Sima Samar, women's rights activist in Afghanistan: "With dogged persistence and at great personal risk, she kept her schools and clinics open in Afghanistan even during the most repressive days of the Taliban regime, whose laws prohibited the education of girls past the age of eight. When the Taliban fell, Samar returned to Kabul and accepted the post of Minister for Women's Affairs."
"Dr. Denis Mukwege: Doctor, founder and head of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. He has dedicated his life to helping Congolese women and girls who are victims of gang rape and brutal sexual violence."
Handicap International and Cluster Munition Coalition: "These organizations are recognized for their consistently serious efforts to clean up cluster bombs, also known as land mines. Innocent civilians are regularly killed worldwide because the unseen bombs explode when stepped upon."
"Hu Jia, a human rights activist and an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, who was sentenced last year to a three-and-a-half-year prison term for 'inciting subversion of state power.'"
"Wei Jingsheng, who spent 17 years in Chinese prisons for urging reforms of China's communist system. He now lives in the United States."
Posted by Mary Katharine Ham on October 9, 2009 10:05 AM Permalink
Email the article "Meet the People Who Were Passed Over for Obama" to a friend.
Comment: Does anyone really think President Obama deserved this award?
When I heard this I could not believe it. I thought it was a joke. What has he done to deserve it? We are still in Iraq, we have escalated Afghanistan. Iran has not stopped building nukes, nor has North Korea. The Palestinian-Israel conflict continues, and Black kids are still killing Black kids in Chicago. The world is no safer or peaceful after nine months of Obama's time in office than it was before. Was this an affirmative action award? The only reason I can figure out why they awarded President Obama the Peace Price is because he is not George W. Bush.
Updated: Tue., Oct. 6, 2009, 12:27 PM, By CHARLES HURT, New York Post
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WASHINGTON -- President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet -- and handed out doctors' white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message.
In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama. (link)
Comment: What a Joker! I guess if he is addressing union members he will hand out hard hats and if he is talking to farmers he will hand out pitchforks and straw hats. Will teachers get red apples and little chalk boards? Firemen: red fireman's hats and Dalmatians?
By E.W. Jackson Sr., American Thinker, Oct. 5, 2009
[Excerpt] Treating poor black people as victims to be "organized" has been an abject failure. They are human beings to be educated, inspired and required to take responsibility for their own lives. The tragedy here is that Derrion was doing just that and it was working, but the malignant pathology of the ghetto spread to him on that unfortunate day and ended his promising life.
[Excerpt] ...there is a deafening silence from some of the biggest mouths in America. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Julian Bond, Louis Farrakhan and the Congressional Black Caucus see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. When Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested by a white police officer, President Barack Obama -- without any facts -- found it necessary to put in his two cents. Here in Chicago, the salient facts are abundantly clear and a heinous murder has been committed in his home town, but the president is silent. (link)
Comment: This is an excellent essay and expresses my views exactly. In addition to the tragedy of the murder of this promising young man, there is also the tragedy of code of silence within the black community that says Blacks will not "snitch" on Blacks who murder other Blacks and the tragedy of the code of silence among Black and liberal leaders who will not address the problems of the Black community unless those problems can be blamed on white racism.
Having said this however, I know that below the level of the national Black and liberal leaders there are many Black leaders and good liberals who do give of themselves to improve the life of those in the Black community. They genuinely care. I may disagree with their politics, but I never doubt their sincere concern for those they serve. They have a passion for what they do. I have known many of these people in my own community of Nashville. They tirelessly raise money, recruit clients, advocate for and provide job training programs, after school tutoring programs, money management classes and home ownership opportunities in the Black community. They operate the Boys and Girls clubs and sponsor Boy Scout Troops and little league softball teams and summer camp programs.
There are those who live in the Black Community who organize local Neighborhood Watch programs and work to improve police-community relations. They view the criminal element as the enemy not the police. They care about the problems of drug abuse and school drop-outs and crime and gangs in their neighborhood. There are many local Black ministers in my city and across America that work tireless ministering to their flock and inspiring them to be the best they can be. Unfortunately, they do not get the support they deserve and too often the recognized national leaders ignore those in the field who are working against incredible odds to change lives. I am sure that in Chicago, just like here in Nashville, there are many local Black leaders who are appalled at what they see happening in their community. It is too bad that the establishment will not support their efforts and prefers to remain silent unless it benefits their political agenda.
An argument for a government health insurance company: Those evil insurance companies make money by denying people services and there is a lot of red tape in getting claims processed.
Fact: The government health care company known as Medicare denies claims at almost twice the rate of private insurance companies and the red tape is worse.
Are you Living in Denial By Robert Anthony, Physician Practice
[excerpt] Did you know Medicare denies up to 22 percent of medical services, depending on the specialty? If you're in dermatology (the lowest denial rate, at 5.5 percent) or pediatric medicine (a mere 6.22 percent), then you're one of the lucky ones. But if you're an anesthesiology practice (with a daunting 18.55 percent denial rate) or an obstetrics and gynecology practice (the highest, with a whopping 22.42 percent), then Medicare denials can easily become daily occurrences.
"The problem with Medicare is that you can talk to four different people and get four different answers," says Darlene Helmer, CPC, ANP-C, billing manager for Physician Anesthesia Associates of Towson, Md., and co-chair of the Third Party & Reimbursement committee of the Maryland Medical Group Management Association. "They don't always know their own regulations, so you have to be the expert on [them]." (link)
This article shed light on the red tape problems with Medicare and examines the denial claim problem. Given the high claim denial rate of Medicare and the red tape, why does one think a new government "public option" would perform any better than the current public option known as Medicare? I don't understand it.
For more evidence of the claim denial rate of the government compared to private insurance companies, see the chart below. Notice that the Medicare denial rate is 6.85%, compared to a range of 2.68 to 6.80 for other listed insurance companies. For a more detailed discussion of the numbers in the chart below follow this link: HSA Benefits Consulting.
Last night, long after I should have been getting some shut-eye, I found myself watching C-Span's BookTV. BookTV is one of my favorite TV programs. Each weekend, BookTV features 48 hours of nonfiction books from Saturday 8am (ET) to Monday 8am (ET). The interviewer explores the views, opinions, body of work, biography, and writing style of the guest author in a relaxed, unhurried, non-confrontational setting and takes calls from viewers. An interview may last two to three hours. None of us can read all of the books that are published. Book TV allows the viewer to get an in depth exposure to an author and his views. Last nights guest was Hugh Hewitt. I was very impressed and will seek out his books or editorials.
Mr. Hewitt is a constitutional law professor, a blogger, an author and a conservative talk show host, but I had never heard of him. Apparently his talk show is not available in our market. Unlike the Beck's or Limbaugh's that dominate conservative talk radio, Mr. Hewitt seems much more analytical and much less bombastic. Having never heard him on the air, I don't know if that is the same persona he presents on the radio, but I would assume it is. I was impressed.
I was very impressed when a fellow Tennessean called in and lambasted our Senators Alexander and Corker as people who have been co-opted by the liberal establishment. Hewlett said, on the contrary, that he thought they were fine principled conservative Senators. He especially had kind things to say about Senator Corker, touting his leadership on Cap and Trade and the auto bailouts. Here is the three hours broadcast of Hugh on BookTV.
Meetup Reminder: 1st Tuesday Guest Speaker: Mayor Karl Dean When: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 11:30 AM
Where: Waller Lansden, 511 Union St. Floor 27 , Nashville TN 37201
Do you love Karl Dean? Hate Karl Dean? Want to hear what he has to say? Nashville faces a number of important issues these days. The proposed new Nashville Convention Center will cost $600,000,000 - [and that doesn't even include a hotel] -- but will certainly change the look of our city for generations to come. Our school system continues to make news -- a new Director -- and failing test scores. And like many communities, Nashville has a variety of concerns and opportunities facing our civic leaders. On Tuesday, OCTOBER 6th come hear and these and MANY other important topics first hand from the Nashville's Mayor Karl Dean. Our Q&A session ought to be one of the BEST ever. As usual, we will meet at the Law Offices of Waller/Lansden - 511 Union Street -27th floor. Lunch from Alexander's Catering will be available at 11:30AM and is $15 for members and $20 for guests. I think this lunch to sell out, so please RSVP. 1st Tuesday Meetup.
Don't Snitch by Mac Dre Man... I'm through fuckin' around You niggaz keep on ya gon' be duckin' some rounds I'm rushin' the mound, bitch done hit me with a pitch He a snitch and he walk with a switch He in a band that sing for the cops Him and his mans, they cleanin' up shop Undercover concert promotor Ricky Schrodertryin' to turn somebody over Put that E.T. finger up, you stooley Don't tattletale, the number one ruley You the jumpest, the boys, them people Slipped in the game, sellin' toys to people I avoid them people, don't ask me shit The only law I break is in public, grip My mouth zipped, I plead the 5th And niggaz like you get pushed off a cliff [Chorus] - X 2 (Don't ask me shit) I don't tell mayne (I don't tell) You can send me to jail mayne (Don't ask me shit) I won't tell mayne (I won't tell) Send me to jail mayne You can line 'em up and put twelve in a box and find out your boy is workin' with the cops Doin' flip-flops, the Rover rollin' over The Tootsie Roller, scared to do a quarter It's October and he can't be gone 'til November So he's givin' up the gang, every damn member Everything he remember - he's tellin' He get out of jail free, ain't no bailin' He's no felon, he's no misdemeanor He got a target melon and a E.T. finger Nigga you the cleaners tryin' to wash me Quit peepin' at my Beamer, tryin' to watch me
[Chorus] - X 2 (Don't ask me shit) I don't tell mayne (I don't tell) You can send me to jail mayne (Don't ask me shit) I won't tell mayne (I won't tell) Send me to jail mayne
Police Chief Decries 'Code of Silence' Chicago Breaking News Center, September 30, 2009 (link) On Tuesday, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said authorities believe at least three other teens also punched or kicked the boy.
Weis called on the community to step up and tell police what they know. "Few have come forward," he told a news conference. "We must do better."
Weis decried the "code of silence" that he said was keeping police from making more arrests. Without more cooperation, he said, there will be "more violence...and unfortunately more funerals."
He also criticized teens who witnessed the beating last Thursday and did not call police. Weis said the 911 center did not get a call about Albert until after he was brought into a nearby community center.
"You got kids with cell phones but no one called," Weis said. "It's sad more people didn't call earlier."
Commentary: A good kid, a young Black man, is brutally beaten to death in front of a large group of other Black kids in daylight on a public street and the public will not cooperate with the police in solving the murder. There is an epidemic of Black on Black youth crime in this country. Here in Nashville, we have had 18 young people killed year-to-date, all but a couple of them African American. This is happening across the country and the Black community will not cooperate in solving the crimes. Instead, rap lyrics celebrate not snitching and you can get the "Don't snitch" ringtone for your cell phone and your "Stop snitching" tee shirts in the local clothing store.
Where is the Black leadership in decrying this "code of silence" and senseless murders? One Black Harvard professor gets arrested by a white cop and it dominates the news for days and the President intervenes with some Beer Diplomacy. Last year in Louisiana at Jena High School, six black students were arrested charged with attempted murder after a school fight in which a white student was severely beaten and suffered a concussion. Celebrities and Black leaders rallied around to defend the "Jena Six." To defend the Jena six was a cause worth getting involved in, yet we have unsolved murders of Black kids by other Black kids coast to coast and no one seems to care.
If a Black kid had been killed by a gang of white kids in a similar manner to the Chicago murder, you can bet we would be hearing from Hollywood celebrities and Oprah Winfrey and Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson and probably the President.
What are we to take from this? As long as Black kids are killing other Black kids is it OK? Are we to assume that the Black communities of America care more about showing solidarity against the police rather than cooperating with the police in stopping these senseless killings? Is life in the hood worth so little, that not being a snitch is a higher value than catching a killer. Will no one rise up and say enough is enough and that "Black Culture" has become the culture of the jungle and the thug and must be reformed? Will no one suggest that it is time to stop blaming the problems of the Black community on the oppression of the white man and see the self-destructive behaviour? Does anyone give a damn?
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Sept. 16, 2009 – The 13th Annual Celebration of Cultures festival, to take place Saturday, Oct. 3 at Centennial Park, returns as the region’s largest and most authentic multi-cultural festival. The event is free and open to the public.
Named as a Southeast Tourism Society “Top 20 Event for Fall 2009,” the festival is presented by the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation and Scarritt-Bennett Center. Celebration of Cultures aims to celebrate and embrace the cultural diversity of our community by encouraging understanding, appreciation and respect of the cultures of the Greater Nashville community through a fun-filled day of music, dance, food, children’s activities, a marketplace, and an educational component called “The Global Village.”
More than 40 cultures will be represented, food vendors will offer a sampling of cuisine from around the world, and entertainment will be provided on five different stages throughout the park. A children’s area will feature free interactive music and dance programs, storytelling, a children’s stage, nature activities, puppet shows and hands-on art projects presented by local Nashville organizations. “The Global Village” offers a glimpse of daily life in countries such as Panama, India, Mexico, Bolivia, Somalia, Japan, Jamaica, China and Kurdistan. New to the festival this year will be an area for teens called TEENS UNITED!. In partnership with Oasis Center, TEENS UNITED! is being organized by a group of local teens from 10 different countries, including Mexico, Ethiopia, Haiti and Sudan. Highlights of the teen area include a stage that will feature entertainment such as teen drummers, dancers, and puppet shows; traditional costumes for festival goers to try on and have their photos taken in; a world map where people can mark their country of origin; and more.
Last year, 28,000 people attended the festival, making it the largest one-day attendance number in the event’s history.
What: Celebration of Cultures festival, a FREE event- Global Village - Ethnic food- World Market - TEENS UNITED!- Children’s area - Entertainment on five different stages When: Saturday, Oct. 3, 200910 a.m. to 6 p.m. Where: Centennial ParkWho: More than 40 cultures and thousands of Middle Tennesseans Cost: FREE Parking: Free parking is available in the ground-level HCA parking lots off 25thAve. N. and throughout Centennial Park.
Staff Reporter, The Daily Voice, Posted September 29, 2009 8:45
A Chicago honors student was beaten to death on Thursday as two rival gangs fought outside a community center in that city.
An amateur cell phone video posted on YouTube showed a young man being struck on the head by a young man with a long wooden board, then punched by another young man. (link)
Sometimes you just want to yell, stop it, stop it! We've got to stop it! We're losing too many of our children and teenagers to senseless deaths, senseless killings, senseless shootings.
We've got to stop it! We've got to get them to put away their guns, to value life. Too many of these children and teenagers are being shot down as if they were a deer or rabbit being hunted. We've got to stop it!
Commentary:
The above video and news story is disturbing, sickening, and frightening. To talk about bad timing, this does not bode well for Chicago being picked as the site for the 2016 Olympics. The Olympic pick however is a footnote to the tragedy of this story. I have seen news coverage of this story and feel sadness for the boy’s family. Apparently the victim in this story was a good kid and a good student and was just caught in wrong place at the wrong time. The wrong place and the wrong time was a bus stop on the way to school during the day.
What has happened to America that things like this are not so uncommon? The truth is that things like this are common, not "in America" but in the Black community. It is not just in Chicago that things like this happen. In Dwight Lewis's column above he list the eighteen homicides that have occurred this year to-date in which the victim was younger than 18. Most of the victims are Black kids murdered by other Black kids. Neither Nashville, nor Chicago is unique and unfortunately this is typical for the inner cities of America.
I have spent most of my adult life working closely with African Americans and working in the inner city. As a city councilman for eleven years, one of the neighborhoods I represented was a Black community. I also chaired the Federal Grants Review Committee of the Metro Council that had legislative oversight of Community Development issues and related topics so I had insight into what was going on in the Black community. As a previous employee of the local housing authority and in my current job as a housing counselor, I serve mostly Black clients. I have worked in the housing projects trying to provide services that lift people out of poverty. I have seen some successes. I have seen some people change their attitude and change their life, but for the most part I have seen failure.
There are lots of reasons and excuses why black poverty persist, and along with the poverty, the despair, violence and lawlessness. I don’t have the answer of how to change the Black community. I have some ideas about what brought us to this point and some thoughts about what we should be doing, but I really don’t know if any of it would make much difference. In the 90’s with Welfare reform I thought we were making a major step in the right direction. A program called HOPE VI, I thought was a small step, but a step in the right direction. I thought No Child Left Behind was perhaps another modest step in the right direction. The truth is that not much has changed. The Black community seems as hopeless and crime ridden as ever.
One of the reasons I became a “disgruntled” Republican is because my party ignored the problems of the inner city, when I felt that following up on welfare reform, we had an opportunity to make a real difference. I have been ashamed of Republican indifference. The last Republican who cared about Black people and urban problems was Jack Kemp. I wanted the party to have more Jack Kemps. As unhappy as I have been about the Republican Party’s policy of indifference I thought Republican indifference was preferable to Democratic policies that would foster further dependence. I want policies that will fundamentally change the nature of Black society and lift Blacks out of poverty, not programs that simply subsidize the poverty.
I did not expect much from President Obama that would really improve the Black community. Liberalism fosters greater dependence, which is the last thing the Black community needs. But I was hopeful that President Obama’s example of hard work, responsibility, stable intact family, and success would inspire. I was hopeful he would use the bully pulpit and his prestige to motivate change in Black America.
Instead of flying off to Copenhagen to pitch Chicago for the Olympics, I wish Obama would have gone to Chicago and pitched non-violence, lawfulness and responsibility and called attention to epidemic of youth violence that is taking its toll on the Black communities of America.
Since July, I’ve been trying to meet with the President to discuss health care. To this day and after three letters, faxes and emails, I have heard no word from the President’s office about a time to discuss this very important matter. I certainly understand the President is busy these days, so in an effort to help streamline his schedule – while upholding his latest pledge, “be there to listen” to serious proposals – I sent another request with other doctors to set a meeting. Last week, I sent the following letter, reiterating my request to the President for a meeting along with Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Republican doctors Tom Price (Ga.), Bill Cassidy (La.), and Jason Chaffetz (Utah):
As individuals who share your support for passing health care reform, we are writing to reiterate our request to meet with you at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss what we believe are serious problems with the current approach being considered in H.R. 3200, the House version of health care reform legislation. We would also like to raise with you potential areas of common ground that can help make bipartisan health care reform a reality.
In your speech to our body last Wednesday, you stated, “If you come to me with a serious set of proposals, I will be there to listen. My door is always open.” We believe we have serious proposals that merit your consideration.
In the past two months, we have all individually requested to meet with you, but in an effort to try to accommodate your schedule, we would be willing to meet as a group, as we have many similar concerns.
We appreciate your commitment to enacting health care reform, and hope you will work with us to find a mutually convenient time to have a discussion about our ideas. Everyday there are news articles, polls and op-eds released showing serious concerns from people all over the country regarding the health care plan in Congress (H.R. 3200). In a study done by Investor’s Business Daily (IBD), physicians were asked the following question: Will the quality of care for seniors improve under health care reform currently being considered by Congress?
Of the 1,376 physicians polled who answered their survey, 65% said that government reform would lead to lower-quality care for seniors. Just 28% said it would lead to better care for seniors, while 7% declined to answer. Even more troubling, IBD polled that two out of every three doctors oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington (H.R. 3200). In addition, the poll found that four of nine doctors, or 45%, said they “would consider leaving their practice or taking an early retirement” if Congress passes the plan the Democratic majority and White House have in mind.
Congress needs to work together to come up with true health care reform that does not compromise care. I’m ready, willing and able to do that. I look forward to the chance to do that with my Congressional colleagues and the President. Please feel free to contact my office if we can be of assistance to you or your family. You can contact my office by mail, email or phone. Our contact information can be found on our website, http://www.roe.house.gov/.
Comment: I am more and more convinced that the President and the Democrats in Congress are less interested in solving the real health care crisis that faces this country than they are in grabbing power and expanding the public sector. There are numerous proposals that could reform health care without destroying the system we have now. These proposals are being ignored. The President is not interested in bi-partisan solutions. His appeal to bi-partisanshp is simply window dressing for a radical agenda. This is all about transforming the character of America, not about solving a serious problem.
As the author of A Disgruntled Republican I often post items which I think may be of interest to the conservative, Republican, libertarian or the greater community. Posting of a press release or an announcement of an event does not necessarily indicate an endorsement. Rod
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