Sincerely: What do we really value?

I was reading an article in the NY Times about how the shortage of doctors will impact President Obama's health care goals. According to the article there is a shortage of primary care physicians - the doctors who are responsible for the day-to-day health of many Americans. Many doctors are leaving the primary care sector of the business to specialize in specific areas of medicine, as specialist tend to make more money. The NY Times quoted President Obama's speech at a White House forum, where he said, "We're not producing enough primary care physicians... The costs of medical education are so high that people feel they've got to specialize."

As I was reading this article, for some reason the NFL draft, which took place last weekend, came to mind. And I asked myself, what is wrong with our values system in America?

According to salary.com, the median expected salary for a physician is $147,824 with approximately 10% of doctors bringing in more than $190,000 a year (I would assume that much of the that 10% are specialist).

Now, back to the NFL draft.

The number one pick in the 2009 NFL draft, Matthew Stafford, received a six year contract. Over the six years of his contract Stafford will make $78 million if all goes as planned. That equals out to $13 million per year. If for some reason, such as injury, Stafford is not able to uphold the terms of his contract he is still guaranteed to receive $41.7 million over the 6 years, which is approximately $7 million per yer. With that in mind, please consider the fact that several NFL football players (professional athletes in general) are given similar compensation.... BUT NONE OF THEM SAVE LIVES FOR A LIVING!!!

Based on these numbers, Stafford's salary can pay the median physicians salary about 88 times over. So again I ask:

WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR VALUES SYSTEM???

Sincerely,

TSH

Leia Mais

Smithsonian Museum of African American History To Come!

In a press conference held April 14, 2009, the Smithsonian Board of Regents announced that they would be moving forward with the Freelon Adjaye Bond/Smith Group design for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The winning design was selected among six other designs by varying architectural firms. According to the official NMAAHC website the construction of the museum is scheduled to begin in 2012 and will take up to three years to complete.

I for one am excited about the production of this new museum and can't wait for the grand opening! I will be following the production and development, so for more information stay tuned. You can also visit the official site, http://nmaahc.si.edu/. YAY!

To read more and view the press conference click here!

Sincerely,

TSH

Leia Mais

Sincerely: I'm Not A Conspiracy Theorist

Reading the COINTELPRO documents made me think. It made me wonder, why would the government go through such great lengths to hinder organizations with seemingly righteous causes? Why instead of attempting to help these groups and improve the status of African Americans throughout the country, would they seek to "disrupt, misdirect, [and] discredit," these organizations?

First let's examine the language:

disrupt: 1. to throw into disorder 2. to interrupt the normal course of unity
misdirect: 1. to give wrong direction to
discredit: 1. to refuse to accept as true or accurate 2. to cause disbelief in the accuracy or authority of 3. to deprive of good repute: Disgrace

Based on the definitions of these words, which come directly from official COINTELPRO documentation, it is clear that the government set out to sabotage Black and/or Civil Rights Organizations, and leadership.

It seems to me that if instead of creating programs to interfere with the goals of these organizations working toward the advancement of African Americans, the government could have created programs which championed the objectives of organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Then, maybe the need to "counter their propensity for violence and civil disorder," would not have been necessary.

So... as I was reading this document, I reached goal number two of this particular COINTELPRO initiative, to "Prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unify, and electrify, the militant black nationalist movement." This particular statement caused my mind to travel to areas of thought that may be uncomfortable even for me (I promise I'm not a conspiracy theorist).

I thought of President Obama, and a question came to mind... Is President Obama the quintessential Black leader?

While his presidency is probably the greatest accomplishment in African American history to date, I don't think I can classify President Obama as a Black leader. Not in the same sense that Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King, Jr. were Black leaders. Don't get me wrong, I SINCERELY love Mr. Barack Obama, his existence makes me smile, and what he represents is absolutely astonishing, however his goals can not simply be the advancement of Blacks in American. After all, he is the whole president. He is responsible for the well being of all Americans, black, white, brown and so forth.

So... this is where my thinking gets a little crazy (but I promise I'm not a conspiracy theorist)...

I was thinking, has the government gotten over on us again?... Is the election of President Obama --a Black man-- just a ploy to make us believe that the need for Black leadership is no more. Is the government trying to confuse us? I mean, clearly, it's not a stretch of the imagination, just look at the goals of COINTELPRO (this statement came directly from the documents: "When an opportunity is apparant to disrupt or neutralize black nationalist, hate-type organizations through the cooperation of established local news media contacts or through such contact with sources available to the Seat of Government, in every instance careful attention must be given to the proposal to insure the targeted group is disrupted, ridiculed, or discredited through the publicity and not merely publicized. ").

I don't want to discredit the American people, because I do believe that we have made great stride toward overcoming racism in this country, and I know that the election of President Obama gave many a renewed sense of faith in our country. But, it was obvious that before the election, during the campaigns, that the media was biased toward a certain candidate (I'm just saying).

I guess my thought process lead me to this conclusion:

According to the National Urban Leagues State of Black America 2009, Blacks are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed and tree times more likely to live in poverty. So we must continue to develop leaders within our community who will champion our causes. And we must continue to hold the government responsible for the living conditions of all Americans. And we must challenge our government to help us to improve our place in society, regardless of who is in the white house.

Sincerely,

TSH

*To read the entire COINTELPRO document click here.

Leia Mais

Purse... Shoes... oh, Black Baby...?

Stories about Madonna's (failed) attempt to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James, a 3-year-old Malawian orphan can be found throughout the blogosphere, and in many celebrity news/gossip publications. I've read several varying opinions on the matter. Many feel that Madonna will be able to provide the child with a better life than the one she would live in her native country. Some see Madonna's antics as an attempt to gain publicity. Others feel that people are just simply hating on Madonna, and should leave her alone. However, the most interesting perspective to me came from That Black Girl Site. This perspective questions the motives of celebrities who adopt Black babies as a whole (I suppose any baby who is not American falls in this category). Is adopting a Black baby simply a trend that celebrities can afford? Is this another way for celebrities to assert their status? If so... is it acceptable?

I'm not sure if this is true in Madonna's case, as she has shown a vested interest in Malawi through her charity, Raising Malawi. However I would love to know your take on this subject. Leave it (in the comments section... lol)!

Sincerely,

TSH

Leia Mais

History Made On This Date: COINTELPRO

On April 5, 1976 documents confirming COINTELPRO were released as a result of a freedom of information suit. The documents confirmed the COINTELPRO initiative to "disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of black nationalist, hate-type organizations and groupings, their leadership, spokesmen, membership, and supporters, and to counter their propensity for violence and civil disorder... through the cooperation of established local news media contacts or through such contact with sources available to the Seat of Government, in every instance careful attention must be given to the proposal to insure the targeted group is disrupted, ridiculed, or discredited through the publicity and not merely publicized. "

Many groups whose purpose was the advancement of African Americans, such as, the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, The Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam, etc., were targeted as well as many African American Leaders. Leaders such as, Fred Hampton, Stokely Carhmicheal, Martin Luther King, Jr., etc. were specifically mentioned in the documents.

To check out more for yourself visit http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/blacknationalist.htm.

Sincerely ,

TSH

Leia Mais