Views from Point Breeze

This young man just made news for suggesting that sexual relations between grown men and boys can be liberating for the boys.  He was referring to boys as young as thirteen.  Maybe he did not realize that one cannot legally consent to sex at this age.  He is from England.  Maybe he did not realize that this is called rape in the United States.  He cannot comprehend the agony caused by Catholic priests who couldn't keep their hands to themselves and abused thousands of young boys.  Also, he could have researched the story of Jerry Sandusky of Second Mile fame.  This man is serving a jail sentence now due to his affinity for taking boys home and having his way with them.  Sickening. Milo was a former editor for Breitbart News.  This is a far right American news and commentary website.  It was originally founded as a website by Andrew Breitbart that was pro-Israel and pro-freedom.  I wonder what their opinions are now with the sudde...

We have had a tumultuous last few years in the 36th Ward of the Democratic Party in Philadelphia.  The need for an engaged ward is more crucial now that Republicans have taken over the Presidency, House and Senate on a national level.  The jobs of committee persons are to help get out the vote, circulate petitions and ensure fair and equitable elections.  In spite of one person's claim of massive voter fraud, we work to ensure that only registered voters participate in the system. Anna Verna had been our ward leader for almost thirty years.  I actually put my hat into the ring to try to run for the ward leader position at the reorganization meeting in June 2014.  It was a rude awakening to the entrenched role that she played in many committee persons lives.  I never got a chance to call for a roll call vote as the anger in the room was more than palpable.  Charlie Bernard, of the City Democratic Committee, sat at the front and never introduced himse...

I was cleaning up in front of my house on Valentine's Day when I received the terrible news.  Soupy had been found dead in his bed.  I grew up with Soupy and didn't start calling him Thomas until I found out his real name when I was trying to help him find a job.  He was able to obtain employment at the Wine & Spirit stores in Pennsylvania and he was doing well.  He suffered a back injury and had been on disability for the last few years.  He traveled back and forth to West Virginia and was talking about moving down south, I last saw Thomas in July of 2016.  We were at Dennis' block party and he was going into a house across the street.  He did not stop to speak as he seemed to have something on his mind.  I used to see him on a regular basis when he lived with Jackie Mays.  He had transformed the third floor into a palace.  He had a kitchen, flat screen television, bathroom and couch.  He was living large.  One of my ot...

The Trump Administration has been serving since January 20th, 2017.  It has already spawned some of the largest protests against an administration that I have witnessed in my lifetime.  On January 21st, large contingents of people marched on Washington and in cities throughout the country and the world.  It was a Women's March and the majority of the marchers were horrified by the prospect of Donald Trump, his past comments about his actions towards women, and the tone and tenor of his administration.  There is already an effort by this administration to defund Planned Parenthood.  How that move would benefit the country and women seeking reproductive health assistance is beyond me.  Over 50,000 people marched in Philadelphia and the numbers are estimated at 2.6 million worldwide. The Trump Administration created another firestorm of protesters on Saturday and Sunday when it issued an Executive Order banning citizens from seven majority Muslim countries....

It has been verified recently that the Northeast region of the United States has recorded the three hottest temperatures on record recently.  Our winters have been a little wimpy compared to winters when I grew up.  In my lifetime I have gone from wearing long johns a few times a winter to wondering if I might need them again.  This week, after a somewhat cold Monday, we will see three days in the fifties.  We did have some snow two weekends ago.  I cannot see any in the extended forecast.  I used to dream of a White Christmas.  I would take just one major snowstorm to think that global warming is just a figment of my imagination. I have some friends that live on the West Coast.  Fifty degrees in January might cause them to don heavy overcoats.  We had fifty five degrees here and people were wearing shorts and sweaters.  I had a friend recently who just visited Africa.  Many of his pictures were of a safari and rhinos and giraffe...

This is the last official day of the Presidency for Barak Obama.  It was punctuated in the news by former President George W. Bush and his wife Barbara Bush both being rushed to the hospital this week.  The moving vans have loaded his and Michelle's belongings and transported them to their new residence in Washington, DC.  He has served a scandal free eight years and will leave with a very high popularity rating.  I am proud of him and the service that he provided for our country while he completed his eight years in office. The orderly transition of power is a cornerstone of our Democracy.  I capitalize democracy in this context because many lives are saved due to our constitution and the observance of it at this time.  In the African country of The Gambia there was an orderly election in December.  The current President, Yahya Jammeh, lost his election to Adama Barrow.  President Jammeh, who came to power through a coup in 1994, is not r...

On Friday, January 20th, 2017, a billionaire, will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.  As Donald Trump has indicated, it is the culmination of a movement that began when he descended the escalator in Trump Tower many moons ago.  I am not a supporter of Donald Trump but I respect the Office of the President.  I have always wondered how he could be so unhappy with his immense wealth and unlimited ability to license his name and make money.  In fact, he claimed that he turned down a $2 billion deal in Saudi Arabia just two weeks ago.  I wonder what his mind set is not that he has three days to go before assuming the position of leader of the free world. One of his any moves that he promised to make on day one is to repeal Obamacare.  I think that the naming of the Affordable Care Act after President Obama has missed off Republicans more than the impact of this important source of insurance for 20 million Americans.  The President e...