VIDEO: We saw this young man sitting on the steps of the First Corinthian Baptist Church on Thanksgiving Day. He was calling us over and offering something to eat.
View From Here – Obama: In Deep Thought about Big Challenges
Much has been made of, and I think we are all very grateful for, the judgment and intelligence of President Barack Obama and he is certainly handling his job with a grace and ease that is comforting, but what the country needs now is more than that. Of that famous “check him out” game with Michelle Obama’s big brother Craig Robinson, Mr. Robinson reported to the Democratic Convention, “If you’re looking for a political analysis based on his playing, here it is: he’s confident but not cocky, he’ll take the shot if he’s open, he’s a team player who improves the people around him, and he won’t back down from any challenge.” Left unanswered is the question, Did he ever try to drive through to the hoop and take the hit from the 6 ‘6″ two-time Ivy League Player of the Year? Because that’s the Obama who has to get on the court now.
He has been thinking deeply about the various options available to him in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has listened to passionate voices on all sides and we can be sure he has reviewed several scenarios. But as a thoughtful man, he is surely doing his calculations in the context of the nation’s needs and what else is happening in the world.
In recent comments at the introduction of his “Education To Innovate” Campaign, the President made some observations which should send chills through anyone who is concerned about the future of the children of Brooklyn. He said, “You know, I was in Asia, I think many of you are aware, for a week, and I was having lunch with the President of South Korea, President Lee. And I was interested in education policy — they’ve grown enormously over the last 40 years. And I asked him, what are the biggest challenges in your education policy? He said ‘the biggest challenge that I have is that my parents are too demanding.’ (Laughter) He said, ‘even if somebody is dirt poor, they are insisting that their kids are getting the best education.’ He said, ‘I’ve had to import thousands of foreign teachers because they’re all insisting that Korean children have to learn English in elementary school.’ That was the biggest education challenge that he had, was an insistence, a demand from parents for excellence in the schools….And the same thing was true when I went to China. I was talking to the Mayor of Shanghai, and I asked him about how he was doing recruiting teachers, given that they’ve got 25 million people in this one city. He said, ‘We don’t have problems recruiting teachers because teaching is so revered and the pay scales for teachers are actually comparable to doctors and other professions.’”
As his education campaign opened the President said also that, “One assessment shows American 15-year-olds now rank 21st in science and 25th in math when compared to their peers around the world.” In November 23rd remarks to his Cabinet regarding the spiraling unemployment rate, the President spoke of how businesses “have learned to produce the same amount of goods with fewer people.” And that presents “significant challenges in terms of us creating more jobs in this economy.”
And then, of course, he is thinking of the health care debate, where as the only industrial nation in the world without universal coverage, he has to face a health insurance industry that is fighting on all fronts to ensure its existence and prevent a “single-payer” program from happening.
As the President is looking at all of this while reading his briefing books in Air Force One, Marine One or in the limo they call “The Beast” and pondering, as he said to his Cabinet, that the keys to solving his domestic problems can be found in investing in “infrastructure and green technology”, he knows he just needs the money to do it and he knows these wars are costing $720 million dollars a day.
The Chinese, who are financing this whole venture by their willingness to purchase Treasury Notes, may have brought this to his attention in the President’s recent visit, just for assurance that their investment is safe, but not so much as to dissuade him from pursuing an inevitably weakening course.
So as the President looks at the various war scenarios, he will no doubt note the common elements of a loss of life and treasure to no certain end except that we know in the end, we will leave. Having called for the ball, this is where the President has to drive to the hoop and take the hit. He can define a concept around which to declare an early victory, perhaps in the demonstration that this nation will cause pain and destruction when we feel threatened, and having made that point, we can now bring all forces, including the private contractors, home in a quick-hurry, and the $720 million-dollars-a-day cost of these wars can then be spent on investing in the health and education of the core asset and strength of any nation, its people.
The President is well aware that it is critical that the United States return to these basics if we are to compete in a world that is changing as never before, at a computer-enabled pace. And as for the hit, he’ll be giving Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and that crew a push with their ratings. But that will only of interest until resources start flowing to state and local governments for projects that put people to work. After that, in this scenario, Obama will go into the next election looking like new money.
Family Court In Need of Change
Mrs. And Mr. James’ daughter, Amber, was five years old when ACS came one night and removed her from their home.
At birth, Amber had seizure that led to a stroke. Mrs. James noticed shaking of her left hand and leg. The doctor told Mrs. James that the seizure led to the stroke. Born in N.C. on Oct. 10, 2001, Amber stayed in the hospital until Oct. 14. Ever since, the child suffered from problems with her eyes and skin rashes, according to Mrs. James. “I did not suspect malpractice until a couple of weeks later, said Mrs. James. “If my child had a stroke, should I leave the hospital with the baby? I got no answer.”
Although both worked, the James’ did not have health coverage for five years. Married 25 years, Mr. James said they are a working family. “No welfare.”
While in intensive care, the hospital had the baby under hot lights. There was no family history of health problems; no problems during the pregnancy. The James’ have a healthy 24 year old son. They say they were given no medical diagnosis for their daughter.
Amber never had a seizure again. She began to have chest pains in 2006. They took her to Parkway Hospital in Queens. The James’ were told to take their daughter home and observe her.
Amber’s eyes would itch and hurt. “Allergy medications never worked,” said Mrs. James. They would give daughter vitamins and “feed her properly.” Without medical coverage, the James’ would take daughter to a clinic referred by HHS. Mrs. James said daughter’s practitioner was “one year out of medical school.” After a second visit, the James’ were given a prescription that was in Mrs. James’, not Amber’s, name. According to Mrs.James, when she put it in Amber’s eyes, “she started screaming.” She called the doctor and asked what the medication was for. “At 12:05, midnight, ACS was at my door.” Amber was removed form their home, despite a report said the child was well cared for.
Mr. James, a case manager for mentally ill, chemically dependent patients, said he thinks “the doctor had a with a Black couple questioning her authority.” Later, the doctor sent Mr. James an email stating, ” she didn’t want the child to be removed from the home.”
“Family court demonized my wife,” said Mr. James. “They would give me my daughter if I kicked my wife out of the house and got an order of protection. It’s divide and conquer.”
In April 2008, Mrs. James was arrested and put in Elmhurst Hospital Psych Ward. “They lied,” said Mrs. James, “and said I knocked a big woman down, scared my daughter, and threatened the foster mother. Unbeknownst the them, all our visits were taped.” The wife’s visitation was suspended for a year, although there is no police report for the alleged assault.
The James’ said while in foster care, Amber was hospitalized three times for pneumonia. Amber was placed in three foster homes in 4 months.
When Amber claimed she was touched improperly while in foster care, the child was placed in Kings County psych ward and at midnight was left there by the social worker. “A five year old in a teen psych ward,” said Mrs. James. “She was thrown around like a sack of potatoes.”
Mr. James gave his assessment: “There are 17,000 children in ACS care. Poverty was their only crime. The children equal money; disabled children are worth more. Traumatize a child, then provide medication. It is nothing but modern day slavery.”
The last time the James’ saw their Amber, they took her to the Michael Jackson celebration in Prospect Park. They say their daughter is not the same.
Lauren Raysor has heard stories like this, and many more. An attorney who specializes in custody, visitation, and child support cases, Raysor says she has issues with “the way people of color are treated” in NYC Family Court. “The system is twisted, Family Court should assist in family re-unification.” Instead, said Raysor, “Children are a great commodity for the city. The foster care system has to get paid. There is great incentive to remove the child from the home.”
Raysor gave general examples of situations she has seen. A common scenario occurs when a child reaches adolescence and exhibits developmentally normal rebellious behavior. That behavior – staying out all night, getting into trouble, risking their own safety – does not conform with the Black value system. Raynor says, if the parents attempts to discipline the child, that discipline opens the door for all manner of disruptions.
“Corporal punishment is out of the question,” Raysor said, but if a parent seeks to restrict the child from hanging out all night, risking danger to him or herself, the child can make a complaint against the parent. That parent then becomes becomes the focus of an investigation, not the child’s behavior.
Raysor described a situation in which a parent took a child’s cell phone away, because the child refused to do school work. The child complained to a teacher. An investigation of the parent was initiated. Raysor said removing an iPod or cell phone from a child is “withholding,” a form of child abuse under the law. “The parent has no ability to assist their children.”
According to Raysor, an investigation of the parent is initiated when a parent makes a PINS request, seeking help with an out of control child. Ultimately, the child’s legal representative advocates for the child’s wishes, even though the child makes demands that are against their own best interests. “If you don’t want parents to have control over the child,” said Raynor, “then allow the child, age 16 and older, to be emancipated. As it stands, parents are in a Catch 22 situation: the parent is responsible if the child is hurt, yet has no control over guidance.”
There are other common scenarios, according to Raysor. When removed from the home, too often, the system “puts children up for adoption, rather than give the children to their grandmother. That is not our way.” Raynor added, “Foster care is no joke, either. Children are abused in foster care.” Raysor is also concerned about the application of child support.
Attorney Raysor has several legislative proposals that might remedy some situations: 1) emancipation, 2) mandatory, not statutory child support, and 3) child support tax deductions.
“Family court, as it is now set up,” said Raysor, “obliterates families.”