In the middle row, far left is our own Luís Ariel Lopez Wei. Luís is a historical re-enactor with the 6th United States Colored Troops and portrayed a Buffalo Soldier at the Three Centuries of African American Soldiers Black History Celebration this weekend (22-23 February 2014) at the Trenton Barracks in New Jersey’s state capital.
This morning, I have journalism on my mind. When I think of journalism, I think of excellence in delivering information so well that our understanding of an issue is instantly made much deeper; or when a skilled journalist shows us how relevant the topic is to our society and lives that our interest in it transforms from casual to compelling. I would like to share two examples of journalism brilliance.
First, congratulations to Bob Braun, whose career and personal accomplishments are featured in Rutgers’ Winter 2013-14 alumni publication. He comments –
Friend Bryan Alexander reminded me tonight that Dems take the Black vote entirely for granted. He’s so right. This is probably one of the big reasons that communities of color aren’t getting the help they expected with fighting public school takeovers by charters (Philly) … schools being just closed down (Chicago (where 49 schools were closed in one day – by Dem mayor Rahm Emmanuel) and Newark) and why Dems supported the devious Governor Christie’s 2013 re-election bid instead of getting behind Democratic Party candidate Barbara Buono – a progressive with a long, strong record of promoting excellence in public education, and transparency and accountability in the realm of public service and politics.
Congressman Jon Sarbanes (D-MD) introduced the Government By the People Act this past Wednesday and it already has half the House Co-sponsors needed to make it law. Here’s what they’re saying about it.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Cong. Jon Sarbanes explain the Act in a Washington Post Op-Ed, reminding us that
Our Founders established a government of the many, not a government of the money. That’s what the American people deserve.”
Please sign the petition showing your support for the Government By the People Act
Project 435 wants to get all 435 US Congressmen on record as being for or against the American Anti-Corruption Act. The next step will be, running a national campaign to publicize Congressional Representatives’ stand against (or not against) corruption and then leverage bipartisan public support to get the American Anti-Corruption Act passed.
Sign the petition to take back control of our government and rebuild a democratic society by showing your support for the American Anti-Corruption Act … and if you want to get more involved, indicate your volunteer preferences too.
Friend Rita Louie of Haverstraw posted this fabulous list of fun word-plays on Facebook. While I was looking for attributions forthis post, I learned that the list’s origins are obscure. I traced some words to a 1998 Washington Post Style Invitational Contest but I didn’t see any reference to Mensa. Other words seem not related to either organization. The list is a world of fun, though, and it will make you laugh!
In this list, alternate meanings have been assigned to standard words
Mother and son roll out on the floor for a wedding dance that turns into a routine that could give Broadway a run for its money. If you watch just one thing today, pick this.
Plumbing is a high-paying licensed profession that requires training, and union membership has historically been nearly impossible for people lacking family connections to break into. Now’s your chance to get training and union membership at the same time. Take a look at this opportunity:
Plumbers Union Local #24 is taking applications for a 5 year apprenticeship program from March 24th thru April 4th 2014 Monday thru Friday from 3 to 5pm. Each applicant must complete an application at local 24’s training center at 20 Fairfield Place West Caldwell, New Jersey 07006.
Four years is a long time in community college terms but it was so worth it to keep on working at bringing this program to Bergen Community College. I got to know so much about the college and campus organizing just by recruiting advisors, speakers and participants to the College Leadership Development Program. 2014 CLDP @ Bergen Cohort members are enjoying participation tremendously, and the speakers we’ve brought in are enjoying us!
Thanks to USHLI for dreaming up a really good program and providing us with guidance to get it off the ground, to our speakers, donors and advisors, to BCC for hosting our evening workshops and to Kimi Wei of The Wei for so much help.
~ Jorge Ivan Gomez Wei
You would think that a person in Christie’s situation would learn from past mistakes, but I guess after you’ve fallen a certain distance from grace self-correction becomes impossible. Christie’s camp is once again making the law all about our governor’s wishes instead of about legal precedent, common decency, responsibility to constituents or logic.
This time, Christie wants to use leftover campaign funds to pay legal bills for the Bridgegate defense. No matter that the Christie-Booker team went after Sharpe James for doing exactly the same thing:
No more kitchen knives for smart phone users – now, there’s an app for that! iPhone and Android users can download the Laser Beam app and slice or dice tomatoes and just about any other vegetable with it.
The downside:
