Harry Alford

Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
Jan 24 2013

Beyond the Rhetoric

Governments—federal through local—are run by revenue. The source for their revenue is taxation. Their management is best when the revenue is low and worse when there is too much revenue. Too much revenue breeds corruption, waste, ineptness and disorder. That is why the last stimulus we had was a total failure. There was just too much money being manipulated and the nation did not improve at all. I want to discuss one of the stealth ways that government uses to stick us up for more taxation.

Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
Jan 17 2013

Beyond the Rhetoric

Gentrification: The process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents. (Merriam Webster Dictionary).

This vile system of transplanting traditional Black neighborhoods from a geography rich with legacy to a redeveloped area void of any of the history and culture we created is occurring in much of the nation.

Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
Jan 10 2013

Beyond the Rhetoric

It started in the jungles of the Amazon and is now infesting the streets of the favelas (ghettos) of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. Crack addiction is out of control in Brazil. In fact, Brazilians are the biggest consumers of crack and cocaine in the world. Keep in mind that Brazil has more than 100 million Black citizens, which makes it second only to Nigeria in Black population. That’s two and a half times the Black population of the United States. How this has come to be is mysterious. But one thing is for sure: it predominantly affects the Black populace of the nation.

Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
Dec 20 2012

Beyond the Rhetoric

My family went to the movies to see “Lincoln,” the much advertised and critically acclaimed new film by Steven Spielberg. The plot centered on one particular phase of the president’s legacy, the abolition of slavery and how he got it done. All of us were taught the Emancipation Proclamation was the vehicle that abolished slavery in America. That just is not true, and Spielberg brilliantly showed us the real story. That’s right, it was not the Emancipation Proclamation!

Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
Dec 13 2012

Beyond the Rhetoric

The Mississippi River is a great blessing from God. Beside being the largest river in our nation, it is a major vehicle of commerce. It physically borders the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. In addition to that, its tributaries reached out to a total of 31 states. A significant number of ports handle the robust amount of shipping that occurs 24/7 on this magnificent consortium of water.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.