Describing purpose in those terms overlooks one important necessary element in the idea of purpose.

In deciding your life purpose, the element of a desired end, result or goal must be included. So purposewithout a goal to accomplish is not a purpose. It’s no more than something one likes to do, with no consideration for the quality of the finished product. Purpose is not whatyou do, but rather what you accomplish by what you do.

Purpose can be placed in two categories; earthly purpose and eternal purpose. The latter has both earthly and eternal impact, while the former falls short of any impact in eternity.

In the scriptures God has given us both earthly and eternal purposes. At the very beginning of creation, in Genesis 1:27, 28, he commanded all of humankind to “be fruitful and multiply.”

With this commandment he revealed his design for family that he expects all of us to follow throughout all of human existence; that male and female procreate and form families. Right behind this commandment, we find our earthly purpose; to provide for and preserve this family structure that he created at the beginning. Paul implies as much in 1Timothy 5:8.

Our eternal purpose perpetuates the idea of family in that its overall goal is constant growth of the family of God through his redemptive plan. Our part in the plan, our eternal purpose, is to partner with God in efforts to redeem those among humankind who will respond positively to witnessing and evangelistic efforts. Their eternal destiny depends on the choices they make.

As with any human endeavor, there are forces that constantly try to impede or completely stop our efforts to fulfill our purpose. The culprit in most cases is a “me first” mindset many of us harbor on the inside which moves us to place our fleshly desires at the top of our priority list.

In his gospel, Luke shares a time when Jesus was faced with this “me first” attitude (Luke 9:59-62).

In his travels he encountered two men who agreed to follow him in ministry. But both expressed a desire to first go back home for personal reasons, one to bury his father and the other to bid his family farewell.

Those do not seem to be unreasonable requests, but Jesus saw them otherwise. His responses seem hard, but they emphasize the level of commitment expected of his disciples.

Jesus’ responses to those two make one thing perfectly clear: commitment to God’s purpose should always be number one on one’s priority list. So, be sure your priorities are in order before you commit.

To go back, or even to look back, as Lot’s wife found out, is a dangerous thing to do. A backward step or glance detracts from one’s ability to fulfill his purpose.

Remember Paul’s advice in Philippians 3:13; forget what’s behind, reach for what’s ahead.

Rev. O.L. Johnson, a retired LAPD lieutenant, is an associate pastor in his home church, Greater New Zion Baptist Church, 501 W. 80^th St. in Los Angeles.

Pastor’s Corner is a monthly religious column that looks at the relevancy of scripture to life today. The column appears on the first Thursday of each month in the Wave and its website, www.wavenewspapers.com.

The post PASTOR’S CORNER: Life’s true purpose appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists report that an estimated 15 million Americans have undiagnosed thyroid problems and one in eight women will develop thyroid problems in their lifetime.

The thyroid gland affects a person’s physical energy, temperature, weight and mood. There are various types of thyroid disease: Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s disease, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroid nodules, thyroiditis, goiter, and thyroid cancer.

Statistics gathered by the American Thyroid Association report that:

• More than 12 percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime.

• An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease.

• Up to 60 percent of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition.

• Women are five to eight times more likely than men to have thyroid problems.

• Most thyroid cancers respond to treatment, although a small percentage can be very aggressive.

• The causes of thyroid problems are largely unknown.

• Undiagnosed thyroid disease may put patients at risk for certain serious conditions.

• Pregnant women with undiagnosed or inadequately treated hypothyroidism have an increased risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery, and severe developmental problems in their children.

• Most thyroid diseases are life-long conditions that can be managed with medical attention.

Three years ago, Janice Marrow-Wright began to have difficulty swallowing food.  She also suffered from: confusion/disorientation, diarrhea, fever, heart failure, an irregular heart beat, nausea and vomiting, a rapid heart rate, weakness, and fatigue.

After about a week of drinking soup through a straw, Marrow-Wright contacted her primary care doctor and was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. Marrow-Wright’s specialist ordered a series of tests — blood work, iodine thyroid scan, and an MRI. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid.

Marrow-Wright was prescribed Methimazole to treat the problem. Unexpectedly, the symptoms continued while she was on the medication. She went back to the specialist with complaints.

“For several months, I was given various medications to determine what might work,” Marrow-Wright said. “However, my condition worsened.”

The International Thyroid Federation states that the treatment of hyperthyroidism is more complex and no single treatment can treat all patients. Case in point are the Marrow twins: Marrow-Wright’s twin sister Ja’neece Marrow started to have throat problems, but her road to treatment and recovery was different. Marrow-Wright has Medi-Cal and Marrow has VA medical benefits.

Hyperthyroidism tends to run in families. One year after Marrow-Wright was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, her twin sister experienced swelling, pain and throbbing on both sides of her throat and difficulty swallowing, which continued for about a month. Marrow thought she had a sore throat. Her symptoms were not identical to her twin sister and she was unaware of the need and purpose of the neck check.

Marrow was tested with an MRI and blood work. The results were hyperthyroidism like her sister. A VA physician prescribed Methimazole, which is designed to interfere with the thyroid gland’s ability to make its hormones, and scheduled her for check-ups every three months.

“In January 2015, I started to experience the same throat symptoms again,” Marrow said. “Within two weeks, I was seen by the same VA doctor at the Jerry L. Pettis Medical Center in Loma Linda.”

Marrow was an E-4 sergeant in the U.S. Air Force for three years and nine months with an honorable discharge in 1979.

After additional testing with ultrasound, x-rays and iodine scan, it was discovered that Marrow’s overactive thyroid gland had enlarged. Antenlol, a stronger medication was prescribed. Within a few months, she had severe side effects and by July 2015, the medication did not seem to keep her thyroid in check.

“I rapidly lost weight, had an irregular heartbeat, diarrhea, and nausea for about 120 days,” Marrow said. “By October, I could not swallow any longer.”

For three months, Marrow could only get her nutrition from liquids.

Because the VA serves millions of active and retired service men and women, Marrow could not be scheduled until December for her next step in treatment.

“Although my wait to get treatment was a little long; I am fortunate to be 100 percent covered by the VA Administration Healthcare,” Marrow said.

Little is known about why specific individuals get thyroid problems.
(Infographics courtesy of NaturalHealthZone.org)

According to thyroid researchers and medical specialists, the treatment options are anti-thyroid drugs, radioactive iodine radiation, surgery, a permanent cure for hyperthyroidism; and beta blockers.

In December 2015, Marrow opted for the radioactive iodine radiation therapy, which is a widely recommended permanent treatment of hyperthyroidism because it causes the thyroid to dissolve and be eliminated through body waste.

While Marrow was thyroid–free, able to enjoy solid food and have the energy to exercise daily, her sister Marrow-Wright had a different experience navigating the Medi-Cal system.

“From April to September 2015, my care was substandard to my sister’s VA care and it took longer to resolve my issues and several trips to the hospital,” Marrow-Wright said. “My overactive thyroid landed me in the hospital for two weeks and again on Dec. 22, 2015 — three days before our birthdays.”

Based on Marrow-Wright’s medical history as a two-time cervical cancer survivor, she was not advised to undergo the radiation therapy like her sister.  The options were slim. However, after a thorough review of her eating habits and sedentary lifestyle, Marrow-Wright was given a health coach and an exercise and nutrition plan.

“For daily thyroid health, I eat one serving of berries to strengthen my immune system, one serving of cruciferous vegetables — broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage — to decrease the amount of hormones my thyroid produces, salmon and eggs for the omega 3 and vitamin D, and three servings of dairy — cheese, yogurt or milk — to keep my bones strong,” Marrow-Wright said. “I keep my stress level to a minimum and get plenty of rest, which has contributed to my improved health.”

For the past seven months, the new food plan combined with medication and her sister’s suppport has Marrow-Wright back on track.  The twins have survived the thyroid storm of problems and continue to thrive.

For more resources and information about thyroid disease, contact the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons: http://www.endocrinesurgery.org/; American Thyroid Association: http://www.thyroid.org/; International Thyroid Federation: http://www.thyroid-fed.org/tfi-wp/; Light of Life Foundation: http://checkyourneck.com/; National Institute of Health/Medline Plus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/thyroiddiseases.html and Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association: http://www.thyca.org/.

Marie Y. Lemelle, MBA, a public relations consultant, is the owner of Platinum Star PR and can be reached on Twitter @PlatinumStar or Instagram @PlatinumStarPR. Send “Health Matters” related questions to healthmatters@wavepublication.com and look for her column in The Wave.

The post HEALTH MATTERS: For thyroid problems, get your neck checked appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

SIX-INGREDIENT GRILLED SHRIMP

Makes 4 servings

These light and easy shrimp are a quick way to add a flavorful touch to a summer meal.  They’re great hot off the grill or served chilled as a salad topper or appetizer.

Skewers, metal or wooden

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound large shrimp (about 24), peeled and deveined  

Cooking spray for grills

Lemon wedges

Put wooden skewers in a pan, cover with cold water and soak for 30 minutes.

Mix paprika, garlic powder and cayenne together in a medium bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and canola oil.

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Add to the bowl with the spices. Toss well to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Remove shrimp from refrigerator and thread onto skewers.

Lightly spray cold grill with Cooking Spray for Grills, following can directions. Heat grill to medium-hot.  Put shrimp on grill and cook, turning until each side is opaque, about 4-6 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Or, cool to room temperature and refrigerate, covered, in clean bowl for up to 2 days.

Nutrition information per serving: 160 calories; 6 g fat; .5 g saturated fat; 170 mg cholesterol; 170 mg sodium* ; 2  g total carbohydrate; 0 g dietary fiber; 0 g sugars; 23 g protein; 10% RDA Vitamin A; 10% RDA Vitamin C; 6 % RDA Calcium; 15 % RDA Iron

Sodium Savvy: Sodium levels in shrimp can vary greatly. For the most accurate sodium info, ask the counterperson to show you the packaging the shrimp came in.

Photo courtesy of Oleksandra Naumenko

CARROT RAISIN SALAD

Makes 4 servings

You’ll serve this luscious salad again and again.  Make it at least a few hours in advance and refrigerate so the flavors have a chance to come together and the carrots can soften a bit.

Dressing

1 ¼ cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt

½ cup fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon Crystal Diamond Kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Small pinch ground cloves

Whisk dressing ingredients together in large measuring cup. Set aside.

Salad

1 (10-ounce) bag shredded carrots, about 4 ½ cups

8 cups boiling water

1 cup chopped tart apple

1/3 cup raisins

½ cup chopped walnuts

Put carrots in a large colander. Place colander in the sink. Pour boiling water over the carrots and stir well. Cool to room temperature.

Pat carrots dry and place in a large bowl. Add apples and raisins. Stir. Pour dressing over the top and stir well.

Refrigerate, covered, at least three hours or up to overnight, stirring occasionally.  

Sprinkle with walnuts at serving time.

Nutrition information per serving: 190 calories; 5g fat; 0g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 155 mg sodium; 29 g total carbohydrate; 4g dietary fiber; 10 g sugars; 10 g protein; 240% RDA Vitamin A; 30% RDA Vitamin C; 10 % RDA Calcium;

4 % RDA Iron

Photo courtesy of GraphicStock

CREAMY BERRY CONES

Makes 4 servings

Filling the cones with sweet berries makes a classic summertime treat twice as good!

1 cup mixed fresh berries – blueberries, raspberries, and coarsely chopped strawberries

2 cups low fat frozen yogurt or reduced fat ice cream

4 ice cream cones, cake or sugar

Spoon berries into cones, dividing equally. Top each cone with a ½ cup scoop of frozen yogurt or ice cream. Enjoy!

There’s no nutritional information for this recipe since the berry mix, frozen treat selection and cone are all up to you.

If you’re diabetic, calculate your numbers.  If you aren’t diabetic, make sure you measure the frozen yogurt or ice cream and you’ll be in good shape.

Cooking questions? Email me at kitchenwithcarla@hotmail.com. Visit Carla’s blog in kitchenwithcarla.blogspot. com for more tasty info!

COPYRIGHT 2016 CARLA F. Williams ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The post IN THE KITCHEN WITH CARLA: Lazy bites of summer appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The FBI announcement that there will be no criminal charges against Clinton July 5 was pure anti-climax. There weren’t going to be.

Yet, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump was so happy he couldn’t jump high enough when Bill Clinton met briefly with Attorney General Loretta Lynch. This supposedly was irrefutable proof that Lynch, and by extension President Obama and Hillary Clinton, were in cahoots to cook the books on the FBI and Justice Department probe into Hillary’s alleged misuse of State Department related emails.

Trump got what he wanted; namely much GOP lambasting of Bill for alleged deal-making to scuttle the probe, the quick recusal of Lynch from any direct hand in the probe, much chatter that Clinton was shady and a liar, and much media attention to the meeting that Hillary had with the FBI.

The three-hour meeting at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. was the icing on the attack Hillary cake. It supposedly was even more proof that Clinton was in real hot water, and maybe, just maybe, there could actually be charges brought against her.

As I said, that was never going to happen. For the simple fact that’s been a fact from the moment the whiff of scandal arose about Clinton’s use of a private server to read and send State Department related emails, there was no wrongdoing involved.

There was never a shred of evidence that Clinton jeopardized national security by the use of her private server. The protocols about the use of a private email server to conduct official government business were tightened after Clinton’s State Department tenure.

However, there is indeed some momentary political fall-out from Bill’s meeting with Lynch.

The fact that Clinton did meet with Lynch at all, no matter what the circumstances and no matter that there wasn’t a word spoken about the probe, gave Trump and the Republican Party more ammunition to plant the seed even deeper in the general public that the Clintons are the personification of sleaze, and that President Obama is anything but a neutral arbiter in the Justice Department probe.

That in turn reinforced the very widespread notion that Clinton is prone to shade the truth about embarrassing or compromising issues. That all comes on top of incessant polls that practically join Hillary at the hip with Trump as the two presidential candidates who have the highest negatives in living presidential memory.

The presidential campaign is fast getting the moniker of the race to the bottom and the impression that if Clinton wins, it won’t be about her sterling political competence, qualities, leadership, experience and acumen, just that fewer people held their noses about her than Trump.

The Bill-Lynch meeting was also a case of horrible timing. It came days after the report on the Benghazi debacle that found that Clinton had no culpability in and for the attack. That seemed to presage the expectation that the same finding would be made with the email flap. The probe would find nothing on Clinton.

Bill’s meeting with Lynch hitting the news cycle hard drowned that notion out at least for the moment.

Then there’s the recent polls. Trump’s stock has been going south in most polls. And virtually every time he lets fly a fresh zinger about firing TSA employees with hijabs, slandering a Mexican judge, or tweeting with an anti-Semitic construed emblem about Hillary, this knocks another point or two off his popularity.

That makes the anti-Trump panic among many GOP party regulars and potential donors and handlers soar higher. So, for the moment, Bill’s meeting and the FBI interview seemed to offer welcome pause in the downhill run for Trump.

The single slender thread that Trump clings to about the email probe is that Clinton is indicted in the days before the election. That won’t happen. But it won’t stop Trump from dropping strong hints every chance he gets that it should happen and if it doesn’t, he’ll circle back and plop the blame for this on the alleged collusion to kill charges by variously, Bill, Hillary, Obama and Lynch.

The great pity is that the continued GOP, media and public obsession with Clinton’s emails at times blur, ignore and flat out dodge any real talk about tax reform, job growth and the economy, health care, wealth and income inequality, civil rights, environmental concerns and criminal justice reforms. These are the issues that any election should be about, and what the media and the public should care about.

Bernie Sanders famously said at one of the early debates with Clinton that he was sick and tired of hearing about the damn emails and said the only thing that should be on the table for debate and discussion were the real issues. He got loud cheers from the mostly Democratic audience for telling the truth.

There was never much chance though that the email scandal would fade to the non-issue that it is and should be. But Bill notwithstanding, whenever it’s dredged up it’s still much ado about nothing.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of “Let’s Stop Denying Made in America Terrorism” (Amazon Kindle). He also is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One and the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network.

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: Still much ado about Hillary’s emails appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

She chose L.A. for our leadership in technology and social media; I was proud to share our successes in building stronger relationships between the Los Angeles Police Department and everyday Angelenos, and tell her about our plan to increase transparency and accountability by becoming America’s largest city to put body cameras on all patrol officers.

But we didn’t want the attorney general to go back to Washington without a firsthand look at a program that is a crown jewel in our work to reduce gang violence: Summer Night Lights. The program — which now keeps nearly three dozen recreation centers open until 11 p.m. during the summer months, with special activities, sports, job opportunities and meals for young people and families — grew out of a program that I started as a City Council member.

I started “At the Park After Dark” at Glassell Park in 2007 after the senseless killing of 16-year-old Melissa Paul. She was walking with her boyfriend near that park, when she was struck in the back by a bullet that her killer meant for a gang rival.

The following year, the program was renamed and expanded to parks throughout L.A., focused specifically in neighborhoods that have struggled with gang violence.

Attorney General Lynch was impressed by the success of Summer Night Lights, and she has every reason to be, because there’s no questioning the program’s value and effectiveness: despite an uptick in crime that hit L.A. and other large cities in America over the last year, 20 of the 32 neighborhoods with Summer Night Lights saw no change or a decrease in crime.

Since its inception, Summer Night Lights has hosted more than 4.9 million site visits and last year alone served more than 452,000 meals. This year’s program will create over 800 jobs, including 352 positions for youth squad members between the ages of 17 and 24.

That’s an incredible record, but it also speaks to something that I believe very strongly: At its heart, this work is about stories, not statistics. It’s about the things that we can’t always count: the bullet that won’t be fired, the young man who won’t get mixed up in a gang, the families that feel safe enjoying a summer evening outdoors in their own neighborhood.

It’s about Angelenos like Jermaine Edwards.

Jermaine is a father of three who made some mistakes in life and ended up behind bars for seven years. When he came home, the Summer Night Lights program at Slauson Recreation Center gave him a place to enjoy time with his family and find resources that helped him start to rebuild his life.”

“When I got out of jail, I had hopes of doing right. … I was able to take my kids [to Summer Night Lights] and be an active participant in their lives, show them a different route than the route that I took,” he said. “Summer Night Lights opened up new doors for me to meet new people that could assist me on my transformation, show me certain programs like Community Build and PV Jobs, which helped me get into the construction field.”

Today, Jermaine is on the construction crew that is putting in the new Crenshaw-LAX rail line, which is now more than halfway complete. He’s building L.A.’s future, and feeling good about his own.

“I feel like I’m giving back to my community after causing havoc,” Jermaine said. “I’m providing for my family, making a living and setting an example for my kids, and their kids’ kids.”

Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Community Report” column runs the first Thursday of every month in The Wave. For more information about Summer Night Lights 2016, go online to lamayor.org/snl. Learn more about Jermaine’s story at lamayor.org/jermaine.

The post COMMUNITY REPORT: Changing lives under L.A.’s brightest ‘Lights’ appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The question is: Do you have the skills to be safe in the water? A recent study commissioned by the USA Swimming Foundation found that nearly 70 percent of African-American children and nearly 60 percent of Hispanic children have low or no swimming ability, putting them at risk for drowning.

As quickly as the inviting water relieves the burn of the sun, a preventable tragedy can strike. It takes about 20 seconds for a child to drown, and that is the second leading cause of unintended, injury-related death for children between the ages of 1 andd14. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports six people drown in U.S. pools every day.

In California, the statistics are staggering:

• The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission report 67 percent of those drownings are in swimming pools and 33 percent are in bathtubs, buckets, toilets, spas, hot tubs, ponds and other containers of water. A child can drown in the time that it takes to answer a phone.

• A pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child age 4 and under. Of all the preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

• The Foundation for Aquatic Injury Prevention states an estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to near-drowning each year; 15 percent die in the hospital and as many as 20 percent suffer severe, permanent neurological disability.

According to the World Waterpark Association, water parks are considered the safest place to have fun in the water. The WWA is a big supporter of National Water Safety Week observed in June, which is an opportunity to educate the public and remind people to be vigilant during any water recreational activity.

For the past six years, WWA has sponsored The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson day on June 24 to raise awareness and promote swimming as a life-saving skill and essential to help prevent drowning.

Water parks, pools and other aquatic facilities around the globe provided swimming lessons in 24 countries on six continents, and 45 states in the U.S on that day. Free or low-cost swimming lessons are available all summer long in Los Angeles County at participating YMCA, aquatic centers and other facilities.

Swimming lessons are not just for kids. Adults are advised to learn to swim for their own personal safety and for the safety of a child or adult in distress. Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine cite that participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent among children ages 1 to 4.

An overwhelming majority of drownings occur in residential swimming pools. As the industry leader in high-end architectural safety fencing, Aquaview’s glass pool fencing or gates are a modern design solution that can assist in lowering the risk of drowning incidents on your property, ensuring peace of mind when combined with proper supervision.

“Parents are looking to help ensure their children’s safety any way they can,” said Jordan Goodman, founder and CEO of Aquaview Fencing. “We have developed a product that can make the swimming season safer with an attractive enhancement for backyards.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries. To prepare your family for water safety, here are a few tips from Aquaview:

ADULT SUPERVISION

• Maintain constant supervision of children when swimming, bathing or playing in water.

• Avoid distraction like texting or social networking.

• Do not consume alcohol while on duty. Alcohol slows down reaction times, which prevents effective supervision.

• Have a phone nearby with emergency numbers programmed in it.

BARRIER POOL FENCE

• Pool safety code mandates that fences must be four or five feet high with a self-closing and self-latching gate.

• Aquaview glass pool fences are a secure, stylish solution to protect family, friends and neighbors.

• Aquaview safety features include self-closing latches and hinges, keyed locks, climb resistant glass panels and clear views to monitor children.

For more information and a list of city of Los Angeles swimming pools that offer low-cost or free swimming lessons, contact:  Citywide Aquatics, L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks, (323) 906-7953, or Citywide.Aquatics@lacity.org

Marie Y. Lemelle, MBA, a public relations consultant, is the owner of Platinum Star PR and can be reached on Twitter @PlatinumStar or Instagram @PlatinumStarPR. Send “Health Matters” related questions to healthmatters@wavepublication.com and look for her column in The Wave.

The post HEALTH MATTERS: As temperatures heat up, water safety is crucial appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

That’s the state amendment passed by voters in 1996 that banned the use of race as a factor in college admissions. The ammunition was supplied convincingly by the U.S. Supreme Court last week when it strongly upheld the University of Texas’s affirmative action program.

Justice Anthony Kennedy rammed the point home that race can be considered in admission to ensure broad, and meaningful racially diverse colleges. California Attorney General Kamala Harris further underscored the critical importance of affirmative action at California colleges in her friend of the court brief.

Affirmative action also assures the fair and equitable use of tax dollars for public education. That is a point missed or deliberately distorted in the affirmative action wars.

African Americans and Hispanics pay taxes, lots of taxes, and are vital public stakeholders. Yet, when colleges and universities shut the door or severely limit the number of African American and Hispanic students at public institutions this means their tax dollars amount to de facto support of modern-day quasi Jim Crow education.

They are forced to pay for educational services and advantages in higher education that white students get and their children are denied.

Studies on college admissions to California colleges and universities have repeatedly found that there was a big plunge in the number and percentage of black and Hispanic student enrollment after the passage of Proposition 209. The downward trend has remained agonizingly steady over the years.

The studies also found that colleges and university administrators have done everything they could to devise policies and strategies employed to deftly skirt around Proposition 209 to ramp up the low numbers of black and Latinos on the campuses. The efforts have failed to boost the numbers.

The problem of stagnant or declining black and Hispanic student enrollment is made even worse by the widening gap between the percentage of underrepresented minority students graduating from California high schools and the percentage enrolling in the University of California system.

In 2014, the state Senate took a big stab at trying to roll back Proposition 209 when it passed Constitutional Amendment 5. That would have given voters another chance to consider the use of race in college admissions.

The bill was pulled after some Asian-American constituent groups claimed that reinstituting affirmative action would do major harm to Asian-American students’ chances of getting admitted to state colleges and universities.

The charge that Asian Americans would and are getting the short end of the admissions stick from affirmative action doesn’t hold up. Asian-American students already make up a disproportionate number of students at many public universities. According to university figures, at the University of Texas they make up 16 percent of the university enrollees though they are only 4 percent of the state’s population.

The figures there are typical of their enrollment at many public universities where Asian-American students make up double-digit numbers of the student population.

The other old argument is that affirmative action is just another way of imposing quotas that would admit a lot of unqualified, poorly educated black and Hispanic students to the colleges. That is nothing more than a rehash of the old quota or reverse bias argument that’s been used for years by conservatives to thwart affirmative action.

Quotas have long since been ruled illegal. Despite popular myth, even before the imposition of Proposition 209 in California there was never a quota system that mandated a set number of black and Hispanic students be admitted at any California university or state college. Race, then, was simply used as one of several factors that could be considered in a student’s admission.

The brutal reality is that Proposition 209 is a relic of a time past when the relentless attack on affirmative action was a sneaky and malicious way to maintain a racially discriminatory, two-tiered education system that blatantly excluded black and Latino students. It was bad public policy then, and in the two decades that Proposition 209 has been on the books, it still is.

Now that the Supreme Court has spoken, there is absolutely no reason why California lawmakers shouldn’t speak as well and dump Proposition 209. Their swift action can and will serve as a model for other states that followed California’s lead and imposed bans on affirmative action in higher education to make affirmative action a reality again. We’ll all benefit from that.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His latest book is “Let’s Stop Denying Made in America Terrorism” (Amazon Kindle). He also is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One and the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network.

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: Time to dump affirmative action ban appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Those confrontations told much about the good and the bad times for Baca and the Sheriff’s Department that he ran with a tight fist for nearly two decades. Baca is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on July 11 for making false statements in a federal probe into the department.

That is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the by now well-known, and well-documented, deplorable, disgraceful years of abuse, brutality and neglect of and against prisoners that went on in the L.A. County jails.

The man that gets much of the blame for that sorry condition is Baca. He was the sheriff, the man at the top, and the abuses happened on his watch. But Baca, though often kicking and screaming, did finally face up to the brutal reality that the jails were in deplorable shape and that there had to be a top-to-bottom serious and radical overhaul.

That meant immediate and vigorous implementation of the dozens of reform recommendations such as fully empowered independent oversight, getting rid of deputies who brutalized prisoners and administrators who looked the other way, massive improvements in inmate mental and medical care, and total transparency and accountability on the reform process.

While Baca was hammered hard for the terrible things that went on in the jails, there was the just as deeply troubling problem of dubious officer-involved shootings and allegations of racial profiling by deputies. Other civil rights leaders and I could not ignore them. I challenged Baca in three appalling cases where deputies either gunned down or killed in a vehicle incident two young African-American males and a Hispanic male.

We held press conferences at the spots in South L.A. and Inglewood where the killings occurred and demanded a meeting with Baca at sheriff’s headquarters and at my organization, the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable’s office.

Baca did not hesitate. He agreed to the meetings at sheriff’s headquarters and my office. He agreed to review and revise policy on how and when officers should use deadly force in civilian encounters.

He was as good as his word and announced within days a policy change that would emphasize containment and de-escalation, not confrontation and gun play when confronting civilians in situations where there was no direct threat to the officers.

Baca went further and promised that the Office of Independent Review tasked with investigating all officer-involved shootings and use of excessive force would provide detailed and timely reports to my organization and other civil rights groups on its findings and what action it would take in the cases.

We demanded full public transparency in the findings and the action. Baca agreed.

I also repeatedly probed Baca on the innovative inmate education programs that he had implemented in the county jails, and pushed him to ramp up the programs. They were the type of programs that could make a huge difference in giving inmates needed skills and training to enable them to get jobs once released.

In our conversations on this issue, Baca agreed that it made no sense to continue to lock up people who could, with the right programs and push, turn their lives around.

I continued to challenge Baca to ensure that there be real discipline of deputies who used deadly force under highly dubious circumstances. That came to a head in the shooting in central L.A. of an African-American homeless man in 2013.

I immediately went to the scene and talked to some of the witnesses who disputed the deputy’s contention that the man had physically threatened deputies. I immediately called Baca to inform him of what I was told.

He quickly agreed to review the shooting personally and take appropriate action. The action in that case was another policy directive which reiterated that deadly force must be the absolute last option in dealing with civilians, especially in dealing with homeless individuals on the streets.

That was particularly volatile and had the potential for a deadly confrontation. Baca again agreed and followed up with action.

Whether it was a meeting, a personal or private conversation we had at my office, or with other civil rights leaders, and there was sharp disagreement about the department’s handling of a shooting or an abuse case in the jails, I was always struck by Baca’s willingness to listen, and often take immediate action. Baca knew that we would not let up in pushing for real reform in the Sheriff’s Department on the crucial life-and-death issue of the overuse of deadly force.

Baca’s legacy is deeply tainted by public disgrace and rancor over the hideous legacy of abuse, brutality and neglect in the L.A. County jails. He will pay a price for that when sentenced.

However, that’s only one side of what his legacy should be. The other side is the side I saw, and that’s of a sheriff who listened to me and other civil rights leaders who pointedly told him the department must clean up its act, and do it now.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of “Let’s Stop Denying Made-in-America Terrorism” (Amazon Kindle). He also is the weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One and the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network.

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: The two sides of former Sheriff Lee Baca appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Freddie Muse Jr. gives it to you straight.

“Prostate cancer does not need to be a death sentence,” he said.

As a survivor, Muse is a testament to that statement.

“I am alive today because of a routine medical examination that detected my prostate cancer in its early stages,” Muse said. “I had no symptoms but my Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test score was 14.”

Men with prostate cancer often have PSA levels higher than four.

A diagnosis of prostate cancer can cause stress, anxiety and confusion.

“I cringed, of course; there it was, I had cancer,” Muse said.

He was given treatment options.

“I chose radiation and underwent 42 treatments in 2007,” said Muse, who has been cancer-free for nearly 10 years.

“During the time I was diagnosed and endured the treatments, I was alone in Northern California with none of my friends or family around,” he said.

The day Muse received a card from the American Cancer Society (ACS) offering support; he knew that he had a bigger purpose in life.

“I had a lot to learn about prostate cancer and was glad for the ACS support group,” Muse said. “For example, men with elevated PSA levels have noncancerous prostate enlargement, which is a normal part of aging.”

Muse discovered his true calling when he founded The Men’s Cancer Network to “save our men.” His mission is to increase wellness and awareness of men with cancer.

“I realized to help myself and others; there was a need for a resource,” said Muse, who recently hosted the fourth annual Prostate Health Educational Symposium at Bethel AME Church of Los Angeles in observance of National Men’s Health Awareness Month.

Nearly 60 men took charge of their health and attended the symposium founded by Muse and co-hosted by prostate cancer survivor Rev. Kelvin T. Calloway, the senior pastor at Bethel AME; Rev. Theodore Payne IV, senior pastor at Bryant Temple AME Church, and the Prostate Health Education Network Inc.

Testing was provided by Rene Savickas, vice president of Prostate Conditions Education Council.  The program agenda included information about treatment options, managing sexual health and stories from survivors and caregivers.

District 9 City Councilman Curren D. Price Jr. recognized the importance of advocates like the Men’s Cancer Network, Prostate Health Education Network, and the church community to break the common perception and better address the health disparities that are prominent in local communities.

“Annual symposiums like this one position us to create better opportunities for those suffering with this disease, and give them a better fighting chance at beating their condition,” Price said. “It is no secret that most men don’t like visiting the doctor, but it is imperative that we support one another in this effort, ensure that we are monitoring our health, and are getting tested and screened on a regular basis.”

Men are generally experts when it comes to stats about a sports team. Prostate cancer affects 16 million men worldwide. Don’t be a statistic. It’s time to know your personal stats when it comes to your PSA.

Medical professionals recommend getting the test which measures the blood level of a specific protein produced by the prostate gland because it is one of the earliest ways to detect prostate cancer.  The PSA (blood) test is not perfect and usually a rectal exam, a biopsy (a lab testing of a small amount of tissue from the prostate) will be ordered for conclusive results.

The American Cancer Society notes that some symptoms are not apparent during the early stages of prostate cancer. Experts recommend screening every year after the age of 50 or sooner based on family history and race.

Notably, African American men are 1.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 2.3 times more likely to die from the disease. However, if you experience burning or pain during urination, loss of bladder control, painful ejaculation, blood in urine or semen, bone pain, and swelling in legs or pelvic area, a visit to a physician for screening is highly advised.

For support and more information, contact Muse at The Men’s Cancer Network at www.themenscancernetwork.com or (213) 909-7159. Other resources available can be found at www.myprostatecancerroadmap.com; www.myprostatecancercoach.org; www.your-ProstateYourDecision.com; www.prostatehealthed.org; and www.RAPCancer.org.

Marie Y. Lemelle, MBA, a public relations consultant, is the owner of Platinum Star PR and can be reached on Twitter @PlatinumStar or Instagram @PlatinumStarPR. Send “Health Matters” related questions to healthmatters@wavepublication.com and look for her column in The Wave.

The post HEALTH MATTERS: Survivor offers straight talk about prostate cancer appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The key word is domestic and using that word to describe the killing of 49 people in the worst killing spree in American history as a home-grown terror act is a huge departure from past practice.

In almost all cases of mass shootings in the last few years, officials have searched long and hard to ferret out any possible foreign ties of the shooter to “radical Islamic” groups. In the Orlando incident, Orlando officials and the FBI, even after branding the massacre “domestic terrorism,” didn’t depart from the script and quickly speculated that the alleged shooter, Omar Mateen, whose family is from Afghanistan, may have had “radical Islamic leanings.”

This may well prove to be the case as more details unfold about his life here. But no matter what influences drove him to his maddening act, Mateen is not Afghani. He was born, raised and educated in America, and even worked in some capacity at a security job.

That makes his bloody act yet another grim case of not simply an act of domestic terrorism, but made-in-America terrorism.

Despite the years of carnage from these type of shootings, it’s still hard for many to come to grips with this bitter truth. That was painfully evident following the mass killing of 14 persons in San Bernardino last December.

FBI officials were initially loath to call the killings domestic terrorism. When they did finally brand the killings terrorism, they made it clear that the killings would be investigated as a terrorist act “inspired by foreign terrorist organizations.”

However, that still begged the question of calling the massacre exactly what it was — domestic terrorism. The main alleged shooter in San Bernardino, as Mateen, was born, raised and studied in America. He was also a public employee.

The still nagging reluctance to label these massacres “domestic terrorism” fits in with the well-established pattern of officials and virtually all Republican leaders to avoid at all costs using the term. The only exception is when those who commit mayhem and murder are Muslim.

And according to numerous studies they are the rare exception since the overwhelming majority of those who commit targeted mayhem in this country are non-Muslim, invariably, white males with a checkered history of crime, mental instability and deeply influenced by right-wing rants.

In Mateen’s case, there were reports that a possible motivation for his rampage was his being offended by gays.

The refusal to consistently brand acts such as Mateen’s, “domestic terrorism,” strikes to the heart of how many Americans have been reflexively conditioned to regard terrorism. It’s almost always related to the Middle East and the perpetrators are presumed to be Muslim.

The FBI’s working definition of what constitutes terrorism is: “Terrorism is an act done or threatened to in order to try to influence a public body or the citizenry, so it’s more of a political act.”

Even when South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof plainly wrote that he had an animus toward blacks and acted out that insane animus by gunning down multiple black churchgoers, he still did not reach the elevated bar to rate being branded a “domestic terrorist.”

The same held true for alleged Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic shooter Robert Lewis Dear, who, despite plainly targeting the clinic and giving the reason why, he also didn’t rate the label of domestic terrorist.

Instead, the ritual was to officially whitewash and airbrush the mass carnage they wreak with ritual condolences and prayers for the victims and their families.

The consequence of refusing to stray from the textbook definition of who is a terrorist and what is terrorism on U.S. soil has consequences beyond disarming, confusing and in effect putting even more Americans in harm’s way from home-grown terrorists. It also is overloaded with a heavy mix of political calculation and cynical manipulation.

A big part of which has been to take pot shots at President Obama for allegedly turning a blind eye toward the threat on America’s shores of radical Jihadist influenced groups. Obama is routinely denounced by GOP ultra-conservatives, and the Fox News scare machine, for supposedly refusing to use the term, “Jihadist terrorists,” for fear of offending Muslims.

Whether it’s shooting up a Planned Parenthood clinic, a center for the developmentally disabled, or any other domestic target, there’s simply no political incentive to call the shooters “domestic terrorists.” This crashes hard against the official narrative that made-in-America terrorists and terrorism constitute minimal or no real threat to life and property here.

The danger supposedly only comes from a foreign group, Muslim of course.

Orlando officials departed from that script by calling the nightclub massacre exactly what it was, “domestic terrorism.” That departure is a much-needed step toward coming to grips with the lethal threat of made-in-America terrorism.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of “Let’s Stop Denying Made-in-America Terrorism” (Amazon Kindle). He also is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One and the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network.

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: A case of made-in-America terrorism appeared first on Wave Newspapers.