Sunday Open Thread | Bishop Paul Morton | Praise & Worship

Bishop Paul Sylvester Morton (born July 30, 1950) is an American Charismatic pastor. He is currently senior pastor of Changing A Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church and Co-Pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church. He is also a recording artist, author and the founding and presiding bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.

Paul Sylvester Morton is the son of the late Bishop C.L. Morton Sr. and the late Evangelist Matilda E. Morton. His father pastored two congregations, one in Windsor, Ontario named Mount Zion C.O.G.I.C in Canada and one in Detroit, Michigan named Mount Zion Tabernacle C.O.G.I.C, both were a part of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. Growing up, he exemplified a special talent in music. He sang with his brothers Bishop C.L. Morton Jr, Bishop James H. Morton, the lesser known, George Morton and became known all over the country. He was also the founder of a young singing group called the Junior Progressives and served as Director of the Youth Choir in his fathers’ church.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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61 Responses to Sunday Open Thread | Bishop Paul Morton | Praise & Worship

  1. i just can’t handle this kinda music it’s makes me wanna cry. and i mean that in a good way!! all though i do get sad depending on my mood, but it moves me kinda like opera can .and gives me chicken pocs! choir music? Baptist music? i don’t know where to find it in youtube cas i don’t know what its’ called.and this man has the most interesting voice, i really like it! i know it’s Christian music but not all of it is like this with all the ppl singing too. but i like the black singers not just anyone can sing good enough. these ppl really know how to sing for real!!
    i happened to be, i think Southern baptist, when i was a kid, we moved south to georgia from ohio..and i remember i was baptized cas i got water in my damn nose! wish i knew what they called themselves for sure..

    did you notice there weren’t white ppl singing in this group? there weren’t black ppl in our regular church either! and we didn’t have this kind of music either. i don’t remember even hearing any music that much.
    i wonder if most churches are so segregated? but i can understand these guys not wanting a bunch rednecks (but my mom wasn’t a redneck, but i don’t think she could sing either)trying to sing in their band and fucking it up, but the whites would want them singing in their band for sure!LOLO

    i learn so much from you guys,so much since Trayvon was killed. you guys have been a real family, even tho i don’t comment alot. i do read a lot. i might not be coherent bc i just woke up from being up all night but yours was the first music i heard today and i just wanted to say hey!

    • Shannon, it’s always a pleasure to see you. So glad you enjoyed the music. This song brings tears to my eyes too and then they stream down. It’s the anointing! That’s the power of the Holy Spirit.

  2. Yahtc says:

    Great video at this link!

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19445412

    “Kehinde Wiley: Artist’s modern twist to Old Masters’ portraits”

  3. rikyrah says:

    Burger King has a FRENCH FRY BURGER?

    what the hell?

  4. rikyrah says:

    Two Hollywood Actors Get Stopped, But Not For An Autograph.
    By kdiggs | Posted September 28, 2013 | Wilmington, Delaware

    CNN PRODUCER NOTE ‘I’ve been stopped by the police before, but I’ve never been fearful for my life,’ said actress Cherie Johnson, who reports that she and Dennis White were improperly stopped by the police in Marion County, South Carolina. CNN has reached out to Marion County law enforcement for a statement on these allegations. If you have thoughts on this incident, please upload an iReport or add to the comments below.
    – katie, CNN iReport producer

    Being violated is something that many haven’t had a chance to go through. Although we never want it to happen at all, it does and it happened to actors Cherie Johnson and Dennis White. Cherie Johnson, who is known for her roles in ‘Punky Brewster’, ‘Family Matters’, etc. and Dennis White who was in the film ‘Notorious’, a story about the late Christopher Wallace also known as “Biggie Smalls” never imagined their vacation to be an experience they would never forget. Dennis White explained to me the terrible ordeal; here is his story:

    “On September 22nd, 2013 at approximately 3:40pm, I was reminded that at the end of the day I can be harassed by the police at their will. Regardless of how many movies or TV shows I have been in. Regardless of my education at WSSU. Regardless of how much money or accolades I have garnered. Regardless of my journeys across the globe. I will be forever at the white officer’s mercy.

    ………………………………………….

    eference to the fact that if we had marijuana he would just write us up for a citation and let us go. We refuted the claim of us possessing anything illegal. He told Cherie that we could be hiding a dead body in the trunk. He threatened to arrest us for trespassing and petty larceny. At that point, I decided that I should let him search the car. The bugs were eating me up and I felt guilty for having my Woman in handcuffs.

    “He searched the inside of the car ,went through her purse and found several hundred dollars. He questioned the possession of that money. He then searched my bag and found a stack of money, which he questioned as well. As he looked into the front pocket of my bag he told me to come closer. ‘Look what I found,’ he stated. ‘Is this marijuana?’ I looked and told him, ‘No, that’s a tea bag.’ He had to agree. He then told me he has a tester to see if it was marijuana. I told him to do as he wishes. He finished searching the whole car and found nothing. He un-cuffed us and let us go. No apology, no nothing.

    “At no point in history is this justified, especially not in this day and age. The equality that our forefathers fought so hard to obtained does not stretched across the board. South Carolina has been known to treat African-American as second-class citizens. It’s not right and it’s not fair. I will not stop until this incident is made public and that racist cop, Barfield, is reprimanded and punished. That was one of the worse days of my life and I plan on making it one of his as well. If you are reading this, please share, please discuss, please inform your family, friends, co-workers and associates that ‘Officer S. Barfield’ in Marion County, SC is a racist cop and his punishment is imminent. We will not stand for this injustice anymore!!!”

    http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1041070

  5. rikyrah says:

    The JP Morgan apologists of CNBC
    By Felix Salmon
    September 29, 2013

    I don’t know which producer at CNBC had the genius idea of asking Alex Pareene on to discuss Jamie Dimon with Dimon’s biggest cheerleaders, but the result was truly great television. What’s more, as Kevin Roose says, it illustrates “the divide between the finance media bubble and the normals” in an uncommonly stark and compelling manner.

    The whole segment is well worth watching, but the tone is perfectly set at the very beginning

    Maria Bartiromo: Alex, to you first. Legal problems aside, JP Morgan remains one of the best, if not the best performing major bank in the world today. You believe the leader of that bank should step down?

    Alex Pareene: I think that any time you’re looking at the greatest fine in the history of Wall Street regulation, it’s really worth asking should this guy stay in his job. In any other industry — I can’t think of another industry. If you managed a restaurant, and it got the biggest health department fine in the history of restaurants, no one would say “Yeah, but the restaurant’s making a lot of money. There’s only a little bit of poison in the food.”

    This is a very strong point by Pareene — and it’s a point which was well taken by Barclays. When the UK bank was fined $450 million last year for its role in the Libor scandal, its CEO duly resigned. After all, a $450 million fine is prima facie evidence that the CEO really isn’t in control of his bank.

    But $450 million is a rounding error with respect to the kind of fines that Dimon is now talking about paying — $4 billion, $11 billion, $20 billion, who knows where this will stop. Tim Fernholz has a good roundup of all the various things that JP Morgan is in trouble for; Libor manipulation is at #5 on his list of seven oustanding investigations — on top of another four settled investigations. If Libor manipulation alone was enough to mean the end of Bob Diamond, it’s hard to see how Jamie Dimon should be able to survive this tsunami of litigation.

    Unless, it seems, you work for CNBC. In which case you just ignore Pareene’s question, and get straight onto the important stuff:

    http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/09/29/the-jp-morgan-apologists-of-cnbc/#comments

  6. rikyrah says:

    Editorial: Let’s put people over politics
    Sep. 27, 2013 4:20 PM

    We urge those in Florida opposed to the Affordable Care Act to stop fighting it and do what’s necessary to help their fellow residents get the health care they need. As representatives, it’s your job to help Floridians get access to health care.

    Part of that job is to allow the “navigators” to reach out to low-income people and explain their options. As of Friday, the state Department of Health was forbidding county health departments from allowing the navigators to help people sign up for health insurance. In an editorial earlier this month, the Tallahassee Democrat called the ploy “simply mean-spirited.” It’s petty and irresponsible to not allow adequate access to the people who truly need the help. The argument that it might threaten private information is laughable. It’s the old political ploy of deflection – when all else fails, frighten people.

    Just what drives the Republican-led state House, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and others to be so adamant about the Affordable Care Act? The legislation is right up their alley. It goes to the heart of current conservative values of personal responsibility – citizens are empowered and allowed to make informed decisions – and the true spirit of capitalism – the marketplace competes for business. The plans offering the best coverage at the lowest price will succeed. Conservatives should embrace this plan, not throw senseless obstacles in front of it.

    The state did a woeful job providing information on how things would change on Tuesday. Other states told their residents what they planned. Not Florida. It’s as if the lack of information was intentional so there would be problems and Obamacare would be cast as a failure, leaving critics to gloat they told us so. It was irresponsible and bad government.

    That’s one reason that led us to our special report and to produce the 20-page guide found in today’s newspaper. We’re trying to provide information the state chose to keep from its residents.

    Besides, as we have pointed out, the act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. Lawsuits were filed by the attorneys general in several states. The case worked its way through the federal court system and was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices ruled it was constitutional. Case closed. Those who adhere to the U.S. Constitution should accept the judgment and get over it.

    http://www.pnj.com/article/20130929/OPINION/309290011/Editorial-Let-s-put-people-over-politics

  7. rikyrah says:

    fuckwit says:
    September 29, 2013 at 3:50 pm

    @Dave: I wouldn’t be so frightened if all the Rethugs wanted to do is destroy the Democratic party. Good clean partisan fun, maybe, and we could fight back on those terms. What terrifies me is that they Rethugs, particularly the teabagger contingent, appear eager to destroy THE UNITED STATES completely. It’s not the Democrats that are in their crosshairs, it’s the government itself! They don’t care who they hurt. They really do want to drown the federal government in a bathtub. And destroy the economy too.

    Partisans, I can handle, and I can see at least some entertainment and practical value in partisanship. Nihilism, not so much. The teabaggers seem ideologically opposed to the idea of a functioning federal government, at all. That is some scary shit.

    This is NOT PARTISAN BICKERING AS USUAL. Please don’t confuse the two. The teabaggers have crossed a line. This is different, new (at least in my lifetime; I wasn’t alive in 1860), and dangerous.

  8. rikyrah says:

    fuckwit says:
    September 29, 2013 at 3:34 pm

    Hat tip for the Jonathan Swift reference.

    Say it again and again: the teabaggers are terrorists who are attempting to hold the country hostage. Hostage-taking is a tactic of terrorism. The teabaggers are not fit to govern a democratic state. They’re not even trying to govern. They are trying to destroy the legitimately-elected government of the United States of America. They do not appear to have any respect for democracy.

    Just because they themselves were legitimately elected in their districts, doesn’t mean that what they’re doing isn’t treasonous. They’re a minority attempting to seize power through unconstitutional means. At very least they appear to have little or no respect for democracy. I consider them dangerous extremists at least.

    I can not possibly care less whether their party survives this idiocy.

    I care only for the actual men, women, and children who are being held hostage by these goatfuckers.

    ACA has been the law for years. It has been validated by the courts. The President and Senate were also legitimately elected and re-elected, and they support the legislation. The House Democrats were also legitimately elected, and support it, as do the non-teabagger Republicans in the House who haven’t signed on to hostage-taking. The teabaggers are attempting to claim power that is far beyond the legitimacy of their own seats. The fact that they are doing so gleefully and with a sense of entitlement, even of destiny, is deeply dangerous and anti-democratic at least, and, as I’ve said, treasonous at worst.

    So there’s my Cavuto mark: Are the teabaggers traitors? It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  9. rikyrah says:

    Anoniminous says:
    September 29, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    My guess is Boehner will, with the help of Wall St., rally the semi-sane GOP House members and after a personal meeting with the lobbying firm of Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, and Johnny Walker come out and declare he is allowing a vote “for the good of the country.”

  10. rikyrah says:

    The House Republican tantrum that knows no end
    By Steve Benen

    Sun Sep 29, 2013 9:02 AM EDT

    The New York Times published a helpful chart the other day, which highlighted a nine-step process Congress would have to follow this week to avoid a government shutdown. As it happens, steps one through eight were completed with relative ease.

    It was that ninth step that gave lawmakers trouble.

    House Republicans not only gathered on a weekend to take a vote that moves the government even closer to a shutdown, they did it in the dead of night.

    The Republican-controlled House voted around midnight on Saturday to keep the government open for a few more months in exchange for punting the rollout of Obamacare for a year — the kind of shot at the health care law conservatives had wanted for weeks, even if it’s sure to be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

    By all appearances, House Republicans are now actively seeking a government shutdown, specifically aiming for their goal rather than making any effort to avoid it. Indeed, the unhinged House majority appears to have gone out of its way to craft a spending bill designed to fail.

    The bill approved after midnight would deny health care benefits to millions of American families for a year, add to the deficit by repealing a medical-device tax industry lobbyists urged Republicans to scrap, and in a fascinating twist, make it harder for Americans to get birth control. As the New York Times report noted, “The delay included a provision favored by social conservatives that would allow employers and health care providers to opt out of mandatory contraception coverage.”

    Yes, in the midst of a budget crisis, the House GOP decided it was time to go after birth control again. Wow.

    http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/29/20742297-the-house-republican-tantrum-that-knows-no-end?lite

  11. rikyrah says:

    The Complete Guide To The GOP’s Three-Year Campaign To Shut Down The Government

    By Igor Volsky on September 20, 2013 at 9:01 am

    As the nation races toward another budgetary crisis, Republican leaders are using the prospect of a government shutdown and the need to raise the nation’s debt ceiling as leverage points to undermine the Affordable Care Act — just days before uninsured Americans are expected to sign up for health care coverage — and extract additional cuts to government programs.

    Past Congresses have used the debt ceiling as a “vehicle for other legislative matters” or nongermane amendments, but as the timeline below demonstrates, the Republicans that came to power after the 2010 midterm elections demanded something entirely different: they threatened to push the nation into default and shut down the government unless Congress approves deep structural budget cuts during a period of economic recession.

    In November of 2010, GOP leaders informally polled the incoming freshman and were surprised to discover that “all but four of them said they would vote against raising the ceiling, under any circumstances.” This response was the result of what the Washington Post described as a “natural outgrowth of a years-long effort” by GOP recruiters to build a new majority with uncompromising anti-tax, anti-spending candidates and it effectively hamstrung Republican leaders from accepting any kind of budgetary compromise from the Obama administration. As a result, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) walked away from so-called grand bargains with the White House at least twice and have since adopted the same kind of uncompromising rhetoric that’s known to animate political campaigns, not actual governance.

    http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/20/2649481/timeline/

  12. rikyrah says:

    House Republicans embrace government-shutdown plan
    By Steve Benen

    Sat Sep 28, 2013 4:56 PM EDT

    Just a few days ago, there was ample reason to believe a government shutdown was unlikely. The process was unfolding as if it had been scripted — the House passed its far-right version, which the Senate fixed and sent back. All the House had to do was pass the Senate version, keep the government’s lights on, and we could all move on to the next Republican-imposed crisis. At least temporarily, it was going to be relatively easy.

    But that’s apparently not going to happen.

    House Republicans unveiled a plan on Saturday that would keep the government open until Dec. 15 in exchange for a one-year delay of Obamacare — an idea Democrats have vowed to reject.

    The House GOP’s decision to drive a hard line on health care means a government shutdown is practically inevitable on Oct. 1, since Democrats in the Senate have vowed to reject it.

    Specifically, House Republicans, apparently acting at Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) behest, have demanded a temporary spending bill that would (a) delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act for a year; (b) repeal the health care law’s medical device tax, which means Republicans hope to add over $100 billion to the deficit over the next decade; and (c) provide funds to U.S. troops in the event Republicans shut down the federal government

    http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/28/20735084-house-republicans-embrace-government-shutdown-plan?lite

  13. rikyrah says:

    Tea Party Lawmaker Letter on Med Device Tax Repeal Authored by Lobby Group
    Lee Fang on September 28, 2013 – 4:06 PM ET

    Today, House Republicans pushed one more step towards a government shut down by coalescing around a continuing resolution that delays the implementation of the Affordable Care Act by one year, while permanently repealing one of the primary funding mechanisms for the law, a 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device companies.

    While its clear that Democrats will reject any delay of health reform, the move to revoke the medical device tax can be seen as a coup by industry lobbyists. The medical device industry, led by AdvaMed, a trade association that spends $29 million a year, has pushed aggressively to ensure that medical device companies contribute nothing to the financing of the Affordable Care Act.

    After the Tea Party catapulted House Republicans into the majority, seventy-five right-wing lawmakers wrote a letter to Speaker Boehner demanding that a vote to repeal the device tax occur “as soon as possible.” The metadata of the letter shows that it was authored by Ryan Strandlund, a member of AdvaMed’s government affairs team:

    http://www.thenation.com/blog/176399/tea-party-lawmaker-letter-med-device-tax-repeal-authored-lobby-group#sthash.0LEvjwqe.dpuf

  14. rikyrah says:

    Arizona nurses prep would-be patients on new health care law

    Figuring out what the Affordable Care Act means for you and your family can be intimidating, to say the least. If only someone would sit down and explain this to you in person.

    Actually, that’s exactly what volunteers from the Hispanic and Black Nurse Association of Arizona are doing.

    They’re visiting small businesses in their region and talking with owners, employees and customers to counsel them on what the different options mean, and the importance of signing up.

    These nurses are increasingly taking on leadership roles to promote wellness in their community.

    http://www.nbcnews.com/health/arizona-nurses-prep-would-be-patients-new-health-care-law-8C11281411

  15. rikyrah says:

    Quitting for Obamacare: Trapped workers may seek relief in new health exchanges
    JoNel Aleccia NBC News

    As millions of Americans wait to see how the federal health exchanges shake out, some who’ve been hanging onto their jobs just for the insurance say Obamacare gives them a new reason to bid their old employers goodbye.

    One Arizona couple, Claudia and Joseph Schulz, just quit their jobs, in fact, and launched a husband-and-wife real estate team, largely because they can sign up this week for health insurance not tethered to any position.

    “That was the fear before. We felt too much on our own,” says Claudia Schulz, 33, of Phoenix. “Now, if we’re able to make our dream come true of owning our own business, or at least giving it a shot, it’s worth it.”

    Starting a business or retiring early will suddenly become an option under the new exchanges, experts say, especially for the many employees who have felt trapped by so-called “job lock” — being stuck in a position because of the benefits, usually health insurance, it provides.

    “The Affordable Care Act completely changes the playing field,” says Paul Fronstin, director of the health research programs at the Employee Benefit Research Institute. “You don’t need your employer any more for health benefits.”

    It may be particularly attractive for older workers — those in their late 50s and early 60s still too young for Medicare — who will find they can get affordable insurance despite health problems. That will free them from the trap of needing to work, but being too sick to stay on the job, experts say.

    Entrepreneurs of all ages will be able to choose careers “based on the job where they’re going to be most productive,” says Laurel Lucia, a policy analyst at the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley.

    http://www.nbcnews.com/health/quitting-obamacare-trapped-workers-may-seek-relief-new-health-exchanges-8C11277058

  16. rikyrah says:

    The House GOP Wants to Throw a Temper Tantrum, and Boehner Can’t Stop Them

    BY NOAM SCHEIBER

    Here’s the question to ask yourself while watching the government shutdown/debt-limit insanity play out these next few days: Is the congressional GOP a global menace, bent on destruction of an epic scale, or merely a goofy, intermittently-competent-at-best, primarily self-destructive force?

    Since Republicans took over the House in early 2011, my assumption has been Choice A, “global menace,” despite some pretty chronic displays of goofiness. Among other things, this has been the basis for my view that our best hope for avoiding a debt default is for John Boehner to shut down the government by holding fast to conservative demands on defunding health care reform, thereby engineering enough political blowback to demonstrate how isolated his lunatics really are, and forcing them to sober up in time to raise the debt limit by the mid-October deadline. In this view, Boehner is a Hurt Locker-esque bomb disabler who must navigate around improvised explosives that will detonate with a single false move.

    There are times, however, when the alternative rings far truer—when the clownishness becomes so laughably self-sabotaging you struggle to take these guys seriously. As it happens, Thursday was a prime example. Ever since Boehner bowed to the Tea Partiers and passed a bill that ties government funding to the defunding of health care, it’s been clear that the Senate would reject it. This has left Boehner struggling to come up with a second move, and Thursday he thought he’d found it: Pass a bill that would basically make the GOP’s entire 2012 campaign platform—delaying health care reform, demanding tax reform, gutting environmental regulations, mandating offshore drilling—a condition for raising the debt ceiling.

    http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114888/government-shutdown-2013-boehner-cant-stop-gop-temper-tantrum

  17. rikyrah says:

    Congress Cracks Up
    By GAIL COLLINS
    Published: September 27, 2013

    Our challenge today is to explain how Congress evolved into our national nutcase.

    So, what do you think is wrong with these people? Thanks to gerrymandered Congressional districts and the Tea Party, we do seem to have a surprising number of elected officials who actually don’t believe that raising the debt limit so the government can pay its bills is a good plan. (“All that does is just say: ‘Well, you’ve got a little bit more credit — keep spending,’ ” Representative Walter Jones of North Carolina once told a radio interviewer.)

    But there’s got to be more to it than that. Let’s try to think of three other reasons the United States Congress continues to behave as if it’s playing the Jack Nicholson part in “The Shining.” I’ll go first.

    1. The Republicans are desperately, obsessively demonizing Obamacare to cover up the fact that they don’t want to do anything to Medicare or Social Security. Those used to be the party’s obsession — remember privatizing Social Security? But that was before they noticed that the entire Republican base is on Social Security.

    Ranting about Obamacare, which one New Hampshire politician recently compared to the Fugitive Slave Act, is an excellent way to give the impression that you’re fighting to reduce entitlements without having to do anything about the actual entitlements.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/28/opinion/collins-congress-cracks-up.html?smid=tw-share

  18. rikyrah says:

    GOP lawmakers bridle at calling Affordable Care Act the law
    By Sam Baker – 09/29/13 12:00 PM ET

    In floor speeches, TV interviews and town halls, Republicans often refer to President Obama’s signature healthcare law either as “ObamaCare” or a healthcare “bill” — subtly implying that it’s not truly permanent.

    “The bill is named after the president. Why wouldn’t the president want to be under the bill?” Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) asked in a floor speech earlier this month, making the case that the president should get his healthcare through ObamaCare.

    Conservatives in the Senate repeatedly called the law a bill last week as they tried to push their colleagues to embrace the possibility of a government shutdown over ObamaCare.

    “The very people that this bill is supposed to be helping … are the people it is directly hurting,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said during the 21-hour talk-a-thon led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

    Sen. Rand Paul struck a similar note.

    “Really, there are a host of problems and this bill does nothing to control costs,” he said, later adding “ObamaCare is 100 percent the president’s bill.”

    Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/325277-gop-lawmakers-bridle-at-calling-obamacare-the-law#ixzz2gJDdkWcZ

  19. rikyrah says:

    zizi2
    September 29, 2013 at 10:12 am

    I reprise some points I made in my post from Thursday for emphasis:

    ____________________________

    ACA:The 3rd Revolutionary Safety Net
    ****

    An important distinction to note is that the earlier 2 pillars of the social safety net, Social Security & Medicare, were severely limited in scope at their inception because FDR & LBJ had to make concessions to Dixiecrats, segregationists who did not want certain populations benefiting from those laws. So SS initially excluded coverage to majority of those professions that happened to be filled mostly by people of color, immigrants. Pegging Medicare’s eligibility age at 65 similarly cutout groups who had much lower life expectancy.

    ****

    But the ACA is the first law that does NOT limit access demographically, right out of the gate. Think about that. No one is excluded from participating, not by race, ethnicity, region, profession, or income. Taxation-wise it is the most progressive, unlike SS or Medicare taxes that absolve the wealthy from paying more. The wealthy pony up for the ACA, and they hate it.

    ****

    The ACA also breaks the stranglehold of employers on workers, who until now have hung onto miserable jobs for dear life cuz of healthcare, and have traded real wages for “benefit packages” whose worth start depreciating the very moment you start clocking into work. Paltry salaries will be revealed for what they truly are.

    The boon will be for those raring to strike out on their own but have dared not take the risk because of healthcare security their employer provides, and the fear of illness bankrupting them should they leave.

    http://theobamadiary.com/2013/09/29/rise-and-shine-595/

  20. Yahtc says:

  21. rikyrah says:

    The title of this Editorial is on the money, and it’s the reason why the GOP and their overlords are fighting this so hard. Obamacare IS a game changer…in so many ways.

    ……………………

    Dawn of a Revolution in Health Care
    By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
    Published: September 28, 2013

    The United States is embarking on a truly historic journey toward near-universal health care coverage this week. Starting Tuesday, the federal government will make it possible for millions of uninsured Americans who can’t get health insurance, or can’t afford it, to obtain coverage with the aid of government subsidies. It is a striking example of what government can do to help people in trouble.

    The health care reform law, known as the Affordable Care Act, requires the creation in every state of new health insurance exchanges on which people can shop for health plans. Insurers selling plans on exchanges will have to provide a set of “essential benefits” and virtually anyone will be allowed to buy on exchanges (except undocumented immigrants), though few people who are covered by employer health plans or by public programs like Medicare and Medicaid are likely to switch.

    For the first time last week, federal officials reported what health insurance will probably cost in the 36 states where the federal government will fully or partly run the exchanges. The prospects are promising. It looks as if most uninsured people, including young people whose participation is crucial, will be able to find very affordable coverage with the help of government subsidies.

    The insurers will offer four levels of plans that will basically have the same essential services, but differ in the premiums charged and the amount of the bill that the insurance will pay. “Bronze” plans will pay 60 percent of an enrollee’s covered medical expenses; “silver,” 70 percent; “gold,” 80 percent; and “platinum,” 90 percent.

    Federal subsidies will help enrollees pay for the premiums based on their incomes. A family of four with income between $23,550 and $31,400, will pay only 2 percent of that income for coverage, while a family of four with income between $70,650 and $94,200, will pay 9.5 percent.

    Under the program, the federal government pays for the full cost of the premium — beyond the enrollee’s contribution — for the second-lowest-cost silver plan in a specific area, considered the “benchmark” plan. If people want to sign up for a cheaper bronze plan, they would pay a smaller contribution. If they want to buy a gold or platinum plan, they would have to pay more from their own pockets.

    Thanks to the subsidies, more than half of the uninsured Americans may pay less than $100 a month per person for coverage.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/opinion/sunday/dawn-of-a-revolution-in-health-care.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&

  22. rikyrah says:

    From Pragmatic Obots Unite:

    aleth

    Interesting to watch these terrorist and their enabling media in action, but you know they white so it’s all right. Go Koch brothers!!! POC gonna be fine but should interesting to see how the white left and right deal with a shut down. The GOP conduct is to ensure America never votes for a person of color ever again because America will be scared of going through this again. GOP will suffer no consequences as a result of gerrymandered districts, media cover up and an ignorant citizenry. GOP feel empowered because the fact remains that more than 60% of white folk voted for Romney..let that sink in. Their racial interest outweighed their economic interest and the GOP is a party that believes only the majority voice should win. How dare this black man upset the social order or disrupt the Washington Anglo Saxon consensus.
    Yes, the whole thing from 2009 has been deliberate supported by corporations and the propaganda networks they own. The Romney loss was the last straw. They don’t see America as theirs anymore since the “others” are now visible so they want to let it burn to the ground. They count on the fact that the President loves this country and the people that he negotiates with them to make sure the people don’t suffer. However, the forget that he also has a last straw and a game plan. He like every other black folk know white people more than they know themselves because we watch you while you define us through your stereotypes. So shut it down and let even the old folk suffer so they know the consequence of electing radical Koch and Alec owned representatives.

    It is sad that even in NJ folk gonna elect Chris Christie while he fucks us from behind and disrespects civics/ citizenry. The folks in NC are learning the hardway but I’m sure some think it will only publish the “colored” folk. But I will say one thing, an injustice to one is an injustice to all.

    Between the domestic games to the international games especially seeing the Arabian pennisular v. Persian geopolitics, it’s an interesting time to be alive. Let’s see what Saudi arabia ( don’t forget they are funding the rebels as they are majority Sunni- if u want to know why president Obama is weary of SA and rebels seed his anti war speech to get his view of SA royalty) and israel plan to destabilize and ensure diplomacy does not work with IRan. Never forget Yemen, Syria,Afghanistan,Iraq have been proxy wars between these two ideology of a widened Arabian pen v Persia. THe fight over the sphere of influence in that region that’s been going on since the fall of the ottoman empire. The current us foreign policy does not see the Saudi Arabia- israel alliance as beneficial to us strategic interest, rather it sees it has creating more cost for the US ala Iraq war. What we are seeing is US taking care of US first I.e. if you say a nuclear Iran is dangerous for the region, then let’s neutralize it because we will not be putting our troops there. If you say Syria is cray cray well Russia u don’t want us to do anything, then take care of your buyer.

    But as we can see, this is not what the players in the region want. They have no desire to see a competitive and open iran. Let’s see how the hard lines with these two act and let’s see how Russia reacts to Iran moving away from its strangle hold. Pssssss…Iran saw Putin drop the dice on Syria for self protection that it reconsidered its relationship along with the effect of the sanctions. There was already a strain the relationship with the 2010 sanction vote from russia. It should all be interesting watching US play both side, tell hard truths and shift course to the pacific. Oh BRazil…watch ur self as Russia has no loyalty to anyone.

    It is an interesting time to be alive. Go Susan Rice, Hagel,KErry and the whole team Obama. I do not believe HIllary was good at her job as she was more interested in self promotion than performing at the will of the president. These people get it.

    aleth

    Interesting to watch these terrorist and their enabling media in action, but you know they white so it’s all right. Go Koch brothers!!! POC gonna be fine but should interesting to see how the white left and right deal with a shut down. The GOP conduct is to ensure America never votes for a person of color ever again because America will be scared of going through this again. GOP will suffer no consequences as a result of gerrymandered districts, media cover up and an ignorant citizenry. GOP feel empowered because the fact remains that more than 60% of white folk voted for Romney..let that sink in. Their racial interest outweighed their economic interest and the GOP is a party that believes only the majority voice should win. How dare this black man upset the social order or disrupt the Washington Anglo Saxon consensus.
    Yes, the whole thing from 2009 has been deliberate supported by corporations and the propaganda networks they own. The Romney loss was the last straw. They don’t see America as theirs anymore since the “others” are now visible so they want to let it burn to the ground. They count on the fact that the President loves this country and the people that he negotiates with them to make sure the people don’t suffer. However, the forget that he also has a last straw and a game plan. He like every other black folk know white people more than they know themselves because we watch you while you define us through your stereotypes. So shut it down and let even the old folk suffer so they know the consequence of electing radical Koch and Alec owned representatives.

    It is sad that even in NJ folk gonna elect Chris Christie while he fucks us from behind and disrespects civics/ citizenry. The folks in NC are learning the hardway but I’m sure some think it will only publish the “colored” folk. But I will say one thing, an injustice to one is an injustice to all.

    Between the domestic games to the international games especially seeing the Arabian pennisular v. Persian geopolitics, it’s an interesting time to be alive. Let’s see what Saudi arabia ( don’t forget they are funding the rebels as they are majority Sunni- if u want to know why president Obama is weary of SA and rebels seed his anti war speech to get his view of SA royalty) and israel plan to destabilize and ensure diplomacy does not work with IRan. Never forget Yemen, Syria,Afghanistan,Iraq have been proxy wars between these two ideology of a widened Arabian pen v Persia. THe fight over the sphere of influence in that region that’s been going on since the fall of the ottoman empire. The current us foreign policy does not see the Saudi Arabia- israel alliance as beneficial to us strategic interest, rather it sees it has creating more cost for the US ala Iraq war. What we are seeing is US taking care of US first I.e. if you say a nuclear Iran is dangerous for the region, then let’s neutralize it because we will not be putting our troops there. If you say Syria is cray cray well Russia u don’t want us to do anything, then take care of your buyer.

    But as we can see, this is not what the players in the region want. They have no desire to see a competitive and open iran. Let’s see how the hard lines with these two act and let’s see how Russia reacts to Iran moving away from its strangle hold. Pssssss…Iran saw Putin drop the dice on Syria for self protection that it reconsidered its relationship along with the effect of the sanctions. There was already a strain the relationship with the 2010 sanction vote from russia. It should all be interesting watching US play both side, tell hard truths and shift course to the pacific. Oh BRazil…watch ur self as Russia has no loyalty to anyone.

    It is an interesting time to be alive. Go Susan Rice, Hagel,KErry and the whole team Obama. I do not believe HIllary was good at her job as she was more interested in self promotion than performing at the will of the president. These people get it.

  23. GOP Boozing It Up on House Floor While Voting for Shutdown

    http://samuel-warde.com/2013/09/gop-boozing-house-floor-voting-shutdown/

    Maybe it was the alcohol, or the late hour, or maybe the House Republicans have just completely lost their minds. On Saturday night, while they were trying to come up with some kind of magic bullet to kill Obamacare, they decided that not only were they going to shut down the government, but now they have added a “conscience clause” to the spending bill which takes away preventative care from women, which includes birth control.

    Under Obamacare rules, birth control is free with most providers, but apparently the House Repubs have decided that the reproductive rights of American women are better off in their control. Yeah, so basically the GOP is saying that it doesn’t want the government involved in your health care…unless it’s a birth control issue, of course.

    And before you go thinking that this attack on women was the only outrageous thing they did Saturday night, hold on, I’m afraid I have more to report. Friday afternoon, Republican John Culberson from TX got huge applause from his colleagues when he compared the GOP’s effort to destroy Obamacare to the heroes of 9/11. Culberson compared the House Repubs to the passengers on United Flight 93 who overtook the terrorists and got control of the plane on 9/11. Yes, Seriously.

    And all of this was BEFORE they started drinking! As the evening wore on, reporters on the House floor were tweeting about the smell of booze in the room and obnoxious behavior more and more. Now, we all would expect that sort of thing from Boehner. I mean, come on, it was Saturday night, he’s John Boehner, of course he would be drunk….and orange. But I must admit that even I am a bit shocked that the others were hitting the bottle.

  24. rikyrah says:

    Actress Jennifer Lewis was asked; What advice would she give aspiring actors, who are trying to get into the business, and boy did she answer!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iqPdYeZ5ko&feature=share&list=LL7Cm8PQ45H71j25ri0vS53A

  25. rikyrah says:

    Watchdog: Store with ties to felon latest problem for blighted neighborhood

    Poverty and profits: City gives felon six-figure grant to open liquor store

    Chicago Tribune reporters

    7:00 a.m. CDT, September 29, 2013

    With backing from the local alderwoman and money from City Hall, a new liquor store opened earlier this year in South Austin — one more purveyor of alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets in a neighborhood desperate for something more.

    Informing the original backer of the store that he would be getting $105,000 in city funds, a letter from the Department of Community Development exclaimed: “Thank you for reinvesting in the City of Chicago!”

    Many residents weren’t so enthusiastic. To them, the new business was an insult.

    But what even they didn’t know was that the store was bankrolled and launched by a convicted drug-dealer who has been tied to a street gang and is facing yet another narcotics charge.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-promo-austin-liquor-store-20130927,0,2407751.story
    ……………………………….

    How many Black businessmen/women WHO AREN’T FORMER FELONS could have used a CHICAGO LIQUOR LICENSE?

    SERIOUSLY?

    You mean there wasn’t ONE application for a Chicago Liquor License from a Black Businessman on the waiting list ahead of this criminal?

    Yeah yeah yeah…we should pull folks back into the community after their stint in jail…

    but, for pete’s sake, there are enough Black entrepreneurs out here, WHO HAVEN’T BROKEN ANY LAWS, that could have used that liquor license.

    Outside of a cab medallion, there is nothing harder for a BLACK PERSON TO GET IN CHICAGO more than a LIQUOR LICENSE.

  26. Get OFF the bench ignorant bigot! Get OUT NOW!

    Judge Rimes’ Sikh Slur In Mississippi Court, ‘Remove That Rag’.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/judge-rimes-sikh-slur-remove-that-rag_n_3998852.html

    The ACLU wrote a letter on Wednesday to decry the shocking treatment of Jagjeet Singh, a practicing Sikh, at the hands of the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Pike County Justice Court.

    Singh was pulled over in January for a flat tire, and was harassed by the state’s Department of Transportation officers who wrongly assumed that his kirpan, a small spiritual sword that is a religious article for Sikhs, was illegal. They taunted him as a “terrorist” and arrested him for refusing to obey “an officer’s lawful command,” reports the ACLU.

    On his March 26th court date, Judge Aubrey Rimes of the Pike County Justice Court ejected him from the courtroom stating that Singh would not be allowed to re-enter unless he removed “that rag” from his head.

  27. Rep. Ellison: Shutdown Will Make Life Harder for Minnesota’s Families

    http://ellison.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1064%3Arep-ellison-shutdown-will-make-life-harder-for-minnesotas-families&catid=1%3Alatest&Itemid=16

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after House Republicans passed a Continuing Resolution that moves the nation closer to a government shutdown.

    “Today I voted against the Republican Majority’s bill, H.J. Res 59, that will inevitably lead to a government shutdown. The Republican House moved us closer to a shutdown when it ignored the Senate Continuing Resolution, which would have continued government operations, offering vital services and some certainty to Americans. Because of Republican intransigence, the federal government is closer to the first government shutdown in 17 years.

    “A shutdown will make life harder for Minnesota’s families. It will put the paychecks of 18,000 Minnesotans working for the federal government at risk. Veterans and seniors applying for new benefits will see their paperwork delayed. Head Start programs may have to close.

    “Republicans are doing all of this because they don’t like the Affordable Care Act, which was passed by Congress through the normal course of legislative business and was signed by the President. It was reaffirmed in June 2012 by the Supreme Court and again in November 2012 by the American people when they reelected Barack Obama.

    “The Republicans have not tried to improve the Affordable Care Act. They have only tried to repeal health care reform – over 43 times. Now they have resorted to holding the entire federal government hostage. Ultimately, Republicans are not attacking the Affordable Care Act because they think it will not work; they fear it will work. When it does, the millions of Americans will have access to affordable health care. And Republicans know it.”

  28. Yahtc says:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iIkNsj6cDGc

    “A Black American by Smokey Robinson – Def Poetry Jam”

    Uploaded on May 19, 2010 by neciereed
    Smokey Robinson speaks the TRUTH in this video. Check it out.

  29. Thank you for the Rain, Lord! Thank you!

    Let It Rain!

  30. Yahtc says:

  31. Yahtc says:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ejRRaEalp7c

    Harlem Renaissance at Arlington Art Museum, TX
    Published on Jul 19, 2013

  32. Winning!!!!!!!!!!

    Navajo

  33. Yahtc says:

    Advocates quietly challenging voter ID law
    23rd September 2013 ·
    By Zenitha Prince
    Contributing Writer

    (Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper) — The first legal challenge to an elections law under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), since the U.S. Supreme Court shot down preclearance protections under Section 5 of the VRA in June, is underway with little to no fanfare.

    On November 4, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman will hear a challenge to Wisconsin’s voter identification law brought by Advancement Project, a civil rights advocacy group, and pro bono counsel Arnold & Porter.

    In 2011, the state’s Republican-led legislature passed a law that would require voters to present a government-issued ID in order to cast a ballot in local, state and federal elections. The new measure would have counted Wisconsin among nearly three dozen states with voter ID laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    Republican proponents say such laws protect against voter fraud. But Democrats and other detractors argue there is little evidence of rampant voter fraud to support the need for such changes, but instead, the laws unfairly hinders minorities, the elderly and the poor from participating in elections.

    “As the leading democracy of the world, the U.S. should work to keep our voting system free, fair, and accessible to all Americans,” said Advancement Project Co-Director Penda Hair in a statement. “Yet we are witnessing the greatest assault on voting rights in decades.”

    In March 2012, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Richard G. Niess ruled in favor of the League of Women Voters and others, who claimed Wisconsin’s new law erected barriers to full citizen participation in the voting process.

    In May of this year, the Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned Niess’ ruling, saying, among other things, that the League “makes no effective argument that, on its face, the [voter ID] requirement makes voting so difficult and inconvenient as to amount to a denial of the right to vote.”

    Even with that victory, Wisconsin faces another challenge in the face of the Advancement Project’s motion, which alleges that the law is discriminatory as determined by Section 2 of the VRA.

    According to evidence submitted to the court, the group said, close to 28,000 African-American and 12,000 Hispanic voters lack a driver’s license or state ID. The numbers equal roughly 16 percent of African-American and 25 percent of Hispanic voters, compared to 10 percent of white voters, who may face difficulty casting a ballot because they lack the required documentation.

    The numbers reflect what civil rights groups have been saying all along—that these new laws unjustly target minorities.

    Restrictive voter ID laws were among a wave of regressive voting policies that swept across the country in the two years leading up to the 2012 presidential election. Cuts to early voting, voter roll purges, proof-of-citizenship demands, and voter challenges at the polls increased across the country.

    And voters of color were disproportionately impacted, activists said, since they were less likely to have state-issued photo ID, more likely to use early voting, more likely to be naturalized citizens, and more likely to be targeted for polling place intimidation.

    And the Supreme Court’s June 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which blocked the U.S. Justice Department’s ability to defend citizens from discriminatory voting practices under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, simply empowered even more states to pursue those suppressive laws.

    “After Shelby, Section 2 provides one of the last lines of defense against legislatures that would disenfranchise voters of color,” Hair said. “The strength of that defense will be tested for the first time in this case and we are confident it will prevail.”

    This article originally published in the September 23, 2013 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.

    http://www.louisianaweekly.com/advocates-quietly-challenging-voter-id-law/

  34. Yahtc says:

    “Fight brewing in Texas over voter ID law – Video on NBCNEWS”
    September 19, 2013

    http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3036697/ns/msnbc-hardball_with_chris_matthews/vp/53046840#53046840

  35. Yahtc says:

    Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP Calls For Voting Rights Initiatives
    Wednesday, September 18, 2013

    As a result of the recent commemoration of Constitution Day event, “Ensuring the Essential Right to Vote,” the Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP has issued the following initiatives and recommendations in order to ensure that the right to vote is protected now and for future generations.

    The initiatives and recommendations are:

    Extend Early Voting Dates

    Sunday Elections

    Election Day (Same Day) Registration

    College I.D. Permissible as valid identification

    Ensure that Photo ID Law is consistent with the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

    Restoration of Voting Rights to Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

    Identify Minority Vote Dilution

    Restore the Constitutional provisions and safeguards of Section IV of the Voting Rights Act
    Tennessee State Conference NAACP statewide participation in National Voters Registration Day on Tuesday

    Churches are asked to participate in this national effort as part of “Church Day” on Sunday

    .
    The Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP “recognizes the Constitution and deriving legal statutes as the supreme law of the land, and that the voting rights listed within this Constitution and all subsequent laws pertaining to voting is a fundamental right of American freedom and democracy. We call on all levels of government and citizens alike to abide by, and adhere to, the principles, liberties, and freedoms of the Constitution, and ensure that this right shall never be forsaken, denied, or abridged.”

    http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/9/18/259436/Chattanooga-Hamilton-County-NAACP-Calls.aspx

  36. Yahtc says:

    College NAACP groups bring new vitality to Moral Monday activities in Raleigh.

    http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/16/3202013/college-naacp-groups-bring-new.html

    • Yahtc says:

      “Moral Monday protest moves to Yadkinville”

      http://www.journalnow.com/gallery/news/article_d0043a1c-24bc-11e3-b21d-0019bb30f31a.html

      YADKINVILLE – About 60 people protested Monday night in Yadkinville against the Republican-controlled General Assembly, saying that legislation passed this year erodes voting rights and hurts North Carolina families.

      The demonstrators also held a candlelight vigil for Jonathan Ferrell, a 24-year-old unarmed Charlotte man who was shot 10 times by a Charlotte police officer. The officer, Randall Kerrick, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in Ferrell’s death.
      The rally was the 19th installment of Moral Mondays, an offshoot of the N.C. NAACP-sponsored demonstrations held in Raleigh for several weeks against the General Assembly’s most recent session.

      During the rally in front of Yadkin County Courthouse, demonstrators held signs such as “Is Your Job Next,” “Education is a Right,” and “Forward Together, Not One Step Back,” and “We Fight What We Believe In.”

  37. Yahtc says:

    Thank you for posting such a beautiful gospel song, SG2.

    I love it!

  38. CarolMaeWY says:

    I’m going to cry my self to sleep. 😪 😪 😪

  39. Happy Sunday, 3CP!

    Psalm 145:18-19
    The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

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