Kermit Williams
E-Mail: keesto@hotmail.com
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Give to Haiti
January 25th, 2010
1. American Red Cross Donate online: AmeriCares.org Donate by phone: 1-800-486-HELP
2. Care Donate online: Care.org Donate by phone: 1-800-521-CARE
3. Catholic Relief Services Donate online: crs.org Donate by phone: call 1-877-HELP-CRS, or Text RELIEF to 30644
4. Direct Relief International Donate online: directrelief.org Donate by phone: 805-964-4767
5. Food For the Poor Donate online: foodforthepoor.org Donate by phone: 1-800-487-1158
6. Habitat for Humanity Donate online: habitat.org Donate by phone: 1-800-Habitat
7. International Relief Teams Donate online: irteams.org Donate by phone: 619-284-7979
8. Love a Child Donate online: loveachild.com Donate by phone: 1-800-645-4868
9. Operation USA Donate online: opusa.org Donate by phone: 1-800-678-7255
10. Project Hope Donate online: projecthope.org
11. Save the Children Donate online: savethechildren.org Donate by call: 1-800-728-3843
12. The Salvation Army Donate online: salvationarmyusa.org Donate by phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY
13. U.S. Fund for UNICEF Donate online: Unicefusa.org Donate by phone: 1-800-4-UNICEF
14. Compassion International Donate online: compassion.com
15. Clinton Foundation Donate online: clintonfoundation.org
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H-E-B Black Heritage Day Rodeo
December 10th, 2009
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Who Is James Stewart ?
December 5th, 2009
Of all the milestones James “Bubba” Stewart Jr. has reached, being the first African-American to dominate in motocross seems least notable – to him, anyway. He has a point, particularly when you consider everything the 23-year-old has accomplished. After racking up a record-breaking 11 American Motorcyclist Association Amateur National titles riding for Kawasaki Team Green, James was named 2002 Rookie of the Year in his debut pro season. In 2004, he won both the AMA 125 East Supercross Championship and the AMA 125 Motocross National Championship, and four years later, he became the second rider in history after Ricky Carmichael to complete a perfect motocross season – 24 wins in 24 races - after coming back from knee surgery, no less. He capped off his perfect season with the 2008 AMA Speed Athlete of the Year award.
The athlete many call “the Tiger Woods of supercross” has made another indelible impression on the sport by breaking its glass ceiling. And while that has garnered the talented rider an even larger limelight—Teen People named him one of “20 Teens Who Will Change the World” in 2003; he’s been featured in mainstream publications like The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and GQ, hung out with Michael Jordan, and made a guest appearance on the TV game show Deal or No Deal—for James, it’s really no big deal. “I mean, it does feel good to be the first ever, but I honestly don’t sit here and think about it a lot,” James told the St. Petersburg Times in 2004. “With a helmet on, we all look the same anyway.”
WALK AT ONE, TALK AT TWO, MOTO AT THREE
- James Stewart Sr. loved motorcycles so much that two days after James was born, he took his son on a ride. James started riding a dirtbike at three years old, entered his first race the next year, and won the first of his 11 amateur titles when he was just six. James’ father tutored his son from the beginning and the duo soon developed an innovative riding style that could shave seconds of the fastest competitors. In 1997, James Sr. bought 40 acres in Haines City, Fla., in order to create a practice track in the family’s backyard.
As the prodigy continued to amass wins, he befriended an up-and-coming African-American rider, Tony Haynes. An accident during practice in 1993 would end Tony’s career and leave him paralyzed from the waist down. Only eight years old at the time, James asked Tony if he could wear his number. “I’m going to take this to the top,” he promised. With 259 on his back, James completed his record-breaking amateur career, broke all of the 125-class records, took home four national titles – including one in 2002, when he became the youngest rider to ever win the AMA Lites National Motocross Championship and three supercross contests. In 2006, James finally accepted the single-digit 7 he had earned from his past championship.
INJURIES AND RIVALRIES
Winning races comes easily to James, but it doesn’t come without cost—and a fat file at the doctor’s office. An aggressive young rider in a dangerous sport, James has struggled with injuries and illness throughout his pro career. A severe crash in 2003 at the 125 East/West Shootout in Las Vegas, Nev., left him with a broken collarbone that forced him to sit out the first few rounds of the AMA Motocross series. After an almost unbeatable 2004 season, in which he took every round of the AMA 125 East Region Supercross series and all but one of the AMA 125 Motocross Championship, James graduated to the premier 250cc/450cc class in 2005 but was sidelined for a short while with a broken wrist. For added measure, he competed with an undiagnosed bacterial infection for the majority of the outdoor motocross championship that year. He would go on to take the 2007 supercross series title, but had to skip the final 15 races last season to finally repair a nagging knee injury.
A true competitor, James says that rather than derailing him, his injuries have actually helped him focus. “After getting hurt, sitting back and watching Chad [Reed] win the championship, it helped me find how much I love riding.” And he doesn’t feel cursed, even when he can’t figure out exactly why they happened. “Those are the hardest ones. It’s not like you’ve gone over a jump and say, ‘Don’t do that again.’ Some of the injuries were weird. I just have to be smart,” he says.
James has an uncanny knack of coming back from injury even more formidable than he was before. He returned from his broken collarbone in 2003 to win every race he entered. He rebounded from a disappointing start to his premier supercross career with a win in just his third contest. And he followed up knee surgery with a perfect motocross season in 2008. Perhaps it’s that tenacity mixed with the fans’ natural desire for provocation that has drawn James into public rivalries with riders such as Ricky Carmichael (once described as a classic Ali/Frasier matchup) and the 26-year-old Australian Chad Reed. “I have a lot of respect for Chad,” Stewart says. “We just don’t put a lot of effort into our relationship. But it makes it that much more fun. It’s really good for the sport to have that rivalry.”
DOWN THE DIRT TRACK
Rivalry is good for inspiration, too. The two riders will continue to go head-to-head in 2009 as Reed, the 2008 supercross champion, works to defend his title and James, the 2007 winner, aims to take it back. To spice things up a bit, James will turn in his trademark green Kawasaki for a Yamaha YZ 450F and race for Reed’s former team, the San Manuel Indian’s L&M. (Chad moves to Suzuki.) With all the makings of great battle between worthy opponents, the 2009 season should prove one to watch. As for James, he sees it shaping up to his advantage. “Defending your championship is harder than winning,” he says, “because you have guys that are really hungry to take it from you.”
And after sitting out last season, James Stewart is famished.
The 2009 Supercross season: Stewart & Chad Reed were involved in the tightest (and sometimes heated) points race of his career. Stewart won 11 of the 17 events. On May 2, 2009, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Stewart won the 2009 Supercross Championship by a margin of 4 points over Reed (377-373).
2010 Supercross Season
Round 1 – Anaheim – January 9:
Supercross class rookie Ryan Dungey took the holeshot over Ryan Villopoto and Stewart respectively. Stewart made quick work of Villopoto and trailed Dungey for 17 laps (at one point trailing him by 4 seconds) before making his move and taking the win over Dungey. This was Stewart’s seventh win at Angel Stadium and the 37th of his career.
Round 2 – Phoenix – January 16:
In the second heat race Stewart was buried toward the rear of the pack when he was involved in a huge crash upon landing a triple jump and failed to finish. He recovered to win the Last Chance Qualifier to land him a place in the final, unfortunately with a poor gate pick.
In the final, Stewart found himself buried toward the back alongside rival Chad Reed. Reed followed Stewart throughout the early part of the race until Reed attempted to pass Stewart on lap five, causing a collision and subsequent fall for both riders. Reed’s left arm was pinned under Stewart and Reed pushed Stewart’s head off his arm in what some deemed to be physically aggressive. Reed failed to finish for the second week in a row with a broken hand while Stewart soldiered home in 15th with the win going to Ryan Dungey.
Controversy followed in the pits with Stewart pushing Reed’s bike off its stand in retaliation for Reed’s on-ground shove during their crash. Chad Reed was officially fined by the AMA for his pushing Stewart’s head. James Stewart has also been being officially warned by the AMA for pushing Reeds bike down.
X Games
Stewart made his X Games debut on July 30, 2009 at X Games XV, and placed second in the best whip competition with 21% of the votes winning his first X Games medal.
He suffered a deep bruise to his bone and muscle in his left shoulder during seeding trials for SuperMoto on July 31, forcing him to drop out of the games.
For more James Stewart information logo to: http://www.JS7.com.
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FUUSA Changes its Name & gets New Logo!
November 10th, 2009
After twenty years of serving and touching youth and families in the greater Houston community, Families Under Urban and Social Attack is pleased to announce that we have a new name – Change Happens! The name change was officially introduced at our annual Fall Luncheon and celebration of our 20 year anniversary, on October 30, 2009. The name change has been in the works for several months and follows an intensive review and the desire to better communicate the organization’s purpose and breadth of services. As an organization, we are taking a major step that symbolizes the forward movement of our organization, while preserving our rich history. We believe the new name clearly aligns the organization with our mission – “helping families to empower themselves” and in the process transform the lives of families and children in the highest risk communities.
FUUSA worked with Gateway Design to develop a new logo (see signature below). The new name and rebranding are exciting opportunities and includes all our collateral materials as well as our web site domain – www.changehappenstx.org. This is an exciting time for us as we embark on our next twenty years. I am thrilled and humbled to move forward with a renewed commitment to high quality services that enhance lives under the name of Change Happens! Most of you have been with us since the beginning. Your support, ideas, and partnerships were essential to helping us move through this process. I hope that you will respond enthusiastically to the name change and logo. Thank you for your continued support.
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Organizing For America Health Reform Video Challenge
November 6th, 2009
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Kaiser Permanente of Georgia donates nearly $500,000 to Morehouse School of Medicine
October 8th, 2009
Former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD
On Oct. 8, 2009, Kaiser Permanente of Georgia will present a grant for nearly $500,000 to the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine to support the development and implementation of a workforce leadership program that will reduce health disparities by creating an integrated approach to primary care and mental health.
Former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute will join Morehouse School of Medicine and Kaiser Permanente of Georgia officials at a check presentation held at the Louis W. Sullivan National Center for Primary Care. A tour of Morehouse School of Medicine will immediately follow the check presentation.
The grant will be used to train scholars to encourage effective policy and practice in order to remedy the causes of health disparities, to improve access to care and to develop health care leaders who will advance the integration of mental and primary health care. Additionally, this initiative will create partnerships between mental and primary health care to more effectively diagnose and treat mental health conditions.
“Morehouse School of Medicine strives to improve the health and well being of individuals and communities. Similarly, Kaiser Permanente’s vision is to end health disparities, help everyone get the care they need and make better health a reality for all,” said Peter Andruszkiewicz, president of Kaiser Permanente of Georgia. “This partnership will help address the findings of our needs assessment and ultimately make better health a reality for all.”
The project will also improve access to care for underserved populations.
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Obama mulls Afghanistan decision on 8-year mark
October 8th, 2009
A day after meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, President Obama sat down Wednesday afternoon with his national security team, the third of five meetings on U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Rising violence and the resurgence of Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan have put the Obama administration on defense as the war enters its ninth year.
The war has claimed the lives of 865 Americans and 570 allied troops, and U.S. public support for the conflict has slipped sharply in the past two years. There are 68,000 troops in the country now.
The White House has been working with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, who is expected to call for 40,000 more troops to carry out a counterinsurgency strategy.
It’s a proposal that top Republicans and some moderate-to-conservative Democrats who attended the meeting agree with.
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, said Obama should approve the proposal.
“I really think that the president’s going to have to listen to Gen. McChrystal. He’s his man. He’s his pick,” Skelton said. “This is a matter of national security.”
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Michigan, said Wednesday that whatever the president decides, he must lead “boldly in a mission that needs to be successful, outline his case to the American people and then align all of our resources … to execute the strategy that he selects.”
But Republicans worry that time is not a luxury Obama can afford.
“It’s pretty clear that time is not on our side,” said Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “We need to act with deliberate haste.”
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said Wednesday that delays and indecision leave troops “prey” to the Taliban.
“Our troops are waiting for an answer. The Afghan people are waiting. Our enemy, the Taliban, is not waiting. They are encouraged by our inaction. They believe we will falter.”
But the president faces deep divisions within his own administration as to which strategy to employ.
Some including Vice President Joe Biden are advocating a counterterrorism strategy focusing on combating al Qaeda and the Taliban through the use of unmanned drones and special forces without involving additional troops.
He also faces division within his party. Liberal Democrats oppose ramping up the war by sending more troops into the fight.
Privately, a top House Democrat told Obama Tuesday that escalating the war could result in the United States being stuck in Afghanistan for another 20 years of open-ended conflict, according to Democrats and Republicans who attended the closed-door White House meeting.
Two attendees said Rep. David Obey, powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, warned Obama that the United States could end up spending $1 trillion over the next 10 years in the war-torn country.
Obama made clear to Obey and other Democrats that pulling out of Afghanistan is not an option that’s on the table, even though that is likely to anger some fellow Democrats, the attendees said.
A spokesman for Obey would not confirm or deny what the congressman said in the private meeting.
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President Obama’s Health Care Reform Plan Broken Down
September 22nd, 2009Story from audrey for Bobby to send to Black Press
September 16th, 2009
Black and brown environmentalists are leading the charge for more people of color to be included in the enjoyment and benefits of the Great American Outdoors. With more than 630 million acres of the most desirable and scenic landscapes in the country reserved for the use, enjoyment and recreation of the American people, and billions of dollars in careers and contracting opportunities, every ethnic group needs a seat at the outdoor table.
Now they will find out how to take full advantage of what belongs to us all. Environmentalists Audrey and Frank Peterman, organizers of the First Biannual Conference & Expo: Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great American Outdoors at the Atlanta Airport Hilton in Atlanta, September 23-26, have been working for the past 14 years to draw attention to this hidden segment of American life.
The conference will feature people of color engaged in sports such as mountain climbing, skiing, sailing, scuba diving, bird watching and falconry. And it will highlight the efforts of Americans of black and brown Americans to protect the environment and the scenic treasures in the nation’s public parks, forests and wildlife refuges.
“The National Park System has a budget of around $3 billion,” said Audrey Peterman, during a television interview on August 16th about the First Family’s visit to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. “Many of the parks are bigger than entire cities – Yellowstone, for example, is 10 times the size of New York City. Parks have jobs consistent with those in cities – from the mayor (called a Superintendent in the parks) to street cleaners to IT and Human Resource professionals. It’s time to open up that revenue stream to the full American population. Right now, the park system’s workforce is close to 80-percent white,” Peterman says.
Peterman noted that the changing demographics of our country demand participation from all ethnic groups if the parks and the environment are going to thrive.
“Some African Americans, Latinos and Asians have not seen themselves reflected in outdoor sports and in the environmental movement; but that has got to change,” she said.
The Petermans have worked with a wide range of outdoor recreation proponents of color and notables in government and business who want to see more diversity in the environmental movement. Many of them will be available at the conference to inspire young people, provide little-known information about the public lands system, and offer advice about career and business opportunities, contracts, education, and recreation.
The conference will introduce people of color actively engaged in fields not typically associated with their race. For example, Hermes Castro is a 30-year-old Latino outdoor enthusiast who lost his legs when a drunk driver hit his bicycle in 2006. Yet Hermes has continued to be an avid sportsman in San Diego, and just returned from an expedition to Antarctica, where he became the first wheelchair visitor ever.
And there’s Jerry Bransford, a 62-year-old guide at Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, whose great-great-grandfather began exploring and guiding in those same caves as a 15-year-old slave. Savannah Williams, a 25-year-old marine scientist in Nashville, was the first person in her African-American family to learn how to swim when she joined a teen aquatic club and became a certified scuba diver.
The conference coincides with National Public Lands Day on September 26th, with participants having an opportunity to work on improving a house in the historic Martin Luther King district. It also is timed to the release of Ken Burns’ documentary, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” which will air on PBS stations on September 27, and highlights the roles of African Americans, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans in the creation and expansion of the park system. The Petermans have collaborated with Ken Burns. In fact, Mr. Burns’ co-producer, Dayton Duncan, credits Audrey Peterman with introducing him to one of the subjects profiled in the documentary, The Jones Family of Biscayne National Park.
The Petermans’ new book, “Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care,” will be released at the conference.
To learn more about the conference, visit BreakingtheColorBarrier.com. To schedule interviews with the Petermans or other participants in the conference, call Lurma Rackley at 404-394-8298
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Wendy Williams talks to Emmitt Smith About Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson
September 9th, 2009Comments Off
Senator Edward Kennedy Speech About Mayor Bill White at Profile in Courage Awards Dinner
September 1st, 2009Comments Off
Dr. Conrad Murray Breaks His Silence
August 19th, 2009
Dr. Conrad Murray
Dr. Conrad Murray Breaks His Silence
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