John Kerry & The Democratic Offensive

John Kerry is finally showing some damn heart.

Here is the video of him talking about how G. W. Bush is trying to distort his words from earlier this week about the troops and the Iraq occupation. Here is the transcript of the video. John Kerry’s official written response is here.

What we are seeing here is a grown man grow a backbone. During the election of 2004, Kerry was coached into playing the passive liberal, and not defending himself against personal attacks and not attacking his opponent rigorously. What this exchange between Kerry and the GOP establishment demonstrates is that you have to confront these people and call them out when they lie, elsewise they will keep doing so. Bill Clinton did this earlier this year, and I don’t doubt that Kerry took a page from the former president here.

Republicans want to equate liberalism with weakness. More steadfast rebuttals of right-wing distortions will destroy such math.

Does this make you respect Kerry more? Less?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Politics
Democrats
Iraq

How to Suppress Discussions of Racism

I’ve been talking a lot about racist indifference lately. Today, I came across a blog with an entry entitled, “How to Suppress Discussions of Racism.” The entry is a joke, poking fun at individuals that try to defend themselves after they do/say racist things, but what is sad is that people really, seriously do this.

Here are the 6 points from the post:

1. Control what your audience sees
2. Attack the person, not the argument
3. Argue against straw men
4. Deflect attention away from the specific criticism
5. Racism, however ugly, is better than the alternative
6. Prove your opponent has mistaken some other quality for racism

Do any of these sound familiar? They should because people do this every single day.

One Love. One II.

Categories
Race

Blackface Insult

A blogger has created an image that shows CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer in blackface. I’m no fan of Blitzer, and think he’s a bit of a pawn, but I wouldn’t create an image like this of my worst enemy. Here is the same blogger’s response to people’s criticism of him.

The guy makes valid, “He who is without sin cast the first stone”-esque points, but I don’t think that this excuses the act or the criticism of it. I do not understand why people do resort to racist imagery when they don’t like someone or someone’s stance(s) on issue(s). The only way I can understand it is that they must want people to get all hot-and-bothered about it. But how far should one be willing to go to get attention? Does this bother you, or is it no big deal? Does it bother you less because Wolf Blitzer is not Black?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Race

Angel’s Night: A Model for People-Powered-Policy

October 30th, the day before Halloween, has in the past been referred to as Devil’s Night in Detroit. This has been a night notorious for violence, vandalism, and arson. Over the last 10 years, a lot of work has been done to change that. USA Today has an article that is talking briefly about this.

This is a great example of what I’ll called People Powered Policy. People Powered Policy is anything that starts as a volunteer or community effort that grows so greatly and quickly that politicians have no choice but to become participants. For those that “don’t like politics” or who “don’t care about politics,” understand that politics is not always conducted by politicians. Politics is action-focused conversation. Angel’s Night began because people got together, voiced their concerns for their safety, the safety of their children, and the safety of their community on this night before Trick-or-Treat Day. From that meeting, from those conversations, action was born. This should be a model for making positive changes any and everywhere that change is needed.

Look here for more info on Angel’s Night. Note that this is an official City of Detroit website.

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Detroit
Community Service
Politics

Empowering Yourself, Empowering Your Community

This weekend, I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at the CLIMB Rally. CLIMB (Communities Learning to Invest and Mobilize for Business) is an initiative that works to increase financial literacy and awareness in inner-city communities in Wisconsin. I have been working closely with this organization since 2004 and it has been a rewarding experience. Originally in outline format, I have converted, to the best of my memory, the speech to prose form. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Truth and Peace,
Steve

It is an honor and a privilege to stand before you today. I am humbled that I was chosen for the keynote spot. The lunch hour is always a difficult slot to fill, so I will try to make this as brief and painless as possible.

When I was first asked me to speak on EMPOWERING YOURSELF, EMPOWERING YOUR COMMUNITY, I was at a loss. I thought, I am only 23 years old, and I am not a professional speaker. What do I know? Sure I had written a few articles and done a little volunteer work, but what qualified me to speak on such a deep topic? Well, the most important qualification I could think of is that I LOVE MY COMMUNITY and I genuinely WANT TO SEE PEOPLE LIVE TO THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL. I am not much of a public speaker, I am more of a conversationalist. With that said, I have a few words, but what I really want to have is a dialogue with you, the beautiful people who make up the COMMUNITY of MILWAUKEE. So after I get done, if there are any comments or questions you have, I am open to them.

Empowering the Community

Since we are in a church, I figure it would be appropriate if I took my text for today from the GOOD BOOK. We gonna go to church for a minute. I was raised in a Christian household, so a lot of my life lessons come from the Word. I know service isn’t until tomorrow, but bear with me.

In the book of Joshua, specifically Joshua 4:1-9, God has parted the Jordan river and the Israelites have just crossed into the PROMISE LAND after 40 years of wandering in the WILDERNESS. GOD tells Joshua to memorialize this moment of crossing over by choosing a man from each tribe and have them grab a boulder and make a heap of stones.

1. He says, “THAT it may be a memorial among you, that when your CHILDREN ask their FATHERS in the time to come, saying, WHAT DO THESE stones signify?” v.6

2. “Then ye shall answer them, THAT THE WATERS of JORDAN were cut off before the ARK of the COVENANT of the Lord: when it passed over Jordan, the waters of JORDAN were cut off: and these stones shall be a memorial unto the children of ISRAEL for ever.” v. 7

B. Legacy

When I was doing my research, I came across this passage and I got to thinking: All threw out the Bible, the Israelites memorialized everything. Yet as a group, the Jews have been through some of the most systematic persecution the world has ever seen; from the expulsion from Rome, to the Crusades, to the Holocaust. Yet, today, they manage to own almost everything. And they have tremendous solidarity as a community. How is this possible? I came up with one answer: The Power of Legacy.
In order to talk effectively about subject matter, we need some definitions.

1. Legacy is defined in the dictionary as “ANYTHING HANDED DOWN FROM AN ANCESTOR; AN INHERITANCE.”
a. Traditionally for the rich (e.g. property, a coat of arms, written works, etc.) because the poor did not own anything. It granted them IMMORTALITY because every time their children or great grand-children sat down in that BIG HOUSE or spent that MONEY, it forced them to REMEMBER who made that possible.

b. LEGACIES are formed by mindsets that have been cultivated over time.
i. EXPERIENCES
ii. EXPECTATIONS
iii. UNDERSTANDING/INTERPRETION OF THESE EXPERIENCES AND EXPECTATIONS. BUT MOSTLY, WE DO WHAT WE SEE.

For example, my little brother and sister, when they were little, would watch me talk on my cell phone and walk around the house. When they were able to walk and talk, they began to do the same thing. Then I remembered, I saw my dad do that everytime he got on the phone. We do what we see.

Why are legacies important? CONNECTS us to the past, GIVES us WISDOM, GUIDANCE and STRENGTH for the Present, and HOPE for the future. It also makes us accountable for the things we have received and what we will pass on.

2. Community: A group of PEOPLE living TOGETHER as a smaller social UNIT within a larger one with interests in COMMON. A group of PEOPLE with COMMON legacies.
a. Communities are built on TRADITIONS, which is a type of legacy.
i. In fact, COMMUNITIES exist for the SOLE PURPOSE of PERPETUATING these LEGACIES, which are ways of doing things.

With these definitions, it leads to two interesting questions: What have you inherited? And what legacy will you leave behind? We need to take a critical eye towards our legacies. For example, soul food is a bedrock of the African-American experience, but the way it is traditionally prepared is killing us. We are suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure as a result of these foods. Legacies can hurt us when they outlive their usefulness.

My own family was not rich, but they things they lacked materially, they made up for in training and maintaining the family. CHURCH FAMILY, INTEGRITY, SACRIFICE, and CONCERN for one another was of crucial importance. Whenever I would go off to school, my parents would always say, “You are a reflection of us, do not do anything that will dishonor the family.” It was this groundedness and upbringing that has made me the man I am today. Seeing my grandfather interact with my grandmother and his children. Seeing my father and mother do what they did and take the time to teach me about life and my roots that made all the difference.

Consequently, I grew up immensely concerned with my legacy. Everything I did was done to make God and my family proud of me; and also to put my children in a better position than I was in. This is what led me to get involved with the Weekly Dream and The Superspade. I felt that every man should have a legacy and I wanted to memorialize the lessons I had learned to guide my children, to keep them on the path set before them. I thought about the stories my father told me that helped me through my rough times, and I wondered, what stories could I tell them? Those stories and lived experiences helped me through my own tough times when I came to that same fork in the road.

If we look at the LEGACY we are leaving our children, can we be proud? Our parents inherited the legacy of the Civil Rights Era, community activism and social awareness and empowerment. But my generation and the ones after us are seeing one of violence, drugs, absentee fathers, and poverty. Are we equipping them with the tools they will need to FACE TOMORROW and To COMPETE in this global economy?

Empowering the person

This leads me to the second part of the equation: Empowering the person. If we want the community to get better, we must get better. When the people get better, our community will get better. In order for us to get better, WE NEED TO GET OUR HOUSE IN ORDER. So allow me to present the Steven M DeVougas 4-Point Plan for Getting Your Life Together (patent pending).

First, Get a VISION. You need a revelation of your purpose and potential. In Proverbs it says that where there is no vision, the people perish. If you do not know who you are or what you are suppose to be doing, abuse and neglect sets in. I am a big proponent of asking the hard questions and seeking the truth. If you have more questions than we have answers, that is all right. The questions will lead you to your vision. And your vision will guide you actions and fuel your passion. So ask yourself:
1.) AM I LIVING THE LIFE I WANT TO LIVE?
2.) AM I MAKING THE MOST OF WHAT I HAVE?
3.) AM I FULFILLING MY DESTINY?

From the sixth grade on, I had one goal: To get out of my mama’s house and go off to college as far away from Milwaukee as possible. This goal carried me through grade school, high school, college and into grad school. Now, I am searching for a new vision to build and orient my life around, to fuel my passion and take me to the next level. After years of chasing this one vision and achieving it, I have to begin the process anew. That is the soul-searching I am currently undergoing so that I may achieve my destiny.

Second, Make the DECISION. And keep making the decision, to chase your dream and fulfill the vision. TALK to people who are making it happen. DON”T miss out because you didn’t open your mouth or seek the answers. INCREASE your awareness daily. WE ARE IN A WAR, with ourselves, for our communities, for our families. And change is not going to come easy. We are going to have to fight to the end.

THIRD, CONTROL what you can. You might not be able to save the world, but you can influence those around you and be a local catalyst for change. You might not be able to stop the war in Iraq or the atrocities in Darfur, but you can change what is going on right outside your door, right here, in this city. Take control and be accountable for your actions. SPEAK UP: Talk to your family and friends about legacy and what they are doing with their lives and talent. Bring them to things like the CLIMB rally, so that they can see a different way of doing things. Remember, we tend to do what we see.

Fourth: KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER. Help others and be a resource. Remember, it is bigger than you. SERVE with your gifts. That is why God gave them to you. Not everyone is built for visiting the prison or working in a homeless shelter, but you can do something that you enjoy that serves others, and that is how we glorify the Creator. Keep an eye toward your legacy and capitalize on it. A lot of times, we do not think that the things we possess has value outside of our family or community, but we all possess something the world needs. As a community and a people, we miss out on wealth creation and opportunity because of this limited thinking.

I will share a story that typifies this. At my family reunion last year, I learned that my great-grandfather had a BBQ sauce so good, that people in a tri-state area would come to his rib shack just to taste it. When I learned of this, I thought, wow, my family could be a BBQ sauce dynasty. When I inquired about where the recipe was, the answer I got was, “we don’t know, nobody ever wrote it down”. As a result, Sweet Baby Ray’s wears the BBQ crown.

Conclusion

Sounds simple? I do not have all of the answers, but this is how it seems to me. If we empower ourselves by being our best selves, then our community will be a reflection of that. It cannot be about me and mine, because we are all connected. When we move from a ME mentality to a WE mentality, then change will occur. But if we do not SHARE information and RESOURCES, nothing will change.

WE need each other and MILWAUKEE needs us. OUR city needs leaders who are not AFRAID to SPEAK UP, but who have enough LOVE in their hearts for the CITY and the COMMUNITY to stop and make a difference. The surest way to empower yourself and the community is to WALK in LOVE and LIVE THE TRUTH. Live a life consistent with what you know is right. What will the heap of stones you leave behind say about you?
I encourage everyone to check us out on www.thesuperspade.com and support some young brothers trying to make a difference in our own little way. THANK YOU and I WISH ALL OF YOU TRUTH AND PEACE in this pursuit of EXCELLENCE and financial freedom.

Categories:
money
blackissues

Stop Asking Stupid Questions

What’s up fam, how is everything?

What really grinds my gears is watered-down conversation. What do I mean? I am talking about those bland lines that we all fall victim to in everyday conversation. Examples involving people we don’t know include: So what do you do? Where are you from? /Where do you live? The last question is usually connected to the event and/or environment you are at. It wouldn’t be so bad if the person asking these questions didn’t make so many assumptions and deductions based off the answers to these questions. And because so many of us think we know so much after these types of questions, the art of the follow-up has diminished. Additionally, and I think sadly, we don’t take time to appreciate the stories that make each of us unique which in turn prevents us from learning invaluable life lessons.

But what’s worse is that we have the same old tired conversations with people we care about. You know exactly what I’m talking about. How are you doing? How is your significant other? How is the baby? How is work coming along? All of these questions are not unimportant but imagine how much more meaningful our conversations would be if instead, we asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?” “I know you said everything is fine, so what goals are you working towards?” “How is your relationship with God?”

By asking questions like this, we cut through all the unnecessary small talk and fast-forward to topics that might actually make a difference in each other’s lives. Real talk doesn’t just happen so let’s stop waiting for it to fall out of thin-air. So again, how is everything?

Stay up fam,

Categories:
Friendship

Didn’t Vote? You are Ignored.

This story ponders whether 2006 will be the Year of the Latino Voter. Whether that becomes true or not will be evident on Election Day, 7 Nov 2006.

The most important part of the article is the following (my emphasis added):
–
Latinos are now the largest minority in America. However, due to historically low registration and voting rates, they are nowhere near as politically powerful as the African American community. Politicians feel free to ignore Latinos and their issues, because they don’t vote.
–

Why is voting important? Because if you do not vote, you are giving politicians explicit permission to ignore you and the things that you care about. Why would you give someone who you might want to pay attention to you a reason not to do so?

To those who feel that even if they do vote that they will be ignored, understand the voting is not an isolated act. [Responsible] people who claim that they don’t vote because it “doesn’t matter” do other things to create change within their communities. What they fail to realize is that responsible people that do vote also do other things to create change within their communities. This is not a one-or-the-other, mutually exclusive choice. If the goal is change, why not try to change things in as many ways as possible?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Politics
Voting
Latin

The Weekly Dream-Simplify Your Life

Question of the Week: What do you worry about? How do you deal with worry?

“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
-Matthew 6:34

“Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated. With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow- I still have joy in the midst of these. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are me as a floating cloud”
-Confucius

I was listening to Lauryn Hill’s “X-Factor” and the first line really stuck with me. It opens “It could all be so simple…” And it is true, life, relationships, everything could all be so simple. The truth is normally simple. There is right and there is wrong, whether we like it or not. This naturally led me to ponder, if it could all be so simple, then why does life seem so complicated/dramatic?

So, I began on a quest to simplify my own life. I started with my workout. I went back to the basic exercises. I moved on to my diet, cutting out soda, sugar and processed foods. Pretty soon, it just mushroomed. After awhile, simplification became fun. I just focused on trying to do what I was supposed to do, when I was supposed to do it. And doing what I could with what I had.

Shades of Gray

I am not so naïve that I do not understand that situations are not always cut and dry. But how many of us are architects of our own destruction? Or by our actions/inaction, we make a bad situation worse? However, the real issue is the underlying motive. Some people are drama queens. They do not have enough to keep themselves occupied, so they stir up mischief. Riding emotional roller-coasters is what makes them feel alive. But I am going to assume that the majority of us do not fall into this category.

The vast majority of people are full of worry and anxiety. We are confronted by situations or overwhelmed by the demands of daily life and the first response is an emotional one. We worry about our family, what are significant other is doing, we worry about being made to look like a fool. We worry about keeping up with the Joneses. And these irrational worries often convolute what is real.

For example, I have talked ad nauseam about what a lack of trust will do to a realtionship, but you will be surprised at the number of people who go through their significant other’s cellphone, their Facebook/MySpace pages, mail, sock drawers, you name it, because they are worried about being played. The simple approach would be to talk to the person or to get out of that situation. But if you are happy, be happy and eventually the truth will come out. Why chase unhappiness?

Our desires and unfulfilled wishes are also a source of anxiety. This is a fundamental tenet of every religion. I know in a materialistic/consumer driven society, this is difficult. It is good to enjoy what life has to offer, but everything in proper perspective. Our lives are worth more than what we have and do not have. People are more valuable than what they can offer you or what you can offer them.

The more you desire things and they enter your heart, the more unfulfilled you will become and blind to the blessings around you. When you don’t count your blessings, you miss opportunites.

Human Nature

Naturally, as human beings, we are going to have worries and anxiety. The world is a scary place. But we must train ourselves to walk by faith and not by sight. Sounds simple right? We can start by simplfying what we can. Something I have been working on is being present. Focusing on the here and now. People are normally living in the past or looking towards the future. But how many of them are truly enjoying what they are doing now, in this moment. The past is for lessons and wisdom, the future is for hope, but the present is a gift to be enjoyed.

Cut out the unnecessary and get back to the essence. The first love, the beginning, the basics. Focus on what you really need and shut down your wants, for once. This is how to live contently.

Be confident. Know that whatever life has to dish out, you can meet head on. Do what is right, live the truth and things will work themselves out. Don’t worry about making mistakes, don’t worry about failing, don’t worry about getting hurt. Life is a contact sport, these things are gonna happen.

The trees don’t worry about the rain, they grow from it. You do the same.

Find happiness where you can. It’s the simple things that count the most.

Truth and Peace,
Steven M DeVougas

Categories:
The Weekly Dream
Relationships
Friendship

Do Political Ads featuring Celebrities Work?

There is an ad that advocates for stem cell research that features Michael J. Fox that was created and has been running over the last week. Fox is living with Parkinson’s Disease, and he and others believe that Embryonic Stem Cell Research can lead to a cure for his disease and other ailments in the future.

We talked earlier about whether endorsements of candidates by groups influenced your vote. The article in the first link says that this ad is effecting the opinions of potential voters. There has been a counter-ad put out by opponents of Stem Cell Research, and that ad can be seen here.

Do you find ads like this influential?
Could campaigns like this change your vote?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Politics
Voting
Stem Cell Research

Fewer Black Republicans?

First and foremost, I want people to vote. I am less concerned about what party or person that they vote than I am with people voting in the first place.

With that said, the L.A. Times says that Black and Latin people are re-evaluating whether or not they should vote Republican. The only reason that this is a story is because a number Black people voted Republican for the first time in 2004. This was because they were sold on a series of lies, including but not limited to these two:

Faith-Based Initiatives would finance programs by Black churches/in Black neighborhoods
This recently published book by David Kuo, former special assistant to the G. W. Bush from 2001 to 2003, deputy director of the White House office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, talks about how much of a joke that office was, and why he resigned from it.

Republicans don’t like same-sex marriage or abortion either
This is a different kind of lie. Republicans may not actually not like same-sex marriage or abortion. The problem here is that they tried to turn Black voters into single-issue voters. What is a single-issue voter? It’s a person who votes based on one thing and one thing alone. The ’single issues’ in 2004 were abortion and same-sex marriage. Why is that problematic? It’s problematic because those seeking power can use whatever your issue is to get you to vote against your own best interests on other issues. This not only happens on issues like abortion, but it is also a problem for people who’s issue is the so-called war on terror.

In voting, and in life, it is important to understand why we do the things we do. In order to do this, we have to step back and look at all of our motivations, decisions, and actions. The last thing I want to see is people doing things because they were deceived into doing them. I feel that this is what happened in 2004, and I don’t want to see that again.

One Love. One II.

Categories
Voting
Politics
Black Issues
Republican
Abortion
Same-Sex Marriage

Racially-charged Campaigns

House of Representatives Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. is running for the Senate in TN. He is one of two Black men who are in close contention for Senate Seats in the South, along with Republican Michael Steele.

Unfortunately, race has played a role in both of these elections. Harold Ford’s opponent, Republican Bob Corker, has run a TV ad with racist undertones against interracial dating and a radio ad with “Tom-Tom, jungle” drums playing during descriptions of Ford. Here’s the TV ad:

Steele has also been the subject of racial scrutiny in his election as well by supporters of his opponent.

Why must people resort to racism, racist indifference, or any other kind of evil to win elections? Stuff like this is what turns people off to “politics.” I have read that many think that being upset is a bit of an over-reaction, especially given the subtlety of the ads against Ford. So let me get this straight: it’s cool to send racist messages as long as they are not blatant? I argue that the subliminal approach could be much more sinister and effective than a full-frontal assaulty could be because it can persuade people who may not be aware that they’re being persuaded. The ability to do that is very powerful, and very dangerous. Be aware.

One Love. One II.

Categories
Politics
Voting
Black Issues
Black Men

What do you do with aborted babies?

A hospital in the UK has recently admitted that they dispose of aborted babies by burning them, similar to the way they dispose of other waste.

There have been mixed reactions to this, and that is evidenced pretty clearly in the comments section of the above article. The hospital decided to do this in order to save money, since this is cheaper than what they normally do with children miscarried before 24 weeks, according to the article.

This is an interesting debate. Is it ‘OK’ to do this? One commenter on the article said the following:
–
If women opt to have abortions, they ought to take responsibility for the disposal of or payment towards the disposal. It’s about time people started taking responsibility for their actions! The NHS should be about providing healthcare, NOT assisting life-style choices!
–

I think that sounds reasonable. Should that be the responsibility of people who have abortions? Would it be wrong for the government to require such payment (effectively an Abortion Tax)?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Abortion

The New Separate but Equal?

The Federal Government is voicing support for more single-sex classrooms and schools. The claim is that some studies have shown that single-sex environments lead to better academic results.

The part from the article that worries me is this (my emphasis added):
–
“School districts that go that route must also make coeducational schools and classes of ’substantially equal’ quality available for members of the excluded sex.”
–
That sounds a whole hell of a lot like separate but equal to me. That ideology was found to be unconstitutional.

I never attended a single-sex school or class, so I have no first-hand experience with this. Do people that did feel that they were better off because of that experience? Is anyone else as nervous as I am about resurrecting ’separate but equal’ rhetoric?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Education

Voting & The Paradox of Choice

I read an article today that talked the idea that people will usually choose what’s easiest or most convenient over what’s best (however best is defined). This probably explains why people don’t vote.

I think that most people that do not vote don’t do so because it is easier to not vote and not care. Caring, and in turn voting, means that you have to think about what’s going on, think about what you like and don’t like about your current situation, think about the future. Really thinking critically about the status quo is something people are often afraid to do because not only is it difficult, but because they are afraid that they may like what they see. People often surprise themselves when they analyze what really makes them do the things they do and not do the things they don’t. It’s often easier for people to live in a state of denial.

My challenge to myself in others is to refuse to live in denial. I do not believe that “ignorance is bliss.” I think that’s a lazy-apathetic-cop-out-a$sed way to exist. That’s not even living. It sounds like the Matrix to me.

We need to re-think our concept of ‘relevance.’ If we applied the same ‘how does this effect my situation?’ test to everything that we said/did, things would be a lot different. The question is, why do people so readily apply this to voting and don’t apply it to watching Desperate Housewives?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Politics
Voting

Do Endorsements Influence Your Vote?

During every election cycle, local and national newspapers, news channels, news agencies, local organizations, and national organizations voice their support for a particular candidate. They usually endorse a candidate because they believe that person will best govern their audiences and represent the interests of their group. For example, the Seattle Times recently endorsed Republican Mike McGavick in Washington’s senatorial election, for reasons that they call out in the article.

The only endorsement that matters in an election is your own, and you show that by voting on Election Day, 7 Nov 2006. The Seattle Times endorsing McGavick doesn’t make me like him any better.

Do you care who your newspaper, any part of the media, or any other organization endorses in local or national elections?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Politics
Voting

What had happened was…

This line is usually indicative of someone lying. And what do you know? The Bush administration is backtracking on the fact that “stay the course” actually meant, “stay the course.” According to Press Secretary Tony Snow, what had happened was

is that “What you have is not ’stay the course’ but in fact a study in constant motion by the administration.” In a number of previous posts, I have opened up with a quote by Socrates which states, “The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.” The following presents a perfect example of this principle at work. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Bush said with a straight face, “Listen, we’ve never been stay the course.” What’s so bad is that this line would actually be funny in a Bill Maher kind of way if the implications were not so grim.

In the same interview, Bush went on to say, “We have been — we will complete the mission, we will do our job and help achieve the goal, but we’re constantly adjusting the tactics. Constantly.” And before we get caught up in semantics, the fact remains that I (and I think many others share this concern) don’t have a clear understanding of what the goal is Mr. President. For surely if you can’t clearly define the goal, then it certainly won’t matter whether or not tactics have changed.

Getting back to Tony Snow’s comment about the Iraq strategy being a study in constant motion, it seems to me that this war has for the most part put into motion three things, lies, arrogance and stupidity. But just pause and think about how the world would be better if American military and foreign policy were guided by truth, humility, and wisdom.

Stay up fam,

Categories:
Bush
So called “war on terror”
politics

2 Companies, 2 Stories, 1 Opportunity

Ford had a bad day, announcing their worst loss in 10+ years. GM had a good day, as their stock hit a 52-week high.

Ford’s losses are bad news for a bunch of obvious reasons. What’s the worst? I think it’s the fact that after all of these plants close/move and people take their buyouts, there will be a tremendous influx of similarly qualified individuals all competing for jobs in the Detroit area that is already strapped for jobs to begin with.

Conversely, GM’s seemingly promising performance may mean that it’s not quite time to turn the lights off domestic car companies. The problem is, these companies will not be able to cut their way to profitability, and right now it seems like that’s mostly what they are trying to do.

There is a tremendous opportunity for individuals that will be taking buyouts or victims of plant closures/movements to begin to create their own businesses to service the needs of their peers (e.g. health services, technology training, etc.).

Perhaps the governor or the mayor could provide special tax credits/incentives for these individuals?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Automotive
Ford
GM
Entrepreneurship
Taxes

No Child Left Behind Cheats to Get Ahead

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a joke. BushCo’s flagship education policy has done little except add even more beuracracy to our educational system while doing little to improve student performance in math and reading, which was its goal.

It’s been in the news twice in recent days, but not for good things:

G. W. Bush’s brother Neil is set to make fat profits from NCLB single-bid contracts Bush’s brother and parents are lined up to make money off this.

Armstrong Williams, who was paid to endorse NCLB on his TV show in 2004, has agreed to pay back $34,000 of the money that he took
This guy was paid to get Black people to think that NCLB was a good thing. Note that in his settlement, he has admitted no wrong doing, since misleading Black people is cool. Why would one need to pay someone off to talk about a good program?

So add corruption to the beuracracy and lack of results to what NCLB has given us since its inception. Improving student performance is a great idea, but it doesn’t have to be done in shady ways.

One Love. One II.

Categories
Education
No Child Left Behind
Politics

Hurricane Depression

This is a story about a reporter in New Orleans and his bout with clinical depression following last year’s Gulf Coast Hurricanes.

Beyond the challenges of rebuilding people’s lives, homes, city infrastructure, government, and business, how are we addressing the mental health challenges brought about by these storms? Is this yet another piece of the recovery that has been overlooked?

The [lack of a] response or recovery effort from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is often framed in terms of race. However, mental health effects everyone of all races. Also, there are mental health challenges that befall volunteers and first-responders as well.

I think that these mental health challenges are more important to address than issues of rebuilding businesses and governments. Why is it then that the focus of the [alleged] recovery effort is on business and government?

One Love. One II.

Categories
New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina
Depression
Health
Mental Health

The Soldiers Die Young

I watch most of the “Sunday Morning Political Talk Shows.” The ones I watch are: Meet the Press, The McGlaughlin Group, and Face the Nation. Another show I watch, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, does a weekly segment called In Memoriam, where they list the names of soldiers that died in Iraq over the past week, as released by the Pentagon.

I watch this list every Sunday, and it upsets me for a whole lot of reasons, but here are a few:

We shouldn’t be there in the first d@mn place
For more on this, read these.

October is quickly becoming the deadliest month since we’ve been in Iraq
There have been more deaths this month than any month in the past 2 years.

The people who are dying are so young
Of the 29 names released this past week, 20 were under 25, including 2 18 year olds. That’s only one year older than me! It is absolutely criminal to make cannon fodder out of these young people by placing them into another country’s civil war.

It’s the same every week. A significant percentage of the military deaths have been men and women under the age of 25. I will not even get into the number of Iraqi people that have died.

What does this tell you about our leadership?
Given what we know now about our leadership, would you encourage anyone, young or old, to go fight in Iraq?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Iraq
So called “War on Terror”

‘Old’ Leadership

MSNBC is talking about how the current Congress is the oldest it has ever been.

I think that these ‘old’ heads are able to stay in office for so long for a couple main reasons:
1. The average age of americans and voters is increasing with the aging of the baby-boomers
I’d be that people feel more comfortable for either a peer on an elder before voting for someone younger than them.
2. It’s hard to beat an incumbent
The article talks about this. It is difficult, but possible, to unseat someone who is already in office.

What’s wrong with this picture?
It seems like if the populace is older, then should those that govern them be older as well?
Is part of the problem that young people have with politics that it is dominated by older people?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Politics
Voting

Republicans Ad refers to a Black Woman as a ‘ho’

Wow. There is a Republican radio ad running in a number of congressional districts that refers to Black Women as ‘hos.’ This is in the context of an ad that features a conversation between two Black men. Here is the excerpt from the ad (from the article, with my emphasis added):

–
“If you make a little mistake with one of your ‘hos,’ you’ll want to dispose of that problem tout suite, no questions asked,” one of the men says.
“That’s too cold. I don’t snuff my own seed,” the other replies.
“Maybe you do have a reason to vote Republican,” the first man says.
–

The ad is sponsored America’s PAC, a group with a history of targeting inflamatory, race-baiting, misleading ads at Black and Hispanic voters.

This is yet another example of why we need to pay close attention to the messages that are sent for us to consume. Regardless of where you stand on abortion, this is just crazy. The level of racist indifference toward the usage of this word towards Black women is reprehensible.

Am I over-reacting?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Politics
Voting
Abortion
Black Issues

Who Doesn’t Vote and Why

What drives some people to vote and others to stay home? The Pew Research center released a report on who votes, who does not, and tries to answer the question of why.

To summarize, they basically break adults into 4 categories, and then talk about each category:

Regular voters – The 35% of adults that ‘always’ vote.
Intermittent voters – The 20% of adults who are registered, but vote less regularly than Regular voters.
Registered but rare voters – The 23% of adults who rarely vote because most of the time (76%) they don’t think that they know enough about candidates issues to cast a ballot.
Unregistered adults – The 22% of the population who can’t/won’t vote because they are not registered or who’s registration has expired/lapsed.

There are a bunch stats, but the most telling to me [according to this research] are:

- Hispanic voters make up 40% of unregistered adults
- 18-29 year olds make up 40% of unregistered adults
- Republicans are more likely to be registered to vote than Democrats
- Non-voters are more like to distrust people in general than voters

What makes a conservative person more likely to participate by voting? I would think that the opposite would be true given that liberals generally support a more active government.

I can understand a non-voting person’s reluctance to trust a politician, but why do are these same people less likely to trust anyone?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Politics
Republican
Democrat
Trust

Scare Tactics

The Republican Party is about to launch an ad campaign that warns of coming terror attacks. Where do I begin on this…

The most interesting part of this is that this campaign will not directly tell people to vote Republican. My question is, why is it assumed that when people are scared that they will vote Republican? I know that if/when I’m afraid about something that is happening or has happened, I definitely would not want to support the people who put me in my position of fear in the first place.

Why would you vote for the status quo if they are scaring you on purpose?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Politics
Voting
Republican
So called “War on Terror

The Weekly Dream: Decisions, Decisions

Question of the Week: What determines how you vote?

I have been involved with The SuperSpade from its inception. And for all the political issues and topics we discuss, for all the awareness my brother Garlin brings everyday, one thing has eluded me: What is my “voting process?” With the upcoming elections, I believe this is extremely relevant.

I am all for civic duty, but when I turned 18, I noticed that voter education in this country was weak. First, most Americans do not understand the structure and intricacy of our governmental system. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone on the street whether America is a democracy or a republice and explain the difference. This is problematic for obvious reasons. If we do not know how the system works, then we do not know who does what.

Secondly, the media throws around a hodge-podge of issues and scandals, but there is not a scale or any mechanism I am aware of in order to evaluate and make sense of it all. To me, politics is like a high school popularity contest. This results in decisions being made based on sensationalist issues like abortion or gay marriage, in the wrong (i.e. presidential) race.

I find business far more interesting than politics, because I know that is who runs America (if you don’t believe me, look at the laws, but that is another debate). Furthermore, I hate being knowingly lied to, so politics is not high on my list. If we want to improve voter turnout, we should empower people with the tools and the process to make good political decisions. That way, voting does not just feel like an fruitless exercise. In addition, we must teach people how to leverage their votes and make the system work for them. Voting is just the starting point for civil involvement. Although Garlin may be better equipped to discuss this more thoroughly, I will share a few of my thoughts as to making better political decisions.

One Man, One Vote

First, understand the basics of our government: separations of powers, the Constitution, etc. You do not need to be an attorney, just know who does what. For instance, a lot of people voted for Bush because of his faith based movement or his stance on abortion. What he believes is fine and dandy, but those issues are not within his sphere of influence. Take abortion or gay marriage. Those are not issues for the federal government, those are state issues (according to the Supreme Court). Another example is how we blame Bush for the state of the country. While he is responsible for a good portion of the mess we are in, the real fault lies with our lame duck Congress. Bush’s job is to execute the mandates of the Congress. Congress approved and re-approved the Patriot Act. Congress has allowed the country to be sharply split among partisan lines. It is much easier for you personally to hold your state representatives accountable than to hold Bush directly accountable. But because in the aggregate, we do not understand the system, we are taken in by rhetoric.

Second, understand what issues are relevant to the particular office. This will tell you why you should care about a particular political race. In business, people are evaluated only on those things within their immediate sphere of control. It should be the same in politics. That way, I can hold my congressman or state legislator or mayor responsible for the relevant issues, things he can and should control.

Third, look at the candidates and yourself and where you stand on the pertinent issues. This will take a little sleuthing, but I suggest that you look at a wide variety of informational sources before forming an opinion. Because the truth is often in the middle.

According To Me

What you begin to realize is that your vote alone gives you one thing: The right to complain. True power in politics is attained either through people or profit. Either you have access and influence with a large audience or you got Microsoft money. Our Founding Father’s did this by design, as they were extremely afraid of ignorant factions and tyranny by the majority. Thus, only individuals with access to the most resources could attain the heights of political power. So, to overcome this inherent obstacle, we must pool our interests and resources together (read: lobby, organize).

Closing

This is how the game seems to me, right or wrong. But I am sure if you follow these instructions, at least you have a skeleton to make your vote more of a conscious decision. And once consciousness comes, accountability cannot help but follow.

Happy Voting.

Truth and Peace,
Steven M DeVougas

Categories:
Politics
The Weekly Dream

Pre-Election Day Voter Suppression

Republicans have reportedly been attempting to preemptively suppress the votes of Hispanic people in southern California. The misleading part of the letter, which was written in Spanish (didn’t the President say that the national language should be English?), was [translated] as follows (with my emphasis added):

–
“You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time.”
–

Now, according to the MSNBC article and US law, “In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote.” This is sinister, just like tactics that said that people who’ve been found “guilty of anything, even a traffic violation, can’t vote in the presidential election.”

The key thing to understand here is that voter suppression begins long before election day. We need to be on the look out for such tactics before 7 Nov 2006.

Have similar things happened in your areas? What’s the best way to combat this sort of thing?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Politics
Voting
Immigration

Credible Threats

I have been playing online chess as of late and it started to make me think about chess as a metaphor for life. In chess, the majority of the game can be boiled down to whether or not you respond to or can make credible threats. And while threats are appropriate for discussing chess, I mean threat as the attempt to achieve a goal.

For example, you may make a threat to take out your opponent’s queen but if that will leave your king vulnerable, then that threat is not credible and your opponent will make you pay for it. In the same way, if your opponent makes a credible threat on your king, but you deem it unimportant, this decision will put you at a serious disadvantage.

So with this paradigm, let’s explore how the idea of credible threats plays out in our everyday lives. For those of you who are Christians, you know that at least part of your decision to turn your life over to Christ was your believing in the credible threat that if you don’t accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will spend eternity in hell.

In relationships, if your partner makes a credible threat to leave you if you consider doing the thing that he/she dislikes, not taking them up on this threat will leave you out in the cold.

When you were growing up, many of us would try to duck out of our responsibilities until our parents said they would get the belt or take away some of our privileges.

Right now at General Motors, billionaire shareholder Kirk Kerkorian has made a credible threat to make GM seriously consider merging with another automotive manufacturer. “To bolster its defense, GM has retained two heavyweight investment banking firms… to help prepare for a potential Kerkorian-led proxy fight or other hostile action. The first specific actions were taken Oct. 3, when the GM board changed its bylaws to make it tougher for Kerkorian to elect a slate of directors or put strategic issues to a direct vote of GM shareholders.”

Right now, the Bush administration is trying to threaten North Korea to stop testing nuclear weapons. But with our current engagements in the Middle East, this threat is not exactly credible. The same logic holds true for Iran’s supposed nuclear weapons program.

If you are trying to make a threat to request a loan to start your own business but lack proper preparation and don’t have adequate back-up plans, the bank will not feel compelled to grant you that loan.

When applying to college/grad school, failure to make a credible threat that you are not only prepared but uniquely deserving of admission will make admissions counselors call your bluff.

What I have learned playing chess is that in life, we must always prepare for and respond to credible threats. We also should never make threats that are not credible.

There are so many different angles I could take this but I want to know if you have ever underestimated a credible threat coming your way or failed to make credible threats. What were the consequences?

Stay up fam,

Categories:
choices
misc

Third way out of Iraq

So I read an interesting article today by Jonah Goldberg in the L.A. Times entitled, “Iraq was a worthy mistake.” In the article, Jonah makes underwhelming arguments as it pertains to insignificance of not finding WMD’s and how “the administration did not anticipate a low-intensity civil war in Iraq.” But after fighting through the end of the article, Goldberg (in classic Clintonian fashion) talks about the possible third way out of Iraq. His third way calls for a national Iraqi poll asking whether or not they want coalition troops to stay.

He goes on to say, “If Iraqis voted “stay,” we’d have a mandate to do what’s necessary to win, and our ideals would be reaffirmed. If they voted “go,” our values would also be reaffirmed, and we could leave with honor. And pretty much everyone would have to accept democracy as the only legitimate expression of national will.”

I think it is insulting to ask the Iraqi people whether they think we should leave or not, especially considering the fact we didn’t ask the Iraqis to invade their country. And do you really think after the hundreds of billions of dollars we spent in invading and rebuilding Iraq coupled with the enormous drive to save face, coalition forces would allow their fate to rest with the voice of the Iraqis?

And what’s worse, between the criticism of Democrats that voted for the war and calls for Donald Rumsfeld to resign, there is a deafening silence in holding Bush accountable for his mistakes. Just as you would think the Foley scandal would have happened last year if you follow mainstream news, Bush has already blamed intelligence failures on the CIA and before it’s all said and done, Rumsfeld will be blamed for not properly executing the war. So don’t let war fatigue make you ignore the dangerous times we live in.

Do you think there is a third way for Iraq? If so, what do you propose?

Stay up fam,

Categories:
politics
waronterror
bushadministration

The SuperSpade at 300

The SuperSpade turns 300 with this writing. I am humbled by the people who have been fervent supporters of us and what we are trying to do with this space. Every time we hit another 100 posts, we like to talk about the things we’ve been doing with this SuperSpade movement and talk a bit about where we are looking to go in the future.

The goal of this space is to engage in dialogue about current issues and events of importance, as well as themes that are relevant to life as a whole. We want this dialogue to result in real actions that we can take to improve our everyday lives. We generally talk a great deal about political issues, but we touch on other subjects as well, with features such as Steve’s Weekly Dreams or Brandon’s Friendship Series to name a couple. The reason that our focus is primarily political is that we also seek to promote understanding about how these issues tangibly affect our daily lives. Why does it matter who is on the Supreme Court? Why do interest rates matter to everyone? These are the types of answers that we want to make real to people. This will help realize my vision of an informed, active, conscientious populace that will not make decisions based on ignorance or deception.

Readers may have noticed over the past week or so that there has been a slight change in format on the site, a change that is a direct result of feedback that I have received from a number of you. One big thing that people have said is that the average length of our writings makes it difficult for people to read and comment.

So, I have decided to give this shorter post thing a chance. The short-form pieces will have 3 parts. Here is what you can expect:

1. An intro to the subject, that will usually include at least one link to whatever the subject is
2. An opinion and/or reaction to the subject
3. A discussion question for us and the readers

The goal with this space is to engage in dialogue that we have on the site. We would like to see this dialogue in the comments section of the posts, so hopefully this change will help that to happen. This is the first of many things we will be rolling out over the next few months to give people a variety of ways to contribute to the discussions and conversations here at The SuperSpade.

Because the post length is shorter, this will allow us to write more posts about more topics. I think that’s a good thing because it will give everyone a nice variety of issues to chime in on. We will still have our bread-and-butter long-form articles, but there will be fewer of them. If the response is positive to this new format, then we will stick with it. Please show us how you feel by leaving comments and emailing us at TheSuperSpade@gmail.com. Also don’t forget to check out our categories section and archives on the right side for access to older pieces.

One Love. One II.

Categories:
SuperSpade

Loneliness, Black Men and Friendships: Part V

Last week, we touched on the single brothers but today we are shifting our focus to brothers in relationships. Whenever I am in relationships, whoever I am with becomes my best friend. And if I’m not mistaken, I am sure many other brothers understand that feeling via experience. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Can we keep it real though?

Now if you have a woman that can enjoy watching sports (and you know how bad it can get during the playoffs), cook up a good meal, and can easily navigate between beauty queen and tomboy, isn’t it hard to not consider her your best friend?

My theory
My theory is that men are much more prone to consider their girlfriends their best friends than vice versa. I feel this way for a couple of reasons. For one, I think that a woman is better capable at balancing their friend life and their relationship life. Moreover, many men have become enamored with the idea of a “ride or die” chick such that when their girlfriend exhibits traits of loyalty, they get really excited whereas a woman not so much. So what this means is that when a woman wants to go shopping and the guy says he’ll pass, the woman will leave without thinking anything at all. On the other hand, I think if a man wants to watch a basketball game with his girl and she passes, I think men take that more personally than a woman would.

Hanging out
But can there be negative ramifications of having your woman as your best friend? I think so. For starters, I have found it difficult to make time to hang out or talk with my friends. To be clear, it is not a matter of being on lock down. It’s just that I wouldn’t choose to be with someone unless we had massive fun enjoying each other’s company. Having said that, I found myself having conversations like this;

My guy friend: B, what’s good man? What do you have up for tonight?

Me: Nothing much man, just chillin’ with my girl.

My guy friend: Well, if you don’t have anything up, we are going to roll out to the SuperSpade Lounge.

Me: I think I am going to pass today, maybe next week though.

If any man can say that they have been in a long term relationship and have not had a conversation like that, they are lying. However, the point I am trying to drive home is that conversations like that are not bad in and of them selves. But for me, and I think other men as well, the more rain checks you take, the more it becomes clear to the fellas that if it is the weekend, you are going to be with your girl.

But let’s take it a step further, have you ever had tentative plans to go out with the guys and then cancelled because of a) you didn’t want to leave your girl lonely at home or b) you knew that your girl would give you the look that says, “All you do is hang out with your friends?”

Everything in life requires balance and the fact that I see so many relationships fall into the “either you are with me or your friends” is something that must be stopped. Are you guilty of making your significant other choose between you and their friends? Before you automatically rule yourself out, let it marinate it a little bit.

Tongue-tied
As I stated earlier, whenever I am in a relationship, the woman I am with becomes my best friend. This has its perks but one of the major downsides is trying to express how I feel by prefacing it as a best friend or a boyfriend. One of the biggest issues I have is that I have a tendency to mince my words when I know I want to share something as a best friend but I know that it has the potential to cause confusion on the boyfriend front.

And I have said on numerous occasions, “Listen, you are my best friend and while our relationship is fine, please interpret what I am about to say with your best friend hat on.” More often than not, confusion reigned supreme due to the fact that I was expecting my girl to understand issues only another man would understand.

What’s also troubling is that with the current lack of substantive male to male friendships, it thereby limits the outlets we have to discuss problems with our relationships with the woman we are with. And for most of us we can talk to our female friends but that will only take you so far, knowing that a) your girl probably won’t approve of you confiding in another woman and/or b) the female friend you are talking to will not see the issues from a guy’s perspective.

This creates two potential dilemmas. On the one hand, you and your woman will get frustrated because while the attempt to communicate is a step in the right direction, she might feel inadequate by feeling that she can’t be there for you the way you need. On the other hand, you will feel like an unsuccessful teacher trying to breakdown how you feel in ways that she can understand. And situations like this highlight the need for positive and substantive male to male friendships because often times, you won’t be able to completely understand how you feel until you use your male friend as a sounding board. After which, you can talk to your girl and chances are that if you go this route, the potential for miscommunication will decrease dramatically.

Keep it real?
But what happens in reality is that whenever your boy asks how your relationship is going, you say “Straight,” only because we are so paranoid about saving face. So don’t wait until you must talk to your guy friends. When your boy asks how your relationship is going, just say, “Man, my girl is trippin’” or “Man, I’m trippin’.” If your friend is worth his salt, the conversation should flow smoothly after that. In Proverbs 17:17, it states: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Are your male friends born for adversity or just born to play basketball and hang out?

And I am not making an either/or proposition such that your boys or your girlfriend has to be your best friend. But while we consider making our girlfriends our best friends, let’s be clear that we have positive and substantive male friendships we can utilize as outlets and sounding boards.

It’s time to man up fellas.

Stay up fam,

Categories:
blackmen
friendship
blackissues

Self Esteem & Academic Performance

I think that if students care about the things they learn in school, if those things can be tied to things in their everyday situation, then that can lead to them being more successful academically. Students will probably be most confident when they are learning things that they know that they can apply immediately.

Well, this article says that performance in mathematics is not tied to confidence in one’s own math ability. The the study mentioned in the article did not cover other subjects (english, social studies, etc.). However, this does sort of put a wrench in my aforementioned beliefs. Why does this happen in math (assuming it doesn’t in other subjects)?

I do not think that the problem is that educators tie school subjects to ‘real life.’ The issue to me appears to be that our students seem to have a false sense of how well they are performing. How do we change that?

One Love. One II.

Categories
Education
Self Esteem

Call for Change

MoveOn.org is doing a campaign called Call for Change, where people who want to get involved in the political process as volutneers can participate by calling voters in districts across the country to talk to them about voting in general, ballot initiatives, local issues, etc. The idea is that if ‘real people’ to talk to other real people about voting, then they will be more willing to participate on Election Day, 7 Nov 2006.

I am not one for telemarketers, but these people are not trying to sell you something. If you got cold-called by someone from this program, would you talk to them?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Politics
Voting
Volunteer

Other Things to Vote For

We have been talking a lot about voting lately, and we’ll continue to do through Election Day, 7 Nov 2006. In addition to candidates, there are also different ballot initiatives to be voted on, and these vary depending on where you live & vote. An example is Michigan’s Proposal 2, which will ask Michigan voters to decide on wheter Affirmative Action should be banned in some cases.

I think that ballot initiatives are very effective in increasing voter turnout. This is generally the case for 2 reasons:

1. They are usually started/thought of/proposed by individual citizens or groups of citizens
Because these initiative are many times proposed by people who are not politicians (this is not always true), voters have an easier time trusting them and their initiatives by extension.
2. They often deal with specific local issues
The “this doesn’t effect me or my life” myth is further debunked in these cases because they often have to do with right-in-front-of-your-face issues, such as whether to build a new freeway or tunnel in your city.

If you do not feel like voting for a particular individual is not important, are ballot initiatives more important or more motivating?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Politics

Michael Steele called a ‘Slavish Follower’

House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer said that Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Michael Steele has had “a career of slavishly supporting the Republican Party.” The reason this is a story is because Michael Steele is Black. I have written about Steele, specifically some of his supporters, before. What is bad here is that Democrat Steny H. Hoyer would be so d@mn stupid and irresponsible to use any form of the word slave when referring to a Black person. I don’t know anything about Hoyer, but I do know that to believe that making a statement like this is alright shows racist indifference.

Am I over-reacting?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Politics
Black Issues
Race

Politics of Compromise, Politics of Extremism

The Washington Times has a piece today called “Which Way to Win?” It compares two political strategies for winning elections: one used by the Democrats of the early 90s and the other used by the Republicans of the early 2000s.

From the article:
–
“Clinton Politics is the politics of the center. It holds that Americans for the most part, with the exception of irate groups at the edges, are less interested in ideology than in practical solutions to basic problems. People would prefer politics to be polite, civil, and compromise-minded.”

“Bush Politics is the politics of the base,” the authors continue. “A successful leader will stand forthrightly on one side of a grand argument. Then he or she will win that argument by sharpening the differences and rallying his most intense supporters to his side.”
–

If I had to pick a side, I’d say that reasonable people should be able to compromise on just about anything and walk away feeling like they are better off because of the deal made. An approach that is polarizing by design will, in my opinion, lead to an environment where peace (both physical and political) will be an impossibility.

Which of these approaches is more attractive to you? Do either work? Which would be the most effective in getting people that have never voted to vote?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Politics
Voting
Republican
Democrat

300 Million People in America & Smaller Families

There are now 300 million people in america. Is that a big deal? More interesting than this stat, or the ambiguity over whether the 300,000,000th american was a newborn child or an immigrant, is the this stat from the article (emphasis added by me):

“The average US family had 4.5 people in 1915, 3.3 in 1967 and 2.6 in 2006“

What are families so much smaller? Is it because more of us live in urban areas, which generally have smaller living spaces?

Seattle Metropolitan Magazine has an article about how to “be green,” or live a more environmentally-friendly, environmentally-conscious lifestyle. One of the things they said was that people should have fewer children. Their reasoning is that more kids could grow up to be environmentally-irresponsible consumers. Is that a legitimate concern?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Family
Immigration
Children
Environment

Gender-Focused Conferences

I just read an interesting article on why Women’s Conferences are important. I agree that these are beneficial, but I feel that they are good for both their participants and everyone the participants interact with. I feel this way for 3 main reasons:

1. Such conferences/organizations build confidence through camaraderie.
Anyone who has worked with an individual that lacked self-confidence greatly appreciates how much better it is to interact with a person confident in themselves.
2. Such conferences/organizations often include information/training on dealing with non-members of that particular group’s focus.
For example, engineering conferences often train engineers on how to effectively interact with non-engineers in work settings. This leads to better communication between all parties, and it benefits all parties.
3. Such conferences/organizations lead to a more thoughtful populace/workforce
These meetups often focus on introspection, personal responsibility, and accountability. These are characteristics well understood by effective and successful people.

Do people that have a problem with Minority-Focused Professional Development Groups also have a problem with gender-focused groups/organizations as well? Why? What is wrong with them?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Women
Organization

Groups Mislead Voters by Distorting History

There is another front group that is twisting the words of important historical figures to mislead voters into thinking a certain way. The latest group doing this is Feminists For Life (FFL). Their claim is that Feminist leader Susan B. Anthony and others wer “anti-choice” on the issue of abortion. They do this by taking a series of quotes from Anthony and others out of context to say that they were anti-abortion.

This weekend I told you all about the Black Republican Freedom Fund, and how they are deliberately misleading voters into thinking that Martin Luther King, Jr. would be a Republican in 2006.

The way to protect yourself against stunts like these and others is to not take statements on the political views of historical figures at face value, especially when the source’s credibility is questionable. In general, we need to stop believing everything that we hear.

Has anyone else encountered misleading campaigns such as these?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Politics

Political Debates

As the election approaches, candidates in nearly every race will be having public debates. I think these are great chances to see/hear where candidates stand on different issues. They are better than commercials because they are live and less scripted (though generally not unscripted). Here in Washington, there is a Senatorial Debate tonight between incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell and challenging Republican Mike McGavick.

I’m going to watch this debate tonight. Do you generally watch these kinds of debates? Are they interesting or important to you?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Politics
Debates

A turning point for Black folks

I know the Bible talks about we shouldn’t lead a life of fear, but can I be honest? I am afraid of looking of what the future holds for the Black Community 15-25 years from now when most of us the folks who were directly involved in the Civil Rights Movement will be in the twilight years of their lives. Now death is nothing new in the Black Community. However, I believe that as a whole, we take for granted the huge wealth of institutional knowledge that resides deep in the souls of more senior Black folks.

And my fear is that as more of these soldiers pass away, the goals and the struggle of the Civil Rights Movement will become more commercialized and watered down, thereby creating huge gaps in the understanding of our identity and the tactics we used to reach the point where we are at today. I don’t want to lose that but as I see more debates framed around the old vs. young, I feel that we are not respecting the delicate turning point we find ourselves in.

Do you think this is a valid concern? If so, what do you think are the implications be it negative or positive? And what should we do to help stave off the negative effects?

Stay up fam,

Categories:
blackissues
civilrights

Women’s Voices, Women Vote

Women’s Voices, Women Vote is a movement whose mission is to mobilize the over 20 million single women that did not vote in 2004 to vote on this coming Election Day, 7 Nov 2006.

My question is, what stopped these women from voting 2 years ago?  Will whatever stopped them then stop them now?  Here is an interesting link to the National Women’s Law Center on “Why Women Should Vote.”

I think campaigns like this are great.  They are doing Public Service Announcements on TV featuring some actresses from some of today’s most popular shows.

Every person who is eligible should have the desire and the ability to vote next month. 

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Women

City Pride and Sports Success

The Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series.  This is great not only for baseball fans, but for the city of Detroit as well.  The effects of this will be similar to the positive effects that the Super Bowl had on Detroit and our image.  But I argue that this is actually better because the fact that it is our own team having this success builds on pride within the city.  For whatever reason, people are just plain happier in a city when their local teams are doing well.  I’ve noticed this here in Seattle as well.

The question is, why?  Sports are a thing we (non-professional athletes) can do notching about, but that many care about very, very passionately.  I think there are a few major reasons:

1. It always makes the city look more attractive and fun
2. It allows people to live in fantasy land for the duration of the game(s) and forget about real life
3. It gives you something to brag to people outside of your city about

Are there other reasons?  Is this actually a bad phenomenon?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Detroit
Baseball
Sports
Tigers

Why are More and More Households are Unmarried Ones?

I don’t talk about relationships too much here; that’s primarily Steve’s department.  However, I was struck by this NY Times article that says that for the first time in a very long time, there are less married households in a america than unmarried households.

Is that a big deal?  Does it even matter?  With all the talk about family values, does this mean that the definition of family is changing?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Marriage
Relationships

Minority-Focused Professional Development Groups

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the value of Minority-Focused Professional Development Groups. They exist in three realms primarily: 1) at school, 2) at work, 3) at large. Examples include the National Society of Black Engineers (student-run), and Blacks at Microsoft! (professional, company-specific), both of which I am a proud and active member of. I think that such organizations are important for a variety of reasons and quite beneficial to their memberships.

I’d like to ponder here the strengths and weaknesses of such organizations. The 2 initial ones that come to mind are:

1. They create senses of comraderie and community in their respective fields/industries of focus. This is especially important because they usually exist in fields/industries that are mostly white or non-minority-dominated.
2. Since people don’t trust people that are different, they can connect people with those whom they feel that they can trust to help/support them.

Do you think that these types of groups are a good thing? Do you participate in these kinds of groups or their sponsored activities? Why or why not?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Professional
Organization
Minorities

What Comes First, Action or Thought?

The book Delivering Results by David Ulrich has an interesting quote concerning how our thoughts and actions relate:

“People are much more likely to act their way into a new way of thinking, than think their way into a new way of acting.”

I personally believe that any substantial and sustainable change comes from thoughts and is followed by action.

Which is it for you: think first, act later? Act first, think later?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Miscellaneous

Guerrilla Banking

Many of you may not know who Muhammad Yunus is, or what the Grameen Bank is, but this cat won a Nobel Prize yesterday for his system. Basically, it is a people-powered lending network that allows people to lend others in the community small amounts of money without requiring collateral like traditional loans. Instead, it has kind of a barter system approach, with the theory being that other things besides money have value.

My question is, could we pull this off in our own neighborhoods and communities here? Here are some benefits:

1. The money stays in the community longer and passes through more community members’ hands before leaving it (if it ever does).
2. Since most of the time we probably only need small loans (say, $100 or less) for day-to-day stuff, the anxiety of being in debt will be reduced.
3. It is a great way to combat gentrification.

I think this could really work. Could it?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Economics
Financial
Banking

Will discontent lead to change in November?

People have been pretty consistent with the voicing of their unhappiness with BushCo for quite some time. The Washington Post wonders if this is just talk or if it actually will lead to a change in leadership on Election Day, 7 Nov 2006. I wonder the same thing. We often see in life that the people that talk the loudest do the least. Hopefully the same will not be true of voters next month.

Do you think that people are mad enough to be compelled to act and vote?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Politics

Oxymoron of the Month: Black Republican Freedom Fund

Please be aware that during this election season, there will be many, many, many parties out there who will be using all sorts of deceptive practices to get you to vote against your own best interest this coming Election Day, 7 Nov 2006.

This, however, is just plain evil. Folks in MD may have heard about the Black Republican Freedom Fund, the Political action fund arm of the National Black Republicans Association. Well, apparently these bastards are really a race-baiting front group ‘indirectly’ funded by Republican supporters of Michael Steele, a Black Senatorial candidate in Maryland. My feelings on Black Republicanism aside, it is downright lying to refer to today’s Republicans as “the party of Martin Luther King” the way these lying excuses for people do.

The way to combat sh!t like this is to be informed. Read this on how the parties effectively changed roles after the Great Depression. Please don’t fall for cheap stunts like these in your respective areas.

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Politics
Black Issues
Republican

Are you excited about voting?

MSNBC reports that voter excitement is relatively high this election season. I think this is a great thing because there is plenty to be pissed off about to the point where you want to see a change in this country’s direction.

I am kind of worried though that this excitement is among people who were going to vote in the first place, and not among people who don’t vote regularly or at all.

Are you more excited than other election years (e.g. 2000, 2002, 2004)? Why or why not?
If this is going to be your first time voting, why is this an important year to do it?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting
Politics

Do you trust people who are not like you?

Harvard Political Science professor Robert Putnam released a study recently which states that “the more diverse a community is, the less likely its inhabitants are to trust anyone.” Here’s an excerpt from the article:

–
The core message of the research was that, “in the presence of diversity, we hunker down”, he said. “We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined. And it’s not just that we don’t trust people who are not like us. In diverse communities, we don’t trust people who do look like us.”
–

I can understand being slightly less willing to trust someone who may be perceived as different from you, but not trusting anyone????? That seems like a bit much.

Do you agree with these findings?

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Diversity
Immigration
Trust

The Weekly Dream: Things Fall Apart-Pride

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
-Proverbs 16:18

From grade school through middle school, my brothers and I participated in oratorical speaking contests. Every year, we would memorize and practice lengthy pieces. I did not like these contests, but both my parents thought it was important that we learn to speak in front of a crowd. Normally, I would just coast and halfway do it. However, my last year, I decided that I wanted to be in the top three. So, I actually practiced really hard and I memorized a lengthy piece. I went all out: I had gestures, inflection, expression: I thought no one could touch me. And at the competition, I was in my zone. After I presented my piece to the judges, there was no way I was not one of the best orators. However, when the decision came down, I only received honorable mention. I was livid. I thought I had been robbed. Leaving the auditorium, I told my mother I would never do another speech again. Why? Because my pride was hurt. And because pride was hurt, I did not put forth the effort to develop what could have been a real talent.

This is just one of many instances where my pride was hurt and I took the stance that “I didn’t want to play anymore”, or I sought retribution on the basis of principle or refused the help of others. It has been something that I have always struggled with, personally and just being a man. However, there is a thin line pride and principle.

Foolish and False Pride

The last and probably the greatest reason relationships fail is pride, because it is the sin all others originate from. What is pride? Some refer to it as arrogance, disdain for the value of others, hubris, an attitude of over self-importance, rebellion. To me, it is when ego obstructs doing the right thing.

How many times has your pride caused you to do what was right? Lately, I have been wondering why whenever I try to humble myself, I keep getting in the way? Whether it is in my spiritual life, my relationships, or whatever. And frequently, this comes out when someone has offended our self-perception or attacked our self-worth.

Love is Stronger than Pride?

In relationships, pride is especially deadly because we feel as if those we deal with intimately should know better and know what will hurt or offend us. Thus, they are in a key position to clash against our delicate egos. This makes communication or forgiveness almost impossible. Pride also acts as a blinder of the truth. We will continue in wrong and try to justify it, rather than rejoicing in truth and the resolution of conflict. We will not even come to the table because we are so hurt and so offended. I am guilty of it, we all are. And when pride comes, our worse selves are made manifest.

On the other hand, what if you are dealing with an egotistical person? The prideful person takes the form of many different personality types and people have varying levels. However, if it gets to the point where you cannot reason with them or they will not listen, or their pride makes them vindictive, watch out. It may be better to deal with them from a distance. In a relationship or any multiple person enterprise, there is a certain level of conciliation that occurs to move from the local “I” to the nonlocal “us”.

Pride is also manifested in so-called independence. People who try to take everything on themselves, when the endeavor or situation affects everyone. I am not talking about when one person steps up because no one else will. I am referring to when you have willing participants, but you want to do it yourself. I see this all the time in relationships. One person will have a problem, and would rather struggle with it all alone, rather than sharing it with their companion. What they fail to realize is that their partner is affected whether they share it or not, because they can tell something is off. And begins to breed mistrust and hurt because that openness and honesty is not being manifested between them anymore. The only cure is to move from the “I” mentality to a “We” mentality. This movement fosters intimacy, strength and healing.

The Cure

Gratitude is the cure for pride. When you see how fragile you really are and how blessed you are in spite of yourself, it is hard to let yourself get in the way. We must learn to manage our egos before we miss out on some really good people and opportunities. It is a constant battle to maintain proper perspective and to know the true source of our feelings and motivations. Is it pride or principle?

In Summary

These last five weeks, we have explored the five most common reasons relationships fail. I have learned some things about myself and I hope you have also. In Genesis, it says that it is not good for man to be alone. Humans are social creatures and we need relationships to foster our growth and development. Therefore, we should continue to strive for a “more perfect union” with God, ourselves and each other.

Truth and Peace,
Steven M. DeVougas

Question of the Week: What comments do you have about the “Things Fall Apart Series”? Are there any factors you would have added?
Categories:
steve
theweeklydream

Another Voting Reminder: Get ALL your stuff tight

We will be beating the hell out of this one until Election Day, which is in 29 days, on 7 Nov 2006 this year.

People, please make sure that you not only register to vote, but that every aspect of your registration is decent & in order, and that you have all materials you need in hand before election day. These includes:

1. 2 forms of ID
This is not a governmental requirement, but be on the safe side and bring these anyway. These includes a Driver’s Licence, State ID, Passport, Student ID, utility bill, etc.

2. Voter Registration Card
Most states issue these cards, which confirm who you are as well as the state, county, and city in which you are registered.

You can go to many sites such as this one to begin the voter registration process if you have not done so already. If your state is like the one I currently live in, Washington, it may be too late to register by mail. In that case, you may have to register in person.

That’s what I have to do, since they “can’t seem to find” my voter registration application. I noticed this because I registered on 16 Sep 2006, yet I have received no voter registration card (#2 above). I live in what can be considered a progressive state, but there are problems even here.

The moral of the story here is that we need to be diligent and thorough, making sure that everything is in order and that we have done all that we need to do to vote. The next issue is combatting vote suppression, voter intimidation, and election-stealing, but we can’t complain about these if we are not even registered.

One Love. One II.

Categories:
Voting

SuperSpade Categories

By now you’ve noticed the new categories section on the right side of all of our SuperSpade pages.  Now I’d like to officially explain what it is and how it works.

Brandon, Steve, and I went through and categorized every post written on the site.  We did this to better organize things for readers and make it easier to find stories on specific topics.  We’ve also created our own personal categories for stories written by each of us respectively, which you can see by clicking “Posts” under each of our names in the “Contributors” section on the right of each page (you can still get to the profiles by clicking “Profile”).

Going forward, you will see at the bottom of each post a list of which categories that post belongs to.  You can click these categories to see all of the other posts in the same category.

You all know that Brandon, Steve, and I have our own respective, unique closing salutations for our writings.  Now, those familiar signatures will be another way that you can link to all of the stories written by that story’s author (for example, clicking on “One Love. One II.” below will take you to stories authored by me).

On the right side of the pages, we will keep a set of 12 categories, which provide a pretty good cross-section of everything we’ve written.  This is not a comprehensive list of all of the categories we have, and this list will change from time to time by request and by topic frequency.

Please enjoy the new features.  This should give everyone a great way to access content on The SuperSpade.  Please leave questions and/or feedback as comments on this post.

One Love. One II.

Weekly Dream: Things Fall Apart-Ingratitude

“Sometimes, your best is not good enough”
-Me to R.

“People get worse, when there is no incentive to get better”

In my household, ingratitude was a cardinal sin. Even if you did not get exactly what you wanted, you appreciated what you did get. My dad called my brothers and I “benefit brothers” whenever we neglected to say thank you and focused on the gift and not the giver. At the time, we thought he was being sensitive, until we grew to manhood and realized how much effort and a show of concern it was for my parents to give us good things.

Do you know someone who is never happy? Whenever you talk to them, nothing is going right? This kind of individual always complains and the glass is always half-empty. I hate this type of person, and hate is a strong word. But if God hates ingratitude and unthankfulness, then I figure I am in good company. Ingratitude is defined as not only taking things for granted, but not assigning a proper value to the things/people/situations in your life. Where there is ingratitude, pride, self-righteousness and entitlement are right around the corner. But that is a topic we will discuss next week.

As a sidenote, ingratitude has been a sticking point with me as far as my relationship to American society. In other countries, people are so thankful, when they have dramatically less than we do. And they never forget what they have been through. But people who have never experienced hardship tend to be the most unthankful. It takes a certain level of humility to realize that the little bit you have can be gone tomorrow.

In a Relationship

Humans have a basic need for recognition and appreciation for their contributions. Think about if no one ever said thank you to you or complemented you on a job well-done? You do not need it, but credit should be given when it is due. Eventually, bitterness and resentment will begin to set in, if you constantly give and nothing is given back. I am willing to bet you will not stay at that job for long. In fact, studies have shown that people would rather have recognition than a pay raise. And really, what is a raise but a monetary equivalent to a thank you and a job well done.

In relationships, people settle into routines and come to expect certain things. Pretty soon, people begin to believe that they are entitled to certain treatment rather than seeing the treatment as an expression of love or respect. Complacency and apathy begins to set in. They do not put forth the effort they once did. This happens once people get used to each other. They might let their hygiene slip, stop working out, or doing those little things that show they are paying attention. What happened? It tends to make you feel like you are not worth it anymore and then you start acting the same way.

Let’s be clear, outside of a respect for your basic human dignity, no one owes you anything. No one has to do anything for you-no matter how special you are. Any thing that happens to you, be thankful for it, because it is either a lesson or a blessing. Be grateful for the people in your life and who care about you.

Indeed, think of people who you have loved, who took you for granted, who did not recognize your value and the sacrifices you made? Why? Because life is hard and anything won does not come easy. It takes restraint to not follow your instincts, and to mute the dark side of your personality, especially in a relationship. A relationship is a team effort. It takes effort to listen when you want to yell, to be patient while the other person works out their issues, to provide etc. It is tremendous investment of energy and resources-it is only natural to want a return.

But when the other person (hopefully you are not the ingrate in the situation) does not recognize or express gratitude in the way you would like, what should you do? That is not an easy question to answer. Perhaps the other person is not aware of it. And that is when you have to speak the truth out of love. However, before you confront them, look to the areas in your life where you exhibited ingratitude-inside and outside the relationship. In that conversation, discuss what you like or appreciate about each other. This should be a common practice. There is nothing more charming, endearing and disarming as a sincere thank you, kind word or gesture. Also, be specific. Think of how you want them to show their appreciation and ask them if there is a way they might want you to show them. It could be that you are just speaking different love languages.

As I have said before, gratitude must become a way of life. It must permeate your entire being and your relationship. God has put these people in your life for a reason-cherish them and they should do likewise. However, if you or your significant other do not know what purpose you play in each other’s lives, then ingratitude results. So clarify your purpose. Have that conversation. Why am I here? Why are you here? If nothing changes after you confront them or you still feel unappreciated, then you have soul searching to do. You have too much too offer to continue to be taken for granted by anybody.

Tomorrow is not promised

Life is so short. Whenever I do not feel thankful, I go back to where I have come from, to the people around me. Even through the rough spots, my motto was, “it could be worse.” I think of what if the person around me was no longer here or if I was no longer alive, what is the last thought I want them to have of me? Or I try to think of the most morbid scenario and it makes me feel better.

Thus, I try not to let a day go by without showing or expressing my gratitude to everyone I meet. You can do the same by being courteous, interested, and aware of the person in front of me and letting them know I understand their purpose in my life. To be honest, most people do not stop and consider that, but that’s why you’re here .

Know your worth and the worth of others.

A relationship takes effort, never stop dating.

Reset and return to your first love.

Don’t be a benefit brother/sister.

Truth and Peace,
Steven M DeVougas

Question of the Week: In what instances have you encountered ingratitude and how did you handle it?

Categories:
the weekly dream