April 18, 2008 Pages 1-20

Transcription

Friday, April 18, 2008
FREE
Your VOTE can
make the change
on Tuesday,
April 22 Election
Day
48 YEARS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE PHILADELPHIA, CHESTER, SOUTH JERSEY, WILMINGTON, DEL.
Leadership Awards
Salute to Leadership Awards Breakfast presented by the Carroll Park Community Council, Inc. held
at the Pinn Memorial honored eleven. The Guardianship, Legacy, Service and Lucien Blackwell
Exemplary community service awards were presented to Sen. Vincent Hughes, Zilpha Tapper, James
Grant, Alice Crowder, Heshimu Jaramogi, Wadell Ridley, Tyree Johnson, Dennis Lee, Rev Dorthea
Lindsay, Christine Randall and Robert Abdullah. Corporate sponsor Bravo Health represented by
Elba Torres-Duca pictured here as well as councilwoman Jannie Blackwell assisted the presentation
of the Lucien Blackwell Exemplary award to Mayor Michael Nutter. Councilman Curtis Jones honored the awardees as well with the staff and board of directors of the Carroll Park Community
Council, Inc.
Martin Regusters Leaping Lion Photo
Chester Celebrates
Citywide celebration and Parade honoring
High School Boys Basketball Team and Girls
Track & Field State Champions - page 12
Chester Health Fair & Fun Day - page 12
Visit SCOOP USA on the World Wide Web: SCOOPUSANEWSPAPER.COM
2 - SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, April 18, 2008
thera martin-connelly
The Clock is Ticking toward Election Day
Can you believe it?
The Primary Election
is almost here. In fact,
as you read this column the election will
be just about 4 days
away. What’s at stake?
Everything. Starting at
the top of the ticket,
the next person to be
the Commander and
Chief for the nation
will be that much closer to taking the seat
once they win the
Primary. Albeit they
still will have to run in the November General lection, to win on April 22nd means a hell of a lot.
After 8 years of George Bush, the country is
ready for a change, at least that’s what I hear every
which way I turn. Folks are saying to me that
America and Americans can’t take another 4 years of a
leader with a Bush mentality, even if their name isn’t
Bush. If you want to war to go on and on and on in Iraq,
that alone makes you the choice I would not want in the
White House and many are echoing the same sentiments.
So at the top, we have to consider long and hard whom
we want to be our next President. Democrats have to consider between two democrats whom they want to walk
away from the Democratic National Convention as the
endorsed candidate by the party to take on the Republican
challenger, John McCain.
By the way, I have no problem with people who have
lived past the age of 70 who are spry and alert and energetic and clear thinking and who have passion to serve
and who love this country. Unfortunately that’s not the
feeling I get from John McCain. When I see him in
speeches and television news interviews and on the campaign travel, via media coverage, etc, what I see is an old
man who does not want to let go of his dream even
though he looks like he can barely pull himself up out of
his bed every day. While he has a wife he wears on his
arm like a trophy, John McCain comes across to me like
an older, more beat up version of George W. Bush. If
Dick Gregory were running for President, (and I estimate
that Mr. Gregory is in the same age group as John
McCain, I’d have no problem voting for that “old” man.
Dick Gregory is fit. He takes care of himself. He’s
healthy as a horse and he talks with lots of sense. He’d fix
the country, yes he would. But McCain? McCain looks
like he’s two steps away from a stretcher or something.
He exudes no energy. He’s flat as a 120 day old soda
o I want the convenience of receiving
SCOOP U.S.A.
every week at my home or business
o 26 weeks - Only
o 52 weeks - Only
$20.00
$35.00
Call
(215) 232-5974
Fax
(215) 236-2945
Mail
Scoop U.S.A.
P.O. Box 14013
Philadelphia, PA 19122
In Person
942 N. Watts St.
New
Renew
Total $------- Form Of Payment: q CHECK q MONEY ORDER
or Credit Card
Card # ______________________________________________
Expiration Date _______
Code _______
that’s been sitting out in the hot son.
Be very clear, I am not against senior citizens. I love
seniors, I am just against a worn out one trying to become
Commander in Chief of America.
In Pennsylvania Congressmen Chaka Fattah and Bob
Brady are up for reelection. Neither have opponents in
the Primary. At the State level the office of Attorney
General is up for grabs and there’s one Democrat, John
Morganelli and one Republican, Tom Corbett who are
running. Then the Auditor General’s seat is also up for
grabs. The Democrat running for the seat is Jack Wagner.
Meanwhile two Republicans are tussling it out, Chet
Beiler and Chris Walsh. For State Treasurer we have four
Democrats running, Jennifer Mann, Rob McCord, John
Cordisco and Dennis Morrison-Wesley. (Morrison
Wesley happens to be an African American by the way).
On the Republican side for State Treasurer, we have a
man by the name of Tom Ellis running. In the first senate
race, everybody knows by now that long time powerhouse of a state senator Vincent Fumo will not be running
for re-lection. That leaves three hungry candidates ready
to pounce into the seat. The Democratic candidates are
John Dougherty powerful labor union leader, Anne
Dicker, community activist, and Larry Farnese, who is
said to be the hand-picked choice of embattled State
Senator Vincent Fumo who has been indicted by the
Feds. Jack Moreley is running for the first senate seat on
the Republican side of the world.
In the 3rd senatorial district, State Senator Shirley M.
Kitchen is up for re-election and she has no opponent in
the Primary. Senator Vincent Hughes is up for re-election
and he also has no Democratic opponent in the Primary.
It will be very interesting to see how things turn out in the
179th Legislative District where youthful State Rep.
Tony Payton, Jr. is working to keep his seat that is still
new. But he has a Democratic opponent Guy Lewis who
has been all but invisible during this campaign season.
While Tony Payton made a few mistakes with his filing
petitions, he came through it, and it is said he can pull off
another win. In the 180th District, democratic incumbent
State Rep. Angel Cruz has a democratic opponent
Jonathan Ramos. Cruz seems to be pretty popular but you
never know what’s what until the last vote is counted.
State Reps. W. Curtis Thomas, Louise Williams Bishop,
James Roebuck, Ronald Waters, Jewell Williams, Kathy
Manderiino, John Myers, Mark Cohen, Cherelle Parker
and Dwight Evans have no opponets so they can sail
through the Primary event April 22nd.
In the 198th Legislative District, Democratic
Incumbent State Rep. Rosita Youngblood has an opponent once again, but that’s not news to her. It seems she
always has two or three opponents every time she runs
and yet she always comes out on top. Her Democratic
opponent this time is Byron Davis. And certainly let me
not leave out the 190th District race in West and North
Philly. The incumbent is State Rep. Tommy Blackwell,
who was kicked off the ballot for not having enough valid
signatures on his petitions. His opponent is essentially an
unknown, Vanessa Brown but she is the only Democratic
candidate on the ballot in the 190th district. Blackwell
meanwhile has kicked off a write-in campaign and
depending on how hard he works, perhaps that power
Blackwell name can pull off a miracle and I would say it
will be a miracle if he wins because most voters just don’t
get it. They don’t know how to do a write-in campaign on
election day. Blackwell’s opponent is advertising.
Blackwell is not. Blackwell’s opponent is very visible at
all the candidate forums and so on and so forth, I’m not
sure how visible Blackwell has been in that kind of campaign activity, but if you want to win you gotta be visible.
That much I do know.
As you go to the polls on Tuesday, April 22nd remember this: The polls open at 7am and remain open until
8pm. If you have a problem on election day such as not
knowing where to go to vote, or being told once you get
there that your name is not in the book, then call the
Committee of Seventy. They’re there to help. Their number is 215-557-3600. Also, you must vote for the delegates that are for your presidential candidate only. This
will help your candidate to receive more delegate votes to
win the nomination for president. So even before you
vote for your choice for president, vote for the people
who are running to be delegates for the candidate of your
choice. Got it? Good.
“Hip Hop Team Vote: Turn up the Vote”
“With the overwhelming momentum building across
Pennsylvania, where young people are making their voices heard in record numbers around youth voter registration, The Hip-Hop Research and Education Fund
(HREF), PowerPAC and the Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network (HSAN) will embrace and salute them in anticipation of the largest youth voter turnout on at the
Pennsylvania presidential primary on April 22nd.
On April 20, 2008 at Temple University’s Liacouras
Center Arena, located at 1776 N. Broad Street in
Philadelphia, PA, a massive national ‘Hip-Hop Team
Vote: Turn Up The Vote’ mobilization will be held bringing together hip-hop stars, youth leaders and young people to address the quality of life issues that have resonated with young people across the state and throughout
America. Hip-hop stars and youth leaders thus far confirmed to participate include: Russell Simmons; Dr.
Benjamin Chavis; platinum R&B/pop star Ciara; platinum hip-hop star, Mike Jones; Flo-Rida; Jim Jones; Rich
Boy; Styles P; Chrisette Michelle; Lyfe Jennings,
Webbie; Lil X; Green Lantern, Gorilla Zoe, BET’s ‘106
& Park’ star hosts Rocsi and Terrence J; Lil Boosie;
Latino hip- hop/reggaeton stars Alexis y Fido; O’Neal
McKnight; Emily King and NAACP National Director,
Youth and College Division, Stefanie Brown. Doors open
at 12:30. The Summit runs from 2-5pm.
On this rare occasion, competing radio stations, Clear
Channel’s Power 99 and Radio One’s 100.3 THE BEAT,
have come together for this historic mobilization, under a
common cause, to get young people out to the polls on
April 22nd.
Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of the Hip-Hop
Research and Education Fund, Steve Phillips, Founder
and Chairman of PowerPAC, Valeisha Butterfield,
Executive Director of the Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network, the NAACP, the United States Students
Association and Rosario Dawson’s Voto Latino, have
joined together to issue a call to millions of 18-35 year
olds to participate in the campaign. “Hip-Hop Team Vote:
Turn Up The Vote” will utilize a variety of means to reach
its target demographic and maximize youth voter regis-
tration and voter turnout, including hip-hop radio stations,
artists, recording industry street teams, web and pod casts,
social networks, blogs and grass roots organizing.
Dr. Benjamin Chavis emphasized, “An unprecedented
groundswell of young people continues to grow across the
state of Pennsylvania in anticipation of the April 22
Presidential primary election. The diversity and power of
the hip-hop generation will manifest at the Turn Up the
Vote National Hip-Hop Summit at Temple University. PA
is fired up and the enthusiasm is growing daily.”
The 18-29 year old segment of the hip-hop generation
will be nearly 50 million strong in 2008, making up one
third of the electorate. Civicyouth.org reported that
between the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections, youth
voter turnout more than doubled.
“I’m really proud of my generation for rising to this
momentous occasion,” declared Valeisha Butterfield. “It
is clear that young people want change and the best way
to bring about change is to vote in record numbers. The
Pennsylvania primary will be a milestone for youth voter
turn-out.”
Added 22 year old Philadelphia native, Lauren
Goodwin, “As a 22 year old, recent college graduate, I
recognize that my home state of Pennsylvania has an
opportunity to make a tremendous impact on this nation.
Although I have been involved in the political process in
the past, this is the first election that I have felt truly
engaged and connected to the issues. More is at stake than
ever before because of the current war in Iraq, disproportionate funding for public education and the economic
future of the United States. Â Pennsylvania, stand up and
join me and the millions of other young adults by registering to vote and making our voices heard on April 22!”
"We're about expanding democracy through support of
communities that have been marginalized and underrepresented in the decision-making process," offers Steve
Phillips, founder and chairman of PowerPAC. "Our goal
is to build a new base of political activism. “This work is
See “Turn Up the Vote” page 15
Name on Card (print)________________________________
Signature____________________________________________
City, State, Zip ________________________________________
Phone _______________________________________________
Check your ad weekly for accuracy. SCOOP U.S.A. is only responsible for the first time your ad appears It is the advertiser’s responsibility to notify us of any errors prior to the next issue.
NO REFUNDS
SCOOP U.S.A.
RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT OR EDIT ANY AD
SCOOP U.S.A.
Mailing address:
P.O. BOX 14013 - Phila., PA 19122
Offices & Shop:
942 N. Watts St. Phila. PA 19123
(215) 232-5974
Fax: (215) 236-2945
e-mail: Phillyscoop@aol.com
R. Sonny Driver: Publisher / Editor
Dedicated to the Community People
Volumn 48 - Number 12
Published every Friday by R.E. Driver Jr. Associates with a Controlled Circulation of
over 90,000 readership. Copies are distributed each Friday in Philadelphia, PA and
suburbs, Chester, PA, Camden, NJ and Wilmington, Delaware to people and customers in Shopping Malls, Beauty Shops, Restaurants, Night Clubs, Hotels, Theatres,
Office Buildings and many other business establishments where there is a high volume of people of all ages. Mail Subscription: $35.00 per year. Unsolicited
manuscripts and photos are welcomed but will not be returned unless accompanied by
a stamped, self-addressed envelope. SCOOP U.S.A. is a city-wide, community newspaper with a broad range of news and information. Display Advertising Deadline is
5:00 p.m. Monday. Call office for rates and information. The Publisher reserves the
right to refuse any advertisement or unsolicited manuscripts.
The comments made by the columnists of SCOOP U.S.A. are their own and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of the newspaper or of its staff.
SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, April 18, 2008
-3
marian wright edelman
ChildWatch Celebrating young people who beat the odds
I'm always delighted to
write columns about people
who are doing what's right
and good, especially when
they're young. So I'd like to
share with you a few of the
inspiring stories of some of
the high school seniors honored this spring at Beat the
Odds® Awards events hosted by the Children's
Defense Fund’s Minnesota
and Texas offices.
Begun in 1990, the Beat the Odds scholarship
program was formed by CDF to recognize and celebrate the achievements of courageous young people to counter so many media accounts of the
minority of youths committing crimes.
These exceptional young people have not only
prevailed against great misfortunes, but with caring
adult support, they have thrived by working hard, striving
for academic excellence and contributing to their communities.
Each year, CDF national and state offices honor high
school students for their successes while surmounting
colossal challenges. Each honoree receives a scholarship
in addition to other forms of support such as computers
and clothing.
CDF has encouraged nearly 600 Beat the Odds honorees to become leaders and successful in a variety of
professions as well as advocates for children and social
justice.
Susan Castillo’s chronic anemia and asthma caused her
to spend long periods of her childhood in and out of hospitals. She endured crushing poverty and an abusive and
drug addicted father. Yet her spirit remained unbroken.
She has excelled academically and has been active in
Houston community service projects. Susan will be the
first person in her family to attend college and she aspires
to become a neuroscientist and to find a cure for autism,
which afflicts her younger brother and so many other
children.
Brandon Gassaway is a tall, handsome and articulate
Black male. When his father murdered his mother in a
rage because she attempted to escape from their abusive
marriage, Brandon’s life turned upside down. He not only
lost both parents, but was separated from his younger sister in a complicated custody struggle leaving each of
them with different grandparents in distant cities. But
Brandon found a way to turn calamity into victory in
Houston. He remained focused on his studies and now
mentors younger teens and coaches basketball. He will
graduate with a 3.48 GPA and go on to college.
Fadumo Hassan’s mother died when she was eight.
When she was 12, her father brought her and four
younger brothers to the United States from
Somalia. But once in the United States, her father
abandoned the family. Things improved for Fadumo,
however, after her aunt, Sadiya Sahal, took her in and
gave her a stable and loving family life in Minneapolis.
She encouraged Fadumo to be the first in their family to
graduate from high school and enter college.
However, disaster struck when her aunt was one of the
motorists killed when the Interstate 35W Bridge in
Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River in
August 2007. Determined not to let this chain of adversity dictate her future, Fadumo entered the University of
Minnesota, while still in high school, through the state's
Post-Secondary Options program and earned 16 credits
toward a university degree. She’s now on her way to
becoming a dentist.
Early in his childhood, Justin Haynes McKizzie was
nearly felled by poverty and violence. By the age of 10,
he had experienced living with his abusive father and
crack-addicted mother, in the homes of relatives and then
shifting from one shelter or rehabilitation center to another. His life took a hard slide into gang membership and
drug dealing, and he almost got sucked into the prison
pipeline when he seriously injured another youth in a
gang fight.
Read and suppor t these
local black newspapers
Black Suburban Journal 610-827-1499
Neighborhood Leader 267-972-5497
Phila. Tribune
215-893-4050
Scoop USA
215-232-5974
Sunday Sun
215-848-7864
Be Completely Informed.
Support the Black Press
COALITION FOR
FAIR NEWS COVERAGE
What Justin needed was the support of stable, healthy
and caring adults. He found that support with loving foster parents and a high school football coach in
Minneapolis who mentored him off the field. Justin was
able to positively reinvent himself through athletics. He
played a major role in getting his football team to the
state playoffs and was also a member of the track team.
What is remarkable is that Justin is on schedule to
graduate with his class event; though he missed more
than a year and a half of school. He has been admitted to
Rochester Community College in the fall where he plans
to study carpentry, business, and architecture and play
football. He hopes to build hospitals and places where
young people can receive help.
Other equally inspiring honorees this year are
Maipacher Her and Maricruz Monreal of St. Paul,
Minnesota, and Fatima Kassim, Petra Villegas and
Sheehan Whelan of Houston, Texas.
Whether the recognition ceremonies of these honorees
takes place in Washington, D.C., or a city where one of
our state offices is located, our Beat the Odds Awards dinners are special occasions for outstanding young people.
Many of us know other teens who are beating the odds
but will not have a dinner in their honor. On their way to
and from school, they daily walk a gauntlet through mean
streets that are thoroughfares for crime and violence.
They struggle to learn in underachieving schools. They
have reached out for positive goals beyond the low
expectations of others. We should find ways to recognize
and celebrate these young people as well. They are also
beating the odds—every day.
For more information about CDF's Beat the Odds program visit www.childrensdefense.org/beattheodds.
Marian Wright Edelman is President of the Children's
Defense Fund and its Action Council whose Leave No
Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy
Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral
Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the
help of caring families and communities.
W E N EVER S TOP
W ORKING F OR Y OU
view SCOOP on the web
www.scoopusanewspaper.com
Coalition to erect a Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. full figure Bronze Sculpture at the
entrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
The Pennsylvania Juneteenth Coalition (PAJC) and
Artist Sculptor Rebecca-Rose tm (RMFAC Studio)
Present Plans for a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Freedom Dream” Monument in Historic Philadelphia.
The monument will be made a Gift to the City of
Philadelphia as a Legacy and Symbol of International
Human Rights and dignity for all people.
Ms. Rose, a fourth generation African-American
sculptor revealed to the public her designs for the monument, as well as the Coalition plans to bring visibility
to the Drive, in Dr. King’s honor.
This is a history in the making tribute in Philadelphia
to Americas Renown Nobel Peace Laureate. This tribute
honors Dr. King, the City of Philadelphia, and R. Sonny
Driver, Publisher, SCOOP, USA Incorporated. Mr.
Driver spearheaded the naming of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Drive, with the support of the City of
Philadelphia and over 60,000 citizens in petition.
Philadelphia’s leaders, community organizations, cultural families and sponsors are being asked to support
the Dr. King’s “Freedom’s Dream” Monument.
We ask your support at this time to provide us with a
letter of interest if you are able and willing to make this
tax-exempt donation. For your contribution of one thousand dollars ($1,000.) dollars, your name or that or your
organization’s will be engraved on the granite base of
the monument as a living legacy of your support.
Neither deposits nor payments are required at this time.
Please forward to PJC, the enclosed Expression of
Interest Pledge Form, so that we may gather and forward your letter along with others to the Greater
Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition for they have
expressed an interest to be our Fiscal Agent on the project. We welcome an opportunity to talk or meet with
you regarding the details.philajuneteenth@yahoo.com
/rebeccarosermfac@yahoo.com
PLEDGE FORM
Please indicate your preliminary interest or pledge below to contribute to the Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Monument fund. No money is required at this time. We will
include you in the 2007 Sponsors and Supporters Preview Reception. Our Fiscal
agent will follow up for a 501c3 tax exemption for your contribution.
Check box:
> Donor of $1,000. / Name to be engraved on monument base as testament of support,
> Sponsors call for Pledge Options and Return on Investment.
> General contributions of any amount are welcomed.
> I want to pledge in-kind support, call for details.
Name/Title:_______________________ Organization:_____________________
Address:_________________________ City/State/Zip:____________________
Phone: __________________________
Signature:________________________
Email: _________________________
Date:_____________________
A Hi Tech Lynching
Letter to the Editor
The Truth Hurts
The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright only knows how to
tell the truth one way-the way Jesus did-strait, no
chaser! His unapologetic style is only abrasive to one
type of folks. Folks who hate truth because of some
constitutional incapability to accept and deal with
reality.
They would rather use a media apparatus good at
reverse psychology, defame the righteous in order to
make saints outta the wicked by confusing and distorting the minds of the blind, deaf, and dumb.
He fought in Korea for his alleged “inalienable
rights” of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
He marched for “civil rights” with Dr. King.
What does he get in return? Economic suffocation
from the same Koreans he fought to defend the rights
for all Americans. The right to use the stool after the
haters of truth, freedom, justice and equality. Is this
type of nonsense to place America in any moral position to take a brutally honest look and examine her
racial history, and how it relates to crime, institutionalized poverty, ignorance, unemployment, big government, high taxed, poor schools, poor health care,
housing and so many other diseases?
Why should Mr. Barack Obama cut ties with Dr.
Wright? Did anyone ask Bush to cut ties with Jerry
(Falwell), Billy Graham or Pat Robinson? These men
preached the most zionist, racist, and chauvinist
rhetoric the world has ever bored witness to. One
even talked about sending a “hit” team to assassinate
a democratically elected head of state - the haters of
truth never said a word.
What does experience have to do with being president? Experience is what has produced all the economic, political, social madness mentioned above.
Why are the haters afraid of black blood? He’s a
brother who’s totally aware of the fact that his ancestors were the first architects, engineers, poets,
astronomer, chemist, physicist, agricultural scientist,
mathematicians, doctors, lawyers, scholars, and universal builders. But he can’t minister the truth to a
bunch of knuckleheads who’s rather stick their heads
in the sand, like an ostrich, and pretend America doesn’t have a problem……… I mean race problem.
Mr. Obama should not be denied the counsel (Rev.
Dr. Wright) of his choice. God damned the people of
Lot’s time for being so ignorant. He damned Sodom
and Gomorrah, Greece, and Rome. So, why not
America? Please Dr. Wright do not compromise your
unapologetic truth-telling style for a bunch of corporate haters who have vested interest in spreading lies.
first used YouTube to get the snippets of Rev. Wright out
to the people who use that particular medium, young
folks. As many of us who are familiar with YouTube
know, something can be hot there but not make any
impression outside that medium or have any impact or
influence beyond the circle of folks who frequent
YouTube.
To penetrate the consciousness of older whites who
don’t know anything about that technology and to get
more folks to log onto YouTube to see it, the corporate
media colluded with the Clinton’s to manufacture a controversy. Images of a Black preacher railing against the
hypocrisy, mendacity and rapine of (America), daring to
make moral judgments about (America)’s crimes against
humanity triggered deeply rooted psychological angst.
The images and words of Rev. Jeremiah A Wright Jr.
shocked and unsettled most white people.
Wright’s words immediately put them on the defensive, a position that makes them extremely uncomfortable. Wright exposed their evil. The righteous indignation
of his sermon was genuine, rightly so because he was
chastising (America) for her wickedness and wanton
inhumanity. …………… Wright’s message cut to the
quick. Wright challenged their “we’re the good guys”
delusions.
The Clinton’s knew this strategy would work. They
knew showing an angry Rev. Wright denouncing
(America)’s ruthlessness and the imperial blood lust that
has guided (America) since before its founding as a
nation, would generate animosity against Wright and by
extension Barack Obama. “How dare he say such things.”
is the thought of many whites. To them Wright is unpatriotic even though he served honorably in the US military. By linking Obama to Wrights’s words, Obama was
put on the defensive just like the Clinton’s knew they
would. When they tried to tie him the Louis Farrakhan,
that didn’t work. When they tried to say he was a Muslim
to exploit the Islamophobia the US mainstream media has
created, that didn’t work either. But they knew about Rev.
Jeremiah Wright from the git go. They knew he was problack, an anathema to most whites, because their fragile
self-images are threatened by people who are not mindlessly Eurocentric. The media tried to make an issue
about Wright’s theology early on, but Obama cut them off
at ch. The Clinton’s, simply filed the information away
for use another day.
While Obama has faced the firestorm and controversy
head on, major damage has been done. He was sailing
smoothly along as the “Good Negro”, articulate, enthusiastic and intelligent a Black (the one drop rule is still in
effect) candidate who never mentioned race. Obama
eschewed the topic because to do so made whites uncomfortable and to make white people uncomfortable is to
court disaster. Race and color are the festering sins of
His Legacy
harry polis
junious r. stanton
The Clinton’s fiendishly
cunning plan to destroy
Barack Obama’s nonthreatening public image
by directly linking him to
an outspoken unabashedly
pro-black minister is succeeding beyond their
wildest expectations. This
was a calculated and
choreographed campaign
to destroy Obama in the
minds of white folks.
The groundwork was
laid by Clinton supporters
like Geraldine Ferraro and Pennsylvania governor
Ed Rendell. Ferraro played the “bad cop” charging
Obama was only where he was because he was
Black. She was adamant; she refused to back down
from her statement and she willingly took the hit.
Her resignation helped bolster Clinton’s position
with whites because it played out older whites’
worst nightmare, a white person losing their job because
of a black person. That incident forced white people to
acknowledge the elephant in the room, race.
Ed Rendell played the “good cop” by making the
rounds on the cable networks when Hillary Rodham
Clinton was at her nadir. Obama was beating Clinton like
she stole something making her look bad as he garnered
delegates left and right winning eleven straight primaries.
Rendell went on the air whining that Obama was getting
a free pass from the media. Rendell even had the audacity to say the media was not scrutinizing Obama’s speeches or his campaign. Yet no one in the mainstream media
challenged Clinton or her supporters on their cockamamie assertion she had more experience to be
Commander in Chief; as if being married to Bill Clinton
gave her presidential experience!?
Both Ferraro and Rendell were setting us up for what
was to come, a vicious yet subtle attack on Obama by
playing the race card. The attack was aimed primarily at
Obama’s core, the young white people. That’s why they
In honor of President Bush,
I have compiled a partial list
of his true achievements.
1. Over 3000 American
men and women killed in his
Iraq war.
2. Thousands of Americans
maimed and/or badly injured.
3. Thousands of Iraqi children, women, and men killed,
maimed, or injured.
4. Drained the Clinton surplus and sunk us into incredi-
ble debt.
5. For Homeland Security, our homeland infrastructure, ports, and defense are falling
apart and undefended and we are broke.
6. We are mired in a recession, and
sliding into a huge mess thanks to the
Decider.
7. People are losing their homes, not
just from medical bills not covered by
insurance, but also from foreclosures.
8. Manufacturing and high-paying
jobs are being lost, while low-paying
service jobs are opening. Many people are memorizing
the words, “Would you like fries with that?”
9. Oil prices are at an all-time high, resulting in the
costs of everything else to climb while pay is stagnating.
10. The Middle Class is shrinking and no longer able to
afford their children’s college education.
11. Schools are more dangerous and educating less.
“No Child Left Behind” has resulted in children being
taught for the tests.
12. W has stuffed the courts with so many conservative
judges, the laws and programs that previously protected
people barely exist.
13. Our civil liberties have been whittled and W has set
a precedent for reckless abuse of our constitution.
14. Torture is now accepted as a means for getting
information.
15. Government agencies are now headed by people
who previously lobbied against those agencies or who
had totally unrelated jobs, like running dog shows. These
people decide who needs torturing.
(America); sins white folks avoid ‘fessing up’ to at all
costs. Like the sin of genocide against the Native
Americans, which also undercuts their “we are moral and
civilized” image, the race issue also forces them to see
themselves outside the bogus parameters they have constructed about themselves. They are forced to confront
behaviors that undermine their delusional notions of
being civilized. Their collective behaviors are so egregious and pervasive, to maintain their sense of comfort
and domination whites and their victims, the Native
Americans and Blacks expend inordinate amounts of
energy deluding ourselves things are getting better, but
they are not.
Racism and violence have metastasized deep into the
marrow of (America). Obama’s message offered hope; he
exhorted the need for change generating a false sense of
healing. He seems to actually believe (America) can be
better. Alas even if that is true, people like the Clintons
really don’t want change. They want the status quo
because they benefit from things not changing. So to
prove how committed they are to the status quo they
offered up Rev Jeremiah Wright Jr. to the racism gods as
their sacrifice; just like Bill Clinton offered up Sistah
Souljah when he was running. Now Rev. Wright is being
demonized, vilified and castigated by the white media.
They have to, because he poses a serious threat to their
self-image and their policies. If this were sixty years ago
an uppity Negro like Buddy Wright would have been
found hanging from a tree or his church would have been
bombed. But today they lynch you electronically, for the
whole world to see. The difference between the old time
lynchin’ and today’s version is, back in the day when they
lynched you, you were dead for good. Today if you aren’t
strong enough to withstand the vilification, and character
assassination, you become a living example of a broken
man or woman, which is what they really want. They
want a symbolically castrated, emasculated man, psychologically wounded and hobbling for all the world to see.
Buddy Wright can take it and he will bounce back
stronger than ever.
The Clintons and the media mind control apparatus are
playing the tried and true slave massa role/game: beat
down or lynch an “uppity” black leader and the rest of us
will fall in line. By fall in line whites mean: go along with
their okey-doke, swallow your manhood and humanity,
think like they tell us to think and don’t get out of our
“place”. It remains to be seen how successful that part of
their strategy will be.
The Digital Underground hosted by Junious Ricardo Stanton
airs live Sundays from 12 Noon to 2 PM Eastern time on
www.Haramabeeradio.com and www.BlackMic.com Log on and
learn, engage in mental decolonization. Free your mind the rest
will follow.
The comments in the column are the opinion of the writer and
are not an opinion or reflection of the beliefs of the SCOOP
U.S.A.
16. Our nation’s scientists have been blindfolded and
gagged by Bush’s minions. We drill in pristine wilderness and do not pursue stem cell research.
17. Bush’s mandate was a mandate stolen from the
man who was actually elected in 2000. He has managed
to trash everything he touched.
18. Even more than previously, the industries and lobbyists who will be affected are writing our laws.
19. The service people who fought in Bush senior and
junior’s wars are being treated badly.
The list goes on and on, too long to write. It is more
negative, more damaging, than I can express. This soonto-be ex-president will need to stay on his ranch in Texas.
He can wear his big cowboy hat and boots, cut brush and
ride his bike. He will not be able to visit the good people
of the USA because seventy per cent of the people can’t
wait to get rid of him.
Copyright 2006 by Harry Martin Polis and edited
by Jaynee Levy-Polis
Harry is available for lectures and entertainment with stories
and poetry. Contact SCOOP USA, or e-mail Harry
Pennsylvania "Teacher of the
year" award nominations to
close April 30th
Meriden, CT --- Nominations for the Pennsylvania 2007-2008 Teacher
of the Year award are
being accepted through
midnight on April 30,
2008. The award, which is
being
presented
by
Teachers'
Insurance
Plan(tm), includes $1,000
to the winning teacher and
a $500 grant to that teacher's school.
Each state winner will
also be eligible for the
National Award that
includes a special recognition and a $2,500 travel
certificate.
Nomination forms are
available
online
at
www.teachers.com/toty.
Winners
will
be
announced at the start of
the next school ye
SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, April 18, 2008 -
5
Richard Wright’s Long Black Blues Song: A
2008 Centenary Celebration
Copyright James G. Spady 2008
[Dedicated to Wright’s Daughters: Julia and Rachel]
“All over Paris he looks out/An unbroken blue window/He is just as much outside/As his vision is as outside…” Ted Joans, “L’affiche La”
Wright’s long black blues song is now a hip hop
anthem. Different genre. Same understanding/overstanding. Memories. Motions and The Mimetic Force of
History. When Native Son entered the literary landscape
things could never be the same. Visionary black man
crafts memorable characters that are etched into your
memory like Billie Holiday’s own “Strange Fruit.” Who
is this writer? Whose child is he? How did he come to
understand both the gift of laughter and the tragicomedy
of those bleu noir nights/knights? From Chicago’s
Southside in 1930s to St. Denis in 2008. The changing
same. From Richard Wright to Malcolm Herve.
Outsiders. Insiders. Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop!
Wayblackmemories: “I can make myself at home
almost anywhere on this earth and can, if I’ve a mind to
and when I’m attracted to a landscape or a mood of life,
easily sink myself into the most alien and widely differing environments. I must confess that is no personal
achievement of mine; this attitude was never striven for.
I’ve been shaped to this mental stance by the kind of
experiences that I have fallen heir to.” This is what
Richard Wright writes in that powerful trilogy, Black
Power: Three Books From Exile (Black Power, the Color
Curtain and White Man, Listen, Harper Perennial
Modern Classics, 2008).
From Bigger Thomas to Biggie Smalls
Richard Wright’s blues sensibility enabled him to navigate contradictions experienced as a Black man in the
Western hemisphere. The novelist and cultural critic,
Ralph Ellison, explores: “The Blues express both the
agony of life and the possibility of conquering it through
the toughness of spirit.” In the early 21st century
Wright’s Bigger Thomas resonates in so many hip hop
centered conscious men of color in the streets of Philly,
Brooklyn, Newark, St. Denis, Marseilles, Paris,
Toulouse, Atlanta, Chicago, Jackson, New Orleans,
Melbourne, Tokyo, Berlin, Algiers, Dakar, Cairo,
Mombasa, Dar Es Salaam, Harare, Havana, Toronto,
New Haven, Oakland, Miami, Los Angeles and Detroit.
The brilliant African American philosopher, Dr. William
Fontaine provides deep insight into the psychological,
philosophical, and social dimensions of both the central
and centering character in Wright’s classic novel, Native
Son. Fontaine explains, “Bigger does not laugh and loll
his time away; Wright’s hero seldom laughs. When he
does it is the punitive kind of laughter, such as when he
forces his friend Gus to lick his knife blade while the
crowd laughs in the poolroom. Sometimes he laughs at
the white folk, but in a churlish way, such as the gutsy
scene in which he and Gus give mock impressions of the
chief executive and the military. Normal laughter for
Bigger Thomas is, in Wright’s phrase, ‘a wry smile.’
Bigger consequently lacks the sense of being a free and
equal self. He is conscious of his body only as a black,
despised object. He has no clear consciousness of a set of
values claimed by him as his own. He has no clear consciousness of such a set of values in relation to similar
sets held by others. The response of the black criminal of
the South-Side Chicago slums are bound within narrow,
tense feelings of fear, shame, guilt and hate.”
Dominant Wish for Freedom, Dignity and Equality
Burns in Bigger’s Body
Fontaine continues, “But the dominant wish for freedom and equality burns in the body and mind of Bigger
Thomas. For the psychological mechanism of fearshame-guilt-hate is a conditioned response to repeated
frustrations. These frustrations have only suppressed the
wish into bare latency. Wright’s novel tells how conscious appreciation of himself as a human being with
human strivings and worth is revealed to the young, black
criminal of the urban ghetto. The novelist employs historical materialism, the relativistic ethics of Marx and the
psychological mechanism of fear-shame-guilt-hate to
explain the psychic life and overt behavior of both racial
groups. The story reaches its first climax with the accidental murder of the white girl, Mary Dalton, and the kidnap note signed ‘Red.’ The note now sets off counterfears and torrents of hate in the white world. Discovery
that the real criminal is Bigger Thomas, a Negro, intensifies both feelings, and attendant emotive meanings of the
word ‘Red,’ deepened by the known association of
Bigger, Mary, and Jan….”
Beginning To Discover the Deep Meaning in
Wright’s Message
Fontaine concludes, “Since the death of Richard
Wright in 1960, old critics and admirers have come to
recognize the true depth of his message. Formerly they
had charged Wright with overemphasizing violence and
with the conception and use of artistic creations as media
of blatant social protest. James Baldwin, who himself,
chooses to be a writer and not a ‘Negro writer’, notes that
in a later book, Eight Men, two of the stories, “Man, God
Ain’t Like That” and “Man of All Work,” reveal that
Richard Wright was approaching that aesthetic distance
characteristic of the
true
artist.
And
Baldwin adds also the
very significant observation that within the
South-Side
Negro
community of the
Chicago of Native Son,
where Bessie and
Bigger, Jan and Mary,
Max and Buckley, the
state’s attorney, were
joined together in a
tragicomedy of lust
and love, murder and
venality, degradation
and
regeneration--within this wasteland
on the borders of wasted
riches---Wright
uncovered the longings
Richard Wright
of the human heart.”
On Becoming and Being A Native Son
What is the relationship of the characters in Native Son
to the lived experiences of Blacks in the United States?
Again, we turn to the philosopher/literary critic, William
Fontaine. He states, “America’s history is traceable to
lowly serfs, hands of white men who crossed the Atlantic,
who, in their drive for freedom, enslaved millions of men
of alien races as necessary means to the battle for existence. From this first wrong sprang a sense of guilt, and
there has been no atonement, because of self-interest and
fear. Bigger’s accidental murder of Mary and the kidnap
note are not only the same kind of acts as those by which
the new world was created, they are causal products of
these very historical forces. Bigger Thomas is a ‘native
son.’ Judged by a moral philosophy which divorces the
message of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ from
existential contexts, Bigger’s actions may be called
unjust. But, if such absolutes re unanalyzed fiction, if
moral systems are complexes of attitudes and ideas which
may be dated and shown to arise from economic substructures for the double purpose of promoting and legitimizing action, then Bigger’s actions are creative just as
the building of America was creative. If one persists, nevertheless, in calling his action criminal, then his existence
is a crime against the state. You cannot systematically
deny equal claims to an entire segment of the population
and condemn its members for injustice without condemning yourself.”
Julia Wright: Daughter of a Native Son Celebrates
Her Father’s Year With Birthday Gifts and
Worldwide Colloquies
Burning out it’s time
And timing it’s own burning
One lonely candle.
…Julia Wright
Not only does this Richard Wright Centenary
Celebration provide us with an excellent opportunity to
teach Native Sons to eager students desperately wanting
to know more about the evolution of the Hip Hop generation , it also resuscitates memory for parents, grandparents and those who came to consciousness during the
Black Power and Civil Rights Movement of the 19060’s
and 70’s .
In an exclusive interview with Julia Wright, daughter
of Richard Wright, we learn even more about this visionary writer, thinker and global citizen. Julia states, “There
are a number of gifts to Richard Wright that I initiated
because I wanted to given him some presents in commemoration of his birthday. The trilogy was left out of
print. This trilogy includes: Black Power, Color Curtain
and White Man, Listen! These three books are packaged
as a trilogy and came out as an omnibus, three in one.
This trilogy was issued in paperback so they can be
bought by students. I am so proud. I’m really patting
myself on the back. And I know my father would be
because when he went into exile, everything he wrote
was treated with contempt in this country because if
you’re an American, you write in America! That was
Cold War policy. I’m not saying it is true today. But in
those days [these books were originally released in the
decade between 1954 and 1964] and in some respects we
are coming back to some of these things today. That is
why he is coming back because some of the things he said
are still true…. I mean, KATRINA. .. The way Brother
Man died with the bullets at the end of “Down By The
Riverside.” But anyway, let me come back to the present.
The second gift I am giving him this year is an unpublished novel, the last he wrote which is a draft, uncorrected. It was just in the form of a draft. He didn’t even
have time to finish. It stops of page 306. You don’t get
page 307 because he is dead! “
Richard Wright’s New Novel,
A Father’s Law Just Released
Julia Wright vividly recalls discovering her father’s
manuscript near the old Underwood typewriter in his
Paris studio immediately following his death. Writing in
the introduction to A Fathers Law (Harper Perennial,
2008), she explains, “I remember curling up on the green
sofa, not even wanting to look at his empty bed with the
fake fur blanket. The paper and objects strewn over the
long rustic table of a dark held no possible interest for
me. I was like a trapped animal curled around frozen pain
but tense with vigilance. No, I didn’t see the manuscript
then. It was later, after the funeral, when Ellen went back
to London to terminate her business there that I took to
returning to the studio, unable to mourn except in denial
and vigil.”
Daughter of Richard, Daughter of Africa
She continues that ritual of remembrance: “It was then
I found it –or it found me. Did I roll the last page out of
the Underwood? Or was it in one of my father’s binders
by his bed (he would never go out without the manuscript
he was currently working on clasped in one of his favorite
cardboard or leather binders)? It all rings a bell. I started
to read and never stopped til those 306 pages were finished. And I wanted to protect both protagonists---the
father and the son. The draft—so peculiar, so unwieldy,
like a patchwork quilt of psychological horror with some
pieces not quite fitting---became an integral part of my
mourning. It was almost like a long letter, unsubmitted
except to a few loved ones, and now to me. The notes I
took ended up in dusty boxes at the other end of the
Atlantic but not buried since they are to see the light of
day.”
Daylight. Bright and Morning Star. The Temple at
Ihadan is closed but the pages of Richard Wright’s A
Father’s Law beckons interested readers to turn them one
by one. It’s been a long journey for Richard Wright’s
daughter. Born in Brooklyn, New York she joined her
parents in the even longer journey to France. This hegira
did not end there. Soon thereafter she followed her
father’s footsteps to West Africa. Memories and A
Daughter’s Love. All to be documented and released to
the public.
Our conversation turns to her long awaited biomemoir.
When asked about its completion, Julia smiled as only
she can and in her characteristic combination of reserve
and muntu kuntu energy, her voice rises: “A biographer
said Julia Wright will never finish her memoir on her
father. She will take her memories with her. Did I give her
an interview saying that? I never met her. I was being
very ironic when I said, ‘This is new. Maybe they can
pass a new law saying daughters and sons of famous people have to write a memoir! The book will be a biomemoir. What I want to tell people is this is what Richard
Wright encouraged his daughter to become---me. I know
my father would be proud of me. He’ll probably joke a bit
and say, ‘Oh Julia, come on. You’re a little too much.
Come on. Simmer down.’ But he’d approve…. In thinking about how my childhood impacted me, I became
addicted to things, to food. I have problems with food
because my father was poor and our household turned
around food but not in the sense that Conrad Kent Rivers
wrote. HE never went down to the Riviera to eat Caviar.
That was wrong. We respected food. Another thing I
became addicted to were danger zones. My father loved
adventures. He loved getting close to danger.”
Julia Wright’s Letter to President Kwame
Nkrumah
When Julia went to Ghana to live and work, she was
fully conscious that she was entering a danger zone. But
like her father, this was the price one had to pay for freedom. Her father had written about his visit to Ghana during the colonial era, a few years before Ghana won its
independence. Julia arrived there a few years after
President Kwame Nkrumah had embarked upon a valiant
battle against the final vestiges of imperialism. Indeed, he
wrote a book with the title, Neo-Colonialism: the Last
Stage of Imperialism. This young Afropean arrived in
Ghana prior to Malcolm X’s and Muhammad Ali’s visits
to the country. She became a vital part of the growing
African American community Nkrumah attracted to
make good on his promise of a Pan African reality.
Among this group of outstanding African Americans
were Sylvia Boone, W. E. B. DuBois, Shirley Grahmam
DuBois, David Levering Lewis, Martin Kilson, Adelaide
Cromwell Hill, Leslie Alexander Lacey, Nell Painter,
Maya Anglous, St. Clair Drake and Julia Wright. Not
only did Julia have the honor of being President
Nkrumah’s French instructor but she also asked this Pan
African patriot to take a pubic position on behalf of the
Black Power Movement in the USA. She wrote,
“Osagyefo, this is why I am writing to you. Because you
are the only African leader who in his writings has shown
an understanding of the plight of the American Negro.
Because you are the only African leader who has made
African American solidarity a reality by welcoming to
your Ghana Afro American freedom fighters of the calibre of DuBois, Hunton and my father.” President
Nkrumah complied with Julia’s request as many others
have since that time.
Celebrating the Centennial of Richard Wright’s Birth is
something that all of us can be a part of and we can welcome Julia Wright to Philadelphia for a week long celebration of Richard Wright and The Struggle for Freedom.
sherri y. johnson
'American Idol' Brings Jesus CD Spotlight
American Idol contestants perform at the 'Idol
Gives Back' fundraising
special of 'American Idol'
in Los Angeles on Sunday
April 6, 2008. From left
are: Brooke White, David
Archuleta, Kristy Lee
Cook, David Cook, Carly
Smithson, Jason Castro,
Syesha Mercado and
Michael Johns.
Following a wave of
comments by Christian viewers criticizing
Wednesday night's "American Idol" performance
that replaced "Jesus" with "shepherd" in their
finale song, Idol contestants stepped back on stage
Thursday, this time singing "Jesus."
On Thursday night's results show, Michael
Johns was eliminated from the wildly popular singing
competition, shocking millions of viewers as the contest
was narrowed down to the top seven finalists. But more
shocking to many viewers than the boot were performances of the contemporary worship song "Shout to the
Lord," written by Darlene Zschech.
The eight finalists performed the worship song,
singing all the original lyrics, including the word "Jesus."
The night before, however, "Jesus" had been left out of
the picture.
Christians were outraged Wednesday night during the
television show's second "Idol Gives Back" charity event
when white-clad Idol contestants sang “My Shepherd,
My Savior" instead of “My Jesus, My Savior" in their
final performance that night.
"That's their first big mistake. If you're going to sing a
gospel tune, sing it. Why change that word?" said
Michael Giltz, a blogger on The Huffington Post.
Some speculate the modified version of the worship
song was an attempt to lessen any controversy among the
diversely religious American people. But after the charity event, the "American Idol" message board had a hoard
of posts that questioned the appropriateness of the finalists singing a Christian song.
"Even if each and every one of them is born again and
dying to sing the praises of the Lord, you don't alienate
the viewers like me – and most Americans are not evangelicals – who don't identity with that particular strand of
Christianity," wrote Giltz, a Catholic. "Dropping the
'Jesus' from 'Shout to the Lord' was a big mistake.
Making all the Idol contestants sing it together in the first
place was an even bigger one."
When the contestants sang the song again near the
beginning of Thursday's results show, many Christians
were pleasantly surprised to hear "Jesus." The religious
song, however, continued to irk others who did not find it
appealing to a wide audience.
"Idol Gives Back" featured a wide range of celebrities,
including Carrie Underwood, Fergie and Heart, Mariah
Carey, John Legend, and Miley Cyrus. By Thursday's
results show, the event raised over $60 million. The
phone lines and Web site were still open Thursday to collect more donations for charities, which this year include
Global Fund, Malaria No More, Children's Health Fund,
Save the Children, Children's Defense Fund, and Make It
Right.
Last year, the charity event raised $76 million.
Producers anticipate this year's event (once all the donations are in) will raise $100 million.
Special thanks to the Belle Report for the updates. If
you would like to join our team, please feel free to visit
our website at www.supremegospel.org or call
215.843.3355. Until the next column, remain encouraged!
Entertainment Editor
by Yanina Carter,
The Philly Beat Spike Lee Film/Soulful Jazz at the Kimmel
Center, Musiq Soulchild to perform
One of Hollywood’s most
important and influential
filmmakers, Spike Lee will
emcee a retrospective of his
film work with a soulful jazz
performance by the Terence
Blanchard Quintet and special guests at the Kimmel
Center this Saturday, April
19, 2008 at 8pm in Verizon
Hall. The multimedia event
celebrates the film scores of powerfully works, which
first established Lee’s film career, such as Malcolm X,
Jungle Fever, 25th Hour, Mo’ Better Blues, Bamboozled,
Inside Man, Clockers, and the recent Emmy Award winning HBO Katrina documentary, When the Levees
Broke. Terence Blanchard, Grammy® award winning
trumpeter-composer and Lee’s long-time musical collaborator, will lead his jazz quintet, accompanied by a 20
piece orchestra. Special guest vocalists include
Philadelphia’s neo soul sensation Musiq Soulchild,
Stevie Wonder protégé Raul Midón and Patti Austin,
whose album Avant Gershwin won the Grammy® for
Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2008
This concert is a special concert in the Mellon Jazz
Fridays Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents
2007/2008 season. A few summer ago, Spike Lee brought
this special presentation to the Mann Music Center and
received rave reviews and is expected to be just as
delightful. Viewers will enjoy a montage of his films
accompanied by the sensation al music of Terrance
Blanchard. After viewing the film they will be mesmerized by the musical tune special artist. Philly’s own
Musiq Soulchild finds it as privilege to be asked to take
part in such an event. “I am a true Spike Lee fan, so to be
asked to perform at a show where they are showing some
of his films is an honor,” said Musiq, who took time from
his busy schedule just to chat we me.
SALE
SALE
SALE
MP-4 Players
I pod Shuffles
. $79.99 SALE $49.99
DVD SALE
MUSIC BOX RECORD SHOP
2713 West Girard Ave.
215-235-3317
“I have taken an
extreme interest in his
films,”
he
adds.
“When I think of certain films he made, I
can date them back to
my experiences in life- what I was going
through when I saw
the film.
He continues, “I also
think of music that was
associated with his
work. Like, Mo Better
Blues and School
Daze…. in all his films
the soundtrack are all
that. And music has
been a major contribution to his work especially jazz.”
Musiq said he not Musiq Souchild
only like Spike he
want to be like Spike. When asked, “If he plans to follow
the footsteps of the many artists that have are going into
the films or television business? Musiq said he’d really
like to be a director, like Spike. “I like to piece things
together and I have been would love to move into that
direction.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Musiq graduated from
University City and has lived through out the city of
Philadelphia. He said he stays busy with projects. He is
currently working on his performance for Saturday and
his album, which is expected to be released in
August/Early September. He could not elaborate on collaboration right now, but says his fans will love it.
Musiq Soulchild’s unique style incorporates R&B,
soul, funk, rock, blues, jazz and hip hop. After years of
performing at open mics and in jazz clubs, Musiq finally
entered the spotlight in 2000 with his platinum debut
album, Aijuswanaseing, featuring the popular singles
"Just Friends" and "Love," which spent 22 weeks on
Billboard’s Hot 100 charts. Musiq’s 2002 album Juslisen,
debuted at number one on Billboard’s charts and quickly
went platinum with hit singles "Halfcrazy" and
"Dontchange." Also in 2002, Musiq collaborated with
fellow Philadelphians, hip-hop band The Roots, on the hit
song "Break You Off." He released his third album,
Soulstar, in 2003. Musiq has received awards from
Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI, and Soul Train, as well as
award nominations from MTV, American Music Awards
and NAACP. In 2008, Musiq was nominated for three
Grammy® Awards, including Best Male R&B vocal performance for "B.U.D.D.Y," Best R&B song for "Teach
Me" and Best R&B Album for Lovinmusaq.
“When I look back and think who has been influential
in the music industry, I got back to a list of soul stars from
the 60s and 70s. Performers like: Donny Hathaway,
Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder is who I go back to for
musical inspiration,” Musiq concluded.
Top CDS, CASS & DVDS
1. Jaheim...................Making of A Man.................(Atlantic)
2. JillScott..RealThing:Words&Sound,V3..(Hidden Beach)
3 . Alicia Keys...............As I Am.........................(J. Records)
4. Herbie Hancock.............River..................................(Verve)
5. Mary J. Blige..............Growing Pains...................(Geffen)
6. Chris Brown.................Exclusive.................................(JIVE)
7. The Dream...................LoveHate........................(Def Jam)
8. Raheen Devaughn.....Love Behind th Meloy......(Uni-Rep)
9 BoyzIIMen.....................Motown..........................(Decca)
10. Lupe Fiasco.......LupeFiasco’s The Cool........(Atlantic)
11. Keyshia Cole............Just Like You.....................(Geffen)
12. J. Holiday.........Back of My Lac...........................(Capitol)
13. Janet Jackson.........Discipline...............................(Island)
14. Jorbin Sparks................Jorbin Sparks.....................(Jive)
15. Sheron Jones............100 Days 100 Nights................(Dep)
16.WyckefJean..Carnival,VolII.Memoirs of an Immigrant
.................................(Columbia)
17. Jay Z...........American Gangster.................(Roc-A-Fella)
18. Kanye West......................Graduation......... (Roc-A-Fella)
19. Jim Jones...........Harlem’s American Ganster.......(Koch)
20. Aretha Franklin.........Jewels in the Crown...........(Arista)
21. Rick Ross..................Trilla..................................(Polygm)
22. Ne-Yo............................... Because of You......... (DefJam)
23. Soundtrack of ........Why Did I Get Married .............(TB)
24. Rihanna...........Good Girl Gone Bad................. (Def Jam)
25. Snoop Dogg...........E Go Trippin’.........................(Geffen)
Top Gospel CDS & DVDS
Mayron Buter & Levi... “Stronger”.....................(EMI)
2. Caravans.................”Paved the Way”.................................(Savoy)
3. Kirk Franklin.Songs for the Strom. (Gospo Centric)
4. Georgia Mass Choir...... “Tell It”.......................(Vital)
5. JuanitaBynum/Jonnathan Butler..”GospelGoes
Classical”........................................ (Flow)
6. BeBe Winans........ “Cherch”......................(Koch)
7. Patti LaBelle................................“The Gospel According to Patti
LaBelle”..(Umbrella)
8. Rev Timothy Wright/T.N.Y.F.M..Jesus,Jesus, Jesus..(Koch)
9. Luther Barnes......”Some How, Some Way”....................(Air)
10. James JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise-Exalted........Live in
Baltimore.......................(Light)
11. Shekinah Glory Ministry....... “Jesus”.....................................................(KR)
12. YolandaAdams.................................”Day by Day”.................................... (WATL)
13. Mary Mary.................”Mary Mary”................(Sony)
14. Lucinda Moore...........”Lucinda Moore”................(Tysot)
15. Helen Baylor...”Full Circle”......................(MCG)
16.Tony Moore/Jehovah’s Chosen..”TMJC”...(CYD)
17. Deitrick Haddon..................................................”7 Days”...........................(Tycot)
18. Byron Cage...“The Proclamation, Live”...(Zomba)
19.Mandisa........... “True Beauty”........................(EMI)
20. Clark Sisters..... “Live One Last Time”..........(EMI)
21. Marvin Winans.AloneBut Not Alone..(Pure Spings)
22. Kirk Franklin....The Fight of My Life...(Zombay)
23. The Gospel Stirrers...”Somethings Never Grow Old”...(GSR)
24. New Faith Singers............“I Will Praise Him”..............(NFS)
25. Jackie Ball............”Do You Know Jesus?”....(Crown Music)
WEBB’S
DEPARTMENT STORE
2152 Ridge Avenue
(215) 765-9187
Compact Discs & Cassettes * Gospel, Old
& New * R&B * Jazz * Blues * Rap, (Old
& New) * Gospel Videos * Greeting
Cards * 45’s * 12” Records (Old & New)
Large Selection of Stereo Needles & Cartridges
CD-DVD-Cass-VCR-Cleaners
Nature Sunshine, Noni Juices &
Watkins Products
1/2 off all Greeting Cards
Mon. thru Sat. 11 am - 6 pm
OPEN SUNDAYS & HOLIDAYS 11am - 3 pm
SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, April 18, 2008 - 7
van stone
Vanessa Brown, Black American Woman leading candidate for State Rep. seat
American women have yet
to be given some sort of a
stimulus dollar package by
U.S. political leaders that
would make up for all the victimization that our American
women have suffered in
America since the American
Constitution was signed by
the representatives of the
United States of America.
goes
for
Black
vspfoundation@yahoo.com This
Americans
too.
So,
the
lead(215) 747-8746
ing Democratic Candidate for
the Presidency of the U.S. Primary 2008 should promise
to give all American women, 17 years of age and older,
(followed by all Black Americans), a check for a certain
amount of money when he or she becomes President.
Doing this will most likely get the lead Democratic
Candidate the majority of the votes needed to win the
Democratic primary.
But what should the lead
Democratic Candidate for the State Rep. 190th District
Seat do to get the majority of votes needed to win the primary come April 22, 2008 here in Philadelphia? First,
let's learn about who she is.
Vanessa Brown, the lead Democratic Candidate for
State Rep. 190th Legislative District, is serious about
democracy and the legislative process. Being an agent of
change in her own life has made her realize that she can
help her neighbors and communities create change in
their lives as well. Brown is a
Community Organizer for the
West Philadelphia Coalition.
Before taking this position in
2006, Vanessa volunteered her
services to the Coalition. As a
Community Organizer in the
Parent Volunteers Program,
Vanessa recruited parents to
volunteer in their children's
schools, and assisted with parent training, including developing and coordinating training on Financial Literacy. She
also served as liaison between
the Coalition and the school to
support the school's participation in the program and
resolve any problems that
occurred.
Brown is interested in a
pursuing a variety of proacVanessa Brown, Democratic Party Candidate for State Rep. 190th, representing Philadelphia and the state of PA, middle of the tive Harrisburg measures for
group above, is considering holding a press conference at 52nd and Market St. Frankford El Stop to blast Rep. Perzel for pub- families. Among them is
licly going against Philadelphia. Mayor Nutter. Nutter signed on supporting Philly passing its' own hand gun laws. Perzel, both micro-lending; Brown wants
Northeast Rep. and Speaker of the House, State of PA has publicly blasted Mayor Nutter and City Council because Mayor to reduce the regulatory barriNutter signing support for City Council to pass its own gun laws to stop handgun violence in Phila. Brown sides with the city ers of lenders so that low and
income residents of
of Philly especially since her District is #1 in gun-violence, according to Police Districts records, -the 12th Police District, -that moderate
the 190th district who have no
can benefit from the new laws passed by city council and mandated in full effect by Mayor Nutter
or little credit could get small
loans to start small businesses.
More lenders coming to the table will only help to create
more business opportunities to our neighborhoods, said
Brown. Vanessa's broad and varied experience as a community activist and advocate has enhanced the ability of
West Philadelphia Community Based Organizations to
your selection, sign and return the form to your local serve its constituency. She worked as the Community
Social Security office by mail or in person. To get Form Outreach Specialist at a shelter for homeless women and
W-4V, you can call the IRS toll free number, 1-800-829- children; led the Mothers on the Move Committee at the
3676, or you can download the form from our website at Philadelphia Unemployment Project, and was a represenwww.socialsecurity.gov/online/forms.html. If you have tative for the National Campaign for Jobs and Income
any questions about voluntary tax withholding from Support. Vanessa chairs the Community Policing
Social Security benefit payments, visit us at Committee of the Weed and Seed Project. The 190th is a
www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10077.html. Or call 1-800- district with enormous potential but is one that struggles.
“When I get to Harrisburg, I want to do everything in
772-1213. Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus payments to more than 130 mil- my power to pass legislation that will avail the district
lion households. To find out if you are eligible for a stim- with the building blocks of economic prosperity and staulus payment or if you have other questions about the ble families: housing, jobs, education, healthcare and
stimulus bill, please go to the IRS website at social justice”, Brown said” for women's and state-level
www.irs.gov. The IRS website has the best and most up- growth. Brown's short term goals are to join in the quest
to-date information to answer your questions about the for comprehensive reform of long term care services in
stimulus payment. If you prefer, you may call IRS on the commonwealth. We need affordable choices fort sertheir toll-free number at 1-800-829-1040. Social Security
beneficiaries, who are filing a 2007 tax return only to See “Leading Candidate” page 15
obtain the stimulus payment, will not need a replacement
Form 1099 for IRS to determine if they are eligible to
receive a stimulus payment. An estimate of Social
Security benefits received in 2007 is sufficient.
Information for those who owe taxes on Social Security benefits
SSA Manager
patrick l. robinson, sr.
This year’s tax season will
soon be over. But now is the
time to decide if there is anything you could do to make
the filing of your tax returns
easier when next April rolls
around. If you found that you
owed federal taxes on your
income this year, you may
want to consider having federal income taxes withheld
from your monthly Social
Security benefit payment. Although you are not
required to have federal taxes withheld, you may
find it easier than paying quarterly estimated tax
payments. About one-third of all people receiving Social Security benefits have to pay taxes on their
benefits. This is true for individuals filing a federal tax
return on total income of more than $25,000, and for married couples filing a federal tax return on total income of
more than $32,000. If you are interested in taking the
easy route to paying taxes, here is what you need to do.
You must complete IRS Form W-4V, the Voluntary
Withholding Request, and select the percentage of your
monthly benefit amount you want withheld. You cannot
designate specific dollar amounts. After you have made
Douglas Club
106 E. Sharpnack St.
SHARON HILL
Col. Charles Young
Post 682
159 E. Sharpnack St.
Phila. 215-844-9894
215-844-2636
Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Cazaghe
Saturday, April 19
Open Monday -- Friday 4 pm until
Thurs: Return of DJ Chris
Oldies - 7 to 11 pm
FRIDAY 2 for 1 - 7 to 9 pm
Oldies 8 pm until by DJ James
SATURDAYS Oldies but Goodies
50,60,70,80, - 8 pm until by DJ Terry
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY NITE:
NITE:
Commander Special 7- 9 pm with Music by Joe Bones
7 pm til midnite
FRIDAY
FRIDAY NITE:
NITE:
Commander Special 5 til 7 pm
Oldies with D.J. Randy K. 8 pm until
SATURDA
Y NITE:
SATURDAY
Commander Special 5 til 7 pm
D.J. Joe Bones 9 pm until
KITCHEN OPEN:
Auxillary - Mon. & Tues. 7 to 11 pm
Ms. Brenda - Wed. Thur. Sat. 5:30 until
DAVID POINTER, Commander
W E N EVER
S TOP
W ORKING
F OR Y OU
view SCOOP
on the web
BIG
JIM’S
SHARON BAR
820 Sharon Ave. Sharon Hill
610-534-8499
One of Big Jim’s Unique
Parties coming soon !!
“Ain’t no party like a Big
Jim Party cause Big Jim
knows how to throw a
party”
DIXON’S
LOUNGE
1401 Hook Road
Sharon Hill, PA 610-461-2462
Jesse, Manager
Jack and Jill
went up the Hill
but Jessie
brought them down
to the party
MONDAY NITE KARAOKES
6 pm until 12 am
8 - SCOOP USA - Friday, April 18, 2008
claudelle evans-
Health SCOOP
Nationwide Asthma screening program finds people in
Philadelphia and helps those diagnosed take control
Free asthma screenings
will help adults and children find out if breathing
problems might be asthma, and will help diagnosed asthmatics take
control of their disease.
The program is the 12th
annual
Nationwide
Asthma
Screening
Program, sponsored by
the American College of
Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).
Philadelphia-area allergists, who are asthma
specialists, will offer free asthma screenings at the following locations:
∑ May 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wegmans Market,
1405 Main St., Warrington
∑ May 15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Crozer Medical
Plaza at Brinton Lake, 300 Evergreen Drive, Glen Mills
Supported by AstraZeneca, the program has screened
more than 108,000 people and referred more than half for
further diagnosis.
This year a special effort is being made to reach people
who already know they have asthma, but may be limiting
their activities or missing days of school or work because
their disease is not controlled. The initiative is in
response to the latest guidelines from the National Heart,
Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) highlighting the
importance of asthma control, including day-to-day monitoring and proper medication use to treat symptoms and
prevent severe attacks from occurring.
“The government guidelines emphasize that undiagnosed or inadequately treated asthma worsens the severity of the disease,” said allergist John Winder, M.D., chair
of the Nationwide Asthma Screening Program. “The
screening program gives patients who are still having
breathing problems a chance to meet with an allergist,
discuss their symptoms and learn how to feel better.”
Asthma affects more than 22 million Americans,
including 6.5 million children, and is responsible for
almost 4,000 deaths a year. Although the exact cause of
asthma is unknown, many treatments are available to
control this chronic inflammation of the airways in the
lungs.
An asthma attack is often triggered by allergens such as
pollen, dust and animal dander, certain drugs and food
additives, respiratory infections and physical exertion.
Once asthma is diagnosed, experts recommend aggressive treatment with allergen avoidance and medication.
Because inflammation of the lungs and airways plays a
central role in the development of asthma, the most effective medications are those that reduce inflammation.
Studies show inhaled corticosteroids are the most powerful and effective anti-inflammatory medications for asthma, improving control of the disease and helping lungs
function normally. This year, a new brochure called Take
Control: A Guide for People with Asthma highlighting the
new federal guidelines will be available to help asthma
patients learn more about managing their disease. The
brochure discusses the goals of asthma treatment, measurement and control of symptoms, asthma triggers and
avoidance, medications, and the importance of seeing an
allergist. Information on allergy shots also is included.
“An asthma ‘attack’ isn’t the only sign of trouble. A
cough that bothers you at night, shortness of breath, colds
that go to your chest – these can all be symptoms of asthma, but few people recognize them or that they are a sign
of undertreated disease,” said Dr. Winder. “No one with
asthma should have to suffer. Anyone who is experiencing breathing problems or making compromises to live
with their condition should attend a free screening and
find out how to take control.”
During a screening, adults complete a 20-question Life
Quality (LQ) Test developed by ACAAI for the program.
Children under age 15 take a special test called the Kids’
Asthma Check that allows them to answer questions
themselves about any breathing problems. Another version of the Check is available for parents of children up
to 8 years of age to complete on their child’s behalf.
Participants also take a lung function test that involves
blowing into a tube and meet with an allergist to determine if they should seek a thorough examination and
Philadelphia Hair Co.
5805 Germantown Avenue
(215)
Morning, noon or night dancing
or exercising. The Exercise Curls
look good water proofing for all
seasons. Get it at Donn’s Doo
Shoppe. Curls $29.95 CareFree
Wraps $15. Waves $12. New
Press & Curls, Soft Waves, Hard
Waves, Wet Set. We accept all
Major Credit Cards, Money
Donn’s Doo Shoppe
2200 N. 15th St.
(15th & Susquehanna Ave)
(215) 978-4060
WEAVE SPECIAL $50.00 BRING OWN
HAIR TARA WEAVE, LONG LAYER, SHORT
LAYER MOIK/HULD w/ TARA HAIR, PONY
TAILS
WRAPS $25.00 Special
2 LAYER BRAIDS $65.00 SPECIAL
BRING OWN HAIR
SEWING WEAVE - WALYAH, Stylist
842-0550
Bruce’s Barber Shop
4312 Lancaster Ave.
Open Tues. to Fri. 12 to 6 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Haircuts $9.00
Children Under 12 yrs. $8.00
Hustlers $8.00
Call (215)
222-9912
MATTHEWS
CARTER’S
Beauty Salon
748-1906
Open Wed. to Sat.
9 am to 5 pm
Beautyrama
5406 Spruce St.
Ms. Rachel Matthews
Hairstylist
WEST PHILA. OFFICE
5236 Walnut St.
(215) 476-7590
“We Insure Your Need, Without the Greed”
Henry Jackson
General Manager
CAMDEN , N .J.
NELLIE’S BEAUTYRAMA
4913 WESTFIELD AVE., PENSAUKEN, NJ
(856) 663-9400
Shampoo, press & curl, perms,
waves, ponytails & more.
Closed Mon.
Open Tues. - Fri. 9 -5 Sat. 9 - 4
Sunday 12 noon - 6 pm Call for Appointment
CDS * TAPES * MOVIES * KANGOL HATS
Marlton Records & Electronics
286 Marlton Avenue
Camden, N.J. 08105
(856)
541-1818
. Rap & Reggae Music
. Gifts and Novelties
As little as this
space brings
big $$$$$$$$
r esults to your
business
UPtown
Barber Shop
801 Fairview St.
Camden, N.J.
TOM at your service
(856) 576- 0914For the Natural, Suave
* 763-0286 *763-0287 FAX 763-5958
LOTTERY 236-8281
AL-JAY Insurance Agency, Inc.
q
q
q
q
q
q
diagnosis.
For a list of asthma screening locations and dates or to
take online versions of the LQ Test and Kids’ Asthma
Check, visit the ACAAI Web site at www.acaai.org. Take
Control: A Guide for People with Asthma also will be
available online.
q Learner’s Permits
Complete Tag Service
q Registration Renewals
Driver’s Licenses
q Business
Fire and Theft
q Notary Public
Collision
We will be happy to advise you about
Home
Motor Cycles
the new auto insurance rules. Stop in!
OFFICE HOURS: 10:00 A.M. TO 7:00 P.M. Daily ∞ 10:00 A.M. TO 3 P.M.
GIRARD AVENUE
CHECK CASHING
1356 W. Girard Ave. Phila. PA 19123
Checks Cashed - Money Orders - Direct Deposit
Utility Bills Paid - Septa Passes - Septa Tokens
Photostat Copies - Money Access - Rapid Refunds
Fax Service - Notary Public - Mail Boxes Money Gram
OPEN: Mon. Tues. Wed. 8 am- 5 pm
Thurs. & Fri. 8 am - 6 pm
Sat. 8 am - 2 pm
5346 Spruce St.
215-472-9745
EDDIE’S
BARBER
SHOP
1900 Medary Avenue
OGONTZ AND MEDARY
(215) 276-1215
JOHN’S
Beauty Salon
2526 W. Allegheny
215-225-9700
2719 W. Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130
215-236-3400 - Fax 215-236-0920
Monday - Saturday - 10:30 am - 7 pm
SCOOP USA - Friday, April 18, 2008 - 9
10 -SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, April 18, 2008
LaRose Jazz Club
5531 Germantown Ave.
(near corner of Schoolhouse Lane)
MONDAY JAZZ MATINEE
6 to 9 pm with
TONY WILLIAMS Jazz Quartet
plus some special guests
Free Parking in rear of club. For
more information call 215-248-4415
or 215-844-5818.
W E N EVER S TOP
W ORKING F OR Y OU
view SCOOP on the web
Congressman
Chaka Fattah
2nd Congressional District
Congressman Chaka Fattah has won important
bipartisan support - from Senators
Obama and Clinton, dozens more
members of Congress and six governors - for legislation proposed
by him and Congressman Porter
(R-NV) to reestablish the White
House Conference on Children
and Youth, an important policy
jump-start forum last held in 1970.
Here's the release, from our
Washington office.
Also, the Congressman extends
best wishes to his longtime friend,
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) after
Specter revealed that his cancer has reoccurred.
VOTE for
State Representative
Harold
James
Leadership
We Can
Believe In
Paid by Friends of Harold JamesShirley Wing, Treasurer
Vote like your future
depends on it...
because it DOES!
Congressman
Bob Brady
Ist Congressional
District
Paid for by Bob Brady for Congress
Rousing support for Youngblood’s re-election
Supporters from near and far turn out to support her race for 198th Legislative District seat
Hundreds of community
members, constituents,
and well-wishers clustered
into the HCFD Auction
Center on Sunday to
encourage state Rep.
Rosita C. Youngblood’s
re-election bid.
“I am proud that my
neighbors here in the
198th Legislative District
have entrusted me to represent them,” Youngblood
said. “And if they will
have me back, I am ready,
willing and able to serve
another term so I can continue to work to find real
solutions for real people.”
Among the crowd were
colleagues such as state
Sen. Shirley M. Kitchen
and state Rep. Curtis
Thomas, along with Seth
Williams,
a
likely
Philadelphia district attorney candidate, and Nicole
Price, an official with the
Obama ’08 campaign in
Pennsylvania.
Younblood, who has
served
the
198th
Legislative District since
winning a special election
in 1994, said she is asking
her neighbors to send her
back
to
Harrisburg
because the issues remain
plentiful – and proven
leadership is needed to
find solutions.
Property tax relief for
the most vulnerable taxpayers – seniors and the
disabled among them – is
still needed. Public safety
is assaulted from every
level, be it the oversaturation of handguns in the
city or counterfeit goods –
ranging from mouthwash
to aspirin – overrunning
stores.
Youngblood
is
no
stranger to action, having
authored bills that fundamentally changed lives in
the district and beyond. As
a result of the Kinship
Care Act, family members
are first in line for custody
of children removed from
abusive or otherwise dysfunctional homes, rather
than see young victims relegated to the foster care
system.
“For
grandparents,
aunts, uncles, even brothers and sisters, this piece
of legislation helped to
smooth what is often a
traumatic time, both for
the children and would-be
caregivers who were tired
of watching helplessly as
loved little ones were carted away,” she said. “This
legislation helps keep families, even extended ones,
intact, and supports those
who want to step in and
help, rather than letting the
state assume all responsibility.”
With record violence
besetting Philadelphia,
more and more relatives
have found themselves
pressed into parenting services. The least the state
could do, Youngblood
said, is ease the burdens
and make retaining a sense
of family the first consideration.
She understands these
and other concerns first
hand, ranging from her
duties as a block captain to
that of a grandmother raising her own grandchildren.
As incoming president of
the National Foundation
for Women Legislators
and a representative who
has developed bi-partisan
relationships in order to
move bills that benefit her
constituents, Youngblood
is far from slowing down.
Today, she is working to
stem the flood of counterfeit consumer goods from
overtaking stores and
homes in the Common-
wealth. Reports of illness
related to counterfeit
toothpaste,
medicines,
snack foods and other
items continue to pour in
around
the
country.
Measures that broaden the
definition of the offense,
culpability and penalties
will help keep every
household safer, she said.
“This is an assault on
our livelihood, and we
must do what we can to
protect
our
homes,”
Youngblood said. “This is
a clear case for leadership,
and while I am glad HB
523 passed the House, we
need to keep momentum
going so that this becomes
law. I am committed to
doing all that I can to make
that happen.”
SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, April 18, 2008 - 11
Health Plan hosts
Ladies Tea Party
Women’s Health Fair and Tea Provides
Wellness Tips, Diabetes Screenings and More!
Health Partners has developed some creative ways to
encourage members to get the health screenings they
need. On March 28, the organization invited a group of
female members to learn more about their health during a
mid-morning tea at its Market Street headquarters.
The Women’s Health Fair and Tea, emceed by NBC10
Morning News Anchor Liz Keptner, included free diabetes A1c, blood pressure and body mass index screenings and two interactive workshops designed to encourage women to be more proactive when it comes to their
health. Health Partners rewarded members who received
the diabetes Alc screening and attended both workshops
with a free Wal-Mart gift card.
Guests also enjoyed an energetic message from
renowned inspirational speaker, Pamela Hooks.
Diabetes affects over 20 million Americans, approximately 2.7 million of whom are African American,
according to the American Diabetes Association. If left
untreated, diabetes can lead to serious conditions including heart disease and stroke, kidney and peripheral vascular disease, nerve damage, complications during pregnancy and blindness.
“Nearly 54 million people in this country have pre-diabetes,” says Merleen Harris-Williams, M.D., medical
director at Health Partners. “When blood sugar irregularities are detected at this early stage, patients have an
opportunity to learn about contributing factors and make
We Never Stop Working!
For You!
Reach One, Teach One
SCOOP in print and on
the web
Get 2 for the price of 1
Health Partners members participate in free diabetes Alc, blood pressure and body mass
index screenings at a Women’s Health Fair and Tea on March 28. Members were given a free
Leaping Lion photo
Wal-Mart gift card for participating in the testing and workshops.
the necessary changes regarding diet, exercise and weight
management. These changes can drastically limit the dire
complications associated with diabetes and even stop the
development of the disease altogether.”
A person suffering from diabetes has one of three problems related to the insulin in the body. The body either
does not produce enough insulin, the insulin that is produced does not function properly, or the body produces
no insulin at all. In any case, the body does not get the
energy it needs, and unmetabolized sugar (glucose),
builds up in the bloodstream.
Diabetes and its associated high glucose levels can be
kept under contol through daily healthy choices. The following can help:
∑ Monitor glucose levels at home with the use of a glucometer.
∑ Maintain a healthy low-fat diet, including a variety
of fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods, and healthy
sources of protein, such as beans, lentils, fish, turkey and
chicken.
∑ Exercise routinely to increase blood flow, burn fat
and lower glucose levels.
∑ Take medication regularly (if prescribed by your doctor). Never miss a dose.
∑ See your doctor on a consistent basis and always ask
questions if any part of your treatment plan is unclear.
About Health Partners:
Founded in 1985 as a not-for-profit health plan serving
the Philadelphia area’s medical assistance population,
Health Partners is a unique collaboration of seven health
systems acknowledged as a national model for Medicaid
managed care. Currently, Health Partners serves more
than 138,000 Medicaid members in southeastern
Pennsylvania. Please visit us at www.healthpart.com.
rev. dr. wm. rocky brown, 3rd
God answers Prayer
God will never refuse
our prayers and God will
never mock our prayers.
Now, any person who
prays is bound to want to
know to what kind of
God he or she is praying
to. He wants to know in
what kind of atmosphere
his prayers will be heard.
Is he praying to a grudging God, out of whom
every gift has to be squeezed and coerced?
Is he praying to a mocking God whose gifts
may well be doubled – edged? Is he praying to a God
whose heart is so kind that he is more ready to give than
we are to ask?
Jesus came from a nation which loved prayer. The
Jewish Rabbis said the loveliest things about prayers.
They said: “God is as near to his creatures as the ear to
the mouth.”
Human beings can hardly hear two people talking at
once but God, if all the world calls to him at the same
time, He hears their cry.
A man is annoyed by being worried by the requests of
his friends but with God all the time a man puts his needs
and requests before him, God loves him all the more.
Yes, Jesus had been brought up to love prayer and He
gives us the profound truth that when you pray to God
with sincerity and persistence he will answer.
Now, when we think of prayer we imagine people with
bowed heads, closed eyes and possibly folded hands.
Citywide celebration
and parade
On Friday, April 18, the City of Chester is holding a
city-wide celebration and parade to honor the Chester
High School Boys Basketball team and the Girls Track &
Field 4 x 400 State Champions.
The starting line-up for the parade will begin at 10:45
am at Chester High School, 10th & Barclay Street. The
parade will then begin at 11:15 am sharp and end in front
of Chester City Hall, 1 Fourth Street. Thereafter, awards
and proclamations will be presented to the teams in council chambers.
The 2007-08 Chester High School Boys Basketball
team finished the season with a 33-1 record and earned
the PIAA Class AAAA State Championship, setting a
record of third in the nation. The 2008 Chester High
School Girls Track & Field team earned a State
Championship title as well, demonstrating a first-rate victory in the 4 x 400 race.
The City of Chester will also be honoring Coach Fred
Pickett at the ceremony, who led the Boys Basketball
team for 13 consecutive years, six of which resulted in a
state championship title. This year marks Coach Pickett’s
final season of coaching.
Phila. Tribune
215-893-4050
Scoop USA
215-232-5974
Sunday Sun
215-848-7864
But, don’t you know that prayer is simply talking to God.
We can pray while standing erect sitting down, lying
upon our pillows, driving our cars or even doing work
around the house or the office. And in most situations,
the content of our prayer is selfish: “Lord, I want
….Lord, do this ….Lord, do that….” Yes, we always
manage to pray for ourselves and some of us even manage to pray for others. “Lord, be with me and my family.” “Lord, bless the poor sinners down the street.”
You know, you ought to be glad that our God is such a
gracious Father to us. For, he still invites us with all of
our immature praying to come before him with our needs.
Ask and it shall be given.
What are you praying for? Are you praying for guidance form above? For strength for the journey? For comfort for your sorrow? For wisdom in the midst of a foolish world? Just what is it you really want? Are you persistent in your praying?
Do you really know what you want and are you praying in earnest about it? Beloved if we are serious about
what we are praying for, if we crave it, long for it, yearn
after it, God will surely give us what is good. For God
answers prayer! Whether its the answer we want or not,
He will answer!
You know, too often we find powerless Christians
because their prayer life has fizzled out. Praying is a
must for us as Christians. Praying is an absolute for us as
Christians. Praying is the acceptable thing to do as a
Christian.
However, Jesus warned us about lengthy prayers with
empty words. If our hearts are right with God our prayers
will be meaningful and full of purpose.
We all have heard folk say after being asked to do
something for the Lord, “Let me pray about it first.” That
is all well and good if one is praying for the right reasons:
“Lord will this glorify your name?” “Can I be of service
to others?” “Lord use me for your glory and the good of
others!”
My Fathers children, God knows our needs before we
ask Him. Taking God at his word we come before him
believing we shall receive and we do. God never withholds from us what we need. James 4:2 says, “..Ye have
not because ye ask not.” Believe and you will receive!
God says, “When you seek me with all your heart, I will
be found.”
Sometimes we do not know what or how to pray as we
should but in those situations if we have the faith the
Holy Spirit, will speak for us. For God knows our hearts
and our minds.
Those of us who know the reality of answered prayer
an attest to the goodness of our Father who is in heaven.
Health Fair and
Fun Day in Chester
On Saturday, April 26, the City of Chester’s Health
Department will be hosting its annual Health Fair and Fun
Day. The free event will take place from 10:00 am to 3:00
pm at Chester City Hall, 1 Fourth Street in Chester,
Pennsylvania.
In addition to featuring vendors from health-care organizations and state and local agencies, the fair will include
several screenings, children’s activities, presentations,
raffles, and performances.
There will be the opportunity to win prizes every 30
minutes, along with participating in several children’s
activities including moon bounces, obstacle courses, and
pony rides. There will be also plenty of free food to enjoy
such as hot dogs, cotton candy, and popcorn.
The City of Chester’s Health Department encourages
everyone to attend the city’s annual Health Fair and Fun
Day, which is designed to be a fun-filled, interactive
experience to encourage all to learn about individual and
community health, through education and free screenings.
B O O T S & B O NN E T S
I-95 & Concord Rd W. Chester, PA -(610) 485-3143
THURSDAY NITE - KARAOKE
9 to 2 Host by “Will Power”
FRIDAY HAPPY HOURS
6 to 8 pm DISCO 9 to 2
SATURDAY - Doc B plays Oldies plus gifts & food 3 to 8 pm
SUNDAY - Live G Class Band featuring Lady Jazz - 1 pm - 2 am
SUNDAY, APRIL 20 -- BIRTHDAY PARTY
CYNTHIA the sexy secretary
After Work Party Every Wed. 7 to 10 pm w/ Happy Hour Prices
for LADIES ONLY
SPORTS FANS come and enjoy your favorite team on our large T V screens
with food and drinks as you watch the games
Book your next party here. Anyone who books a party at Boots will
receive a free get-away Call 610-485-3143 for more information
KITCHEN OPEN Wednesday 1 pm to 9 pm: Thursday - Sunday 1 pm to 2
W E N EVER
S TOP
W ORKING
F OR Y OU
view SCOOP
on the web
www.
scoopusanewspper.co
m
Your ad in
SCOOP USA
is on the webb
FREE
We have known through past experience that God
answers prayer.
Yes, My God, Your God, Our God answers prayer. He
might not come when you call him but he’s always on
time!
That’s why the songwriter wrote: What A Friend We
Have In Jesus – All Our Sins and Grief’s To Bear – What
A Privilege To Carry – Everything To God In Prayer.
This is Rev. Dr. Wm. Rocky Brown, 3rd asking you to:
PLEASE JOIN TODAY TO CHANGE TOMORROW
Chester, PA
DENISE & SMILEY’S SEAFOOD
723 W. 10th Street - Chester, PA 610-447-0275
SMILEY’S City Grill
OPEN Mon, Tues, Wed 2 pm until
Thurs., Fri, Sat, 12 pm until
Sunday, 2 pm until
HAPPY HOURS
Wed. & Sat. 6 pm - 12 am
Tuesday Buy 1 Get 1
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
531 Avenue of the States
Chester, PA 610-872-0789
All Stylish & Fashions
CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR
Barber Shop & Salon - Help Wanted
PEOPLE “CHAMP”
CLOTHING STORE
4 East 21st Street. Chester PA
610-499-3023
610-202-0316
G I N N’
Restaurant
S & Bar
610-876-5448
700 W. 2nd Street, Chester, PA
Corner of Rt. 291 & Kerlin Street
EVERYONE MUST HAVE ID WHEN
ENTERING BAR You must have I.D.
SUNDAY is Red Carpet Day
Come out walk in on
THE RED CARPET DRESS TO IMPRESS
WE ARE BACK WITH THE OLDIES BUT GOODIES EVERY SUNDAY TILL 8 PM with
DOCTOR BOOGIE PLAYING DEEP OLD
SONGS OF THE DAY
WELCOME TO
MR BAILY “LARRY”
from Stanley’s Bar
SERVING EVERY OTHER SUNDAY
Surprise BIRTHDAY PARTY
Saturday April 19
For the one I love
Fun food music
Happy Birthday
SHELLY aka SHA-ROCK
the CELEBRATION will be
Saturday April 26 - 9 pm till 2 am
Big BIRTHDAY PARTY
for LORRAINE
Saturday May 10 - fun food music
Our Staff Serving Ann, Dionne, LaJuan
Rona, Rose, Sheedah, Tammy Yolonda,
Yvonne Security Staff Bernard, Jack,
Nodie, Steve & Terry -- - Manager Blinky
Counseling Corner
13
Tips for Minimizing “Behind the Wheel” Stress
There are plenty of things today that can leave us feeling anxious and stressed – the economy, job security, energy prices, terrorism alerts. It’s a long list, and if you have
children, especially teens, it gets even longer.
Unfortunately, driving an automobile these days is
another major stress-producer for many of us. Heavy traffic or bad drivers can leave us feeling angry and upset,
sometimes on a daily basis. While there’s no way to make
traffic jams or bad drivers disappear, there are things you
can do to make driving less stressful.
When traffic or terrible drivers frustrate us, our immediate reaction is usually anger. We feel threatened by
someone taking away our precious time or driving in a
potentially life-endangering manner. A natural reaction is
to feel angry, to want to fight back.
However, we’re also aware that fighting back is cer-
germaine paris
Goal setting
No matter whom you are –
a young child, teenager,
young adult, mature adult or
older citizen, goals are
always good to have. When
you reach one goal, set a new
one.
It gives you something to
work towards. There is such
beauty in an active, positive
mind. The higher you set your
goals the better, because
you’ll come closer to meeting
them, even sometimes surpassing them.
Parents should start their kids early setting
goals. It is very easy to do. Talk about things that interest
them. Be selective with what they read and watch on TV
and at the movies.
Many doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, as well as
honest hard working parents are good at what they do
because the seed of goal-setting was planted early.
“When you grow up you will be good at “this or that.
Instill in a child what you feel they should strive for.
Follow their natural abilities and encourage them to
develop them further.
Most entertainers loved music, singing, acting and
attention from people while young, even if they were
very shy. But their parents or teachers encourage and
motivated them in some way. Keeping their interest alive
tainly not the right answer, but also usually an impossible or dangerous one. As a result you’re more angry, frustrated and stressed
knowing there’s nothing you can do.
However, there are things you can do. Start minimizing such
stress by remembering you can’t control the outside world, only
yourself.
Remind yourself it isn’t personal. Traffic and dangerous drivers
would still be there even if you weren’t.
Next, stop letting the anger and stress control your mind. Turn on
the radio or CD player and really listen hard. Try the old trick of
counting slowly to ten. You want to replace thinking about what’s
just bothered you with anything else.
You also want to physically relax your body, since anger makes
our muscles tense and that helps increase stress levels. Try relaxing
your muscles, one group at a time, first tightening up arm or leg
muscles, and then consciously relaxing them. Anger behind the
is what goal-setting is all about. If a child is encouraged
to be creative, they will develop in that creativeness.
Sometimes, things seem almost impossible, but everything is within one’s reach if we will only stretch far
enough for it. Without goals there can be no achievement.
Chester Jr. Olympic
Skills Competition
On Saturday, May 3,
from 9AM to 2PM,at
Memorial Park, 7th &
Engle Street, Chester, the
Chester Jr. Olympic Skills
Competition will take
place.
The Jr. Olympic Skills
Competition is a FREE
national skills competition
that provides both, boys
and girls ages 6 to 13, the
opportunity to showcase
their athletics abilities in
four (4) sports: basketball, soccer, tennis and
track & field. Jr Olympic
Skills Competition encourages youth participation in sport and empha-
sizes fair and friendly
competition.
Youngsters can participate in any or all of the
individual sports and
advance through three (3)
levels of competition,
including: local, Regional
and the National Finals.
Each sport is scored individually and the boys and
girls compete separately.
For information, contact; Brian Warren or
Corey Long at 610-4477784, or the Chester
PAL, 1 West Fourth
Street,
City
Hall,
Chester, PA 19013
C HESTER B USINESSES W ILLING TO S ERVE Y OU
MADISON GRILL
301 E. 12th Street
Chester, PA
610-874-7662
Open 7 am Mon.- Sat. / Sunday 11am
Chicken W ings, Hot
Sausage, Meatballs
Sandwiches every
Thurs.& Fri. evening
HAPPY HOUR MONDAYS
5 pm to 7 pm
Special Discounts
KITCHEN OPEN EVERY Thursday & Friday
501Bar
501 E. 7th St.
Chester, PA
610- 874-8321
BIRTHDAY PARTY
for our Sweet Baby
AJAH
SATURDAY, MAY 3
2 pm until 9 pm
WELCOME to STAFF PARTY
for Sweet, Sexy MIRAH
FRIDAY, MAY 10
2 pm to 9 pm
5
th Street Bar
302 W. 5th St.Chester, PA
Big Taurus BIRTHDAY PARTY
for our Starmaid JANICE F. STACK
TUESDAY, April 22 -- 6 pm - 2am
SUGAR & SPICE MATINEE
SATURDAY, MAY 3 -- 12 to 6 pm
MEN OF THE ROAD - presents
Pre-Mother’s Day Matinee & Drawing
SATURDAY, May 10 - 3 pm until
5th Street Bar Welcomes Peanut to the staff
Come, give her a play on Monday & Thursday Nites
AMERICAN LEGION
Charles
Horsey Post 300
1101 W. 7th Street Chester, 610-872-2751
We are NOW interviewing for
Barmaids & Bartenders
Members must have membership with them all the
time to drink. Everyone must be 30 years old
CLOSED MONDAYS - OPEN: TUES., Wed. 3 to 10 pm
Thurs 12 to 12; Friday 12 pm to 12 am- Sat. 10 am to 12 am
-Sun. 8 am to 12 am
Roger’s RAINBOW INN
6th & Kerlin Sts. Chester, PA
(610) 872-9972
Bossman Roger and Karen
both send their Thanks for
helping them celebrate
their Birthday
Every SUNDAY “OPEN MIC” NIGHT
with Paul & Roberta -- 7 pm until 2
wheel can lead to dangerous situations. Stress behind the wheel can
leave you feeling worn out and can, eventually, affect your overall
health. Being aware of when you’ve become angry and stressed,
and working to reduce those reactions, can lead to a healthier and
safer driving you.
And if you find that, despite your best efforts, you really can’t
control your behind-the-wheel anger and stress, seek professional
help. A counselor can offer stress management, anger control or
relaxation training to help you be a more relaxed, safer driver, and a
happier person.
“The Counseling Corner” is provided as a public service by the
American Counseling Association, the nation’s largest organization of
counseling professionals. Learn more about the counseling profession at
Opening
Soon
Bob’s Crabs & Ribs House
710 W. 2nd Street
Side of Bar on Rt. 291 side
Chester. Pa 19013
610-876-5458
featuring
Crabs, Ribs, Chicken,
Chopped B.B.Q.
BENNIE’S TAVERN
8 West 9th Street Chester, PA
(610) 874 - 8454
KITCHEN Open Daily
6 pm to 1:30 am
Wings - Fingers & Things Seafood:
Shrimp - Flounder - Tilapia- Crab Legs & etc
KITCHEN CLOSED SUNDAY
SPECIAL
Large “U” peel SHRIMP
$8.00 dozen
Come Join Us for Some Big Fun
Mondays - Happy Hour 9 pm to 11pm
SCOOP on the web
Your ad - 2 for 1 price
in print & on the web
SPORTY’S
WESTEND COCKTAIL LOUNGE
2701 W. 3rd St. Chester - 610-497-9037
Friday FISH FRY - 6 to 8 pm
ARLENE is BACK
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
Professional Catering upon request
TUESDAY Nite is MEN’S Nite
6 pm at RICO’ s - SPORTY’ s
& BENNY’S
A Night honoring our Ladies - LADIES NITE
every Wed. 7 pm until at Sporty’s,
Rico’s, Benny’s or Smiley’s
B3rd&
E’s Tavern
& Highland 610 497-5257
Big SURPRISE PARTY
50th Aries Birthday Celebration
for our Sweet Sexy
Guess Who? 50 & Fine
SATURDAY, APRIL 19 - 3 to 9 pm
SUGAR & SPICE
proudly presents
Big, Gala, MATINEE
SUNDAY, APRIL 20 - 12 to 6pm
Happy Birthday Mae Williams
ENJOY GOOD
EATING
OCEAN
BEVERAGE
215-438-6793
The Rib Crib
BAR-B-Q RIBS - CHOPPED BAR-B-Q - CHICKEN
OPEN: Thursday, Friday & Saturday 11 to 1 am
6333 GERMANTOWN AVE.
4142 LANCASTER AVE.
Service with
Smile for
BAR & HOME
PICK-UP &
DELIVERY
Mae Williams, manager of the famous RIB CRIB cill be
celebrating he ?? birthday (the beginning of a new year)
on Monday, April 21. Don’t those ribs she’s holding
look good
222-3332
COLD BEER
and SODAS
IKE
REACH ONE. TEACH ONE
PUNCHEY’S SEAFOOD
258 South 52nd St.
(215) 747-9948
FRESH from the SEA
to the FRYING PAN!!
OPEN DAILY
11 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Turn up the Vote
issues important to the hip-hop generation in America
and throughout the world. HREF is a non-profit, taxexempt 501C3 organization, based in New York City.
Continued from page 2
not about electing any particular candidate; it is about
bringing people into the process."
"I commend Russell Simmons on his ongoing efforts to
energize the youth of this country to exercise their right to
vote,” said Michael Steele, Chairman of GOPAC and former Lt. Governor of Maryland. “I am honored to be a part
of energizing this exciting base of new voters. This generation of young Americans can transform the political
landscape, regardless of party affiliation, simply by taking their seat at the table and making their voices heard
through their vote. To these young and new voters, don't
believe the hype: your vote counts!"
The community partners Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network's Hip-Hop Team Vote, Declare Yourself, Rock
the Vote, NAACP, United States Student Association and
Voto Latino.
Before publicly endorsing Senator Barack Obama
recently, Russell Simmons chose to take a leave of
absence as Chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network until after the 2008 presidential election, to protect the integrity of the organization. However, he
remains an active participant in HSAN events.”
About PowerPAC
PowerPAC is a nonprofit advocacy and political organization. It was organized to champion democracy and
social justice in states and communities across the country. PowerPAC directs financial and human resources to
strategic local and state legislative fights, ballot initiatives, and candidate campaigns by organizing donors who
are committed to social justice politics. The organization
identifies priority areas for investment and helps donors
achieve maximum political impact with their political
giving. This process includes conducting research and
analysis on the political landscape, identifying critical
social justice issues and rising star candidates to bring
more voters - particularly voters of color - into the political process. PowerPAC believes that the most effective
way to build political power for historically underrepresented constituencies is to invest in long- term political
and for structure that can be mobilized for short-term
victories.
About Hip-Hop Research and Education Fund
Founded in 2001, the Hip-Hop Research and Education
Fund (HREF) is one of the premier research and public
education organizations,
dedicated to raising public
awareness about social, cultural, political and economic
About Hip-Hop Summit Action Network
Founded in 2001, the Hip-Hop Summit Action
Network is dedicated to harnessing the cultural relevance of hip-hop music to serve as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental
to the well being of at-risk youth throughout the United
States. HSAN is the largest non-profit, worldwide coalition of hip- hop artists, entertainment industry leaders,
education advocates, civil rights proponents, and youth
15
leaders united in the belief that Hip-Hop is an enormously influential agent for positive social change
which must be responsibly and proactively utilized to
fight the war on poverty and injustice.
Leading Candidate
Continued from page 7
vices, an end to unwanted institutionalization of consumers and more in-home care options and community
based services”, said Brown.
As a woman leading the challenge for the seat
Incumbent State Rep Tommy Blackwell holds Vanessa
says, “We should have a consumer bill of rights for home
and community based care that includes higher standards
for workers in long term care field and a living wage and
benefits. Promoting affordable housing for consumers
and seniors and real wage jobs for working families will
also be a top priority for Vanessa Brown's seeking to get
to Harrisburg.”
Brown says that she is thrilled to be running for state
representative in this historic primary election season for
all. And as a strong supporter of Barack Obama herself,
I might add here, me too; Brown might be there in the
U.S. Presidency 2008 district that will fight for a stimulus
package for women in general followed by African
Americans. And that's like a Brown and Obama view of
things to come, -believes that yes, we can.
Toby Rich
Opening Day
This week’s rap from the
Mayor of Girard Avenue
Toby Rich is called
“Opening Day”...On Monday, March 31 our Phillies
played their first home
game and our Mayor
Nutter threw out the opening pitch, and I must say
that he threw it right down
the plate. Unfortunately the
Phillies lost that game to the Washington Nationals;
however there were some very special people that I
came in contact with the day of the game...
Congressman John Conyers was at City Hall for a
meeting with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, I was
lucky enough to run into him.
During our conversation he told me that I should
support Senator Obama, but he also said my vote was
up to me, and that both candidates were good choices...
Later at the game I saw all of the Phillies plus Jimmy
Rollins, Ukee Washington, and Pat Ciarrocchi. Pat and
I danced to some music played by The Band.
Along with our Mayor some people from the security detail were there like Chris B, Sabrina, Jack, Tom,
and cameramen Tony Webb and Bill Foster...Chris B
won a pizza from the Mayor pitching the ball over the
plate at 60 miles per hour. You go, Mr. Mayor!... On
March 28 it was Doctor’s Day. Dr. ShaiLendra Vaidya,
president of the Medical Society and Dr. Theodore
Christopher, president-elect of Family Practice voiced
their concern about the health of Americans and especially the health state of poorer Americans. They suffer more from diabetes, asthma, obesity, and the lack of
exercise than other segments of society. The doctors
felt that if these conditions could be dealt with a lot of
deaths could be prevented. They emphasized that preventive medicine could be just as important as any
medicine could possibly be...Moving on there was
demonstration by the MOVE organization, now I am
not a supporter, but MOVE is news.
It is interesting to me when I see young people
involved with them. I wonder do they really know
what happened or are they just listening to what somebody told them. Anyway I saw many of the MOVE
family members, and also, my friend Ooms from
Summersville with his grandchildren. Even though he
and I do not agree we still have big respect for one
another, and we have come to the conclusion to agree
to disagree. Now I can respect that...Now last week I
mention M.C. Hammer in my article and I said that I
would give you more info, so here it is. He and Ron
Cuie want to hold a violence forum featuring hip hop
pioneer M. C. Hammer. Also more than 100 exoffenders and students from the Renaissance
Advantage Charter School, grades 5th - 12th, attended
the March 27th event.
I wanted to report about this event to let my readers
know about events that our Mayor’s Office are
involved in along with Men United, Malik Aziz, M.C.
Hammer, and Ron Cuie of the City’s Ex-Offenders’
office...You see in the long run these programs will
make it possible for ex-offenders to get real jobs- and
remember, if I can do it, anybody that wants to can.
People gave me support, and they will support you too,
but you must be very serious about what you wish to
do with your life...Closing, remember to love where
you live and keep up the spirit behind Philly’s Clean
Up Program...with love, honor, and respect your
Mayor of Girard Avenue, Toby Rich. Peace.
Phila. Tribune
215-893-4050
Scoop USA
215-232-5974
Sunday Sun
215-848-7864
Support the Black Press
COALITION FOR
FAIR NEWS COVERAGE
17
Justice for Her A True Local Story Award-Winning documentary at AAMP
By Yanina Carter
Entertainment Editor
On Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008 the awardwinning documentary, Justice for Her, comes to life on
the big screen. Directed by Aginah Carter-Shabazz and
produced by Bianca M. White, the 90-minute documentary was inspired by Nas’ arrest, jail time, trial and acquittal.
Justice for Her will screen at a special Mother’s Day
Extravaganza at the African American Museum in
Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street. The screening will begin
at 3:00 p.m. followed by a reception catered by Delilah’s
Restaurant; and a book signing for CHOICEZ, memoirs
of a life of glamour and violence also by Aginah CarterShabazz
Women are the fastest growing population of prisoners
in America. Over 100,000 women are in state or federal
prisons and over 75% of them are mothers, grandmothers,
lifers and death row inmates that live in prison. Yonzetta
“Nas” Hudson, never thought she would be one of those
statistics, but she was.
What started as three to ten days in prison, turned into
months, then years. “I still didn’t get it,” said Nas, who
was falsely accused of murder. “Even when they took me
in the correctional facility I thought it was just a process
until I was told to strip and shower. That’s when it hit
me…. I was in jail.”
It was Nas’ mother, Aginah Carter Shabazz, an estab-
lished
cosmetologist,
who fought the criminal
justice system to free her
daughter. Justice for Her
details Nas’ life with
men, money materialism
and a corrupt criminal
justice system that could
have left her facing the
death penalty, for a murder she never committed
nor orchestrated. There
are some mistakes you
don’t want to make,
because they can cost
you your freedom, or
your life.
The film shows how the strength of the mother and
daughter bond, can overcome anything. Justice for Her is
a great treat for the entire family.
While in jail, Nas refused to eat saying, “I don’t eat
white bread and I don’t like dark meat”, thinking she was
only going to be in jail for a couple of days. When Nas’
son, Omar observed that she started losing weight from
not eating, Nas resigned herself and started eating; eventually accepting the reality she didn’t want to see.
“Most women that are in prison were there because of
a man,” said Nas, who spent almost two years in the
Philadelphia Industrialization Correctional Center. “They
get caught up by the nice things. These young women see
those guys with the money, clothes and nice cars, and
they want to get into their cars and get in the fast lane. But
that fast lane will get them in trouble,” explained Nas.
She knows because she lived that life at one time. She
was thought of as a Queen Pin, a label that was not true.
While the details of the trial and the tactics the prosecutor used will appall you, the fraudulent wiretaps will
shock you.
Justice for Her, is a story with an underlying message
that will not only serve as a wake up call for women
attracted to the glam and glitter, but may function as a
road map for others by detailing what could possibly happen in the lives of those traveling down similar paths.
The documentary reveals how intoxicating influences
pull countless women into the deadly realm of the criminal underworld and subsequently into the criminal justice
system. Is guilty by association truth in America? Was
Nas’ mistake the longing for material things? Justice for
Her reveals how the choices you make can bring consequences never imagined in your wildest dreams.
CHOICEZ, written by Aginah Carter-Shabazz speaks
to mothers and daughters about choices, about the power
of personal vision and about the reality of our dependence upon each other.
For more tickets and more information call: 267-2263430 or email aginahhair@aol.com.
To order CHOICEZ, orders@xlibris.com or 1888-7954274.
Mind the Pay Gap
by Mary Beth Maxwell
Recent headlines reveal what many of us already
know -- Americans are witnessing the highest inflation
rates seen in over 20 years. According to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, food prices climbed nearly
five percent in 2007, and as housing and energy costs
skyrocket out of control, working families are getting
squeezed. In these difficult times, we should also be
reminded that women face even greater financial struggles when weathering this economic storm.
With the observance of Equal Pay Day on April 24,
we mark how far into each year a woman must work to
earn as much as a man did in the previous year.
Recent wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
does not give cause for celebration. In 2007, women
earned only 80 cents for every dollar a man earned. This
pay gap was substantially greater for minorities, with
African-American women making only 70 cents and
Hispanic women making only 62 cents for every dollar
earned by their male counterparts. While women are
more reluctant to negotiate salaries and are often
employed in underpaid professions, one grim reality
remains -- gender-based discrimination still inherent in
our society has largely caused the pay gap that persists
today.
Although women can't always rely on their employer
to give them equal pay for an equal day's work, they can
count on union representation to help close the gap.
That's a dirty little secret most employers don't want
their workers to know - just ask educators at the Ithaca
City School District in Ithaca, N.Y.
In 2002, hundreds of teaching assistants and teacher
aides, 90 percent of them female, had a starting pay of
only $6.72 an hour. Putting pressure on the school district to end these poverty wages, the educators organized a union and bargained a contract, receiving a 50
percent raise in starting salary to $10.05 an hour. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent data indicates
that when women are members of unions, they make
the same pay as men who are not, a clear indication of
the benefits unions can provide in helping improve the
financial security of women.
At a time when union membership presents us with a
chance to narrow the wage gap and move toward
greater equality, passage of the Employee Free Choice
Act is vital. Set to be reintroduced in Congress next
year, the bill will give workers a more direct path to
freely and fairly form a union if they so choose.
Since employers often resist organizing campaigns
with illegal tactics used to intimidate and scare workers,
this legislation will also hold anti-union employers
accountable for violating federal labor laws through
tougher penalties and greater enforcement.
The wages of many working women have already
improved thanks to union membership, but even more
women stand to gain ground if this proposal is passed.
For example, in the retail food industry union members
earn 31 percent more than non-union employees.
Overall, the employer contribution to health insurance
premiums and pension coverage is more than twice as
high for union members as for non-union members. By
breaking down the barriers workers face when attempt-
ing to join a union, the ability of women to reach the
American dream through fair and equitable compensation will be heightened.
That is, if lawmakers next year have the conviction to
pass the legislation.
While the Employee Free Choice Act overwhelmingly passed the House this session, the Republican leadership killed the bipartisan version of the bill in the
Senate. Members of Congress will soon have the opportunity to hear from Americans wanting their elected
leaders to take another step toward income parity
through passage of this legislation. As the cost of rent,
gas, health care and other necessities continues to rise,
women who often are the sole breadwinners for their
families can't afford another stalemate of this critical
bill in Congress next year.
Mary Beth Maxwell is the executive director of
American Rights at Work
Copyright (C) 2008 by the American Forum. 4/08
SCOOP on the web
Your ad - 2 for 1 price
in print & on the web
SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, April 18 2008 - 19
Take Control of Your Health
with 100% Authentic, ALL Natural..
SCOOP USA COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
Tahitian Noni (c) Juice
It supports the Immune System
and gives you that increased
energy & stamina for enhanced
performance.
Not in
stores
Rev. Jean Houghton
To Order or Join the Business
www.TNI. COM/MyOwnBoss
or Call Vince: 267-258-5500
Earn $500 - $5000+ Monthly! Our company is
expanding! We need new, motivated sales consultants.
Training provided. Full/ part time. Register every
Tuesday, at 7:30 PM, at the North American Motor Inn,
4444 City Line Avenue, Philadelphia. Come dressed in
business attire. Ask for Vince Hall
Drivers: Local & Regional Tanker Work. $750$1000/week. Full Benefits. CDL-A w/1yr exp. 877786-3678. www.runforV.com
Drivers: CDL-A. Give Yourself A Chance to Succeed.
With Our Career Path Opportunities! Avg. $1,000+/wk.
Immediate Benefits. 877-315-0960
Certified Nurse’s Aid with over 12 yrs. experience
seeks Day/Night position with the Elderly. References
provided. Call evenings - 215- 927 -2593.
Help Wanted: Inside/Outside Advertisement Sales.
Part Time/Full Time. Good Commissions. Some Leads
provided. Must be Reliable, Self Motivated and Goal
Orientated. Car not necessary, but helpful. Please email or fax resume to: sonnyscoop@aol.com or
Fax - 215-236-2945
The Ducky Birts Foundation 2nd Annual Medallion
Awards Banquet
Well-known Philadelphia entrepreneur Ducky Birts will
present his 2nd annual Medallion Awards Banquet on
Saturday, April 19. at 6 P,M, at the First District Plaza,
3801 Market Street. Philadelphia. Patty Jackson of
WDAS FM Radio will be the MC. For more information Call 215-848-7864
View SCOOP on the web
Healing Justice Celebration of Film, Music & Poetry
On Saturday, April 19. from 7 PM to Midnight, at Club
La Rose Haitian Cultural Center, 5531Germantown
Avenue, Philadelphia, come and join them in a global
kindness revolution to solve the violence. There will be
films, poetry and many musical artists, such as Odean
Pope and Byard Lancaster. For ticket information:
www.porterrecords.com
*************************
Friends of Marian B. Tasco Presents their 9th
Annual Jazz Brunch
The 9th Annual Jazz Brunch presented by the Friends of
Marian B. Tasco will be held on Sunday, April 20th,
from 1 PM to 4 PM, at the View, in their 8th Floor
Banquet Hall, located at 800 North Broad Street,
Philadelphia. For information, Marilyn Clyburn, 215477-4058 or Donna Blatch 215-275-0582.
********** ******************
Girard Coalition Showcases Music, Arts &
Restaurants
The Girard Coalition, Inc. is hosting a Spring Social on
Wednesday, April 23, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, in
Founders’ Hall at Girard College, 2102 South College
Avenue, Philadelphia. The affair will showcase restaurants, local artists, and music from along the Girard
Avenue corridor and provide networking opportunities
for local businesses and residents.
************************
Community Town Meeting “ Snitch vs Witness” at
Bethany Baptist Church
On Thursday, April 24, at 6 PM, Bethany Baptist
Church, 1121 Tilghman St., Chester in conjunction with
Delaware County Millions More Movement, Mothers In
Charge, and Minaret Court # 154 will present a special
performance by YES Theatre of “Why I’m Here”.
Light refreshments will be served. For more information: 610 - 874 - 8143
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
A
Brand New
Soul, Blues
& Oldies
Radio
Show.
Moon Man
VOTE
Heard every Wednesday
night, 9 pm -11 pm
on WVLT/Cruising
92.1 FM & on the
Web: www.WVLT. com
A space this
little can bring big
$$$$$$$$ results
results to
your business
FIRST STEP TO BETTER HEALTH
Jessie’s Herb Center
HERBS FOR BETTER HEALTH
1537 South Street
Phila., PA 19146
(215) 735-0458
There is a time for this and that, but a time to fail is something we bring on ourselves. There is no unwritten law
that says we have to fail. We make the law and say we
should fail. When is the last time you tried to do something and failed?
DATE DAY
PA
DELAWARE
NJ
Wednesday
Apr. 9
976 017 734 384 833 792 664
Thursday
Apr. 10
634 284 903 691 189 200 157
Friday
Apr. 11
096 707 009 094 689 396 211
Saturday
Apr. 12
Sunday
Apr. 13
329 628 749 884 931 244 813
504 628 942 263
xxx 681
Monday
Apr/ 14
385 746 651 954 443
615 482
Tuesday
Apr. 15
748 837 317 977 589
693 751
Bold Red face indicates Hits picked by SCOOP U.S.A
Latest
Fashions
Independent Distributor
NSP
SCOOP PICK HITS
306
999 326 817 141
Appears
Every Friday
305
Down Memory Lane
ARIES - Mar. 21- Apr.19
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
Here you stand with your mouth wide open
and nothing is coming out. Say something and get on
with your life. Everyone is allowed to play the fool once
but no more unless you enjoy the role. Make what has
happen a milestone and stop holding on to the past. Enjoy
what happened you have before someone else comes and
takes it away. Be ready in the afternoon. Ps 100
TAURUS - Apr. 20 - May 20
PULL YOUR HORNS IN
There is an opportunity for you to grow, are
you ready? Everybody in the world is not against you nor
are they trying to do you in. Keep faith in that which you
believe and see the way things change. You can't keep
making fun of other people and wanting them to like it.
Pull in those horns and make some friends. You'll be better for it. Play this on the date of your birthday 106. Ps
12;9
GEMINI - May 21 - June 20
KEEP THE FAITH
Show your best colors and make the best of
things. For when things don't look so great just show a little fight. You'll be able to turn that dark cloud inside out.
Some days nothing seems to be going great, just hang in
there. No matter how bad you think it is, it will get better.
A lonesome lover will be in touch, watch yourself. Keep
your mind in gear before you speak. Ps 23;5
CANCER - June 21 - July 22
BE AT PEACE
This could be the time you get what you want,
or maybe not it, maybe a way to test your mettle. What
you really want you'll get and what you need will be
there. What you're hoping for will pass you by. There is a
lesson here I hope you understand it. Ps 141
LEO - July 23 - Aug. 22
BEST IS YET TO COME
All that you have wanted is nothing to what
you're about to get. I hope you're ready for something better in your life. Every dream, every hope, every idea is
about to come together for you. There are those who
know how to use the great things of life and I hope you
are one. Ps 123
VIRGO - AUG. 23 - SEPT. 22
WAIT A LITTLE LONGER IT’S THERE
Your dreams are so big that the world does not
understand. Your path is different than that of those about
you. You are on the right path so don't further. March to
your own drummer and all will be well. The path you follow is one just for you. Be cool and hang in there it’s soon
all yours. Ps 150
LIBRA - Sept. 23 - Oct. 22
A MAN AND HIS DREAM
There is still time to turn from where your were
to where you want to be. Stop throwing mud at others and
get on with it. You will have to take a trip soon to smooth
out some rough edges. When you have to make your
choice in the next couple of days use your head and not a
lot of b.s. Ps 121
SCORPIO - Oct. 23 - Nov. 21
PLAN AHEAD
Looking at life with rose-colored glasses is
great sometime. But remember you live in the real world
so act like it. Remember a person that fails to plan, plans
to fail. Look at each day with new wonder and get the true
essence from it. This is your day so use it wisely. Some of
the old gang will be coming around. Say hi and bye. Ps
114
SAGITTARIUS - Nov. 22 - Dec. 21
WALK WITH PRIDE
Look at where you were and where you are
now. This is an chance for you to say I have done my best.
Walk with pride and make each step count. To know that
you don't know is the beginning of knowledge. You can
have it all, but ask yourself are you ready for it all. Make
plans with yourself to do better by yourself so that you'll
understand your true essence. Ps 132
Another good time scene at the Penquen Club formally located on Lancaster Ave.
scoop file photo
Special prayer kit: Two separate prayer cloths, Special incense,
Special oil\, Special bottle Egyptian, Two separate and special
prayers, Special donation: $25.00, This will get the job done.
Send to Rev Jean., PO. Box 1325 Bensalem, Pa. 19020

April 18, 2008 Pages 1-20

Transcription

Similar documents

InStyle September, 2008 - New York Dermatology Group

September 4, 2015

Enhancing Wright`s Legacy in the Pacific Northwest

Chester County

Tech Pages - Racecar Book.com

PDR-13-30-10:Layout 1.qxd - Philadelphia Public Record

HOW TO LOOK BUSY - Here`s the Scoop

February 8, 2013

2009-2010 Facts