MR 052112 Web

1 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.
NET - WEEK OF MAY 21 - 27, 2012

Rochester, NY VOL 5. NO. 30
may 21 - 27, 2012
www.MinorityReporter.net w t
From Information to Understanding
F I U
MinorityReporter
g F
Remembering
Donna Summer
December 31, 1948 May 17, 2012
2 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF MAY 21 - 27, 2012
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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COLUMNISTS
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In This Issue:
COVER Pgs 8 - 9
- Remembering Donna Summer
By Rodney Brown
READERS WRITE Pg 3
LOCAL Pgs 4 - 6
- Getting Ready for Kindergarten in
the Fall
- Harris Honored for Community
Service
- Kodak Closing Rochester Unit; 80
Jobs Impacted
- Research Reactor an Obscure
Piece of Kodak History
- Vargas Seeks to Reconstruct High
Level of Administrators Contracts
STATE Pg 7
- State Spending $39M on
Highways, Bridges and Parks
- NY Rule Says Insurers Must Seek
Beneciaries
-- NY Anti-fracking Movement Gets
Star-studded Boost
- NY Seeks to Deny Murderers
Spousal Burial Rights
HEALTH Pg 11
- Healthy Eating Can Cost Less,
Study Finds
NATIONAL Pg 12
- First Lady Has Plan to Get Kids
Involved in Sports
COLUMNS: Pg 14-15
- Wake Up Convicted Felons: Time
to Register & Vote
By Gloria Winston Al-Sarag
- A Clear Choice!
By Michael Vaughn
- Gay Marriage Wont Cost
President Obama Black Votes
By Earl Hutchinson
- Europes Lesson: No Time for
Austerity Measures
By Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr.
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Editor@MinorityReporter.net
Send us your
Not Enough Black Jurors?
(hp://www.minorityreporter.net/fullstory.php?id=1004)
The Monroe County court system is full of malarky. The legal professionals who
work and play the game have turned it into a mockery of jusce. Minories get
charged with some of the most ridiculous crimes imaginable (jaywalking, looking
at someone). Many of the naves have been condioned and indoctrinated to
le these B/S charges. Shame many have not learned or matured enough to work
out situaons for themselves. I dont trust anything or ANYONE down there at
the Hall of INJUSTICE! Its a place where the rules are subject to change or be
broken at will. Its a 3-ring circus where the players (Judge, D.A, Lawyer) perform
extremely well. The level of CHEATING, railroading and falsifying charges is truly
criminal.
~TERASA HARRIS
The Rochester Genesee Valley Club
Celebrates Founders Day
Thanks again to Martha Scoeld-Hope and the Rochester Genesee Valley Club
for this disnguished honor! Congrats to all the winners!
~Cynthia Benjamin
What Mother's Day Means to Me
I enjoyed reading this story,it was very hearelt.For a son to show his mother
that kind of love and compassion; and to make an unlled memory come to pass
in his day and me. It will be something the both of them will cherish in years
to come.How blessed.
~M D
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: As a community, blacks connue to react and not proacvely seek
systemac change. With regard to the quote above, one of the most outstanding issues
in parcular, which black folk seem straight up fearful of confronng is widespread,
pervasive, entrenched, individual racism, which is embodied in the cultural a tudes
and belief systems -- within the very psyches of the majority of RCSD teachers and
administrators -- whom black people are stupid enough to trust with our most precious
and valuable resource (the hearts, minds and souls of our children -- literally our future)
-- without even requiring adequate and appropriate training for the former -- in order
to foster knowledge, understanding, and appreciaon of the collecve, historical,
socioeconomic, sociopolical and sociocultural experience of those whom they are
aempng to instruct, especially since the laers overall collecve experience is so
vastly dierent than that of the former. In essence, this reality represents one of the
most blatant examples of instuonalized racism that exists anywhere in the world.
That is, as the author so eloquently explained -- the reality is supported, propped up,
maintained, and perpetuated via rules, laws, regulaons, policies, pracces, procedures,
and long-standing tradions within the instuon. As it relates to this parcular issue
-- I am unequivocally convinced that this is one of the most outstanding reasons why
black people are so, so reluctant and fearful to proacvely seek systemac change.
That is to say, many would like to be able to change the instuon -- without confronng
individuals, which is absolutely impossible -- because individual and instuonalized
racism are virtually bound up together and totally inseparable from one another.
Instuons do not establish, develop, maintain, perpetuate, and/or change themselves
-- people do -- period.
~Howard J. Eagle
The Rochester City School District was not set-up/established to teach or nurture
children of African descent. Many hold fast to that utopian dream...actually...the
intended educaon of people of color, parcularly African Americans, was specically
engineered to simply produce economic units ... near-slave labor OR the arguably
preferred, alternate prot generaon scheme called Incarceraon. Conversely, the
educaon provided to other students is specically designed to produce the next
generaon of handlers of the newly programmed economic units...I believe this is,
and has always been, the very nature of the public educaon (MIS-educaon) system
for people of color. We have tremendously talented teachers within our community...the
writer of this piece is a good example of one... is it too far-fetched to place at least a lile
bit of our collecve protest energies into once again establishing our OWN schools
or at the very least pro-acvely assisng parents (who are so inclined) to Homeschool?
While European communies have been, or remain FULLY engaged in the homeschool
movement, there is very, very, very lile conversaon in our community around these
viable and VERY possible opons.
~Gerard Hunt
RCSD Bullies
Ge ng Ready for Kindergarten in the Fall
By Dr. Robin Hooper
May is a very busy me for our
prekindergarten students and their
families as they prepare to aend
kindergarten in the fall.
During the month of May
prekindergarten teachers are
compleng their assessments of
student progress to gauge the learning
that has taken place throughout the
year using the Child Observaon
Record and the Teacher-Child Rang
Scale.
Both assessments rely on teacher
observaon of specic skills and
both are used to compare current
performance to student performance
measured at the beginning of the year
using the same assessments.
We typically see more than ten months
growth for our student populaon at
the end of the year indicang that our
students rate of progress is higher than
a typical rate of progress. Throughout
the year teachers document progress
related to these assessments using
anecdotal notes and samples of
student work that are shared with
parents. It is excing to see how much
learning has taken place during the
year.
In May parents and students prepare
for their transion to kindergarten by
registering for kindergarten, selecng
schools, securing transportaon and
organizing schedules for childcare,
work and family acvies to t the full
day kindergarten schedule.
We are fortunate to have a full day
kindergarten program in the Rochester
City School District to support student
learning. It may take students a
few weeks to adjust to aending
school all day in the fall; however
in my experience of being a former
kindergarten teacher when our district
provided half day kindergarten and
eight years of supervising kindergarten
I do believe our students benet
greatly from the full day program in
our district.
Parents can support their children
through the transion from their
half day prekindergarten program to
the full day kindergarten program by
talking with their child about what to
expect when they start kindergarten
in the fall, establishing a consistent
bedme schedule be-fore school
begins in September and establishing
a roune for ge ng ready for school
in the morning.
Parents can prepare children
academically for entry into
kindergarten by reading with them
daily and holding conversaons with
them about things they are interested
in discussing to develop language
skills.
The Rochester City School District is
working to ensure our students are
reading on grade level by third grade
through the implementaon of the
ROC Reads program.
In June each four-year-old student will
receive four books to keep and read
over the summer as part of the ROC
Reads iniave. Four year old students
will also receive a Leap Frog word
builder to assist them in developing
skills in leer, sound and word
idencaon during the summer.
In addion, all of our four-year-olds
and their families are invited to join us
for a Transion to Kindergarten Family
Event on May 19th from 10 AM unl
2 PM at School No. 33/Ryan Center
located at 500 Webster Avenue.
Source: RCSD
Kodak Closing Rochester Unit; 80 Jobs Impacted
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ Eastman Kodak
Co. says it will shut down one of its
operaons in Rochester and transfer
the work to the companys Colorado
site.
The Rochester-based photography
company announced Monday that
most of the 80 people who work at the
thermal media coang and nishing
operaon at the Eastman Business
Park will be impacted by the move. It
was unclear whether workers would
be laid o or transferred.
Since Kodak led for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protecon in January, the
company has announced nearly 500
layos in the Rochester area, where it
employed about 5,000 workers at the
end of 2011.
Kodak said its moving the work to its
Windsor, Colo., site because it has two
coang machines that can meet the
demand, compared to only one at the
Rochester operaon.
Photo source: Rueters Pictures
Harris Honored For Community Service
Sta
For Rural/Metros LaShay Harris,
community commitment isnt
something she takes lightly.
The Rochester Public Informaon
O cer is passionate about giving back
to the community Rural/Metro serves,
and has taken it a step further by
applying that level of dedicaon in her
personal life.
For her eorts, Harris was recently
named Cizen of the Year by the
19th Ward Community Associaon,
the longest-running, non-prot
community associaon in the naon.
The Cizen of the Year Award is
given annually to a person who has
made signicant contribuons to the
19th Ward community and made it a
beer place to live. Harris has been a
resident of the 19th Ward Community
since 1999 and in 2010, suered from
a devastang house re that forced
her to seek shelter in temporary
housing. Instead of le ng the house
re hold her back, it movated her to
move forward by devong herself to
community service.
I can think of no one who deserves
this honor more than LaShay, said Tom
Bonglio, Division General Manager.
Her commitment to serving others
extends beyond her public relaons
role at Rural/Metro. She experienced
rst-hand the compassion and support
of her neighbors when she lost her
home to a re two years ago.
Rather than leaving the neighborhood,
she made the decision to rebuild and
rededicate herself to making the
19th Ward a beer place to live. We
couldnt be more proud.
Harris has worked for Rural/Metro
Medical Services for 18 years and
has been a Paramedic since 1997.
She also has her Associates Degree
in Communicaons Media Arts from
Monroe Community College.
Prior to her role as Public Informaon
O cer for Rural/Metro, she worked
as Assistant Operaons Manager for
Irondequoit Ambulance.
Harris is a BLS American Heart
Associaon CPR Instructor and also
holds a current New York real estate
license.
In all the years Ive been involved
with the community associaon, I
cant think of many people who have
just come in and goen so involved
in so many ways so quickly and so
eecvely as LaShay, wrote Don and
Karen Pryor, residents of the 19th
Ward, in their nominaon leer on
Harris behalf. What a breath of fresh
air! Never complaining, but always
upbeat, with an infecous can-do,
what-needs-to-be-done a tude that
not only takes charge but makes things
happen.
Rochesters 19th Ward is the largest
neighborhood in the City of Rochester
and home to more than 22,000
residents. The 19th Ward Community
Associaon has been acve since 1965
and represents neighbors striving to
preserve the residenal character of
the neighborhood. The Associaons
mission is To create a conscious mul-
racial community where individual
and cultural dierences are celebrated
and where people share a sense of
community.
Harris has been instrumental in
organizing the 19th Ward Annual
Square Fair Fesval and the Marn
Luther King Luminary event, which
she has chaired for the last two
years. She has volunteered countless
hours serving as rst vice president
of the associaon and previously as a
delegate representave.
Research Reactor an Obscure Piece of Kodak History
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ A lile-known
piece of Kodaks history has emerged
as the company struggles for survival:
It used to operate a small nuclear
research reactor at its Rochester, N.Y.,
home.
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
reported (hp://on.rocne.ws/JUUy84
) the reactor fueled by 3 1/2 pounds
of highly enriched uranium operated
for 30 years before it was dismantled
in 2007. The fuel was taken under
high security to a federal facility, a
move kept secret following the 9/11
aacks amid concerns about weapons
grade uranium falling into the hands of
terrorists.
Kodak said it shut down the reactor
because it was no longer needed.
Researchers said the company used the
refrigerator-sized device to produce
neutrons for tesng materials and
imaging. They said it was menoned
in research papers and in some federal
documents. But the company didnt
publicize its existence in the city.
`Ìt was a known enty, but it was not
well-publicized, Albert Filo, a former
Kodak research scienst who worked
with the device for nearly 20 years,
told the newspaper.
Christopher Veronda, a company
spokesman, said he could not nd
any evidence Kodak ever publicly
announced the presence of the facility.
He also wasnt sure if local police, re
or other emergency o cials were ever
told of the reactor kept behind 2-foot-
thick concrete walls in a bunker under
Kodak Park.
Current city o cials said they didnt
know about the reactor.
Research reactors at Cornell and the
University at Bualo have also been
shut down in recent years. Rensselaer
Polytechnic Universitys reactor, the
only one remaining in New York, is
no longer fueled by highly enriched
uranium.
Rochester Works
Sta
Youth employment in Rochester shares
the same dilemma as most urban
cies in America where more than
60 percent of its youth populaon
are without employment during the
summer months.
The greatest porons of the
unemployed youth in the City of
Rochester are in communies
populated predominately by Blacks
and Lanos. During the summer more
than 50 percent of Blacks and Lanos
living in the city are unemployed or
underemployed.
To help combat the issue for the 2012
summer months, New York State is
allocang $25 million for the NYS
Youth Summer Employment Program.
Rochester Works, a local employment
recruitment agency is set to receive a
bulk of the funding.
The money will be used to pay
the wages of youth hired by local
businesses and corporaons located
in The Greater Rochester Region.
Parcipants who qualify have to be
between the ages of 14 and 20 years-
old and their families income has to
be less than $37,000 a year for a family
of three or either receives public
assistance.
In reference to overall economy as
a whole Rochester Works Execuve
Director Peter Pecor, during an
interview in 2011 noted Rochester
has been prey resilient during the
naons economic downturn.
If you look at the number of people
that was employed in the past by
Eastman Kodak, Xerox and other
large manufactures and look at the
ways those companies have down
sized aer experiencing such a job
lost in Rochester, the city should look
like a ghost town, Pecor said. The
harsh reality is that while our region
has a beer educated, trained and
experienced workforce than most, too
many people are sll unemployed,
under-employed, or technically have
exited the workforce.
According to a Rochester Works report
the unemployment rate for April 2011
stabilized at 7.9 percent. Pecor say the
true employment rate is probably at 12
to 15 percent and at 24 to 30 percent
in minority communies.
He believes the city is experiencing
a growing number of people who
are unemployed; plus, the skill level
of those individuals has changed
dramacally.
Pecor speculates that some folks in
communies that are predominately
minority who might do not have the
educaonal or skill levels are now
compeng with people who have
been in the workforce for many years
and probably have a higher educaon.
The playing eld has changed,
Pecor said. The employers today
can be very selecve. I dont think
that has anything to do with minority
populaon but has to do with skill
levels.
RochesterWorks, Monroe Countys
largest employment and training
iniave, is dedicated to helping
Monroe County in the Rochester NY
region develop a strong workforce.
Pecor says RochesterWorks helps
job seekers nd jobs, move to higher
paying jobs and get training to improve
skills.
RochesterWorks assists businesses
with recruitment, assessment,
placement and training, and
connects them to all federally-funded
employment and training programs in
Monroe County.
Services are free of charge and
are available at two full-service
career centers located at 255 North
Goodman Street and 276 Waring
Road. RochesterWorks is part of the
Workforce New York network.
Vargas Seeks to Reconstruct
High Level Administrators Contracts
Sta
As soon as he got his foot in the door
as Interim Superintendent orf the
Rochester City School District, Bolgen
Vargas red Deputy Superintendent
John Scanlan, Communicaons
director Tom Petronio and Chief of
Strategic Planning James Fenton--all
former members of the Superintendent
Employee Group, or SEG.
The SEG works directly with the
superintendent to help design
strategic plans aimed to boost
academic achievement. Some of the
group members are solely employed
to serve as a communicaon buer to
the community. The SEG at one point
swelled to more than one-hundred
employees.
Over their tenures, a great majority
of city residents and parents has
quesoned the SEGs value in regards
to the job they were hired to do based
on academic data showing the district
havent been able to graduate more
than 60 percent of their students in the
last 20 years. The graduaon rates for
the last four years have never o cially
moved above 50 percent.
Less than a month aer being chosen
as the permanent superintendent,
Vargas says he plans to ask the school
board to approve changes to contracts
of members of the SEG which is non-
unionized.
If approved by the board, SEG
members will begin to start paying
between 10 and 15 percent of the cost
toward their health insurance. Before,
SEG members paid nothing towards
the cost. In addion, vacaon me not
taken by members of the group can no
longer be cashed in if they do not use
it.
Vargas said there will likely be more
reconstrucng done to the SEG in the
months ahead.
Upon assuming his post, Vargas noted
his top priories were to boost student
achievement and improve the districts
student aendance rate and restore
a respecul level of communicaon
between district o cials and parents.
Vargas believes some things in the
district have been le unchecked for
years and is unacceptable and needs
to be change, he said.
In comments to the media, Vargas said
he intends to lead by example.
NY An-fracking Movement Gets Star-studded Boost
By MARY ESCH
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The an-fracking
movement in New York state is
turning up the star power with a rally
and concert hosted by actors Mark
Rualo and Melissa Leo and featuring
Natalie Merchant, John Sebasan,
Joan Osborne and a host of other
performers.
The concert Tuesday evening at The
Egg, a 982-seat performing arts center
in the state Capitol complex, will
conclude a day of demonstraons
calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to ban
hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for
gas in the Marcellus Shale region of
southern New York.
Actor Mark Rualo, who has a
home in Callicoon in upstate New
York, is acve in a coalion of 100
environmental, health care, polical
and other organizaons called
New Yorkers Against Fracking. The
coalion is pu ng on the concert in
Albany to draw aenon to health,
environmental and social problems
related to shale gas development.
Opponents say fracking, which blasts
chemically treated water into a well
to crack shale and release gas, could
contaminate water supplies with toxic
chemicals and radiaon. They cite
numerous cases of health problems
such as headaches, nosebleeds and
rashes in humans, and reproducve
problems in livestock in areas of
the country with heavy gas-drilling
acvity. The industry says fracking has
been used safely for decades and has
provided a cleaner alternave to coal.
New York hasnt allowed shale
gas fracking since it started an
environmental review four years ago.
That review is in its nal stages, and
the Cuomo administraon is expected
to decide someme this year whether
to start issuing permits to drill.
A growing number of celebries are
speaking out against fracking. Many of
them have homes or relaves in upstate
New York. Actor Alec Baldwin, whose
mother lives in Syracuse, is hosng
an an-fracking event in that city on
June 2 featuring a screening of Josh
Foxs crically acclaimed documentary
``Gasland. Leo, who won an Academy
Award for her supporng role in the
2010 lm ``The Fighter, lives in Stone
Ridge in Putnam County.
Other actors who have spoken out
against fracking include Ethan Hawke,
Sandra Bernhard, Amy Ryan, Zoe
Saldana, Fran Drescher, Debra Winger,
and Nadia Dajani. Tuesdays concert
will be recorded by Academy Award-
winning lmmaker Alex Gibney.
While celebries help get the message
to a broad audience, people who have
been working at the grassroots level
to keep shale gas development out
of New York say the movement isnt
led by stars but by a broad spectrum
of residents who fear rural landscapes
will be transformed into an unhealthy
industrial zone.
``The grassroots are tens of thousands
of people using their vacaon days to
go to rallies, spending their savings to
get the word out, and going door-to-
door ge ng thousands of signatures
on peons, said Sue Rapp of Vestal
Residents for Safe Energy, a local group
in Broome County. ``The entrance of
celebries just amplies our voice.
Their cricism has also been countered
by local landowners who stand to gain
from drilling leases.
NY Rule says Insurers Must Seek Beneciaries
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Insurers doing
business in New York are now required
to regularly search a government list of
recent deaths to idenfy policyholders,
then nd and pay beneciaries even
when no claims are made.
The Department of Financial Services
says that follows its invesgaon last
year that resulted in life insurance
companies paying more than $262
million to nearly 33,000 consumers
naonwide.
Invesgators found many insurance
companies regularly checked the list
of recent deaths from the U.S. Social
Security Administraon to stop making
payments on annuies aer someone
had died, but didnt do the same when
owing death benets.
Insurers now must cross check their
policies every three months.
The new regulaon also tells life
insurers to report annually to the state
comptroller the number of policies
with no beneciary found.
NY Seeks to Deny Murderers Spousal Burial Rights
By MICHAEL GORMLEY
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ As Constance
Shepherds family grieved over her
death at the hands of her husband,
they had hoped to nd some comfort
by giving her a proper funeral.
But aer slashing his wifes throat,
Stephen Shepherd inicted more pain,
they said.
For months in 2009, Shepherd refused
to release his wifes body as he was
tried and sent to prison for her murder.
Eventually, Shepherd had his aorney
bury her remains hundreds of miles
from her western New York home and
her outraged family, near his favorite
shing spot.
A bill in New Yorks Legislature is
aimed at ending that power of an
abusive spouse even in death. It would
prohibit spouses charged with murder
or subject to restraining orders from
dictang what happens to the bodies
of the wives or husbands theyre
accused of killing, said Republican Sen.
Michael Ranzenhofer of Erie County,
the bills main sponsor. With majority-
party sponsors in the Senate and
Assembly, the bills chances of passage
are good.
``The bully took her away from us
in life and then he took her away in
death, said Elaine OToole, Constance
Shepherds cousin. OToole said she
was close to ``Connie, who lived a
mile away in the Bualo suburb of
Tonawanda.
Laws to protect murder vicms aer
death have been passed by several
states for decades.
In those states, ``slayer laws going
back decades prohibit murderers
from making funeral arrangements
for spouses theyve killed. Such laws
primarily prohibit murderers from
collecng life insurance claims, estates
and other benets because of their
vicms deaths, but oen limit the
power to hold the funeral for slain
spouses as well, said Mai Fernandez
of the Naonal Center for Vicms of
Crime.
`Ì think its a good idea, Fernandez
said of New Yorks proposal.
``You shouldnt get any kind of
benet for murdering people ... and
the power to dispose of the body
properly shouldnt be given back to
the murderer, she said.
Neither the center nor the Naonal
Conference of State Legislatures had
informaon on whether any other
states are considering legislaon
similar to the New York bill.
Under New Yorks current health law,
spouses have primary control over
a spouses funeral arrangements,
regardless of the manner of death. If
a spouse isnt alive, the power goes to
children and the deceaseds parents.
At a news conference Monday, OToole,
53, said Constance Shepherds family
was never told when she was buried.
``This doubled the pain.
The husband, however, apparently
honored some wish of his spouse, a
Buddhist, by burying her at a Buddhist
temple, where members accepted her
cremated remains without cost.
New Yorks bill is also prompted by
another case in which a husband who
beheaded his wife inside the suburban
Bualo television staon the couple
operated, then refused to let her
family bury her. Muzzammil Hassan
was sentenced in 2011 to 25 years
to life for beheading his wife, Aasiya
Hassan, and stabbing her more than
40 mes.
A week before the killing, the 37-year-
old mother of three led for divorce.
It would be months before she was
buried, and then it was controlled by
her murderer.
`Ìt doesnt make sense that if youre
accused of murdering your spouse,
you get control over their body and the
funeral arrangements, Razenhofer
said. ``That only serves to compound a
familys grief aer the tragic passing of
a loved one.
The new element in the bill would
prohibit someone subject to a
restraining order, as well as an accused
murderer, from having control over a
dead spouses body.
The bill also would allow for a court
hearing so accused spouses who
contend they have been wrongly
charged with murder can make a case
and bury the vicm. It also allows for
a similar court challenge by a spouse
who had an order of protecon sworn
against him or her, but who want a
suspect in the murder.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK Disco queen Donna
Summer, whose pulsing anthems
such as Last Dance, Love to Love
You Baby and Bad Girl became the
soundtrack for a gliery age of sex,
drugs, dance and ashy clothes, has
died. She was 63.
Her family released a statement, saying
Summer died Thursday morning and
that they are at peace celebrang her
extraordinary life and her connued
legacy.
Words truly cant express how much
we appreciate your prayers and love
for our family at this sensive me,
the statement read. She had been
living in Englewood, Fla., with her
husband Bruce Sudano.
Summer came to prominence just as
disco was burgeoning, and came to
dene the era with a string of No. 1
hits and her beauty queen looks.
Disco became as much dened by her
sultry, sexual vocals her bedroom
moans and sighs as the relentless,
pulsing rhythms of the music itself.
Love to Love You Baby, with its eroc
moans, was her rst hit and one of
the most scandalous songs of the
polyester-and-plaorm-heel era.
Unlike some other stars of disco
who faded as the music became less
popular, Summer was able to grow
beyond it and later segued to a pop-
rock sound. She had one of her biggest
hits in the 1980s with She Works
Hard For The Money, which became
another anthem, this me for womens
rights.
Soon aer, Summer became a born-
again Chrisan and faced controversy
when she was accused of making an-
gay comments in relaon to the AIDS
epidemic. Summer denied making the
comments, but was the target of a
boyco.
Sll, even as disco went out of fashion
she remained a xture in dance clubs,
endlessly sampled and remixed into
contemporary dance hits.
Summer, real name LaDonna Adrian
Gaines, was born in 1948 in Boston.
She was raised on gospel music and
became the soloist in her church choir
by age 10.
Love to Love You Baby was her U.S.
chart debut and the rst of 19 No. 1
dance hits between 1975 and 2008
second only to Madonna.
During the disco era she burned up the
charts: She was the only arst to have
three consecuve double-LPs hit No.
1, Live and More, Bad Girls and
On the Radio. She was also the rst
female arst with four No. 1 singles in
a 13-month period, according to the
Rock Hall of Fame, where she was a
nominee this year.
She was never comfortable with the
Disco Queen label. Musically, she
began to change in 1979 with Hot
Stu, which had a tough, rock n roll
beat. Her diverse sound helped her
earn Grammy Awards in the dance,
rock, R&B and inspiraonal categories.
Dionne Warwick said in a statement
that she was sad to lose a great
performer and dear friend.
My heart goes out to her husband and
her children, Warwick said. Prayers
will be said to keep them strong.
Musician Nile Rodgers tweeted: For
the last half hour or so Ive been lying
in my bed crying and stunned. Donna
Summer RIP.
Summer released her last album,
Crayons, in 2008. It was her rst
full studio album in 17 years. She also
performed on American Idol that
year with its top female contestants.
In a sign of her connued relevance,
the Broadway musical Priscilla Queen
of the Desert, The Musical, features
two versions of Summer songs with
Hot Stu and MacArthur Park.
Its a tragedy to lose an icon at such
a young age, actor and singer Nick
Adams, who plays Adam in the show,
said in an email.
Remembering
Donna Summer
Donna Summer, Queen of Disco, dies at 63
December 31, 1948

May 17, 2012
1 :: WWW.0,125,7<5(3257(5.NET - WEEK OF APR 30 - MAY 6, 2012
Rochester, NY
VOL 5. NO. 27
APR 30 - may 6, 2012
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1 :: WWW.0,125,7<5(3257(5.NET - WEEK OF APRIL 23 - 29, 2012
Rochester, NY
VOL 5. NO. 26
APRIL 23 - 29, 2012 www.MinorityReporter.net
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From Informa
rom Inform tion to Unde
on to Und Understanding
rstanding
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Criminal roling or kacial roling

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Special Sessions Dates vary
Healthy Eang Can Cost Less, Study Finds
By SAM HANANEL
WASHINGTON (AP) Is it really
more expensive to eat healthy?
An Agriculture Department study
released Wednesday found that most
fruits, vegetables and other healthy
foods cost less than foods high in fat,
sugar and salt.
That counters a common percepon
among some consumers that its
cheaper to eat junk food than a
nutrionally balanced meal.
The government says it all depends
on how you measure the price. If
you compare the price per calorie
as some previous researchers have
done then higher-calorie pastries
and processed snacks might seem like
a bargain compared with fruits and
vegetables.
But comparing the cost of foods by
weight or poron size shows that
grains, vegetables, fruit and dairy
foods are less expensive than most
meats or foods high in saturated fat,
added sugars or salt.
That means bananas, carrots, leuce
and pinto beans are all less expensive
per poron than French fries, so
drinks, ice cream or ground beef.
Using price per calorie doesnt tell
you how much food youre going to
get or how full you are going to feel,
said Andrea Carlson, scienst at the
USDAs Economic Research Service
and an author of the study.
For example, eang a chocolate glazed
donut with 240 calories might not
saate you but a banana with 105
calories just might.
In the comparisons, the USDA
researchers used naonal average
prices from Nielsen Homescan data,
which surveyed a panel of households
that recorded all food purchases over
a year from retail outlets.
The cost of eang healthy foods has
been the subject of growing debate
as experts warn Americans about the
dangers of obesity. More than a third
of U.S. adults are obese, according
to the government, and researchers
expect that number to grow to 42
percent by 2030.
Cheap food that provides few
nutrients may actually be expensive
for the consumer from a nutrional
economy perspecve, whereas food
with a higher retail price that provides
large amounts of nutrients may
actually be quite cheap, the study
said.
The USDA study cricizes a 2010 report
from researchers at the University of
Washington, which found that calorie-
for-calorie junk food is more cost-
eecve for low-income people than
eang healthy.
Adam Drewnowski, director of the
Nutrional Sciences Program at the
University of Washington and lead
author of the prior study, said he
stands by his ndings that a healthier
diet generally costs more. He said there
is no government recommendaon for
how many pounds of food an American
should eat each day, but there are
federal guidelines that suggest a 2,000
calorie diet.
Some of these calories are in fact
empty calories, so from the standpoint
of nutrion they are not terric,
Drewnowski said. But the empty
calories keep you from being hungry,
and this is why people buy them,
especially lower-income people.
Margo Wootan, a nutrion advocate
with the Center for Science in the
Public Interest, said some people
dont think they get as much value
from fruits and vegetables as they get
from other foods.
If they buy a bag of chips for $2,
they think its a good deal, but if they
buy a bag of apples for $2, they think
its a lot, Wootan said. We need to
do more to help people understand
that fruits and vegetables are not as
expensive as they think they are.
Wootan said shopping smart can
make healthy eang more aordable.
Consumers should be more exible
about choosing less expensive fruits
and vegetables that are in season and
supplemenng those with frozen or
canned fruits and vegetables so they
dont have to throw away as much.
First Lady Has Plan to Get Kids Involved in Sports
By DAVE SKRETTA
DALLAS (AP) _ Michelle Obama
remembers si ng in front of her
television many years ago and watching
Mary Lou Reon, Nadia Comaneci and
Carl Lewis as they competed in the
Summer Olympics.
``Like so many others, she said, `Ì was
awed and inspired by those athletes.
Mrs. Obama admied that she was
sll in awe Monday, when she took the
stage with about two dozen Olympic
and Paralympic athletes to announce
a plan to get more than 1.7 million
children involved in sports through
her ``Lets Move! iniave to combat
childhood obesity.
The rst lady is partnering with
the U.S. Olympic Commiee, the
Partnership for a Healthier America,
U.S. Paralympics and numerous
naonal governing bodies that have
pledged their me and resources
toward introducing young people to
their sports over the course of the
summer.
``When we rst met with these
organizaons, we challenged them to
commit to helping 1 million kids get
acve in their communies. That was
our rst target, and we thought that
was ambious, said Mrs. Obama, who
will also be leading the U.S. delegaon
to the London Games.
``They not only met that goal, she
said, ``they added another 700,000 to
that commitment.
USA Cycling is oering free
memberships and clinics naonwide,
while USA Field Hockey is launching
the ``FUNdamental Field Hockey
program at 250 locaons reaching
15,000 kids.
USA Gymnascs plans to reach 40,000
addional children, the U.S. Soccer
Federaon will engage 12,000 youth in
aerschool programs, and USA Track
& Field is expanding its youth program
by 35 percent, and the U.S. Tennis
Associaon plans to reach 750,000
new kids this year. USA Swimming
hopes to enroll 530,000 new learn-
to-swim parcipants in its ``Make a
Splash program, and engage 70,000
new youth member through local
chapters.
``The `Lets Move! campaign is
amazing, and its something I believe
in, said three-me Olympic gold
medalist Natalie Coughlin, who
introduced the rst lady on Monday.
`Ìve been volunteering with The
Edible Schoolyard Project to teach
children healthy lifestyles through
food, and knowing where food comes
from, and `Lets Move! is the other
side of that, Coughlin said. `Ìts
ge ng out there and being acve and
not being sedentary.
The U.S. Olympians Associaon
recently began a ``Walk to London
program during which 5,456 children
will walk a total of 5,456 miles _ the
distance from Los Angeles to London.
Meanwhile, U.S. Paralympics is
engaging a combined 87,500 young
people through a variety of programs.
USA Volleyball and USA Basketball are
also involved in the iniave.
``Many of these kids will be playing
sports for the very rst me, and that
is so important, because somemes _
as all of you know _ all it takes is that
rst lesson, or that rst class, to get a
child interested in a new sport, Mrs.
Obama said.
She began the ``Lets Move! iniave
in February 2010 as a way to promote
a healthy and acve lifestyle in the
United States, where nearly one in
three children is overweight or obese.
The rst lady recently hosted a mini-
Olympics event for local school children
along with Samantha Cameron, the
wife of Brish Prime Minister David
Cameron. She has also appeared on
the hit TV show ``The Biggest Loser
and with celebries such as Jay Leno
and Jimmy Fallon.
``The naonal governing bodies have
all signed an agreement to outline
what theyll do, said USOC CEO Sco
Blackmun. ``Were very proud to
support the rst lady.
Mrs. Obama has been acvely
involved in the Olympic movement
for years, joining President Obama in
Denmark during the nal presentaon
for Chicagos failed bid for the 2016
Olympics.
In March, it was announced that
the rst lady would lead the U.S.
delegaon at the London Games, with
the opening ceremony scheduled
for July 27. Shell be following in the
footsteps of Hillary Clinton, who led
the delegaon at the 1994 Winter
Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and
Laura Bush, who led the way at the
2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
`Ì am beyond proud to be leading the
U.S. delegaon, Mrs. Obama said.
``When Im si ng in that stadium in
London, cheering on Team USA, Ill be
thinking about all those young people
cheering at home. Ill be thinking about
the power of the games to truly inspire
a generaon, and Ill be thinking about
how our Olympic and Paralympic
athletes can serve as role models for
our young people, as examples of the
values we want our kids to learn.
11-20
Lilac Fesval
Time: 10:30AM - 8:30PM
The only 10-day free fesval of
its kind in North America. It is
inspired by a magnicent lilac
collecon at Highland Park that
plays host to over 500 variees of
lilacs on more than 1,200 bushes.
What was rst planted in 1892
by horculturist John Dunbar has
turned into the worlds largest
lilac collecon that even Martha
Stewart has enjoyed when she
visited the fesval in 2007.
12
CPR and Emergency Preparedness
Training
Time: 11:00AM-1:00 PM
Locaon: an Community Center,
700 North St.
12
Flower City Looking Good -
Horculture Workshop
Time: 6:00PM-7:00 PM
Locaon: Monroe Branch Library,
809 Monroe Avenue
Join a free gardening talk designed
to address your specic gardening
quesons. Subjects include
gardening on a budget, growing
plants from seed, planning a
vegetable garden, raising herbs,
and more. Michael Warren
Thomas, 428-8820
15-31
Nazareth College Hosts Photo
Voice Project Exhibit
Time: 8:00a.m.-8:00p.m.
Locaon: Nazareth Colleges
Loree Wilmot Library
There will be an opening recepon
on May 17, at 6:00 p.m.The event
is free and open to the public.
About: In the fall of 2011, the
Photo Voice Project was developed
in an eort to bring awareness
to what it is like to be homeless
in Rochester while incorporang
parcipants photography and
wring skills. Individuals took
photos of their daily lives and
then reected on these captured
moments. The project seeks to
encourage new ideas and soluons
to the epidemic of homelessness.
JUNE
1-3
Fairport Canal Days 35th
Anniversary Celebraon
CALENDAR
May
CLASSI FI EDS
Services
MA Ferrauilo Plmb.
& Htg. Inc. is solicing
plumbing & HVAC subcon-
tractor quotes for Rochester
Schools Modernizaon
Program -- Phase 1A, RCSD
Charloe High School from
NY State Cered MBE,
WBE, SBE a& DBE rms
on 5/22/12 @ 12:00 pm.
Please contact Joe Ferrauilo
@ 585-328-8910 or joe@
ferrauiloph.com EOE
Public Noces:
For Sale:
1370 Hudson Avenue
Roc hest er, New Yor k
Exc el Educ at i onal Ser vi c es, LLC
(This is not a GED)
Get Your
High School
Diploma In
8 Weeks
Call today!
TEL: 585-266-1001
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.
STRAIGHTNO CHASER
Wake Up Convicted Felons: Time to Register & Vote
Congressman Jesse
Jackson, Jr.s speech,
as the keynote
speaker at Minister
Franklin Florences
recognion dinner
earlier this month,
was a meant to
wake a call for our
community.
Jackson clearly
said: Wake up
Rochester, in a
voice that resonated throughout my inner
being.
One of the things he woke up in me was
to remind all convicted felons those no
longer on parole or on paper that they
do have vong rights they need to be
aware of and exercise.
It not only amazes me how many young
convicted felons we have on record in our
community, but that when they do serve
their me and pay their debts to society,
no one in the parole o ce encourages
or educates then on how to restore their
vong rights.
Young convicted felons have become so
much the norm in our community it goes
without saying that we/they need to
wake up.
There was a me when knowing a black
convicted felon was as rare as knowing a
black welfare recipient. There was a me
when we had too much pride to be in that
number when it was counted. There was a
me when nding an elderly black person
in a nursing home was a rarity as well.
But now, as it relates to convicted felons,
every family seems to have one, or
everyone knows at least one person who
is.
We all certainly know how economics, a
lack of educaon, a lack of employment
opportunies, racism, injusce, and more
have become dream killers for most of our
young men.
Those choosing to become fathers at
an early age only amplify and create the
need to throw stones at the penitenary,
because children always seem to need
more, or have more, and thats a parents
reality.
Good parenng of children requires
responsibility and the need to consistently
care for them. The lack of educaon and
employment of parents oen increases
the need for someone else or the system
to care for them.

With that comes the unfortunate pride of
young black men wanng to take care of
theirs; and the pressure to provide like real
men, from their babys mama.
Thats a signicant reason why 50 percent
of our young black men are convicted
felons and/or imprisoned naonwide.
In her book, The New Jim Crow
(Mass incarceraon in the Age of Color
Blindness), Michelle Alexander, a civil
rights aorney speaks loudly and clearly
to the warehousing of our young men.
She speaks to how the Jim Crow laws,
once removed from law books have
resurfaced in a various forms. Michelle
Alexander warns in her preface that this
book is not for those who have no interest
in racial jusce, or any understanding how
our current law enforcement and jusce
system has been redesigned; or how
today resembles the peculiar instuon of
slavery.
If you do not want to understand how
the federal governments War on Drugs is
directed at our young black men is racially
movated then this book is not for you.
Congressman Jacksons keynote address
at the tribute dinner for Minister Franklin
Florence was to focus on our constuonal
rights. The me line, tradion and history
he did share in his wake up call should be
a foundaon to build an understanding
of why we have so many convicted felons
amongst us.

I also had the pleasure of aending a
workshop the congressman hosted at
last years Congressional Black Caucus
weekend.
Comprehensive study, research, and
review of our history demonstrate the
need for us to be constantly engaged and
aware of laws that impact us on a daily
basis.
Not only do we need to know our history
and laws beer, we need to understand
who makes the laws that govern us.
Not understanding or comprehending
contributes to the ignorance we have
fallen vicm to. Remaining ignorant is
another form of genocide and has a direct
impact on the intent to destroy the black
family in parcular.
It doesnt take being a lawyer to get a
working knowledge of the law, it does take
being interested.
We all know we get ckets for driving
and texng dont we? Why arent we as
knowledgeable and concerned about our
vong rights?
We should have an interest in how they
are being legislated away, state by state.
The 2012 Presidenal Elecon will NOT be
the same as in 2008.
The turnout may be the same but many
are in for rude awakenings when they
get to the polls unaware of what it may
take this me around to vote. Michelle
Alexander is correct. Jim Crow is back!
Understanding how government works
is key. Understanding the dierence in
federal law verses state law is key.
Understand that if you are a convicted
felon living in Alabama, and you have
served your me, paid your debt and are
no longer on paper, that you might have to
request a hearing with a parole commiee
who then decides if your vong rights will
be restored.
Understand that in New York State once
you are o parole, all you have to do is
complete a registraon form which is
available from the board of elecons or
any elected o cial, and you can vote. Its
as simple as that.
It should be imperave that voter
registraon forms are completed by all
convicted felons, the minute and second
they come o parole.
Parole o cers should follow through by
pu ng the form in the felons face and
have them complete it right in front of
them.
Wake up convicted felons. There are too
many of you asleep, and it is me for your
voices to be heard. Please go register and
vote. My president, Barack Obama, needs
you to do so.
GLORIA WINSTON
AL-SARAG
----------------------------------
Gloria Winston Al-Sarag is a Community Activist, Writer,
Communicator, Political Activist. She is a native Roches-
terian and has been involved with numerous community
orgainzations in Rochester.
Contact Gloria at: JazzyG4202@aol.com
Europes Lesson: No Time for Austerity Measures
(TriceEdneyWire.
com) - The
defeat of French
P r e s i d e n t
Nicolas Sarkozy
in Sundays
French elecons
provides a
clear lesson to
America. So
does the fall of
the conservave
D u t c h
g o v e r n me n t ,
the rebuke of
the Brish conservave government
in local elecons, the defeat of the
establishment pares in Greece
and the turmoil in Spain. Europeans
are using democrac elecons and
demonstraons to send a message:
Austerity is spreading unacceptable
human misery.
For months, conservave pundits
have cricized President Barack
Obama for not forcing more decit
reducon. House Republicans boast
that their Mi Romney-endorsed
budget would cut decits faster by
slashing spending although they
refuse to reveal what they would
slash. Decits are unpopular. They
represent out-of-control government
spending. Tightening our belts in hard
mes seems both responsible and
inevitable.
For years, Greeces soaring decits
have been the object lesson of the
right: Run up decits and investors
wont buy your bonds and youll face
bankruptcy.
But the real lesson of Greece,
Spain, France, Ireland and others
is that slashing spending in a weak
economy serves only to drive the
economy back into recession, increase
unemployment and spread poverty.
And it does lile to reduce decits
or to reassure investors who worry
about the economy tanking. Austerity
is like bleeding a paent who is sll
recovering from a heart aack.
The U.S. enjoys beer growth than
Europe because weve done more
to smulate our economy and
have been slower to turn to decit
reducon. But states and localies
forced to balance budgets because
of state constuonal requirements
are laying o teachers and police and
reghters. Now the federal budget
is being cut, adding to the drag on
the economy. And if, no maer who
wins this fall, the administraon and
Congress join in a grand bargain
that combines spending cuts and tax
increases, Americans may well learn
the European lesson about austerity
directly.
This economy is barely out of the
operang room and just beginning
to recover. Large companies are
si ng on trillions of prots looking
for customers. Small businesses
wont hire unl they see consumers
coming in the door. We sll have mass
unemployment, falling wages and
more families losing their homes. Yet
Washington seems unable or unwilling
to act.
This week, a commiee of the Senate
and House will consider the only major
jobs program before the Congress:
the transportaon bill, which funds
rebuilding roads, bridges and mass
transit. The Senate passed a small, two-
year authorizaon with overwhelming
biparsan support. But zealous House
Republicans have defeated everything
except temporary extensions.
This makes no sense. In fact, we
should be doing much more to rebuild
America. Interest rates are at near-
record lows. The construcon industry
is idle. There will never be a beer
opportunity to borrow the money
needed to rebuild an infrastructure
that is in dangerous disrepair.
Maybe we should pay the legislators
to junket in Europe. Let them see the
riots, visit with defeated policians,
talk to embarrassed economists now
calling for a change in course. The
House Republican caucus doesnt seem
to worry about the growing poverty in
our cies or wonder whether those
cies will blow up this summer. Perhaps
they might reconsider if they learn
from the Europeans that enforcing
brutal measures on cizens to pay for
the mess caused by banks doesnt just
increase poverty and unemployment,
it shortens polical careers.

REV. JESSE
JACKSON, SR.
------------------
The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson,
Sr., founder and president of the
Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is one
of Americas foremost civil rights,
religious and political gures.
Gay Marriage Wont Cost President Obama Black Votes
The vote on the
gay marriage
ban in North
Carolinas Halifax
County drew
some naonal ink.
The county in the
northeast part of
the state is mostly
rural and the
majority black. It
backed the states
an-gay marriage
iniave by a
whopping two
to one majority. The an-gay marriage
vote there was taken as a jiery sign that
some blacks out of pique over President
Obamas gay marriage endorsement
could punish him at the polls by staying
home. Thats a pipe dream. Blacks in
Halifax County backed him in 2008 by an
even bigger majority than they backed
the an-gay marriage ban. And theyll do
the same again in 2012.
Its true that gay marriage has been an
especially sensive issue among blacks,
especially black evangelicals, who
insistently selecvely cite Bible passages
to crusade against gay marriage. And
when that fails to sway anyone, some
fall back on the bogus defense of the
black family argument which supposedly
is that the more blacks who openly
choose same sex partners will be yet
another wrecking ball tearing away at
the fragile black family. This argument
conveniently downplays or ignores the
greatest and longstanding destabilizers of
black families -- poverty, unemployment,
grossly underfunded and underserved
inner city schools, and skills training
programs, disproporonately high
incarceraon rates among black males,
and the sll all pervasive workplace racial
discriminaon.
There have been instances where a
larger than average number of blacks has
backed an-gay marriage bans in states
such as Ohio in 2004 and California in
2008. This also drew a lot of aenon.
But in Ohio, the same year blacks backed
the ban they also gave then Democrac
presidenal candidate John Kerry running
against President George W. Bush more
than 80 percent of their vote. In 2008,
blacks gave Obama more than 90 percent
of their vote. In both cases, the blacks
that voted for Kerry voted party loyalty
rst, and for Obama, voted both party
and race loyalty.
The black vote in Halifax County where
blacks backed the gay marriage ban by
a 2-to-1 majority doesnt tell the whole
story. If the ban had been on the state
ballot four years earlier the proporon
of blacks that backed it would have
almost certainly been even higher. That
would have mirrored naonal trends
that showed then that black hoslity
to gay marriage was much higher than
today. The most recent Pew Research
Center poll in April found for the rst
me less than a majority of blacks said
they opposed marriage between gays
and lesbians. Thats a double digit drop
from the number of blacks opposed to
gay marriage in 2008.
Gay marriage is really only a polical
worry, or more accurately, a polical
talking point now because Obama became
the rst si ng president to cauously
endorse gay marriage. And because
his endorsement of it came right in the
middle of a presidenal elecon year.
Before that polls showed that the issue
of gay marriage wallowed at the boom
of the list of issues that worry voters the
most. The runaway leader is jobs and the
economy. The handful of black ministers
that rushed again to quote Bible verses to
denounce gay marriage were careful not
to connect the dots from that to any vote
against or even coolness toward Obama
in November.
Obamas ming of his support of gay
marriage wont work against him as
some have worried. If anything, it works
for him. The elecon is sll months away,
and the teeth of the campaign season
wont come unl aer the convenons
in August and September. Both Obama
and Romney will hammer each other
on jobs and the economy. This will
eecvely relegate the social or moral
issues far to the back burner for most
voters. And while hardcore Chrisan
evangelicals and ultra conservaves will
saber rale Obama with his stance on gay
marriage, most voters will sll gauge both
contenders by which one they belief can
do the best job in retooling the economy.
Black voters more than any other group
have the biggest stake in this queson
and issue. Even as the jobless gures
cked downward in the rst part of this
year, black unemployment sll hovered
at the chronic double digit mark, and in
many urban areas soared even higher.
In some major cies, according to labor
stasc reports, the unemployment rate
among young black males inched close
to or even exceeded 50 percent. These
men, their families, and advocates dont
give a hang about what a president, or
any other polician, has to say about gay
marriage. Paying bills, pu ng food on the
table, and trying to insure a viable future,
is their main, if not sole concern.
The be ng odds are that many of the
same black ministers that voice concern
in May about gay marriage will be the
same ministers in the nal run-up days
to the elecon that will be reminding or
imploring their congregaon to get out
and vote, and they will not be telling
them to vote for Romney. Its been that
way before and during the mes that
gay rights and gay marriage became
rebrand issues. It will be the same this
elecon. Thats why gay marriage wont
cost President Obama black votes.
-------------
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and polical
analyst. He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton
Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is
the author of How Obama Governed: The Year
of Crisis and Challenge. He is an associate editor
of New America Media. He is host of the weekly
Hutchinson Report Newsmaker Hour heard weekly
on the naonally network broadcast Hutchinson
Newsmaker Network.
THE HUTCHINSON REPORT
EARL
HUTCHINSON
A Clear Choice!
Two things
have recently
happened that
are related and
may have a
bearing on the
2012 presidenal
elecon. They
both relate to our
countrys stand on
gay marriage.
In North Carolina
the voters
a rmed that
marriage is
between one man and one woman.
The other event that occurred, and it
actually happened the very next day,
was that President Obama became the
rst si ng president to announce his
support of gay marriage.
The biblical view of marriage is one
man and one woman.
I believe that President Obamas
public announcement in support of
gay marriage now gives the church
(those that really believe in the word
of God as absolute) a clear choice.
While I may not challenge his belief
regarding how he feels about marriage,
he has clearly shown his opposion to
the word of God and the principles of
God with his announcement.
This is just more evidence that the
president supports many issues
contrary to the beliefs of bible-
believing Chrisans.
The good thing is that he has provided
the church a clear choice as to who
to vote against. Here are some of the
posions that he supports that are
outside of the word of God.
He supports aboron. Aboron is
murder and there is no denying that.
In Jeremiah 1:5, God shares with
Jeremiah that before He formed
him in the womb He ordained him a
prophet to the naons.
God was referring prophecally to
what Jeremiahs calling was to be. By
God forming, He does not form a mass
of ssue but humans (Gen. 1:26-28).
In Luke 1:41, the bible lets us know that
when Elisabeth heard Mary speak, the
babe in Elisabeth leaped. Noce that
the bible calls what was in Elisabeth a
babe, not a mass of ssue!
President Obama supports gay
marriage. Homosexuality is a clear
abominaon to God (Lev. 20). Thank
God for Jesus and that homosexuals can
receive forgiveness just like everyone
else, however, homosexuality is sll
wrong (Rom. 1:27).
President Obama supports the taking
of wealth from those that have worked
hard and give it to those that have not
worked at all. The bible clearly shows
that those that have will get more; and
clearly shows that for those that do
not have even what they have will be
taken away (Mt. 25:14-29).
The principle here is that one must
work with what they have in order to
receive more.
This is a biblical principle that cannot
be violated, no maer how sad we
feel for those that refuse to work
when I am saying work, Im saying do
something. No one should be able
to just sit around and collect a check,
unless they are rered.
So here are three issues that the
president supports that are in direct
violaon of the word of God and
therefore we have a clear choice as to
who to vote for in November.
The church will have to choose sides
and will not be able to put its collecve
head in the sand and act as though
they (we) do not know who we are
supporng.
President Obama claried where he
stands.
We now need to take a page from his
book and clarify where we stand.
Our vote will not be taken for granted
and we demand that if he gets our
vote he is going to have to stand for
what we stand for.
Will we nd someone who stands for
everything we stand for? Not yet.
However, if we keep pushing in the
right direcon, we will eventually get
someone who is a Chrisan rst and a
polician second.
Someone that realizes that ge ng
elected is nowhere near as important
as holding fast to ones bible-based
Chrisan beliefs.
We have a clear choice now, and we
should all now be prepared to make it.
-----------
If you would like to contact me, please
email me at mvaughn.seniorpastor@
newwineskin.org
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
C. MICHAEL
VAUGHN
A Note from the Publisher:
Aer careful consideraon, deliberaon
and much discussion, I am modifying
our policy regarding arcles, columns,
comments and responses to our opinion
pages and website. The purpose of our
allowing personal opinion in print and
online is to provide a forum for open debate
and discussion on an array of issues facing
our community. However, these forums
have been misused and have produced
personal aacks, excessive demeaning
rhetoric, and character assassinaons.
Please note that any such misuse of these
opinion forums and pages will result in the
removal of these posts. I am hopeful that
this forum can be used in a more posive
way to enrich our community and as a
vehicle for educated debate concerning
the many challenges facing our city.
Dave McCleary, Publisher

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