| 8/3/2004 | Reading between the lines | | | The mail I receive tends to fall into one of four categories. The first category -- by far the largest -- is people who write to say they appreciate my point of view and that I should keep up the good work. I like this kind of mail. Please send more... |
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| 7/26/2004 | The truth shall set you free. | | | It is of little consequence that the president accepted an invitation to address the National Urban League or that the first lady, Laura Bush, recently addressed the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. According to critics, the president’s refusal to countenance the abuse of Kweisi Mfume and Julian Bond proves him a scoundrel... |
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| 7/19/2004 | Really, what does it look like? | | | It may be that I’ve been watching too much reality television, but the battle emerging in the presidential campaign over which party’s candidates best reflect most Americans’ values, seems like an episode of “Extreme Makeover.”.. |
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| 7/12/2004 | America the Beautiful | | | In honor of this month’s Independence Day celebration, I wanted to use
this space to reflect on what makes America great. As I mulled over a few ideas, I came across the story of the United States’ ambitious relocation of 13,000 Bantu Somali refugees into 52 cities across this country... |
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| 7/5/2004 | Kodak Moments |  | | “The Black Book” (Random House) describes itself as a scrapbook of 300 years of black American life. Among the many bits of memorabilia, the book contains the story and accompanying photograph of Zachariah Walker who was burned at the stake in Chester Pennsylvania in 1911... |
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| 6/28/2004 | Ideology over substance | | | Monday’s headline read that John Kerry was accusing George Bush of putting ideology ahead of science. That’s odd, given it was just last Friday that he himself, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, proposed raising the minimum wage to $7 per hour arguing that such an increase could boost the wages of more than 15 million Americans... |
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| 6/21/2004 | The Real Reagan Legacy | | | I did not vote for Ronald Reagan. In 1980, I cast my vote for independent candidate John Anderson. Undaunted, four years later I tossed my vote into the abyss that was the Walter Mondale campaign. I was never above telling a good “Ronny the Ray Gun” joke and as a good friend was quick to remind me, I spent more than one evening railing against that doddering old man in the White House... |
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| 6/14/2004 | The power of Real Men | | | I have been writing a weekly column for over two years now. In that time, I have offered opinions on a variety of topics. Some columns have generated more response than others. However, I have never received as much mail as after my recent column criticizing the film “Soul Plane.”... |
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| 6/7/2004 | Bill Cosby | | | The firestorm continues over remarks Bill Cosby made three weeks ago at a celebration of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The comedian criticized segments of the black community about issues ranging from out-of-wedlock births to literacy... |
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| 5/30/2004 | Soul Plane | | | The first time I saw the commercial for the new film Soul Plane, starring rapper Snoop Dogg and the comedienne Mo’Nique, I turned to my wife and asked, “Why? Do we [black people] really need this?” Others apparently shared my distress... |
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| 5/24/2004 | In the Midst of Campaigning for Reform | | | More disturbing to me than the hi-jinx of a few boneheaded American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is the willingness -- ne' eagerness -- by some in this country to exploit the current scandal for political gain... |
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| 5/17/2004 | Mistreatment Versus Interrogation? | | | Our American servicemen and women have performed heroically for many months. If, as the administration claims, the scandal surrounding the treatment of detainees at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq is limited to a handful of soldiers, it’s a shame... |
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| 5/10/2004 | The Cost of War and Price of Liberty | | | ABC Television expected huge ratings when Ted Koppel read the list of Americans who have been killed fighting in Iraq. They weren’t huge at all. The ratings for Nightline’s special edition were down in all major markets, indicating that not only did people not tune in but also that regular program viewers tuned out... |
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| 5/3/2004 | Maternal Respect and Vision | | | Last year, the father of a very good friend of mine passed away. The local paper published an article about his life -- his experiences as part of the civil rights movement in Mississippi, moving to Denver and being one of the first black families in Southeast Denver and so forth. At one point in the article, my friend’s mother describes her late husband as a hero. It brought tears to my eyes... |
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| 4/26/2004 | Actions Speak Volumes | | | Last month Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantissi, leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, stated: "We will all die one day. If by Apache or by cardiac arrest, I prefer Apache." File this bit of bravado under the heading: Be careful what you ask for... |
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| 4/19/2004 | Looking into the 9/11 Commission | | | As the parade of government bureaucrats continues to march before the 9/11 commission, one thing becomes increasingly clear: The commission is more interested in pointing fingers – specifically at The Bush Administration -- than it is in getting to the facts. I can’t say I’m surprised... |
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| 4/12/2004 | Is the Contract Broken? | | | It was dusk when I pulled into our nation’s capital. As my car rounded Pennsylvania Avenue, I saw the Capital Building in the distance, lit up against the darkening sky... |
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| 4/5/2004 | Journey to Conservatism | | | Last week at the conference on race and culture sponsored by the Manhattan Institute, I ran into Professor Glen Loury. Loury, of course, is a prominent social critic, an award-winning author and public intellectual and was one of the pioneers of the contemporary black conservative movement (though he has recently begun to move left on certain social issues). As we chatted at the coffee station, he no doubt wondered what in the world I was doing on the same dais as him. I wondered the same thing... |
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| 3/29/2004 | Power of Faith and Religion | | | While channel surfing the other night, I came across George Carlin on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. During discussions that ranged in topic from the FCC’s crackdown on indecency in broadcasting to the war on terrorism, both the comedians stressed the undue influence of religion on American Culture. Carlin asserted: “At the base of most of the evil in the world is religion of any kind.”... |
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| 3/15/2004 | What is indecent | | | In the weeks following Janet Jackson’s televised Super Bowl halftime breast flashing, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell promised to get tough on broadcasters who violate FCC-imposed decency standards. Congress has held several hearings on the matter insisting that broadcasting executives appear before House and Senate committees and listen to teary-eyed speeches from insincere politicians... |
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| 3/8/2004 | Clean plates tabled for good | | | When I was growing up, my mother insisted that I eat everything put before me – whether it was piping hot or stone cold when I ate it -- was up to me. I recall plenty of evenings spent sitting all alone at the dinner table staring down at a serving of ice-cold broccoli. And the Lord help me if I tried to sneak the food into the trash or down the commode!.. |
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| 3/2/2004 | Sentiments about ‘Passion’ overblown | | | Mel Gibson’s controversial new film, The Passion of the Christ, was unfairly criticized as being anti-Semitic for a full year before its release last Wednesday. Those attacks have continued and new charges of gratuitous violence have been added. Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman who declared the movie "will fuel hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism," has since backed away from that statement and is now referring to the film as merely ‘insensitive.’... |
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| 3/1/2004 | Trust: the Common Bond of Credibility | | | During an anti-George-Bush rant, a friend demanded, "What about those weapons of mass destruction?" Oddly enough, a year and a half ago, she (along with a lot of other folk) had refused to make a similar demand of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former dictator... |
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| 2/23/2004 | What's Worth Remembering? | | | As Valentine’s Day approached, I decided to ask my wife what she remembered about my marriage proposal. I expected her to blush and then smile. Maybe she’d sidle up next to me and give me a kiss. She hesitated then told me it was distinguished only by how forgettable it was. After taking an honest look at my effort, I am forced to agree with her... |
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| 2/16/2004 | Relating to Race | | | Prior to the Super Tuesday Democratic primaries at the beginning of February, the candidates suddenly began stressing the need for this country to improve race relations... |
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| 2/9/2004 | Sporting the Unexpected | | | As a boy, I remember tagging along with my father to watch Superbowl III (Three) at our friend Doctor Hayes’ house. He had the game on his new color television! During the halftime show, there was a marching band, a few baton twirlers and some pom-pom girls... |
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| 2/2/2004 | Civility and Politics | | | The bloody war fought in this country between 1861 and 1865 settled the question of slavery and transformed the country from a union of autonomous states into a nation driven by egalitarian free-labor capitalism... |
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| 1/26/2004 | Love, Leadership Motivates Action | | | On January 14, Rheim Riyashi, a 22–year-old Palestinian mother of two, distinguished herself by becoming the first woman to carry out a suicide bombing for the Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas... |
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| 1/12/2004 | A Good Time to Take Time | | | This week marks the 75th anniversary of the birth of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In honor of his birth, I had planned to spend the entire week researching speeches and essays by Dr. King and then offer a tribute in the form of a few thoughts on our nation’s debt to his leadership and sacrifice... |
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| 1/3/2004 | Heroes and Manhood | | | “…If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run yours is the earth and all that’s in it and what is more, you will be a man my son.”... |
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