Big Surprise!! Race A Factor In Presidential Campaign

According to a recent poll taken by AP-Yahoo, one third of of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks calling us "lazy," "violent" or responsible for our own troubles. The poll was conducted by Stanford University.

The poll suggests that if the fall election is close, and it appears that it will be, that these negative views of blacks could cost Sen. Barack Obama the presidency. Well at this point "It Is, What It Is", and Obama is marching on with his "Change" platform , which we desperately need in this country. This election unfortunately is turning into the ultimate litmus test for race relations in our country.

Former Baltimore City Councilman Shot And Killed During Robbery

In what is very sad news, The Baltimore Sun reports that former City Councilman, Kenneth Harris Sr. was shot and killed this morning while visiting a friend at a Northeast Baltimore lounge.

Harris is survived by a wife and two children.

Chicago Poor Neighborhoods Could See Tax Bills Rise By As Much As 71%

The Chicago Sun Times also reports that Chicago's poorer neighborhoods could see property tax increases as high as 71% when the new tax bills arrive in mailboxes soon. The tax increases are part of an overall 8% increase citywide.

I'm sure the affected residents are already struggling to stay afloat, the expected increased tax bills will only add to their woes.

Meeks Plans To Protest School Funding At Cubs Playoff Game

According to the Chicago Sun Times, Sen. James Meeks is planing to continue his protest of Chicago school funding by bringing together as many as 6000 kids to protest at a Chicago Cubs baseball game. Meeks' initial protest of the school funding commenced on September 2, but drew criticism for keeping children out of school.

Meeks' continues to stand up for a cause that is crucial to the future development of all children. If the protest does occur on October 2nd, it will bring national attention to the growing issue of inner city education.

Obama Urges Mentor To Reconvene Illinois Senate To Discuss Ethics Bill

Sen. Barack Obama asked his mentor Emil Jones to reconvene the Illinois Senate in an effort to try to pass ethics reform according to the Chicago Sun Times. Jones acquiesced to his protege's plea also to protect Obama's image of being a reformer.

In Philly $12 Million Set Aside To Improve Low Performing Schools

The City of Brotherly Love is taking steps to positively impact it's 85 lowest performing schools, by earmarking $12 million for improvements according to the Philadelphia Daily News. The city has to be commended for taking positive steps to improve what really is the albatross in the black community, the declining public school system.

Dave Bing Running For Mayor of Detroit

Former N.B.A. great and present Detroit businessman, Dave Bing announced to the Detroit Free Press that he is definitely running for Mayor of Detroit next year. Bing, who is 64, plans to participate in the special primary which will be held on Feb. 24, 2009.

Cockrel Jr. Sworn In As Mayor of Detroit

Ken Cockrel Jr. was sworn in yesterday as the new mayor if Detroit, replacing the departed hip hop mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. Cockrel Jr. states that his first orders of business will be to clean up the city's law and police departments in addition to attempting to balance the budget.

Cockrel jr. will have about 6 months to show the residents of Detroit that he's the man for the job, as new elections will be held in early 2009. The Detroit Free Press provides additional details on the transition of mayors in the Motor City.

The Cool Obama

John Dickerson who writes for The Slate has written an article about the coolness of Sen. Barack Obama in the eye of a political storm.

If you read my postings about this election, you probably realize my mood vacillates daily regarding the potential outcome of this race. We just have to trust that the American People will not be bamboozled into 4 more years of Republican leadership, especially with this financial crisis getting worse by the day.

Another Subway Beating In Philly

The Philadelphia Daily News reports that on Tuesday, Eric Najee was attacked while walking in an underground concourse/subway area in Center City Philadelphia. Najee, who is 23, is 6 feet 1 and weighs 350 pounds, is presently on life support at an area hospital.

I hope and pray that Eric is able to recover from his injuries. I have no comment on the continued violence in Killadelphia, except where are Al and Jesse when we need them.

Is Wachovia Next?

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the area's largest bank Wachovia Corp., may be the next major financial institution seeking financial relief by possibly merging with Morgan Stanley.

Obviously this financial downswing that we're experiencing is more serious than anyone believed, and it appears to be getting worse by the day.

Target Gives City Of Baltimore $300,000 To Fight Crime

The Baltimore Sun reports that retail giant Target has given the city $300,000 to help crime fighting efforts in West Baltimore where a new store was recently opened. Good for Target for showing confidence in our community, and assisting the city with fighting crime.

7 Shooting Victims In a 12 Hour Period In Philly/AIG Gets Bailed Out

No I haven't softened up regarding the violence in our communities, it's simply catastrophic. Even if we don't live in these communities, we definitely know someone who can or will be affected. The Philadelphia Daily News chronicles 7 shooting victims in a 12 hour period in Philadelphia.

I guess it's easy for the government to bail out AIG to the tune of $85 billion, because the world would end as we know it if AIG went belly up. Yet inner city crime continues to spiral out of control as major cities fight with budget cuts and intense pressure on the police around the country. Obviously John McCain was right when he said that the fundamentals of our economy were solid the other day.

Lil Wayne Leads BET Hip Hop Award Nominees

The BET Hip Hop Awards are returning to Atlanta, GA on October 18th, and the reigning hottest artist of the moment Lil Wayne leads all nominees with 12 nominations.

The prolific nature of Lil Wayne's work is being rewarded. I'll be writing more about this eccentric artist in the future, as I think if we look beyond the surface, we could all learn something from Mr. Carter.

Kwame Invokes 5th Amendment Right 82 Times

I know that I've been hammering soon to be former Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, but this is a link from the Detroit Free Press showing experts from a deposition that Kilpatrick gave yesterday in a Free Press lawsuit. During the deposition Kilpatrick invoked his 5th Amendment right 82 times, while displaying a cool demeanor that defies logic considering his present circumstance.

Kwame Kilpatrick is arrogant, yet very self assured. I'm sure it was instilled in him at a young age that he could he had to have confidence in himself. I have to admit that he has a swagger that will probably allow him to resurface from this scandal just fine. I just hope that he's learned from his mistakes, and will become just a little more humbled when her resurfaces.

Beatty Has My Sympathy

If you think sexism doesn't exist in our country, the Detroit text messaging scandal is a perfect example of a definite double standard. Yes Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick has resigned his position and accepted pretty harsh penalties, but his former Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty just can't seem to catch a break. It must be noted that Beatty resigned her position months ago, instead of taking the city of Detroit through daily chaos, which Kilpatrick chose to do until he was essentially forced to resign.

I wrote yesterday, that Beatty has nothing to lose by going to trial for the charges that she's facing. That's not true, as she potentially faces 15 years in jail if convicted on all charges. The chances of that happening are pretty slim. Beatty, however, is a divorced mother of two, and faces a pretty dire future even by accepting the plea deal that would carry with it 2 felony charges. Beatty is obviously culpable regarding her actions, and appears willing to accept reasonable penalties. I just hope the prosecutors of Detroit will give her a break, and come up with a settlement offer that will allow her to move on with her life once her jail time has been served.

I guarantee you that her transition back into mainstream society will be much more difficult than Mr. Kilpatrick's.

Home Buyer Assistance Programs Ending October 1st

Many of you are probably aware that home buyers assistance programs will come to an end on October 1st unless Congress passes a compromise bill. The Memphis Commercial Appeal profiles Martha Green who is in a race against time to purchase her home by the deadline.

If a compromise isn't passed by Congress, the American dream of owning a home for black people will take another devastating blow.

Dow Plummets 504 Points

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 504 points yesterday as a result of the dire news regarding Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Insurance Giant, AIG. This link from the New York Daily News profiles the latest financial crisis.

Beatty Rejects Offer And Going To Trial

Christine Beatty today rejected the prosecutor's offer, and will instead stand trial in the Detroit text messaging scandal according to the Detroit Free Press.

Beatty's chief attorney, Mayer Morganroth, deemed the offer "unreasonable," and is willing to have the case tried in court. The unreasonable offer would have required Beatty to serve 150 days in jail, accept 2 felony charges and be required to pay $125,000 over a 5 year probationary period.

At this point, Beatty really has nothing to lose by going to trial.

Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation 3rd Annual Memorial Planting

The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, located in Stone Mountain, GA held it's 3rd Annual Memorial Planting this past Saturday to Celebrate the life and legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur, and other loved ones who have passed away.

Tupac died 12 years ago on September 13th, but his legacy lives on through the foundation that his mother Afeni Shakur-Davis founded in 1997. The foundation encompasses the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, PAC's Kid's Troop, and PAC's Kids Leadership and Arts Camps. Mrs. Shakur-Davis has to be commended for keeping her son's legacy alive through the foundation. Please click the above link to visit the foundation's site.

Jennifer Hudson Engaged

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that singer/actress Jennifer Hudson got engaged to David Otunga on Friday. Otunga is better known as "Punk" from the "I Love New York" reality show.

What If

Randall Kennedy is a Law Professor at Harvard, and has written an interesting article in the Washington Post regarding Black America's reaction if Barack Obama doesn't win the fall election.

If Obama doesn't win in the fall, we know that the world will not end as we know it. I do think that although race will be a dominant factor in the election, it will not be the only reason for a potential defeat. I still think that Obama is the front runner, however, there are cracks in the wall of the campaign that need to be sealed pronto.

Did Obama Peak Too Soon?

I found this interesting questioning article questioning whether Sen. Barack Obama peaked too soon.

It's possible that he did peak too soon, but I don't really think that's Obama's problem right now. Within his campaign, they've made some strategic blunders based on the fact that Obama's been able to raise all of this money, and capture the hearts and minds of many of our young people. Simply, I think the campaign became arrogant, and never imagined the Sarah Palin factor in this campaign.

I now think that Obama will win or lose this campaign based on his performances in the debates. He'll really need to sharpen his responses and be specific, though, because Sen. John McCain is very decisive and to the point when he responds to questions. Obama will need to go to the Hillary Clinton School of Debate Performance, and prove to the American Public that he can be a decisive leader.

Is The Worst Yet To Come?

I don't post often about the financial markets, but everyone needs to take note of the fact that investment banking house, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy this morning. Also in separate articles the New York Post is reporting that Bank of America has purchased Merill Lynch for at least $44 billion, and that Insurance powerhouse AIG is trying to avoid bankruptcy.

It appears that this credit crisis is going to be much more devastating than we ever thought, and former fed chief Alan Greenspan said yesterday that this could be a once in a century disaster.