majority, and “hope and change”. 

Here is my Top Ten List of what I hope the President has learned:

1) “Why Can’t We Be Friends” is just a song; the Republicans neither like nor respect you. Their only agenda is to destroy you.

2) Dance with the ones who brung ya. (African-Americans, Latinos, Young People and Unions)

3) Stand up for your convictions; don’t let the haters melt your resolve.

4) Dance with the ones who brung ya. (Progressives, Liberals and Independents)

5) Just as you can’t be both a Christian and a Muslim (not that there’s anything wrong with that), you also can’t be both a Democrat and a Republican (there is something wrong with that).

6) Dance with the ones who brung ya. (Dr. Howard Dean and the Professional Left)

7) He who gets his message out gets his message across.

8) Dance with the ones who brung ya. (LGBT)

9) While keeping America striving for excellence and intelligence, realize that most Americans are “not smart”, can't spell worth Jack,  and can’t understand your elegant professorial speech. Many Americans need to be spoken to like six-year-olds.

10) Dance with the ones who brung ya. (The 54% of Americans who voted for “Change They Can Believe In” in 2008)

Mr. President, a great majority of your core constituency is still behind you and we definitely still want you and your administration to succeed. I truly hope that before you take a well-deserved holiday vacation in Hawaii, that you use these two months to make the changes necessary for America to thrive and people to know that what you are doing is both transformational and for the greater good.

Perception is everything.

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Michigan Turns Red and Questions about the State of the Republican Union

As of January 1 2011, Michigan will again be in the red. The last time Michigan had a Republican Governor, the *rainy-day* fund was decimated, public education was decimated, the tax base was decimated, the mental health safety net was decimated. The last Michigan Republican governor turned a record surplus and balanced budget developed by the previous Democratic governor into record deficits and massive job losses to be dealt with by the next Democratic governor (sound familiar?). He left Michigan in a shambles and left the state--literally--the day his term ended.

Now the new Republican governor has a *business* track record: he sold his previous company to China and built a new business--in China--just a few months ago. He laid off thousands in Michigan while building new plants overseas; yet he says he has a plan for jobs in Michigan. (He could start with the ones he destroyed while making himself wealthy.) He has declared that manufacturing in Michigan is dead. He wants no part of the tax credits that have made Michigan the movie-making company of the midwest. He wants to completely de-fund the "Pure Michigan" advertising campaign which was voted one of the best in the country and brought millions of tourism dollars to Michigan. He cares little for the City of Detroit. He said nothing when the Republicans threatened to kill the U.S. auto industry.

I have some questions for the new Republican *leadership* in Michigan and elsewhere in the U.S. However, they have already answered: their answer to everything is "tax cuts for the rich", "No" and "Hell No".

1) Will you make the oil companies who continue to pollute our waters (including western Michigan) pay for their negligence? NO.

2) Will you accept stimulus money that has brought jobs and infrastructure repair and restructuring to the States? NO.

3) Will you fight to give the the same excellent health care to your constituents that you will now enjoy for yourself? NO.

4) Will you refuse to accept government tax-funded salary and benefits for yourself and your family since you disparage the same for regular Americans who work for the government; like soldiers, teachers, police officers, firefighters and other first responders? NO.

5) Will you ensure continued funding for environmental concerns and tax-funded federal *mandates* like food and drug safety? NO.

6) Will you help the unemployed with emergency measures to stay afloat while all you magically bring back all of those jobs you shipped overseas? NO.

7) Will you ensure that average Americans aren't gouged by exorbitant interest rates and fees? NO.

8) Will you protect the rights of all Americans, even those who aren't white, straight, Christian married males? NO.

9) Will you take the blame when millions of Americans are still out of work in six months? NO.

10) Will you have all of your billionaire friends *bail out* the country when we have an even larger deficit because of your tax cuts for the rich, unfunded and unnecessary wars, unfunded mandates, and no money for natural disasters and oil spills? NO.

You started trying to destroy the duly elected President and this country with your obstruction on January 20 2009. You have shown you do not care what happens to ordinary Americans, as long as you have power and wealth. You don't understand that America will never be great again when 2% of its citizens have 90% of the wealth. Businesses will not grow when no one can afford to buy anything. Other countries will bypass us when our children are not educated. You believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs and humans co-existed. You deny that the polar ice caps are melting. You call "Allah" a "dirty god" without realizing that "Allah" is the same God worshipped by Christians and Jews. Christians, Jews, and Muslims are all descended from Abraham and all three religions are the only monotheistic religions and are branches of the same tree. You have no real understanding of the Constitution, American history or global cultures. You have declared a war on the middle class as well as anyone and everyone who does not fit your narrow view of who is a *real* American. You tolerate and sometimes even encourage violence against those same Americans who are different from you. Your entire M.O. is based on hatred, ignorance, fear-mongering and division. Your actions are based on lies--including the biggest Republican lie of the 21st century: the rationale for the Iraq war. Your followers don't know how to spell.

You have one year (more time than the Democrats had by your accounting). You have already stated that your only agenda item is to defeat our President. You care for nothing or no one else. By January 1 2012, if there is not full employment, a balanced budget, no wars, no Mexicans, no gays, no Muslims, and zero deficits, you will have failed and you will be voted out of office.

By the way, I want to see your birth certificates. The way most of you think and act, not only were you not born in the United States, you weren't born on this planet.

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

I am NOT Voting Republican--I Remember!

This video is available at BarackObama.com.

Don't let the haters, history revisionists, delusionists, bigots, theocratists (OK, I made that word up), or any others who would "take our country back" to...where? keep you from voting!

All you have to do is to remember what the Republicans have done in the past several decades, and then 

All deficits have INCREASED under Republicans. Two unfunded wars. Secret meetings with oil companies. No concern for those less fortunate. I could go on and on.

Stand By Me--the World Version

Here's another video for you: reminding you to think of others who may not be as fortunate as you are. As my beloved late grandmother used to say: "Everybody ain't able..." Just because YOU had good parents, good schooling, good neighborhoods, etc., that doesn't mean everybody did. When we help other, we ALL benefit.

This video is part of an entire documentary of songs. Find out more at http://playingforchange.com. This song is available on iTunes, of course.

By the way, we need to stand by our President, too--faults and all. He needs us now more than ever.

This is MY Country!

A great oldie but goodie by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions...reminding us that this country belongs to ALL OF US...not just a few chosen by a chosen few.

 

The pics in the video update the still-relevant lyrics.

 

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

A word for Dems and Progessives from Michael Moore

Michael Moore is again telling it like it is...Dems and Progressives--no, we've barely begun the work, and we have a lot to hold the Administration accountable for...but you MUST vote Dem on Tuesday and take 10-20 people with you.

 

October 28th, 2010 2:05 PM

A Boot to the Head ...from Michael Moore

By Michael Moore

There she was, thrown to the pavement by a Republican in a checkered shirt. Another Republican thrusts his foot in between her legs and presses down with all his weight to pin her to the curb. Then a Republican leader comes over and viciously stomps on her head with his foot. You hear her glasses crunch under the pressure. Holding her head down with his foot, he applies more force so she can't move. Her skull and brain are now suffering a concussion.

The young woman’s name is Lauren Valle, but she is really all of us. For come this Tuesday, the right wing -- and the wealthy who back them -- plan to take their collective boot and bring it down hard on not just the head of Barack Obama but on the heads of everyone they simply don't like.

Teachers union? The boot!

Muslim-looking people? The boot!

Thinking of retiring soon? The boot!

Living in a house you can no longer afford? The boot!

Doing a bit better with your minimum wage? The boot!

Stem cell research, the bullet train, reversing global warming? Ha! The boot for all of you!

What? You like your kids being covered by your health plan ‘til they're 26? The boot for them and the boot for you!

In love with someone of your own gender? A double boot up the ass for every single one of you sick SOBs!

Hoping there's a few jobs left here in the U.S. when you graduate? How 'bout just a nice boot to your head instead?

And most importantly, the last boot is saved for the black man who probably wasn't born here, definitely isn't a Christian and possibly might be the Antichrist sent here to oversee the destruction of our very way of life. A boot to your head, Obama-devil!

Yes, one big boot is poised to stomp out whatever hopey-changey thing we might have had two years ago and secure this country in the hands of the oligarchs and the culture police.

And if they win on Tuesday, they plan to show no mercy. They will not speak of bipartisanship or olive branches or tolerate any filibuster threats. They will come in and do the job with a mandate they'll perceive the electorate will have given them. They will not fart around for two years like the Democrats did. They will not "search for compromise" or "find middle ground." They will not meet you halfway on the playing field. They know that touchdowns aren't scored at the 50-yard line. Unlike our guys, they're not stupid or spineless.

Make no mistake about it, my friends. A perfect storm has gathered of racists, homophobes, corporatists and born agains and they are on fire. Two years of a black man who secretly holds socialist beliefs being the boss of them is more than they can stomach. They've been sick to death since the night of 11/04/08 and they are ready to purge. They won't need a rope and tree this time to effect the change they seek (why bother when a nice shoe on another's skull will do just fine, thank you).

They simply need to get their base to the polls (done), convince enough people Obama is responsible for the fact they don't have a job or a secure home (done), and then hope enough of us Obama-voters are so frustrated, disappointed and downright mad at the Dems (done) that we'll either stay home Tuesday or, if we vote, we won't be carpooling with 10 others to the polls.

Done? Or not?

These Republicans mean business. Their boots are all shined and ready. But they've got one huge problem:

The majority of Americans don't agree with them.

The majority want the troops home. The majority want true universal health coverage. The majority want the thievery on Wall Street to be stopped. The majority believe that global warming is happening, that social securityshouldn't be privatized and that unions are a good thing.

Too bad the majority party has done precious little to bring about the change for which the majority voted. Yes, change takes time. But try telling that to someone who hasn't worked in two years. Or who hears the knock of the foreclosure sheriff at the door. The booted-up minority knows how to make hay in a situation like this. All they need is us, the disappointed, dismayed, disgusted us.

What say you? Stay home and punish the weak-kneed, sell-out Democrats? Or spend every free moment you have between now and Tuesday trying to protect what little progress has been made so we can live to fight another day (even if it is with “allies” like a Democratic Party that will more than likely still not get the message of what they need to do -- and has, in fact, spent much of the past two years giving progressives the boot)? Perhaps our job, post-election, is to provide a gentle but swift boot in the bee-hind of the party whose mascot is an ass.

Right now, we've got 112 hours. Seems like enough.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Rachel Finds Nevada Gun-shop Owner Turned Off by Angle's Racist Ads!

Dr. Rachel Maddow was in Nevada this week filming about the Senate Race for her show (9pm ET on MSNBC). She interviewed one white gun shop owner who was going to vote for Sharron Angle "just because" of Angle's *2nd Amendment Remedies*. But, surprise of surprises, Rachel also found another white gun-shop owner who CHANGED his vote to Senator Harry Reid BECAUSE of Angle's racism. The owner says: "This country belongs to EVERYONE, not just one race!" Amen!

<p>Untitled from The Rachel Maddow Show on Vimeo.</p>

Make sure to sign up for a subscription to my Black Liberal Boomer (very) political blog about Progressive, African American, African Diaspora, Indigenous and Native American issues! Thanks!

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Special "Countdown" Comment by Keith Olbermann

On Wednesday October 27 2010, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC, showed everyone why it is imperative that we keep as many of the Teabaggers OUT OF the United States government as possible. Here is the video of his "Countdown" special comment:

 

 

 

 

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Wordless Wednesday: The ONLY Real, Rationale, and Right Choice for MI Governor on Nov 2nd!

Virg Bernero for Governor for Michigan

He will work for YOU!

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Tuesday Tidbits: The White House Small Business Act HELPS Small Biz

 

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President Barack Obama and the Democratic House of Representatives and Senate passed several important pieces of legislation since January 2009 to help small businesses. (The majority of Republican Congresspeople voted against every law to help small businesses and told those who hire the majority of Americans: "Hell No"!)

 

I just thought you should know the facts before next week's election...

 

 

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

October 24, 2010

FACT SHEET: How Small Businesses Can Benefit From the Small Business Jobs Act

President Obama to visit Rhode Island Monday, highlight small business investments

 

WASHINGTON -- On Monday, President Obama will tour and make remarks at American Cord &amp; Webbing Co. Inc, a small business in Woonsocket, RI.  American Cord &amp; Webbing is a manufacturer that makes cords, buckles and plastic and metal hardware for sporting goods, outdoor goods, and travel gear.

Though American Cord &amp; Webbing was hit by the economic downturn and forced to lay off some workers in 2009, they invested in new product development to pursue new customers and over the course of the past year they have brought all of their former laid-off employees back.  American Cord and Webbing currently has 47 employees and plans on hiring more.  And last month, the company was approved for an SBA loan that will help the company expand its Woonsocket facility, going from 30,000 sq. ft. to 43,000 sq. ft. by next spring.  

At the event on Monday, the President will discuss American Cord &amp; Webbing’s success story, and highlight how businesses like this one can benefit from the Small Business Jobs Act that the President fought to pass and signed in September.  Below is a list of specific ways that businesses like American Cord &amp; Webbing can benefit.

How Small Businesses Like American Cord &amp; Webbing Benefit from Administration Tax Cuts and Lending Initiatives

·        American Cord &amp; Webbing Is Saving More than $9,000 from SBA Loan Provisions: Thanks to fee waivers extended by the Small Business Jobs Act, American Cord &amp; Webbing was able to get approved for a SBA 504 loan and save over $9,000 in fees. The Small Business Jobs Act allows small businesses across the country to take advantage of an extension of Recovery loan provisions that increase 7(a) guarantees and temporarily eliminate certain fees on 7(a) and 504 loans. Already, SBA has approved over 3,600 Jobs Act loans representing $1.4 billion.

·        Small Businesses Like American Cord &amp; Webbing Can Benefit from Eight New Small Business Tax Cuts Signed Into Law Just Last Month: The President signed into law a Small Business Jobs Act in September that included eight new small business tax cuts, all of which apply this year. These are on top of eight earlier small business tax cuts signed by the President, and will provide or accelerate $55 billion in tax relief through the end of 2011. For example:

o   Small businesses that invest in new capital and equipment can immediately write off more of these expenses.The new law increases the amount of new investments in capital and equipment small businesses can immediately expense to $500,000, while raising the level at which the write-off phases out to $2 million. This provision means 4.5 million small businesses and individuals will be able to make new investments and earn a larger break on their taxes for this year.

·        American Cord &amp; Webbing has indicated its intention to invest in new machinery and equipment. If it does so, it could become one of millions of small businesses and individuals that will benefit from this new tax cut.

 

o   Small business owners can deduct health insurance costs from their self-employment taxes: The new law allows self-employed small business owners to deduct the cost of health insurance for themselves and their families from their self-employment taxes this year – a tax cut that could benefit 2 million self-employed.

·        As a self-employed small business owner, Mark Krauss of American Cord &amp; Webbing may be eligible for this deduction that will cut his self-employment taxes.

o   Small businesses can deduct the use of cell phones without burdensome extra documentation: The new law changes tax rules so that small businesses like American Cord &amp; Webbing can receive a tax deduction for company-provided cell phones without burdensome extra documentation, making it easier for them to get deductions that they are entitled to, beginning on their taxes for this year.

o   Small businesses can benefit from other provisions that support them as they expand and create jobs: Small businesses can also benefit from other tax cuts like the elimination of capital gains taxes on key small business investments, the extension of bonus depreciation rules that allow businesses of all sizes to accelerate the rate at which they can deduct new investments,  an increased deduction for start-up expenses, a “carryback” provision for general business credits, and limits on tax penalties that can disproportionately affect small businesses.

·        Small Businesses Like American Cord &amp; Webbing Are Eligible for New Tax Credits for Hiring Unemployed Workers: As a result of the HIRE Act, small businesses like American Cord &amp; Webbing that hire unemployed workers can get tax exemptions and credits.  From February to August, businesses across the country hired 8.1 million new workers who had been unemployed for 60 days or longer, making them eligible for HIRE Act tax incentives.

·        Small Businesses Like American Cord &amp; Webbing Can Now Take Out for Larger SBA Loans: Small businesses like American Cord &amp; Webbing are now eligible to take out larger SBA loans – with the maximum 7(a) and 504 loan size more than doubled from $2 million to $5 million and the maximum 504 manufacturing related loan size increased from $4 million to $5.5 million.

·        New Treasury Programs Will Help Provide Credit for Small Businesses Like American Cord &amp; Webbing That Are Seeking to Expand: Treasury is setting up two new programs designed to support private-sector lending to small businesses like American Cord &amp; Webbing that are seeking credit to help them expand and create new jobs:

o   The Small Business Lending Fund will make available $30 billion in capital to small banks with incentives to increase small business lending, potentially supporting several multiples of that amount in new credit.

o   The State Small Business Credit Initiative will support at least $15 billion in new lending by strengthening state small business programs – many of them facing budget cuts – that leverage private-sector lenders to extend additional credit.

 

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Don't drink the Tea! Learn the FACTS, not the Faux News!

Photo Credit

Vote "D" to Move USA Go Forward, or "R" to go back to failed policies!

Posted via email from The DSpot Redeux Blog

Monday Musings: "Freep's Folly" in 2010 Gubernatorial Endorsement

folly-news.co.uk

(This is the longest post I have written in a long time...

but it is THAT important! Thanks for your attention.)

Dictionary.com describes "folly" as (n): nonsense; a ridiculous idea. That is exactly what the Detroit Free Press has done with its endorsement of "The Nerd"for Governor of Michigan. The election is eight days away, so please allow me to enlighten those seemingly not in the know. A famous saying is "insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results"...we cannot afford to allow another know-nothing Republican with no plans and no government experience to further ruin our beautiful state.

Since the Free Press strike that began in 1995, the paper has hired many "new employees"--including the editorial board, so it could be that the "newbies" do not know about the last time we here in Detroit were fooled into allowing a Republican get mistakenly elected Governor of Michigan in 1990. Detroiters and Mayor Coleman Alexander Young were angry at then-Governor James Blanchard for *ignoring* Detroit and glossing over the needed *urban agenda*. Detroit voters either didn't vote at all, or thought they'd "teach Blanchard a lesson" by voting for the seemingly moderate and nice guy John Engler.

The 12 years of the Engler administration were a complete disaster for the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan. Engler came into office with a budget surplus, and left office (and left Michigan the day he left office--literally) with Michigan in dire straits. Engler depleted the state's "rainy day fund", closed all of the mental health facilities, cut taxes to the point that there was (and still is) no money to run the government, and decimated the public education system, especially here in Detroit.

"The Nerd" has no plans for Michigan, just "feel good" slogans like "Michigan needs to feel great again". Yeah, but how? MORE cutting taxes?

"The Nerd" has the NERVE to say in his advertisements that unemployment in Michigan has risen since Virg Benero has been Mayor of Lansing. Well, duh...but a Mayor doesn't have control over all of the employment of the entire state as The Nerd's ads seem to suggest.

He says "high unemployment in Michigan" with a straight face--although he laid off thousands in Michigan and the U.S. from the companies he owned AND then sold his company to China! TWICE he had a chance to build manufacturing plants in Michigan and TWICE he went to China instead. So who is more responsible for high unemployment in Michigan?

Mayor Bernero, on the other hand, has run Lansing like he will run the State of Michigan. Lansing is #7 in the United States in employment improvement; and #1 in the State of Michigan. Mayor Bernero knows how to improve the business climate while at the same time balancing the budget. He took a personal pay cut and a cut in his personal health insurance. What did "The Nerd" do? Sit on the millions he made for himself while selling out to China.

Mayor Bernero became known as "The Angriest Mayor in America" when he was justifiably angry because the Republicans were williing to let the American auto companies die, and all of the hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and small businesses along with them. He went to Congress--angry--and demanded loans (not bailouts) to save the American auto industry. 

What did "The Nerd" do to save the auto companies and manufacturing in Michigan? NOTHING--except tell a business group in Grand Rapids that "manufacturing in Michigan is dead"!

Does Michigan need a Governor who only cares about big business, and neglects the real working people and small businesses? What is "The Nerd's" REAL record when it comes to making jobs IN MICHIGAN (not in China)? Just four months ago, "The Nerd" opened up a NEW company IN CHINA--he's tried to deny it.

One of "The Nerd's" current TV commercials has a smooth voice-over by a black actor--black people almost always can identify a black voice. DON'T BE FOOLED, DETROIT.

As far as Detroit goes, Mayor Bernero and "The Nerd" were invited to a debate at Renaissance High School last Thursday sponsored by the United Ministers of Detroit and the NAACP, among others. Mayor Bernero was there; "The Nerd" had other things to do. That is exactly what will happen after the next election: Governor Bernero will be there for Detroit; "The Nerd" will have other things to do when it comes to Detroit.

Yes, "The Nerd" came from humble beginnings and got rich. Nothing wrong with that; that's the American way. But it should NOT be the American way to throw the middle class under the bus and cut taxes to the point that there is no infrastructure (especially in Michigan) or social safety net.

Mayor Bernero also came from humble beginnings as the youngest child of an Italian immigrant who came to America in 1947 to work in the auto industry and was able to raise his five children in a middle class environment provided by that blue collar job with middle class salary and health benefits. Mayor Bernero wants the same opportunities for every one that his family had.

"The Nerd" only understands "the bottom line" and profits for the people at the top of corporations like has been his recent experience.

BTW: all of the road repairs that are going on right now are the result of the STIMULUS package that the Democrats voted for--money and jobs for the State of Michigan and other states. Republicans rail against the Stimulus, but then show up in their districts with big checks. The height of hypocrisy!

I expected the Detroit News the endorse "The Nerd", but the Freep?!?!?!?!?!? How quickly we forget!

Don't be fooled again. This is more than a choice between "Wall Street and Main Street"--this is a decision that will affect Detroit and Michigan for many years to come.

Look at the candidates and really decide who is for EVERYONE in Michigan, not just the rich and well-connected. If "tax cuts" really did create jobs-where are they?

The Free Press already committed one folly; don't do the same, Detroit. Wake up! Don't make the same mistake twice and expect a different outcome.

Vote Virg Bernero for Governor on November 2 2010