MICHAEL BELL OF 'JENA 6'
ORDERED BACK TO JAIL !

By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 12, 8:14 AM ET
NEW ORLEANS - A judge ordered a black teenager back to jail, deciding the fight that put him in the national spotlight violated terms of his probation for a previous conviction, his attorney said.
Mychal Bell, who along with five other black teenagers in the so-called Jena Six case is accused of beating a white classmate, had gone to juvenile court in Jena on Thursday expecting another routine hearing, said Carol Powell Lexing, one of his attorneys.
Instead, state District Judge J.P. Mauffrey Jr. sentenced Bell to 18 months in jail on two counts of simple battery and two counts of criminal destruction of property, Lexing said.
"We are definitely going to appeal this," she said. "We'll continue to fight."
Bell had been hit with those charges before the Dec. 4 attack on classmate Justin Barker. Details on the previous charges, which were handled in juvenile court, were unclear.
Mauffrey, reached at his home Thursday night, had no comment.
"He's locked up again," Marcus Jones said of his 17-year-old son. "No bail has been set or nothing. He's a young man who's been thrown in jail again and again, and he just has to take it."
After the attack on Barker, Bell was originally charged with attempted murder, but the charges were reduced and he was convicted of battery. An appeals court threw that conviction out, saying Bell should not have been tried as an adult on that charge.
Racial tensions began rising in August 2006 in Jena after a black student sat under a tree known as a gathering spot for white students. Three white students later hung nooses from the tree. They were suspended but not prosecuted.
More than 20,000 demonstrators gathered last month in the small central Louisiana town to protest what they perceive as differences in how black and white suspects are treated. The case has drawn the attention of civil rights activists including the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
Sharpton reacted swiftly upon learning Bell was back in jail Thursday.
"We feel this was a cruel and unusual punishment and is a revenge by this judge for the Jena Six movement," said Sharpton, who helped organize the protest held Sept. 20, the day Bell was originally supposed to be sentenced.
Bell's parents were also ordered to pay all court costs and witness costs, Sharpton said.
"I don't know what we're going to do," Jones said. "I don't know how we're going to pay for any of this. I don't know how we're going to get through this."
Bell and the other five defendants have been charged in the attack on Barker, which left him unconscious and bleeding with facial injuries. According to court testimony, he was repeatedly kicked by a group of students at the high school.
Barker was treated for three hours at an emergency room but was able to attend a school function that evening, authorities have said.
Bell, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw were all initially charged — as adults — with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the same. A sixth defendant was charged in the case as a juvenile.
Bell, who was 16 at the time, was convicted in June of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit that crime. LaSalle Parish prosecutor Reed Walters reduced the charges just before the trial. Since then, both of those convictions were dismissed and tossed back to juvenile court, where they now are being tried.
Charges against Bailey, 18, Jones, 19, and Shaw, 18, have been reduced to aggravated second-degree battery. Purvis, 18, has not yet been arraigned.
___
Associated Press writer Chevel Johnson contributed to this report

Note from Greg Jones: It has also been reported that the judge and D.A. have ordered that the Bell family must pay $600 per month for the incarceration of their son. Bell's father, Mr. Jones was recently fired from his job for taking off to handle his son's case. The Jena 6 including the Bell's need funds desperately. We ask all who will to send your donation directly to the families at:

Jena 6 Defense Fund
P.O. Box 2798
Jena, La. 71342

ASA COONS proves

Homeland Security Should Start in our Schools !!!

By: Greg 'Peace Song' Jones

This is a horrific week in the City of Cleveland, Ohio. In one of the top public schools located in the heart of the City of Cleveland, a 14 year old allegedly entered his school with 2 guns, 3 knives and 2 boxes of ammunition, and after changing his clothing into his black trench coat gear, proceeded to shoot up the school shooting 2 teachers and injuring 3 students before turning the gun on himself, taking his own life. We are thankful that the victims have survived and commend the students at SuccessTech for their exemplary handling of this incredibly terrible occurence.

In the aftermath of such a terrible ordeal, fingers will be wagged and blame issued in many different directions. Some will say that folks should have realized the mental disorder within this 14 year old shooter. Some will blame the boy's parents and family. Some will also place blame on the Cleveland Public School System for not having more security, including the idea that more metal (gun) detectors should be available in every school, along with more security guards, which could have wharted off this catastrophe. But, then there are THE FACTS. Fact is, ever since George Bush initiated his wonderful 'No Child Left Behind' Program, the Cleveland Public School System has been in severe dire financial straits. During the past 3 years the school system was forced to lay-off or fire over 1000 Cleveland School teachers, security guards, school nurses etc., due to the lack of federal dollars, which is the responsibilty of the Bush administration. The school system has been so broke that a number of the schools were forced to discontinue sports programs, music programs, in addition to the drastic reduction in staff and security. If the school board HAD purchased metal detectors for every school, or hired more security guards, they would not have had the funds to even buy books ! And then there is the HOMELAND SECURITY.

How in the world are we making our homeland more secure, when the Bush administration is simultaneously cutting much necessary funding needed to protect our public schools, evidently not realizing (or caring) that our youth....our students...our children...should be priority number one....for 'HOMELAND SECURITY'. The time is now...to speak out for what is really needed in OUR country. Instead of spending trillions of dollars to 'reconstruct' other countries.....we must DEMAND that American dollars be spent to take care of the true, obvious needs that exist here....on our Homeland...in America. This deadly ordeal, which occured across the street from the FBI Building, could have....and should have never happened.

Greg 'Peace Song' Jones

http://www.godblesstheworldonline.com/

Who was Asa Coon?
(Cleveland School Shooter)

(From Cleveland Plain Dealer) Posted by Scott Stephens and Rachel Dissell October 10, 2007 22:47PM
Some of the kids called him Jack Black, the loud, chubby, long-haired actor in the movie "School of Rock."
He could be loud sometimes, all right, and his appearance cried for attention: his shock of wavy brown hair, his fingernails painted black, the dog collar around his neck, his faded rock concert T-shirts under a trench coat.
But there was another Asa Coon, an Asa Coon far more menacing than the loopy kid with the unkempt hair and faux Gothic look.
This was the Asa who always seemed to be in fights at school. This was the Asa who slapped around his mother. This was the Asa who talked about suicide.
And it was this Asa, authorities say, who walked into SuccessTech Academy Wednesday with a satchel full of guns and ammunition and opened fire on teachers and students.
"In the end, you never know who is going to snap," classmate Aaron King said while heading home through a cold afternoon drizzle. "You have to watch who you make mad."

What apparently pushed Asa's troubled young mind over the edge was an argument with classmates about the existence of God. It happened a few days ago in reading class.
Asa said he didn't believe in God and didn't respect God.
Another kid disagreed.
Asa said he worshipped rock star Marilyn Manson. He flashed the other kid an obscene gesture.
After school, the two kids fought. Asa took a beating. Both were suspended.
"I'm going to get you," he warned his tormentor. "I will get you."
Some youngsters say Asa was goaded into fights and picked on. Even before the fight, he confided to friends that he was going to shoot up the school.
"I thought he was just kidding," said Demar Tabb, 15, a classmate. "I probably should have said something, but I didn't think anything would actually happen."
True to his word, Asa entered his school on a steel-gray October day looking for revenge. He shot two teachers and two classmates before he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. He was 14.
Asa Coon grew up in a family where violence seemed commonplace. His older brother, Stephen, was twice charged with both domestic violence and assault by the time he was 13. He was recently released from prison.
Court records show that his father's whereabouts are largely unknown.
The Department of Children and Family Services was called to the Coon home in 2000 because Asa had burns on his arms and scratches on his forehead.
When he was 12, Asa was charged in Juvenile Court with domestic violence. His mother, Lori, had called the police and told them that Asa slapped her and called her a vulgar name. She had been trying to intervene in a fight between Asa and his twin sister Nicole.
"He's a very hyper kid," said Rachel Metzger, who lives near the Coons. "He's constantly yelling at his mom or anybody else. He's pretty violent."
Once in court, a magistrate ordered Asa to undergo psychological testing and follow the orders of doctors. The magistrate also ordered the family to undergo therapy together.
Asa immediately refused to obey probation rules. He threw the paperwork on the floor and charged out of the office, nearly knocking his mother to the ground.
After that, the magistrate wanted to send Asa to the Youth Development Center in Hudson. While waiting for a spot to open at the center, the boy was placed in the Jones Home, an interim shelter care facility on the West Side. He attempted to kill himself there.
Eventually, Asa was sent to the downtown detention center and placed on two medications, Trazodone, a anti-depressant and sedative and Clonodine, a medicine meant to treat high blood pressure but sometimes used to treat ADHD.
He spent a few days at Laurelwood Hospital before being released to home detention. The Laurelwood staff concluded that Asa had suicidal tendencies and was trying to push all "their buttons." They thought he may be bipolar but agreed he needed more evaluation.
The relationship between the boy and his mother remained combative, Juvenile Court records show. One time, in front of a home detention officer, both of them screamed and cursed at each other because Asa had refused to take his medication.
His home detention officer also noted that the house Asa lived in on West 43rd Street was in a neighborhood plagued by drug trafficking and gangs. He wrote that the Coons' front yard was cluttered with debris and dog feces.
Less than a month after the suicide attempt -- Asa, then a seventh-grader at Thomas Jefferson School -- was suspended for attempting to hurt another student.
"He had issues," a teacher who once worked at the school said yesterday. "I was not surprised at all he was the shooter."
There were times when it looked like things might improve. The home detention officer said Asa showed up for his appointments and was courteous.
Last November, Asa had completed his counseling, anger management classes and community service. After five months without incident, he was released from probation.
With all of his problems, nobody denied that Asa was smart. His friends say he liked to talk about the space program, the FBI and global warming.
Some even called him a genius.
They remember Asa building fantastic towers out of nothing but paperclips. He could take appliances apart around the house and put them back together. He also liked to help adults fix and build things.
"As long as he was busy with his hands, he was cool," said a family friend who had known the boy since he was 6. "But when he was bored, he would lash out."
Asa and his twin sister, Nicole, were total opposites, she said. He was somewhat withdrawn, had dark hair and preferred to sit inside and draw. She is outgoing, blond and preferred to play outside.
But Nicole Coon was inside her house when the police pulled up on a cool and rainy Wednesday afternoon with the bad news. Moments later, the girl bolted out the front door and collapsed in the street.
"My brother!" she cried as her mother climbed into a police cruiser and headed downtown. "Oh my God!"

REPUBLICANS: The Problem With America
By: Greg 'Peace Song' Jones

Over the past 7 or so years, I have watched our country go from being an incredibly united country (as evidenced following the horrific 9/11 tragedy) to being a country almost on the verge of civil war(s). No not in Iraq.....but here ! In America. The 'United States'. It is so sad to see what we as a country have disolved to becoming. When one looks back in review in wonderment as to how we could have become such a divided, hate filled, selfish, lost country being led like lost sheep....there is only one answer.

The Republicans. I listen to Republican/Conservative talk radio and watch Fox News and just shake my head in absolute disgust. The hosts, as well as callers, all sound very intelligent and articulate, but the words that come out of their mouths show nothing less than sheer ignorance never before witnessed in modern day American history. Here, you have a group of people...who call themselves Conservatives. But what exactly is that phrase supposed to mean. It can't mean that they 'conserve' anything. They spend our tax dollars like there's no end. They could care less about conserving the environment, aka conservation.

They'd rather sit on a melting glacier ignorantly debating global warming than to think that maybe it is a possibilty or at least something that should be looked into to conserve the future of our world. They can't want to conserve life.....(although they literally are obsessed to see Rowe V. Wade overturned) because they are absolutely pro-war. Don't forget, they are also the so-called religious right ! So they're pro-life....very religious...and pro-war !!! Is that weird or what ? In addition to that weirdism....they are a sad group that deep inside is actually controlled by hatred, bigotry and a desire to rescue the collapsing white power structure in America.

They are so filled with fear of power loss that their driving force has become total hatred. Whoever their Conservative leaders (sheep herders) tell them to hate(Rush, O'Reilly, Hannity, Bush, Cheney, etc.)....that's who they hate.....like Stepford controlled sheep. At first they were told to hate Bin Laden(made sense at the time).....then The Taliban (remember them ?). All of a sudden, it was Saddam Hussein....then Al Qaida. Meanwhile, don't forget they were hating the French and Germans for awhile for not going along with the Iraq war....even wanted to stop drinking french wine and even wanted to call french fries 'freedom' fries to punish the French. That died out though after awhile (french fries tasted too good).

Then, remember Shorty over in Korea ? They were hating him for about three weeks right after they hated Syria for about two weeks. Then it was Iran.....They started on Iran around July 4th of last year....but that died down after about 6 1/2 weeks. Meanwhile, they hated the Mexicans for coming to America for a better living......and more recently...back to hating Iran. (Note: No more Bin Laden, Taliban, Syria or Shorty in Korea)...Whew ! If it wasn't for the sheep herders....they wouldn't be able to keep up with who they are to hate next. And sadly, here on the homefront, that very hatred has swelled in their spirits to such a degree that racism has escalated to a modern day KKK level. Nooses...police brutality...injustice...prejudice....all stronger now than in the last 30 years.

I'm trying to keep this short so I'm not dicussing the corruption amongst these Conservatives....or their desire to rule the entire world...or how they could care less about the homeless or the needy or the Katrina victims. Don't forget.....they're supposed to be the so-called 'religious' right. The Bible says 'that you will know them by their fruits'.....meaning by what they do and how they think. I do love The Lord and I must say....those of us who truly know and love The Lord know that a true Christian does not want innocent soldiers dying in vain. They do not want the hungry to starve or the homeless without shelter. They would hate the pitiful response to Katrina.....and they would have a Godly spirit that allowed them to know how they....themselves....THE REPUBLICANS...are ruining the great land of America....the "United States"....and simultaneously hurting the entire world.

The time is Now to TAKE BACK AMERICA !!! (Oh Yea !! They also hate the Democrats !!!)

Visit: http://www.Blacks4Barack.homestead.com/
Greg Jones

MUST READ ! Obama addresses black issues

JENA 6, Injustice, Racism and more...

Greg Jones' Blacks4Barack ! presents
BARACK OBAMA'S Message To Black America !JENA 6, Racism, Injustice and The New Movement !

Speech from Howard University

"To all of the honored and distinguished guests faculty staff and students, it is a privilege to be a part of today's convocation, and an honor to receive this degree from Howard.Now there are few other universities that have played so central a role in breaking down yesterday's barriers, and inching this country closer to the ideals we see inscribed on the monuments throughout the city.It is because of those victories that a black man named Barack Hussein Obama can stand before you today as candidate for President of the United States. I am not just running to make history. I am running because I believe that together we can change history's course. It's not enough just to look back and wonder how far we've come; I want us to look ahead with fierce urgency at how far we have to go. I believe its time for this generation to make its own mark, to write our own chapter in the American story.Those who came before us did not strike a blow against injustice only so that we would let injustice fester in our time. Thurgood Marshall did not argue Brown so that we could accept a country where too many African American men end up in prison because we'd rather spend more to jail a 25-year-old than to educate a 5-year-old. Dr. King did not take us to the mountaintop so that we would allow a terrible storm to ravage those who were stranded in the valley. He did not expect that it would take a breach in the levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; that it would take a hurricane to reveal the hungry God asked us to feed, the sick he asks us to care for, the least of these he asks us to treat as our own.I am certain that nine children did not walk through the doors of a school in Little Rock so that our children would have to see nooses hanging at a school in Louisiana. It's a fitting reminder that the 50th anniversary of Little Rock fell on this week. Because when the doors of that school finally opened, a nation responded. The President sent the United States Army to stand on the side of justice. The Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The Department of Justice created a civil rights division and millions of Americans took to the streets in the following months and years so that more children could walk through more doors.These weren't easy choices to make at the time. President Eisenhower was warned by some that sending the army down to Little Rock would be political suicide. Resistance to civil rights reform was fierce. We know that those who marched for freedom did so at great risk, for themselves and their families--but they did it because they understood that there are some times in our history, there are moments when what's truly risky is not to act. What's truly risky is to let the same injustice remain year after year after year. What's truly risky is to walk away and pretend it never happened. What's truly risky is to accept things as they are, instead of working for what they could be. In a media driven culture that's more obsessed with who's beating who in Washington, or how long Paris Hilton is going to be in jail, these moments are harder to spot. But every so often they do appear. Sometimes it takes a hurricane, sometimes it takes a travesty of justice like the one we've seen in Jena, Louisiana.There are some who will make Jena about the fight itself. And it's true that we have to do more as parents to instill our children with the idea that violence is always wrong: It's wrong when it happens on the streets of Chicago; it's wrong when it happens in a schoolyard in Louisiana. Violence is not the answer. And all of us know that more violence is perpetrated between blacks than between blacks and whites. Our community has suffered more than anything from the slow, chronic tolerance of violence. Nonviolence was the soul of the civil rights movement. We have to do a better job of teaching our children that virtue.But we also know that to truly understand Jena you have to look at what happened both before and after that fight. You have to listen to the hateful slurs that flew through the hallways of that school. You have to know the full measure of the damage done by that arson; you have to look at those nooses hanging on that schoolyard tree, and you have to understand how badly our system of justice failed those six boys in the days after that fight. The outrageous charges, the unreasonable and excessive sentences, the public defender who did not call a single witness.Like Katrina did with poverty, Jena exposed glaring inequalities in our justice system that were around long before that schoolyard fight broke out. It reminds us of the fact that we have a system that locks away too many young first time nonviolent offenders for the better part of their lives; a decision that's not made by a judge in a courtroom but all too often by politicians in Washington and state capitals across the country. It reminds us that we have certain sentences that are based less than on the kind of crime you commit than where you come from, or what you look like. It reminds us that we have a Justice Department whose idea of prosecuting civil rights violations is to roll back affirmative action programs at our colleges and universities; a Justice Department whose idea of prosecuting voter fraud is to look for voting fraud in black and Latino communities where voting fraud does not exist. And you know that these inequities are there. We know they're wrong. And yet they go largely unnoticed until people finally find the courage to stand up and say they're wrong--until someone finally says: It's wrong that Scooter Libby gets no jail time for compromising our national security while a 21-year-old honor student is sitting in a Georgia prison for something that was not even a felony.It's not always easy to come out and say this. I commend those of you at Howard that have spoken out on Jena Six or traveled to the rally in Louisiana. I commend those of you who have spoken out on the Genarlow Wilson case. I know it can be lonely protesting this kind of injustice. I know there's not a lot of glamour in it. Because when I was a state senator in Illinois we have a death penalty system that had sent 13 innocent people to their death--13 innocent men that we know. I wanted to reform the system, and I was told by almost everyone that it was not possible, that I wouldn't be able to get police officers and civil rights activists to work together, Democrats and Republicans to agree that we should videotape confessions to make sure they weren't coerced. Folks told me that there was too much political risk involved, and it would come to haunt me later, when I ran for higher office. But I believed that it was too risky not to act. And after a while people with opposing views came together and started listening. And we ended up reforming that death penalty system, and we did the same when I passed the law to expose racial profiling.So don't let anyone tell you that change is not possible. Don't let them tell you that standing out and speaking up about injustice is too risky. What's too risky is keeping quiet. What's too risky is looking the other way. I don't want to be here standing and talking about another Jena four years from now because we didn't have the courage to act today. I don't want this to be another issue that ends up being ignored when the cameras are turned off and the headlines disappear. It's time to seek a new dawn of justice in America.From the day I take office as President of the United States--has a ring to it, doesn't it? From the day I take office as President, America will have a Justice Department that is truly dedicated to justice, the work it began in the days after Little Rock. I will rid the department of idealogues and political cronies, and for the first time in eight years the civil rights division will actually be staffed with civil rights lawyers who prosecute civil rights violations, and employment discrimination and hate crimes.And we'll have a voting rights section that actually defends the rights of all American to vote without deception or intimidation. When fliers are placed in our neighborhoods telling people to vote on the wrong day, that won't be an injustice--it will be a crime. As President of the United States I will also work every day to ensure that this country has a criminal justice system that inspires trust and confidence in every American regardless of age or race or background. There's no reason that every person accused of a crime shouldn't have a qualified public attorney to defend them. We'll recruit more public defenders to the profession by forgiving college and law school loans. I will be asking some of the brilliant young minds here at Howard to take advantage of that offer. There's no reason why we can't pass a racial profiling law like I did in Illinois, or encourage states to reform the death penalty so that innocent people do not end up on death row.When I am President I will no longer accept the false choice between being tough on crime and vigilant in our pursuit of justice. Dr. King said: 'It's not either/or, it's both/and.' Black folks care about stopping crime. We care about being tough on violence. But we can have a crime policy that's both tough and smart. If you're convicted of a crime involving drugs, of course you should be punished. But let's not make the punishment for crack cocaine that much more severe than the punishment for powder cocaine when the real difference is where the people are using them or who is using them. Republicans have said they think that's wrong, Democrats think that's wrong and yet it's been approved by Republican and Democratic presidents because no one has been willing to brave the politics and make it right. But I will, when I am President of the United States of America.I think its time we took a hard look at the wisdom of locking up some first time nonviolent drug users for decades. Someone once said, and I quote: 'While minimum sentences for first-time users may not be the best way to occupy jail space, and/or heal people from their disease.' You know who said that? That was George W. Bush--six years ago. And I don't say this very often, but I agree with George W. Bush. The difference is that he hasn't done anything about it. When I am President of the United States, I will. We will review these sentences to see where we can be smarter on crime and reduce the blind and counterproductive warehousing of nonviolent offenders. We will give first-time nonviolent drug offenders a chance to serve their sentence where appropriate, in the type of drug rehab programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior and reducing recidivism. So let's reform the system. Let's do what's smart. Let's do what's just.Now there's no doubt that taking these steps will restore a measure of justice and equality to America. It will also restore a sense of confidence to the American people that the system doesn't just work, it works for everyone. But there's a broader point I'd like to meet here today. If I have the opportunity to lead this nation, I will always be a president who hears your voice and understand your concerns. A President whose story is like so many of your own. Whose life work has been the unfinished work of our long march towards justice. And I will stand up for you, and fight for you, and wake up every single day thinking about how to make your lives better.The truth is, though, one man cannot make a movement. No single law can erase the prejudice in the heart of a child who hangs a noose on a tree. Or in the callousness of a prosecutor who bypasses justice in the pursuit of vengeance. No one leader, no matter how shrewd, or experienced, or inspirational, can prevent teenagers from killing other teenagers in the streets of our cities, or free our neighborhoods from the grip of homelessness, or make real the promise of opportunity and equality for every citizen.Only a country can do those things. Only this country can do those things. That's why if you give me the chance to serve this nation, the most important thing I will do as your President is to ask you to serve this country, too. The most important thing I'll do is to call on you every day to take a risk, and do your part to carry this movement forward. Against deep odds and great cynicism I will ask you to believe that we can right the wrong we see in America. I say this particularly to the young people who are listening today. ...I know that you believe it's possible too. The most inspiring thing about the response to Jena was that it did not begin with the actions of any one leader. The call went out to thousands across the internet and on black radio and on college campuses like Howard. And, like the young Americans of another era, you left your homes and you got on buses and you traveled south. It's what happened two years earlier when Americans from every walk of life took it upon themselves to save a city that was drowning. It's how real change and true justice have always come about. It takes a movement to lift a nation. It will take a movement to go into our cities and say that is not enough just to fix our criminal justice says what we really need is to make sure our kids don't end up there in the first place. ...It's time to finish what we started in Topeka, Kansas and Little Rock, Arkansas. It will take a movement of every American from every city and town, every race and every background to stand up and say: No matter what you look like or where you come from, every child in America should have the opportunity to receive the best education this country can offer. Every child. We recruit an army of new teachers, and we pay them better, and we give them more support. It will take a movement to ensure that every young person gets the chance that Howard has given all of you, to say that at the beginning of the 21st century, college education is not a luxury for those who can afford it--it is the birthright of every single American. So when we go back to your class rooms and your dorm rooms and you begin this new year at Howard University, I ask you to remember how far we've come, but I urge you to think about where we need to go. I urge you to think about the risks you will take and the role you will play in the movement that will get us there.And I finally ask you to remember the story of Moses and Joshua, I spoke about this when I was in Selma, the 42nd anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Most of you know that Moses was called by God to lead his people to the promised land. And in the face of a pharaoh and his armies, across an unforgiving desert and along the walls of an angry sea, he succeeded in leading his people out of bondage in Egypt. He led them through great dangers and they got far enough so that Moses could point the way toward freedom on the far banks of the river Jordan. Yet it was not God's plan to have Moses cross the river. Instead he would call on Joshua to finish the work that Moses began. He would ask Joshua to take his people that final distance. Everyone in this room stands on the shoulders of many Moseses. Many Moseses fought and battled here at Howard University. They are courageous men and women who marched and fought and bled for the rights and freedoms we enjoy today. They have taken us many miles over an impossible journey.And to the young people here: you are members of the Joshua Generation. It is up to you to finish the work that they began. it is up to you to cross the river. When Joshua discovered the challenge he faced he had doubts and he had worries. He told God: 'Don't choose me, I'm not strong enough, I'm not wise enough; I don't have the training; I don't have enough experience.' God told Joshua not to fear; he said 'Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go.' Be strong and have courage. Be strong and have courage in the face of anything. Be strong and have courage and we will cross over into that promised land together. Thank you."
Senator Barack Obama(From Blacks4Barack ! Please share this powerful message with everyone. Now IS the Time for a New America !!!)
Visit: http://www.blacks4barack.homestead.com/

BRITNEY: Caught on tape !

SEE Britney Car Accident: CAUGHT ON TAPE !

NEW $1 Coin....

Leaves out GOD !

Please help do this... refuse to accept these when they are handed back to you. I received one from the Post Office as change and I ask for a dollar bill instead..the lady just smiled and said way to go, so she had read this e-mail. Please help out... our world is in enough trouble without this too!!!!!
U.S. Government to Release New Dollar Coins You guessed it " IN GOD WE TRUST " IS GONE!!! If ever there was a reason to boycott something, THIS IS IT!!!! DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW DOLLAR COINS AS CHANGE Together we can force them out of circulation. Please send to all on your mail list !!!

NO BAIL SET FOR 'JENA 6' TEEN

JENA, La. - A relative of one of the Jena Six says a judge has denied bail for Mychal Bell, the only one of the teens who is jailed in the beating of a white classmate.
Attorneys would not comment because juvenile court proceedings are secret. But the father of one of Bell's co-defendants said Bell's bail request was rejected. Bell's mother left the courthouse in tears and refused to comment.


JENA, La. (AP) — It had many of the signs of the early civil rights protests — militant slogans, upraised clenched fists and multitudes of police — but none of the hate and fear-drenched campaigns in Selma, Little Rock and Montgomery.
Thousands of protesters descended on this tiny central Louisiana town Thursday, rallying against what they see as a double standard of justice for blacks and whites.
But unlike the protests that became landmarks for civil rights when fire hoses and police dogs greeted demonstrators, the rally to support six black teenagers charged in a school fight had a festive yet laid-back air.
"It was a great day," said Denise Broussard of Lafayette. "I really felt a sense of purpose and commitment, but it was also a lot of fun. I met great people and made some good friends."
The march for the so-called Jena Six, a group of black teens initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate, was one of the biggest civil rights demonstrations in years.
Hours later, police in nearby Alexandria said they arrested two whites after officers noticed a pair of nooses dangling from the rear of the driver's pickup truck.
The driver, identified as 18-year-old Jeremiah Munsen of Colfax, was charged with inciting a riot, driving while intoxicated and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, authorities said. A city attorney will decide whether charges against the 16-year-old passenger from Dry Prong are warranted, said Alexandria Police Sgt. Clifford Gatlin.
"I wish we had a charge in Louisiana for aggravated ignorance, because this is a classic case," Gatlin said.
In Jena on Friday, the state district court scheduled a session to decide whether a judge who has been hearing the case of Mychal Bell, one of the six youths, should be made to step aside from a bond hearing.
Bell, now 17, is the only one of the six black defendants to be tried. He was convicted of aggravated second-degree battery, but his conviction was tossed out last week by a state appeals court that said Bell could not be tried as an adult on that charge.
Bell had been arrested on juvenile charges including battery and criminal damage to property, and was on probation at the time the white student, Justin Barker, was beaten. He remained in jail pending an appeal by prosecutors. An appellate court on Thursday ordered a hearing to be held within three days on his request for release. The other defendants are free on bond.
The case dates to August 2006, when a black Jena High School student asked the principal whether blacks could sit under a shade tree that was a frequent gathering place for whites. He was told yes. But nooses appeared in the tree the next day. Three white students were suspended but not criminally prosecuted. LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters said this week he could find no state law covering the act.
The incident was followed by fights between blacks and whites, and in December a white student, was knocked unconscious on school grounds. According to court testimony, his face was swollen and bloodied, but he was able to attend a school function that night.
Six black teens were arrested. Five were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder — charges that have since been reduced for four of them. The sixth was booked as a juvenile on sealed charges.
On Thursday, old-guard lions like the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton joined scores of college students bused in from across the nation who said they wanted to make a stand for racial equality just as their parents did in the 1950s and '60s.
But while those early protesters dodged police batons and were insulted by the white population, demonstrators on Thursday petted police horses, chatted with officers and posed by the Jena Police Department sign.
"It was a big event for us," said Donna Clark, who traveled from Atlanta with her husband and four young daughters. "We got matching T-shirts and drove all night. It's exciting and I think the girls can say later they were part of history."
People began gathering before dawn; state police put attendance between 15,000 and 20,000, though organizers said the crowd was much larger.
Law enforcement officials said the biggest problem was the heat.
"It's been a very peaceful and happy crowd," said Sgt. Julie Lewis of the Louisiana State Police. "Really these are very, very nice people. They are welcome in Louisiana any time."
The only strident note came at the end of the rally when a group of Black Panthers took the microphone and led the crowd in chants.
"We're nonviolent when people are nonviolent with us," one speaker said. "We're not nonviolent with people that are violent with us."
Jena residents, resentful of the massive protest in their little town and the racist label stamped upon them, were scarce during the demonstrations. Businesses closed, and so did the library, schools, city offices and the courthouse.
"I don't mind them demonstrating," said resident Ricky Coleman, 46, who is white. "I believe in people standing up for what they think is right. But this isn't a racist town. It's a small place and we all get along."
In Washington, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said he would hold hearings on the case, though he did not set a date or say if the prosecutor would be called to testify.
Walters, the district attorney, has usually declined to discuss the case publicly. But on the eve of the demonstrations, he denied the charges against the teens were race-related and lamented that Barker, the victim of the beating, has been reduced to "a footnote" while protesters generate sympathy for his alleged attackers.
President Bush said he understood the emotions and the FBI was monitoring the situation.
"The events in Louisiana have saddened me," the president told reporters at the White House. "All of us in America want there to be, you know, fairness when it comes to justice."
___
Associated Press writers Errin Haines in Atlanta and Michael Kunzelman in Jena contributed to this report.

190 War Protesters Arrested In D.C.

WASHINGTON - Several thousand anti-war demonstrators marched through downtown Washington on Saturday, clashing with police at the foot of the Capitol steps where more than 190 protesters were arrested.
The group marched from the White House to the Capitol to demand an end to the Iraq war. Their numbers stretched for blocks along Pennsylvania Avenue, and they held banners and signs and chanted, "What do we want? Troops out. When do we want it? Now."
Army veteran Justin Cliburn, 25, of Lawton, Okla., was among a contingent of Iraq veterans in attendance.
"We're occupying a people who do not want us there," Cliburn said of Iraq. "We're here to show that it isn't just a bunch of old hippies from the 60s who are against this war."
Counterprotesters lined the sidewalks behind metal barricades. There were some heated shouting matches between the two sides.
The arrests came after protesters lay down on the Capitol lawn in what they called a "die in" — with signs on top of their bodies to represent soldiers killed in Iraq. When police took no action, some of the protesters started climbing over a barricade at the foot of the Capitol steps.
Many were arrested without a struggle after they jumped over the waist-high barrier. But some grew angry as police with shields and riot gear attempted to push them back. At least two people were showered with chemical spray. Protesters responded by throwing signs and chanting: "Shame on you."
The number of arrests by Capitol Police on Saturday was much higher than previous anti-war rallies in Washington this year. Five people were arrested at a protest outside the Pentagon in March when they walked onto a bridge that had been closed off to accommodate the demonstration, then refused to leave. And at a rally in January, about 50 demonstrators blocked a street near the Capitol, but they were dispersed without arrests.
The protesters gathered earlier Saturday near the White House in Lafayette Park with signs saying "End the war now" and calling for President Bush's impeachment. The rally was organized by the ANSWER Coalition and other groups.
Organizers estimated that nearly 100,000 people attended the rally and march. That number could not be confirmed; police did not give their own estimate. A permit for the march obtained in advance by the ANSWER Coalition had projected 10,000.
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan told the crowd is was time to be assertive.
"It's time to lay our bodies on the line and say we've had enough," she said. "It's time to shut this city down."
About 13 blocks away, nearly 1,000 counterprotesters gathered near the Washington Monument, frequently erupting in chants of "U-S-A" and waving American flags.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson, speaking from a stage to crowds clad in camouflage, American flag bandanas and Harley Davidson jackets, said he wanted to send three messages.
"Congress, quit playing games with our troops. Terrorists, we will find you and kill you," he said. "And to our troops, we're here for you, and we support you."
___
Associated Press writer Christine Simmons contributed to this report.

Two Soldiers Who Wrote NYT Op-Ed Die in Iraq (see below)
Posted September 12, 2007 01:59 PM (EST)

Last month, seven 82nd Airborne soldiers in Iraq wrote a harsh and powerful assessment of the war. The historic piece ran as an op-ed in The New York Times, stating in part:To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched.Today, it was announced that two of those soldiers have died in a vehicle accident in Baghdad.

I was gutted when I heard the news this morning. Like so many other Iraq veterans, I read the paper every day and go directly to names of the dead -- fearfully looking for names I know. Our staff reviews and posts the names of those killed in action every day on the "Honor the Fallen" section of IAVA's homepage, and not one of them is easy. But this news was especially tough for me to swallow. I really looked forward to one day meeting these brave, articulate and thoughtful soldier-statesmen -- or seeing them run for office.

Please keep these soldiers and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Like every troop that dies in Iraq, these men are more than just numbers. They each have a name, a story and a family that must be remembered. Amidst all the politics and partisanship that dominate our televisions and radios, we must always keep in mind that there are real people behind the policy. Sgt. Omar Mora, 28, of Texas City, TX, the son of Olga and Robert Capetillo, and the sister of Erica Capetillo, was on his second tour of duty and had just become a U.S. citizen. He is survived by a wife and 5-year-old daughter.Staff Sgt. Yance T. Gray, 26, of Ismay, MT, the son of Richard and Karen Gray, leaves behind a wife and baby daughter.Please consider making a donation in their memory to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. As soldiers and as citizens, these young men are heroes. Their devotion to our country is an inspiration, and their deaths represent an unspeakable loss.

WATCH HERE: 9/11 SuperDocumentary 'LOOSE CHANGE'

In Honor of all of the 9/11 victims....ALL Americans should watch 'Loose Change'. HERE IT IS.....TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO WATCH !!!!

WATCH New Bin Laden Video....Looks FAKE !!!!

WAKE UP AMERICA !!!

We invite all to watch the latest video release from Usama Bin Laden. Not only is he wearing the same clothes as in a previous video release broadcast 4 years ago....other than the darkening of his beard from grey to black....the 2 videos look identical. Makes you wonder........are we being led astray to be in fear ????



http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1283130,00.html?f=rss

ALSO: As an American and a father it really saddens me to think that our government is systematically conning Americans to agree to this war thru absolutely contrived fear tactics while simultaneously jeopardizing the lives of our brave soldiers who have no clue that they are being used as expendable pawns. Visit this site to see the truth regarding this new 'Bin Laden Video'. These fear tactics are weak and sad. People in other countries know the truth....it's time for Americans to WAKE UP !

Visit:http://www.deepjournal.com/p/7/a/en/960.html

TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW !!!!!

American soldiers in Iraq tell it like it REALLY is ! New York Times Op-Ed

Here's the text of the op-ed written by American soldiers in Iraq......just in case you can't get through to the NYTimes page:
August 19, 2007
Op-Ed Contributors

The War as We Saw It
By BUDDHIKA JAYAMAHA, WESLEY D. SMITH, JEREMY ROEBUCK, OMAR MORA, EDWARD SANDMEIER, YANCE T. GRAY and JEREMY A. MURPHY

(Baghdad)
VIEWED from Iraq at the tail end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population. To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day. (Obviously, these are our personal views and should not be seen as official within our chain of command.)
The claim that we are increasingly in control of the battlefields in Iraq is an assessment arrived at through a flawed, American-centered framework. Yes, we are militarily superior, but our successes are offset by failures elsewhere. What soldiers call the “battle space†remains the same, with changes only at the margins. It is crowded with actors who do not fit neatly into boxes: Sunni extremists, Al Qaeda terrorists, Shiite militiamen, criminals and armed tribes. This situation is made more complex by the questionable loyalties and Janus-faced role of the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, which have been trained and armed at United States taxpayers’ expense.
A few nights ago, for example, we witnessed the death of one American soldier and the critical wounding of two others when a lethal armor-piercing explosive was detonated between an Iraqi Army checkpoint and a police one. Local Iraqis readily testified to American investigators that Iraqi police and Army officers escorted the triggermen and helped plant the bomb. These civilians highlighted their own predicament: had they informed the Americans of the bomb before the incident, the Iraqi Army, the police or the local Shiite militia would have killed their families.
As many grunts will tell you, this is a near-routine event. Reports that a majority of Iraqi Army commanders are now reliable partners can be considered only misleading rhetoric. The truth is that battalion commanders, even if well meaning, have little to no influence over the thousands of obstinate men under them, in an incoherent chain of command, who are really loyal only to their militias.
Similarly, Sunnis, who have been underrepresented in the new Iraqi armed forces, now find themselves forming militias, sometimes with our tacit support. Sunnis recognize that the best guarantee they may have against Shiite militias and the Shiite-dominated government is to form their own armed bands. We arm them to aid in our fight against Al Qaeda.
However, while creating proxies is essential in winning a counterinsurgency, it requires that the proxies are loyal to the center that we claim to support. Armed Sunni tribes have indeed become effective surrogates, but the enduring question is where their loyalties would lie in our absence. The Iraqi government finds itself working at cross purposes with us on this issue because it is justifiably fearful that Sunni militias will turn on it should the Americans leave.
In short, we operate in a bewildering context of determined enemies and questionable allies, one where the balance of forces on the ground remains entirely unclear. (In the course of writing this article, this fact became all too clear: one of us, Staff Sergeant Murphy, an Army Ranger and reconnaissance team leader, was shot in the head during a “time-sensitive target acquisition mission†on Aug. 12; he is expected to survive and is being flown to a military hospital in the United States.) While we have the will and the resources to fight in this context, we are effectively hamstrung because realities on the ground require measures we will always refuse â€" namely, the widespread use of lethal and brutal force.
Given the situation, it is important not to assess security from an American-centered perspective. The ability of, say, American observers to safely walk down the streets of formerly violent towns is not a resounding indicator of security. What matters is the experience of the local citizenry and the future of our counterinsurgency. When we take this view, we see that a vast majority of Iraqis feel increasingly insecure and view us as an occupation force that has failed to produce normalcy after four years and is increasingly unlikely to do so as we continue to arm each warring side.
Coupling our military strategy to an insistence that the Iraqis meet political benchmarks for reconciliation is also unhelpful. The morass in the government has fueled impatience and confusion while providing no semblance of security to average Iraqis. Leaders are far from arriving at a lasting political settlement. This should not be surprising, since a lasting political solution will not be possible while the military situation remains in constant flux.
The Iraqi government is run by the main coalition partners of the Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance, with Kurds as minority members. The Shiite clerical establishment formed the alliance to make sure its people did not succumb to the same mistake as in 1920: rebelling against the occupying Western force (then the British) and losing what they believed was their inherent right to rule Iraq as the majority. The qualified and reluctant welcome we received from the Shiites since the invasion has to be seen in that historical context. They saw in us something useful for the moment.
Now that moment is passing, as the Shiites have achieved what they believe is rightfully theirs. Their next task is to figure out how best to consolidate the gains, because reconciliation without consolidation risks losing it all. Washington’s insistence that the Iraqis correct the three gravest mistakes we made â€" de-Baathification, the dismantling of the Iraqi Army and the creation of a loose federalist system of government â€" places us at cross purposes with the government we have committed to support.
Political reconciliation in Iraq will occur, but not at our insistence or in ways that meet our benchmarks. It will happen on Iraqi terms when the reality on the battlefield is congruent with that in the political sphere. There will be no magnanimous solutions that please every party the way we expect, and there will be winners and losers. The choice we have left is to decide which side we will take. Trying to please every party in the conflict â€" as we do now â€" will only ensure we are hated by all in the long run.
At the same time, the most important front in the counterinsurgency, improving basic social and economic conditions, is the one on which we have failed most miserably. Two million Iraqis are in refugee camps in bordering countries. Close to two million more are internally displaced and now fill many urban slums. Cities lack regular electricity, telephone services and sanitation. “Lucky†Iraqis live in gated communities barricaded with concrete blast walls that provide them with a sense of communal claustrophobia rather than any sense of security we would consider normal.
In a lawless environment where men with guns rule the streets, engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act. Four years into our occupation, we have failed on every promise, while we have substituted Baath Party tyranny with a tyranny of Islamist, militia and criminal violence. When the primary preoccupation of average Iraqis is when and how they are likely to be killed, we can hardly feel smug as we hand out care packages. As an Iraqi man told us a few days ago with deep resignation, “We need security, not free food.â€
In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are â€" an army of occupation â€" and force our withdrawal.
Until that happens, it would be prudent for us to increasingly let Iraqis take center stage in all matters, to come up with a nuanced policy in which we assist them from the margins but let them resolve their differences as they see fit. This suggestion is not meant to be defeatist, but rather to highlight our pursuit of incompatible policies to absurd ends without recognizing the incongruities.
We need not talk about our morale. As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.

Buddhika Jayamaha is an Army specialist. Wesley D. Smith is a sergeant. Jeremy Roebuck is a sergeant. Omar Mora is a sergeant. Edward Sandmeier is a sergeant. Yance T. Gray is a staff sergeant. Jeremy A. Murphy is a staff sergeant.

UPDATE: Soldiers Mora and Davis were killed 3 weeks later !!!

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS.....BRING THEM HOME !!!

Al Sharpton...Jesse Jackson...Black Leaders;

Time to Lead for BARACK !

Greg 'Peace Song' Jones

I regularly listen to talk radio ranging from Air America, which is more progressive or Democratic...to Rush Limbaugh, Dennis Prager and Michael Medved which are Republican....and black radio particularly Warren Ballentine and Rev. Al Sharpton on the Radio 1 Network which is doing a great job of reaching the black community and creating an opportunity for voices nationwide to be heard.

I find it interesting to hear the different views from the hosts....as well as callers nationwide...on the subject of Barack Obama for President. Many of the hosts, even callers, on both Air America and the Republican shows voice massive approval and support of Barack Obama. It's actually quite refreshing to see and hear that so many white Americans are ready for a black president, basically because they feel he is the best choice regarding the issues of America and the world. Now, that's progress.

Then I listen to the Rev. Al Sharpton. First of all, let me state that I greatly admire Rev. Sharpton. The work that he does through his National Action Network is developing into becoming a mighty force in the black community nationwide and I feel that all blacks should be supportive of NAN. But when I listen to Rev. Sharpton talk about Barack Obama's presidential campaign I am totally amazed, shocked and beyond extremely disappointed. I'm almost embarrassed. Here we have Rev. Sharpton, who many blacks, including myself, look at as the number one leader for justice and empowerment in the black community.....and here we have a black man...Barack Obama...who is a very serious, capable, qualified candidate for President of the United States, supported by millions nationwide, with a realistic chance to enter the White House.

But instead of rallying, supporting and stating this black historic opportunity as it is....Rev. Sharpton would rather not express his support of Obama at a ll !!! What's wrong with this picture ? I cannot believe that the leader(s) of the black community like Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson are NOT supportive of what could be the first black president of the United States, ever? That is crazy !!!! (note: Rev. Jackson has quietly declared that he is supporting Obama but has done little or nothing to rally the black community....while polls show Hillary currently receiving more black support than Obama !.....That's CRAZY !) We, as blacks, know that in order for the black communities to rise up out of the muck and mire that permeates, we must all work together....as a family. We know that we always preach that we should be supportive of black achievement, black businesses, our black youth and each other.
If that is the case, that we are to be supportive of each other, which I do believe that to be true, then never has that need been more evident than now. ALL black people should be in absolute support of Barack Obama for President, not just because he's black, but because of his stance, capabilities and qualifications. This should be a period of rallying in the streets, shouting with pride that we have a true opportunity to change history and put a black man in the White House. And this rally cry should be lead by our leaders.

Yes, Rev. Al, Rev. Jackson, the NAACP...ALL black leaders should be sounding the trumpet to inspire all black people to vote for this historic change. Why aren't they ? Rev. Al states that he hasn't heard enough from Obama regarding the issues to make a decision. I find that a bit disingenuous seeing as to how I know where Obama stands on the various issues....and so do the millions of white Obama supporters. Rev. Al also says that Obama may not have enough experience. I find that to be a sadly interesting comment, particularly considering both Rev. Al and Rev. Jackson ran for President with absolutely NO political experience, but never stated that they were too new for the post. (NOTE: Rev. Al knows that Barack Obama has been a
U.S. Senator for over 2 years.....and that Abraham Lincoln was a Senator for 2 years....and turned out to be considered one of the greatest Presidents of all time). Rev. Al also states that he is not hearing enough talk from Obama regarding specifically what he will do for the black community. Now common sense should tell all black folks that Obama has to play the political game. Keep in mind, he is running for president of the United States...that means everyone, black, white, hispanic, muslim, jews,and all others.

Obama cannot appear as if he will only be concerned with the black community's needs or he has absolutely no chance of winning. Maybe that's where Rev. Al went wrong with his campaign. Does Rev. Al think that Obama should be shouting 'ungawa...Black Power' during each debate ? There is no way that he could do that and expect to win. But once he is President, common sense tells us that he would be more receptive to the needs in the black community than any other candidate. That's just common sense based on what we DO know about Obama. Then some folks want to say he's not 'black enough'. That is the most pathetic thing I've ever heard. First of all, his name is Barack Obama......not like Jesse or Al. Secondly, Obama is half Kenyan.....that's pretty black !!! Sometimes I just wonder to myself, why aren't Rev. Al and Rev. Jackson leading the rally to support this historic cause ? Could they be jealous that Obama has already achieved more acceptance than they did during their campaign efforts ? I would hate to think that to be the fact. Or, could Rev. Al be hopeful that Hillary will win because he feels that she will assist him in his personal efforts if she is elected President ? I hope that too is not the case.....that would be selling out.....and I would never believe our leader(s) to be sell-outs. But for our leaders to not boisterously support Obama is like saying that they feel a white person would do better or more for the black communities, which history has proven is just not the case. Then what can it be ? That is the question.

I believe that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be very proud and thankful to see that, in spite of all of the weights that have burdened and held the black community down, one black man has risen to such a level that he is a viable choice to be President of the United States in 2008. I believe that Rev. King would truly lead a powerful movement to change the tide of history. I envision marches, flags, signs, songs, t-shirts, buttons and millions of blacks proudly expressing jubilee for this opportunity to make a real change in our country.

WE SHALL OVERCOME....has been our motto for the black struggle for many generations and we are still struggling, in oh so many ways. And we will never overcome, until our leaders wake up, stop 'hatin' and vigorously lead the cause that will truly make a positive difference in our country, in our black community, and in the entire world. Rev. Al....Rev. Jackson....love ya' both....but on this subject...

It's Time To LEAD !!!

(Greg 'Peace Song' Jones)

http://www.blacks4barack.homestead.com/

Greg Jones is the singer/songwriter who's new CD release entitled 'God Bless the World-While You Bless America'

is considered the Musical Message for World Peace and is garnering accolades worldwide.

Visit: www.godblesstheworldonline.com

Greg 'Peace Song' Jones launches National Campaign....'Blacks4Barack'

Cleveland, Ohio singer/songwriter Greg Jones has launched a new national grassroots campaign called 'Blacks4Barack'. The campaign is designed to trigger, ignite and highlight the importance of all people, particularly blacks, to vote in support of Barack Obama for President of the United States in 2008, beginning in the primaries. " We would like to see black voter registration increase by at least 10% before the election; then we'd like at least 90% of all black voters in support of Obama", states Jones as to the goals of the campaign. " Barack Obama is a highly qualified and credible candidate who will probably go down in history as one of our greatest Presidents ever. This is a very historic opportunity that the entire black population should rally in support of," Jones adds.

Greg Jones is garnering accolades worldwide with his recent Maxi-Single CD release of what is considered the Musical Message for World Peace entitled 'God Bless the World....While You Bless America' on Orville Records.

Visit: http://www.blacks4barack.homestead.com/

For info on Greg Jones' Peace CD visit: http://www.godblesstheworldonline.com/

Mass Murderer Cho left note:

Click To read article from Chicago Times:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070417vtech-shootings,1,176236.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

Picture of mass murderer Cho Seung-hui

By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
April 17, 2007 — Police have identified the Virginia Tech killer responsible for the deaths of 32 people as Cho Seung-hui.
Cho, 23, a Virginia Tech student and a native of South Korea, was a resident alien who lived in Centerville, Va.
Police say the senior English major was likely responsible for both shootings at the university, the first of which took place at around 7:15 a.m. Monday, when two people were killed at West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory. Later that morning, the remaining victims were killed in the engineering studies building Norris Hall.
Immigration officials linked the fingerprints at the scene to Cho's immigration documents.
Legal permanent resident aliens may purchase firearms in the state of Virginia. The buyer must, however, provide additional identification to prove he or she is a resident of the state.

Washington Post exposes mistreatment of injured troops !

UPDATE: 'Post' Gets Results from Walter Reed Hospital Probe By E&P Staff Published: February 20, 2007 updated Monday and Tuesday

NEW YORK In a front page story in The Washington Post on Sunday, reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull exposed dreadful conditions at the supposed "crown jewel of military medicine"-- Walter Reed Army Medical Center.On Monday, the paper carried Part II by the same reporters, titled: "Inside Mologne House, the Survivors of War Wrestle With Military Bureaucracy and Personal Demons."Now, in another front-pager on Tuesday, the two report: "Walter Reed Army Medical Center began repairs yesterday on Building 18, a former hotel that is used to house outpatients recuperating from injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan and that has been plagued with mold, leaky plumbing and a broken elevator."The facility's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, said Army staff members inspected each of the 54 rooms at the building and discovered that outstanding repair orders for half the rooms had not been completed. He said that mold removal had begun on several rooms and that holes in ceilings, stained carpets and leaking faucets were being fixed...."Walter Reed and Army officials have been 'meeting continuously for three days' since the articles began appearing, Weightman said. A large roundtable meeting with Army and Defense Department officials will take place at the Pentagon early this morning to continue talks about improvements in the outpatient system, he added."Weightman said the medical center has received an outpouring of concern about conditions and procedures since the articles appeared and has taken steps to improve what soldiers and their families describe as a messy battlefield of bureaucratic problems and mistreatment. 'We're starting to attack how we'll fix and mitigate' some of the problems, he said.The first part of the article opened as follows. The entire lengthy pieces are posted at www.washingtonpost.com*Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.They suffer from brain injuries, severed arms and legs, organ and back damage, and various degrees of post-traumatic stress. Their legions have grown so exponentially -- they outnumber hospital patients at Walter Reed 17 to 1 -- that they take up every available bed on post and spill into dozens of nearby hotels and apartments leased by the Army. The average stay is 10 months, but some have been stuck there for as long as two years.Not all of the quarters are as bleak as Duncan's, but the despair of Building 18 symbolizes a larger problem in Walter Reed's treatment of the wounded, according to dozens of soldiers, family members, veterans aid groups, and current and former Walter Reed staff members interviewed by two Washington Post reporters, who spent more than four months visiting the outpatient world without the knowledge or permission of Walter Reed officials. Many agreed to be quoted by name; others said they feared Army retribution if they complained publicly.While the hospital is a place of scrubbed-down order and daily miracles, with medical advances saving more soldiers than ever, the outpatients in the Other Walter Reed encounter a messy bureaucratic battlefield nearly as chaotic as the real battlefields they faced overseas.On the worst days, soldiers say they feel like they are living a chapter of "Catch-22." The wounded manage other wounded. Soldiers dealing with psychological disorders of their own have been put in charge of others at risk of suicide.Disengaged clerks, unqualified platoon sergeants and overworked case managers fumble with simple needs: feeding soldiers' families who are close to poverty, replacing a uniform ripped off by medics in the desert sand or helping a brain-damaged soldier remember his next appointment."We've done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it," said Marine Sgt. Ryan Groves, 26, an amputee who lived at Walter Reed for 16 months. "We don't know what to do. The people who are supposed to know don't have the answers. It's a nonstop process of stalling."Soldiers, family members, volunteers and caregivers who have tried to fix the system say each mishap seems trivial by itself, but the cumulative effect wears down the spirits of the wounded and can stall their recovery.
E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)

Pat Tillman's brother speaks out on Iraq War !

Posted on Oct 19, 2006
Courtesy of the Tillman Family
Pat Tillman (left) and his brother Kevin stand in front of a Chinook helicopter in Saudi Arabia before their tour of duty as Army Rangers in Iraq in 2003.

By Kevin Tillman
Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.
It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.
Much has happened since we handed over our voice:


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Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.
Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.
Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.
Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.
Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.
Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.
Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.
Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.
Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.
Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.
Somehow torture is tolerated.
Somehow lying is tolerated.
Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.
Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.
Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.
Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.
Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.
Somehow this is tolerated.
Somehow nobody is accountable for this.
In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.
Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,

Kevin Tillman

U.S. soldiers run TV ads against escalation in Iraq !

January 29, 2007, 6:28 pm
VoteVets Aims at G.O.P. Senators
By Sarah Wheaton
VoteVets.org, the group who sponsored controversial ads aimed at vulnerable G.O.P. incumbents last year, is back at it. This time, it is attacking Republican senators from purplish states who have expressed opposition to President Bush’s troop increase but have declined to support the original, harsher Senate resolution condemning the plan.
The ad features several veterans each saying a line:When it comes to Iraq, America is divided.
On the one hand, you’ve got two-thirds of the American people,
A bipartisan majority in Congress.
The Iraq Study Group.
And veterans like us, all opposed to the escalation.
The next shot is wider and shows a veteran whose arm has been partially amputated: He says:
On the other hand, there’s George Bush, who supports escalation. If you support escalation, you don’t support the troops.
(This campaign is remarkably similar to one used during the midterms, when a veteran sitting at a table said, “Republican Congressman [name here] voted to increase his pay while voting to cut health care benefits for veterans like me. That may make sense from where he sits in Congress… But not from where I’m sitting.” The shot panned out to show the man in a wheelchair.)
General Wesley Clark, a potential candidate for the Democrats’ presidential nomination in 2008, is on the VoteVets.org board of advisors, and the new ad is posted on YouTube under his username and his WESPAC also is soliciting money for the ad. Mr. Clark is expected to address, as are the other possible 2008′ers, the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C. later this week.
Today and Tuesday, a group of veterans, including Jon Soltz, the national chairman of VoteVets.org, are holding press conferences in the home states of each senator as the ad is debuted —- a new technique for the group. Local Iraq veterans are meeting the touring group at each location.
Here’s a list of the tour stops and targets:
St. Paul - Senator Norm Coleman
Indianapolis - Senator Richard Lugar
Columbus - Senator George Voinovich
Portland, Me. - Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins
Manchester, N.H. - Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu
Philadelphia - Senator Arlen Specter
Norfolk and Richmond – Senator John Warner

Survey declares inadequate equipment for U.S. troops in Iraq !

VoteVets Action Fund Poll
First Ever Poll of Veterans Who Served in Iraq and Afghanistan Finds Troops Suffered From Inadequate Equipment in Theater and Serious Health Problems at Home

Click Here For The Entire Poll
VoteVets.org Action Fund Launches Advocacy Effort to Give Voice to the 21st Century Patriot and Veteran
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new poll released today of American service men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan shows that at the start of heavy combat (2003 and 2004), nearly half of our troops reported they did not have "up-armored" vehicles that would be considered mission capable. According to the poll, conducted by VoteVets.org Action Fund, the clear majority of veterans - both active duty personnel as well as National Guard and Reservists - believe the Army and Marines are over-extended in Iraq and Afghanistan, having endured extensions of duty and stop-loss orders as the U.S. military increased operations abroad. When the veterans polled returned home, many encountered emotional and physical health problems as well as economic hardship, indicating that the impact of their service extends beyond their tour of duty.
"The results of this poll should be a wake up call to every American. We are shortchanging our troops - in combat and at home," said Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran, Co-Founder and Chairman of VoteVets.org Action Fund. "I am proud of my service in Iraq, but my job was made more difficult by the real life-or-death challenges I faced when it came to equipment and supplies that were inadequate or not fully operational. Our leaders should pay careful attention to the experiences of my peers - the first batch of 21st century veterans to have served in an all volunteer army - because they are telling us that problems exist. Today's military can only be successful if we have the support and resources necessary to fulfill our duties."
Key Findings
Veterans faced real challenges with equipment and supplies while in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Nearly half of all veterans (42 percent) reported that their equipment did not meet the military standard that requires a unit to be at least 90 percent operational.
Later deployments reported improvements in operational equipment: only 52 and 49 percent of veterans serving in 2003 and 2004 respectively reported their equipment was operational compared to 61 percent of those who served in 2005 and later.
Thirty-five percent of veterans said their trucks were not up-armored at all and 10 percent said the trucks were up-armored with scrap metal
One-fifth of veterans have been impacted by stop-loss regulations or extensions and the majority believes the Army and Marine Corps are overextended.
Twenty percent of respondents said their unit was extended past its original time frame.
Thirteen percent of all veterans say they were affected by stop-loss regulations, including 14 percent of National Guard and Reservists.
Overall, 63 percent of all Iraq or Afghanistan veterans believe the Army and Marine Corps are overextended at this time, including 67 percent of Army and Marine veterans and 66 percent of veterans who experienced ground combat.
When these soldiers returned home, many encountered emotional and physical health problems as well as economic hardship resulting from their service.
One in four veterans has experienced nightmares since returning, including 33 percent of Army and Marines veterans and 36 percent of combat veterans.
A fifth of all veterans (21 percent) and a quarter of Army and Marines (26 percent) and ground combat veterans (27 percent) say they have felt more stress now then before they left for war.
Among National Guard or Reserve veterans, 32 percent said their families experienced economic hardship; 25 percent feel more stress now than before the war; 32 percent experienced more extreme highs and lows; and 30 percent experienced nightmares.
Twenty six percent of all veterans have sought some service from the VA or a VA Hospital, including 33 percent of Reservists and National Guard respondents.
Despite similar military experiences, Reservists do not have access to the same health care as active duty personnel. Given how many veterans have sought some sort of care or assistance, it is no surprise that veterans across the board believe National Guard and Reservists deserve access to TriCare, the medical coverage provided to active duty personnel.Seventy nine percent of all veterans agree that National Guard and Reserve veterans ought to have the same access to Tri-Care as active duty men and women, including 80 percent of Army or Marines respondents, 81 percent of combat veterans, and 83 percent of Reservists and National Guard veterans.
VoteVets.org Action Fund (501c-4) was established to give voice to the 21st century veteran and patriot and to raise concerns about the state of today's military preparedness as well as the resources and support available to service men and women. VoteVets.org Action Fund supports the 21st century veteran through our advocacy and education. VoteVets.org Action Fund seeks to inform the public policy debate in order to improve the resources for and commitment to the men and women of the U.S. military - both those serving today, and those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The poll, which included 453 respondents, was conducted by Lake Research Partners between September 6 and 19, 2006. Respondents varied by political affiliation: 47 percent of veterans in the poll identified themselves as Republicans, 17 percent Democrats, and 22 percent as Independents, while 14 percent declined to answer. For more information on VoteVets.org Action Fund and the poll, please visit www.VoteVets.org.