Obama Weighs in on Recession, Future

Many Americans today are familiar with the phrase "change we can believe in."

But what "changes" have President Barack Obama made since being sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2009?

He has tried to tackle numerous important issues, such as health care, education and the war in Iraq, but one of the main problems he continues to face has drawn much criticism from others - the recession.

When Obama began his first presidential term, the unemployment rate in this nation was 7.7 percent, compared to a now all-time high of 10 percent one year later.

What happened to the $787 billion economic stimulus bill that was passed into law back in February of 2009?

According to MSNBC.com, more than half of the seven million-plus jobs in our country have been eliminated since the recession began in December of 2007.

On the evening of Jan. 27, 2010, Obama will be giving his State of the Union speech, and some citizens are eager to hear what his next move will be concerning job losses in the U.S.

Republican Fears More Harm Than Good

In mid-November of 2009, Obama said, “The economic growth that we’ve seen has not yet led to the job growth that we desperately need.”

Some would consider this an understatement.

Senior Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, rejects Obama's new ideas.

“What will help middle-class families most is creating jobs and reducing the unemployment rate, but these proposals won’t do either,” Mr. Camp announced. “Moreover, if these proposals are coupled with higher taxes or more mandates on small businesses, the President’s plan could end up making it tougher for middle-class families to find a job.”

Recession Impacts Americans

About 50 percent of Americans who are unemployed said the recession has been a "hardship" on them and caused major life changes, according to a recent nationwide poll of unemployed Americans conducted by the New York Times and CBS News.

In addition, only five percent of people said the recession has not had much of an effect on them. Twenty-two percent think the job market in their area will just get worse.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, said, "Americans are asking ‘Where are the jobs?’ But none of the proposals outlined by the White House today would, in fact, create jobs...It’s past time for the White House to scrap its job-killing agenda and work in a bipartisan way to create jobs for the American people.”

When will Americans see this "change" that we used to believe?

Obama to Reveal New Five-point Plan

Tomorrow night, Obama will explain a new agenda that could create more jobs for Americans and finally allow the economy to begin to heal.

The five key themes of this plan, according to politico.com, include:

• Nearly doubling the child and dependent care tax credit for middle class families making less than $85,000 a year
• Limiting a student’s federal loan payments to 10 percent of his or her income above a basic living allowance
• Creating a system of automatic workplace IRAs, requiring all employers to give the option for employees to enroll in a direct-deposit IRA
• Expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and enacting new safeguards to protect retirement savings, making it easier for families to plan for retirement
• Expanding support for families balancing work with caring for elderly relatives, helping them manage their multiple responsibilities and allowing seniors to live in the community for as long as possible

Maybe this time promises will turn into actions.

Crimestoppers Wants Deadbeat Parents

The York County Detention Center (YCDC) and the sheriff's department don't take unpaid child support fees lightly. They are always in search of York County's "deadbeat" parents, and, even citizens are encouraged to help in this fight for justice.

The YCDC Web site features a special section for the area's most wanted deadbeat parents, and it also provides information on how anyone can submit tips in hopes of bringing in these offenders.

If you know a deadbeat parent and would like to report him or her, Crime Stoppers is asking you to submit as much information you know as possible. Call 877-409-4321 to help, while remaining anonymous. You may be eligible for a cash reward.

To submit an online anonymous tip, click here to enter all information pertaining to a crime or wanted person.

Remember to keep the following questions in mind when entering information:

• How do you know about this crime?
• Did the person who committed the crime tell you about it?
• Do you know the name of the person who committed the crime?
• What does the person look like?
• Where is this person living or where does he or she hang out?
• When and where did you last see this person?

As of now, the number of York County deadbeat parents at large is 27 - two females and 25 males. These individuals owe anywhere from $3,619.22 to $105,699.64.

Please contact Crime Stoppers if you know any information regarding the following top three or any other wanted deadbeat parents of York County:

Tyrone Glover, 35, from Catawba, S.C., owes over $100,000 in back-child support. He was last seen on June 28, 2007, and also has a family court bench warrant for his arrest.

James Lee Johnson, 57, from Charlotte, N.C., owes $60,830.14. He was last seen on Jan. 1, 2001, and also has two family court bench warrants for his arrest.

Dennis Erby, 45, from Rock Hill, S.C., owes $51,303.24. He was last seen on March 22, 2007, and also has a family court bench warrant for his arrest.

York County Detention Center Protects Community

The York County Detention Center (YCDC) in South Carolina prides itself on keeping criminal offenders off the streets. Each year, hundreds of inmates pass through the YCDC and become confined to the inside of a cell. Listed below are mugshots and information regarding the 10 most recently arrested York County individuals (compiled from the sheriff department's Web site).

1. Terrice Milton Cherry, 23, was booked on Jan. 24, 2010. He is charged with driving under suspension and operating an uninsured motor vehicle (first offense). Cherry has also been booked three previous times from 2007 to 2009 for charges including: unlawful carrying of a weapon, probation violation, pointing and presenting firearms at a person and public disorderly conduct. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
2. John Frank Howell, 36, was booked on Jan. 24, 2010. He is charged with breach of peace. Howell was also booked once in July of 2008 on public disorderly conduct charges. He is from Hickory Grove, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
3. Damon Christopher Sumter, 36, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with driving under the influence (first offense). Sumter has no prior arrests. He is from Fort Mill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
4. Adam Kasey Martin, 20, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with malicious intent to personal property exceeding $1,000 (but less than $5,000), pointing and presenting firearms at a person and public and disorderly conduct. Martin was also booked once in May of 2007 for possession of marijuana (first offense), reckless driving and operating an unsafe vehicle. He is from Clover, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
5. LaKrystle Chinyere Caldwell, 26, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with speeding (over 10 mph but under 15 mph), transportation of alcohol with a broken seal in a motor vehicle, incorrectly displayed tag, giving false information and failure to maintain proof of insurance in the vehicle. Caldwell has also been booked five previous times since Oct. of 2001, on charges including: failure to appear, speeding, shoplifting, fradulent checks and commitment. She is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
6. Tarrance Antoin Barber, 38, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with shoplifting (third offense). Barber has also been booked four previous times from 2002 to 2009 for charges including: criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, assault and battery, failure to appear, kidnapping and burglary (first degree). He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
7. Travis Quanta Foster, 28, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with burglary (first degree), armed robbery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Foster has been booked three times prior in 2002 on charges of possession of crack, resisting arrest, possession of a handgun by a minor, failure to stop for blue lights and larceny exceeding $5,000. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
8. Ronnie Lamar Meeks, 28, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with possession of marijuana, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of cocaine near a school. Meeks was also booked once in January of 2008 on possession of crack cocaine charges. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
9. Elder Exequiel Flores-Gomez, 19, was booked on Jan. 22, 2010. He is charged with holding for another agency. Flores-Gomez has no prior arrests. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
10. Jaime Hernandez-Guerrero, 33, was booked on Jan. 22, 2010. He is charged with holding for another agency. Hernandez-Guerrero has no prior arrests. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.

Fiber to the Rescue

In the Western Hemisphere, especially in the United States, cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates continue to increase. It is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, along with cancer, which together make up 51 percent of all deaths, according to the 2009 Wellness Reports from the University of California at Berkeley.

The occurrence of this disease is partly attributable to unhealthy lifestyle patterns and diets that are high in saturated fat and sugar and are low in fruit, vegetables and fiber.

Studies Favor Fiber

Clinical trials, which evaluate the effectiveness of specific treatments for an identified medical condition, have proven that dietary habits affect multiple cardiovascular risk factors in both established risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol levels and obesity) and new ones (inflammation), according to the American Heart Association.

In one meta-analysis, a healthy eating pattern was shown to reduce the risk of coronary death or nonfatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) when it was compared to an unhealthy eating pattern among men and women (mean age of 50) at the time of their dietary assessment, according to the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” which often provides updates on the long-term effects of dietary patterns and the risk of coronary heart disease. A meta-analysis pools together the results of studies that have investigated a specific effect and develops a conclusion using the reviewed results.

Cohort studies, which follow a large number of people over a specific time period, have found a “consistent protective effect of dietary fiber on CVD outcomes,” according to “Cardiovascular Research,” a medical journal.

In fact, the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” reported that recent research in a national sample, conducted in the United States, has discovered a positive relationship between dietary fiber intake and inflammatory markers. Inflammation of the heart’s arteries, tissues or muscles can result in CVD.

Furthermore, a cross-sectional study, which determines whether any risk factors are present and can be associated with the development of a particular disease, analyzed the connection between dietary fiber intake and CVD risk factors in adult men and women. It concluded that those with the highest total dietary fiber intakes were associated with having a much lower risk of high blood pressure, which can foster CVD.

Watch What You Eat

Thirty-five grams of fiber is the recommended daily amount for men (25 grams for women).

Here are some fruits and vegetables that contain the most dietary fiber:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Oranges
• Spinach
• Artichokes
• Broccoli

In addition, saturated fat should be avoided and substituted with monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat if possible. Saturated fat is found mostly in animal sources like red meat and whole milk dairy products. Fried foods, such as most fast foods, are cooked in oil that contains unhealthy trans fat; overweight people have more fat in their blood. These fats enter the bloodstream, form clumps and leave plaque on artery walls, which makes them narrower. High blood pressure and blood clots can result from this. Saturated fat also raises the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol that increases a person’s risk of coronary heart disease.

The article that focuses on the updated American Heart Association guidelines for cardiovascular health, Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, advised people to limit their saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of their total calories, which is down from the suggested 10 percent in 2000.

Sugar has negative effects on the body, and the amount a person consumes in a daily diet should be restricted. Helpguide.org, a non-profit Web site, reported that in a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda, which is equal to 160 calories, can increase a person’s weight by 16 pounds; obesity is a risk factor for many different kinds of heart problems. Sugar, a carbohydrate, also fills the body with empty calories that lack essential vitamins and nutrients.

Discrimination Dominates Occupation That Reports on Discrimination

Newspapers often run stories about local and national diversity-related issues, but it’s within newsrooms across America where these issues seem to lie.

One-third of the U.S. population consists of people of color, but as of 2007, at least 392 newspapers had no minorities at all on their staffs, according to the article "Newsroom Numbers: Good and Bad."

Dori Maynard, president of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and a board member of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, thinks newsroom managers should put as much effort into ensuring a diverse staff as they do coming up with creative story ideas.

"If we don't see much diversity of race and ethnicity in our personal lives," Maynard said. "it may be harder to take in our responsibilities to an increasingly mixed society."

Newsrooms Need Culture Shock

Many media researchers have identified what they consider a white-centered bias in the news, and according to experimental psychologists and human resources experts, hiring and promotion procedures may in fact "shut people out."

• The number of journalists of color within participating newsrooms has consistently stayed at approximately 13 percent for the past few years
• This percentage decreased in 2006
• Sixteen percent of online newspaper journalists are of color

The American Society of Newspaper Editors compiled these statistics.

Doomed Future?

Decreased circulation, increased publication costs and dwindled newsroom staffs have become the forefront problems facing newspaper companies today, but are managers really giving readers what they want?

"You're not going to grow your readership if you dismiss 30 percent of the population," Maynard said. "It just won't work."

Maybe, as an industry, we think that good intentions can make up for quantity, he said.

"An inclusive newsroom environment led to improved quantity and quality in news coverage of minorities," according to a recent study by researchers Ted Pease of Utah State University, Erna Smith of San Francisco State University and Federico Subervi of Texas State University-San Marcos.

Journalists can shift newsroom culture to reflect social reality if the right measures are taken.

Jessica Pickens - Fast and Furious

A video about drag racing...

Death Penalty Discriminates Against African-Americans

Capital Punishment in the United States, the most severe of all punishments, is unfair because it is discriminatory against African-Americans.

Fairness implies that any person charged with a capital crime offense, regardless of race, economic status or geographic location, will receive the same treatment under the law than any other person charged with the same crime, according to Diane Henningfeld, editor of "The Death Penalty – Opposing Viewpoints."

However, this is simply not the case in America.

It has been proven by various forms of statistical data that the death penalty defines race as a determining factor of who receives it.

Here are some shocking statistics, from editor Mary Williams, that prove the injustices of the United States' capital punishment system:

• Murderers of whites are four times more likely to receive the death penalty than murderers of blacks
• Since the death penalty was restored in 1976, only six white people have been executed for murdering a black person, while 112 black people have been executed for murdering whites
• More than 20 percent of black defendants who have been executed were convicted by all-white juries

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), which is comprised of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Urban League (NUL) and 140 other organizations, complains that capital punishment is overwhelmingly reserved for racial minorities as well.

"We cannot be blind to the fact that actual executions have taken place primarily in the South and in at least a racially suspect manner," said Jack Greenberg, law professor at Columbia University.

Countless samples of statistical data and personal accounts support his allegation.

Race strictly disadvantages black jurors, black victims and black defendants.

For instance, in the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court case, Miller-El v. Dretke, a black Texas death row inmate, Thomas Miller-El, petitioned the federal courts to enforce the rule of Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits racial discrimination in the exercise of peremptory challenges in jury selection. Miller-El claimed that Dallas County prosecutors engaged in a racially-influenced jury selection at the time of his trial in 1986 when they eliminated 10 out of 11 competent black panelists. Fortunately, prosecutors announced in July of 2005 that they would pursue a new trial. This information is compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Another U.S. Supreme Court case that fought racial discrimination was the notorious 1987 McCleskey v. Kemp case in which Warren McCleskey, convicted of armed robbery and murder, argued that the death penalty was racially bigoted.

In addition, a number of reported inaccuracies transpire in the U.S. capital punishment system involving African-Americans.

Errors in death penalty cases occur much more frequently in states with higher proportions of African-Americans than in states with fewer African-Americans, according to James Liebman, a professor at Columbia Law School.

"I think blacks get harsher sentences than whites and are accused more," said Samantha Furtick, a 20-year-old junior and graphic design major at Winthrop University. She is a capital punishment advocate who is actually aware of and admits that faults exist within the system.

“If I declare there is a racial issue at hand or there isn’t a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have,” said Peggy McIntosh, a scholar of women’s studies at Wellesley College and the author of "White Privilege." Her personal generalization reinforces the notion that Caucasians have superiority over African-Americans in society, which even extends to the courtroom.

To me, it is no coincidence that black defendants are much more likely to be executed than white defendants. The truth is that those who commit crimes against African-Americans are penalized less harshly than those who commit crimes against whites.

America has a system of capital punishment that results in inconsistent and arbitrary executions that perpetrate death to those not based on what they have or have not done, but what color their skin is.