AUTHOR'S FOREWORD: When I originally wrote and posted this commentary in 2011, it was after a number of emotional, health and financial setbacks. That is why I focused on Oakwood Baptist Church in Chickamauga, GA. Some other churches emailed me, asking why I had not mentioned similar services that they offer the needy community. At the time, I felt led to Oakwood, and the spirit and help I received from the wonderful people there impressed me enough to share my experience to let others, and there are many, who are going through difficult times know that help is available from Christians who honor the teachings of Christ by providing food, clothing and other services to folks who, through no fault of their own, are unable to make it from paycheck to paycheck. I was not intentionally ignoring anyone. Large churches, and even smaller ones, especially in the South, offer help to those who legitimately need it. This commentary is designed to inform the hurting people out there that there is assistance, provided in a Christian way, and also to encourage readers to help support these programs with small or large financial gifts, specified to go to programs for the needy. By doing so, your gift may change for the better the life of someone or a family in your community whom you don't even know. What better way to celebrate the true meaning and spirit of Christmas? Thank you for your attention. -- Toney Atkins, Dec. 20, 2013
BY TONEY ATKINS
CHICKAMAUGA, GA -- Oakwood Baptist Church in Chickamauga puts the Christ in Christianity.
Exercising its stated purpose of “loving God, loving people (and) making a difference,” Oakwood Baptist goes far beyond beautiful Sunday singing and sermonizing to spread the true meaning of Christianity by putting Jesus’ words and works into action in northwest Georgia’s Walker County and beyond.
I knew I was in the presence of a loving, wonderful spirit the moment I stepped into the lobby of the church building to have a meeting with church deacons when the multiplying problems of a crisis-filled year led me to seek help that I could not seem to find anywhere else.
Feelings of abandonment, loneliness and destitution were becoming all too common again since I had waded into the swiftly flowing and deepening river of my so-called “golden years.” Retirement from working two jobs most of my life was turning out to be not as I had expected and hoped for my 60s while rapidly approaching the even more uncertain age of 70. (My brain often teasingly deceived me into believing I was still young, but my mischievous body loved to remind me of an otherwise reality -- and it still has that tendency.)
"Murphy's Law" seemed to kick into high gear in July of 2010 when my foot missed a doorstep and I took a tumble onto a concrete walkway, further messing up an already suffering back, breaking fingers and spraining an ankle. A week later, a blood clot was discovered, and I was put on a blood-thinning medication to add to my repertoire of pill bottles in my carrying case. Then came physical therapy and a continuing battle with cholesterol and triglycerides and an appetite for foods that were dangerously loaded with both.
Things got no better in December when my car went out of control on a rain-and-ice-slick road, plowing directly into a power pole, totaling the vehicle and damaging my ego and sense of security behind the wheel. The seat belt, which I had always hated, probably saved my life, keeping my body from taking the full brunt of the steering wheel and my head from smashing through the windshield. Months were to pass before most of the physical pains went away, and some aftereffects still persist. God was definitely with me.
He was also there when a potentially cancerous growth recently appeared on my face and when hospital technicians found that I have a kidney stone that may be too large to pass naturally without a lot of serious pain. At this writing, the latter issues still have not resolved themselves.
Add to all that a deepening financial crisis. I suddenly had to find a new place to live in mid-2011 when a friend, from whom I had been renting a room and sharing expenses, decided to turn his mobile home back over to the bank and leave because he said he simply could not afford it any more. Being retired and on a fixed income, I chalked up that development. I had to seek affordable housing and to make what I prayed would be only a temporary move into accommodations that I really couldn't afford.
Despite knowing that God was there, taking care of me the best He could, I became more and more despondent, depressed, full of self-anger and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness that I was doing very little to help Him to help me.
In mid-summer of 2011, I was spiritually led to Oakwood Baptist Church to seek any kind of help I could get. For the first time in many years, I was in a position of having to seek charity, and that was painful to my pride.
The church had been much smaller when I lived in Chickamauga as a young man, but apparently it was high on God because it had grown in size, membership and service to the community in comparison to what I remembered.
I felt the Spirit within moments of entering the doors. As I sat in the lobby, awaiting my appointment, one of the choirs was practicing and I had to smile. Long ago, I had sung in a choir. Long ago, I had felt the peace and joy that was welling up inside me. Several people passed, on their way to various activities. All smiled and offered greetings -- not because they felt compelled to, but because they wanted to. For a while, my anxieties were gone, seemingly meaningless. My fears were calmed. I felt good, physically and spiritually.
The deacons with whom I spoke reinforced the down-to-earth, “real people” atmosphere. Like Jesus, they were genuinely concerned about my problems. They didn’t preach at me. Foremost, they listened to me, they prayed with me and they helped me. God was in that room and everyone, including myself, was tuned in to Him.
Any doubt that I might have had about the power of the Spirit of Jesus, the Christ, was gone when I drove home, relieved that people cared, people helped.
The auditorium was packed for the Sunday services that I later attended. The ministers’ words rang true and the music and songs lifted me higher. The crowds smiled.
The church seems to be active seven days a week. I remain amazed at the number of ministries available to members and to the public, including missions to lead and encourage each other as the Body of Christ to go outside the church and be intentional in the area of relationship evangelism. This is performed through such actions as serving the community, as well as organizing short-term mission teams from Oakwood’s congregation.
Oakwood’s Ministry of Hope assists individuals and families in need of furniture and household items.
A church booklet points out that “life change happens best in community. When people gather in groups with a shared mission to pursue God; to love one another; or to serve others, God tends to show up and do amazing things.” Oakwood’s Life Group ministry offers a variety of groups.
Celebrate Recovery, which meets weekly at both the Chickamauga and Germantown (East Ridge, TN) campuses, is the “perfect place to go to heal from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups,” a spokesperson said.
Among other events and activities, Oakwood Baptist offers a children’s ministry, student ministries, a worship ministry, the Financial Peace University, a men’s ministry, pastoral care, a singles ministry, a recreation ministry and the Oakwood Christian Academy.
Oakwood is part of the Northwest Georgia Baptist Association with many ministries that Oakwood, along with 70 or so other churches, help to minister in Walker County and around the world, reader Don Taylor pointed out.
Oakwood Baptist also has presented an annual Easter sunrise service in the area of Wilder Tower in the Chickamauga-Chattanooga Battlefield National Park between Chickamauga and Fort Oglethorpe.
Oakwood’s Chickamauga campus is at 115 Oakwood St., Chickamauga, GA 30707, with Bible study and worship services at 9:15 and 10:45 a.m. Celebrate Recovery meets every Friday at 7 p.m., with a meal at 6 p.m. The Gateway campus is at 247 Market Place Lane, inside the Gateway Mall, in Ringgold, GA (just west of Interstate 75). Sunday services are at 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. The Germantown campus is at 707 S. Germantown Road, East Ridge, TN, where Sunday worship is at 10:45 a.m. and Celebrate Recovery is Sunday at 7 p.m., with a meal at 6 p.m.
More information is available by calling (706) 375-5760 or going online to http://oakwoodbc.org .
I have never been known to write unsolicited commentaries about a particular church, but I have to say it. The Lord is leading me to testify about Oakwood Baptist and part of what it does in Chickamauga and surrounding communities. It’s “old-time religion” for the 21st century, and may it continue to bless.
Yes, "Murphy's Law" (if it can go wrong, it will) still challenges me, but I have rediscovered a very special and spiritual way to deal with it, thanks to the folks at Oakwood who practice loving God, loving people and making a difference.
I urge friends, relatives, enemies and other readers who would like to feel some Christmas spirit all year long to send charitable gifts to the Caring Missions fund to benefit the northwest Georgia area's needy at https://e-giving.org/GuestDonation_v5/DonatorPage.asp at Oakwood's web address or send checks or money orders to the Chickamauga church campus' street address listed above. Checks or money orders should be made to Oakwood Baptist Church, with the memo specifying Caring Missions.
You will be blessed as someone less fortunate than you is blessed. This is my personal recommendation, because I know it works.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Writer Toney Atkins was born and grew up in Chickamauga, GA. He accepted Christ as his Savior in the mid-60s. He taught fifth, sixth and seventh grade subjects at Chickamauga Elementary School between 1967 and 1971. He taught at North Rossville (GA) Elementary in 1971-1972, after which he moved to Florida to become a newspaper writer and assistant editor. After retirement, he currently lives in northwest Georgia and can be contacted at toneyatkins@gmail.com or toneyatkins@live.com .
POSTSCRIPT: This commentary, written and posted nearly two years ago, has remained as the overall most read posting on this blog, of which I am very pleased. I stand by my writing and support all churches and organizations that provide physical help and comfort to the poor and the needy in these desperate times for many. -- Toney Atkins, Oct. 19, 2013.
SPREAD PEACE AND LOVE! Don't forget the less fortunate, plus we must continue to remember the troops and their families who are still dealing with the Afghanistan War and veterans of the Iraq War. God bless them all!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Friday, September 09, 2011
SEPT. 11, 2001: TERROR BECAME REALITY
BY TONEY ATKINS
The approach of the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, finds me fighting a disturbing depression and unpleasant feelings of dread that the United States could be facing yet another devastating attack by our enemies.
Equally disturbing is the fact that some ultra-fanatic right-wingers in this country, including a few people who currently hold political power, have publicly asserted that another terrorist attack on America is needed to "prove" that the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama, and the Democratic Party are not capable of protecting the country.
That, of course, outrageously pushes to an extreme limit the desire of many to see the Obama administration fail. Can anyone who remembers that day so vividly be so cold as to want, for political reasons, to experience the horrors of the potential destruction and deaths of possibly thousands of American citizens?
In their wildest imaginings, few ordinary citizens awoke that bright Tuesday morning in 2001 expecting the day to evolve into horror and bloody death on their own soil. Terrorist attacks occurred in other countries, but who would dare bring such villainous acts to the invincible powerhouse of the U.S.? It was unthinkable.
I had tuned the television to ABC's "Good Morning America" before sleepily approaching the shower to prepare for what I expected to be an ordinary day at the Daytona Times newspaper in Daytona Beach, FL. Running a little bit late, as usual, I was toweling myself dry when I noticed the bewildered expressions on the faces of the host and hostess of the news program. They were talking about the possibility that a small plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A camera showed the smoke pouring from the upper section of the huge building. It initially appeared to be a horrible accident. As a graphic indicating "Breaking News" appeared on the screen, Peter Jennings began his report about what was known at that point.
As I drove down Orange Avenue, listening to a morning talk show broadcasting from New York, the host and one of his co-hosts were excited and not speaking in normal tones. Someone shouted that another plane had crashed into the second tower. It was becoming clear that these were passenger jetliners and that these occurrences were not accidental. A chill went up and down my journalistic spine and I broke the speed limit in getting to the newspaper.
At that time, the Internet was available only to the editor in charge, and I was only a reporter. When the editor went upstairs to consult with Managing Editor Charles W. Cherry Sr., I rushed to his computer, where his assistant was working, and reached over his shoulder to sign on to America Online's news page. What I saw stunned me and brought forth epithets that shocked the assistant, who was not completely aware of the tragedy-in-progress, into gales of laughter which literally had him rolling on the floor. The Pentagon had just been struck by a third plane. The publishable text of my comment to the young man was, "We're at war!"
WPUL-AM radio, the city's Black station, would ordinarily be broadcasting gospel music delivered by satellite, but the music had been replaced by the continually breaking news, including that of the crash of a fourth passenger jet into a Pennsylvania field. It was now known that the planes had been hijacked in some devious plan to wreak havoc, and that plan was succeeding. The whereabouts of President George W. Bush, who had assumed office earlier that year and who was visiting an elementary school in Florida at the time, was not known until later in the morning when he addressed a terrified nation. Adding to the ongoing living nightmare, the World Trade Center buildings dramatically collapsed into rubble as residents raced away.
I was extremely frustrated because our office had no TV and I had no consistent access to the Internet. Telephone systems were overwhelmed, so I could not contact my father, a World War II veteran who lived in northwest Georgia. He suffered from health problems, and I was concerned as to how he might be reacting to the event.
The assistant editor, who was in charge of laying out the pages of the paper, particularly the all-important front page, approached me and asked how I thought we should handle the developing crisis, pointing out that we were a Black-oriented newspaper that primarily covered issues affecting only the Black community. My reply might have sounded inconsiderate, but I practically shouted that Black people most likely were among the dead and dying and that what was happening was historic, impacting everyone. I urged a front page, lead story but, respecting his position, left it up to him. (He soon organized an excellent front page for our weekly newspaper that rivaled those of area dailies.)
Getting out of the office, I found that traffic was lighter than usual, but I was determined to get local reaction in person instead of in phone calls. A young Black female employee in the photo department of what was then Eckerd Drugs on Ridgewood Avenue was fighting back tears. She told me that she was concerned about her future mother-in-law who worked in the vicinity of what was to become known as Ground Zero of the New York attacks. Her fiancee had not been able to reach his mother, and they feared the worst. The young woman said her mind could not comprehend what was going on. (Several days later, she gave me the good news that her mother-in-law-to-be was safe.)
Outside, a man who was listening to a news broadcast on his car radio was equally concerned, his face lined with stunned disbelief. He was concerned about his father, who didn't live in New York City but who live in New York state and occasionally went into the metropolis. He couldn't get through to his dad, and he was worried.
Reactions were similar at several other locations as I made my way back to the newspaper. At an ATM, an elderly Black man said his bank had closed and he wanted to withdraw his money, because he was afraid of what might happen next.
All commercial air travel was grounded, not to be resumed for several days. Eerie feelings that I was experiencing were compounded by the occasional sounds of military jets which seemed to scream very low over our building throughout the day. The unknown, the unexpected had come to our land, and many of us knew that our lives were changed forever.
During my lunch break, I got my first look at televised live pictures of the smoke and debris billowing from a surrealistic view of the skyline of New York City. My phone call to Georgia finally went through, and my dad was okay. He had gone to the home of a friend to watch the scenes of devastation unfold on CNN.
Officials determined that the hijackings were instigated by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. In October, we were officially at war in that country -- a war that continues in 2011. Despite the eventual discovery and killing of bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1, 2011, under the command of President Obama, no end is in sight for the allies' war against al Quaeda and the stabilization of Afghanistan. (Not long after 9/11, then-President Bush would later erroneously tie Iraq to the attacks on America and initiated a war in that country. That ill-advised war resulted in the deaths of or injuries to thousands of brave military personnel.))
Amid the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center and the damaged sections of the Pentagon were the casualties -- heroic firemen and police officers, ordinary citizens who had not known they were going to work in the buildings for the last time, the bodies of those people who had jumped from many floors up rather than die in flames or from suffocation before the structures collapsed. Final death statistics, including the passengers who had overcome other hijackers over Pennsylvania, approached 3,000.
The nation mourned. There were memorial services around the U.S., including one in Daytona Beach. Many days would follow before a degree of normalcy would return to our country. For some, feelings of real security ended on that terrible September day.
Although pushed by many into the deeper recesses of their minds so as not to let fear overcome their lives, most Americans still remember what is generally referred to as 9/11. Some have told me that they don't like to bring those horrible memories back to the surface, although that's difficult to avoid as the anniversary nears and fleeting, even fearful thoughts rush through: Will it happen again?
Those politicians and regular citizens who have remarked that another 9/11 is needed to "bring back our country" (bring it back to what?) need to see the images captured by the cameras and included in documentaries on the History and National Geographic television channels and on DVD to remind them of the horrors of that single day. They need to be shamed and chastised by the Americans who respect life and care about the future of our country. These radical unpatriotic and destructive citizens who seem to prefer hate and war over peace should be questioned, along with their questionable sanity.
We must never forget the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fragility of life. All could end as early as today.
Meanwhile, each of us can work to restore peace within our own country's borders in order to be stronger against any evil that might threaten us, working toward a better world that could be free or hatred, fear and war.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
LET OUR VETERANS KNOW THEY'RE APPRECIATED
By Toney Atkins
(c) 2009
On Veterans Day 2004, my late father was surprised and amazed when he opened his front door to discover several members of the church that he frequently attended.
That might not seem to be particularly noteworthy, except for the fact that they were carrying red, white and blue balloons, food, goodies, a card and a cake emblazoned with the words, "Thank You."
What I've been told is that tears were rolling down his face as the church members entered the living room. Each person in the group thanked him for the service he gave to his country, fighting in the European Theater during World War II.
My father was quoted as saying, "No one has ever said that to me before."
That day meant a lot to Dad, and I was to look back on it a year later as a kind of omen that he would not live to see another Veterans Day -- but he had experienced a very special one. In a telephone conversation afterwards, he only recounted to me that the people had performed the very kind and wonderful act.
Others in his neighborhood expressed the same sentiment during his last year. Some encouraged him to share his wartime experiences with a local television station that was making video diaries of area veterans, but he declined. He was a humble man who told me that he didn't do anything special and that he didn't feel comfortable doing a TV interview.
I was born during the war when he was overseas. He earned several awards for marksmanship and a purple heart for injuries he suffered. However, for some still unknown reason, he never wanted to talk about the war with me, so his history that he chose to share with some people was never shared with his only son. I only knew that he suffered horrible nightmares and occasionally terrible back pain that worsened with age. Watching a movie about the Vietnam War rattled his nerves and nearly sent him into a major panic attack, he told me about 20 years after that evening at the theatre. I had not been aware that it affected him.
I tend to believe that after the aforementioned initial encounter with expressions of appreciation and gratitude, Dad opened up more about his experiences on the battlefield, especially in Germany, to some neighbors, church members, friends and even to the employees of the funeral home, where he made his burial arrangements. The folks who shared this information with me said that he was animated and excited when he told those stories, and that the listeners were always enthralled. I wish I had been among them.
When the wars in Afghanistan after 9/11 and then in Iraq began, not knowing what conditions the troops would face or their trials and tribulations, Dad often said sadly, "I feel sorry for those boys," perhaps reflecting upon the dramatic changes he experienced between leaving a small Georgia town to train for a war and then fight it and the time he returned to the U.S. with many memories of occasional unspeakable horror, the screams of the wounded and the silence of the dead and experiencing injury himself.
For the sacrifice made by my father and many other fathers, young unmarried men and some women made in serving in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq, it shouldn't take much effort on the part of the average citizen -- who may never have seen a battlefield or known the terribly dangerous blasts of bombs or the deadly sounds of gunfire from an enemy except in a movie -- to be grateful for those sacrifices that keep freedom ringing.
Based on my father's reaction several years ago, I would like to suggest that each of us who has a family member who is a veteran of any war, a neighbor or friend who has served, make a special point on this Veterans Day -- and on other days as well -- personally thank that veteran (and this includes the young and not-so-young soldiers of today) for his or her life, courage and sacrifice. You may never know how important that such a gesture could be and how much it would mean, not only to the veteran, but to you as well.
My father, Charlie Jackson Atkins, passed away on Aug. 22, 2005, his 84th birthday. I'm thankful for those who loved and appreciated him and told him so. I wish that I had known him better.
God bless our troops, and God bless the United States of America in these troubled times.
(c) 2009
On Veterans Day 2004, my late father was surprised and amazed when he opened his front door to discover several members of the church that he frequently attended.
That might not seem to be particularly noteworthy, except for the fact that they were carrying red, white and blue balloons, food, goodies, a card and a cake emblazoned with the words, "Thank You."
What I've been told is that tears were rolling down his face as the church members entered the living room. Each person in the group thanked him for the service he gave to his country, fighting in the European Theater during World War II.
My father was quoted as saying, "No one has ever said that to me before."
That day meant a lot to Dad, and I was to look back on it a year later as a kind of omen that he would not live to see another Veterans Day -- but he had experienced a very special one. In a telephone conversation afterwards, he only recounted to me that the people had performed the very kind and wonderful act.
Others in his neighborhood expressed the same sentiment during his last year. Some encouraged him to share his wartime experiences with a local television station that was making video diaries of area veterans, but he declined. He was a humble man who told me that he didn't do anything special and that he didn't feel comfortable doing a TV interview.
I was born during the war when he was overseas. He earned several awards for marksmanship and a purple heart for injuries he suffered. However, for some still unknown reason, he never wanted to talk about the war with me, so his history that he chose to share with some people was never shared with his only son. I only knew that he suffered horrible nightmares and occasionally terrible back pain that worsened with age. Watching a movie about the Vietnam War rattled his nerves and nearly sent him into a major panic attack, he told me about 20 years after that evening at the theatre. I had not been aware that it affected him.
I tend to believe that after the aforementioned initial encounter with expressions of appreciation and gratitude, Dad opened up more about his experiences on the battlefield, especially in Germany, to some neighbors, church members, friends and even to the employees of the funeral home, where he made his burial arrangements. The folks who shared this information with me said that he was animated and excited when he told those stories, and that the listeners were always enthralled. I wish I had been among them.
When the wars in Afghanistan after 9/11 and then in Iraq began, not knowing what conditions the troops would face or their trials and tribulations, Dad often said sadly, "I feel sorry for those boys," perhaps reflecting upon the dramatic changes he experienced between leaving a small Georgia town to train for a war and then fight it and the time he returned to the U.S. with many memories of occasional unspeakable horror, the screams of the wounded and the silence of the dead and experiencing injury himself.
For the sacrifice made by my father and many other fathers, young unmarried men and some women made in serving in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq, it shouldn't take much effort on the part of the average citizen -- who may never have seen a battlefield or known the terribly dangerous blasts of bombs or the deadly sounds of gunfire from an enemy except in a movie -- to be grateful for those sacrifices that keep freedom ringing.
Based on my father's reaction several years ago, I would like to suggest that each of us who has a family member who is a veteran of any war, a neighbor or friend who has served, make a special point on this Veterans Day -- and on other days as well -- personally thank that veteran (and this includes the young and not-so-young soldiers of today) for his or her life, courage and sacrifice. You may never know how important that such a gesture could be and how much it would mean, not only to the veteran, but to you as well.
My father, Charlie Jackson Atkins, passed away on Aug. 22, 2005, his 84th birthday. I'm thankful for those who loved and appreciated him and told him so. I wish that I had known him better.
God bless our troops, and God bless the United States of America in these troubled times.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
VETERANS OF ALL WARS DESERVE OUR THANKS
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: On Aug. 22, 2005, my father, a World War II veteran who earned the Purple Heart, passed away on his birthday. Among the handful of people at his funeral were my special cousin on my late mother's side of the family and her wonderful husband; a couple of his relatives; Dad's special friend and her family, all of whom loved him dearly and were the only people to send the two flower arrangements. The homegoing service in the chapel of Wilson's Funeral Home in Chickamauga, GA, provided by extremely caring directors and a very spiritual minister, was beautiful; and the military salute at the veterans' memorial cemetery in Chattanooga, TN, was remarkably memorable and executed with the precision that my father deserved. Only now do I truly realize the sacrifices that he made in the name of freedom and for his family and nation. His death basically went unnoticed, but what he did for his country, along with many other men and women, should not be forgotten. The following was written before his death:
War Veterans Deserve Our Thanks
BY TONEY ATKINS
Many times, citizens of all races, colors and creeds in the United States take so much of our freedom for granted that we forget that many of the people walking among us are a major part of the reason that we have so much for which we should be thankful.
This reality hit very close to home during a telephone conversation I recently had with a home health care official who is among those dedicated nurses and therapists who are caring for my ailing father, who will soon be 84 years old.
She told me that when she first met him a couple of years ago, they talked about his experiences during World War II, during which he suffered back injuries in both a vehicular mishap and when a bomb exploded near him, throwing him back into a foxhole. As he shared other memories of hellish experiences in the European Theater of the war, she told him, "Thank you for what you did for our country."
The lady said that her heart was touched when tears came to his eyes. She said she told him he must hear that often. Dad replied, "You're the first person who has ever said that to me."
On the following holiday celebrating our nation's independence, the woman and a friend surprised him with patriotic balloons and cards of appreciation. Again, this aging war veteran was delighted and moved to tears.
Dad has never shared that experience with me, just as he has always avoided even speaking about his experiences during the war or the Purple Heart he earned. He has never even told me what role he played in the military.
However, in the past year or so, he has opened up about the horrible dreams of that period more than 60 years ago, waking up shaking from the vividness of the nightmares that still seemed very real, very now.
The back injuries he suffered then have been magnified by arthritis, and he is in constant agonizing pain that medications barely touch. The several years he spent abroad fighting for his country were not only the time he could have had with his bride and a new son, but became a secret part of his life has been impacted every day and every night since his young adulthood and into his waning days on earth.
Soldiers from the U.S. later fought in the Korean Conflict. As in the "Big War," many men and women came home, older than their years and never able to fully recapture the missed joys of lost youth. They served admirably, but I don't recall much ado being made over their heroism.
The unpopular Vietnam Conflict (the media seldom referred to it as a war because war was never officially declared) saw more young people being sent to a hostile land, allegedly to fight the evils of communism. The free citizens of the soldiers' own country -- the USA -- were cruel in their lack of support for the war and took their anger out on returning troops, many of whom had suffered irreparable physical injuries and mental conditions that haunted them for many years.
Far too many innocents returned in body bags. Only their families and true friends seemed to genuinely appreciate their sacrifices, and the ghosts are still there for many of them.
Trained and untrained soldiers, including National Guardsmen from around the country, endured the hardships of preparing for and fighting in the short-lived Gulf War in the early 1990s after Iraq invaded oil-rich Kuwait. They returned to the U.S. as heroes, but many were angry and dissatisfied, believing that the mission had not truly been accomplished. What had been won? Dictator Saddam Hussein was not harmed and his government continued to operate, with only some sanctions placed against them to slap their wrists. They likely have their nightmares, too.
About 10 years later, a new normal became part of a young millennium when the unbelievable happened: Jetliners hijacked by terrorists slammed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, another was purposely crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, while a third went down in a field in Pennsylvania, never reaching its unknown intended target.
Sept. 11, 2001, was to become the day that changed the U.S. and the world, and security could no longer be taken for granted.
Our troops were sent into battle in Afghanistan to retaliate against the mastermind of the attacks, Osama bin Laden, and his followers. Soldiers are still there and, despite a major victory of sorts, many of our troops are still being maimed or killed as the search for the elusive bin Laden continues four years later.
For reasons the general public has yet to truly know, 130,000 of our military men and women were later transported to Iraq, where the mission to liberate that country of Dictator Saddam Hussein's rule was declared accomplished only months after the battle against an apparently inept army appeared to be won. However, terrorists who were not in Iraq joined a growing insurgency that opposed Americans' presence, and members of our armed forces are still being killed or wounded on an almost daily basis. The war is not yet done, and no one knows when or if the mission will indeed be accomplished or how many of our brave young people will be lost before it is over.
A survey of troops returning from the Iraq war found that 50 percent had developed mental health problems three to four months after coming home, the Army's surgeon general said in a recent Associated Press report.
The problems include anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and an inability to concentrate, according to Lt. Gen Kevin Kiley and other military medical officials. A smaller group, usually with more severe cases of those symptoms, is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Anyone who has not been in combat cannot comprehend the horrors these men and women have endured or, for that matter, the nitty-gritty experiences of those who have been in any war. Our minds don't share what lives in theirs.
It is not unpatriotic to oppose the war in Iraq, because Americans were misled as to why our troops had to go there.
It is unpatriotic not to support the men and women who are doing their assigned jobs with a constant risk of death, dismemberment or lifelong mental anguish. These are men and women of all races, colors and creeds who are heroes, giving of themselves so that the U.S. might enjoy what freedoms we have left.
It is unpatriotic to discriminate against the veterans of the Vietnam Conflict. They are human beings who were doing their jobs for the military as you do your job every day. They were and are heroes who have sacrificed parts of their lives -- including their physical and emotional well-being -- for you and me.
It is unpatriotic to overlook those who fought in Korea. They suffered for us while we enjoyed the much-proclaimed innocence and blissful freedoms of the post-World War II era.
It is unpatriotic to forget the rapidly dying breed of World War II veterans who gave their all, fighting in countries abroad to keep their loved ones back home safe from the ravages of conflict.
How long has it been since you said "thank you" to a veteran of any war?
In doing so, you could be doing your patriotic duty without any extreme effort on your part.
Thank the individual with sincerity, and perhaps you will impact a life by making that person a little happier, knowing that he or she is appreciated for their sacrifice about which we may think only briefly when Veterans Day, Memorial Day or the Fourth of July come around.
As in my Dad's case, you may be the only person from whom the man or woman who served for you has ever heard any words of thanks.
Don't restrict the thought to one or two days a year. Whenever the opportunity arises, let a veteran of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or any other conflict know that the job they did then or are doing now has not been in vain.
To my heroes, Dad and everyone who has served in the military in any capacity, and especially those who have endured the battlefields of the world, I salute you and say: "Thanks for serving our country and doing your part to keep me -- us -- free."
(c) 2005, Toney Atkins
War Veterans Deserve Our Thanks
BY TONEY ATKINS
Many times, citizens of all races, colors and creeds in the United States take so much of our freedom for granted that we forget that many of the people walking among us are a major part of the reason that we have so much for which we should be thankful.
This reality hit very close to home during a telephone conversation I recently had with a home health care official who is among those dedicated nurses and therapists who are caring for my ailing father, who will soon be 84 years old.
She told me that when she first met him a couple of years ago, they talked about his experiences during World War II, during which he suffered back injuries in both a vehicular mishap and when a bomb exploded near him, throwing him back into a foxhole. As he shared other memories of hellish experiences in the European Theater of the war, she told him, "Thank you for what you did for our country."
The lady said that her heart was touched when tears came to his eyes. She said she told him he must hear that often. Dad replied, "You're the first person who has ever said that to me."
On the following holiday celebrating our nation's independence, the woman and a friend surprised him with patriotic balloons and cards of appreciation. Again, this aging war veteran was delighted and moved to tears.
Dad has never shared that experience with me, just as he has always avoided even speaking about his experiences during the war or the Purple Heart he earned. He has never even told me what role he played in the military.
However, in the past year or so, he has opened up about the horrible dreams of that period more than 60 years ago, waking up shaking from the vividness of the nightmares that still seemed very real, very now.
The back injuries he suffered then have been magnified by arthritis, and he is in constant agonizing pain that medications barely touch. The several years he spent abroad fighting for his country were not only the time he could have had with his bride and a new son, but became a secret part of his life has been impacted every day and every night since his young adulthood and into his waning days on earth.
Soldiers from the U.S. later fought in the Korean Conflict. As in the "Big War," many men and women came home, older than their years and never able to fully recapture the missed joys of lost youth. They served admirably, but I don't recall much ado being made over their heroism.
The unpopular Vietnam Conflict (the media seldom referred to it as a war because war was never officially declared) saw more young people being sent to a hostile land, allegedly to fight the evils of communism. The free citizens of the soldiers' own country -- the USA -- were cruel in their lack of support for the war and took their anger out on returning troops, many of whom had suffered irreparable physical injuries and mental conditions that haunted them for many years.
Far too many innocents returned in body bags. Only their families and true friends seemed to genuinely appreciate their sacrifices, and the ghosts are still there for many of them.
Trained and untrained soldiers, including National Guardsmen from around the country, endured the hardships of preparing for and fighting in the short-lived Gulf War in the early 1990s after Iraq invaded oil-rich Kuwait. They returned to the U.S. as heroes, but many were angry and dissatisfied, believing that the mission had not truly been accomplished. What had been won? Dictator Saddam Hussein was not harmed and his government continued to operate, with only some sanctions placed against them to slap their wrists. They likely have their nightmares, too.
About 10 years later, a new normal became part of a young millennium when the unbelievable happened: Jetliners hijacked by terrorists slammed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, another was purposely crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, while a third went down in a field in Pennsylvania, never reaching its unknown intended target.
Sept. 11, 2001, was to become the day that changed the U.S. and the world, and security could no longer be taken for granted.
Our troops were sent into battle in Afghanistan to retaliate against the mastermind of the attacks, Osama bin Laden, and his followers. Soldiers are still there and, despite a major victory of sorts, many of our troops are still being maimed or killed as the search for the elusive bin Laden continues four years later.
For reasons the general public has yet to truly know, 130,000 of our military men and women were later transported to Iraq, where the mission to liberate that country of Dictator Saddam Hussein's rule was declared accomplished only months after the battle against an apparently inept army appeared to be won. However, terrorists who were not in Iraq joined a growing insurgency that opposed Americans' presence, and members of our armed forces are still being killed or wounded on an almost daily basis. The war is not yet done, and no one knows when or if the mission will indeed be accomplished or how many of our brave young people will be lost before it is over.
A survey of troops returning from the Iraq war found that 50 percent had developed mental health problems three to four months after coming home, the Army's surgeon general said in a recent Associated Press report.
The problems include anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and an inability to concentrate, according to Lt. Gen Kevin Kiley and other military medical officials. A smaller group, usually with more severe cases of those symptoms, is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Anyone who has not been in combat cannot comprehend the horrors these men and women have endured or, for that matter, the nitty-gritty experiences of those who have been in any war. Our minds don't share what lives in theirs.
It is not unpatriotic to oppose the war in Iraq, because Americans were misled as to why our troops had to go there.
It is unpatriotic not to support the men and women who are doing their assigned jobs with a constant risk of death, dismemberment or lifelong mental anguish. These are men and women of all races, colors and creeds who are heroes, giving of themselves so that the U.S. might enjoy what freedoms we have left.
It is unpatriotic to discriminate against the veterans of the Vietnam Conflict. They are human beings who were doing their jobs for the military as you do your job every day. They were and are heroes who have sacrificed parts of their lives -- including their physical and emotional well-being -- for you and me.
It is unpatriotic to overlook those who fought in Korea. They suffered for us while we enjoyed the much-proclaimed innocence and blissful freedoms of the post-World War II era.
It is unpatriotic to forget the rapidly dying breed of World War II veterans who gave their all, fighting in countries abroad to keep their loved ones back home safe from the ravages of conflict.
How long has it been since you said "thank you" to a veteran of any war?
In doing so, you could be doing your patriotic duty without any extreme effort on your part.
Thank the individual with sincerity, and perhaps you will impact a life by making that person a little happier, knowing that he or she is appreciated for their sacrifice about which we may think only briefly when Veterans Day, Memorial Day or the Fourth of July come around.
As in my Dad's case, you may be the only person from whom the man or woman who served for you has ever heard any words of thanks.
Don't restrict the thought to one or two days a year. Whenever the opportunity arises, let a veteran of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or any other conflict know that the job they did then or are doing now has not been in vain.
To my heroes, Dad and everyone who has served in the military in any capacity, and especially those who have endured the battlefields of the world, I salute you and say: "Thanks for serving our country and doing your part to keep me -- us -- free."
(c) 2005, Toney Atkins
Monday, October 12, 2009
SEPTEMBER FLOODS IN GEORGIA
Dear Mr. Atkins:
As you know, Georgia has experienced severe storms, massive flooding, and record rainfall in recent weeks. Many Georgians have lost everything they own during already-tough economic times. Upon receiving reports of the flooding, Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency and requested a federal disaster declaration from President Obama.
Please accept my apology if you have received duplicate emails. In an effort to provide you this information in a timely manner, I have sent this to each record I have for you. I regret any inconvenience this may cause you.
On September 24, President Obama issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Georgia, triggering the release of federal funds to help individuals recover from the severe storms and flooding. At this time, the counties of Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens, and Walker have been designated for Individual Assistance. Funding for individuals is available in the form of temporary housing, home repairs, and other serious disaster-related expenses.
In addition, Public Assistance is available to local governments and nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities. Currently, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Crawford, Dawson, DeKalb, Dooly, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Houston, Newton, Paulding, Peach, Rockdale, Stephens, Taylor, and Walker counties are eligible for this type of assistance. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration will also be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance. Finally, all counties in Georgia are eligible to apply for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
If you are in need of assistance and live in one of the designated counties, please apply as soon as possible by registering online at www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing and speech impaired. Additional information, including locations of Disaster Recovery Centers, can be found at the Georgia Emergency Management Agency's website at www.gema.ga.gov or by calling (404) 635-7000.
I remain concerned about the families and communities displaced by the flooding. I recently toured the distressed areas with Vice President Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Fugate, and am encouraged with the ongoing recovery efforts. I have spoken directly with local officials in the declared areas to offer my assistance. I have also sent a letter to President Obama encouraging his administration to provide relief to those affected as expeditiously as possible.
If I may be of any assistance, please contact my Macon office at 1-800-234-4208 or visit my website http://chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=AssistanceForFloodDamage for the most up-to-date information on disaster response and recovery.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss
As you know, Georgia has experienced severe storms, massive flooding, and record rainfall in recent weeks. Many Georgians have lost everything they own during already-tough economic times. Upon receiving reports of the flooding, Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency and requested a federal disaster declaration from President Obama.
Please accept my apology if you have received duplicate emails. In an effort to provide you this information in a timely manner, I have sent this to each record I have for you. I regret any inconvenience this may cause you.
On September 24, President Obama issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Georgia, triggering the release of federal funds to help individuals recover from the severe storms and flooding. At this time, the counties of Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens, and Walker have been designated for Individual Assistance. Funding for individuals is available in the form of temporary housing, home repairs, and other serious disaster-related expenses.
In addition, Public Assistance is available to local governments and nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities. Currently, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Crawford, Dawson, DeKalb, Dooly, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Houston, Newton, Paulding, Peach, Rockdale, Stephens, Taylor, and Walker counties are eligible for this type of assistance. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration will also be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance. Finally, all counties in Georgia are eligible to apply for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
If you are in need of assistance and live in one of the designated counties, please apply as soon as possible by registering online at www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing and speech impaired. Additional information, including locations of Disaster Recovery Centers, can be found at the Georgia Emergency Management Agency's website at www.gema.ga.gov or by calling (404) 635-7000.
I remain concerned about the families and communities displaced by the flooding. I recently toured the distressed areas with Vice President Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Fugate, and am encouraged with the ongoing recovery efforts. I have spoken directly with local officials in the declared areas to offer my assistance. I have also sent a letter to President Obama encouraging his administration to provide relief to those affected as expeditiously as possible.
If I may be of any assistance, please contact my Macon office at 1-800-234-4208 or visit my website http://chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=AssistanceForFloodDamage for the most up-to-date information on disaster response and recovery.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss
Thursday, September 10, 2009
JESUS, CHRISTIANS AND HEALTH CARE
BY TONEY ATKINS
My patriotism to my Southern heritage has been questioned several times since I moved back to northwest Georgia. One of the biggest criticisms that I have encountered thus far has related to my observations about conservative Southern Christianity and the plight of many in our country who need good Christian examples in this day and age.
Before I continue, let me state that I have been a Christian, although not always a "good" one, since the mid-1960s. I became a believer after listening to the passionate preachings of the late Rev. Edwin Smith, who pastored an Assembly of God church near Chickamauga, GA. The teachings of Jesus became very important in my life, and ever since those days of active participation in the church, I still relate far more to the gospels than I do the historical, yet meaningful, teachings in the Old Testament, which were prophetic as to the coming of a Savior.
I always felt comfortable in any denominational church when Christ was at the center of the spiritual education. When the preachings were even subtly political in nature and not related to the alleged goal of salvation of souls, I became disturbed or, at least, uncomfortable. There were many lessons to be learned from the entire Bible, but the words of Jesus and his history in the New Testament resonated the most with me.
Although I became less active in the church community in the early 1970s, I never forgot those wonderful, Bible-believing genuine Christian people who were in that church to guide me in my early days and to be a friend as several years went by. Christian men and women of this calibre are not the ones who frustrate me. In my older age, I'm simply more skeptical about those who praise God to high heaven inside the church building but seem to forget important spiritual precepts after the services end.
While many folks indeed follow the teachings of Jesus to the best of their abilities and even go over and beyond what is expected in Christian actions when others are in need, I find a certain disappointment in those who don't always apply the principles to make their lives and the lives of others better on this earth. I'm guilty of this, and when I see it in others, I feel even more guilty.
I've been thinking about this for a while, particularly since the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama was elected in 2008. No one expected this historic transition to be without some stumbling blocks, and a whole slew of them apparently fell in the South. Before and after Obama took office, I would get headaches listening to my Southern neighbors say that they hoped he and his policies would fail and then they would go off on tangents about how he was going to do this and how he was going to do that, with not a single bit of evidence that would prove what they spoke. Occasionally, someone will be honest and say what is really on the collective minds: "I don't like him as president because he's Black."
These particular groups admittedly got most of their news from Fox News, an alleged conservative Republican outlet which rarely has anything good to say about members of other political parties. Therefore, these good Christian folks almost too quickly latch onto a rumor or downright lie that someone passed along to them after getting it from right-wing conservatives and newsmen and cement that information into their brains, rarely listening to reason when something is absolutely absurd.
Such has been the case with many of the positive actions President Obama has tried to take -- actions which stand a chance of helping millions of people. I have never heard such ignorance, foolishness and outright lies from some religious folk about the proposed, controversial health care plan. The Republican Party fuels their flames with misinformation and fear tactics -- actions which can only be defined as non-Christian. I'll be honest: This type of environment makes me want to scream.
Fortunately for my sanity, I came across a piece on the www.CommonDreams.org web site that sent my hands and arms into the air to praise the Lord. In a transcript of a speech that the Rev. Jim Rigby, pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, delivered before a crowd of 2,000, titled "Why is Universal Health Care 'Un-American'?"
He wondered why anyone else there believed the topic was really controversial.
"Here's one way to frame such a discussion," he began. "If an infant is born to poor parents, would we be more ethical to give medicine to that child so he or she does not die prematurely of preventable diseases, or would we be more ethical if we let the child die screaming in his or her parent's arms so we can keep more of our money?
"Or, let's say someone who worked for Enron, and now is penniless, contracted bone cancer. I've been asked to discuss whether we are more ethical if we provide such people medicine that lessens their pain. Or would we be more ethical to let them scream through the night in unbearable agony so we can pay lower taxes?"
Rev. Rigby then asserted, "I can't believe I am standing today in a Christian church defending the proposition that we should lessen the suffering of those who cannot afford health care in an economic system that often treats the poor as prey for the rich. I cannot believe there are Christians around this nation who are shouting that message down and waving guns in the air because they don't want to hear it. But I learned a long time ago that churches are strange places; charity is fine, but speaking of justice is heresy in many churches."
He pointed out that the late Brazilian bishop Dom Hélder Câmara said it well: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist."
"Too often today in the United States, if you talk about helping the poor, they call you Christian, but if you actually try to do something to help the poor, they call you a socialist," the reverend said.
He asked the crowd: "How many of you get really excited about tweaking the insurance system so we just get robbed a little less? (silence) How many of you want universal health care? (sustained applause) I realize that insurance reform is all that's on the table right now, and it can be important to choose the lesser of evils when that alone is within our power in the moment. But we also need to remember our dream. I believe the American dream is not about material success, not about being having the strongest military. The American dream is that every person might have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Rigby went on to say: "It's amazing to hear Christians who talk about the right to life as though it ends at birth. They believe every egg has a right to hatch, but as soon as you're born, it's dog eat dog. We may disagree on when life begins, but if the right to life means anything it means that every person (anyone who has finished the gestation period) has a right to life. And if there is a right to life there must be a right to the necessities of life. Like health care. I believe the American dream is not about property rights, but human rights."
"Supporting universal health care does not make you socialist or even a liberal, it makes you a human being. And it makes you an ambassador for the American dream which, in the mind of Thomas Paine, was a dream for every human being, not just Americans," Rigby concluded. "As we struggle to get health care to all people, we may have to settle for the lesser of two evils, but remember your dream -- the true American dream, a human dream. Whatever we win through reform is just first step toward a day when every human being has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Right on, Rev. Rigby. The president's plan, as delivered in a major speech before lawmakers in Washington, DC, was to the point, and many uninsured Americans, Christian and non-Christian, are beginning to get the message. Obama pointed out the falsehoods of much of the misinformation that's been propagated, and amid all the confusion, it would do everyone good to find the speech online and read every word.
This brings me back to personal issues I addressed earlier: What would Jesus do? He healed body and spirit; He made the blind to see, and neither of these people had insurance. He left a lot of messages about our relationships with our neighbors and other things that He wanted to see carried on. Are we helping others when they are down and out? What do we do to help them when they are sick and can't work or go to school? Are we unselfishly Christ-like enough to care that far too many can't afford to buy an insurance policy and would be financially ruined if they became terribly ill?
I urge readers to get the facts about the proposed health care legislation from reliable sources and to not fall for the scare tactics that are being bandied about. We need health care coverage for all, not for just the fortunate folks who can afford it.
-- The Rev. Jim Rigby, used as a source in this story, is pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin. He can be reached at jrigby0000@aol.com.
My patriotism to my Southern heritage has been questioned several times since I moved back to northwest Georgia. One of the biggest criticisms that I have encountered thus far has related to my observations about conservative Southern Christianity and the plight of many in our country who need good Christian examples in this day and age.
Before I continue, let me state that I have been a Christian, although not always a "good" one, since the mid-1960s. I became a believer after listening to the passionate preachings of the late Rev. Edwin Smith, who pastored an Assembly of God church near Chickamauga, GA. The teachings of Jesus became very important in my life, and ever since those days of active participation in the church, I still relate far more to the gospels than I do the historical, yet meaningful, teachings in the Old Testament, which were prophetic as to the coming of a Savior.
I always felt comfortable in any denominational church when Christ was at the center of the spiritual education. When the preachings were even subtly political in nature and not related to the alleged goal of salvation of souls, I became disturbed or, at least, uncomfortable. There were many lessons to be learned from the entire Bible, but the words of Jesus and his history in the New Testament resonated the most with me.
Although I became less active in the church community in the early 1970s, I never forgot those wonderful, Bible-believing genuine Christian people who were in that church to guide me in my early days and to be a friend as several years went by. Christian men and women of this calibre are not the ones who frustrate me. In my older age, I'm simply more skeptical about those who praise God to high heaven inside the church building but seem to forget important spiritual precepts after the services end.
While many folks indeed follow the teachings of Jesus to the best of their abilities and even go over and beyond what is expected in Christian actions when others are in need, I find a certain disappointment in those who don't always apply the principles to make their lives and the lives of others better on this earth. I'm guilty of this, and when I see it in others, I feel even more guilty.
I've been thinking about this for a while, particularly since the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama was elected in 2008. No one expected this historic transition to be without some stumbling blocks, and a whole slew of them apparently fell in the South. Before and after Obama took office, I would get headaches listening to my Southern neighbors say that they hoped he and his policies would fail and then they would go off on tangents about how he was going to do this and how he was going to do that, with not a single bit of evidence that would prove what they spoke. Occasionally, someone will be honest and say what is really on the collective minds: "I don't like him as president because he's Black."
These particular groups admittedly got most of their news from Fox News, an alleged conservative Republican outlet which rarely has anything good to say about members of other political parties. Therefore, these good Christian folks almost too quickly latch onto a rumor or downright lie that someone passed along to them after getting it from right-wing conservatives and newsmen and cement that information into their brains, rarely listening to reason when something is absolutely absurd.
Such has been the case with many of the positive actions President Obama has tried to take -- actions which stand a chance of helping millions of people. I have never heard such ignorance, foolishness and outright lies from some religious folk about the proposed, controversial health care plan. The Republican Party fuels their flames with misinformation and fear tactics -- actions which can only be defined as non-Christian. I'll be honest: This type of environment makes me want to scream.
Fortunately for my sanity, I came across a piece on the www.CommonDreams.org web site that sent my hands and arms into the air to praise the Lord. In a transcript of a speech that the Rev. Jim Rigby, pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, delivered before a crowd of 2,000, titled "Why is Universal Health Care 'Un-American'?"
He wondered why anyone else there believed the topic was really controversial.
"Here's one way to frame such a discussion," he began. "If an infant is born to poor parents, would we be more ethical to give medicine to that child so he or she does not die prematurely of preventable diseases, or would we be more ethical if we let the child die screaming in his or her parent's arms so we can keep more of our money?
"Or, let's say someone who worked for Enron, and now is penniless, contracted bone cancer. I've been asked to discuss whether we are more ethical if we provide such people medicine that lessens their pain. Or would we be more ethical to let them scream through the night in unbearable agony so we can pay lower taxes?"
Rev. Rigby then asserted, "I can't believe I am standing today in a Christian church defending the proposition that we should lessen the suffering of those who cannot afford health care in an economic system that often treats the poor as prey for the rich. I cannot believe there are Christians around this nation who are shouting that message down and waving guns in the air because they don't want to hear it. But I learned a long time ago that churches are strange places; charity is fine, but speaking of justice is heresy in many churches."
He pointed out that the late Brazilian bishop Dom Hélder Câmara said it well: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist."
"Too often today in the United States, if you talk about helping the poor, they call you Christian, but if you actually try to do something to help the poor, they call you a socialist," the reverend said.
He asked the crowd: "How many of you get really excited about tweaking the insurance system so we just get robbed a little less? (silence) How many of you want universal health care? (sustained applause) I realize that insurance reform is all that's on the table right now, and it can be important to choose the lesser of evils when that alone is within our power in the moment. But we also need to remember our dream. I believe the American dream is not about material success, not about being having the strongest military. The American dream is that every person might have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Rigby went on to say: "It's amazing to hear Christians who talk about the right to life as though it ends at birth. They believe every egg has a right to hatch, but as soon as you're born, it's dog eat dog. We may disagree on when life begins, but if the right to life means anything it means that every person (anyone who has finished the gestation period) has a right to life. And if there is a right to life there must be a right to the necessities of life. Like health care. I believe the American dream is not about property rights, but human rights."
"Supporting universal health care does not make you socialist or even a liberal, it makes you a human being. And it makes you an ambassador for the American dream which, in the mind of Thomas Paine, was a dream for every human being, not just Americans," Rigby concluded. "As we struggle to get health care to all people, we may have to settle for the lesser of two evils, but remember your dream -- the true American dream, a human dream. Whatever we win through reform is just first step toward a day when every human being has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Right on, Rev. Rigby. The president's plan, as delivered in a major speech before lawmakers in Washington, DC, was to the point, and many uninsured Americans, Christian and non-Christian, are beginning to get the message. Obama pointed out the falsehoods of much of the misinformation that's been propagated, and amid all the confusion, it would do everyone good to find the speech online and read every word.
This brings me back to personal issues I addressed earlier: What would Jesus do? He healed body and spirit; He made the blind to see, and neither of these people had insurance. He left a lot of messages about our relationships with our neighbors and other things that He wanted to see carried on. Are we helping others when they are down and out? What do we do to help them when they are sick and can't work or go to school? Are we unselfishly Christ-like enough to care that far too many can't afford to buy an insurance policy and would be financially ruined if they became terribly ill?
I urge readers to get the facts about the proposed health care legislation from reliable sources and to not fall for the scare tactics that are being bandied about. We need health care coverage for all, not for just the fortunate folks who can afford it.
-- The Rev. Jim Rigby, used as a source in this story, is pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin. He can be reached at jrigby0000@aol.com.
HAVE REPUBLICANS LOST THEIR MINDS?
BY TONEY ATKINS
Instead of acting like candidates for an insane asylum, why don't Republican conservatives just come out and tell the truth? They're angry because they lost their power in 2008. Barrack Obama was elected president of the United States and birthers, deathers and the rest of the oddballs are particularly mad because they cannot handle the reality of having a Black man in that position.
The latest silliness (at least, as of this writing) has to do with the president speaking via television to the nation's students this past Tuesday. Psycho-babble "news" outlets such as Fox News, essentially an arm of the Republican Party, were practically gushing with encouragements for parents to keep their children out of school to avoid Obama "propaganda." I do not recall such outrageousness happening when presidents such as George Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan (both Republicans, mind you) made essentially the same kind of speeches to kids during their administrations.
This writer has literally lost friends of the Republican persuasion because he openly has called the whole right-wing stupidity, ignorance and arrogance exactly what it is -- stupidity, ignorance, arrogance and blatant racism.
The atmosphere of hate and irrational fear in this country is reaching levels that some folks don't even recall seeing and feeling during the Civil Rights Era, and they are probably right.
It is downright scary to know that many people actually believe all of the fear-mongering and misinformation that has spread since Obama became a candidate for the presidency and particularly after he won the office.
Taking notes on napkins and scraps of paper at diners and other establishments in northwest Georgia near Chattanooga, TN, I still shake my head in disbelief at what people say about the president of the United States. If I had implied such insanities during the Bush Administration, I would have been called unpatriotic and a son of Satan.
Personally, I see the right-wingers and Republicans as exemplifying the Anti-Christ with their perpetuation of sinful lies and attacks, verbal so far, yet bordering on frightening encouragements of intimidation and assassination. However, they claim to be so holy and say that they are the truth-mongers.
To these folks, I say: Grow up. Obama didn't steal your lunch money and he hasn't done a single thing to bully or hurt you. Accept it. He is Black and that shouldn't matter. Barring any catastrophe that might even be brought on by U.S. Republicans who seem to desire such, Obama will be president at least until 2012 (the year that the Mayan calendar predicts the world will end anyway).
Right-wingers: Please stop being hypocritical Christians who leave your religion inside the church walls and become anti-Christians in public. You are influencing people who might not be aware of your untruths, especially when you are spreading everything you hear on Fox News as gospel.
Interviewing about 20 people in various locations in northwest Georgia, including the mobile home park in which I live, I have been stunned to learn that most of them get all their national news from Fox News and from the relatively conservative local news media operatives who carefully choose their sound-bites so as not to offend the sensitive mind-sets of many in their mid-South audiences and who even to continue the stream of misinformation rather than attempting to stop and correct it.
As has been reported on a national level, many don't want the government involved in health care but, as one elderly woman told me, "don't screw with my damn Social Security and Medicare." She had no reply, just an angry expression of distaste, when it was pointed out to her that the latter programs are handled by the federal government. She believes the falsehood that the proposed health care legislation has a section that would control the deaths of old people. She was not the only one who was full of misinformation who, when asked where they got their information, almost to a person said they "heard it on TV."
Some of these "proud Americans" even went so far as to say they hoped Obama would be assassinated. One even said he prays daily that such will happen. One man said it made sense to him that Republicans were taking guns to Democratic Party lawmakers' health care town halls, even though the meetings had nothing to do with misconceptions about imagined gun control threats. Many still believe the long-disproved argument that Obama was not born in the U.S. (Hawaii was and still is a state.) These folks unashamedly want Obama to fail.
And like crazies on television, some of those with whom I've talked or that I've simply overheard have compared Obama to Hitler and have described his plans for the country as socialism and Nazi-ism. None of those who were interviewed or simply questioned about their beliefs could provide facts to support them.
One of my trailer park neighbors noted that he is a Democrat, but he couldn't bring himself to vote for Obama or even support him today because, and I quote, "I have to uphold my Southern heritage. It's not right for a n----- to be president of the United States."
See? It all boils down to Obama's Blackness.
While I know many Christians who are deeply sincere in their faith, I am quite disappointed in some fundamentalist churches in the South. Some don't even focus on the teachings of Christ any more but instead spread the propaganda of politics in the name of God. I often imagine that Jesus might get up and walk out of a service in disgust, although I realize He is above that.
"Family values" also seem to have changed in the right-wing community. It appears to be okay if they do something questionable, even "sinful," but not all right when persons who are Democrats or Independents commit essentially the same acts. They impeached President Clinton because he lied about sexual indiscretions, but the "family values" folks are more than willing to forgive a Republican governor cheated on his wife with someone he called his "true love" in South America, and no major fuss has ever been raised about a Republican lawmaker who allegedly tried to initiate homosexual bathroom sex at a major airport. He is still in office.
I've given up on trying to widen the narrow minds of my right-wing Republican friends. They are set in their ways. They believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong. They look down on those who do not agree with them. They are racist, although they deny it. They definitely want the Democratic president to fail, yet they call themselves patriots.
Obama is obviously Black -- an intelligent and qualified Black man who won the presidency legitimately. He has a wonderful family, and he appears to be a good husband and father. Leading a country filled with the craziness that is blocking the needed attention to the important issues must be difficult.
I would like to believe that all Americans have the capability to act as though we have entered the 21st century, especially since we're already nine years into it. Unfortunately, with the prevailing insanity and fear, I fear that our great nation is going backward instead of forward. We can only pray that more citizens will work to reverse the tide, spreading love and peace and overwhelming the cancer of hate, dishonesty and distrust.
-- Toney Atkins is a former assistant editor of the Daytona Times in Daytona Beach, FL, and a former contributor to the Florida Courier. His web site is www.toneyatkins.com. This commentary appeared in the Sept. 10, 2009, issue (www.flcourier.com/). The opinions stated here do not necessarily reflect those of the staff and management of those newspapers.
Instead of acting like candidates for an insane asylum, why don't Republican conservatives just come out and tell the truth? They're angry because they lost their power in 2008. Barrack Obama was elected president of the United States and birthers, deathers and the rest of the oddballs are particularly mad because they cannot handle the reality of having a Black man in that position.
The latest silliness (at least, as of this writing) has to do with the president speaking via television to the nation's students this past Tuesday. Psycho-babble "news" outlets such as Fox News, essentially an arm of the Republican Party, were practically gushing with encouragements for parents to keep their children out of school to avoid Obama "propaganda." I do not recall such outrageousness happening when presidents such as George Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan (both Republicans, mind you) made essentially the same kind of speeches to kids during their administrations.
This writer has literally lost friends of the Republican persuasion because he openly has called the whole right-wing stupidity, ignorance and arrogance exactly what it is -- stupidity, ignorance, arrogance and blatant racism.
The atmosphere of hate and irrational fear in this country is reaching levels that some folks don't even recall seeing and feeling during the Civil Rights Era, and they are probably right.
It is downright scary to know that many people actually believe all of the fear-mongering and misinformation that has spread since Obama became a candidate for the presidency and particularly after he won the office.
Taking notes on napkins and scraps of paper at diners and other establishments in northwest Georgia near Chattanooga, TN, I still shake my head in disbelief at what people say about the president of the United States. If I had implied such insanities during the Bush Administration, I would have been called unpatriotic and a son of Satan.
Personally, I see the right-wingers and Republicans as exemplifying the Anti-Christ with their perpetuation of sinful lies and attacks, verbal so far, yet bordering on frightening encouragements of intimidation and assassination. However, they claim to be so holy and say that they are the truth-mongers.
To these folks, I say: Grow up. Obama didn't steal your lunch money and he hasn't done a single thing to bully or hurt you. Accept it. He is Black and that shouldn't matter. Barring any catastrophe that might even be brought on by U.S. Republicans who seem to desire such, Obama will be president at least until 2012 (the year that the Mayan calendar predicts the world will end anyway).
Right-wingers: Please stop being hypocritical Christians who leave your religion inside the church walls and become anti-Christians in public. You are influencing people who might not be aware of your untruths, especially when you are spreading everything you hear on Fox News as gospel.
Interviewing about 20 people in various locations in northwest Georgia, including the mobile home park in which I live, I have been stunned to learn that most of them get all their national news from Fox News and from the relatively conservative local news media operatives who carefully choose their sound-bites so as not to offend the sensitive mind-sets of many in their mid-South audiences and who even to continue the stream of misinformation rather than attempting to stop and correct it.
As has been reported on a national level, many don't want the government involved in health care but, as one elderly woman told me, "don't screw with my damn Social Security and Medicare." She had no reply, just an angry expression of distaste, when it was pointed out to her that the latter programs are handled by the federal government. She believes the falsehood that the proposed health care legislation has a section that would control the deaths of old people. She was not the only one who was full of misinformation who, when asked where they got their information, almost to a person said they "heard it on TV."
Some of these "proud Americans" even went so far as to say they hoped Obama would be assassinated. One even said he prays daily that such will happen. One man said it made sense to him that Republicans were taking guns to Democratic Party lawmakers' health care town halls, even though the meetings had nothing to do with misconceptions about imagined gun control threats. Many still believe the long-disproved argument that Obama was not born in the U.S. (Hawaii was and still is a state.) These folks unashamedly want Obama to fail.
And like crazies on television, some of those with whom I've talked or that I've simply overheard have compared Obama to Hitler and have described his plans for the country as socialism and Nazi-ism. None of those who were interviewed or simply questioned about their beliefs could provide facts to support them.
One of my trailer park neighbors noted that he is a Democrat, but he couldn't bring himself to vote for Obama or even support him today because, and I quote, "I have to uphold my Southern heritage. It's not right for a n----- to be president of the United States."
See? It all boils down to Obama's Blackness.
While I know many Christians who are deeply sincere in their faith, I am quite disappointed in some fundamentalist churches in the South. Some don't even focus on the teachings of Christ any more but instead spread the propaganda of politics in the name of God. I often imagine that Jesus might get up and walk out of a service in disgust, although I realize He is above that.
"Family values" also seem to have changed in the right-wing community. It appears to be okay if they do something questionable, even "sinful," but not all right when persons who are Democrats or Independents commit essentially the same acts. They impeached President Clinton because he lied about sexual indiscretions, but the "family values" folks are more than willing to forgive a Republican governor cheated on his wife with someone he called his "true love" in South America, and no major fuss has ever been raised about a Republican lawmaker who allegedly tried to initiate homosexual bathroom sex at a major airport. He is still in office.
I've given up on trying to widen the narrow minds of my right-wing Republican friends. They are set in their ways. They believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong. They look down on those who do not agree with them. They are racist, although they deny it. They definitely want the Democratic president to fail, yet they call themselves patriots.
Obama is obviously Black -- an intelligent and qualified Black man who won the presidency legitimately. He has a wonderful family, and he appears to be a good husband and father. Leading a country filled with the craziness that is blocking the needed attention to the important issues must be difficult.
I would like to believe that all Americans have the capability to act as though we have entered the 21st century, especially since we're already nine years into it. Unfortunately, with the prevailing insanity and fear, I fear that our great nation is going backward instead of forward. We can only pray that more citizens will work to reverse the tide, spreading love and peace and overwhelming the cancer of hate, dishonesty and distrust.
-- Toney Atkins is a former assistant editor of the Daytona Times in Daytona Beach, FL, and a former contributor to the Florida Courier. His web site is www.toneyatkins.com. This commentary appeared in the Sept. 10, 2009, issue (www.flcourier.com/). The opinions stated here do not necessarily reflect those of the staff and management of those newspapers.
SEPTEMBER 11 EVOKES MEMORIES OF TERROR
BY TONEY ATKINS
The approach of the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, finds me fighting a disturbing depression and unpleasant feelings of dread that the United States could be facing yet another devastating attack by our enemies.
Equally disturbing is the fact that some ultra-fanatic right-wingers in this country, including a few people who currently hold political power, have publicly asserted that another terrorist attack on America is needed to "prove" that the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama, and the Democratic Party are not capable of protecting the country. That, of course, outrageously pushes to an extreme limit the desire of many to see the administration fail. Can anyone who remembers that day so vividly be so cold as to want, for political reasons, to experience the horrors of the potential destruction and deaths of possibly thousands of American citizens?
In their wildest imaginings, few ordinary citizens awoke that bright Tuesday morning in 2001 expecting the day to evolve into horror and bloody death on their own soil. Terrorist attacks occurred in other countries, but who would dare bring such villainous acts to the invincible powerhouse of the U.S.? It was unthinkable.
I had tuned the television to ABC's "Good Morning America" before sleepily approaching the shower to prepare for what I expected to be an ordinary day at the Daytona Times newspaper in Daytona Beach, FL. Running a little bit late, as usual, I was toweling myself dry when I noticed the bewildered expressions on the faces of the host and hostess of the news program. They were talking about the possibility that a small plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A camera showed the smoke pouring from the upper section of the tower. It appeared to be a horrible accident. As a graphic indicating "Breaking News" appeared on the screen, Peter Jennings began his report about what was known at that point.
As I drove down Orange Avenue, listening to a morning talk show broadcasting from New York, the host and one of his co-hosts were excited and not speaking in normal tones. Someone shouted that another plane had crashed into the second tower. It was becoming clear that these were passenger jetliners and that these occurrences were not accidental. A chill went up and down my journalistic spine and I broke the speed limit in getting to the newspaper.
At that time, the Internet was available only to the editor in charge, and I was only a reporter. When the editor went upstairs to consult with Managing Editor Charles W. Cherry Sr., I rushed to his computer, where his assistant was working, and reached over his shoulder to sign on to America Online's news page. What I saw stunned me and brought forth epithets that shocked the assistant, who was not completely aware of the tragedy-in-progress, into gales of laughter which literally had him rolling on the floor. The Pentagon had just been struck by a third plane. The publishable text of my comment to the young man was, "We're at war!"
WPUL-AM radio, the city's Black station, would ordinarily be broadcasting gospel music delivered by satellite, but the music had been replaced by the continually breaking news, including that of the crash of a fourth passenger jet into a Pennsylvania field. It was now known that the planes had been hijacked in some devious plan to wreak havoc, and that plan was succeeding. The whereabouts of President George W. Bush, who had assumed office earlier that year and who was visiting an elementary school in Florida at the time, was not known until later in the morning when he addressed a terrified nation. Adding to the ongoing living nightmare, the World Trade Center buildings dramatically collapsed into rubble as residents raced away.
I was extremely frustrated because our office had no TV and I had no consistent access to the Internet. Telephone systems were overwhelmed, so I could not contact my father, a World War II veteran who lived in northwest Georgia. He suffered from health problems, and I was concerned as to how he might be reacting to the event.
The assistant editor, who was in charge of laying out the pages of the paper, particularly the all-important front page, approached me and asked how I thought we should handle the developing crisis, pointing out that we were a Black-oriented newspaper that primarily covered issues affecting only the Black community. My reply might have sounded inconsiderate, but I practically shouted that Black people most likely were among the dead and dying and that what was happening was historic, impacting everyone. I urged a front page, lead story but, respecting his position, left it up to him. (He would organize an excellent front page for our weekly newspaper that rivaled those of area dailies.)
Getting out of the office, I found that traffic was lighter than usual, but I was determined to get local reaction in person instead of in phone calls. A young Black female employee in the photo department of what was then Eckerd Drugs on Ridgewood Avenue was fighting back tears. She told me that she was concerned about her future mother-in-law who worked in the vicinity of what was to become known as Ground Zero of the New York attacks. Her fiancee had not been able to reach his mother, and they feared the worst. The young woman said her mind could not comprehend what was going on. (Several days later, she gave me the good news that her mother-in-law-to-be was safe.)
Outside, a man who was listening to a news broadcast on his car radio was equally concerned, his face lined with disbelief. He was concerned about his father, who didn't live in New York City but who live in New York state and occasionally went into the metropolis. He couldn't get through to his dad, and he was worried.
Reactions were similar at several other locations as I made my way back to the newspaper. At an ATM, an elderly Black man said his bank had closed and he wanted to withdraw his money, because he was afraid of what might happen next.
All commercial air travel was grounded, not to be resumed for several days. Eerie feelings that I was experiencing were compounded by the sounds of military jets which occasionally seemed to scream very low over our building throughout the day. The unknown, the unexpected had come to our land, and many of us knew that our lives were changed forever.
During my lunch break, I got my first look at televised live pictures of the smoke and debris billowing from a surrealistic view of the skyline of New York City. My phone call to Georgia finally went through, and my dad was okay. He had gone to the home of a friend to watch the scenes of devastation unfold on CNN.
Officials determined that the hijackings were instigated by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. In October, we were officially at war in that country -- a war that continues in 2009. Bin Laden remains at large eight years later, and no end is in sight for the allies' war against al Quaeda. (Bush would later erroneously tie Iraq to the attacks and initiated a war in that country.)
Amid the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center and the damaged sections of the Pentagon were the casualties -- heroic firemen and police officers, ordinary citizens who had not known they were going to work in the buildings for the last time, the bodies of those people who had jumped from many floors up rather than die in flames or from suffocation before the structures collapsed. Final death statistics, including the passengers who had overcome the hijackers over Pennsylvania, approached 3,000.
The nation mourned. There were memorial services around the U.S., including one in Daytona Beach. Many days would follow before a degree of normalcy would return to our country. For some, feelings of real security ended on that terrible September day.
Although pushed by many into the deeper recesses of their minds so as not to let fear overcome their lives, most Americans still remember what is mostly referred to as 9/11. Some have told me that they don't like to bring those horrible memories back to the surface, although that's difficult to avoid as the anniversary nears and fleeting, fearful thoughts rush through: Will it happen again?
Those politicians and regular citizens who have remarked that another 9/11 is needed to "bring back our country" (bring it back to what?) need to see the images captured by the cameras and included in documentaries on the History and National Geographic television channels and on DVD to remind them of the horrors of that single day. They need to be shamed and chastised by the Americans who respect life and care about the future of our country. Their destructive approach to patriotism should be questioned, along with their questionable sanity.
We must never forget the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fragility of life. All could end as early as today. Meanwhile, each of us can work to restore peace within our own borders in order to be stronger against any evil that might threaten us, working toward a better world that could be free or hatred, fear and war.
The approach of the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, finds me fighting a disturbing depression and unpleasant feelings of dread that the United States could be facing yet another devastating attack by our enemies.
Equally disturbing is the fact that some ultra-fanatic right-wingers in this country, including a few people who currently hold political power, have publicly asserted that another terrorist attack on America is needed to "prove" that the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama, and the Democratic Party are not capable of protecting the country. That, of course, outrageously pushes to an extreme limit the desire of many to see the administration fail. Can anyone who remembers that day so vividly be so cold as to want, for political reasons, to experience the horrors of the potential destruction and deaths of possibly thousands of American citizens?
In their wildest imaginings, few ordinary citizens awoke that bright Tuesday morning in 2001 expecting the day to evolve into horror and bloody death on their own soil. Terrorist attacks occurred in other countries, but who would dare bring such villainous acts to the invincible powerhouse of the U.S.? It was unthinkable.
I had tuned the television to ABC's "Good Morning America" before sleepily approaching the shower to prepare for what I expected to be an ordinary day at the Daytona Times newspaper in Daytona Beach, FL. Running a little bit late, as usual, I was toweling myself dry when I noticed the bewildered expressions on the faces of the host and hostess of the news program. They were talking about the possibility that a small plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A camera showed the smoke pouring from the upper section of the tower. It appeared to be a horrible accident. As a graphic indicating "Breaking News" appeared on the screen, Peter Jennings began his report about what was known at that point.
As I drove down Orange Avenue, listening to a morning talk show broadcasting from New York, the host and one of his co-hosts were excited and not speaking in normal tones. Someone shouted that another plane had crashed into the second tower. It was becoming clear that these were passenger jetliners and that these occurrences were not accidental. A chill went up and down my journalistic spine and I broke the speed limit in getting to the newspaper.
At that time, the Internet was available only to the editor in charge, and I was only a reporter. When the editor went upstairs to consult with Managing Editor Charles W. Cherry Sr., I rushed to his computer, where his assistant was working, and reached over his shoulder to sign on to America Online's news page. What I saw stunned me and brought forth epithets that shocked the assistant, who was not completely aware of the tragedy-in-progress, into gales of laughter which literally had him rolling on the floor. The Pentagon had just been struck by a third plane. The publishable text of my comment to the young man was, "We're at war!"
WPUL-AM radio, the city's Black station, would ordinarily be broadcasting gospel music delivered by satellite, but the music had been replaced by the continually breaking news, including that of the crash of a fourth passenger jet into a Pennsylvania field. It was now known that the planes had been hijacked in some devious plan to wreak havoc, and that plan was succeeding. The whereabouts of President George W. Bush, who had assumed office earlier that year and who was visiting an elementary school in Florida at the time, was not known until later in the morning when he addressed a terrified nation. Adding to the ongoing living nightmare, the World Trade Center buildings dramatically collapsed into rubble as residents raced away.
I was extremely frustrated because our office had no TV and I had no consistent access to the Internet. Telephone systems were overwhelmed, so I could not contact my father, a World War II veteran who lived in northwest Georgia. He suffered from health problems, and I was concerned as to how he might be reacting to the event.
The assistant editor, who was in charge of laying out the pages of the paper, particularly the all-important front page, approached me and asked how I thought we should handle the developing crisis, pointing out that we were a Black-oriented newspaper that primarily covered issues affecting only the Black community. My reply might have sounded inconsiderate, but I practically shouted that Black people most likely were among the dead and dying and that what was happening was historic, impacting everyone. I urged a front page, lead story but, respecting his position, left it up to him. (He would organize an excellent front page for our weekly newspaper that rivaled those of area dailies.)
Getting out of the office, I found that traffic was lighter than usual, but I was determined to get local reaction in person instead of in phone calls. A young Black female employee in the photo department of what was then Eckerd Drugs on Ridgewood Avenue was fighting back tears. She told me that she was concerned about her future mother-in-law who worked in the vicinity of what was to become known as Ground Zero of the New York attacks. Her fiancee had not been able to reach his mother, and they feared the worst. The young woman said her mind could not comprehend what was going on. (Several days later, she gave me the good news that her mother-in-law-to-be was safe.)
Outside, a man who was listening to a news broadcast on his car radio was equally concerned, his face lined with disbelief. He was concerned about his father, who didn't live in New York City but who live in New York state and occasionally went into the metropolis. He couldn't get through to his dad, and he was worried.
Reactions were similar at several other locations as I made my way back to the newspaper. At an ATM, an elderly Black man said his bank had closed and he wanted to withdraw his money, because he was afraid of what might happen next.
All commercial air travel was grounded, not to be resumed for several days. Eerie feelings that I was experiencing were compounded by the sounds of military jets which occasionally seemed to scream very low over our building throughout the day. The unknown, the unexpected had come to our land, and many of us knew that our lives were changed forever.
During my lunch break, I got my first look at televised live pictures of the smoke and debris billowing from a surrealistic view of the skyline of New York City. My phone call to Georgia finally went through, and my dad was okay. He had gone to the home of a friend to watch the scenes of devastation unfold on CNN.
Officials determined that the hijackings were instigated by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. In October, we were officially at war in that country -- a war that continues in 2009. Bin Laden remains at large eight years later, and no end is in sight for the allies' war against al Quaeda. (Bush would later erroneously tie Iraq to the attacks and initiated a war in that country.)
Amid the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center and the damaged sections of the Pentagon were the casualties -- heroic firemen and police officers, ordinary citizens who had not known they were going to work in the buildings for the last time, the bodies of those people who had jumped from many floors up rather than die in flames or from suffocation before the structures collapsed. Final death statistics, including the passengers who had overcome the hijackers over Pennsylvania, approached 3,000.
The nation mourned. There were memorial services around the U.S., including one in Daytona Beach. Many days would follow before a degree of normalcy would return to our country. For some, feelings of real security ended on that terrible September day.
Although pushed by many into the deeper recesses of their minds so as not to let fear overcome their lives, most Americans still remember what is mostly referred to as 9/11. Some have told me that they don't like to bring those horrible memories back to the surface, although that's difficult to avoid as the anniversary nears and fleeting, fearful thoughts rush through: Will it happen again?
Those politicians and regular citizens who have remarked that another 9/11 is needed to "bring back our country" (bring it back to what?) need to see the images captured by the cameras and included in documentaries on the History and National Geographic television channels and on DVD to remind them of the horrors of that single day. They need to be shamed and chastised by the Americans who respect life and care about the future of our country. Their destructive approach to patriotism should be questioned, along with their questionable sanity.
We must never forget the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fragility of life. All could end as early as today. Meanwhile, each of us can work to restore peace within our own borders in order to be stronger against any evil that might threaten us, working toward a better world that could be free or hatred, fear and war.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
DID I THINK THAT?
Looking over some of the posts that I made to this blog in the past, I can't help but wonder: What was I thinking?
Was I under the influence of prescription drugs or perhaps a power beverage that somehow got into my refrigerator? It certainly wasn't alcohol-induced influenced -- well, except maybe once or twice -- because for the most part, I separated myself from that particular dependence nearly seven years ago. The writings weren't inflenced by exotic drugs, either, because I've never had a temperment for most of them.
My only conclusion is that some of the things I've written in this "blog" or even on my website were affected by where my brain was at the time. I actually am surprised at some of the entries, but I wouldn't even consider deleting them because doing so would be deletion of part of myself that was.
I can readily see the point at which I should have gotten a life, and that was long ago. I'm not getting any younger, and I need to get out among the populace beyond those who seem to live at Hardees even when I'm not there.
Don't get me wrong. These are wonderfully human Southern folks, some of whom even hold onto values that my parents tried to pound into me way back when. I sit with my Little Thickburger, onion rings and a Coke, observing the friendly 85-year-old man whose face is a road map of his travel through life and his eyes seem to be focused on a distant past, when things were better, when his wife was alive and bringing joy into his heart and his town was alive and prosperous, rather than being a dead spot between a thriving row of restaurants and shops and the big city. He keeps up on the status of the weather and baseball scores.
Then there is the man who is slightly older than I but, according to him, knows far more than I ever will. His political views are honed and cemented by Fox News, making him a wonderful source of misinformation. Behind his back, other patrons call him the "know it all" as he bluntly denounces their dietary cuisine of burgers and fries while he sips his coffee. I've long since given up on conversing with him, but I think I see beneath his tough exterior a man whose heart would lead him to help anyone in need. He is a Vietnam veteran who talks about veterans' benefits but not about the war.
There are other patrons whose names are known by the fast-food eatery's employees and all are uniquely special. I wonder if someday I'll be passing the time of my last days on earth in a place where nobody knows my name and after the hamburgers have fascinating new names if not new tastes. (I love the place!)
Yes, it's time to get myself a life and put my uniqueness on display before it's too late. Then, perhaps, my blog entries will be livelier, more positive and even thought provoking so that before I go to that great web site in the sky, I won't have to wonder why I wrote that.
Was I under the influence of prescription drugs or perhaps a power beverage that somehow got into my refrigerator? It certainly wasn't alcohol-induced influenced -- well, except maybe once or twice -- because for the most part, I separated myself from that particular dependence nearly seven years ago. The writings weren't inflenced by exotic drugs, either, because I've never had a temperment for most of them.
My only conclusion is that some of the things I've written in this "blog" or even on my website were affected by where my brain was at the time. I actually am surprised at some of the entries, but I wouldn't even consider deleting them because doing so would be deletion of part of myself that was.
I can readily see the point at which I should have gotten a life, and that was long ago. I'm not getting any younger, and I need to get out among the populace beyond those who seem to live at Hardees even when I'm not there.
Don't get me wrong. These are wonderfully human Southern folks, some of whom even hold onto values that my parents tried to pound into me way back when. I sit with my Little Thickburger, onion rings and a Coke, observing the friendly 85-year-old man whose face is a road map of his travel through life and his eyes seem to be focused on a distant past, when things were better, when his wife was alive and bringing joy into his heart and his town was alive and prosperous, rather than being a dead spot between a thriving row of restaurants and shops and the big city. He keeps up on the status of the weather and baseball scores.
Then there is the man who is slightly older than I but, according to him, knows far more than I ever will. His political views are honed and cemented by Fox News, making him a wonderful source of misinformation. Behind his back, other patrons call him the "know it all" as he bluntly denounces their dietary cuisine of burgers and fries while he sips his coffee. I've long since given up on conversing with him, but I think I see beneath his tough exterior a man whose heart would lead him to help anyone in need. He is a Vietnam veteran who talks about veterans' benefits but not about the war.
There are other patrons whose names are known by the fast-food eatery's employees and all are uniquely special. I wonder if someday I'll be passing the time of my last days on earth in a place where nobody knows my name and after the hamburgers have fascinating new names if not new tastes. (I love the place!)
Yes, it's time to get myself a life and put my uniqueness on display before it's too late. Then, perhaps, my blog entries will be livelier, more positive and even thought provoking so that before I go to that great web site in the sky, I won't have to wonder why I wrote that.
Friday, October 27, 2006
REPUBLICANS STOOP TO SLEAZE BEFORE ELECTIONS
Posted Oct. 26, 2006
Ford blasts 'vulgar'
ad in Senate bid as
GOP stoops to sleaze
BY TONEY ATKINS
For The Florida Courier
If elected Nov. 7, Tennessee Democrat Harold Ford Jr. will become the first Black senator from the South since Reconstruction, and the tight campaign battle with his White Republican opponent has become heated and fierce in the wake of a GOP television ad that many say is "shocking" and bordering on being blatantly racist.
The Senate race has grabbed national headlines since the GOP started showing the political advertisement last week.
The ad, which has been shown several times on national TV, has a hunter saying that Harold Ford wants to take his gun away. That is misleading, political observers say, pointing out that the National Rifle Association says that while it has endorsed Bob Corker, former Republican mayor of Chattanooga, the NRA really has no objection to Harold Ford and is not going to be spending any money against him.
The racial question raised by the ad shows a white woman to dramatize the charge about him attending a party that was sponsored by Playboy at the Super Bowl a few years ago.
The racial question raised by the ad shows a white woman to dramatize the charge about him attending a party that was sponsored by Playboy at the Super Bowl a few years ago.
The ad shows an unidentified White woman who says, "Harold Ford looks nice. Isn't that enough?" At the end of the ad, a White woman says seductively, "Harold, call me."
Corker claims he had nothing to do with the ad and that he and other conservative Republicans had asked the Republican National Committee to stop running it.
Corker defended himself in an interview with Wolf Blitzer Tuesday evening on CNN.
Corker defended himself in an interview with Wolf Blitzer Tuesday evening on CNN.
Corker said "These are independent expenditure groups. We want it down. We do not believe that it -- certainly does not represent our campaign. We have nothing to do with it. We believe that it's tacky and has no place in this race." He would not acknowledge whether he thought the ad was racist.
Ford said he did not know if it is intended to be racial, but "I do know it's sleazy and it's promoting smut and it's coming on during family programming time in my state. The question I have is if my opponent wants it down, he should be able to get it down. If he doesn't have the influence to convince Republicans in Washington to take a sleazy, awful, smut-pushing ad down in our state, how on earth can voters trust him to stand up for them in Tennessee to the Republicans?"
He added, "If Democrats were running an ad like this, it wouldn't be running. I can assure you. But this campaign is about something bigger. And one of the reasons that I think the National Republican Party is engaged in this kind of campaigning is they have come up short on ideas and answers. My opponent has too. When it comes to Iraq, North Korea, middle-class values, health care, education, all of the issues that are important to people, he's not been able to articulate a clear message. And I think the national party has demonstrated a great frustration."
Ford said Corker is "trying so hard to deflect attention away from front-page newspaper accounts all across our state of his mayoral time when he was mayor of Chattanooga and directed funds towards projects at his own real estate company and had great, great interest in. He's trying to deflect attention away from the fact that he has not released any of his tax returns. I think he's the only Senate candidate in the country and finally when he was in the private sector, he's only the Senate candidate in the country who has ever hired an illegal alien. He hired four of them and had his property raided by the federal government. So he, in turn, has tried to make this about something other than what's important to voters."
He added, "If Democrats were running an ad like this, it wouldn't be running. I can assure you. But this campaign is about something bigger. And one of the reasons that I think the National Republican Party is engaged in this kind of campaigning is they have come up short on ideas and answers. My opponent has too. When it comes to Iraq, North Korea, middle-class values, health care, education, all of the issues that are important to people, he's not been able to articulate a clear message. And I think the national party has demonstrated a great frustration."
Ford said Corker is "trying so hard to deflect attention away from front-page newspaper accounts all across our state of his mayoral time when he was mayor of Chattanooga and directed funds towards projects at his own real estate company and had great, great interest in. He's trying to deflect attention away from the fact that he has not released any of his tax returns. I think he's the only Senate candidate in the country and finally when he was in the private sector, he's only the Senate candidate in the country who has ever hired an illegal alien. He hired four of them and had his property raided by the federal government. So he, in turn, has tried to make this about something other than what's important to voters."
In an earlier interview, Ford said, "We've not run a Black campaign, a White campaign, a Democrat campaign or Republican campaign. We've run a campaign to move my state and this country forward. I think one of the reasons we picked up 20 points and find ourselves in a statistical dead heat ... is because we've been positive, we've been constructive. And voters all across our state are rejecting the kind of stale, predictable, negative campaigning coming out of my opponent's mouth. And frankly, they realize that American politics is no longer decided on the axis of left and right or liberal or conservative, but it's about moving forward."
During a recent debate in Chattanooga, Ford said, "If you want a rubber stamp, don't vote for me."
During a recent debate in Chattanooga, Ford said, "If you want a rubber stamp, don't vote for me."
Corker accused the Memphis congressman of being a Washington insider who benefited from the "machine-style" politics of his politically connected family.
Corker questioned the work of Ford's father, former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr., as a lobbyist for Fannie Mae while Ford Jr. sat on the House committee overseeing its activities.
Ford said no one in his family has ever lobbied him on congressional issues and he would refuse them if they did. "I work for the people of the 9th District," he told the audience at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Ford attacked his opponent's support for what until this week was called the Bush administration's "stay the course" policy in Iraq. Bush has said he will no longer use that term in reference to the war.
"If you want to stay the course, I'm not your guy," Ford said. "If you believe America is better than what they've given us this past six years, then I ask for your vote."Ford said reducing dependence on foreign oil would help keep the country from getting caught up in foreign conflicts and said his opponent was an advocate for "big oil."
Corker said "new strategies" are needed in the war but he disagreed with Ford's suggestion to divide Iraq by ethnic and religious lines.
Ford blamed the Republicans for not doing anything to rein in federal spending during their 12 years of power in Congress. He also said he supported going to a two-year budget cycle.
Corker said his experience as a business executive, state finance commissioner and mayor would help him during budget discussions.
Elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, Ford has been re-elected four times by an average of 80 percent of the vote and has a reputation as a consensus builder, research shows.
In 1998, Ford was 28 years old when he cast his vote for the first federal balanced budget -- the first time America's budget had been balanced since 1969. He has played pivotal roles in advancing legislation to reform the nation's campaign finance laws, to crack down on corporate cheaters by strengthening corporate governance laws, to encourage more Americans to serve their country and to raise standards in public education.
Ford says he is proud of his family and his Christian faith.
UPDATE: The Republican National Committee supposedly has pulled the controversial ad as of Thursday, Oct. 26.)
-- The Associated Press and Cable News Network contributed to this report.
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Voting out incumbents: A fix for broken government?
BY TONEY ATKINS
At least one television news anchor believes he has the solution to what he calls a "broken government" -- vote out all the incumbents. Some disgusted Florida Courier readers say they agree.
On a Cable News Network (CNN) special last week and repeated several times over the weekend, the always outspoken anchor and commentator Jack Cafferty addressed the sometimes controversial issues that have many voters in Florida and elsewhere shaking their heads in disbelief and wondering exactly how to vote in the Nov. 7 election.
Cafferty noted, "I saw this great bumper sticker the other day, it read 'had enough?.' We're being bled to death, literally and figuratively in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have no border security to speak of, no port security fives year after 9/11, Social Security and Medicare well on their way to insolvency. Our national debt is staggering.
"China is kicking our butt," he continued. "Like I said, had enough? Our leaders lie to us and steal from us, and do it all with a straight face. They don't think we get it. I think we do. I honestly think the upcoming midterm elections will be breathtaking in the message that deliver to Washington. It's my fervent hope that every single incumbent on the ballot will lose. It's time to start over."
Cafferty said he believes U.S. citizens are "on the verge of what could well be the most important midterm election in this country's history. Look at these numbers. They're shocking. Sixty-eight percent think this country is headed in the wrong direction; more than two thirds. Sixty-four percent against the war in Iraq. Sixty-one percent disapprove of the job President Bush is doing leading the country. Oh, and the war in Iraq was his idea."
Most of Cafferty's disdain was directed at Congress, which he called "a joke." Pointing to poll numbers, he said, "Seventy-one percent disapprove of the job Congress is doing. The other 29 percent they just haven't read the paper. Our government is broke and Congress has failed to do anything meaningful. They vote on amendments for flag burning and gay marriage, but nothing on immigration, Social Security, health care -- nothing that matters to the middle class in this country."
Cafferty echoed many comments emailed by visitors to www.toneyatkins.com and spoken by Black and white readers of the Florida Courier who have found themselves disillusioned and concerned about a perceived crumbling state of the nation, its leaders and the lawmakers.
While Cafferty dished out criticisms of Republicans and Democrats equally, he definitely did not leave President Bush out of the equation that could impact what many see as one of the most important elections in many years.
"The Bush administration has all but ignored the Constitution since 9/11, all in the name of national security and fighting terrorism," Cafferty said. "We're being overrun by millions of illegal aliens and Washington does nothing. There are serious questions about the integrity of our elections and our reputation overseas, (and) well, that's pretty much shot now, isn't it?"
At least one unidentified man seemed blissfully satisfied with our government's track. "I think everything is running pretty smooth. I think with the gas prices dropping back down and everything, I think they're getting their act together. The president is going to get reelected again this -- next term I believe."
His feelings were not the same as those corresponding with this reporter. Most believe the rapid drop in gas prices from the record costs earlier this year are totally political. One reader, who requested anonymity, said, "I've read that many of the energy corporations contribute large amounts of money to the GOP, and the Republicans want to keep control of the House and Senate. I believe that after the election, prices will go back up again -- but we will be told that it's because winter is on the way. I haven't seen that much more money in my pocket as a result of votes taken by those bums in Washington."
CNN correspondent Joe Johns said the 109th Congress has been called the "do-little, do-nothing, dysfunctional Congress."
Giving a "top ten" of sorts to illustrate, Johns noted that every member of the House of Representatives makes at least $165,000 a year. "So far, they have spent only 94 days in session. That's almost $1,800 a day. Nice work if you can get it."
On the illegal immigrant issue, he asked, "Wasn't immigration reform supposed to be about the most important issue this year? And what did they do about it? They voted to build a fence."
Some Floridians and Georgians told the Courier reporter that they found it amazing that five years after terrorists staged the shocking attack on the U.S., lawmakers suddenly noticed that potential terrorists could join the many Mexicans in crossing the border into this country without a lot of fear of being stopped or caught.
Johns pointed to what he called the "skanky" way Florida Republican Mark Foley is reported to have talked to former congressional pages in electronic messages and when he got caught, "like a real a profile in courage, he announced he was gay, abused as a teenager by an unnamed priest, checked into alcohol rehab, and left his colleagues to sort out the mess."
Implying an example of the alleged corruption in government, he said, "Duke Cunningham, a former fighter jock turned jailbird, once seemed like a poster child for patriotism until it turned out the California Republican was on the take and getting paid with just about everything but the stars and stripes."
He added: "The Congress is going to have to face it, it's addicted to pork, bridges to nowhere, a museum to honor the folks responsible for the New Orleans levees that failed, emergency money for non-emergencies, and at the end a record deficit."
Of candidates who failed to think before speaking about possible racist overtones, Johns referred to Senator George Allen of Virginia, who called a guy of Indian descent who was shadowing him "macaca," then claimed he didn't know what it meant. Well it means monkey."
Topping his list of dubious accomplishments of the 109th Congress were Jack Abramoff and Bob Ney, "the corrupt couple, the lobbyist and the mayor of Capitol Hill united by guilty pleas, things of value exchanged for official acts, plus a passion for golf, meals, tickets to sporting events and power."
Abramoff is out of the lobbying group, but Ney is still a congressman, "still cashing paychecks until his colleagues throw him out -- at $1,800 a day; who can blame him?"
Cafferty said that one of his favorite things the Congress "pulled" this year was the appropriation of $20 million from the general treasury -- "they've already reached in and taken this money out of our pockets for a victory celebration for the war in Iraq. If they would put that money in a CD, by the time we win that thing in Iraq, they could pay off the national debt."
Referring to Christian conservatives, who are the Republican base, Cafferty said, "They might not be so willing to vote Republican this time around. There's the Mark Foley scandal, of course, a Republican congressman hitting on teenage members of the page program, a real gem this clown. His disgusting behavior apparently well-known in Washington and yet the Republican leadership of the House chose to do nothing until Foley's behavior became public.
"And now comes an explosive new book by a former senior aide to President Bush named David Kuo. He talks about how members of Bush administration laughed at the evangelical Christians behind their backs, mocked them, all the while taking their money and their support. People in Karl Rove's office, according to the book, reportedly used to refer the evangelicals as the nuts."
On the broken borders issue, Cafferty said the government has done "virtually nothing" to stem the massive flow of illegal aliens into this country, mostly from Mexico. An estimated 3,000 a day cross into the United States, or about a million a year, they're already an estimated 12 million of them already here. "And yet the government looks the other way. Why? Because the corporations that own our government want it that way. They want the cheap labor, and the politicians want the Hispanic vote. You and I? We don't matter anymore on this issue. This single issue should be reason enough to vote every single incumbent out of office. It's a disgrace," Cafferty said.
"So the time's come," Cafferty said. "We own this place, not the career liars and weasels in Washington. We elect these people in good faith to go to Washington and look out for us. They have sold us out. They look in us in the eye. They lie to us day after day after day. They scurry around behind our backs. They take money from the lobbyists and the corporations, then they give that money away to their friends to buy stuff we don't need. The legislation they do get around to passing isn't for us. It's to benefit their contributors. And they think they're entitled to sit there and do this stuff forever. Well, enough already."
He suggested that if voters want to have some fun on Election Day, they should "go to the polls and vote against every incumbent on the ballot. Throw them all out. Think about it for a minute. No matter who we replace them with, how much worse could it be? And what a message it would send. You have one term to prove to us your worthy of representing us, or you're gone. It's not as far-fetched as it sounds."
-- CNN.com contributed to this report. The entire transcript of the Jack Cafferty program can be read at www.CNN.com/transcripts.
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DOMESTIC TERRORISTS GROWING IN U.S.
Hate groups show
dramatic increase
BY TONEY ATKINS
For The Florida Courier
While the attention of U.S. citizens since Sept. 11, 2001, has been on terrorist groups abroad who may pose a destructive threat to the country, the number of potential domestic terrorists -- members of anti-government hate groups who live in this nation -- has been growing dramatically.
Reporting in the news media about these groups has been minimal, with publishers of heads of newspapers or TV networks saying such things as, "We don't want to give publicity to hate organizations because that's what they want," or -- and this is a literal quote from one journalist: "Ignore them and they'll eventually go away."
Neither excuse is realistic, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). In fact, some sources have told the Florida Courier that the greatest threat to life as U.S. citizens know it may come from within the country's borders.
Just last week, the center reported that a rise in independent skinhead crews may bring a "new era of violence."
Meanwhile, CNN reported this week that "gangs are not just L.A.'s problem any more -- it's a nationwide crisis. They've killed thousands, and keep recruiting thousands more."
Fueled by belligerent tactics and publicity stunts, the number of hate groups operating in the United States rose from 762 in 2004 to 803 last year, capping an increase of fully 33 percent over the five years since 2000, Mark Potok reported earlier this year in the SPLC's monthly Intelligence Report.
Fueled by belligerent tactics and publicity stunts, the number of hate groups operating in the United States rose from 762 in 2004 to 803 last year, capping an increase of fully 33 percent over the five years since 2000, Mark Potok reported earlier this year in the SPLC's monthly Intelligence Report.
Trends parallel an alarming resurgence in skinhead activity nationwide, which continues to intensify, according to the October SPLC report. At the beginning of 2002, there were 18 skinhead crews active in the United States, most of them under the control of Hammerskin Nation. That count has now more than tripled to 59 active crews, only six of which belong to Hammerskin Nation.
"As the power of the Hammerskins has waned, the skinhead scene has entered a free-for-all phase, with new and unaffiliated local, state, and regional crews proliferating rapidly. More and more of these newcomers subscribe to the ultra-violent ethos and disorganized crime profiteering of a chaotic band of Midwest-based gangster skins known as the Vinlanders," the new report says.
While there's no skinhead census, and no official statistics on skinhead-specific crime, police on the street that specialize in tracking skins say the facts are clear. "Skinhead activity has easily doubled in the last couple of years, and the Vinlander influence is huge," said Matt Browning, a detective with the Mesa, Ariz., police department who has investigated white power gangs in his region and their nationwide connections for 10 years, including two years undercover. "They're more violent, they're more technically savvy than before in terms of using the Internet to organize, and, while they're still motivated by race and politics, it's also about money now."
Gary Davidson, public relations officer for the Volusia County Sheriff's Department in Florida, told the Florida Courier that there is presently little to no gang activity of any kind in that county and hate groups, such as the skinheads and the Ku Klux Klan, are practically invisible. However, lawmen are constantly on the lookout for any activity on the part of any white supremacist or other hate groups.
The 50 hate groups scattered across Florida include racist skinheads, neo-Nazis, neo-Confederate, the KKK, groups with a Christian identity and Black Separatists, the SPLC says.
Identified hate crimes have been few this year, according to SPLC investigative reports. In May, Connor T. Ranieri, 18, was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly drawing swastikas on a car and a bathroom wall at a Boca Raton. Also in May, racial epithets were scrawled on the walls of a Tampa church. In January, a dead raccoon hanging from a noose and a racist note were found on the porch of a Methodist church with a predominantly Black congregation in Floral City. Also in January, a cross with a racist message on it was burned in a biracial couple's yard in Osteen.
About the rising nationwide skinhead problem, the SPLC reported that from their very beginning, the Outlaw Hammerskins represented a new breed of racist skinhead. They avowed white power, yet listened to Black gangsta rap. They had neo-Nazi tattoos, yet dripped with gold chains. They wore Doc Martens, but also gold teeth. They formed close ties with the Hell's Angels, working security at the outlaw biker gang's events (the father of Jeremy Maske, one of the founding Outlaw skinheads, was the president of the Indiana chapter of the Hell's Angels at the time).
Within a few months, the Outlaw Hammerskins had chapters across Indiana and Wisconsin, the SPLC reported. Their creed was "take it to the extreme." If another skinhead crew mocked them for being "whiggers" (white "niggers"), Outlaw Hammerskins would beat them down. If attacked with fists and feet, Outlaw Hammerskins would retaliate with bats and knives. If a rival pulled a knife, an Outlaw Hammerskin pulled a gun.
The expansion of hate groups last year, documented by the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, seemed to be helped along by aggressive maneuvers that landed them on front pages and in national news broadcasts.
The National Socialist Movement, for instance, repeatedly made national news with provocative attempts to march through Black, inner-city neighborhoods. Other groups rallied with increasing fervor and frequency, and even undertook sure-to-infuriate campaigns like "Operation Schoolyard," an attempt in the 2004-2005 school year to distribute 100,000 free racist music CDs to schoolchildren. One anti-gay group, the Westboro Baptist Church, went so far as to picket the funerals of soldiers, saying God was punishing America for tolerating homosexuality.
There were many other reasons for the continuing rise as well. Hispanic immigration, in particular, may have been the single most important factor in recent years, fueling a national debate and giving hate groups an issue with real resonance, the SPLC reported. The war in Iraq, seen by many hate groups as a struggle America was forced into by Jews, was another. Racist music and concerts continued to attract new young people into the movement. A growing Internet presence also helped groups' propaganda to flourish; there were 524 hate sites counted in 2005, up 12 percent from 468 in 2004.
"Despite a large number of arrests and the collapse of several leading neo-Nazi groups, the movement continues to grow," said Joe Roy, chief investigator of the Intelligence Project. "It's a Hydra with a thousand different heads."
Meanwhile, while many don't see gangs as hate groups, the mostly youthful members often strike fear into the hearts of residents of communities where hateful gang violence has grown.
The police's definition of a gang is "a group of individuals, juvenile and or adult, who associate on a continuous basis, form an allegiance for a common purpose, and are involved in delinquent or criminal activity."
This definition is simple and functional, according to Rita Gutierrez, founder and coordinator of Parents in Crisis. The definition allows police departments to take proactive law enforcement action before the gang gets an organized structure. The gang may range from a loose knit group of individuals who hang around together and commit crimes together, to a formal organization with a leader or ruling council, gang colors, gang identifiers and a gang name, Gutierrez says on her web site.
An example of the growth of gangs and gang wars across the land can be found in Dalton, Ga., which touts itself as "the Carpet Capital of the World." The city was relatively peaceful until the mid-90s, when Hispanics, many of whom were illegal immigrants, moved into Dalton and, according to several sources, caused the loss of jobs for many Whites and Blacks because the newcomers would work for much lower wages.
Gangs, unheard of in north Georgia until then, formed, especially in Black and Hispanic segments of the community, and disrupted the usual peace with violent clashes that challenged lawmen and frightened citizens, one police officer, demanding anonymity, told the Florida Courier.
"Hate and terror come in all fashions, forms and colors, and it doesn't seem now that there's any end in sight," he said. "The world is changing and not for the better, and it's happening right here in the USA."
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton told Larry King on CNN Monday night: "(Gang crime is) nationwide.... It accounts for 60 percent of our murders in Los Angeles and a significant part of our violent crime.
"But, a lot of it also is the issue of just young people, a new generation of young people who are more violent than their predecessors, less under control, and we have a new wave of violence coming in this country and we need to wake up to it," Bratton said.
"But, a lot of it also is the issue of just young people, a new generation of young people who are more violent than their predecessors, less under control, and we have a new wave of violence coming in this country and we need to wake up to it," Bratton said.
-- The Southern Poverty Law Center assisted in the preparation of this report.
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Wednesday, August 16, 2006
PHARMACISTS MAKE MISTAKES, TOO! CHECK YOUR MEDICATIONS BEFORE TAKING!
By TONEY ATKINS
First, I want to thank loyal visitors to my web site and those who have asked about my lack of submissions to it (even though most of the news and weather links on the web site are updated constantly).
I appreciate the concern that has been shown, and I can assure you that more stories and commentaries are coming soon to the site.
Besides being excited about being involved with the Florida Courier, a new statewide newspaper in Florida, and the often time-consuming -- and educational -- task of gathering information about all Florida candidates in Congressional and Senate races, along with the race for a governor to replace the departing Gov. Jeb Bush, I have been dealing with numerous health issues that all seemed to come one after another, or even at the same time, over the past few months. The situation appears to be improving, so I hope to have new and possibly controversial stories and commentaries for both the Florida Courier and my site in the coming days and weeks.
I used what I hope was an attention-grabbing headline for this piece, because the subject not only impacted me, but it could impact you or any of your loved ones, particularly the elderly.
Usually when I get a new prescription, I head first to WebMD.com to learn about what kind of medication I'm putting into my body. However, a pain prescription that I've had to take for some time because of back problems needed no research when I had it refilled recently. After taking a couple of doses at the prescribed times, I found myself nauseated with blurred vision and a general out-of-sorts feeling, which could have been the villain in a nighttime fall which added new aches and pain and bruises to the back, wrists, knees and ankles (which were in the process of healing from a previous fall). Add that to the progressing glaucoma and cataract treatments, I have naturally felt that I was literally falling apart.
Closely examining the pain pill, however, revealed a slightly different coloration and the word and numbers didn't match what was on the label. Since I had no idea what the name of the medication was if it wasn't a substitute from another manufacturer, I went to the Internet and discovered that the pharmacist had filled the bottle with pills which contained double the amount of codeine and more of another ingredient. The instructions indicated in the Internet description was to take the medication twice a day. My bottle read "three times daily," as it always had, and had the usual warnings to which I had been accustomed.
I called the pharmacist and was emphatic in my questioning as to why I was given this medication that did not match the prescription. Equally emphatic, he told me not to take the pills and to bring them back for replacement. He was apologetic as he handed me the correct medicine, and I only half-jokingly asked him if he was trying to kill me. He didn't smile.
A similar incident occurred while I was living in Daytona Beach. I had been given a cough syrup with codeine to fight a case of bronchitis. The bottle's instructions directed me to take it every four hours. After a couple of days of feeling like I was coming out of my skin, I called my pharmacist there to ask if I should be feeling such effects. He told me I should be using the medication only twice a day. Needless to say, I was angry and not in a mood for humor, but he laughed and said, "Well, at least, I bet you're not coughing." Conveniently for him, the original prescription was missing, he said.
I share these experiences to warn any reader who has to take medication or has a parent or other relative who does to closely monitor the pills or liquid. Be sure that the description of the pill or liquid and the instructions for taking it match what is described in the literature. If it doesn't, the pharmacist should be called immediately for confirmation that the medication and instructions for use on the bottle are correct.
A pharmacist's error in cases such as these could potentially have deadly effects or, in the best-case scenario, send the patient to the hospital. Those folks are human, and mistakes can be made, so it doesn't hurt to check behind them when refills are taken home. Any change in size or form or wording on a pill should immediately arouse suspicion.
While taking care of my dad before his death last Aug. 22, I thought I would go nuts just being sure the outrageous number of pills he had to take were the right ones and were given at the right time. The home health nurses praised me for a good job, but I wondered then if he had ever taken too much of a certain medication or had unintentionally skipped some meds altogether before I came home. Since the majority of the pills were unfamiliar to me as to their purpose, I had to be extremely careful.
So, risking redundancy, I urge you to read the literature on any medication prescribed for you to be sure you got what the doctor ordered. I especially urge you to help elderly parents and friends with such if they seem to be befuddled by the drugs they have to take. Never hesitate to telephone the pharmacist if you have doubts or questions.
You could save your life or that of a loved one, just because a druggist made a mistake and you caught it in time.
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