The Black Informant

(marketplacemoney.publicradio.org) At a strip mall in the Watts section of Los Angeles, there’s a supermarket, a grocery store and a public library. The community is predominately African American, and the average yearly house hold income here is under 18,000.

What’s missing from this shopping center is a bank. Instead, there are two check-cashing businesses in the strip mall.

No surprise really. The Ford Foundation reports that there are 22,000 Payday loan shops in the United States. That’s more than the number of McDonald’s franchises nationwide.

Meanwhile, the number of regulated banks in low-income communities is flat. That’s according to John Taylor. He’s the CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

JOHN TAYLOR: When you don’t have full-service, mainstream bank branches, the ones who replace them are these . . . many of them are subprime, often . . . too often predatory, high-cost lenders who end up offering only products that, you know, are really designed to strip wealth and not designed to help the person.

There are plenty of factors keeping traditional banks away from these urban communities. There’s the crime risk — and then, Taylor says, there’s business.

TAYLOR: Banks would rather make a million dollar loan to one person than 10 hundred-thousand dollar loans, because financially it’s more economically feasible for them. Instead of 10 transactions and 10 files and 10 meetings with loan officers, there’s one.

But the people in the community aren’t necessarily sold on the usefulness of banks either.

Lincoln Bostick is the assistant manager for Operation Hope, which has a branch in Watts.

It’s a nonprofit that teaches people about managing their money. He says all too often, young people here spend what they have on expensive shoes, car rims, jewelry and the like — anything to alleviate the reality of poverty. (more…)

The security piece is no joke. In my neck of the woods I use a bank where customers just walk up tellers who are stationed all over the main floor. I can physically touch the teller and the computer he/she is using. I have never seen a security guard on the floor. That same bank in Crenshaw: Bullet-proof glass and at least one security guard. The same bank in downtown LA: Bullet-proof glass, security guards and a set of doors that only allows a handful of folks at a time with a guard standing nearby with a wand.

Since the days of the Cosby show of the 80’s, I have lost a lot of interest in about 99% of sitcoms–especially the family-based ones. One of the things that I liked about the Cosby show was that the father (Bill Cosby) was not a weak punk whose wife is the only one with both the brains and maturity in the household. John Amos’ character in Good Times was also a great one: a strong man who didn’t have to be a buffoon to make us laugh.

Unfortunately, the weak male image seems to play pretty well on many of the cartoons my kids watch from time to time. Cartoons like Jimmy Neutron, Proud Family, Fairly Odd-Parents and Kim Possible all contain bumbling Dads who oftentimes are clueless and are left to figure out the antics of their children through their perpetual ignorance.

Not too long ago I stumbled across the cartoon/sitcom “King of the Hill” after seeing a clip of it on You Tube. Now I have seen bits and pieces of the cartoon in the past, but I already wasn’t trying to feel it because I assumed (not always a good move) that the show was corny due to the fact it featured a White family in the middle of Texas dealing with everyday issues. Here is a brief description of the show:

Hank, who works as the assistant manager at Strickland Propane, likes to proclaim proudly that he sells “propane and propane accessories.”

Hank is a stereotypical conservative, pick-up truck driving, beer drinking Texas redneck, a political conservative who loves his wife and son but is uncomfortable expressing or demonstrating his affection. He is far more comfortable standing in the alley drinking Alamo Beer with his buddies, Dale, Bill and Boomhauer.

Hank idolizes his boss, Buck Strickland, at Strickland Propane, despite Buck’s drinking, womanizing and gambling — all activities that are anathema to Hank’s old-fashioned world view.

Hank’s narrow urethra is a source of embarrassment and shame to him, but an acceptable topic of conversation to his wife, Peggy. It is because of the narrow urethra that Hank and Peggy have only one child, Bobby.

Hank is often uncomfortable with Bobby’s interests, which tend to center around television and video games, in contrast to Hank’s own high school football career. (source)

I typically like gut-clinching comedy that is more on the clean side (Martin, The Jeffersons, The Bernie Mac Show, Everybody Hates Chris, etc. are pretty much in the general ball park), so King of the Hill for me was an instant write-off.

The episode that lured me into fanhood of King of the Hill dealt with the Hill’s search for a new church and ending up at a megachurch. My wife and I laughed throughout the whole episode because much of it we could relate to on our own quest for a home church and megachurch experience.

Hank is very old school when it comes to his views on marriage, fatherhood, his friends, his jobs and all other areas of his life. He can be a bit extreme at times with those views when faced with situations that require 21st century street smarts, but in the end the man continues to have the high respect of both friends and family members. Bobby (his son) may get very frustrated with his dad’s old fashion reasoning, but he always knows that his dad will do just about anything for him. Same goes with his wife, Peggy. He shows himself as a true friend as he is oftentimes the main one who is bailing them out of trouble at the expense of his own comfort zone.

When it comes to the protection of his family and friends, Hank will waste no time jumping into his red pick-up truck to kick somebody’s you know what. He is a straight shooter and you know from jump where he is coming from.

Although the humor in the show tends to be on the dry side (compared to the shows I mentioned earlier), I often find myself surrendering more than a few chuckles as I watch this southwestern family deal with many of the same issues many of us have deal with in life without making the Dad look like a bumbling idiot.

Hank Hill is a guy I would love to have in my neighborhood, I tell you what

Related links:

HankHillQuotes.com

Black sitcoms

(BLACK PR WIRE) Soccer continues to slowly and quietly grow in the African-American community. Until just a few years ago, in the U.S. in particular, the game of soccer remained popular in the Suburbs, mainly among Anglo, middle-class Americans; ergo the term “soccer moms”. Today, however, soccer (similar to basketball) is one of the biggest sports being played in U.S. neighborhoods, and (world-wide) by professional athletes.

While it’s not uncommon to walk on to a basketball court in urban and Black communities to join a pick up game; today, nor is it uncommon to join a soccer game already in progress. The difference has been that, in most cases, the “Black” men on the basketball court were typically African- American, and the “Black” men on the soccer field, were typically from around the world. African, Caribbean and many Blacks living in Europe (and around the world) prefer soccer, and have played it all of their lives. In fact, soccer far surpasses all American sports in terms of interest and support world-wide for any culture.

However, as children of immigrants’ become second generation Americans, enthusiasm seems to be growing more and more for the sport of soccer as a “mainstream” sport played by African, Caribbean and the African- American community. In fact, soccer is steadfastly being embraced by so many that highly structured youth clubs in the “suburban” communities are now starting to transport players from urban areas, and also provide “scholarships” for players who cannot afford fees.

The National Soccer Coaches Association has a Black Soccer Coaches committee, many of whom are first generation immigrants who now consider themselves “African-American”. The Black Coaches collectively agree that there is an increased interest in soccer among African-Americans. However, they also agree that there has been an increased interest throughout American Society as a whole. As a result, the Coaches lament that they are still attempting to make inroads into better professional positions in soccer. (more…)

Now we are talk’n!

Back in high school I was a league, state and national all-star in our soccer league. I could have extended my budding career in college, but decided to attend a school that did not offer a soccer program at the time (in those days, i was about making money instead of re-creating a “Different World”/“School Daze” experience. Our city just came out with the fall brochure for sports and recreation the other day and I saw men’s soccer. I’ve been tossing it around in my brain ever since. I’m thinking that if I do not play this season, i will at least coach my son’s team this fall. We’ll see.

This is why I think Black folks suspicion of the medical field is rooted more than just the Tuskegee experiments.

Sorry, Grandma may be old, but she had some sense!

From website (link):

Each year, more than 9.6 million adverse drug reactions occur in older Americans. The referenced study found that 37% of these adverse reactions were not reported to the doctor, presumably because patients did not realize the reactions were due to the drug. This is not too surprising considering that most doctors admitted they did not explain possible adverse effects to their patients.1

The following national estimates are based on well-conducted studies, mainly in the United States:

# Each year, in hospitals alone, there are 28,000 cases of life-threatening heart toxicity from adverse reactions to digoxin, the most commonly used form of digitalis in older adults.2 Since as many as 40% or more of these people are using this drug unnecessarily (see discussion on digoxin), many of these injuries are preventable.

# Each year 41,000 older adults are hospitalized—and 3,300 of these die from ulcers caused by NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually for treatment of arthritis).3 Thousands of younger adults are hospitalized. (See list of drugs that can cause gastrointestinal bleeding.)

# At least 16,000 injuries from auto crashes each year involving older drivers are attributable to the use of psychoactive drugs, specifically benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants.4 Psychoactive drugs are those that affect the mind or behavior. (See list of drugs that can cause automobile accidents.)

# Each year 32,000 older adults suffer from hip fractures—contributing to more than 1,500 deaths—attributable to drug-induced falls.5, 6 In one study, the main categories of drugs responsible for the falls leading to hip fractures were sleeping pills and minor tranquilizers (30%), antipsychotic drugs (52%), and antidepressants (17%). All of these categories of drugs are often prescribed unnecessarily, especially in older adults. (See section on sleeping pills and tranquilizers, antipsychotic drugs, and antidepressants.) The in-hospital death rate for hip fractures in older adults is 4.9%.7 Multiplying this times the 32,000 hip fractures a year in older adults attributable to drug-induced falls, 1,568 older adults die each year from adverse drug reactions that cause hip fractures. (See list of drugs that can cause hip fractures because of drug-induced falls)

# Approximately 163,000 older Americans suffer from serious mental impairment (memory loss, dementia) either caused or worsened by drugs.8, 9 In a study in the state of Washington, in 46% of the patients with drug-induced mental impairment, the problem was caused by minor tranquilizers or sleeping pills; in 14%, by high blood pressure drugs; and in 11%, by antipsychotic drugs. (See list of drugs that can cause or worsen dementia.)

# Two million older Americans are addicted or at risk of addiction to minor tranquilizers or sleeping pills because they have used them daily for at least one year, even though there is no acceptable evidence that the tranquilizers are effective for more than four months, and the sleeping pills for more than 30 days.10

# Drug-induced tardive dyskinesia has developed in 73,000 older adults; this condition is the most serious and common adverse reaction to antipsychotic drugs, and it is often irreversible. Tardive dyskinesia is characterized by involuntary movements of the lips, tongue, and sometimes the fingers, toes, and trunk. Since most of the older people taking these drugs were not actually psychotic, they have a serious side effect from antipsychotic drugs prescribed without justification.11 (See list of drugs that can cause tardive dyskinesia or other movement disorders.)

# Drug-induced parkinsonism has developed in 61,000 older adults due to the use of antipsychotic drugs such as Haldol, Thorazine, Mellaril, Stelazine, and Prolixin. There are also other parkinsonism-inducing drugs, such as Reglan, Compazine, and Phenergan, prescribed for gastrointestinal problems.12 As mentioned above, most (about 80%) older adults receiving antipsychotic drugs do not have schizophrenia or other conditions that justify the use of such powerful drugs. (See list of drugs that can cause parkinsonism.)

(latimes.com) Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, who was elected to represent some of the county’s poorest neighborhoods, is living in a gated Brentwood home, despite laws requiring her to reside in the predominantly South Los Angeles district she serves.

In an interview with The Times two weeks ago, Burke said it was only on weekends and special occasions that she used her Brentwood home — a 4,000-square-foot residence with a swimming pool and tennis court that she and her husband have long owned. She said she lived at a 1,200-square-foot townhouse in Mar Vista, on a busy street just inside the border of her district.

But over a three-week period in which she was observed by Times reporters, Burke spent every weekday evening at her Brentwood house, in the district of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. When confronted by reporters Wednesday, Burke changed her story and acknowledged that she has rarely slept in the Mar Vista townhouse, which she has declared as her primary residence since she purchased it more than a year ago.

She conceded that the time she has actually spent there amounts to “maybe a month or two.”

Asked whether voters would consider her primary residence as the place where she sleeps, Burke replied: “So I’ll start sleeping here if that’ll make you happy.” (more…)

(northjersey.com) PATERSON — Someone stole 1,000 gallons of water from Daisy Valdivia’s backyard. And they didn’t spill a drop.

Valdivia woke Wednesday morning to find that her family’s inflatable pool, hip high and 10 feet in diameter and filled with water, was stolen from her backyard in the middle of the night. There is no evidence that the water was poured out, pumped out, evaporated or drunk.

“I’ve never heard of a pool being stolen, let alone one with water in it,” Valdivia said.

According to Valdivia, the theft must have occurred between 1 a.m., the time her husband went to bed, and 5 a.m., the time she woke to put out the recycling.

“For them to do something that fast, that’s what amazes me,” she said. (more…)

Now I have seen the need to chain up bikes, park benches, TVs. But dang! Do we now have to start chaining up pools?

There’s got to be more to this story.

(ars.usda.gov) Just in time for bathing suit season: a leaner, meaner watermelon that boasts all the refreshing flavor and good-for-you nutrients of many conventional varieties, but contains more than 50 percent less sugar.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist Angela Davis in Lane, Okla., is the chief breeder of two new low-sugar melons that should be a welcome treat for dieters, diabetics and everyone else wishing to curb their sugar or carb intakes.

Davis, who works at the ARS South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane, is currently sharing the new watermelon stock with interested growers. And while their official debut will depend upon farmers’ receptiveness, the seeded watermelons could start showing up in produce aisles by summer’s end.

Davis embarked on the quest for a naturally low-sugar watermelon after realizing the popular fruit was off limits for many consumers, including the nation’s more than 20 million diabetics.

But don’t blame the melon for its current sugary taste. Over the decades, breeders have increasingly selected for sweeter and sweeter fruit. In fact, heirloom watermelons that might have rolled out of Granddad’s garden contained about 25 percent less sugar than their contemporary cousins. (more…)

You know, all of this is starting to make some sense to me now. I’ve lived in the southeast and I live here in the west and typically the melons back east taste much better—until this year. For some reason California watermelons seemed to taste much sweeter than in the past. Our rain level has been pretty low this year so this never made any sense to me. Perhaps there is some connection.

(I know I just scared off at least a handful of y’all talking about Watermelons in the “open” [gasp!]).

(foxnews.com) SAN DIEGO — Leonard Nimoy isn’t through with Spock yet.

The 76-year-old actor will don his famous pointy ears again to play the role in an upcoming “Star Trek” film due out Christmas 2008.

“This is really going to be a great movie. And I don’t say things like that lightly,” Nimoy told a gathering of 6,500 fans Thursday at Comic-Con, the nation’s largest pop-culture convention.(more…)

Good lawd! Is the man going to be in a wheel chair?

(seattletimes.com) Workers accused of concocting the biggest voter-registration-fraud scheme in state history said they were under pressure from the community-organizing group that hired them to sign up more voters, according to charging papers filed Thursday.

To boost their output, the defendants allegedly went to the downtown Seattle Public Library, where they filled out voter-registration forms using names they made up or found in phone books, newspapers and baby-naming books.

One defendant “said it was hard work making up all those cards,” and another “said he would often sit at home, smoke marijuana and fill out cards,” according to a probable-cause statement written by King County sheriff’s Detective Christopher Johnson.

Prosecutors in King and Pierce counties filed felony charges Thursday against seven employees of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, claiming they turned in more than 1,800 phony voter-registration forms, including an estimated 55 in Pierce County.

The defendants have not entered pleas. They are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 2.

[...]

The defendants faked cards as an easy way to get paid, not as an attempt to influence the outcome of elections, said King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg. None of the phony registrations led to illegal voting.

“This is the worst case of voter-registration fraud in the history of the state of Washington. There has been nothing comparable to this,” state Secretary of State Sam Reed said at a news conference with Satterberg, King County Executive Ron Sims and acting U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan. (more…)

#

(AP via blacknews.com) CHICAGO — The yellow school bus rumbles through vacant lots and past demolished buildings on a tour of what was once one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country.

For the woman with the microphone, the “Ghetto Bus Tour” is the last gasp in a crusade to tell a different story about Chicago’s notorious housing projects, something other than well-known tales about gang violence so fierce that residents slept in their bathtubs to avoid bullets.

“I want you to see what I see,” says Beauty Turner, after leading the group off the bus to a weedy lot where the Robert Taylor Homes once stood. “To hear the voices of the voiceless.”

Turner, a former Robert Taylor Homes resident, has been one of the most vocal critics of the Chicago Housing Authority’s $1.6 billion “Plan for Transformation,” which since the late 1990s has demolished 50 of the 53 public housing high-rises _ including Cabrini-Green _ and replaced them with mixed-income housing.

City officials have heralded the plan. But Turner believes the city once accused of leaving residents to be victimized by violent drug-dealing gangs is now pushing those same people from their homes without giving them all a place to go.

“I have people becoming homeless behind this plan, people that’s living on top of each other with relatives,” said Turner, who has given informal tours for years before the community newspaper she works for began renting the bus in January and charging tourists $20 for the ride. “For some it has improved their conditions, but for the multitude of many it has not.” (more…)