Editor:

I really enjoy reading your publication.  I would like to find out some more information on the opulence investment club (from the Denver Urban Spectrum April 2008 story titled "Investment Groups Growing and Saving Money" by Andrea Juarez). I need a contact number, are they taking any new members, and what re the fees associated with joining the club.

Sincerely,

Wendell Johnson

Denver

African Ambassador Short-Sighted, Muhammad & Davis Get It Right

Editor:

My mouth is still agape after reading Jendayi Frazer: A Peace Maker In Africa’s Brave New World (Denver Urban Spectrum, April 2008). In light of the American government’s history of malfeasance in regards to African Americans; notably the treatment of Blacks in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, the history of colonialism in Africa and the history of land grabbing around the globe, how can Ms. Frazer be so myopic?

The Bush administration has not done one thing to make me believe it is not elitist.  As far as ending wars is concerned, who starts and funds these wars to begin with, and why did two million Africans in Sudan have to die before the war was “essentially” ended? Population reduction?

The Machiavellian strategy of creating ill will and pitting tribe against tribe has been very successful in Africa; much like the gang terrorism in American communities. Anything good the present administration does in Africa is done to solidify centralization of control of the planet.

Beware wolves in sheep’s clothing bearing gifts! Don’t be misled by Blacks who work for these schemes. You can see that in every instance white governments have acted against the interests of Africans. South Africa is a perfect example; apartheid was ended not in the interest of Blacks but rather for the sake of expediency. The majority of Blacks there still are impoverished, with the whites who held the wealth of the country still holding it. Everywhere in the world you look, you see the world’s colored majority beneath the boot; do not expect it will be any different in Africa’s future if the “developed” nations have their way. They give with one hand, steal and kill with the other. 

The fact that Africa needs America’s development assistance is just too outside the scope of anything the human mind should be required to handle that it may makes you crazy. Africa is nearly the richest continent (if not the richest- they may have lied about how rich it actually is) on the planet; yet Black people globally are reduced to beggars. The World Bank may have cancelled the debt of 19 African countries, but it has not begun to pay its debt to Africa.

The HIV/AIDS issue is another area where we should tread carefully. Jon Rappoport, an investigative reporter, postulates that HIV/AIDS may not be a disease at all but rather a compromised immune system, which can be caused by intravenous drug usage, malnutrition, contaminated drinking water and environmental pollution.  So the real issue may not be a sexually transmitted disease- but poverty where there should be more.

If Rappoport’s assertion is true, the selling or supplying of pharmaceuticals to African nations for the treatment of this “disease,” is a scam. The drugs used for treatment turn out to be worse than the “disease.” It is alleged that the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) intentionally get African countries into debt by having the puppet leaders secure loans that cannot be repaid, giving these agencies control of the government and resources. So when the Bush administration provides debt relief to nations demonstrating “good governance,” it is providing debt relief for obedience. Perhaps Ms. Frazer is simply naïve!

Europeans and American whites do not in my view belong in Africa in the capacity that they are there (running governments). If they could put aside their arrogance, they would see that their world view is disruptive and disharmonious to the planet. The attempt by whites to impose their will upon the world is a dismal failure as evidenced by Akbar Muhammad’s “The Miserable

Failure of Western Style Democracy In Kenya.”

Africa is the birthplace of democracy- true democracy- the will of the people- expressed through the council of elders- to the king. The liberal democracy of the West is a corruption of a democracy of the people.

Angela Davis’ “Reflections On A Radical Framework For Social Justice,” points out that only superficial change has occurred. I say only enough to placate the masses while world government is quietly put into place; so do not be deceived. Beware global governance.

Antonius

Aurora

Thanking Ritter For Opposing President’s Medicaid Reductions

Editor:

Every Coloradan who cares about expanding access to health care should commend Gov. Ritter for his principled and strong opposition to President Bush's Medicaid budget cuts.

The President's plan would not only hurt the already vulnerable families relying on Medicaid funding, but would also impact nursing homes, community centers, children, seniors and people with disabilities. The Bush plan would permanently undermine the integrity of Medicaid - a public health program that provides coverage for 47 million low-income Americans, including more than 746,000 Coloradans. This is nearly one in every six Colorado residents.

Medicaid provides essential health care coverage for low-income Colorado families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Without it, 60 percent of the state's poorest would be at the mercy of inadequate coverage or, even worse, risk joining the ranks of the uninsured. Medicaid funds also play a critical role in supporting Colorado’s health infrastructure and bolstering our fragile state economy.

Instead of working to support states struggling to maintain public health programs in the face of rising health care costs, an aging population, and temporary economic down turns, President Bush's Medicaid cuts force states to cut essential services and deepen our health care crisis. The current Medicaid program is the solution, not the problem and it needs to be expanded, not cut.

Thanks to Governor Ritter for his leadership in supporting the current Medicaid program and opposing proposals that undermine Colorado families, our economy, and the future.

Sincerely,

Francoise Mbabazi

Health Justice Program Director

Colorado Progressive Coalition

Will The Real Leaders Please Stand Up?

Editor:

In 1961, a young African-American man, after hearing President John F. Kennedy's challenge to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," gave up his student deferment, left college in Virginia and voluntarily joined the Marines.

In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.)

The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician. Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy's premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief's medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery.

For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation. What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy
not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.

While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/ sailor, received five deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for being a prospective father.

Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty through family connections.

Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system? Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who merely talk about their love of the country?

After leaving the service of his country, the young African American finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America's biggest cities. This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retiring pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.

Rosemary Harris, President

Colorado Springs Branch NAACP

Reading Into Obama

Editor:

All Easter weekend long, we heard radio voices weighing in on Obama. How do white people feel about his blackness, how do Black people feel about his whiteness? Absent from the discussion is any awareness of what he’s actually done. Where has he landed his punches? During Obama’s brief political career thus far, what issues has he acted on? Much has been made of his pastor’s disparaging comments about America and 9/11. So, has Mr. Obama spent his young senate days hanging with the fringe wing of the Democratic party that pushes 9/11 conspiracy theories? Has he lent his voice to the view that 9/11 was America’s just comeuppance? No. If anything, Mr. Obama was a bit timid as a young senator, watching in dismay as his idealistic bits of legislation got watered down over time.

Obama himself is a bit of a Rorschach Test, in that commentators superimpose on him what they think should be there. For this reason, Obama is often linked to Black Liberation Theology. This is silly, because he was never a radical. In his youth, he never went through a Chicago Seven phase, all fist-pumping, Bobby Seal haircuts and incendiary speeches. If anything, Obama was an eager but cautious Harvard law student with an eye on social justice issues, but apt to keep his options open. Not “options open” in a cynical sense, not soft-pedaling his views, but rather, living according to a belief that brash, extreme opinions only alienate those who might otherwise be your allies. Like many young Black leaders, Obama saw the limitations of racially-charged politics, the futility of replacing one racial stereotype with another. Thus, he would find ways to discuss inflammatory issues in reasonable, nuanced tones.

It looks like this year, America has a candidate that prefers to shed light, rather than heat. Are we up for it? If Obama loses, it won’t be because he’s Black. It’ll be because America’s not ready for a President that talks to you as if you have a brain.

Ellen Gale