Showing posts with label Donald Trump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donald Trump. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Go Midterms!

Today, I am topping a blogpost I wrote on the Importance of the 2014 midterm elections. Obama was in the White House then and the midterm elections were very crucial. Nothing much has changed about their cruciality since then. The midterms remain important to the Democratic process and pave the way by providing a trajectory for future National elections. 

I encourage you to read this and get energized about the campaigns now underway. I am for various reasons paying close attention to the senate race in Georgia between incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker. The very fact that Walker is running his campaign for office under the auspices of former U.S. President Donald Trump is definitely worth analyzing from a number of angles. Especially in light of the buzz presently circulating about how republicans are using selected Blacks to ramp up diversity within their party and gain more credibility and votes from Black voters. Time to pay attention. Things are heating up indeed.

Here is the actual extended link if for some reason the above link does not work:

https://cynthiadwilson2.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-importance-of-your-2014-midterm-vote.html?m=0

Have a blessed day,   

Cynthia Wilson



Sunday, June 24, 2007

What Do You Do When You Get There?:The Katrina Rebuilding Effort


Photo Source

The Sunday New York Times ran a special comprehensive spread today on progress in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The much needed full issue dedication is pretty timely,especially in light of the "Weekend Inspiration" emailed out to friends on Friday-- a copy of my sermon ,What Do You Do When You Get There?-A Reflection on the Poverty Initiative's January 2006 Katrina Relief Team Trip to the Gulf Coast. It chronicles last year's mission trip to the Gulf Coast,Ocean Springs,Biloxi and New Orleans while at the same time, wrestles to make some sense of the devastation in the face of slow motion recovery and rebuilding efforts. I am happy to be in such good tune with current events. I hope that edge will inspire healing in the form of timely, equitable and effective rebuilding in the great city of New Orleans.

To date, the move towards progress continues at a snail's pace even for real estate mogul Donald Trump, who has a $400 Million Dollar High Rise project currently at stake and in parked status in New Orleans. Trump is committed to the city and is involved to do whatever he can to help the city out.

However, the overall delay in rebuilding New Orleans seems to be facing ostensibly begs the question,"What seems to be the hold up?" A more probing follow up would inquire what continues to be the underlying problem with unifying people and forging ahead for the good of all the city's residents?

From my experience,usually when there's a delay in major activity on a scale of this magnitude,it usually means one or two things. Either there is strong disagreement among the key players, money is in short supply or there has been a delay in processing it due to cash flow issues or even worse,no one quite knows how to approach the problem.

Based on an assessment of the current situation, there appears to be a web of overlapping issues that continue to contribute to the murky state of rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. First of all, I suspect there may be some tension behind the fact that the levees are still not up to par. The Army Corps of Engineers released a report recently on that issue as reported in the New York Times.

Then,there is theBaker Bill. Grassroots community organizers and membership organization,The Color of Change,has a campaign underway which opposes the bill, claiming it caters to the rich and powerful real estate interest,encouraging gentrification, while sacrificing the poor and placing them in the untenable position of being uprooted from their life long homes and being forced to live elsewhere.

Then there is HR 1227 which is a Bill to allow public housing residents back into the city after being forced out indefinitely after Hurricane Katrina. There is also the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project which is designed to give the citizens of New Orleans the right to return to rebuild their homes themselves without the gentrification threat community leaders feel the Baker Bill poses.

There has been a move afoot to organize the community to support these two pieces of legislation which grassroots organizers feel will better provide pre-Katrina homeowners a fair and fighting chance to come back to New Orleans and rebuild.The bills are important.They also interplay dynamically with the issues of poverty,racism and poor structural support for the levees and would seem to inform any plans by developers and master builders to restore New Orleans.

I suspect that Trump's as well as other real estate developer's projects may have gotten bogged down by the cloud of uncertainty that continues to hover over New Orleans. Further, the Army Corps of Engineers doesn't seem to have much promising news about the ability of the levees to withstand another deluge of water and wind from future hurricanes.There are probably a whole slew of additional "hidden" issues that have not even surfaced yet that contribute significantly to and perpetuate the current inertia.

When the Poverty Initiative's Relief Team first arrived in New Orleans in January of last year we met with a real estate developer(more on that story here), someone who could provide us with a pretty straightforward summary of the rebuilding quagmire."Press", almost a year and one half ago was concerned with the fate of the Baker Bill which he supported as a viable means of proceeding with rebuilding efforts.However,that now seems to be facing grassroots opposition. It seems efforts to spread awareness concerning the need for passage of HR 1227 and the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project continues as a grassroots priority.

The latter gives long time residents of New Orleans who are being permanently displaced due to Hurricane Katrina,the muscle to stand their ground and successfully fight to save and remain in their homes. They can also be gainfully employed in the process by rebuilding New Orleans and receive compensation for their efforts.The former is a provision that would allow residents of public housing to return to the city,because now they are being blocked. Many poor feel New Orleans is being stolen right out from under them and that rich and powerful development in the city will unjustly squeeze them out.

In light of the foregoing,I'd like to offer some suggestions to those in New Orleans making valiant or otherwise efforts to rebuild based on my observations as a member of the Poverty Initiative's Fact Finding Mission Trip last January. The following course of action may get some rebuilding activity going.

If you haven't already,you may want to:

-meet, talk and form alliances with grassroots community,religious and civic leaders

-meet with long time residents,residents of public housing units and other people who will likely be permanently displaced if they are not allowed to return to the city

-Reach out. Become familiar with their stories,their pains,their anguish,their losses

-Take a look at Jonathan Demme's "Right to Return" movie on New Orleans

-View Spike Lee's documentary-"When the Levees Broke"

Other Suggested Resources:

"Katrina":Listening With Our Hearts",as well, found on the Poverty Initiative's website

A sermon reflecting on the trip to New Orleans,which was preached in Union Theological Seminary's James Chapel on February 6,2006. You will find it here, or just scroll down to the blog entry prior to this one.

There are still so many uncertainties. However,if people can come together in the spirit and vein of "Rich and Poor Alike" ,working together in solidarity to rebuild,then,I think you may get some movement on this...

Peace,

Cynthia(Revcoolc)

Related Photos and Blogs:



Above Photos taken by Cynthia D. Wilson from Moving Van(passenger side) upon approach to New Orleans-January 13,2006. The Poverty Initiative of Union Theological Seminary- Hurricane Katrina Relief Team Trip

Related Blogs:

What Do You Do When You Get There?( A Reflection on the Poverty Initiative's January 2006 Katrina Relief Team Trip to the Gulf Coast)

www.heavieroctaves.org: January 11, 2006- Ocean Springs, Mississippi-Rich and Poor Alike-More Photos

www.heavieroctaves.org: Jan 13-New Orleans-Final Stop on Katrina Trip-Part I

www.heavieroctaves.org: Jan. 13-More Pictures of New Orleans Area...5 Months After Katrina- Part II

The photos in the link immediately above and the ones below depict the remains of Lower Ninth Ward Homes in Jan.2006




For further information, email cynthia@cynthiadwilson.com

Monday, June 4, 2007

A Missing O'Donnell Observation...









(More...)






www.heavieroctaves.org: Rosie O'Donnell's- For All Kids Foundation-Help for Katrina Survivors

I thought I'd top the above blog post from the Heavier Octaves blog dated December 12,2006. Here's why:

Recently Rosie O'Donnell has been in one battle after the other with fellow "View"talk show hosts and business magnate Donald Trump.The story has been all over the news and in gossip driven media like TMZ. Both have made less than charming references to one another.In fact,the hostile and mostly vitriolic "back and forth" would seemingly have come to blows, if the two were in close proximity to one another when making the provoking exchange of remarks.

All in all, it seems the whole matter has taken public discourse down a few notches,if that is at all possible in today's age. But seriously, if adults can't communicate with civility towards one another, choosing to make spectacles of themselves "playing the dozens" , as the old folks call it, and for whatever reasons,before millions of viewers, how can the kids be expected to behave differently? Do some public figures even care anymore? Or, has the ratings game and the obsession with the kind of popularity and viewership such dialogue potentially generates taken priority?

The Rosie controversy escalated and put a strain on relationship with View honcho Barbara Walters, which eventually led to her departure from the popular morning television program. Incidentally,I can't help but imagine how "Star" is taking all this in.

I've followed the breaking news reports,the gossip spins on the story and I have also reflected on the immense popularity and huge success Rosie enjoyed with her TV talk show a few years back. A lot of that was a result of the wonderful things she did for guests on the show and the kindnesses she extended to others in general.She was even dubbed the "Queen of Nice".

Well, let not your hopes be dashed.She still appears to be continuing her reign in the world of "niceness" and continues to"help others". She has a special fondness for assisting children and they are those needing the most care and attention.

Recently,Electronic Arts,Inc.'s casual gaming destination Pogo.com™ has teamed up with Rosie O’Donnell to launch their newest charitable program ‘Pogo Cares Benefiting Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation’. This two month program raises awareness within the vibrant Pogo.com community of 11 million players. Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation helps bring child care, education and happiness to America’s kids. With the help of its players, Pogo.com will donate $30K to the foundation.

I, then, recalled a blog that posted on Heavier Octaves last year reporting Rosie's generosity to the children of New Orleans in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. And, I thought to myself "someone should be talking about the good things she does and has done with as much zeal as this brouhaha with Trump has been reported".

So,click on the link above,if you have not already done so and be further enlightened.You may also visit her foundation's website here.

Enjoy reading it. As you do,wonder what is going on in New Orleans. I hear reports of progress. But it is, from what I gather, very slow. Also, and perhaps as important,wonder what is happening to our media and interpersonal communication standards. There seems to be a lot of "upheaval" taking place in that arena, whether for the good or the bad.

One thing that has become clearer to me throughout my observation of this whole thing,is that it is not always "what you say,but how you say it". In addition, you can't always judge a person by what they say. While that is important,their broader body of work should be taken into consideration as well i.e.,the kinds of contributions they've made to their communities,the quality of person they have demonstrated themselves to be over the long run,etc.

What is in a person's heart is ultimately more important than what they say. And,we can only hear it if we listen with ours. Admittedly,this is not always the case. But ,I think it is very applicable here.

Keep Rosie, the children, the people of New Orleans and "respectful dialogue" lifted up in your thoughts today.

Peace,

Cynthia



A Missing O'Donnell Observation...

Recently Rosie O'Donnell has been in one battle after the other with fellow "View"talk show hosts and with business tycoon Donald Trump. Both have made less than charming references to one another.In fact,the hostile and mostly vitriolic "back and forth" would probably have come to blows if the two were in close proximity to one another when making the scouring exchanges of remarks. All in all,I think the whole matter it has taken public discourse down a few notches.If adults can't communicate cordially and civilly towards one another, and make a spectacle of themselves "playing the dozens" as the old folks call it,then how can we expect the kids to do the same.

Rosie has even gotten into a "furor" over the controversy with View's head honcho Barbara Walters which eventually led to her departure from the popular morning television program.I've followed the breaking news reports,the gossip spins on the story and I reflected on the immense popularity and success Rosie enjoyed with her talk show program a few years back. A lot of that was a result of the wonderful things she did for guests on the show and the kindnesses she extended to others. I then recalled a blog that I posted on Heavier Octaves last year reporting about Rosie's generosity in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and I thought why isn't somebody talking about the good things she does and has done. So,for this reason and other reasons which I can not clearly articulate at this time,I lift for today's "Daily Inspiration" a post from the Heavier Octaves blog dated

Here's the link

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