Below is the link to the offical press release concerning the budget cuts at Texas Southern University. I do urge the student body to act on this issue and get involved.
http://bit.ly/p67b71
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Debt Ceiling: What is it and why should Americans care?
Ok. Many of you who have watched CNN in recent weeks and heard the phrase "debt ceiling." Some ask the questions "What exactly is a debt ceiling?"and "Why does it matter to me?" Well pull up a chair and I'll fill you in.
The debt ceiling is the legal borrowing limit by our government. Prior to 1917. Congress had to vote on borrowing money each time the issue came up. Congress decided to give blanket approval for most types of borrowing---as long as the total was less than an established limit.
Why does it matter to me? Glad you asked. The nation's debt is inching closer to it's limit of $14.3 trillion dollars. The ceiling could have been breached as early as May 16 but Congress worked out a short-term deal to give itself more time, hence the circus we have now.
Congress has until August 2nd to forumlate a deal to raise the debt ceiling to avoid a loan default. If the debt ceiling isn't raised then the country will lose the ability to borrow money to pay its bills. There is NO precedent for this type of situation. Congress has never defaulted on any type of loan in its history.
Republicans like John Boehner say that if the ceiling is raised the limit, they need a commitment from the White House for more spending cuts, however the Obama Administration has resisted the idea of a "cut, cap and balance" plan and instead argue that the solvency of the government is too important to be held hostage by secondary issues.
Enough stating boring facts. Now here is my own opinion.
The ceiling needs to be raised but it doesn't matter now.
We already did and still are bailing out the financial industry, bought all their garbage, bankrupted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stripped the value of deposits owned by the prudent, are giving free money away thru the Federal Reserve to banks, speculators, deadbeats, debtors, wall street and the government, literally imposed a tax on savers' wealth with interest rates engineered by the Fed.
We destroyed the value of our once sovereign currency (again the fed), stripped our manufacturing and sent it overseas, fought two unfunded wars supported by those that got the blood money tax breaks, expanded Medicare drug coverage to help its bankruptcy along, borrowed all the money from the SS trust fund and called it a surplus in the general budget and bailed out foreign governments.
In addition, we let corporations be treated as individuals with unlimited campaign money and the ever present lobbyists bribing congress, enabled a corporate welfare system where companies invest a million on K street to gain a billion in legislated profits through graft and one asks do deficits matter?
Obviously not.
What the hell did you think was going to happen America?
Ok. I'm done.
The debt ceiling is the legal borrowing limit by our government. Prior to 1917. Congress had to vote on borrowing money each time the issue came up. Congress decided to give blanket approval for most types of borrowing---as long as the total was less than an established limit.
Why does it matter to me? Glad you asked. The nation's debt is inching closer to it's limit of $14.3 trillion dollars. The ceiling could have been breached as early as May 16 but Congress worked out a short-term deal to give itself more time, hence the circus we have now.
Congress has until August 2nd to forumlate a deal to raise the debt ceiling to avoid a loan default. If the debt ceiling isn't raised then the country will lose the ability to borrow money to pay its bills. There is NO precedent for this type of situation. Congress has never defaulted on any type of loan in its history.
Republicans like John Boehner say that if the ceiling is raised the limit, they need a commitment from the White House for more spending cuts, however the Obama Administration has resisted the idea of a "cut, cap and balance" plan and instead argue that the solvency of the government is too important to be held hostage by secondary issues.
Enough stating boring facts. Now here is my own opinion.
The ceiling needs to be raised but it doesn't matter now.
We already did and still are bailing out the financial industry, bought all their garbage, bankrupted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stripped the value of deposits owned by the prudent, are giving free money away thru the Federal Reserve to banks, speculators, deadbeats, debtors, wall street and the government, literally imposed a tax on savers' wealth with interest rates engineered by the Fed.
We destroyed the value of our once sovereign currency (again the fed), stripped our manufacturing and sent it overseas, fought two unfunded wars supported by those that got the blood money tax breaks, expanded Medicare drug coverage to help its bankruptcy along, borrowed all the money from the SS trust fund and called it a surplus in the general budget and bailed out foreign governments.
In addition, we let corporations be treated as individuals with unlimited campaign money and the ever present lobbyists bribing congress, enabled a corporate welfare system where companies invest a million on K street to gain a billion in legislated profits through graft and one asks do deficits matter?
Obviously not.
What the hell did you think was going to happen America?
Ok. I'm done.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Amy Winehouse dead at 27
The UK Press Association reports that singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home on Saturday. She was only 27 years old.
Winehouse had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and had recently left a rehabilitation center in preparation for a European tour. She cut a Belgrade, Serbia concert short last month after staggering on stage and fumbling through songs.
The British singer had a breakout year in 2008 when she won Grammy awards including Song of the Year for "Rehab". Her career then took a troubled turn after a rocky divorce with Blake Fielder-Civil marked with arrests.
The London Telegraph reported in 2009 that her parents said she "was on the road to recovery."
Police have yet to determine if cause of death was a suicide.
The singer with an old school Motown soulful voice will surely be missed.
Winehouse had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and had recently left a rehabilitation center in preparation for a European tour. She cut a Belgrade, Serbia concert short last month after staggering on stage and fumbling through songs.
The British singer had a breakout year in 2008 when she won Grammy awards including Song of the Year for "Rehab". Her career then took a troubled turn after a rocky divorce with Blake Fielder-Civil marked with arrests.
The London Telegraph reported in 2009 that her parents said she "was on the road to recovery."
Police have yet to determine if cause of death was a suicide.
The singer with an old school Motown soulful voice will surely be missed.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Journalism 443 Final Exam- Ndukaku Okereke (Bin Laden story)
Terrorist group leader dead in standoff
By Uba Okereke
Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed Sunday last week by Navy SEALs at his compound three hours outside of Islamabad, Pakistan, CNN reports.
The 40 minute raid closes an important chapter in the hunt for Bin Laden since the war on terror was declared in 2003. Minutes after the news of the death hundreds of Americans crowded the streets of Washington, D.C.
“When I first heard that Bin Laden was killed naturally I thought it was political propaganda,” said SGA President-elect Shekira Dennis. “I did not genuinely believe that he was dead.
President Obama addressed the nation in a brief press conference to give the breakdown of the mission to kill Bin Laden. He also urged many Americans abroad to not congregate in mass gatherings due to safety concerns and that all airports are on medium to high alert.
Many people questioned the death of Bin Laden since there weren’t any immediate photos that displayed the deceased Bin Laden.
“I thought that it was some governmental scheme to get the American people to believe we had some type of breakthrough and been somewhat productive, “Dennis said.
Obama stated in his press conference that a DNA test was given that confirmed that the deceased was in fact Osama Bin Laden.
According to CNN, many al-Qaeda affiliates have published effusive tributes to their leader and have vowed to avenge his death.
Osama Bin Laden was the man responsible for terrorist attacks in east Africa in 1998, the USS Cole in 2000 and the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Resume
Education
Texas Southern University Houston, TX
Candidate for Bachelor of Arts in Communications May 2011
Major: Journalism Minor: Accounting
Experience
Texas Southern University Herald (Newspaper) – Houston, TX Aug. 2008 – Present
Sports Editor
· Covered all Texas Southern University athletic events
· Conducted interviews with players, coaches and front office personnel
· Increased readership by 20% for the 2010-2011 school year
· Social Media Correspondent for the 25th Annual HABJ Awards Dinner
Houston Community News (Newspaper) – Houston, TX Jan.2010 –May 2010
Contributing writer
· Covered sports and social events around the Houston area
· Researched information for stories and blogs
· Received recognition for daily contributions to the newspaper
Regal Magazine (Internship) – Houston, TX Jan. 2011-Present
Intern
· Wrote sports stories on teams from various HBCU campuses
· Helped the editor with all stories dealing with the Black Community
· Covered the 2011 SWAC Basketball Tournament
· Interviewed Dr. Cornel West and Minister Louis Farrakhan at Howard University
Organizations/
Activities
Texas Southern University Student Government Association (TSUSGA) –Senator
Texas Southern University Association of Black Journalists (TSUABJ) Member
Texas Southern University NAACP Unit #6864 (Houston,TX) Political Action Chair
National Association of Black Journalists- Member
Skills
Adobe Software: Dreamweaver; InDesign; Photoshop;
Web 2.0 Sites: BlogSpot; Facebook; MySpace; Twitter; YouTube
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Nigeria elects a president
Incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan won the presidential election on Monday, April 18 the election commission said.
According to Chairman Attahiru Jega, Jonathan satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes and hereby was declared the winner.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 22,495, 187 of the 39, 469, 484 votes cast on April 16. The number outweighed the votes of Muhammad Buhari, of the Congress for Progressive Change, the main opposition party, which had 12, 214,853.
“The election was free and fair but there were pockets of protest from the northern part of the country where Buhari hails from,” said Lawrence Azibuike.
Rioting in the Muslim populated area of Nigeria soon erupted once Jonathan was declared the winner. Concerned about ongoing violence Nigerian election officials Thursday delayed the gubernatorial elections in Kaduna and Bauchi states until April 28.
Jega said that the delay will help to further the cooling of tempers and for the security in those states to improve.
Goodluck Jonathan hails from the oil-rich southern region of Nigeria, which is mostly Christian.
Parts of the Muslim north charge that the elections were rigged. Armed protestors roamed the streets chanting the name of Buhari, the opposition leader.
According to the Nigerian Red Cross, more than 40,000 people have been displaced in the north due to acts of violence in the region. Jonathan has urged the people that “enough is enough.”
The elections four years ago were widely condemned for rampant vote rigging, violence intimidation, and theft of ballot boxes.
Action Congress of Nigeria, another opposition party, said Thursday that the elections were the most systematically rigged election in Nigeria’s history.
Jonathan assumed the presidency prior to the elections after Umaru Yar’Adua succumbed to failing health last year.
World leaders have urged the nation to investigate on allegations of ballot stuffing and unusual high turnout in some areas.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil-producer and most populous nation with over 150 million people.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Members of the Student Government Association traveled to Washington, D.C. for a week-long conference at Howard University. The leadership summit was hosted by students of the 50th administration of the Howard University Student Association (HUSA).
The conference entitled, Footprints: Retracing Our Legacy, One Step at a Time, was designed to reflect on past leaders from Black institutions as we establish our own legacy and solidify our place in the community as global leaders.
In addition, student leaders engaged in consistent dialogue to help set an agenda and foster solutions for African Americans and people of African descent worldwide.
The conference had detailed workshops and sessions that provided our student leaders the tools to analyze our legacy to enact the right change and solutions for today’s issues.
The sessions touched on the areas on effective communication, advocacy for the black community and team building exercises. In addition, the attendees also partook in a luncheon and panel discussion hosted by the National Urban League.
Students from Tuskegee, Bowie State and University also accompanied Texas Southern at the conference.
“This was truly an educational and mind unraveling experience,” said sophomore Donte Newman.
The conference also included a Spring Fest fashion show hosted by Howard University students and a speaker series with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan who spoke on the state of Black America and briefly on how President Obama has become the “black mascot” for Wall Street. Minister Louis Farrakhan is the leader of the Nation of Islam.
“Attending the HBCU Leadership Conference was such a rewarding and enriching experience,” said junior Iysha Batts. “The people I met and the lessons I learned will stick with me for a lifetime.”
The conference ended with a church service at the school auditorium where Dr. Cornel West gave the sermon followed with a luncheon.
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