I came across an interesting article that apprears to be a variation on this theme. Gregory Moore, author of “It’s Africans, Not African Americans That Are Appreciating College Education”, writes:
With the NBA season being about a month or so away, I thought it was interesting that while searching through the various sports resources at my disposal that I actually came across a story that seems to put more credence into my argument that the young African American kids in this country look at professional sports as a God-given right where as other kids from ethnic backgrounds see the college education as a privilege worth striving for. No more was this ever present than on Friday when I was combing through said resources and came across a story from Sports Business Network entitled, “Young African Men and their NBA dream”…. (my emphasis)
I know I sound like broken record, but some black children’s unrealistic expectations and sense of entitlement toward college (and life in general?) are direct consequences of the current state of our educational system (dismal) and the existence of skin color preferences (immoral).
There is good reason why success stories from Africa are finding their ways into the sports pages that we read. There is a climate in that country that goes beyond anything that could be dreamt up by the naysayers of the ghettos. While many of our African American kids are dealing with drugs, poverty and other social ills, kids from Africa, like Diop, are trying to escape the realities of abuse, HIV and other ills that are killing off Africans at an alarming rate. For them, getting to the United States is literally a life or death situation that many have no fear of trying to accomplish. To these African individuals, obtaining the college degree is more important than basketball.The social climate here in the States is alarming because thanks to the media, what many African American kids see is a skewed view of reality. The Carmelo Anthonys, LeBron James’ and others are anomalies in a sea of sports tragedies….
It’s not that African American basketball players don’t see the vision that African ball players see. With this society showing that everything is about the bling-bling, the ball players who you see on the playgrounds these days do not understand the vision because to them education isn’t an important aspect of their lives. That ladies and gentlemen is the tragedy facing the African American community but maybe there will be some hope coming from across the pond.
Some people might be surprised to know that college is a privilege and not a right. Food for thought.
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This message is being offered to provide the media and anyone who will listen with one view of this election and how I view the state of world affairs as they relate to this MYTHICAL “war” on terror. I’m sorry, but it has become more than apparent that although President Bush is a good man. A Christian man. A sincere man….he still no matter how I want it to be true, lacks the spine, where withal and intestinal fortitude to command US military forces in times of war. Is John Kerry a viable alternative? Absolutely not. In fact, John Forbes Kerry is the face of the very enemy slithering around within this nation intent on weakening her institutions and very definition even further…so please do not interpret this as a sign of getting weak kneed on the President.
I will without question vote for President Bush. There is no other alternative. We can only hope and pray that a TRUE conservative and TRUE warrior emerges between now and the 2008 election. America needs not just a man (sorry Hillary, image is important here. Maybe later?) at the helm, but a WARRIOR. America needs a man who understands the nature of battle. A man who understands that any undertaking that takes on the moniker of “war” must be prosecuted with only one goal in mind and that is winning.
I regretfully agree with Senator Kerry’s latest “position” on President Bush’s handling of the Iraq Battle. I’m sure it will change sometime in the next 24 hours, but let’s just go with the bit for right now.
John Kerry is right that President Bush is showing abject incompetence in fighting the terrorists. The reasons are simple and have been repeated by me ad nauseum in previous messages in other forums. George W. Bush, contrary to what the talking points have said about him IS indeed afraid of public opinion. He IS indeed being politically correct. He IS indeed answering to polls and the fickle winds that constantly shift the opinions of the American people.
President Bush does not have the stomach for finishing properly what began on 9/11 or he is waiting for some time of his choosing to demonstrate it.
While it is true that President Bush never claimed that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had a hand in the 9/11 attacks, he did have enough common since to understand the threat that muslims from that region of the planet posed to the United States and the world. With that in mind, he took proper action in beginning to destroy that evil, but lo and behold, he punked up and started second guessing himself. He started listening to the 5th column propagandists within our walls. He started listening to the one brain cell sharing Democrats whose only goal is getting their power in the Congress, Senate and White House back.
Somewhere in this war on terror and battle in Iraq, George W. Bush ceased being a war time PRESIDENT and returned to being a politician. He became a loathsome and sad figure who negotiates with terrorists, lets American deaths go unavenged, shows public respect for an enemy cult some mistakenly call a “religion” and the biggest insult, ties the hands of American soldiers who are more than willing to spill blood in a show of loyalty to their Commander-in-Chief and to the nation they so love.
How is this loyalty and honor repaid? It is repaid by letting murderous Sunni clerics negotiate their freedom. It is repaid by letting mosques that housed snipers and arms wielding terrorists who killed our Marines and Soldiers stand in defiance of the basic principles of humanity. It is repaid by not forcefully and angrily rebuking American filth like Nancy Pelosi, Terry McAuliffe, Al Gore, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy for the demoralizing garbage that spews incessantly from the toilets on their faces disguised as mouths.
It appears that no one in this vast land has the will to do what it takes to win the dadgum war. No one. The Capitol Hill GOP “leaders” folded up a long time ago. Forget about the RINO lunatics like McCain, Chafee, Collins, Snowe and Spectre. The so called “real” Republican leaders are afraid to open their mouths and tell the President to let loose on Iraq. Not even Delay and Tancredo have the correct genitalia to tell our president to destroy Iraq.
The fact that there are lights, running water and buildings still standing in Fallujah and Najaf is testimony to FAILURE! Our troops no matter how you slice it didn’t win JACK! They were defeated. Iraq is DEFINITLEY A QUAGMIRE AND WE ARE LOSING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh how I hate to say this, but it is. Is the situation correctable? Yes it is, but not until we find a MAN with a steel and concrete encased heart who is willing to do the unthinkable in order to SAVE lives. We need a MAN who is willing to call back the big birds and the big guns and declare all out war on ISLAM ITSELF! Pardon me if there is this “peaceful” brand of izlam out there that is yet to show its face.
America needs a president who can temporarily set aside his humanity and transform into an equally low-crawling animal and negotiate Al-Zarqawi’s lair. We need a leader who will not flinch at the inevitable news stories depicting the aftermath of a month long B-52 attack on Iraq. We need a president who doesn’t draw distinctions between women, children and enemy combatants. We need a LEADER who will NOT RULE OUT THE USE OF WHATEVER IT TAKESTO END THIS THING. While we show weakness, Iran and China are watching.
President Bush, I stand by whatever decisions you make, but I respectfully submit that you are going about this whole thing wrong. I wouldn’t worry about Senator Kerry too much. He is a toothless enemy of the domestic variety. He would of course be more dangerous if he could put a solid message together. Even his followers are confused. With that in mind, you still must understand that your re-election is not what is important. Your legacy will take care of itself. What America needs from you right now is FIRE AND BRIMSTONE REIGNING DOWN ON OUR ENEMIES. Put the bullhorns down and send the negotiators home. No more cutely named operations either. You need to declare this war BACK ON and get to the business of winning. Winning is all that matters. Uncuff the troops and pull the chocks from under the wheels of the hell birds.
AMERICA SCREAMS FOR A VICTORY! Your move.
Ray Coleman
Tampa, FL
I know I sound like broken record, but some black children’s unrealistic expectations and sense of entitlement toward college (and life in general?) are direct consequences of the current state of our educational system (dismal) and the existence of skin color preferences (immoral).
Interesting theory but no facts to support it.
Fact:85% of Blacks attend colleges/universities for which they are within the standard deviation of the median scores.
Where is the sense of entitlement?
LaShawn, thank you for offering the perfect rebuttal to the soon to be “long running” intellectual fued between myself and DarkStar. You so eloquently help make my case. DarkStar, I enjoy the banter between individuals who disagree, but who can do it with class and tact. I wish everyone could debate the issues without screaming and cussing at each other.
The thing that happened to President Bush is called an election. Once this electoral process is over, he will once again resume being a war time President. Short of declaring him “Dictator for Life,” it is an imperfect situation which we must deal with. We are a democracy/republic not the Roman Empire.
I can see the educational system failure…but why do you inject skin color prefences into the equation? I don’t see the fit LaShawn and it doesn’t even fit within the context of the article you are presenting when you talk about professional sports.
Secondly, I am interested in hearing why you think skin color preferences are immoral?
If 85% of African-American students attend college and are within the median, then why is race a factor in college admissions? If this is true, then African-American students do not need color to be a factor considered on their college applications. That makes policies advocated by the University of Michigan and other universities outdated.
Ray Coleman:
Iraq is NOT a quagmire. It is war.
Difficulty does not equate to “quagmire”. Because you do not see President Bush in day to day planning and action does not mean he and his administration are not effectively engaged.
You appear to be buying into the propaganda poured out from the mainstream media (?)
President Bush is doing the right things. He has competent leaders who are working tirelessly. I know this because I know people involved in this effort.
Take care not to become like the liberal “news media” who concentrate on what is “wrong”. Terrorists love confusion, negativism, fear, “quagmire” reporting.
If you doubt this, ask yourself why murderous terrorists behead Americans on tape and broadcast it? … To foster doubt and fear in their enemy (all of us who love freedom and justice).
Recommend you write directly to your congresspersons! Become more informed. (I suggest all of this respectfully.)
Volunteer to help!
Here are a few links I recommend:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/podhoretz.htm
carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/04autumn/dowd.htm
http://www.gopconvention.com/cgi-data/speeches/files/50ce78ku5b52jamlw594z3621qj8917b.shtml
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110005610
http://www.1id.army.mil/1ID/News/September/Article_23/Article_23.htm
chrenkoff.blogspot.com/2004/08/good-news-from-iraq-part-9.html
http://www.defendamerica.mil/
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/
www4.army.mil/ocpa/community/otf/
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=14582
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=15044
http://www.citizensunited-interactive.org/c41.11/
http://www.seattlecatholic.com/article_20040914.html
Apologies to LaShawn for being off topic here. The post needed to be responded to … again.
No hyperlinking within comments allowed. – Admin
Sorry, but the Iraq situation is NOT being prosecuted as a war and it IS DEFINITLEY a quagmire. We are not winning when car bombs go off every five minutes and highly trained professional US military soldiers are getting killed in AMBUSHES for pete’s sake. Heck, we wrote the book on ambushes and should be doing that to them, INSTEAD, monkeys like Al Sadr, Al Tikriti, Al Zarqawi and other terrorists are STILL running the region?
That doesn’t sound like a quagmire to you? At least in the Vietnam quagmire, we WON all of the battles. Over there we are downright losing many and then running like little pink bereted sissies everytime one of those goons fires and RPG at us.
Trust me, I support my brethren in arms over there and thus why I am so angry that they are not being allowed to do what they do best and that is KILL, KILL and KILL again until the enemy either surrenders unconditionally or ceases to exist.
There is ZERO excuse for another soldier dying over there when our tax dollars pay for the:
B-52
F-111B
B-1B
B-2
F-16
F/A-18
F-15
AC-130 Spectre Gunships
GBU Ordnance
MOABs
M-109 Paladins
MLRS
M1A1 Abrams Tanks
“Bunker Busters”
Tactical Nuclear Weapons
It appears that our military may be infected by hippie era peaceniks rather than blood and guts warriors.
If this is a war, the FIGHT IT like one. That is all I am saying. Anything less is indeed a quagmire.
Well if we don’t at least start fighting like the Roman Empire, this short lived 200 year experiment WILL quickly come to an end.
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