Views from Point Breeze

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Marion Barry this weekend.  Marion was the Mayor of the District of Columbia while I was a student at Howard University.  He was an ardent supporter of Civil Rights for African Americans whose personal struggles were also a part of his legend.  He affectionately earned the term Mayor for Life.  He was currently serving as a City Councilman when he died of natural causes.  He had just checked out of Howard University Hospital before he passed. Marion Barry had his share of personal troubles to go along with his public accomplishments.  He was famously caught on camera inhaling from a crack pipe after meeting a woman in a hotel room.  He has been interviewed about his supposed drug use but would never submit to a urinalysis.  He was at the helm as DC suffered through a crack and love boat epidemic.  He always engendered a sense of civic pride in his supporters.  Currently, DC is undergoing a m...

I grew up listening to Bill Cosby comedy albums.  for whatever reason, I remember 'Why is There Air' like it was yesterday.  This album was recorded in 1965 at the Flamengo Hotel in Las Vegas.  That was almost fifty years ago and it reflects the supposed staying power that Bill Cosby once enjoyed.  Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was one of my favorite cartoons.  It premiered in 1972 and played for 13 years.  Mr. Cosby's residuals must be astounding. Some of Bill Cosby's current troubles started when he was working on a proposed pilot for a new show.  Bill, most people will call him that because we feel like we know him, is now seventy seven years old.  Once again, he was going to reprise his role as a loving patriarch who dispensed wisdom to three grown daughters with children.  I guess we can never get enough of the wholesome advice that he dispenses.  The Cosby Show ran from 1984 until 1982.  It featured Bill as an Obstetrician ...

I am a student of the political process.  I was a Political Science major in college who could not be involved in politics due to a city job.  I am aware of the importance of political participation by our citizens and I work hard in my ward to stay involved and to get my neighbors involved.  I barely had a chance to gloat in a Tom Wolf victory for Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania before I had to study the impact of the Republicans regaining control of the Senate.  This supposedly portends bad tidings for President Obama and doom and gloom for Democrats. The recent gains by the Republican party call to mind the advances made during 1994.  Can anyone remember the bluster with which Newt Gingrich proposed and marketed the Contract with America at the time.  This Contract occurred during the first term of the Clinton Administration.  It seems like anytime there is a President that has social issues and equality at the top of the agenda that...

As a Committee Person for the 36th Ward of the Democratic Party in Philadelphia I was disappointed with the prediction of 18% voter turnout in the Gubernatorial election.  Governor Tom Corbett and Candidate Tom Wolf put in a lot of time and energy in order to get their message out about their platforms.  Voters barely saw Congressman Chaka Fattah who was opposed by a relative newcomer in Armond James.  Also, there was a number of State Representative seats up for grabs.  Senator Anthony Williams was running pretty much unopposed.  I attended a rally for Tom Wolf headlined by Hillary Clinton.  Michelle Obama and President Obama also stumped for Tom Wolf here in Philly.  All of the efforts produced a win for the Democratic candidate. The major sticking point for many voters was the lack of funding for education in Philadelphia.  The story was the same throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  If you weren't fortunate enough to live in an...