fdtappan's Blog

Most of us are familiar with several modern religious cults such as the Branch Dividians, Heavens Gate, The Unification Church, and many others. I have an epiphanous premonition that the present and past devotion and cultish attraction to all things Elvis is becoming a burgeoning religion. At one time there was a cable program that delved into the actual worship of Elvis. Many of his songs were used as hymns and an Elvis impersonator would preach, for lack of a better word, a sermon.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Elvis phenomenon can only be categorized as the birth of a religious movement. Elvis’s home, Graceland, is one of the most visited and cherished spots in the country. Some visit out of curiosity, but many go as holy pilgrims, to honor and worship the divine spirit of Elvis. Bits of clothes, even single strands of hair, verified by Priscilla, are sold as sacred relics. There have been countless sightings of Elvis after death and many tales abound of miracles attributed to him.

We are probably most familiar with groups professing "religious" or "spiritual" values such as becoming like God, becoming God, realizing our Godhood or goals. These cults can range from mutations of traditional religions, in any culture, to occult fellowships, to "new" blends of spiritual practices and beliefs. Other cults may purport to make you a better and happier person (psychological/philosophical aka Church of Scientology), save the world according to a particular political doctrine, or increase your income and earthly "abundance".

Admittedly, the Elvis endoctrination does not fulfill the classic characterization of a cult, however it is close. The line is being blurred. The obsession is morphing into a religion. Be careful people. Elvis was only a man. Not God or a deity, just a man.

What is The Church of Scientology and what are their beliefs. Many celebrities including recently deceased musician Isaac Hayes have adopted Scientology. According to their official website, Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices initially created by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard also laid the foundations and policies for the establishment and management of Scientology organizations with the first Church of Scientology being established in December 1953. Hubbard established Scientology's doctrines during a period from 1952 until his death in January 1986, establishing the basic principles in the 1950s and 1960s. It was originally secular, Hubbard stating in 1952 that "Scientology would be a study of knowledge." The following year he began to characterize Scientology's beliefs and practices as a religion, and by 1960 he was defining Scientology as "a religion by its basic tenets, practice, historical background and by the definition of the word 'religion' itself." In 1969 he wrote that "It is fundamentally an applied religious philosophy."

Scientology and the organizations that promote it have remained highly controversial. The Church of Scientology has been characterized as a cult and accused of establishing unscrupulous commercial enterprises, harassing its critics and abusing the trust of its members. In 1967, the IRS stripped all US-based Scientology entities of their tax exemption, declaring Scientology's activities were commercial and operated for the benefit of Hubbard. The church sued and lost repeatedly for 26 years trying to regain its tax-exempt status. The case was eventually settled in 1993, at which time the church paid $12.5 million to the IRS—greatly less than IRS had initially demanded—and the IRS recognized the church as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

In 1978, a number of Scientologists including L. Ron Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard, who was second in command in the organization at the time, were convicted of perpetrating the largest incident of domestic espionage in the history of the United States. It was called "Operation Snow White" within the Church. It involved infiltrating, wiretapping, and stealing documents from the offices of Federal attorneys and the Internal Revenue Service. Eleven church staff, including Mary Sue Hubbard and other highly placed officials, pleaded guilty or were convicted in federal court based on evidence seized in the raids, and received sentences from two to six years.

L. Ron Hubbard’s book Dianetics is the basis of the Scientology movement. According to Hubbard, Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the relationship between the spirit, mind and body. The word "Dianetics" is derived from the Greek (dia) meaning "through" and (nous), mind; so it literally means "through mind". Hubbard wrote that mental and psychosomatic physical problems are caused by traumatic recordings called engrams that are stored in the reactive mind. The goal of Dianetics is to erase the engrams in the reactive mind to achieve the state of Clear. Once this state of "Clear:" is achieved, according to Hubbard, an individual is able to function at his or her full potential. The ultimate goal is for one to reach the level Cleard Theta Clear, described by Hubbard as: "A thetan who is completely rehabilitated and can do everything a thetan should do, such as move MEST and control others from a distance, or create his own universe".

Let me know your feelings about this new and popular religious movement.

Two icons of entertainment passed away this weekend; Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes. We have lost so much in such a short time. Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Grammy Award winning musician, Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was born August 20, 1942 in Covington, Tennessee and graduated from Manassas High School. He is best known for his theme song from the movie “Shaft”, his “ground breaking” work with STAX Records and his role as the voice of “Chef” on the Comedy Central Series South Park. Sometimes called “Black Moses”, Hayes also founded the Isaac Hayes Foundation to facilitate his charitable efforts. He joined the Church of Scientology in 1995, which has been the subject of much controversy. The legendary soul singer, songwriter, musician and producer whose career spanned four decades, was found unconscious on the floor of his home, near a treadmill by one of his relatives. Ironically, he had recently completed work on a movie called ''Soul Men,'' in which he appears as himself. The film stars Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac.

Bernie Mac whose given name was Bernard Jeffrey McCoullough, was born in 1957 on the South side of Chicago. He was nominated for two Emmy’s, two Golden Globe Awards and was a four time winner of the NAACP Image Award for the “Bernie Mac Show”. He also won critical acclaim for the stand up comedy movie, “The Original Kings of Comedy”. Bernie Mac enjoyed an illustrious 30 year career. His sister-in-law said Mac's inflammatory lung disease contributed to his death. "He had sarcoidosis, but it was in remission," she says. “But because he had it, his immune system was compromised. He had an infection but was on a new medication that suppresses the immune system, and that's where the pneumonia came from." Friend George Cloony in a statement said, "The world just got a little less funny. He will be dearly missed."

Live all you can, love all you can, forgive all you can, share all you can, encourage all you can, uplift all you can, worship all you can, pray all you can, dream all you can, help all you can, while you can! Life is short.

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.

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.   

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!

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.