The GOPs new look could spell change

It was pretty interesting watching television on Friday to see America make history once again.  While not as publicized as President Obama’s series of accomplishments the election of Michael Steel as the GOP leader is a historic step for the country.  It defines the fact that many GOP leaders are aware that they have not appealed to the American people in years and that there is a need for an abrupt change before the party falls completely apart.  What remains to be seen is how hard line conservatives really feel about moving forward and changing.  After all, Steeles victory did not come as a landslide but from a series of votes that only tilted in Steeles favor after a fellow republican dropped out of the running.  A win is a win but internal party politics and hidden racism could make it difficult for Steele to do the job of redefining the party. Steele will also need to win over the support of the Republican citizens which have hard line views and those good-ole-boy values that rarely accept change and inclusivity of other races and lifestyles.  Turning on the television and seeing a black man speak for the Republican Party will certainly be a tough pill to swallow for many Republican voters.

The fact is that the Rebulican Party has a long road ahead of them if the goal is to appeal to a new progessive group of voters that make up a variety of lifestyles and races.  Moving from hard core conservatism to a party with an open mind could spell the end of the Republican Party of today and introduce a split that could eventually define a new party.

Time’s Up for Gottfried

I guess enough was enough.

After 11 years coaching his alma mater, Mark Gottfried resigned as coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team.  Gottfried was the longest tenured coach in the SEC until his resignation.  But after spending the last few years in mediocrity, it was the right time.

“I agreed with (Gottfried) that it is in the best interests of the men’s basketball program for us to move in a different direction,” said Mal Moore, Athletics Director at UA.  After a 61-51 loss to Kentucky in Tuscaloosa on January 24th, the writing was on the wall.

Gottfried’s career at Alabama was up and down.  He led the Tide to the NCAA tournament five times and the NIT three times.  After compiling a 12-7 record prior to him stepping down, Alabama appeared headed for another berth in the NIT at best.

Another blow the post-season hopes of Alabama was the loss of star point guard Ronald Steele.  Steele announced that he would no longer play this season with 13 games still left in the regular season.  Steele had a history of injuries, but he explained that his decision to not play wasn’t related to the injuries.  “(It’s) definitely not the reason I am leaving the team,” said Steele.

So why would a star player leave his team midway through his senior season?  Is it tied to Gottfried who was clearly a lame-duck coach?  “I can’t really get into specifics about it.”

Steele’s departure may have little or nothing to do with Gottfried’s situation.  However, his leaving did nothing to help Gottfried’s case to stick around the Capstone.

Added pressure has also come from the early success of football coach Nick Saban.  Saban arguably took over a situation that was in much worse condition with the Alabama football program and took the Crimson Tide to the Sugar Bowl in only his second season.  Gottfried’s closest accomplishment was in 2004 when he coach his squad to the NCAA tournament regional finals.

In the end, Gottfried had a mostly successful career at Alabama with a 210 win, 132 loss record.  Unfortunately with the Tide looking like they would miss the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year, his time at Alabama appeared to have run it’s course.

It’s now time for Alabama to find a new coach. Phillip Pearson was named interim coach for the remainder of the season, but likely won’t be in consideration for the permanent position.  Mal Moore has stated that he’s looking for a “proven head coach” to take over the program.

A few names that have been tossed around are Minnesota’s Tubby Smith, Hall-of-Fame coach Bob Knight, Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant, Sean Miller of Xavier, University of Missouri coach Mike Anderson, UAB’s Mike Davis, and Baylor head-man Scott Drew.

When are WE going to get over it?

For much of the last forty years, ever since America “fixed” its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, “When are African Americans finally going to get over it?”

Now I want to ask:  “When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?”

Recent reports that “Election Spurs Hundreds’ of Race Threats, Crimes” should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in “Bombingham,” Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than “talk the talk.”

Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.

We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes.   Criticize them, yes.  Call for their impeachment, perhaps.

But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we’re back in the sixties again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we’ve proven what conservatives are always saying -that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president. But instead we now hear that schoolchildren from Maine to California are talking about wanting to “assassinate Obama.”

Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, “How long?”    How long before we white people realize we can’t make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can -once and for all- get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color?  How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior?  How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?

How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we starting “living out the true meaning” of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that “red and yellow, black and white” all are precious in God’s sight?

Until this past November 4, I didn’t believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency.   I still don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem. But here’s my three-point plan:

First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built I’m going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I’m going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.

Third, I’m going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can “in spirit and in truth” sing of our damnable color prejudice, “We HAVE overcome.”
Andrew Manis is author of Macon Black and White and serves on the steering committee of Macon’s Center for Racial understanding.

Balancing Your Investment Choices with Asset Allocation

A chocolate cake. Pasta. A pancake. They’re all very different, but they generally involve flour, eggs, and perhaps a liquid. Depending on how much of each ingredient you use, you can get very different outcomes. The same is true of your investments. Balancing a portfolio means combining various types of investments using a recipe that’s right for you.

Getting the right mix

The combination of investments you choose can be as important as your specific investments. The mix of various asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents, accounts for most of the ups and downs of a portfolio’s returns.

There’s another reason to think about the mix of investments in your portfolio. Each type of investment has specific strengths and weaknesses that enable it to play a specific role in your overall investing strategy. Some investments may be chosen for their growth potential. Others may provide regular income. Still others may offer safety or simply serve as a temporary place to park your money. And some investments even try to fill more than one role. Because you probably have multiple needs and desires, you need some combination of investment types.

Balancing how much of each you should include is one of your most important tasks as an investor. That balance between growth, income, and safety is called your asset allocation. It doesn’t guarantee a profit or insure against a loss, but it does help you manage the level and type of risks you face.

Balancing risk and return

Ideally, you should strive for an overall combination of investments that minimizes the risk you take in trying to achieve a targeted rate of return. This often means balancing more conservative investments against others that are designed to provide a higher return but that also involve more risk. For example, let’s say you want to get a 7.5% return on your money. Your financial professional tells you that in in the past, stock market returns have averaged about 10% annually, and bonds roughly 5%. One way to try to achieve your 7.5% return would be by choosing a 50-50 mix of stocks and bonds. It might not work out that way, of course. This is only a hypothetical illustration, not a real portfolio, and there’s no guarantee that either stocks or bonds will perform as they have in the past. But asset allocation gives you a place to start.

Someone living on a fixed income, whose priority is having a regular stream of money coming in, will probably need a very different asset allocation than a young, well-to-do working professional whose priority is saving for a retirement that’s 30 years away. Many publications feature model investment portfolios that recommend generic asset allocations based on an investor’s age. These can help jump-start your thinking about how to divide up your investments. However, because they’re based on averages and hypothetical situations, they shouldn’t be seen as definitive. Your asset allocation is–or should be–as unique as you are. Even if two people are the same age and have similar incomes, they may have very different needs and goals. You should make sure your asset allocation is tailored to your individual circumstances.

Many ways to diversify

When financial professionals refer to asset allocation, they’re usually talking about overall classes: stocks, bonds, and cash or cash equivalents. However, there are others that also can be used to complement the major asset classes once you’ve got those basics covered. They include real estate and alternative investments such as hedge funds, private equity, metals, or collectibles. Because their returns don’t necessarily correlate closely with returns from major asset classes, they can provide additional diversification and balance in a portfolio.

Even within an asset class, consider how your assets are allocated. For example, if you’re investing in stocks, you could allocate a certain amount to large-cap stocks and a different percentage to stocks of smaller companies. Or you might allocate based on geography, putting some money in U.S. stocks and some in foreign companies. Bond investments might be allocated by various maturities, with some money in bonds that mature quickly and some in longer-term bonds. Or you might favor tax-free bonds over taxable ones, depending on your tax status and the type of account in which the bonds are held.

Asset allocation strategies

There are various approaches to calculating an asset allocation that makes the most sense for you.

The most popular approach is to look at what you’re investing for and how long you have to reach each goal. Those goals get balanced against your need for money to live on. The more secure your immediate income and the longer you have to achieve your investing goals, the more aggressively you might be able to invest for them. Your asset allocation might have a greater percentage of stocks than either bonds or cash, for example. Or you might be in the opposite situation. If you’re stretched financially and would have to tap your investments in an emergency, you’ll need to balance that fact against your longer-term goals. In addition to establishing an emergency fund, you may need to invest more conservatively than you might otherwise want to.

Some investors believe in shifting their assets among asset classes based on which types of investments they expect will do well or poorly in the near term. However, this approach, called “market timing,” is extremely difficult even for experienced investors. If you’re determined to try this, you should probably get some expert advice–and recognize that no one really knows where markets are headed.

Some people try to match market returns with an overall “core” strategy for most of their portfolio. They then put a smaller portion in very targeted investments that may behave very differently from those in the core and provide greater overall diversification. These often are asset classes that an investor thinks could benefit from more active management.

Just as you allocate your assets in an overall portfolio, you can also allocate assets for a specific goal. For example, you might have one asset allocation for retirement savings and another for college tuition bills. A retired professional with a conservative overall portfolio might still be comfortable investing more aggressively with money intended to be a grandchild’s inheritance. Someone who has taken the risk of starting a business might decide to be more conservative with his or her personal portfolio.

Things to think about

• Don’t forget about the impact of inflation on your savings. As time goes by, your money will probably buy less and less unless your portfolio at least keeps pace with the inflation rate. Even if you think of yourself as a conservative investor, your asset allocation should take long-term inflation into account.
• Your asset allocation should balance your financial goals with your emotional needs. If the way your money is invested keeps you awake worrying at night, you may need to rethink your investing goals and whether the strategy you’re pursuing is worth the lost sleep.
• Your tax status might affect your asset allocation, though your decisions shouldn’t be based solely on tax concerns.

Even if your asset allocation was right for you when you chose it, it may not be right for you now. It should change as your circumstances do and as new ways to invest are introduced. A piece of clothing you wore 10 years ago may not fit now; you just might need to update your asset allocation, too.

Waddell & Reed
Mahari A. McTier
Financial Advisor

Local artists Sharrif Simmons and Tommy Fluker team up for The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s new “Expanding The Legacy” Renovation Project.

Emmy Award© Nominated spoken word artist, musician, and educator Sharrif Simmons and producer/composer and deejay, Tommy Fluker (aka Junior Star) team up for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s new “Expanding the Legacy” renovation project.When Sharrif Simmons was tapped by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to be guest curator for the new “Shout It Out” gallery, and featured artist in “The Front Line” gallery for BCRI’s new “Expanding The Legacy” renovation project, he called on Tommy Fluker to record and assist in the production of the two installments. The song “Walk With Me” which features Simmons on guitar and keyboards, and Fluker on percussion came together, “So naturally”, says Fluker. “Sharrif came into the studio with an exact vision of how he wanted the song to match the theme of the exhibit, making the creative and production process flow very smoothly. It is an honor and pleasure to be a part of such a historical event” added Fluker.

 

The new Human Rights gallery is a multimedia presentation and permanent installment at the museum, combining video, photos, and audio displaying the varying struggles of people around the world (”The Front Line”) as well as Simmons’ personal list of songs and artists inspired by global protest (”Shout It Out”) which was also recorded by Fluker. Both artists will be present at the ribbon cutting ceremony, with Simmons performing live in the gallery at 2:00pm.    

BCRI is celebrating the unveiling of its “Expanding the Legacy” renovation project with a week of events beginning January 17, 2009 with the official ribbon cutting on Monday, January 19th at 10:30 am. The renovation includes a new Human Rights Gallery, displays that focus on the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing and resolution of the court cases, plus artifacts acquired by the Institute over its 16-year history. Learn more at http://bcri.org

Learn more about the artists at:

Sharrif Simmons
http://www.myspace.com/sharrifsimmons

Tommy Fluker
http://jrstarmusic.com/

‘What I Want for You — and Every Child in America’

By President Barack Obama
Publication Date: 01/14/2009 / Parade Magazine

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

 

 

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you’ve had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

 

 

Love, Dad

Source: http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/news/2009/01/barack-obama-letter-to-my-daughters.html

Brian McKnight Concert Ticket Sale!

If you have not picked up your Brian McKnight Concert Tickets here is your final chance before tickets sell out! Today you can Buy 1 Get 1 Half off from now through Friday on ALL REMAINING SEATS.

“Indulge & Embrace” A Valentine Prelude

BRIAN McKNIGHT

Presented by: The Infinite Group

Doors Open at 7PM
Show Starts at 8PM

Introducing R&B Artist: Ashley Guin
Featuring: Just A Few Cats

BJCC Magic City Arena
Tickets Go On Sale This Friday, January 16th, 2009

www.TicketMaster.com or BJCC Box Office (205) 458-8401

Celebrating the PAST and embracing the FUTURE!

The week of January 19, 2009 will be an exceptional time in America.  Many will wake up to the final day of a three day weekend while others will rush off to work as usual.  MLK events and celebrations will take place all over the world but this time there will be something different.   This time, as we celebrate the past with traditional MLK festivities we will only be a few hours away from seeing THE DREAM reach a new level. Barack Obama will be sworn in as the President of the United States of America.

Urbanham.com wishes you a great week of remembrance and celebration as we prepare for what will be the most historic week in America’s history.  We pray that the future of this great country under the historic leadership of Barack Obama will be one of unity, change and success.

Russ McClinton
Urbanham.com

Payless ShoeSource Provides Shoes for 50 Homeless Families

Payless ShoeSource and the YWCA Central Alabama have recently partnered in the Payless Gives Shoes 4 Kids program – a national grass roots effort to deliver $1 million in free shoes to children of families in need during the holiday season. More than 2,600 non-profit organizations applied to the Shoes 4 Kids program. Based on the good work of the YW, it was chosen as one of the 630 organizations to receive 50 $15 shoe gift coupons to be distributed to families living in the YW’s shelters. What a wonderful gift in these economic times! The YW distributed the gift cards during Santa’s Workshop, the annual event that helps bring the magic of the holidays to homeless children. The gift cards were very popular during Santa’s Workshop because shoes are one of the first items to wear down in a child’s wardrobe. The gifts were especially meaningful to the children because it gave them the opportunity to pick out their very own pair of shoes. The YWCA would like to thank Payless ShoeSource for helping provide 50 homeless children the opportunity to start the new year with a brand new pair of shoes. The smiles on the faces of those we serve brought holiday cheer to all!

To make a donation to one of the YW’s programs, click here.

First Official Presidential Portrait taken with a digital camera

Everything about our new president spells HIGH TECH starting with the first official presidential portrait taken with a digital camera.

New official portrait released
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 08:13am EST / Posted by Dave Rochelson from Change.gov.

Today we are releasing the new official portrait for President Barack Obama.  The photo was taken by Pete Souza, the newly-announced official White House photographer.

It is the first time that an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera. You can see the portrait below, or click here to download a copy.

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