Mr. Michael Grady's Blog

Vigil honors slain officer Aug. 15, 2008--St. Louis police officer Larry Kreisman, foreground, and several dozen more officers held a candlelight vigil on the one year anniversary of the death of fellow officer Norvelle Brown. (J.B. Forbes/P-D) By Leah Thorsen ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 08/16/2008
ST. LOUIS — The block where people gathered Friday night to honor rookie police Officer Norvelle Brown on the first anniversary of his death was where he'd hoped to make a difference.

Brown, 22, was fatally shot Aug. 15, 2007, while on routine patrol a few blocks northwest of Sherman Park, in the 1600 block of Semple Avenue.

A candlelight vigil held in the middle of that block, with people gathered in the street and police and family speaking from a podium set in a weedy, vacant lot, was a way to honor his memory. People sang, prayed and talked of a better future on a street with lots surrounded by fences ringed with barbed wire and several boarded-up homes. RELATED LINKS  Alone on patrol  St. Louis homicides

Police hoped that the vigil would not only be a way to remember Brown, but it would also show they are committed to stopping violence and to foster hope.

"This is a night when we have to unite," said Lt. Col. Stephen Pollihan, the city's acting police chief. Several dozen police officers attended the vigil, some standing behind the podium, others standing in lines in the street.

Since Brown's death, community leaders and 7th District officers have been working together to improve resident-police relationships in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.

"I've never had respect for the police like I do now," said James Brown, Norvelle Brown's uncle.

Making a difference was important to Norvelle Brown, who asked to be assigned to the neighborhood where he grew up after he graduated from the Police Academy. He'd been on the force for about a year when he was killed, allegedly by a 15-year-old boy.

In December, a judge ruled that Antonio Alexander Andrews, the teen accused of shooting Brown, was "beyond rehabilitation under the juvenile code" and ordered him to stand trial as an adult. Andrews was charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial.

Police allege that Andrews acted on a "spur of the moment decision" when Norvelle Brown approached him and two other teens in an alley.

Andrews had a history of problems. At age 14, he shot himself in the thigh after receiving a gun from an older friend, court papers say. He tested positive for marijuana when he was arrested seven months later and was absent from school nearly every day during the 2006-2007 school year.

Allie Brown, Norvelle Brown's mother, said her son became a police officer to help those like Andrews.

She said she wants to work for peace, and that she has no bad feelings toward Andrews or his family.

Said the mother of the fallen officer: "I forgave him a long time ago."

Burke's final St. Louis Mass is Sunday Archbishop Raymond L. Burke i (Teresa Prince/P-D) By Tim Townsend ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 08/17/2008
Archbishop Raymond Burke will begin his final week in St. Louis by celebrating a farewell Mass at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica Sunday afternoon.

Burke is leaving St. Louis to become head of the Vatican's highest judicial court.

Pope Benedict XVI named Burke, 60, to lead the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in June. He is the first American to hold the position, and is expected to be named a cardinal in the next consistory, within a year to 18 months.

Bishop Robert Hermann, 74, is serving as the archdiocesan administrator until Benedict names Burke's successor. That announcement could come in the next six months.

The archdiocese has printed 2,000 programs for Sunday's farewell Mass at 2:30 p.m. The cathedral, on Lindell at Newstead, seats between 1,200 and 1,300.

ttownsend@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8221

By Joe MahrBy Robert Patrick ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 08/12/2008
UPDATED 12:40 P.M.

ST. LOUIS -- FBI agents this morning raided the offices of St. Louis Metropolitan Towing., the company that provided previously impounded cars to the daughter of the former St. Louis police chief.

FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents arrived at the towing company about 9 o'clock this morning, according to construction workers across the street from the tow lot.

Federal agents were also searching the towing company's offices at its second impound lot on 13th street, as well as an affiliated company, Mo-Jo's Towing in Kirkwood.

Federal investigators are looking into the St. Louis police department's relationship with the towing company, which held a lucrative contract to impound thousands of vehicles a year. Those unclaimed after 30 days could be sold by the firm, which kept the profits.
 
After the Post-Dispatch began asking about the chief's daughter and towing practices, the department admitted last month that the daughter, Aimie Mokwa, and an unnamed group of officers got free use of some vehicles that had gone unclaimed in the impound lot. The free use, called "test drives," extended for weeks or months.
 
At the time, Chief Joe Mokwa insisted he didn't know anything about it until the spring, but the Post-Dispatch uncovered a 2002 accident report, handled by his department, in which officers noted Aimie Mokwa was driving a car registered to the sales arm of the towing company, known as Parks Auto Sales. The newspaper also found that Parks sold his daughter three cars at prices well below wholesale value. The ensuing controversy led Mokwa to retire last month, as department officials turned over records of their law firm's internal review to federal authorities.
 
Federal authorities, however, were reluctant to publicly acknowledge their investigation until this morning, after federal agents set up a command post vehicle right outside the company's offices. Agents searched inside the building and stood guard at the gate. About an hour into the search, agents drove an empty Penske rental truck onto the property and backed it into a service bay at the rear of the towing company's headquarters.
  RELATED LINKS  STORIES  Towing firm has old ties with city  Mokwa steps down, interim chief named  Mokwa's retirement statement  Joe Mokwa's tenure as St. Louis police chief  Interim chief had sought top job in 2001  Police Board calls special meeting  Tow scandal threatens police chief  Mokwa: I did nothing wrong  Tow firm deals draw questions  Chief's daughter used seized cars  COLUMNS  BROWN: Something is broken at police headquarters  STATEMENTS  Mokwa's retirement statement  Mayor Slay's blog post on Mokwa  Statement of St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa  VIDEO: Chief Mokwa's announcement  INTERACTIVE  Has your car been towed in St. Louis?  TALK: Should federal authorities investigate St. Louis police practices?
John Gillies, the head of the FBI's St. Louis office, confirmed that agents expected to search the company's main office for most of the day and expected the investigation to "continue for a while."  He confirmed the agency was "talking to a lot of people" but contradicted earlier news reports that anyone had been granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for cooperation.
 
Beyond raiding the towing company, the FBI is asking for the public's help in documenting the company's dealings with vehicle owners. The FBI posted a survey on its website asking for information from anyone whose vehicles were towed by St. Louis Metropolitan Towing or its affiliated companies, S&H Parking or Parks Auto Sales, in the past five  years. The survey can be found at http://stlouis.fbi.gov/publiccorruptionsurvey.htm
. Vehicle owners can also call the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI.

Actor and comedian Bernie Mac dies at age 50

By F.N. D'ALESSIO
Associated Press Writer

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Latest Movie News Actor and comedian Bernie Mac dies at age 50

Richard Dreyfuss sues father, uncle over loan

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`Star Trek Online' is ready to beam up

Philip Seymour Hoffman to direct play in London

Your Questions Answered Ask AP: Drilling for oil, the role of honeybees

 

CHICAGO (AP) -- Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50.

"Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.

She said no other details were available and asked that his family's privacy be respected.

The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

Recently, Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language. The performance earned him a rebuke from Obama's campaign.

But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.

"Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show."

Mac worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. He began doing standup as a child, and his film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus."

He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.

"The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac ... he gave them their money's worth," Steve Harvey, one of his costars in "Original Kings," told CNN on Saturday.

Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

His turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005's "Guess Who" topped the box office. It was a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" - with Mac as the black dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man.

Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."

In the late 1990s, he had a recurring role in "Moesha," the UPN network comedy starring pop star Brandy.

The comedian drew critical and popular acclaim with his Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006.

The series about a man's adventures raising his sister's three children, won a Peabody Award in 2002. At the time, judges wrote they chose the sitcom for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion - and cool."

The show garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac.

"But television handcuffs you, man," he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, `Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?'"

He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer.

In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon.

"I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977."

Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.

In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood - eating bologna for dinner - and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.

"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."

Mac's mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.

"Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in me long before I believed."

---

Associated Press writers Caryn Rousseau and Carla K. Johnson also contributed to this report.

With the continuing saga of the "Tow-Gate" being publicized, my notion of corruption in the Board of Police Commissioners have been exemplified.

1. When the Board of Police Commissioners asked a "private" law firm to investigate the towing contract of S & H Towing with the Poiice Department, I was concerned about the veracity of such an "investigation" since the "private" law firm is not a law-enforcement agency and is not answerable to the public. They are answerable to their  "client" (AKA, the Police Board of Commissioners).

2. When the Board of Police Commissioners voted to give former Chief Joe Mokwa a "sweetheart deal" of $100,000 severance package that included free legal services at his retiremen, I wondered if the "package" was "hush-money" to keep him quiet about the fiasco.

3. When FOX2 publicized the loss of the gentleman from Memphis Tennessee "lost" his  2005 Ford Escape due to "forfeiture" and "abandoned" property while he was detained in jail for about 1 month, even without being indicted by the Circuit Attorney's Office, completed the examples of such corruption.

Lauds to FOX2 to dig for the paperwork that indicated the "smoking gun" of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department-Board of Police Commissioners in the preceived "forfeiture" of the gentleman's vehicle.

I hope that there will be a "kind-hearted" lawyer somewhere in St. Louis that would take on the gentleman's case against the SLMPD Board of Police Commissioner to get back his vehicle so he can return home!!!

I hope fomer Chief Mokwa will use his "free'" legal services to make a deal with the US Attorney's Office (immunity) so he can disclose the corruption that is evident with the Board of Police Commissioners.

I hope (Circuit Attorney) Jennifer Joyce is nervous about the corruption of the SLMPD in relation to her criminal cases (a "good" defense attorney may want to consider judicial review of all criminal cases investigated by the SLMPD).

This situation is the prime example of why the SLMPD should be runned by City Hall, not Jefferson City!!!!

Owner Disputes 44-Pound Cat Was Abandoned Last Edited: Thursday, 31 Jul 2008, 2:31 PM CDT Created: Thursday, 31 Jul 2008, 2:31 PM CDT The owner of the 44-pound cat says she had to put her up for adoption after she foreclosed on her house. SideBar
Related Items Stories A 44-Pound Cat Needs New Home in New Jersey Links Photos: 44-Pound Cat or just enabling jstl so that we can just write ${bean.property} and jsp takes care of the new lines. -->From MyFoxPhilly Reports

The real owner of a 44-pound New Jersey cat tells Fox 29 in Philly that media reports about how her gigantic cat wound up at a local shelter are only partially true.

The owner, Donna Oklatner, spoke with Fox 29 about how her hefty pet, Powder, made it to the Camden County animal shelter in Blackwood, and then into the national headlines.

The 68-year-old woman says she put Powder up for adoption (video: MyFoxPhilly) and a shelter official picked up the cat, with her permission. (Recent media reports said that the cat was found abandoned and taken to the shelter.)

"It broke my heart to give him up.  I could not take care of him.  I love him.  It broke me heart. I wanted him to have a good home," Oklatner said.

She and her husband had their South Jersey house foreclosed and the husband then had to go to a nursing home.

Because Oklatner is staying with friends, she had to make the decision for Powder to go to the shelter for adoption.

"Nobody would take him," Oklatner said. "And then one of the neighbors -- I'm not going to say where, but a friend of mine -- said, 'Listen. We know you can't afford to have Powder.' And it's not because he ate too much. It was because of the foreclosure and my not having a home, a place to go. So, they said they would take him and put him in a shelter."

A shelter official contacted by Fox 29 confirmed on Wednesday night that the cat was picked up for adoption, and not abandoned.

The official said the cat is 11 years old and a male.

When asked about how the cat got so big, the former owner replied, "I guess he ate a lot of food."

Initial reports indicted that the cat, nicknamed by the shelter Princess Chuck, was found wondering the streets of Vorhees.

Officials at the Camden County Animal Shelter in Blackwood said they received the cat Saturday from Animal Control after the cat was found outdoors, without a collar, in Voorhees.

That directly contradicts the woman's story about how the cat came to the center for adoption.

The Shelter's newest resident quickly became an Internet sensation when it became known that he was almost as big as the world's biggest known house cat.

Search begins for new police chief The president of the Board of Police Commissioners, Col. Chris Goodson, addresses members of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board this morning. (Erik M. Lunsford/P-D) By Jeremy Kohler ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 07/30/2008
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has begun its search for a new chief.

Letters are going out soon to 28 candidates eligible to succeed St. Louis police chief Joe Mokwa, asking them to consider applying for the job. By state law, the candidate pool is limited to officers in the department ranked captain or higher.

Meanwhile, members of the board visited several St. Louis media outlets today to defend their handling of an investigation into the police department's relationship with a private towing company.

In a visit with the Post-Dispatch editorial board, board President Chris Goodson and Vice President Julius Hunter said they were stung by suggestions in the media that the police department needs more oversight and that the board did not thoroughly investigate the department's dealings with the company, St. Louis Metropolitan Towing, before declaring on July 18 that there was no criminal wrongdoing.

"There is one thing that sort of grips me and gripes me," Hunter said, "and that is ... I wonder if, as some of the swipes are being taken at the board, if there is a general understanding of what the current board of police commissioners does."

Hunter said the board members are hard-working, accountable and thoroughly in touch with the community -- not "political hacks and flaks."

Read more about the police board's comments in Thursday's Post-Dispatch.

FROM: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlo
uiscitycounty/story/8D5B7D8AE186BB4F86257496006C0221?Op
enDocument

 

 

a hurricane was approached by a smaller and weaker Low Pressure system? Would it change course?? Would it "swallow up" the smaller Low and strengthen? What would happen if a  hurricane is approached by a High Pressure system?? Would it change course or weaken??

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Track Forecast Cone

Click image to zoom in – Turn track off

I have been away from my computer for some time now. I am back for the time being.

I have some reflections on the "March for Oneness" that occurred in North St. Louis on June 1, 2008.

First, it is good that attention is being brought to the inordinant numbers of homicides committed so far this year. It is also equally good that this attention was focused on the very neighborhoods that have seen such tragidies. Light needs to be shed upon this problem as well as the community affected and the people who are suffering because of it.

Second, it is also a great thing that this has been brought up by an eccumenical group of Christians and Muslim people. Tragidy like this transcends religion and religious beliefs.

Third, it is extraordinarily great that MEN, not women are stepping up to the plate and seeing where they are responsible in dealing with the trouble young males that are committing these crimes. It is not enough that these young men should be locked up in the justice system for that would be a waste of our precious resources.

With that being said, I have some criticisms as well.

I was sharing my thoughts with a fellow-passenger on a Metro bus one day. She is Black and obviously has seen much too much tragidy in her life. She said "all the marching and speeches will not change a 'darn' thng." I tend to agree. I have to ask, is this Movement a "knee-jerk" reaction to the skyrocketing murder rate of 2008??? What is the intentions of the Founders of the Movement? What is their purpose? How are they to attain their goals?? What is their game plan???

I have some suggestions.

We need a Movement towards Healing of Racism in our Entire Nation. We need to go back to the Beginning of when this all happened; to the enslavement of Black men, women and children. The Great Black Diaspora from Africa. This can be done with historians to keep the focus. ALL People, Black and White must participate in order for this to work. The effects of Slavery is still being felt in the 21st Century. If you notice the use of the "B" word in Rap Music, it is similar to the "W" word (Wench) in the way slave sellers described the Black women on the auction block. Their main purpose was to breed more slaves for the Slave Owners.

I am using the same treatment model that was employed by Terence Reel in his book, I Don't Want to Talk About It, which he expounds on the treatment of Male Depression. He says that in order to have complete healing, you must go back at least two generations (to granddad, who abused dad, who eventually abused his son). We have to treat the entire Community in a Wholistic approach.

I am in the midst of researching this matter. I hope to write a proposal paper and submit it to Historians, Philosophers, Theologians, Psychologists, Sociologists, Social Workers, Politicians and anyone else who would be interested in this process.

I am deeply disappointed in the way the Democratic Primaries/Caucuses have been handled over the past months. First, the Florida and Michigan voters' rights have been usurped because state leaders placed the primary/caucus before the New Hampshire/Iowa contests and the National Party will not seat those delegates. This is not fair for those voters!!! The delegates should be seated with the approval of the entire Convention.
Second, the in-fighting between Sen. Hiliary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama is not making it any easier to defeat Sen. John McCain (R) Presidential Candidate. We had a similar situation in the State of Missouri, when Gov. Bob Holden (D-Incumbunt) went at it with Claire McCaskill in such a way that Matt Blunt (R) had no problem getting elected to office! Clinton and Obama need to reflect their positive qualities and not smear each other in public or we will certainly see McCain be inaugurated in January, 2009! Third, someone needs to investigate how "old" sermon tapes have surfaced from Rev. Jeremiah Wright that is systematically destroying Obama's electability to office.

This is from another blog, where I could not make my comments!

what`s the different`s Apr 18, 2008 | 4:39 PM
Category: Political
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Featured On: MyFoxSTL Will someone tell me the different`s between LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA SMOKING AND CIGARETTE`S SMOKING???Then could you pass that information along to California and Massachusett`s.Can anyone tell me if there`s a different`s in death`s and cancer rate`s of the sixty`s drug generation and World War II Veteran`s? Does Medicare cover Legalize Medical Marijuana in California??

If one takes the time to calmly view the entire sermon by the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. about Race Relations in the United States, one would see the historical framework that he is working within and the logical conclusions that is lead through those instances of racism and descrimination of the Black people in the United States.

He may seem to be a "rabble-rouser," a "mudrucker," or a Black racist for his views on Race Relations in the United States. He may seem to be  "anti-White," "anti-American,"   a "Separatist," or a "Communist" by some people.

He may seem "too strong" in his beliefs and in some opinions, he may be too strong a Black Man for the ages. He may be considered a "violent" man because of his constant shouting in his sermons.

What I see is a Prophet who is trying to right the wrongs of our society by calling the people, government and institutions out on such archaic practices and beliefs. What I see is a Prophet who is trying to bring together his people, raise them above the "victimization" that they suffer from for decades and generations and empower them to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of their brothers and sisters in the Greater Community. What I see is a Prophet who challenges people do do something that they are not accustomed to doing: THINK for themselves!

God Bless Dr. Wright and his on-going ministry of bringing racism to an end in the United States of America!

The Kerner Report: Have we made any progress from the 1960s?? (From, Bill Moyer's Journal, on PBS recently). Comments welcomed!

The Kerner Commission — 40 Years Later

March 28, 2008
Barack Obama's March 18, 2008 speech, "A More Perfect Union," focused attention issues of race and class in America today. Forty years ago race and class was on the minds of Americans too — when The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders released its report on the urban riots of 1967. That report, more commonly known as the Kerner Report, with its stark conclusion that "Our nation is moving towards two societies — one white, one black — separate and unequal" — was a best-seller. It was also the source of great controversy and remains so today.

Referencing the Kerner Commission report has become rhetorical shorthand in some ways. For critics it suggests wasteful federal spending programs — for others, societal goals and potentials not yet met. In covering the 40th anniversary report USTODAY headlined its 40th anniversary coverage "Goals for Black America Not Met." The article raised some ire when quoting Robert Rector of Heritage Foundation: "Rector says the report ignores a major cause of poverty: single-parent homes. He says 70% of black children do not have a father in the home." That sentiment earned this response from Elliott Currie, a member of the Kerner Commission, 40th Anniversary Task Force: "The implication is that it's the heedless behavior of black men — rather than the strains of a blighted economy and a legacy of discrimination — that is responsible for the continuing crisis of poverty and racial disadvantage 40 years after the Kerner Commission."

Review the Commission's original findings and the subsequent progress reports below. Then weigh in on the state of America 40 years later on the Blog.

Bill Moyers talked with Fred Harris who now teaches politics at the University of New Mexico and is one of the last living members of the original Kerner Commission.

 

Fred Harris Fred R. Harris was born in Walters, Oklahoma, a small town in the southwestern part of the state. In addition to practicing law in Lawton, Oklahoma, he served for eight years as a Democratic member of the Oklahoma State Senate. He served in the United States Senate from 1964 to 1973.

Harris was a member of the Select Committee on Small Business as well as the Government Operations, Public Works, and Finance committees. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Research, he introduced legislation to create a National Foundation for Social Sciences, designed to provide the social sciences with the visibility that the National Science Foundation gives to the natural and physical sciences.

President Lyndon B. Johnson named him to the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission) in the summer of 1967. In 1969 Harris was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

In 1971, Harris decided not to run for the Senate and instead announced he was seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Lack of money, however, forced him to bow out before the primaries. He again threw his name into the presidential ring in 1976 running a down-to-earth "new populist" campaign. Following weak showings in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts primaries, he abandoned his presidential quest, left Washington D.C., and moved to New Mexico. Harris currently serves as a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico.

Published on March 28, 2008.

Guest photo by Robin Holland

Grace Lee Boggs
Bill Moyers talks with 91 year old activist, Grace Lee Boggs, about the cultural revolution brewing in our country at the grassroots level.

Shelby Steele
Bill Moyers talks with Shelby Steele, who has written widely on race in American society and is author of the recent book A BOUND MAN: WHY WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT OBAMA AND WHY HE CAN'T WIN

Barbara Ehrenreich
Bill Moyers talks with author Barbara Ehrenreich about inequality in America.

Fact Checking the Campaign
-->The Eisenhower Foundation: Forty Year Update of the Kerner Riot Commission
The Commission has released 25 and 30-year updates of the Kerner Report. Those reports and the preliminary findings of the new report are online at the site.

Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders
Read the executive summary and conclusion of the original report.

"Race in America"
tktkt

-->"30 years after Kerner report, some say racial divide wider"
CNN's 1998 report on the 30th anniversary of the report.

"The Kerner Commission Report and the Failed Legacy of Liberal Social Policy"
Stephan Thernstrom, Fred Siegel, and Robert Woodson, Sr. June 24, 1998. The Heritage Foundation's assessment of the report and its legacy.

Kerner Plus 40
The Annenberg School for Communication and the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies (IFAJS) at North Carolina A&T State University have undertaken a joint project to determine how this nation has responded to the Kerner Commission's recommendations.

National Center for Policy Analysis

-->ONLINE NEWSHOUR: A Nation Divided? The 1998 NEWSHOUR report on the Kerner Commission update. The findings sparked a debate over the state of racial equality and what should be done to improve the situation. Elizabeth Farnsworth explores the debate with four experts. "Remembering the 1967 Riot That Wasn't" -->

Revolution '67
Aired on POV on PBS, REVOLUTION '67 is an account of events too often relegated to footnotes in U.S. history — the black urban rebellions of the 1960s. Focusing on the six-day Newark, New Jersey, outbreak in mid-July 1967, the film reveals how the disturbance began as spontaneous revolts against poverty and police brutality and ended as fateful milestones in America's struggles over race and economic justice.

http://www.67riots.rutgers.edu/ -->

-->THE KERNER COMMISSION — 40 YEARS LATER -->
THE JOURNAL looks at an update of the Kerner Commission Report, which blamed the violence on the devastating poverty and hopelessness endemic in the inner cities of the 1960s and includes an interview with former Oklahoma Senator Fred Harris, one of the last living members of the Kerner Commission.

MAYOR CORY BOOKER OF NEWARK
Forty years after race riots in Detroit, Newark, and dozens of other cities stunned the nation, has anything changed? Bill Moyers interviews Newark Mayor Cory Booker for a frontline report on race and politics today.

AMERICA'S CITIES
Find out what America's mayors really want for their cities and from the candidates. Plus, 10 things you probably didn't know about our cities.

IF IT BLEEDS IT LEADS
The Kerner Commission and the media — then and now.

 

ON THE BLOG: YOUR CITIES
Tell us about the state of your city.

 

RECOLLECTING CHANGE
A Bill Moyers Essay.

-->

--> --> --> --> --> -->Watch "The Road to War" from NOW WITH BILL MOYERS

Slideshow: "9/11 For the Record One Headline at a Time"

-->Learn About Chemicals Around Your House --> Our posts and your comments March 28, 2008
Race, Poverty, and the Inner City --- 40 Years Later... "Dear Mr. Moyers, I think Mayor Booker's idea for a Statue of Personal Responsiblity is excellen..." - Beverly "Glad to have you back Bill! Can't wait for the series...." - Charlie -->"Dear Mr. Moyers, I think Mayor Booker's idea for a Statue of Personal Responsiblity is excellen..." - Beverly xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Just a thought:

Our society has confused itself with gender identity. A man can have surgery and take hormones for the rest of "his" life, dress as a woman and change "his" name legally. But, does that truly make "him" a "woman???" If you look at the DNA sequence, it will have an "X" chromosome in the 22nd strand and a "Y" chromosome in the 23rd strand (indicating that the subject is "male.").

Conversely, a woman can have surgery, take hormones for the rest of "her" life, dress as a man and change "her" name legally. Does that truly make "her" a man?? The DNA sequence will show an "X" chromosome in the 22nd strand and an "X" chromonsome in the 23rd strand (indicating that the subject is  "female").

Question: Can a "woman" have breast reduction surgery, take hormones (and retain all female reproductive organs), dress like a "man," act like a "man," legally change "his" name to a "male name" and yet, be pregnant?? Is this subject truly a "man" or a "woman?"

Comments welcomed!