by La Shawn on December 31, 2003
in Education
The District of Columbia’s government-run schools are failing!
A study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress just confirmed what any sentient being already knows: D.C. students consistently receive a sub-standard education.
It’ll take more than photo ops to clean up this mess, Mayor Williams. From the Washington Times:
In a study of the math and reading skills of fourth- and eighth-grade students in 10 urban public-school districts, D.C. students finished dead last in three of the four categories (fourth-grade reading and math and eighth-grade math).
Eighty four percent of the students in the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) are black. Democrats on the D.C. Council and on Capitol Hill oppose President Bush’s experimental voucher plan for D.C. The man on the left wearing the bow tie favors school choice but so far hasn’t gone to battle for our most vulnerable citzens. An entire political party — the party of the “poor and oppressed” — is willing to squander the future of each of these students for political gain. They just don’t care! Michael Casserly, director of the Council of the Great City Schools (dig the irony!) wrote a hopeful-sounding article about the DCPS. I keep asking, “What can I do?” Maybe I can help the students one column at a time or become more active in the battle for school choice.
by La Shawn on December 29, 2003
in Faith
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
The Kwanzaa article generated lots of e-mail. It appeared this Sunday in the Washington Times and in a condensed version (the last letter to the editor on the page) in the Denver Post. I’m a member of Project 21, a conservative leadership organization, and they submitted the piece to several publications, including the Baltimore Times.
The positive responses have been overwhelmingly so, mainly from Christians thanking me for exposing the false doctrine. Other responses have ranged from thoughtful disagreement and discussion to nasty comments. The nasty ones are predictable. I’m called a coon, Sambo, Bush Administration bootlicker, etc. Here’s a link to my first published op-ed back in August 2002, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, where I address the name-calling. Not one of the nasty commenters challenged my arguments.
Because e-mail is impersonal and anonymous, people tend to forget their manners. But I’ve found that when you respond calmly and intelligently, those who really want a reasoned discussion write back with a softer tone. They’re almost apologetic but not quite. That’s OK.
by La Shawn on December 24, 2003
in Faith
A number of people responded to my Kwanzaa column, asserting that Christmas itself is pagan in origin.
While some arguments have been reasoned, others have been flat out attacks (some personal). God entering the world through the person of Christ is the most significant event in history, but some feel it necessary to attack the very foundation of the celebration of that birth.
Christmas does not have pagan origins; however, there are other winter celebrations that are pagan. The cynical have seized every opportunity to claim that Christmas began as one of these pagan rituals and to deny the deity of Christ. Their aim is to cast doubt (or attempt to) on the miracle of the ages, which began 2000 years ago when Christ walked the earth.
Many talented Christian writers can say it much better than I, so I’ve provided a few links about the origins of Christmas from a Christian point of view, naturally.
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by La Shawn on December 20, 2003
in Faith
December 27, 2005: If you landed here through a Google search, please see the update post on Kwanzaa.
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“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.” Hebrews 13:8&9
America — the greatest country in the world — was founded on the concept of religious freedom. In America, you can be a Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist or pagan, without fear of persecution. While government cannot endorse one religion over the other, individuals can.
For decades, the media have given credence to many a self-appointed black “leader”, no matter how outrageous. Now they’re doing the same with a pagan ritual called Kwanzaa, a so-called African-American holiday.
A made-up, anti-Christian observance, Kwanzaa is celebrated by blacks who profess Christ. In our politically correct climate, even President George Bush, a believer in Christ, feels obligated to praise this ritual.
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So says Rev. Jesse Peterson, author of SCAM: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America. How true is it? Read this story in the Washington Times about the state of schools in D.C. and the fierce resistance to change by black “leaders” in D.C. government, Congress and the teachers union.
“If you’re not committed to the school system, then you propose things like taking the schools over, which isn’t a real solution,” said D.C. Council member Adrian Fenty, Ward 4 Democrat.
“The solution is not to shift who’s on top,” he said. “We just changed the structure of the school system three years ago. Now the mayor wants to come back three years later and do it again, when there’s been no real progress in between.”
James Brocks, head of the Washington Teachers Union’s political committee, agrees. He said Mr. Williams has wanted to take over the school “since Day One.”
“The mayor hasn’t proven he can run his own agencies, so now he wants to take over the schools?” he asked. “It’s not going to work.”
Fenty is right about one thing: There is no real progress in shifting those on top. The solution is to allow parents to leave the school system if they choose, but he doesn’t agree with that either! The Washington Post published a piece I wrote on school vouchers in D.C. back in February, “What’s so liberal about keeping children in dreadful schools?”
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by La Shawn on December 17, 2003
in General
The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan saw it coming back in 1965 and was vilified as a racist for pointing it out. Read his controversial report.
“Over a decade ago, I began to realize that the so-called black leaders like Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, and others were lying about why blacks are in trouble today,” writes a former welfare recipient-turned-ordained minister, mentor, entrepreneur and man of integrity.
Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, author of SCAM: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America, has written a book in which truth fills every page. As I wrote in the first part of my review of SCAM, a black person who claims that black America’s biggest problem is not racism but its own immorality is a revolutionary in today’s politically correct climate. “My message to the black man and to the black community is one of hope and encouragement, not one of anger and despair.”
Our Own Worst Enemies
Black leaders have brainwashed blacks into hating whites for their problems, and this racial hatred has continued to enslave blacks, says Rev. Peterson. But blacks are their own worst enemies, handicapping themselves by listening to black leaders. To continue perks and corporate shakedowns, limousine liberals like Jesse Jackson have to keep stirring the pot of hatred. “If blacks do not abandon this mentality and this rage against white Americ — and if we do not accept responsibility for our own failures — we will forever remain defeated,” he contends.
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by La Shawn on December 15, 2003
in General
One of the many reasons I like living in DC (liberal town that it is) is that I get to see people like…
This is no honor, but I have to add that I had to shake hands with former president Bill Clinton on my birthday.
My friends and I were eating dinner at B. Smith’s on the Hill, and an entourage of Secret Service starting casing the place. In walked the white-haired former president, who made his way to a back room. On his way out, he made a beeline for us (all black diners- photo op?) and went around the table extending his hand. Well, my mother taught me to be polite to everyone, so I shook the man’s hand. Don’t tell anybody!
I’ve met Ann Coulter, who gave me advice about syndicating my column, John McWhorter and Star Parker. If you haven’t read her first book, “Pimps, Whores and Welfare Brats : From Welfare Cheat to Conservative Messenger”, you don’t know what you’re missing.
I heard on Paul Harvey today that when Saddam was confronted by U.S. troops he said something like, “I am Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate.” One of the soldiers replied, “President Bush sends his regards.” So cool! I had to mention that.
Sam Donaldson impressed me today. He’s on WMAL 630 AM in D.C. in the mornings and I don’t usually listen because his liberal bent drives me crazy. But I listened today because he was critical of Howard Dean’s comments. He said that when Dean said it was great that we caught Saddam, he should have left it at that or added congratulations to President Bush instead of highlighting defects in Bush’s foreign policy and comparing what he’d do if he were president. Great going, Sam.
One of the many reasons I like living in DC (liberal town that it is) is that I get to see people like George Will and Sam Donaldson on the street. I was on M Street a few years ago and saw Sam Donaldson crossing the street. When he got to my side of the street, he looked at me and did a double take, as if he was trying to figure out if he knew me. That’s what I think anyway. Who knows?
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Saddam Hussein (who I thought was already dead) has been captured by U.S. troops.
“Joy greeted final proof that the man who terrorized his people for 30 years and led them into three disastrous wars was now behind bars and facing trial, even possible execution, at Iraqi hands.” Reuters
This is a crucial moment in the preservation of the free world. Saddam Hussein must be tried for war crimes and other atrocities and executed. If he is coddled and allowed to live out the rest of his life safe and secured in prison eating three hot meals a day, the United States will be a laughingstock.
by La Shawn on December 12, 2003
in Bush Bad
Amnesty for Illegal Aliens? If President Bush goes through with this, I will not vote for him in 2004.
Here’s the text of an e-mail I sent to the White House today:
I’m a black conservative and Christian who used to work the Democratic plantation. Since my escape, I’ve embraced traditional values and conservative principles. I adore President Bush. But I want you to tell him that if he legalizes millions of illegal, law-breaking immigrants, I will not vote for him in 2004 or his brother in 2008. I will stay away from the polls and run a series of columns about how liberal our supposed conservative president really is.
This is my first “letter” to a president, and I’m saddened that it has to be a negative one. Happy holidays.
About two months ago, the editor of AIM Magazine contacted me about publishing an article I wrote, Counterfeit Equality. The magazine calls itself “America’s Intercultural Magazine.” I knew it was left-leaning, but I was flattered that the editor sought me out to ask permission to publish it.
After it was posted on the site, I was surprised to see the long “Editor’s Comment” at the end of the article. I asked the editor about it and was told that an overzealous intern posted it without the editor’s permission. But note that the comment is still posted on the site.
I had no idea magazines actually published this sort of disclaimer at the end of articles that don’t reflect the views of its readership. In my naiveté, I assumed editors respected the intelligence of their readership to form their own judgments about such things. You live and learn!
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by La Shawn on December 11, 2003
in General
This isn’t really news but I thought I’d share it anyway. We’ve all seen the numbers. Six out of ten felony-murders are committed by blacks. Blacks are six times more likely to be murderered than whites. Ninety-four percent of black victims were killed by blacks.
94 percent!
When was the last time you heard Jesse Jackson get upset about this? Have you ever heard him get upset about this? No, he’s more interested in helping rich white women play golf at a private, all-male golf club.
This is an interesting story I found on BlackPressUSA (an OK site but I’m often tempted to offer them my proofreading services) that’s somewhat informative.
According to figures recently made public by the FBI, the District of Columbia led the nation last year with 264 homicides, an increase of 14 percent since 2001. With 45.8 homicides per 100,000 residents, Washington leads Detroit, which had 42 per 100,000 residents and Baltimore with 38.3.
No new information here.
A so-called man of God offered the same old trite explanation:
“The number one thing that happened to us is racism,” declared Rev. Willie Wilson, pastor of the Union Temple Baptist Church and the keynote speaker at the D.C. church service. “Almost 40 percent of our people are living under the poverty line. Racism is alive and well.”
In other words, poverty makes black people kill each other. I see. As I said before, no new information here.
A bunch of black “legislators” are demanding that Texas A&M University lower their standards to increase minority (read: black) enrollment after the school removed race as an admissions factor. The only way black students can measure up is to measure down. Am I the only black person on the planet offended by this? With this “demand”, black liberals have lost all pretense of furthering educational standards (and dignity).
Do you know how to increase minority enrollment in colleges? Try these on for size:
1. Get rid of black “leaders” like Kweisi Mfume ranting about too few black images on TV and throw the idiot boxes out the window!
2. Demand school choice for kids in failing schools. Rescue these kids from rotten teachers who can’t even pass high school-level tests and rotting classrooms and give them with the rigorous education they need to make it in college.
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