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Lommentary
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THE OUTSIDER.......LOOKING INSIDE
Indictments
on the way...
I am sure that by this time everyone has already heard
about Don Cheeks' son-in-law being indicted.
Allegedly, he and stormer Senator Don Cheeks had
been doing some underhanded business as it relates to
real estate. This is not the first time Don Cheeks has
been brought in the mix of people having issues with
land deals. After he was defeated by Senator Walker, he
was allegedly visited by the GBI and the FBI many times
to discuss some information he may have turned over to
family members.
However, Cheeks was somehow then let off the hook,
Sources close to The Outsider alleged say it was because
he was stlled owed a few favors l\}' the Republicans
~because of his alleged help in so-called nailing Senator
Walker. But for some reason, sources say the GBI and
the FBI have been snooping around Don’s Wheeler Road
home. Could there possibly be another indictiment com
ing down?
Does it matter how Marion
Williams makes his money?
Sources close to the Outsider say that the community is
outraged at the constant blasting of District 2 Commis
sioner Marion Williams. He is getting blasted by the
media about him possibly having an illegally obtained
copy of Fred Russc‘l's hard drive. They are also raising
accusations that he has not paid property taxes and owes
money to the city. They are also bringing up issues of him
owning racecars and allegedly being part of an illegal gam
bling ring at Jackson Motor Spccjway Sources close to
the Outsider and his congregation say enough is enough.
And people need to leave their good-looking, well dressed,
‘nice car driving’ pastor alone.
Forget Borders and Laws
America doesnt need immi
gration reform. America
needs border enforcement.
No matter how supporters try
to spin it, the Senate’s immigra
tion reform legislation is litde
more than an amnesty bill for
those who have blatandy bro
ken the laws of our naton.
America shouldn' legalize peo
ple who broke into our country
under the guise of being hard
workers Mfiing to do work our
pfilc wont. Qur nation
needs its legal citizenry 1o stop
whining, begging, blaming and
making excuses for themselves
and get to work.
There is no acceptable reason
the President and Congress can
use to justify rewarding those
here illegally with what is essen
tially the boundless rights of full
American citizenship — even if
they could be viewed as assets
to our collective way of life.
Lets consider the dunfi: we
may experience if blanket
amnesty is granted.
From what [ already sce, it
seems only a small number of
these illegals are proficient in
Ffi.ylf they were, Congress
p would not be trying
to recognize F.nglishl as our
nations common language
ol then. tie officd -
. Accordingly, we will be
E.lnfincd with the expense and
hassle of mandated bilingual
ism from the Il;allot box w
Burger want a
taste olfsm'f.so vsl)t’ou Que!:lcc.Ch
s g
istory with d\cmobsuvana of
uons. Which of these days will
be embraced by these new diti
zens’ How long before
employers are legislated into
observing dates without an
American history or tradition?
How long before our history is
further filtcrcd through the
prism of political correctness?
Its also important to remem
ber that these people are here
because they lack a respect for
our laws. Are we to believe
amnesty will somehow encour
age them to embrace our cul
wre and system of jurispru
dence, especially when some
are already scofting at the visa
program and fines related to the
proposed legislation? Further
more, how will this aftect our
pocketbooks? It should be
noted there appears to be no
regard for the influx of tens of
millions who could qualify for
welfare programs.
To put this in perspective,
Robert E. Rector and Efi‘ristinc
Kim of The Heritage Founda
tion point out that American
yers already spent $564
l?i,l‘fizn on welfare programs
and SB4O billion on direct
Medicare benefits in 2004. s
the American taxpayer pre
pared to have these numEcrs
explode virtually overnight?
According htco Rector and Kimis
research, the government spent
$662 billion o:mfioptfl:g;:-
based services (such as police,
fire, parks and related things) in
2004. Who will pick up the
wab for the increased expendi
tures’s Will Senators John
McCain, Ted Kennedy, Trent
Lott and each of the congres
sional supporters and President
Bush write personal checks to
help defey the cot 10 ey
pose higher taxes with the
AUGUSTA FOCUS
R.I.S.E. — Raise Intelligent Strong Economics_Part 2
— To Live On “The Sunny Side of the Street”
- I was recently intro
‘duced to a singer named
Eugene McDaniel’s, who
‘once sang a song later to
‘be made famous by Less
‘McCann and Eddie Har
ris which was entitled
Irying To Make It Real,
Compared To What?
Many may have scen the
breaking headlines about
‘how rap mogul, 50 Cent
became the “Four Hun
dred Million Dollar
| Man!”
~ While many may not
agree with what “507 (as
‘'many call him) often
represents in his music
and his videos, we can all
appreciate on some level
the struggle he had in
front of him as a young
man. To go from the vio
lence and strife of the
South Jamaica section of
Queens, N.Y. (his well
publicized history of
‘drug dealing and having
survived being shot nine
‘times) to owning a 10
percent share in a com
pany which was recently
‘bought out for an esti
‘mated $4.1 billion took
‘grit, focus and determi
'nation. He truly lives up
‘to the caveat put forth as
‘the tite of his popular
film: Get Rich or Die
Tryin. '
t As a youth, 50 Cent
' (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson)
represented legions of
‘urban youth, who see
their circumstance as
excuse that theres no other |
choice. |
We don't need millions more f
people with possibly dubious '
skills and intentions to flood |
our communities. We need to 1
invigorate and challenge those |
American citizens who are, at {
present, the so-called unem- |
ployable. We dont need peo- |
ple who are more committed to !
Dia de la Constitucion, Mexi
can Flag Day and Cinco de l
Mayo than they are to the |
Fourth of July. |
We certainly do not need an |
underclass that will take gener- f
ations to assimilate. America
doesn't need another excuse for |
new and continued affirmative |
action programs and race-pref- |
erences.
What we need to do is abide
by legislation already enacted
last year to build a border fence
and increase security and immi
gration enforcement.
America has borders and laws
for a reason. If both are will
fully disregard and illegals are
rewarded at taxpayer expense
while legal Americans are pun
ished for even the slightest of
indiscretions (ask Scooter
Libby), then America indeed
has gone 1o hell in a ‘handbas
ket'. If such is to be the case, |
say do away with our borders
and laws. Let every man estab
lish and define both as they
apply to his own selfish ends.
Mychal Massie is chairman of
the national advisory council of
the black leadership network Pro-
Ject 21 and a syndicated colum
ments may be sent to Pro-
Ject2] @nationalcenter.org,
their all-encompassing
reality and realm of pos
sibility. The urban envi
ronment is an island in
and of itself. There are
walls all around this
island with mirrors on
the inside. People therein
are typically only grow
ing up to understand
that they can be only
what they can see. My
mission as well as con
cerned stakcholders
should be to break down
those walls and shatter
those mirrors so that the
people once trapped can
then see ALL of what
they can be!
I humbly request that
everyone demonstrate
your support by making
a special commitment
within your power to
promote the vision of a
society in which this
generation of urban
youth achieve the confi
dence and skills they will
need to become healthy,
confident, competent
and productive contribu
tors to the social fabric
of our communities and
the world at large as suc
cessful adults.
The youth can gain
height by standing on
the shoulders of histori
cal examples of success
ful African-Americans
and can truly benefit
from them.
One may look to three
historical Black figures
Wilson : ‘Brother Amos Wilson rest in peace
Continued from page 4A
country are struggling to
stay open. Why in the name
of all that is sensible, all that
is logical, all that is reason
able, all that is respectable, all
that is ethical, and all that is
conscionable, would a Black
organization not usc a Black
bookstore or distributor in
Detroit, or even some other
city, to present its Authors
Pavilion? “We didn’t know,”
won't get it. Can you say,
“The Internet”? Where
does this leave individual
book vendors? Well, 1 spoke
to five Black book dealers
from across the country; they
have been priced out of the
NAACP Convention mar
ket, whose booths cost more
than SBOO.OO each. They
cannot afford 0 go to the
convention now because
they will not have the right
to sell certain books, and the
NAACP will certainly not
allow more than a couple of
book dealers to be there as
vendors. One bookstore
owner was told, “You can sell
bookmarks.” Whart?!!!
This situation is insulting,
and it speaks to the psycho
logical conditioning that still
r(l)fics some of our people.
How can any Black person,
who works at a Black organ
ization and has just a hint of
intelligence and knowledge
of s¢lf.ge take a convention to a
Black city, and not at least
consider the possibility of
there being a Black book
store in that Black city that
could organize and manage a
Black Authors’ Pavilion? I'm
(Marcus Garvey, W.E.B.
Dubois, and Booker T.
Washington) as brilliant
men who took different
paths to the same goal:
Economic empowerment
for the masses of Black
people in America.
One may take pride in
George Washington Carver,
Benjamin Banneker and
Charles Drew, who were the
forefathers of African-
American ingenuity by
virtue of their inventions
and contributions.
For those who aren't
entertainers or athletes
and may not have the
chance to draw from the
rewards that those sta
tons in life may often
bring, there have to be
other options. The possi
bility of success abounds
wherever we are able to
define our area of excel
lence and flourish
accordingly.
It doesn't take a rocket
scientist to see that peo
ple in the isolated urban
landscape are not being
armed with the tools
they need to be given a
genuine chance of build
ing a sense of dignity,
self-worth, emotional
and psychological well
being by being involved
in the excitement and
challenge of creating and
taking non-traditional
paths—one of those
being self
employment/entrepre-
at my wit’s end on this one,
brothers and sisters.
So what now? Unless
things change real soon, and
I doubrt they will, Black folks
who attend the event should
not patronize the Pavilion.
You can still purchase the
showcased authors’ books
from the Shrine of the Black
Madonna or another Black
bookstore in Detroit. You
must refrain from support
ing this asinine move by the
NAACP National Office.
And here’s the toughest rec
ommendation: Those Black
authors participating in the
Pavilion should refuse to do
sO. But, assuming that won't
%, Celebrate your:
& Graguation Wedding
'S¢, Anprversary - Engagement
{«'Bfrthday First Communion
~ Christening ~ Newborn, el.
4 your special occasion a ;)art of printed history in
and a cherished moment for generations to eomc
Honor your achievements
with an announcement
in the Augusta Focus ™
Display their photo and afy
pertinent info for only $25.
June 28, 2007
neurship.
One can look at a phe
nomenal woman like
Janice Bryant-Howroyd,
who founded Act-1
Group Stafting and Pro
fessional Services in
1978, with $7lB Million
in sales revenues in 2000.
She exemplifies the
strong entreprencurial
tradition in African-
American society.
Up you mighty
nation... You can accom
plish what you will...by
“Raising Intelligent Strong
Economics” through finan
cial literacy and economic
empowerment...and all
that it entails.
To quote a famous
Louis Armstrong lyric |
was inspired by from his
song, “On The Sunny
Side Of The Street,”
which cchoes my eternal
motto on inner richness:
“I used to walk in the
shade with them blues on
parade Now I'm not
afraid... this rover has
crossed over”
Farrah Gray is the author
of the international best-seller
"Nealtianagire:
Nine Steps to Becoming Rich
from the Inside Out”. He is
chatrman of the Farrah Gray
Foundation. Dr. Gray can be
reached via his web site at
www.farrahgrayfoundation.o
g
happen, I would ask that
they at least put in a good
word for Black bookstores
with the NAACP, 0.K.?
It is ironic and sad that the
words, “We have met the
enemy and he is us,” are
attributed to a comic-strip
character named Pogo,
placed on a poster by Walt
Kelly in 1970. In 2007 Black
people are indeed our own
worst enemy, and in the
words of another Kelly (Jim),
the actions of the NAACP
National Convention come
“straight out of a comic book.”
In spite of having lost our
minds, may Brother Amos
Wilson rest in peace.
5A