Views from Point Breeze

I watched the University of South Carolina win the Women's NCAA Championship in basketball yesterday.  It was a decent game in terms of back and forth action.  A'ja Wilson pressed the action most of the game.  I love left handed players that perform on the world stage.  I can remember Jack Givens from Kentucky putting on a show almost forty years ago.  I also remember Wayman Tisdale from Oklahoma putting on a show in the finals.  He has since transitioned on to heaven after an impressive pro career and making an impact as a Musician.  Woman lefties have been few and far between.  I had been watching Dawn Staley both play and coach for numerous years.  She was an All-American at Murrell Dobbins Technical High School and was named Player of the Year.  She attended the University of Virginia and led her team to four NCAA tournaments and three final fours.  She was the National Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992.  She stands al...

Last Sunday my Mother was blessed to turn 85 years old.  She was born in 1932 in Ridgeway, South Carolina.  Times were very different then.  Much of the debate at that time was over the causes and possible remedies to the Great Depression.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected and began to build a program know as the New Deal to help restore confidence in the U.S. economy.  www.igalegroup.com reported that in 1933, nearly one thousand local governments had defaulted on debt payments and that nearly four hundred charities had disappeared in New York.  The safety net that many of us rely on in times of trouble was shredded.  My Mother grew up in a wooden house with no street lights in an area that was still hostile towards people of color. I dropped my Mom off at church this morning.  She has to be one of the most loyal members of Saint Rita's ever.  She reads Scripture on many Sundays and also attends Bible study.  She was lamen...

The biggest thing that I remember as a younger American was the threat of a Russian missile attack.  President Ronald Reagan had created a system that would sort of encapsulate the U.S. against any attacks that would come from our formidable adversary.  Many history buffs can recall the stories of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.  These were iron fisted rulers who sharpened the tools of a nation that was bent on world power.  They were also a state where totalitarian rule was in effect.  I have read novels where there was no privacy and all conversations could be subject to official eavesdropping.  In spite of some of the misinformation that I might have received, Russians are probably not all that different than Americans. I have more memories of Mikhail Gorbachev than any other Russian leader.  The Russians were in a prolonged war with Afghanistan in the mid to late eighties.  They had to wind up leaving with their tail between their legs. ...

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....