Saturday, February 27, 2010

Shortage of Primary Care Doctors Threatens Our Nation

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

I did an appearance last night on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss the issue of Health care reform. This has been heavy on the mind of our president for his entire first year in office and has led to quite a few political battles on Capitol Hill. Health care is in serious jeopardy, as the cost of entitlement programs such as Medicaid/Medicare and Social Security threaten our nation's economic security. Our national debt has risen to unprecedented and frightening levels, and our politicians have little incentive to do anything about it.
One additional problem that we are running into on the issue of health care is the fact that our nation doesn't have enough Primary Care physicians. These doctors are incredibly important, since they are the first line of defense against illness in America.
Over the next 10 years, our nation is expected to have a shortfall of 40,000 Primary Care doctors. By 2025, that number is expected to balloon to over 120,000. To make matters worse, our population is aging, implying that there will be a greater demand for these doctors in the future.

Click to read.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Dr. Boyce Watkins Discusses Health Care On CNN's Anderson Cooper 360

Dr. Boyce Watkins Discusses Health Care On CNN's Anderson Cooper 360

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Sharpton-Smiley fight reveals rift in black leadership over Obama

Sharpton-Smiley fight reveals rift in black leadership over Obama on MSNBC

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Dr. Boyce Watkins: Tavis Smiley vs. Al Sharpton

Dr. Boyce Watkins talks about the big fight between Tavis Smiley and Al Sharpton.

Tavis Smiley and Al Sharpton fight about Barack Obama

Tavis Smiley and Al Sharpton fight about Barack Obama

Monday, February 22, 2010

White Old Man Goes Wild

White old man goes wild and beats the crap out of a black man.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Jesse Jackson Discuss The Black Agenda

Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Jesse Jackson Discuss The Black Agenda

Friday, February 19, 2010

News: Tiger Woods Speaks to the Press – Well, Sort of

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

Today, Tiger Woods finally did what everyone expected him to do: He spoke out on his own behalf. The world waited for months to hear a peep from the man who has decided to do one of the greatest disappearing acts the sports world has ever seen. When there was no Tiger, there was no professional golf.


The press conference was starting on the wrong foot, as there was buzz of a boycott from golf writers, who felt that Tiger was not giving proper respect to media by refusing to allow them to ask questions. There was also the ire communicated from his fellow golfers, such as Ernie Els, who called Tiger "selfish" for giving his press conference on a Friday, during a tournament sponsored by Accenture.


What Ernie Els failed to remember is that Accenture is the company that dropped Tiger when he was being embarrassed by the media. There is no reason that Tiger should be the least bit hesitant about stealing the headlines away from their golf tournament. Perhaps had Accenture not decided to abandon Tiger, he might not have abandoned them.


His mother was there, the PGA Commissioner was there, and one of Tiger's roommates from college was in attendance. What was missing from the press conference? Well, the press. I'm not sure if you can actually call this a press conference when you've chosen to exclude the media. The other glaring absence from the room was Tiger's wife, Elin.

Click to read.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Latest in Black News – 2/18/10

NATION

Obama Spokesman Robert Gibbs Tweets For Posterity

By News One February 18, 2010 11:13 am

Obama Spokesman Robert Gibbs Tweets For Posterity

Read more about Obama Spokesman Robert Gibbs Tweets For Posterity

TAGS: Barack Obama, Obama Administration, Robert Gibbs, social media,technology, Twitter

OBAMA

Obama Looking To Hire Social Media Manager

By News One February 18, 2010 11:08 am

Obama Looking To Hire Social Media Manager

Read more about Obama Looking To Hire Social Media Manager

TAGS: Barack Obama, Obama Administration, social media, technology,Twitter

NATION

Duke Rape Accuser Charged With Trying To Kill Boyfriend And Arson

By Associated Press February 18, 2010 10:15 am

Duke Rape Accuser Charged With Trying To Kill Boyfriend And Arson

Read more about Duke Rape Accuser Charged With Trying To Kill Boyfriend And Arson

TAGS: Arson, domestic violence, Duke, North Carolina

SPORTS

Shani Davis Wins Gold In Men’s 1,000 Speedskating

By Associated Press February 18, 2010 9:10 am

Shani Davis Wins Gold In Men’s 1,000 Speedskating

Read more about Shani Davis Wins Gold In Men’s 1,000 Speedskating

TAGS: Olympics

NATION

8 Missionaries Freed By Haitian Judge Return To U.S.

By Associated Press February 18, 2010 8:58 am

8 Missionaries Freed By Haitian Judge Return To U.S.

Read more about 8 Missionaries Freed By Haitian Judge Return To U.S.

TAGS: Haiti

JUST CURIOUS

JUST CURIOUS: Is Motherhood A Valid Excuse To Ditch The Army?

By News One February 18, 2010 1:50 am

JUST CURIOUS: Is Motherhood A Valid Excuse To Ditch The Army?

Read more about JUST CURIOUS: Is Motherhood A Valid Excuse To Ditch The Army?

TAGS: Army, black families, black soldiers, Single Mothers

SPORTS

Tiger To End Months Of Silence With Press Conference Friday

By Associated Press February 17, 2010 4:18 pm

Tiger To End Months Of Silence With Press Conference Friday

Read more about Tiger To End Months Of Silence With Press Conference Friday

TAGS: sex scandals, Tiger Woods

NATION

Haiti Judge To Free 8 Of 10 U.S. Missionaries Accused Of Kidnapping

By News One February 17, 2010 4:10 pm

Haiti Judge To Free 8 Of 10 U.S. Missionaries Accused Of Kidnapping

Read more about Haiti Judge To Free 8 Of 10 U.S. Missionaries Accused Of Kidnapping

TAGS: Haiti

Dr. Michael Fauntroy Speaks on Felon Voting

by Dr. Michael Fauntroy

“I don’t want everybody to vote.  Elections are not won by a majority of the people.  They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now.  As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”
– Conservative activist Paul Weyrich, at a 1980 training session for Christian conservatives
    While there are a number of very worthy issues that need to be addressed in this area, I propose that we include the issue of felon disenfranchisement in our deliberations.  Felon disenfranchisement is critical as it impacts the outcomes of elections throughout the country.  Too often, conservative, anti-minority candidates are elected because of the disproportionate removal of African Americans and other minorities from the election rolls.  As the policies that disenfranchise felons disproportionately impacts African Americans (both those caught up in the criminal justice system AND the larger Black public which does not get the policies that it could because supportive people are not elected to office), we must understand it undermines the policies that we believe to be helpful to our community.


Click to read.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Black Scholar Boyce Watkins and The TakeAway Discusses - Does Forgetting Race Make Us (or Chris Matthews) Post-Racial?

Black Scholar Boyce Watkins Talks With The TakeAway -

Dr. Boyce: Russell Simmons Rants on Banks

russell_simmons

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons seems to feel that banks are not treating the poor in a proper fashion. This week, in a rant on his site, “The Global Grind,” Simmons had this to say:
“They trick customers into doing things that are not good for them through lack of transparency, and surprise them with new fees when they can least afford it. I’m learning an important lesson about ethics or lack of ethics in this industry. In fact, I’m fighting with a bank right now that doesn’t know what kind of ass whipping they are going to get when I expose them for the abusive practices and exuberant fees they are charging the poor. What they are doing is trying to double their already outrageously high fees in exchange for providing absolutely nothing to my customers.”
Simmons went on to try to create a “movement” by adding a call to action:

“Let’s start the biggest public discussion ever about how banks treat us and expose these banks for their unequal treatment and unconscionable conduct. The time is now.”

 

Click to read.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton Speak About the State of Black America

Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton Speak About the State of Black America

Dr. Boyce Watkins Talks The State of Black America with Rev. Al Sharpton

Dr. Boyce Watkins Talks The State of Black America with Rev. Al Sharpton

Monday, February 15, 2010

Does the CBC Need to Be Fixed?

Corruption in the Congressional Black Caucus threatens African-Americans

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University, Your Black World Coalition

From left are, Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. and Rep. Charles Rangel D-NY. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Does anyone think that the Congressional Black Caucus works for the interests of the African-American community? Well, think again. It appears that, according to a scathing report in The New York Times, African-Americans don't have the money to buy the CBC's loyalty. At the very least, they do not appear to be the top priority for a legislative group that has allowed dollar signs to complicate its priorities.

The New York Times article details a highly suspicious network of foundations and charities that seem to funnel money to CBC members in exchange for influence in Washington. The political and charitable wings of the CBCtook in $55 million dollars between 2004 and 2008, with only $1 million of that coming through their political action committee; the rest came through their unregulated network of foundations, which are allowed to escape campaign finance laws designed to keep legislators from being bought by corporate America.

While the CBC argues that the funds are used to support charitable causes in the African-American community, it seems that the foundation spends more time "big balling" with elaborate corporate events than it spends actually doing work for the community. Federal tax records show that the CBC Foundation spent more money on the caterer for its annual dinner, $700,000 dollars, than it spent giving out scholarships. As my mama used to say, "That's just trifling."
Even more disturbing are the relationships that the Congressional Black Caucus has formed with industries that clearly do not have the interests of the black community at heart, including the Internet poker industry, cigarette manufacturers, alcoholic beverage producers and rent-to-own companies. Many rent-to-own companies operate in predominantly black neighborhoods and are effectively electronic drug dealers: They give consumers a quick high today in exchange for unethically high fees and massive amounts of debt. Well guess what? The CBC is one of the reasons that the rent-to-own industry has been allowed to expand its operations in urban communities where CBC members don't even live.

Click to read.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Dr. Boyce Watkins Discusses The State of Black America With Rev. Jesse Jackson

Dr. Boyce Watkins Discusses The State of Black America With Rev. Jesse Jackson

African American Politics in America – 2/14/10

Friday, February 12, 2010

Black News: University of Alabama Huntsville Shooting

U. Alabama Huntsville is confirming that three people were killed in a campus shooting.  The suspect was a female.  Another student was injured, and the woman is in custody.  Another student was injured as well.  The shooting took place in the science building.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Your Black Politics on TheGrio.com – 2/11/10