The Black Informant

Teen credit boot camp

E-mailed to blackinformant.com:

The issue at hand today that is a serpent waiting to stike the financial infrastructure of the black community and the community as a whole. It pertains
to teens and credit. The average 15 yr old has 2 cell phones and a credit card. The debt-ridden lifestyle the last generation lived has now morphed into a full-grown financial loch-ness monster that is now crushing our youth and their future. I know first-hand the burden of carrying excessive debt at the age of 19. I lost my dad at that age and inherited much of his derogatory debt “Sr”. For the next 7 years I lived a nightmare battle with credit bureaus and my life was severely hindered in all aspects due to my bad credit. As minorities we don’t need another stike against us in this world. My TEEN CREDIT BOOT CAMP is a financial and credit training for teens and young adults of the hip-hop generation. It is a fast paced powerpoint and motivational presentation which fully engages the minds of youth on finance, credit, real estate and net worth. We are taking it all over the country.

Click here to visit the Real Deal Communications website for more information.

Thug Mortgage Brokers

(npr.com) “Our lenders tell us that figure is very much on the low end of the scale,” says Corey Carlyle, senior director of government affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “I’ve seen figures as high as $4 billion, and again, that is just what it cost the industry in 2006.”

And while street gangs only account for a portion of that, the fact that they have moved to mortgage fraud as a money-spinning enterprise worries law enforcement officials. They say it is part of a larger trend: gangs searching for ways to launder drug-dealing and gun-selling dollars.

Chicagoland, the city and the surrounding Cook County area, has been one of the areas hardest hit by the intersection of gangs and mortgage fraud.

Consider the Black Disciples gang: Some of its members were involved in a case of mortgage fraud a couple of years ago. The price tag for that case alone: $70 million.

Jim Wagner, who previously investigated white-collar crime cases for the FBI, is now the president of the Chicago Crime Commission.

“We had information from the FBI about Vice Lords [another Chicago-area gang] that there was perhaps $80 million in fraudulent mortgage activity,” Wagner says. “So it has been a significant problem, at least in the greater Chicago metropolitan area, and I suspect it is occurring in other cities, as well.”

It is unclear exactly how gangs migrated from street crimes to white-collar ones. Law enforcement officials suspect that tougher gun laws and sentencing guidelines may have played a role in the shift. When street gang members were sentenced to serve time in federal institutions on gun charges, they got an unexpected new criminal education from the inmates incarcerated there.

“All of a sudden they were talking to and meeting with a different class of criminal, some who had participated in financial fraud themselves,” Wagner says. (more…)
Find current mortgage rates at www.saveonrefinance.com

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Jeeeeesus!

(ajc.com) Juanita Bynum, a preacher whose fiery and frank sermons about women’s empowerment have won her a national following, was attacked by her husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday morning, police said.

Bynum, whose ministry is based in Waycross, and her estranged husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, had met up at Renaissance Concourse Hotel near Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to try to reconcile, Atlanta police said.

But while at the parking lot about 4 a.m., the two got into a physical fight until a bellman at the hotel pulled Bynum’s husband off her, Officer Ronald Campbell said.

“She was bruised up and battered,” Campbell said. “She had purple bruising around her neck and upper torso.”

The husband, who is also a preacher, left the scene. No charges have been filed against him, according to police.

Police found out about the fray from a staff member at Piedmont Hospital, where Bynum was taken for a checkup. She could not be reached Wednesday night. (more…)

Another link on this issue.

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I will comment on this later.

Related posts:

“Those divorcin’ Christians”
Hypocrisy in the church can no longer be the norm

China, China, China

Man, I was in Target the other day waiting for my wife. While I was standing there I decided to randomly pick up products to see where it was manufactured.

ALL OF THEM said ‘China’.

Here is some other related news regarding manufacturer’s paradise.

Lead causes more U.S. recalls of China-made toys
Wed Aug 22, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Excessive amounts of lead paint on toys and other children’s products led the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a recall of more than 300,000 Chinese-made items on Wednesday.

The recall includes about 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants address books and journals because they may have excessive levels of lead paint on their metal spiral bindings. (more…)

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Chopsticks picked up in new China scare
Wed Aug 22, 2007

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Beijing factory sold up to 100,000 pairs of disposable chopsticks a day without any form of disinfection, a newspaper said on Wednesday, the latest in a string of food and product safety scares.

[…]

The owner, identified only by his surname Wu, said he had sold the chopsticks for 0.04 yuan a pair and made an average of about 1,000 yuan ($130) a day. (more…)

—

China Airlines hides logo on plane wreckage
August 23, 2007

China Airlines painted over its logo on the charred remains of a burnt-out plane as investigators Wednesday sifted through the debris to find out why the jet blew up moments after landing in Japan.

Television footage showed a maintenance crew in green suits whitening out the name China Airlines on the plane’s mangled body as well as the Taiwanese carrier’s plum flower emblem on its tail.

The Boeing 737-800 burst into a ball of fire just eight minutes after it landed Monday on the southern island of Okinawa. (more…)

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You know, part of me is laughing at this but this is not funny.

My wife and I at times have fun with this particular subject. For example: You know something is from China when…

…instead of “Nike Air”, your sneakers say “Air Strikes”*
…instead of having the popular “US Polo Association” shirt, your shirt says “UN Polo Association”.*
…your iPhone says “tphone”
…a Black Barbie doll still looks White
…your FUBU shirt is spelled “FooBoo”
…your digital camera makes that annoying grenade toss sound every time you press the button to take a picture.
…your suitcase has something like World Elite embroidered on it as if it was a real name brand.*
…your analog Gucci watch has been reading 6:30, 12:00, 3:15 or 9:45 ever since you dropped it on carpet.
…Feel free to add more.

BTW, the asterisks mean that I have actually seen these products (If you live in the LA area, you know that the Fashion district is the epicenter of this kind of stuff–Best place to shop for toys for Christmas for kids because you know its gonna break anyway).

2007 Lawn Jockey Awards

(thuglifearmy.com) “When George Curry’s Emerge Magazine published its famous 1993 cover depicting US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as “Lawn Jockey for the Far Right”, he used ridicule to ignite a potent WMD — a weapon of mass discussion among African Americans that clarified black opinion on the uses to which an earlier Bush administration put its prominent black faces. In that spirit, Black Agenda Report and CBC Monitor will be at the annual Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference in DC this September 26 to establish a new tradition — the awarding of the “Lawn Jockey” to the three or four African American members of Congress who score lowest on the semi-annual CBC Monitor report cards. The Honorable George Curry will present the awards. It’s time to reclaim, to restart and to redeem the African American political conversation, the dialog among and about us that neither black nor white corporate media is willing to air.” (more…)

Don’t be scared

DETROIT (AP) - Fox News and a black political group say they won’t hold a Sept. 23 Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, which the leading candidates already were planning to skip.

The campaigns of U.S. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards had said they wouldn’t participate in the debate.

Opponents have criticized Fox as biased against Democrats. (more…)

Sooooooo, does this mean that CNN is unbiased towards Democrats (I want somebody to say “yes” to that question)?

I really believe that this will come back to haunt the Democrat candidates big time.

Assuming the best versus expecting the worst

Remember this story:

(CNN) — Tornadoes tore across the nation’s midsection for a second night Saturday, 24 hours after a storm leveled Greensburg, Kansas.

[…]

Kansas Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Sharon Watson said eight of the deaths were in Kiowa County, where Greensburg is located, and one was in Stafford County, to the northeast.

“I believe 95 percent of the homes are gone,” Hewitt said of Greensburg. “Downtown buildings are gone, my home is gone, and we’ve got to find a way to make this work and get this town back on its feet.” (Watch homes turned into piles of bricks and splintered wood Video)

The Red Cross said about 90 percent of the town, population about 1,500, was destroyed or heavily damaged. The central business district, City Hall and high school were destroyed, but the courthouse and the town’s only bar remained standing, witnesses said.

Hundreds of residents were taken to shelters in schools and other facilities in nearby towns, the Red Cross said. (source)

The media (and some folks who are not part of that world) has continuously painted the survivors of Katrina as eternally-doomed with very little hope for the future. Since Katrina was a hurricane that did more damage than storms in the recent past of that region, I am willing to cut some folk a break. But on the other hand you have natural events like the Tsunami that occurred in the Indian ocean back in 2004 and it has long become an afterthought in our media (even with a victim count of “…186,983 dead and 42,883 missing, for a total of 229,866 (link).” Where were all the claims that this tsunami only revealed to the world the poverty that had been there for years (like the claims that were made repeatedly during the post Katrina days) and how it was a case of shame being revealed? The sad truth is unlike New Orleans, we expect our money will be put into good and that these people will rebound—end of story. Look at Africa and after YEARS of donating billions of dollars into that continent, mainstream media still mainly emphasizes ailing children, men strapped with AK-47s and frail women huddled together in fly-infested huts–all with the yearly backdrop of concerts that play on our emotions to give more to this seemingly losing battle for survival.

Now, am I suggesting here that the survivors of hurricane Katrina ‘toughen it up and get some perspective?’ Certainly not. For folks who have lost everything, it will take some time to rebuild their lives. But my issue here is how quickly folks were willing to make this event a continuation of both slavery and Jim Crow and how it will take MORE THAN a miracle for these folks to break even in life.

As I am writing this, I am sitting in a hotel in Monterey where I am being serenaded by flocks of seagulls that are hovering over our hotel. Yet despite the beauty of this area and everything it has to offer, I still have this undercurrent of anger inside of me anytime I see Black folks being portrayed as a bunch of weaklings who lack the ability to think straight or help themselves while the best is expected from others. What really pisses me off is the fact that in most instances, this type of portrayal doesn’t just come from some Whites, but some Black folks as well who will use these portrayals to “stick it to the man” in order to perpetuate some form of guilt. If a Black kid picks up a gun to shoot another kid, to some it is not his fault– it is the fault of that White executive of a gun manufacturing company. A Black woman becomes a stripper—she is only doing it because White-owned businesses moved out of her town years ago limiting her choices for income. A Black child is failing in school–it is because of poverty that was caused by once again a White-owned business (like a manufacturing plant) that moved out of his community years ago. A young Black woman gives birth to a unhealthy child—racism caused it. Obesity — caused by stress due to racism. I even read an article recently that blasted individuals for holding Black mayors accountable for crimes that take place within their own city. Why are all these excuses allowed for the Black community but not for others? Plug an Asian in any of these examples and what is defined as roadblocks for one race is considered stepping stones for another.

In the past I have written posts and linked to writings of other individuals that gave numerous examples of Blacks throughout history who did not feel this unexplainable need to pick up a gun to shoot one of his own because he/she was too hungry or too angry over racism to think straight. You will not hear of a ‘Black on Black’ crime rate in the post slavery era (mind you, these are folks who just stepped out of slavery). Yet in today’s world these things have become almost commonplace while many lay the blame on the ever familiar doorstep of “legacy of slavery”. How could such a thing jump generations of Black folks who did not engage in such self-destructive activity only to appear centuries later?

I’m sure I’ll write more on this later. Back to my mini vacation.

Dang! Is a TOTAL recall in order?

(galluppoll.com) PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds Congress’ approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll.

That 18% job approval rating matches the low recorded in March 1992, when a check-bouncing scandal was one of several scandals besetting Congress, leading many states to pass term limits measures for U.S. representatives (which the Supreme Court later declared unconstitutional). Congress had a similarly low 19% approval rating during the energy crisis in the summer of 1979.

Americans’ evaluations of the job Congress is doing are usually not that positive — the vast majority of historical approval ratings have been below 50%. The high point was 84% approval one month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when Americans rallied behind the federal government. Since then, Congress’ approval ratings have generally exhibited the same downward trajectory seen in those for President George W. Bush. Currently, 32% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing as president, a far cry from the record-high 90% he received in September 2001. Bush’s current job approval rating is just three percentage points above his lowest. (more…)

Things you probably didn’t know about: Black films

“Highlighted in the Black Film Report: 2000-2004 are key findings that illustrate the economic impact of the black film genre:

* Seventy-seven (77) black films, representing $1.75 billion in domestic box office gross, were released in the five-year period, 2000-2004.
* Since 1990, black films have grossed $3.88 billion in domestic box office revenues. During that same time period, mainstream films grossed $102 billion. On average, black films represent 3-5% of the annual domestic box office take from all films released.
* Black films are receiving larger budgets than in years past. Today black films average a negative cost of $15.7 million versus in the 1990s when black films averaged negative costs of $6 to $8 million. Production costs allocated to black films are still significantly lower than production costs for mainstream which average a negative cost of $45.1 million.
* Black films are also opening on more screens. From 1,200-1,300 screens in the 1990s, black films now average openings on 1,500 to 1,700. However, black films still lag behind their comparative mainstream counterparts who open on 2,700+ screens.
* Black films continue to get smaller P&A budgets than their comparative mainstream counterparts. P&A costs for mainstream films average $35 million while black films have P&A budgets that average $7 – 10 million, and small, independent black films average budgets $500,000 to $1 million.”

(source)

A very good use of bandwidth

Someone over at the flickr.com website posted up 80 images of old Jet magazines from back in the day.

Thanks, sis. !

(hat tip: Cobb)

Breezing through these articles, one can easily see that some topics will never go away.

Help for kids coming out of the foster system

(blackenterprise.com)

Help for Former Foster Children
Program offers funds for home down payments

By Vikki Conwell

Establishing roots is a little easier for former foster children, thanks to a national program designed to help them become financially-fit adults. The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a St. Louis-based foundation that helps young people transition out of foster care by providing services that promote independent living.

The program targets the 20,000 young people (42% of whom are African American) who leave foster care each year without the financial support to succeed. It offers housing assistance as well as education, employment, and healthcare to former foster care children between the ages of 14 and 23 residing in select cities or counties nationwide.

Once admitted, participants receive financial literacy training, including the basics of banking, and are given $100 in seed money to open an Individual Development Account. For every dollar a participant saves, the program matches $4 for home down payments, $3 for funds to start a business, and $1 for car purchases and other expenses. Funds can also be used to help with college tuition, medical expenses, computer purchases, and apartment deposits. Asset-specific training, such as homeownership counseling, is required before receiving matching funds.

After age 18, states are no longer obligated to provide care or financial assistance to those in the foster care system. Program organizers believe the initiative is a much-needed boost for a population at risk of falling through the cracks. Typically, foster children “turn 18, have no money, and haven’t graduated from high school,” says Gary Stangler, the program’s executive director. “The notion of savings is foreign. Their foremost need is money.” According to the foundation, within four years of leaving foster care, 25% of the population becomes homeless, while less than 20% become self-supporting adults. (more,,,)

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Smacker quote of the day (8/21/07)

Some things people say just make me want to smack ‘em sometimes. Here is today’s example.

“People are hurt, people are angry,” he said. “Being a black man, we’re all trying to get to a point where Vick was at. We feel let down.”

(source)

Okay, this pimping thing has gone way too far

And I guess I just gave them free advertising (sigh!)

(Hat tip: buzzologysurveys.blogspot.com

Newsweek calls Morehouse “Hottest Men’s College”

(newsweek.com)”Morehouse has long been known as an educator of black leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee. But it may be equally important as an exemplar of single-sex education. With 3,000 students, it is the nation’s largest private men’s liberal-arts college. Recent grad Marcus Edwards calls the school “the No. 1 institution for black men.” Goldman Sachs has just donated $2 million to endow a new leadership professor, and the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center is now going up.” (source)

Here is a list of all traditional men colleges in the US:

* Deep Springs College (Deep Springs, California)
* Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden-Sydney, Virginia)
* Morehouse College (Atlanta, Georgia)
* Saint John’s University (Collegeville, Minnesota)
* Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Indiana)
* Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades (Media, Pennsylvania)

Random people behind the statistics (and you want me to target ALL my anger towards White against Black injustices?)

**UPDATED–SCROLL DOWN**

All of this is far more important that debating over the words of politicians or commentators. In the long run it is a complete waste of time when you read through this particular post. All of the following are just SOME of the murders of our Black men (and one woman) THAT TOOK PLACE WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS!
This post will remain up top for Monday as well. Any recently added post will be posted below.

Consider this post a memorial to our fallen Black men and women who are not fighting in the Middle East.

For THIS cause, I am anti-war.

_______________________________

(latimes.com)
Domique Davis, 18, a black young man, was shot at 100 E. La Verne Ave. in Pomona at about 9:37 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16. Police responding to several calls of gunfire found him wounded. He was airlifted to a trauma center in Los Angeles where he died.

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Harbor Area: Bobby Goodwin, 69, a black man, was stabbed to death in a residence at about 7:20 p.m. in the 24200 block of Senator Avenue in the Harbor area, Los Angeles police said. His grandson, 23, was arrested in connection with the crime. They had quarreled prior to the stabbing, said Los Angeles Police Det. Louis Paglialonga. Goodwin died at the scene.

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Lancaster: Calvin Davis, 16, a black youth, was shot and killed near the intersection of Andale Avenue and Ovington Street in Lancaster at about 7:43 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15.

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The following are two mothers at a recent press conference pleading with the public to stop the madness. After watching both videos, I decided to place this post at the top for both Sunday and Monday. Click on the picture to go to the page containing these videos.

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Click here to see an interactive map of homicides in Philly (notice what happens when you filter it to only see Black homicide victims–barely nothing!). By mousing over each dot, you will see additional information of each victim.

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DeKalb homicide rate rises

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(cbsnews.com) In North Philadelphia, life is often short …

“This is the block that we had a triple shooting,” points out Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson. “She was 18 years old.”

… and illegal guns are cheap.

“This is something to keep me going everyday,” says one gun-toting teen. “This is just a little something to keep them off me.”

The kids call it ’strappin. Social scientists call it urban genocide — where children run the street and adults have run out of answers.

Since 2001, there have been 10,000 shooting victims in Philadelphia. Most of the gunmen are under the age of 25.

North Philadelphia is where most of this city’s murders have occurred. Unemployment and the school dropout rate there are the highest; residents, community activists and even the police commissioner claim they are waging a war and they are losing badly.

“I believe this is a war,” says community activist Mel Wells. “Two weeks ago we had a grandma who was going to church, a brother walking out of a bar and we had a lady going to temple. All of them are dead today. … Yes, I call that a war.” (source–with video)

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Other recent articles~

Murder stalks poverty in L.A. County
Homicides are down sharply overall, but not in poor areas and not among blacks and Latinos.

——
Philly - Young man talks with reporter on street life and why he carries a gun.

——
LOUISVILLE, KY — The Jefferson County Coroner’s office has identified two men slain in Louisville on Saturday.
The first victim was found Saturday evening in the 600 block of South 34th Street.
The coroner says 43-year-old Willie James Sweet died at the scene from a stab wound to the neck.

[…]

Just hours before that slaying, police were called to an apartment at 10th Street and Esquire Alley where a man had been shot multiple times.
The coroner identified the victim as 27-year-old Bruce Hanserd. (source)

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Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s deputies found the body of a 16-year-old girl in a ditch along a residential road Saturday morning.
Deputies were called to the 12000 Joynton Road around 2:45 a.m., according to spokesperson Blair Foster.

Once there, they discovered a 16-year-old African-American girl lying face down in the ditch, Foster said. She had been shot in the back several times. (source)

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When units arrived to the scene shortly after 11 p.m. they found the door of the occupant’s hotel room slightly ajar. When they walked into the room, they found a 26-year-old African American man lying on the floor unconscious and unresponsive. He suffered from trauma to his upper torso and was pronounced dead on the scene by the deputies. (source)

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The Denver police homicide unit is investigating the slaying of an unidentified man outside a fast-food restaurant east of downtown, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said today.

The coroner is trying to identify the victim, who was in his 30s and African-American. (source)

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Facing child abuse

(cbn.com) Silent, uncontrollable sobbing … Bruises and beatings … Shoving and slapping … Children so traumatized they’re afraid of their own shadows. And the endless string of lies … “He fell down.” “It was an accident.” But child abuse is no accident. It violates God’s fundamental purpose for man. And parents and children around the world find themselves ensnared in its cruel clutches.

From Taboo to Truth

When people hear the term “child abuse” they may think it only occurs in under-educated, poverty-stricken families. However, this epidemic occurs in all types of families.

In America alone, reported cases of child abuse exceed 1 million each year, and some experts say the actual number of abuse victims may be far greater.

Types of child abuse include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Affected children often suffer physical injuries, emotional scars, malnutrition, and sadly, even death. Child abuse also spiritually cripples precious young lives. These children may struggle to accept God as their loving heavenly Father ( Matt. 18:5-6). Other family members often suffer silently. Even the offender suffers, increasingly bound by the shame and secrecy of the addictive behavior. (more…)

Who will help groom this girl into a woman? (8/19/07)

Danielle was born July, 1995. She is 12 years old. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Danielle is a very sweet and beautiful young lady. Danielle is well mannered, articulate and fun loving. Danielle is in good health although she sometimes uses an inhaler during exercise.

Danielle loves to read. She enjoys a variety of books and is eager to discuss what she has learned. She enjoys a variety of other activities, sports, games, movies and she loves to chat!

Danielle can be very helpful to care givers. She is good with chores and enjoys being in the kitchen. She also enjoys pets.

Danielle is in the 6th grade. Overall she does well in school but sometimes needs assistance with homework. Prior teachers report Danielle is a joy in the classroom. Danielle sometimes needs to be reminded school is not purely social! She really enjoys her friends.

Danielle is a bright and loving young lady who sometimes has difficulties with authority and maintaining a positive self esteem. Danielle is likable and responds well to consistent praise and positive reinforcement that focuses on her strengths and reinforces her positive behaviors.

Despite demonstrating some behavior symptoms, Danielle normally responds to age appropriate consistent discipline, is receptive to structure, and will thrive in a home with nurturing, loving, and supportive care givers. Family and individual counseling would be recommended. (source)

Altar call

(From Oldtruth.com)

“I remember being so impressed as a young convert over 20 years ago, watching Jimmy Swaggart on TV talk about the design of his megachurch, and how it was optimized for maximum numbers of people around the altar. His services on TV would often end with a call for believers to come forward and “take care of business” and get right with God. In the church that I used to attend, before it went seeker sensitive, there were always a whole bunch of tissue boxes lined up at the altar in anticipation of sobbing people. I’ve heard of extreme accounts of people wanting salvation on a given Thursday, and being encouraged by church leaders to wait for the Sunday altar call to make it happen; that’s practically a form of “salvation via the church”. ” (more…)

…3…2…1…

I decided to get a rocket the other day for me, my kids and some of the neighborhood kids to enjoy. There is nothing like seeing something you built with your own hands being launched over 1000 feet in the air (and it works).

Should the state be in the liquor business?

Growing up in North Philly, the state liquor store was a fixture in our community. I can still see it in my memory to this very day (located right on Broad street not too far from the old Deliverance church (which used to be a theater). Both of my parents used to drink which is probably why I remember it so well. Since that time, my family moved out of Philly and moved to New Jersey. My parents also kicked drinking so the liquor store became nothing more than another one of those stores I have never shopped or care to (except to get some Bon Ton potato chips–barbecue of course).

Being out of the ‘drinking’ loop and away from Philly, I was surprised to find out that State stores were still very alive and well in Pennsylvania and in other states. As expected, government seems to not be doing a good job in this venture.

(thepittsburghchannel.com) A Team 4 investigation found that despite what many people believe, dozens of state liquor stores are losing millions of dollars a year, which is costing taxpayers money.

The number of money-losing stores is increasing every year. The head of the Liquor Control Board said he’s trying to close unprofitable stores, but sometimes politics prevents that from happening, which lends ammunition to critics who say the government should not be in the business of selling booze.

[…]

The store at 959 Liberty Avenue was the third-biggest money-loser in the state last year with $61,000 in red ink.

But that’s not the only example where the state LCB competes with itself.

The Stowe Township store lost $52,000 last year. There’s another store less than half a mile away in Kennedy Township. A mile in the other direction, in McKees Rocks, is another state store.

But does it make sense to have three stores within a two-mile radius of each other?

“The simple answer would be probably not, but if I were to look at those stores, I would look at the demographics,” said P.J. Stapleton of the LCB.

Team 4 found 75 state stores lost money last year, a 53 percent increase from just two years earlier when 49 stores ran in the red.

[…]

“The fundamental core question is should the government be in a business that’s providing a consumer good?” said Stalder. “This is not normal business.”

So, how unusual is this business?

The LCB spends millions of dollars a year promoting the sale of alcohol, and it also spends millions trying to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors.

While there’s plenty of talk in Harrisburg about privatizing the turnpike, there is little effort to privatize the state stores. That’s because of an unusual alliance between Democrats, who want to keep union jobs in the stores and Republicans, who want to keep tight control on liquor sales. (source)

I also came across a search that yielded roughly 75 state liquor stores located in mostly Black communities throughout Philly.

Your tax dollars at work!