With all the latest media hoopla and Donald Trump’s incendiary words with regards to women caught on tape we ask the following poll question
Social Commentary
I had a recent debate with a friend over whether my friend agreed or disagreed with Colin Kaepernick’s protest by sitting during the national anthem. My friend and I both were passionate in our arguments for and against Kaepernick. My friend’s view was that the 49ers should get rid of Kaepernick or the league should throw him out of league altogether. He went on to say Kaepernick should try driving a cab for living instead of playing football over his refusal to stand during the national anthem. He said “When you make your living here you should respect the flag and stand for the flag during the national anthem”. I shot back what does how much money he earns have to do with his right to protest?
My argument was that Colin Kaepernick wasn’t doing anything unpatriotic by silently protesting injustices in this country which touts itself as the world’s greatest nation. America espouses the moral beliefs that all men are created equal, and have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness. That they have the right to freedom of speech/expression. It also says that all men have the right to be protected and treated fairly under the law regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs or ethnicity. These are all the things that the founders of America believed in and what made America greater than any other nation on the face of the earth.
What we have seen though is that America was founded on injustice, slavery, exploitation, double standards, systemic institutionalized racist policies and/or practices which continue to this day. This is so much so that it has to be spelled out for people in legislation for employment, for housing or even to attend institutions of higher learning.
Colin Kaepernick’s protest using his celebrity/athlete platform to highlight the contradiction between what America was founded to be versus what is has historically shown itself to be (while better than many other nations) isn’t actually living up to the foundation it’s predicated upon for ALL of it’s citizens. It’s important to note that the right to protest is an American idea and tradition supported by the constitution. Colin Kaepernick as a man and citizen of the U.S.A is exercising his rights and for that he’s ridiculed by fellow “Americans”. I call that ignorance and B.S.
I say all this to say that we ended our dialogue agreeing to disagree on whether or not Kaepernick was disrespecting the flag. I ended my point with my friend by saying “How unpatriotic could he be when he goes out there, works for his living, supports this very same government which taxes his multi-million dollar earnings annually, by electing to exercise the rights afforded to him as a citizen?”
I turn the debate over to you with this poll question
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Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: The Strength Of A Black Woman
Her intelligence, her strength, her grace, her dignity and her resolve are seemingly otherworldly. In the face of immense pressures and incredible difficulty she’s still able to hold her head high and push on. She does whatever she has to do working long hours at two jobs to support her family. Her faith in God as the creator of all things both beginning and end is her strength and her refuge. His word guides her and gives the support and strength needed to live and succeed for her family. Her husband a soldier died while serving this country.
She raises several children three boys and two girls. They are barely into their young adult and teenage lives when she watches the world murder her babies one after the other. Still she has faith and believes in God’s divine justice. She has to carry on in the face of unspeakable grief as injustice reigns with the murderers of her children going unpunished by the system. Video of their killings at the hands of law enforcement officers only serve as a never-ending open wound. In some she sees her children plead for their lives as they are mercilessly assassinated in a hail of gunfire from service weapons. In others she’s in disbelief as her child is calling out for air in desperate attempts to breathe before being suffocated to death.
The courts shake their heads NO when asked if they will prosecute let alone discipline those that are clearly guilty. Her heart drops even lower if it can be imagined. She feels utterly empty and her eyes darken as her body trembles involuntarily with great force. She struggles to take a sip of water from a glass that shatters in her hand.
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Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: The Building Of A Bridge
Written by
T.D Moody
It can be agreed upon that in order to build any structure, one has to have a blue print/layout of the exact specifications in order to begin construction. Fundamental principles must be employed to ensure that the proper foundation and framework of the structure to be built are established first. For example you wouldn’t pour the gravel for a road before preparing the actual area that is to become the road for the laying of the gravel. It is the same with building bridges.
The recent murders of two black men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile within days of each other by police continues to spark the outrage and outcry of the black community as we continue to see that America hasn’t changed. No matter what the slogan or hashtag, in her eyes (America’s) black lives don’t matter unless…they are being exploited, stolen from ie (having style, music, historical and cultural influence and attributes appropriated) by non black populations to the maximum benefit of a select portion of society…the elite. The most overlooked elephant in the room that apologists, uncle Toms, and those who are ignorant of how to reconcile this divide between law enforcement and the communities they police is…. accountability.
You could retrain police, make the standards required to become a police officer higher, and have diversity emersion and sensitivity training all you want, but if there is no accountability for the actions of those put into positions of power then it’s all for nothing. We are seeing that indeed open season has long since been declared on the black populations of this world. America isn’t supposed to represent only a few favored communities or populations. It’s supposed to be representative of all the peoples of the world.
However, the history of this nation is built on the theft, enslavement, deprivation, segregation, impoverishment, miseducation, murder, disenfranchisement,incarceration and destruction of the family and community when it comes to the black man/woman. This has gone on for more than four centuries and there has been no reparation of the devastating effects all of this has caused. Instead we black people are blamed for our present condition and circumstances which are consequential symptoms of a systematic assault against us the likes the world has never seen.
The lives of our children are counted as even less unless they are exceptional at a sport or at making money for corporate monopolies and oligarchs alike. Think that isn’t the case? See the Nike and Reebok camps recruiting 12 and 13 year old minorities to be the future Lebrons and Kobes. See the NCAA and its outright slave/athlete system where all the profits generated from the breaking of young bodies against one another for the entertainment & enrichment of a governing body over college athletics which says in effect “All for me and none for anybody else”.
A system that punishes the very same class of people for trying to profit off their own names and likenesses while it does just that. A system that enjoys a multibillion dollar a year cash cow while also holding the keys to the future earnings of many of these athletes in their firm grip by shear fact that the path to the professional ranks where they will be exploited some more is through the same institution. All of this is part of a systemic problem.
The wholesale authorization for “murder by fear” justification had it’s precedents set long ago. In order to build a bridge between minority communities and law enforcement who police them, we must start with the judicial system. Both the community, courts and the police must know that an unjust killing can’t be covered up, ignored, blamed on the victim, or excused by the courts even in the face of video evidence of guilt. The past few years have shown the world what America does when it comes to justice for those black lives taken by the police…basically nothing.
Movies such as Fruitvale Station depicting the actual killing of Oscar Grant by police “accidentally” if you believe the officer responsible who in turn receives in effect 5 months for Oscar Grant’s killing reinforces the idea that “black lives don’t matter” to the justice system unless they are behind bars and turned into the property of the state in which they can be made to work and the money their labor generates enriches those who run the prisons. So how do we build that bridge? ACCOUNTABILITY!!! Without it nothing moves forward other than more killings and retaliatory killings. Removal of killer cops from duty who have no justification for excessive force or use of deadly force is a start.
No more paid leave for these types of officers while we wait to see the wheels of justice spin nowhere. No more hearing callous statements from police brass blind to what is going on that there is no problem and that the police are under attack. They are the ones on the offensive, they are the ones who are committing crimes and getting away with it because they’ve been emboldened with the idea that nothing will happen to them as a result of any actions they take. Real jail time same as one would receive had they committed the same acts without a badge and uniform are requisite.
Remembering the words of Malcolm X. (Paraphrasing) Whenever a people come to the conclusion that the government which they have supported proves itself unwilling/or unable to protect their lives and their property as they would any other group of people because of the color of their skin, then those peoples are within their rights and not human beings unless they band together and do whatever, however, whenever is necessary to see that their lives and property are protected.
In conclusion I end with this. We don’t need idiots saying as if they are so wise that “All lives matter” that is an obvious truth. However it isn’t all lives facing the same conditions the black man/woman/community has and continues to face.
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Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Orlando, Florida: Pulse
😦
As Pride approaches we’re still trying to wrap our minds around this past weekends tragic events at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL. The following images are dedicated to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. 
White Delphinium
White Lisianthus
R.I.P. May God bless you all and your families during this incredible difficult and unfathomable time.
All images are the property of http://www.thejnsreport.com (c) 2016. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Battling For Health and Healthy Living 2
So it’s been a month since my last post on the topic of health. In that time I’ve had a couple of strange occurrences that knocked me for a loop both figuratively and literally. First, came in the middle of the month when I began to notice just an ever so slight tingle when I’d begin to urinate. I ignored this as I would just chalk it up to that feeling you get when you’re holding it in too long.
Over the course of that week there was nothing that really gave me any cause for concern until Friday evening. While using the restroom to release some of the many glasses of water I’d consumed throughout the course of the day, upon finishing and wiping clean I noticed a pinkish hue on the piece toilet paper I had used. I thought I must be seeing things so again I ignored it and went about my business.
The following Monday is when I really began to notice that something was not feeling quite right, because now when I went to the bathroom there was this feeling of urgency. I kept telling myself it could be that I’m feeling this because I’ve just been holding it in too long. The tingle sensation I had felt the week earlier had now become a moderate burning sensation.
Being stubborn, I thought this would just pass on its own and it wasn’t anything of concern as far as an STD because I’m in a monogamous relationship and practice safe sex. I figured just drink more water. I even considered the idea of drinking more alcohol because I figured the body will get rid of alcohol just as it does water filtering it through my system and “burn” whatever was causing that moderate burning sensation. Silly idea right? I tried it though. LOL
Anyway with each passing visit to the restroom my discomfort when taking a leak got worse. So much so it began to feel like I was pissing razor blades and wasn’t fully emptying my bladder even though I felt like I was each time. Then it happened. For the first time I’d seen what I was in denial about. On my next trip to the restroom I went through the painful process of releasing a urine stream when near the conclusion I saw a stream of blood shoot out.
I was shocked as well as feeling the (excruciating by this point) burn of taking a leak. I shared this with my significant other when I realized that my threshold for this amount of suffering had become intolerable and because I didn’t want to keep what was bothering me a secret any longer. It was suggested that I go to the doctor to see what was going on. I having insurance had always been reluctant to use it and took pride in foregoing what I used to deem unnecessary trips to the doctor. All that was about to change. I called to set up an appointment to see my primary care physician but was told the earliest opening was the following week Monday. There was no way that I was going to be able to hold out for another week.
From Bad To Worse:
By the late morning of that day I began to feel like shit. I didn’t want to eat much and my body had begun to feel achy. I laid down on the couch and decided to just take it easy. Within an hour I was heating up and developing a fever and suffering pain in my lower back on my left side. By the evening I was barely able to get off the couch to get to the restroom. My muscles ached like I’d played tackle football all day and my head and body were burning up. I sweat profusely and still was like I’m not going to get in an ambulance and go to the E.R. that night. Instead I took ibuprofen drank more water and had some chicken soup before going to bed. By morning my sheets were soaked from all the sweating I’d done that night due to the fever.
I got in a cab and went to the E.R. I was surprised how quickly I got entered into their system and then seen by a nurse and doctor. It was literally within 15 minutes. I prepared to wait for hours as I knew the custom at most E.Rs in the outer-boroughs. My experience this time was a total surprise and very much welcomed. After some routine health questions from the nurse the doctor on duty came to see me. I was given a check of my vitals and genitals and my back after a couple of taps with the tips of his fingers to the tender painful spot in my lower back, I exclaimed “Yep right there!!”
My doctor had my blood drawn, I gave a painful urine sample, and then was given an IV and put on antibiotics for what I was to later find out was a bad kidney infection accompanied by a UTI (urinary tract infection). Thank God for doctors and antibiotics. Over a week of antibiotics and Tylenol later I was free of infection. I learned my lesson. Lesson number one listen to your body if you feel something is not right go to the doctor and get it checked out especially when you have and are paying for health insurance. Lesson two I learned is don’t wait till symptoms get worse to seek treatment. I could have avoided the muscle aches, fever, chills, profuse sweating and general razor blade blood spurts had I gone to the E.R much sooner.
Not saying I’ll become a hypochondriac after this experience but I definitely won’t hesitate to seek medical attention when I need it. I want to be around for a very long time and as I get older I realize the childish days are behind me. Paying close attention to one’s health as well as living a healthy lifestyle is the key to longevity in my opinion. Still no idea how I ended up with a kidney infection but I guess that’s not the point. The point is doing something about it before it’s too late.
Till next time…
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Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Food For Thought: Opportunity Costs
So the other day while in a discussion about business and opportunity costs, the topic of compromising one’s values or “selling out” came up. This became a heated topic of discourse due to religion being brought into the equation. From the outset we weren’t really opposed so much in our perspectives.
However, the more we discussed things at one point a nerve was struck. It was explained to me that if for example one was working for a certain religious demographic doing free-lance work for say an event, that as a condition of being employed at the event, the contracted person would have to wear the garb or an adornment of the people holding the event even if the contracted person didn’t share the same faith, otherwise he/she couldn’t get the job.
In my opinion the skills of the contracted person are what count not the garments so long as the contracted person dressed professionally or in proper attire to do the work required. I said to wear the garments of a faith that one doesn’t share to get paid to do a job would be tantamount to selling out or selling one’s soul.
I went on to say, personally I’d turn down the job if that was the price to be paid and the contractors would be better served hiring one of their own or better said someone who could do the work they needed done and who also shared the same faith to avoid a conflict of conscience and religious value.
The discussion continued and I was told that word of mouth spreads and that a decision like that would likely cost one future opportunities down the line.
What’s your take on this subject? Would you compromise your religious beliefs to have a paid gig?
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