Prime Time Warrior Wins Again

By Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour

President Barack Obama shakes hand with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Summit of the Americas in Tranidad-Tobago.

Despite the insistence of the U.S. press that President Barack Obama is not yet ready for domestic and international prime time, we are witnessing the opposite based on his track record of success as measured by unprecedented favorable public praise both at home and abroad. The latest to join the harmonious chorus is President Hugo Chavez. Before he ever met President Obama, the U.S. press proclaimed that Chavez had declared Obama “ignorant,” therefore advised the President not to attend the Summit of the Americas, recently held in Trinidad. Nevertheless, because of vital issues facing critical United States interests, the President elected to attend and contribute, and by any measure, he hit the ball out of the skeptics’ ballpark. Among other positives indicators: the vast majority, if not all, of the delegates were seen requesting autographed pictures with President Obama; the smiling and admiring President Chavez not only extended the right hand of diplomatic friendship to President Obama, he unabashedly declared him “ a very Intelligent leader.” In addition, Chavez promised to quickly send a new ambassador to the United States as proof of his intentions to turn the diplomatic page. At the same time the leaders of Cuba publicly declared that Cuba is ready, willing and anxious to make a new diplomatic leap. In their collective voices, for the first time, they stated publicly that “all outstanding issues are on the table including issues of democracy, alleged political prisoners and trade.”

Oakland, AC Transit and BART Get over $16 Million in Federal Grants

Alameda County and the City of Oakland will receive over $529,000 in funding for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, provided through a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant. Additionally, both the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) systems will be receiving over $16 million in FEMA grants through the Transit Security Grant Program.
The funds, made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,include Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA awards to Alameda County of $316,387 and to the  City of Oakland of  $213,315. The Department of Homeland Security FEMA awards included $14,235,223 to BART and $1,936,142 to AC Transit.
“The funds can be used for a broad range of services, including mass shelter, mass feeding, food distribution through food pantries and food banks, one-month assistance with rent, mortgage and utility payments to prevent evictions, and transition assistance from shelters to stable living conditions,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
“Additionally, the transit security grants will help to ensure that our transit systems are operating in a safe manner for the people of the Bay Area,” Lee said.
“In these tough economic times, these grants will provide much needed relief and resources to the people of my district and help those that have been affected by the economic downturn get back on their feet.”

John Hope Franklin, Revered Historian, 94

 

Duke University professor John Hope Franklin, a revered historian of life in the South and the African-American experience, has died. He was 94.

Duke says Franklin died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at the university’s hospital in Durham.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Franklin broke numerous color barriers during his career.

He was the first Black department chair at a mostly white institution and the first Black president of the American Historical Association.

Franklin was part of the team of scholars who assisted Thurgood Marshall to win Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that outlawed the “separate but equal” doctrine in the nation’s public schools.

 “Our nation lost a mighty scholar and soldier for justice. We mourn the loss and celebrate the life of John Hope Franklin as we remember his trailblazing achievements in a variety of fields,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who chairs of  the Congressional Black Caucus.

“For many African Americans our first introduction to black history was through Dr. Franklin’s book “From Slavery to Freedom.” In its pages we found an account of American history that affirmed the dignity of black people and the nobility of our struggle.

“Dr. Franklin was not only a noted historian, but also living history himself. His accomplishments are as many as they are great.

“One of Dr. Franklin’s earliest and most important contributions was as a member of the team of scholars who worked with Thurgood Marshall to win the landmark school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education.

“Today we greatly mourn Dr. Franklin’s passing and the loss of his wise counsel, but we will be forever grateful for his lasting contributions.”

Three Adventist Families Killed in US Plane Crash Outside Cemetery

By Michael Ireland

Chief Correspondent, 

ASSIST News Service

 

BUTTE, MONTANA  — Three Seventh-day Adventist families were among the 14 victims killed in a March 22 airplane crash in Butte, Montana.

 Among the dead were a dentist, an ophthalmologist, a dental hygienist and a pediatrician. Besides the seven adults, there were at least seven children on board the plane.

According to the Adventist News Network (ANN) and Adventist News Agency (APD), based in Basel/Switzerland, all three families were members or regular attendees at congregations in Northern California.

The three husbands were longtime friends who attended both church-owned Pacific Union College and Loma Linda University.

Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it could be months before a cause is determined.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) regional office in Renton, Washington, said a total of 14 people on board the single-engine turboprop aircraft — seven adults and seven children — were killed when the plane crashed and burned 500 feet from the runway at Bert Mooney Airport in Butte, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The plane had crashed into Holy Cross Cemetery in Butte, officials said.

The news agency says that while the Butte Coroner’s office has not yet officially released the names of the victims, media reports and family members confirm Dr. Erin Jacobson, an ophthalmologist; his wife, Amy Feldkamp Jacobson, a dental hygienist; and children Ava, 3, and Taylor, 4, and Jude, 2, were among the victims. The Jacobson’s resided in St. Helena, California.

Also confirmed as victims were Loma Linda University alum Dr. Michael L. Pullen of Galt, California, who had a dental practice in Valley Springs, his wife Dr. Vanessa Feldkamp Pullen, a pediatrician and Amy’s sister, and the Pullen’s children Sydney and Christopher. The Pullens were said to be members of the Lodi-English Oaks Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lodi, California. Michael Pullen also held a degree in engineering, the Web site for his dental practice said.

The third known set of victims are the family of Dr. Brent D. Ching, a dentist from Chico, California, his wife, Kristen, and their two children. Ching was a 1998 graduate of Loma Linda University’s School of Dentistry, LLU officials confirmed.

Church officials said the tragedy was a loss to the Adventist community. “Tragedies such as this remind us of the importance of our belief in the blessed hope,” said Don C. Schneider, president of the church in North America. “It is at the second coming of Jesus Christ that events such as this will be eternally healed.”

At a March 23 press briefing, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer told reporters, “I’m sure that this evening and tomorrow evening, moms and dads, families all over Montana will say an extra prayer for these children and these families.”

How to Make Donations to Officers’ Families

The Oakland Police Officers Association has set up three trust accounts so far for the families of the fallen officers, and Friday the city is holding a public memorial service at the Oracle Arena.

Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, of Tracy; Erv Romans, 43, of Danville; and Dan Sakai, 35, of Castro Valley, died Saturday after being shot by Lovelle Mixon, 26, who officers had pulled over for a traffic stop. Police later killed Mixon.

Motorcycle Officer John Hege, 41, of Concord, died Monday at Highland Hospital. Sgt. Pat Gonzales was grazed in his SWAT helmet, and a bullet passed through his shoulder. He was treated and released Saturday.

Members of the public  may contribute by wire transfer or check to the trust funds that were set up for the families.

Wire transfers should be made directly to the following Merrill Lynch accounts: the Dunakin Children’s Family Trust, account No. 204-04065; the Romans Children’s Family Trust, account No. 204-04066; and the Sakai Family Trust, account No. 204-04064. No fund had been set up as of Monday afternoon on behalf of Hege.

Personal checks can be sent to the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, attn.: Rennee Hassna, 555 Fifth St., Oakland, CA 94607. Checks should be made payable to the Dunakin Children’s Family Trust; the Romans Children’s Family Trust; or the Sakai Family Trust.

A public memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way in Oakland. Organizers are asking attendees to arrive early.

Lynum Elected President of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials

 Orlando, Fla. – Orlando Commissioner Daisy W. Lynum was elected 2009 president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) this week during the group’s annual membership meeting at the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Congress of Cities in Orlando.

The Congress of Cities is the National League of Cities’ annual conference for city leaders. It encourages city leaders to exchange best practices and new program ideas that provide economic opportunities, make available more affordable housing, ensure public safety, and allow more effective interaction with state and federal agencies.

Lynum was first elected to the Orlando City Council in 1998, where her primary focus for Orlando citizens has been quality of life through sustainable neighborhoods. She is a member of NLC’s Bo ard of Directors and the Florida League of Cities. [Read more]

History!!

Senator Barack Hussein Obama will make history on November 4, 2008 by becoming the first African-American to be elected President of the United States of America. The Post News Group and its publisher Paul Cobb proudly endorses him and urges all to vote for him and our slate of candidates in Tuesday’s election.

Sarah Palin’s Record on Alaska Native and Tribal Issues

By Sue Taylor,
Special to the Post

The silence surrounding Sarah Palin’s “real” views is about to be broken on her record with Alaska’s Native tribes.
“Almost half the nation’s Native tribes are located in Alaska – most of them using subsistence fishing and hunting to have any food to eat.  Most are poor – way below poverty level. About 20% of all tribes are in California,” says a local Native-American attorney, who asked not to be identified.
“With Alaska and California having almost 70% of all Native tribes, it’s important to know how they are treated by current political leaders.”
Just as African Americans did, many Native-Americans did not vote until tribes fought for the right to vote and to have polling places on the tribal lands, not somewhere hundreds of miles away.
“Yes, these are recent fights,” says the local Berkeley attorney.  [Read more]

“Obama: From Promise to Power” by David Mendell

c.2007, Amistad    $14.95 paperback  

406 pages, includes notes

Enjoying 2008?

For some of us, it’s been a year of new beginnings, new possibilities, and new adventures. For others, it’s been one of comforting predictability and a happy dearth of change.

For all of us, it’s a year campaign ads and – ultimately – a moving van at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Have you made up your mind to which candidate you’ll throw support?  If your opinion isn’t set in concrete, read “Obama: From Promise to Power” by David Mendell. It might not change your thinking, but it might make you take a second look.

Born to a white woman who was originally from Kansas, and a father born and raised in Kenya, Barack Obama is a self-admitted child of many cultures. When Barack (who was born in Hawaii and named for his father) was two years old, Obama Sr. left the family to attend Harvard, then returned to his native country.  Despite the abandonment, Obama’s mother painted her ex-husband in a very favorable light and taught her son positive history about African American culture.  [Read more]

“Hopes and Dreams: The Story of Barack Obama” by Steve Dougherty

c.2007, Black Dog & Leventhal 

$9.95 / $12.95 Canada 128 pages

According to a Gallup survey taken last month, 94% of Americans queried said they’d be willing to vote for an African American candidate for president next year, which leads politicians from both sides to wonder:

Will 2008 be the Year of Obama? 

No matter how you answer that question, you owe it to yourself to learn about all the candidates first, before you head to the polls.  In the new biography “Hopes and Dreams: The Story of Barack Obama” by Steve Dougherty, you’ll read about the charismatic Senator who might just make history.

When Barack Obama, “an utterly obscure Illinois state senator”, was tapped to give the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, many people were surprised.  One of them was Obama himself.  Afterward, politicians from both parties hailed it as one of the greatest keynote speeches in memory, and Americans sat up and took notice. [Read more]

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