fdtappan's Blog

For the past four days, I have been in Oxford, Mississippi. My son is participating in the Ole Miss Football Camp. He did well and garnered an MVP award at the safety position. That was good, but not why I have been so impressed with my experience here. This is my first visit to Oxford. (Please don’t be offended) I expected a backwater, cross burning, flag waving town of supremacist and separatists. What I knew of Oxford, Mississippi dealt mainly with the Civil Rights Movement when the governor at the time attempted to prevent James Meredith from integrating The University of Mississippi, after he won a federal court case for admittance. Riots broke out in protest of his admittance. Late on the evening of Sunday, September 30, 1962, in which two men, a French journalist sent to cover the events and a Lafayette County resident, were killed by stray bullets. President John F. Kennedy mobilized the Army and ordered them onto the campus and surrounding community early on the evening of the riot.  However, James Meredith enrolled that morning without incident and attended for the rest of the school year, graduating in August, 1963 with a degree in history. That is what I know, heard and remember about Oxford.

What I learned this week is, “Never, judge a movie by it ratings…Go see it!” I was thoroughly surprised by my experience in Oxford. First of all, the school was immaculate. It was a cornucopia of the old and new south. The campus was clean and security was very visible. Head Coach Houston Nutt, the Recruiting Director Coach Ealy and the rest of the coaching staff were exemplary. The facilities were breathtaking. The entire experience was awesome. However, the most impressive aspect of the Oxford experience was the people. They were polite, helpful and inviting. I ate lunch at one of the local eateries with one of the camper’s Father and Mother. They were white and of course I am black. I expected judgmental looks of disapproval, but what I received were greetings, and just good ole southern hospitality. I was pleasantly pleased by the reception I received. That is just one of my positive experiences here.

People need to know that Oxford has been named by USA Today as one of the top six college towns in the nation. It is included in The Best 100 Small Towns in America. Lafayette County consistently leads the state rankings in the lowest unemployment rate per quarter. Both Oxford city and Lafayette County school systems are consistently ranked as "5-star" systems; the highest rating available. I will admit, I was prejudiced toward Oxford, Mississippi. Prejudice simply means pre-judging an individual or situation before all the facts are known. I am guilty. But after further investigation, I find that the present city of Oxford, has been found not guilty of continuing its past. It is evident, we can all get along. My, how things have changed.

History has been made! Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, Americans, regardless of race, creed or color should be proud of America. Just a scant 144 years ago, Barak Obama would not even have had the opportunity of citizenship, nor the right to vote, own property or freely pursue happiness. Why? Because in all likelihood he would have been a slave in 1864. In 1865 slavery was abolished and the long journey of equal rights ensued. I am not attempting to give a historical snap shot of the African American struggle for equality, but I am excited about the opportunity for my children to see this incredible event take place.

If only my dad, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 76, could have witnessed this. It would have meant so much to him. However, there are others, still alive that it means just as much to. Moreover, we all should pray that some sociopath won't make an attempt on his life. I saw some video where some people were discussing the subject of physically eliminating him from the race for the presidency. Even with that, I still say, it is a great day for America.

Given the fact that gas prices are at an all-time high; the murder rate is escalating exponentially; our school system is in turmoil and our city officials are falling faster than the stock market, it is still a great day in America. Whether Barak Obama wins the election or not pales in comparison to him having the distinct opportunity to be President of the United States of America. This entire race between Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton, to represent the Democrat Party in the presidential election has energized Americans as never before. In a cauldron of catastrophe, an oasis of sanity still prevails. We have come a long way, but we have so much farther to go. We cannot rest on the laurels of this great accomplishment. We must press on toward the stratospheric heights of morality and success.

But this one, is worthy of nostalgic notoriety. Forty Five years after The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his historic, "I Have A Dream", speech, August 28, 1963; On August 28, 2008, Barak Obama will accept the nomination for the presidency of the United States for the Democrat Party. As my mother would say, “There must be a God somewhere”.

And now Memphis City Schools may be eliminated as we know it. What else! What else can go wrong…how else can it be an embarrassment to our city…who else can bumble a decision that will cause an insurmountable amount of grief to the citizens of Memphis. It borders on ridicularity. $93,000,000 may cause Memphis City Schools to be taken over by the County School system, we are told by the city attorney. The cynic in me says the county can’t do any worse and we do need a change. Maybe this is something good. Shelby County Schools have done a much better job of educating, disciplining and keeping students in a safe environment. On the surface it seems rather innocuous. But let’s look deeper than the superfluous surface of the matter. The investigator in me believes he sees a marionette/puppet situation. He believes he can see an attempt at dictation from behind the scenes.

Some prominent politicians in the city, would like nothing more than see the county take over the city school system. Those same politicians however, are also pro-consolidation. A large hurdle to city and county consolidation is how to merge the city and county schools without strong public outcry. If the city school system is not funded, and if the city attorney is correct, by state edict, the county would take over the city school system, clearing the way for pro-consolidation proponents, to move forward with their agenda. Then again, it may just be another foray into futility by city leaders. Let’s watch this situation closely. It could affect the future of our city.

Recent events have again focused the nation’s attention on violence in U.S. public schools, an issue that has generated public concern and directed research for more than two decades. Despite long-standing attention to the problem, there is a growing perception that not all public schools are safe places of learning, and media reports highlight specific school-based violent acts.

The seventh goal of the National Education Goals states that by the year 2010, “all schools in America will be free of drugs and violence and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol, and offer a disciplined environment that is conducive to learning.”

In response to this goal, the Congress passed the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994, which provides for support of drug and violence prevention programs. As part of this legislation, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is required to collect data to determine the “frequency, seriousness, and incidence of violence in elementary and secondary schools.”

NCES responded to this requirement by commissioning a survey, the Principal/School Disciplinarian Survey on School Violence, the results of which are detailed in this report.

· Fifty-seven percent of public elementary and secondary school
principals reported that one or more incidents of crime/violence
were reported to the police or other law enforcement officials had
occurred in their school.

· Ten percent of all public schools experienced one or more serious
violent crimes (defined as murder, rape or other type of sexual battery,
suicide, physical attack or fight with a weapon, or robbery) that were
reported to police or other law enforcement officials.

· Physical attacks or fights without a weapon led the list of reported
crimes in public schools with about 190,000 such incidents reported.
About 116,000 incidents of theft or larceny were reported along with
98,000 incidents of vandalism. These less serious or nonviolent
crimes were more common than serious violent crimes, with schools
reporting about 4,000 incidents of rape or other type of sexual battery,
7,000 robberies, and 11,000 incidents of physical attacks or fights in
which weapons were used.

· While 43 percent of public schools reported no incidents of crime,
37 percent reported from one to five crimes and about 20
percent reported six crimes or more.

Memphis City Schools is typical of many inner-city school systems. We are not experiencing problems on an island; we are simply one of many that are failing, flailing and floundering in their attempt to safely educate our children. Hiring a new superintendent will not solve all of our problems. I believe we need to take a good look at new, as well as some past behavioral modalities and modify them to our specific situation and employ the resulting paradigm into our system. It is well documented that what we and other large inner-city school systems are currently doing is clearly not working. Let me know what you think we can do to solve some of the disciplinary and administrative problems we have in our school system.

The problem with lies is that the truth will always rise from the throws of obscurity. Edmund Ford was found not guilty yesterday of bribery and other related charges. He gave thanks to God for his acquittal and also thanked his family and friends for their support. It was a very touching situation. He consistently stated that he was not guilty of the charges that were levied against him and never wavered from his initial story. Some felt he was not only guilty by association, but he was guilty by the Ford name. It is obvious that other members of the Ford Family have had problems in the past; however family ties do not necessarily have a direct relationship to character.

 Am I glad about his acquittal? Yes I am. He is a friend of mine. He has helped many of the members of my church and community with funeral arrangements whether they had the money or not. That’s just who he and his wife are…good people. Unfortunately, they have another upcoming hurdle in August that stemmed from alleged improper dealings with former MLGW President, Joseph Lee. My advice, this time, let’s wait until the case has been tried; until prosecution and defense evidence has been presented and the case is officially adjudicated before we pass judgment. After all we all would like the same deference if we were in his shoes. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. But by the Grace of God, good people usually find a way to turn lemons into lemonade.   

In a Newspaper the other day, I read this interesting editorial:

Dear Sir:

It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for thirty years, and I have probably heard 3,000 sermons. To my dismay, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else.

The next day I read this response to that editorial:

Dear Sir:

I have been married for thirty years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals -- mostly my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet ... I have the distinct impression that without those meals, I would have starved to death long ago.

In the same vein, your Pastor hopes to serve a memorable, theological meal that will hopefully stave off your spiritual starvation tonight.

Drew was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information she used against the girl. Drew has denied creating the MySpace account for "Josh Evans" and denied sending any messages to Megan.

"The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl's weaknesses," FBI Special Agent Salvador Hernandez told reporters. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions." Be Aware of your Children's Internet Activities!

I am sorry if I seem a bit presumptuous, but I think it’s time for Senator Obama to begin covertly considering a capable running mate for Vice President. There are several potentially strong contenders for that position, such as Governor Bill Richardson and Senator Joe Biden, but they all pale in comparison to former North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Edwards has the advantage of being known for his anti-poverty issues and does not have the stigma of racial dissention that has grown between many black voters and the Clintons. He appeals to the white-male demographic, a weak sector for Obama, through his blue-collar, working class roots and his rags-to-riches story.

Senator Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, is also a plus. Elizabeth Edwards is well-liked, seen as a fighter (she is battling cancer), and would go a long way in securing the middle-aged female vote, which is the nation's largest voting bloc.

There is some sentiment regarding an Obama-Clinton ticket, however there have been too many accusations, too much negativity, and there is entirely too much fence mending to do for that ticket to be successful. The Democratic party needs unity, not division; it needs healing and not hindrances. If the Democrats are to win this presidential election, it’s best chance to do so will be an Obama-Edwards ticket. Let me know what you think.

From the Utica-Observer Dispatch, Utica, NY

UTICA -- When the Rev. William Procanick put his hand on the Bible during his sex-abuse trial in Oneida County Court earlier this year, he swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But as the former Clinton pastor was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for inappropriately touching a 7-year-old girl at his home last March, Judge Michael L. Dwyer said Procanick sacrificed his honesty the day he testified. "As a minister of God, you got on the stand and you lied," Dwyer told Procanick, the 54-year-old former pastor of Resurrection Assembly of God church on Kirkland Avenue. A jury found Procanick guilty Jan. 22 of first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Hillary is no more responsible for the actions of her ex-pastor as Obama is responsible for the actions of his ex-pastor. Let's just stick to the relevant issues such as gas prices, healthcare, and the economy. Choose the candidate that you feel will best represent your views and concerns.

Since the inception of the Internet, the word virus has taken on a whole new meaning to anyone with a computer. Of all the viruses that have been created and deployed through the Internet, there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of the number of machines it has infected and the cost to repair its damage. A spokesperson from the Lloyds of London insurance syndicate estimated that at least 10 percent of all computers in the world were infected with this virus. Care to take a guess what it is? That’s right, the “I love you” virus!

Despite the best antivirus software, the “I love you” virus first appeared in China in the early spring of 2000 and quickly spread across the entire world in a matter of days. What’s extraordinary about this particular virus is that it was not much different from other viruses, such as the “Melissa” virus, which appeared just one year prior. Both viruses were distributed and functioned almost identically through an e-mail from a trusted friend. The recipient would be asked to open an attachment which unknowingly contained the virus.

So then why would the “I love you” virus infect and cause more damage than any other previous virus? Possibly because the words “I love you” are some of the most powerful words in the world. And when these words appear in the subject line of an e-mail sent by a friend or family member, we are compelled to open that e-mail. Even despite headline news warnings of the “I love you” virus, people across the world could not resist the temptation to find out if someone had sent them a love note.

Hearing the words “I love you” has a powerful attraction. And when “I love you” is backed up with action, it is super-powerful. God tells us throughout the Bible that he loves us, and then he backs up those words with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Our lives are to be lives of love, where we don’t hesitate to say “I love you” to the people we love and then make it count with our actions.

I am a proud Mitchell High School graduate, class of 1982. A long legacy of administrative excellence has been established by principals such as Alonzo Weaver and Alfred Motlow. They molded an atmosphere of respect, character and high standards. I can remember when I couldn’t wait to attend Mitchell High. I had 4 sisters to graduate,  my mother was the first cafeteria manager, former PTA president and I could not wait for my turn to carry on the family legacy.

Pride; Excellence and Character were earmarks of that era. Now let’s fast forward to 2008. The difference is as far as the east is from the west; as far as right is from wrong; has this school moved in a negative direction. Every other week, Mitchell High School is in the news for some negative event, unflattering you tube video or something that illuminates the school in a negative light. Shootings, fights, rape dances, just plain anarchy throughout the school. However, the conspicuous omission in this entire situation is the administration. Where were the teachers and administrators during all these incidents? Another troubling thing I saw was that many of the students were not in uniform. May I continue…The students are allowed to pay the school, not to wear their uniforms up to 50 days per semester. And, a teacher was accosted by a student and no administrative punishment was given.

After I heard about the “Rape Dance” on Youtube and a local news cast, my wife and I surfed Youtube for more Mitchell High videos. We found one that was deplorable. It was a video of a talent show where four young men were performing sexually explicit dances on the floor, mimicking sex acts. Students even came onto the floor from the stands and participated in the immorality. Remember when I asked about the location of the administrators during many of the past episodes? Well, I finally found one. During this embarrassing exhibition of student exploitation, the principal leisurely walked across the screen without a word said regarding the debaucherous acts that were being displayed in his presence. I can’t only blame the students. There is much blame to go around. They are only doing what they are allowed to do.

The principal’s silent acceptance tells us everything we need to know about the problems at the school. It seems that the patients have taken over the asylum. The NCAA calls it a lack of institutional control. I call it students in danger; I call it absolutely unacceptable. Something must change! I hope we don’t let that something be a death, a rape or some other heinous act yet to be committed, while this cavalier administration seems to be powerless or unwilling take to control and ameliorate the situation. Where do you stand on this issue? Let me hear your opinion.

Violence in the home doesn't just affect the person being abused; it affects everyone in the home, including children.

Children may witness abuse in a number of different ways.

Studies have shown that children who grow up in violent homes are more likely to withdraw and have behavioral problems. As they get older, these children often blame themselves for not stopping the abuse. This can lead to further withdrawal, depression, and substance abuse.

Children who grow up in abusive homes are more likely to become abusers or be abused themselves. A boy who grows up with a father who beats his mother tends to see women as weak and submissive and repeat the cycle of abuse in his own relationships. A girl who sees the abuse of her mother is likely to think that abuse is part of a normal relationship and become involved with an abuser herself.

If you're being abused, it's important to get help for yourself, but also for your children.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-799-SAFE (7233) and 800-787-3224 (TTY). Spanish speakers are available. When you call, you will first hear a recording and may have to hold. Hotline staff offer crisis intervention and referrals. If requested, they connect women to shelters and can send out written information.

Sexual assault and abuse is any type of sexual activity that you do not agree to, including:

Sexual assault can be verbal, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. Examples of this are voyeurism, exhibitionism, incest, and sexual harassment.

Rape is forced sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. It is a common form of sexual assault and can be committed in many situations — on a date, by a friend or an acquaintance, or when you think you are alone. Educate yourself on "date rape" drugs. They can be slipped into a drink when a victim is not looking. Never leave your drink unattended — no matter where you are. Try to always be aware of your surroundings. Date rape drugs make a person unable to resist assault and have a type of memory loss so the victim doesn't know what happened.

What are date rape drugs?

These are drugs that are sometimes used to assist a sexual assault. Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity that a person does not agree to. It can include inappropriate touching, vaginal penetration, sexual intercourse, rape, and attempted rape. Because of the effects of these drugs, victims may be physically helpless, unable to refuse sex, and can't remember what happened. The drugs often have no color, smell, or taste and are easily added to flavored drinks without the victim's knowledge. There are at least three date rape drugs:

Although we use the term "date rape," most experts prefer the term "drug-facilitated sexual assault." These drugs have been used to help people commit other crimes, like robbery and physical assault, and have been used on both men and women.

What do the drugs look like?

Take steps right away if you've been sexually assaulted:

· Get away from the attacker to a safe place as fast as you can. Then call 911 or the police.

· Call a friend or family member you trust. You also can call a crisis center or a hotline to talk with a counselor. One hotline is the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673). Feelings of shame, guilt, fear, and shock are normal. It is important to get counseling from a trusted professional.

· Do not wash, comb, or clean any part of your body. Do not change clothes if possible, so the hospital staff can collect evidence. Do not touch or change anything at the scene of the assault.

· Go to your nearest hospital emergency room as soon as possible. You need to be examined and treated for any injuries you may have. Ask to be screened for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and for emergency contraception to help prevent pregnancy. The doctor will collect evidence using a rape kit to find fibers, hairs, saliva, semen, or clothing that the attacker may have left behind.

· You or the hospital staff can call the police from the emergency room to file a report.

· Ask the hospital staff about possible support groups you can attend right away.

You can help someone who is abused or who has been assaulted by listening and offering comfort. Go with her or him to the police, the hospital, or to counseling. Reinforce the message that she or he is not at fault, and that it is natural to feel angry and ashamed.