Urban Radio Stations: I'm calling you out

I carpool to work with my godmother, who loves to listen to her oldies station every morning on 95.9. Personally, I'd prefer to hear something a little more geared toward my generation, but I never say anything out of respect. I listen to the music and every now and again, I find myself bobbing my head.

The main reason that I don't complain though, is because station that she listens to has an early morning talk show (The Tom Joyner Morning Show), which I find that I get a lot of education from, I'm kept in the loop as to what's going on in my country and my community, outside of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. I couldn't care any less if I tried.

What interests me more, is the fact that I do get to hear the political opinions of the hosts as they try and spread a message of how important it is as a community to get out and vote. Raising awareness is very important, so they spend a lot of time giving information about what is going on across the country in regards to voter suppression laws, political changes in the climate that can and will effect us as a community if we refuse to do anything about it, and just generally getting us more involved.

How the hell can I even think of changing to station to listen to some hip hop or R & B? Ignorance is NOT bliss and I refuse to subject my brain to such nonsense (although I love Hip Hop) and ignore what I need to know?

I can honestly say that every single time I've turned the station to either 92Q, WPGC 95.5 or WKYS 93.9, all I've ever gotten as far as current affairs, is bullshit about stars' beef, financial woes, secret relationships, court hearings and arrests. I don't hear about voting or issues with laws, or any other political issues. Unless we are in the week before an election, maybe.

I feel like they are doing a horrible job servicing their community. I don't feel like they are giving out the proper information to keep their listeners educated and aware. And yes, I feel like it's their damn duty. You have a responsibility to promote your community to be the best that they can be, to grow and to do well in life and not just the bling-bling of the music that makes them feel like they have to either rap or sing or be video vixens.

This country is at a critical point where every single vote is going to count and it is your duty to get out the vote because you have a widespread reach to them. I don't want to hear after the fact (IF Romney wins), that we should have gotten out and voted. We should have did more. We should have paid more attention.

I'm telling you now that as a listener of your stations, I am challenging you to do your part in helping your communities grow. I'm challenging you to do more than just run and ad here and there. I'm challenging you to put out just as much political news as you do gossip. I'm challenging you to make your listeners aware of what is going on politically that WILL change their lives if they don't take action. You are a black radio station catering to black listeners in black communities! Stop breeding ignorance and educate!

I'm challenging you to take responsibility.
http://www.92qjams.com/
http://www.kysdc.com/
http://www.wpgc.com/

Define the single most important political issue of the approaching presidential election.

Although there are so many political issues that are important to the approaching election, I feel that the most important issue right now, is the economic status of the country. There are so many things to do, that there will be no change overnight nor in the next 2 years, but there has to be a long-term plan put into place that will NOT change even with the presidency of the country. It is important to realize that the country is in crisis right now because of corruption in the corporate and federal government. When “the people” realize that the government has, for such a long time, been bought by corporations to do their bidding and not the bidding of the majority of the country, and demand a change—only then will the change for the better begin.

While it is important to know that the presidents of this country have been nothing but pawns and have no real control, it is vital to support and re-elect President Obama because he is the only candidate that supports and fights for social justice and change. He is the only president that is really working hard on getting Americans back to work and getting the country out of the depression that we’ve been in for too long. The reason that what he does isn’t so visible, is because the corporations, along with the GOP have fought every move that he has tried to make. They are only wishing to stop his progress so they may be the first to do it and look like the heroes.

The American people are sick of the fighting between the parties and want to see sustainable changes, so we need to elect the tools for helping out our president. This means that anyone that is opposed to the president for no apparent reasons, that have no real plans of their own that the people are going to go for, that are only opposing him because of the fact that he is a Democrat, or because he is black—needs to be replaced by those on the same page as he.

More importantly than that, when the American people have decided to stop being distracted by the party wars, we can see that the problem has nothing to do with such. The problem starts with the secret societies and corporations that are selling off this country and selling out the American people for their own personal fortune. This is the only time that we can really begin to fight the real fight. This is taking back our government and being the government that this country was founded upon.

What have the GOP done for you lately?

So as I am reading around on the web, I come past a picture that said so much that I could ever say, along with a comment from a person who put what I wanted to put into words, but because of my anger when seeing this picture, I couldn't even begin to speak. What the person had to say was so true and should be put out there for everyone to see.

The Republicans are leading the biggest attack on jobs and our political and economic freedom in history. Most of us understand the Republican led failed trickle down economic policies are destroying our economy and the middle class. What most of us don't realize is what a strong ally we have in President Obama and the Democratic Leadership.

The Secret to Creating Jobs is electing President Obama and Democrats in 2012 and keeping the pressure on. Democrats consistently give us stronger economic growth and security, greater equality and political freedom and lower budget deficits. Wall Street doesn't want you to know because Democrats will not give them free reign to crash our economy and pay little or nothing in taxes.

Franklin Roosevelt gave us Social Security and lifted us out of the Great Recession. Lyndon Johnson gave us the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Fair Housing Act and Medicare and Medicaid.
The 3 Presidents since FDR with the greatest job growth are the past three Democratic Presidents - Clinton (2.9 million per year), Carter (2.6 million) and LBJ (2.3 million).

Our next Democratic President was Barack Obama. Our President and the Democratic Congress inherited 2 wars, record budget deficits and Bush's Great Recession. Obama also faced historic
opposition from day one including record Senate filibusters which
meant it required 60 votes to pass anything in the Senate. What did they accomplish during their 2 years in power?

President Obama created millions of jobs (up to 3.5 million according to CBO estimates and Labor Dept jobs data) with the Recovery Act and other decisive actions while turning around Bush's Great Recession by achieving jobs and GDP growth in 13 months or less. Although unemployment remains at 9%, Obama has maintained jobs and GDP growth for the past 19 months.
Obama saved the now thriving Auto Industry and quadrupled oil drilling saving and creating more jobs. The Dow Jones increased over 50% from 8000 to over 12000 in Obama's first 2 years in Office.

President Obama has done more for Veterans than any President in many decades. Obama passed the Veteran Benefits Act, Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act and fully funds the Post-911 GI Bill. Obama works tirelessly to give veterans and their spouses the assistance they deserve when facing so many challenges: including unemployment, homelessness, PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injuries and other disabilities. Obama and Michelle are presently challenging the private sector to commit to hire 100,000 returning veterans and their spouses in the next 2 years.

President Obama achieved Healthcare Reform, Financial Reform with the Consumer Protection Bureau, Patent Reform, Equality
Protections (including Equal Pay for Women, Repealing of DADT and Enforcing Union Rights), Expanded Environmental Protection, Fairer Taxation, Vital Investments in our future and much more. Obama achieved the most far-reaching, progressive legislation and administrative accomplishments since the 1960's. We all wanted more. The truth is with a 60 vote majority needed in the Senate and strong corporate opposition these accomplishment were a remarkable start to the change we need.

President Obama now offers us the only credible plan to begin creating more jobs and spur our sluggish economic recovery. As we see every day, Republicans continue to make their top priority stopping Obama rather the serving the American people.

As the country gets sick of what's going on in our political and financial systems. . .a Revolution begins

45K Verizon workers strike after labor talks fail

NEW YORK (AP) — Stalled contract negotiations led thousands of workers in Verizon Communication Inc.'s wireline division to go on strike Sunday, potentially affect landline operations as well as installation of services like FiOS, its fiber-optic television and Internet lines.

The contract for the 45,000 employees from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., expired at midnight Saturday with the company and the workers unable to come to terms on issues including health care costs and pensions.

The dispute does not affect the company's wireless division. Verizon is the nation's largest wireless carrier.

Verizon employees who are members of the Communication Workers of America union picketed headquarters in New York City on Sunday morning, wearing red and holding signs with messages including "CWA on strike for middle-class jobs."

Vinnie Galvin, 56, said he and his fellow workers are the backbone of the industry. "Everybody needs to be wired and we're the people who do that," said the three-decades-plus veteran of the company.

"They're trying to bust us. ... This is stuff that it took us 40, 50 years to get."

The affected workers are responsible for maintaining and repairing traditional landlines, as well as installing FiOS, union spokesman Bob Master said.

Workers covered by the expired contract also include 10,000 represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who serve as telephone and repair technicians, customer service representatives, operators and more. Contract negotiations began June 22.

New York-based Verizon has 196,000 workers; 135,000 are non-union.

The company is asking for changes in the contract because it says its wireline business has been in decline for more than a decade as more people switch to using cellphones exclusively. It had 25 million landlines at the end of the second quarter, down from 26 million at the end of 2010. It has been selling off some of its landlines to other phone companies.

"It's not reflective of today's marketplace," Verizon spokesman Rich Young said of the contract. "Our union employees pay nothing toward their health care premiums. That's virtually unheard of."

Master said the company wanted worker concessions at a time when it was making billions in profits and top executives were making millions in salary.
"We have never seen such a sweeping attack on the quality of life of our members," he said. "This is an unprecedented and in our opinion completely unjustified attack on middle-class jobs."
Young refuted the union's contentions on Verizon's profits, saying that the wireline unit was declining overall despite the growth of products like FiOS.
Master said the strike could impact customers looking for installations or repairs to their service, but Young said Verizon had taken steps like training managers and retirees.
Young said Verizon would return to the table at any point, that it was up to the union. The union said workers would be prepared to return to work when Verizon demonstrated a willingness to bargain seriously.

In Philadelphia on Sunday morning, about a dozen red-shirted strikers and union officials were outside two downtown buildings.

Helga Weber, 45, of Abington, Pa., came prepared with the chair she bought for the workers' last strike in 2000, which lasted 18 days.

"We're just making a regular living, middle class — we're not making a fortune. We just want to keep what we have," said Weber, a 13-year employee.

Cliff Beckham, 55, of Upper Darby, said the walkout, his second in his more than 12 years with the company, would "definitely" be a hardship.

"I've got a mortgage to pay," he said. In addition to the $200 to $300 he said the union will provide, he hopes a part-time position with UPS will tide him over.

"Luckily, I have a night job," he said. "I'm glad I kept it."
___

Associated Press writers Samantha Gross in New York and Ron Todt in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

The Civil Rights Movement needs to WAKE UP!

How many people would agree with me that 1. Racism is VERY much alive and well in this day and age and 2. That the racism and disrespect towards our Commander-in-Chief has gotten way out of hand? 3. Do you believe that this calls for action? If your answer is yes to all of the questions, what would be your input as to starting a solution or counter-acting it?

WHO PAYS TAXES?

WHO PAYS TAXES? ...

Not America's Richest Companies

Listed below are the top 10 corporate freeloaders(compiled by the U.S. Senate Research Staff).

10. Carnival Cruise Lines over the past five years made more than $11 billion in profits, but its federal income tax rate during those years was just 1.1 percent.

9. ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest oil company in the United States, made $16 billion in profits from 2007 through 2009, but received $451 million in tax breaks.

8. Citigroup last year made more than $4 billion in profits but paid no federal income taxes.

7. Goldman Sachs in 2008 only paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes even though it earned a profit of $2.3 billion.

6. Valero Energy, the 25th largest company in America with $68 billion in sales last year received a $157 million tax refund check from the IRS.

5. Boeing got a $124 million refund from the IRS last year.

4. Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year after it made $10 billion in profits in 2009.

3. General Electric made $26 billion in profits over the last five years and not only paid no federal income tax, it got a $4.1 billion refund.

2. Bank of America got a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, though it made $4.4 billion in profits.

1. Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009 and paid no federal income taxes. It did receive a $156 million rebate from the IRS.