USATODAY.com - Social climate still requires Black History Month

In this roundup from the USA Today editorial page, there is still a division over whether Black History Month should be continued or diminished. The bigger question in my mind, does other races feel the need to celebrate and explore races unlike their own. History is a facinating subject to study, and if for no other reason to teach your children, it is always worth it to have a month of celebration.

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Black History Month - Coretta Scott King

On a day that marked the beginning of Black History Month and the confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice, Coretta Scott King's death today draws attention to just why the examination of black history is so vitally important. The examination of history is relevant, in my opinion to understand the people, the societal influences, and the context that events occurred in to gain a greater understanding of how future generations were shaped by the courageous actions of many. Regardless of how people felt about Martin Luther King's triumphs and character flaws, I think that he was probably the most significant single figure in the 20th century regardless of what Time Magazine feels. The fact remains that his dedication to non-violent protest to brings about social change in a time that it was not really welcomed continues to my chagrin to be understated. Imagine what would happen if there was no movement to push for equal treatment of all of the races and equal opportunities to succeed and build economic wealth and a prosperous future for future generations. There would continue to be a large degree of discrimination in may areas of society. We would be eating in segregated restaurants and going to segregated schools. Our children would never have the opportunity to understand how to deal with situations that are out of their control. And most importantly, their would be a lessened belief in the promises of America. This is why Dr. King's legacy has still more ground to cover.

As I read news accounts about Mrs. King's life I couldn't help but feel that although it is suggested that she was a long-suffering wife and mother, she had a tremendous influence over the civil rights movement as well. Although it has been widely rumored and speculated that Dr. King strayed, I think that she provided him with a comfort that we probably would never understand. Just looking at pictures of her after her husband's death, she appeared to be the picture of calm and grace. She had stresses in her marriage that she had to deal with, but she never appeared to be burdened by them. When you try to judge the Kings from the outside, you will never understand them, because you were never involved in their life. The only thing that we have to hold on to is his great legacy that benefited all of us.

This is what I will focus on, not the complexities of two people who obviously brought out the best in each other.

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BlogPulse Releases List of Top Blogs, Blog Posts, and More of 2005

From Search Engine Watch.com:

BlogPulse Releases List of Top Blogs, Blog Posts, and More of 2005

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Baby Steps Program Helps Make a Difference

Just after the holiday season, I checked the Washington Post for one of my favorite columnists next column, but I was suprised when it was not there. William Raspberry, who has had a distinguished journalistic career with the Washington Post, and whose colums are syndicated in over 200 papers worldwide, returned at the end of the year. While I will miss his exemplary writing, I wondered more what he was going to do in retirement. He will continue to teach journalism students at Duke University, but he has a very intriguing education initiative planned for his hometown of Okolona Ms.

He, along with the University of Mississippi, The Okolona Chamber of Commerce, and the Barksdale Reading Institute have partnered on a program called Baby Steps . This program, which is been ungoing since last August 2005, is a program that emphasizes that role of a parent in the development of a child is critically important to its success. The program not only gives and helps parents (regardless of income level) help with their parenting skills, early childhood education, how to motivate the child, and role-playimg excercises. It attempts to advance the notion that it takes a village to raise a child, and if the efforts are geared towards them, that the whole community can benefit.

Raspberry's comments:

"The genius of the plan lies in the fact that parents have great power to influence their children’s academic success, and fundamental skills-such as self confidence, perseverance, teamwork and responsibility-can be taught at home."

I admire him for his efforts, and if he does succeed, I hope that he can take this on a national level. This program is needed everywhere, especially in areas that are berift of hope.

Other links to the story:

Cal Thomas- Washington Times December 30,2005

Clarion Ms. Ledger

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Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years

I wish that I had this information 20 or so years ago, when I set out to become a computer programmer back in my college days at Purdue. Peter Norwig, who is the director of research at Google, has written an essay that theorizes that people are in too much of a hurry knowdays when it comes to obtaining the knowledge needed to perform well in their chosen careers. Maybe it is because there is so much pressure nowadays utilizing internet technology to outwit and outsmart the competition on a global scale. From the perspective of an average worker, they may feel that they have to constantly update their skills to qualify for a promotion ort be left behind in the job market. But the essential points that he makes are very timely, even today:

Researchers (Hayes, Bloom) have shown that it takes about ten years to develop expertise in any of a wide variety of areas, including chess playing, music composition, painting, piano playing, swimming, tennis, and research in neuropsychology and topology. There appear to be no real shortcuts: even Mozart, who was a musical prodigy at age 4, took 13 more years before he began to produce world-class music. In another genre, the Beatles seemed to burst onto the scene with a string of #1 hits and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. But they had been playing small clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg since 1957, and while they had mass appeal early on, their first great critical success, Sgt. Peppers, was released in 1967.

When I read this quote, it really hit home with me. Although I have been working in information technology since 1987, the past eighteen years have exposed me to a wide variety of skills from building a computer, to programming, to technical support, to my current position as a capacity planner. Within those different areas, I did not have a formal training program. I had to learn and adapt to different situations often alone and without a mentor. I had to also develop advanced research skills that would allow me to find background information on technical problems and resolve them quickly. I also began to become frustrated when I would write computer programs which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. I didn't have the feedback that I needed to grow and develop as a programmer.

This is not a lament over how how things have turned out for me. I felt that knowing that being successful in a narrow field requires years of honing your craft would give me an added perspective in dealing with the journeys that my children will face in finding an occupation. It is never easy to do so, especially when you don't know what you want to do. But once your find out what your niche really is the rewards can be rewarding, I feel.

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Nagin Works Both Sides of Aisle for Aid

If there is one thing that ordinary people such as myself need to understand about the aftermath of Katrina is that poltical leaders who are confronted with the welfare of the people that elect them often exhibit emotions that we just quite understand. The comment by Mayor Nagin about God not having the best interests of his city at heart was an unfortunate one, but completely understandable. He is the centerpiece of a situation that likely manifested itself over a longer peiod of time, which he had no control over. When government leaders didn't feel that there would be a problem with the levees, then they were setting themselves up for all kinds of reprucussions moral, political, and otherwise. The moral reprucussions of ignoring the needs of a region, the political reprucussions of withholding aid until progress is made, and the erosion of confidence in elected leaders is a byproduct of a culture of exclusion. I am sure that Nagin was aware of these reprucussions, and he showed righteous indignation when progress was slow. But now, he is trying to work both sides of the political aisle while making untimely statements that in the long run do not help his rebuilding efforts. I hope that he recognizes the error of his ways, and shows better leadership. The people that he serves as a leader deserve nothing but his best.

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My MLK Day Service Project

I thought that the best way to honor Dr. King's memory at least for me today would be to point out some of the best links on the web that can help you gain a greater understanding of this great man's mission to make the world a better place for everyone. It is continually argued that his "dream" has turned into more rhetoric than reality, but there has been a lot of progress made. African Americans have been able to achieve greater gains in education, able to buy homes, own businesses, and make a positive entry into a middle-class lifestyle. While there is still more that can be done, the most important thing to keep in mind is that any progress made is a reflection of the collective efforts of communities, faiths, and all races, not just one individual person.


Wikipedia Special Section

Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute at Stanford University

Martin Luther King FBI File

Department of Justice Investigation into Dr.King's assassination

The Martin Luther King Center for Social Change in Atlanta

Martin Luther King historical site

Time profile on Dr.King

Martin Luther King special section at EnchantedLarning.com

Nobel Peace Prize of 1964

Citizen King - a PBS special

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"Affluent Beggars" Create Moral Dilemmas Everywhere

I came across this item about a family who are in their early 30's and support a family of five panhandling in the streets of Ashland, Oregon. The couple, Jason Pancost and Elizabeth Johnson make about 30-40k a year as panhandlers. They have managed to carve out a semblance of a life for their children, while raising the ire of their community. They have been accused of being poor role models for their children, abusers of the food stamp program, tax evaders, and they have been asked to leave several downtown establishments because shop owners feared that they would draw unneeded attention and drive customers away.

In reading this, I don't thing that it is altogether suprising when you consider that:

• They both come from abusive childhoods
• They have a fear of being apart
• They have experimented with drugs and alcohol
• They are afraid to get a job, becuase they fear being seperated from their children

They have been I do not know how much a panhandler makes per year, but the fact that they refer to themselves as "affluent" is alarming. It is a by-product of the general state of the country which, as time goes on does less to encourage people to rise above their circumstances, but seems to want to keep them there.

Consider these facts from the U.S. Census Bureau on poverty in 2004:

• The official poverty rate in 2004 was 12.7 percent, up from 12.5 percent 2003.
• In 2004, 37.0 million people were in poverty, up 1.1 million from 2003.
• Poverty rates remained unchanged for Blacks (24.7 percent) and Hispanics
  (21.9 percent), rose for non-Hispanic Whites (8.6 percent in 2004, up from 8.2
  percent in 2003) and decreased for Asians (9.8 percent in 2004, down from 11.8
  percent in 2003).
• For children under 18 years old, both the 2004 poverty rate (17.8 percent) and the number in poverty (13.0 million) remained unchanged from 2003. The poverty rate for
  children under 18 remained higher than that of 18-to-64-year olds (11.3 percent)
  and that of people aged 65 and over (9.8 percent).
• Both the poverty rate and number in poverty increased for people 18 to 64 years old (11.3 percent and 20.5 million in 2004, up from 10.8 percent and 19.4 million in 2003).

Even if you are not aware of the statistics, it still is very evident that there are people in everyday life that are in dire straits just like this. But I find that more questions get raised than actually gets solved about poverty. Some of the questions that I thought of where:

• Does the government have an obligation to help families like this, even running the risk that they may not accept the help that you give them?
• Why won't they go find help on their own?
• Why won't they seek help from medical doctors to treat the remnants of an abused childhood?
• Should they leave Oregon and try to make a life somewhere else?

There is no eay answers to these questions, but if you saw them what would you say to them? What would you do? Do you emphatize with them? Do you even feel in your heart the desire to pray for the children's well-being at least?

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A Selection of the Most Blogged About Books of 2005

The New York Times has a Selection of the Most Blogged-About Books of 2005 . I need to check out this list so I can catch up with my reading for 2006.

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DoCopenhagen: Top 50 Music Videos Of 2005

I posted this link for my daughter, I do not know how many music videos that she watches, but this list of the top music videos of 2005 is bound to entertain everyone.

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Best albums of 2005

Greg Kolt from the Chicago Tribune rates the best albums for 2005.

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BoxingScene Picks The Best of 2005

Boxing News Magazine picks the highlights from the boxing scene in 2005.

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Best Books of 2005 from Bookslut.com

Although I don't particularly like the title of her blog, the Booklady
gives her recommendations for the best books of 2005.

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CERT's Best and Worst of 2005

In this item from internetnews.com which is sure to cause more debate between devotees of Microsoft Windows and Linux, the United States Emergency Readiness team (US-CERT) reported more system vulnerabilities with Linux
than Microsoft Windows.

From the article:

US-CERT's year-end compilation found 5198 reported vulnerabilities in
2005. Of that number, 2328 of them were for Unix/Linux (45 percent), 2058 were
multiple operating system vulnerabilities (40 percent), and 801 were for Windows
(15 percent).

Most security experts believe that a well-configured Linux servers is better protected than Microsoft products for vulneribilities, so you may have to take these results with a grain of salt.

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Best Books of 2005 from Stephen King

In his latest article in Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King picks his favorite books of 2005, which includes a perennial favorite J.K. Rowling. He also weighs in on his favorite movies and his favorite music picks for 2005.

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