(NNPA)—The Supreme Court, in its recent decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, may have complicated the growth of Black elected officials by their 5-4 conservative majority, giving corporations carte blanche authority to directly spend money in elections. By deciding that corporations have First Amendment rights to spend money in elections to voice their preferences, they have been given the right of “persons” in constitutional law. In effect, they now have the same rights to influence elections as individuals, when the differences in power, status and capability is obvious.

(NNPA)—My faith in the essential goodness of the American people and our government has been strengthened as I have witnessed the extraordinary mobilization of relief efforts on behalf of the nation of Haiti following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake that has taken the lives of perhaps as many as 100,000 or more of its citizens.

As I watch the screaming, tear-stained scenes of death and anguish unfolding on the nightly news, I cannot help but recall that only five years ago, my own hometown of New Orleans might have disappeared into the abyss of forgotten history were it not for the compassionate outreach of millions of people in this country and around the world. As President Obama said, it is times like these that remind us of our common humanity.

Following the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, Democrats in the Massachusetts state legislature rushed to change a procedural rule thus allowing Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick to replace Kennedy with an interim and Democratic senator. During the 2004 presidential election this same august body had taken that power away from Republican Gov. Mitt Romney fearing he would appoint a Republican should their junior senator, John Kerry, become president. The maneuver displays the arrogance of the left. So significant is their agenda that changing the rules in the middle of the game is justified. Arrogance also leads them to dismiss disgruntled Americans as racists and dimwitted “tea baggers.” It is arrogance of the strongest sort that leads them to believe their policy solutions divinely inspired such that they say openly that Americans will take the medicine of the new left and learn to like it.

One of the top problems in the Black community is unemployment, males in particular. So we asked Pittsburghers how to combat it. Here’s what you said:

“If everyone would create jobs within the Black community to help each other, that would combat unemployment. It would build up a better economy when we support each other. When we buy from each other we create jobs. This way we can get the community back the way it should be.”

Bagumba Lowery, Turhan Shabazz, Alice Conyers

Bagumba Lowery
Homewood
Community activist