Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Grady CEO Resigned

The AJC is reporting that Grady CEO Otis Story has resigned. Mr. Story is the 4th CEO since 2005. Rep. Pam Stephenson who also serves as chair of the Grady Board will be the interim CEO. This is a troubling time for Grady and I hope the new leadership (Board and CEO) will work to making sure critical services such as the dialysis unit and the pharmacy are not cut.

On another note about Grady, it is time for the legislature to stop playing politics and cough up the money. The board approved its restructuring plan and at this point has done its part. It's now time for Fulton County, Dekalb County, and the state to do what they need to to ensure this hospital stays afloat.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Hopefully the last time I will talk about Obama and Race.

Obviously race has become a major issue in this campaign and I'm quite sick of it so I have a few things to say.

I find it INSULTING that people want to degrade African Americans who are not supporting Sen. Obama.

The basis of the criticism is pure hypocrisy. How does ANYONE have the testicular fortitude to say anything about a person whose decision to support a candidate is not based on race. Let's look at this scenario....

Average Joe is a white male and decides to support Senator Obama. A Clinton or Edwards supporter criticized Joe for not supporting a white candidate and called him a "nigger lover." The media outlets, bloggers, and activists would go crazy and DEMAND apologies from the campaign as well as the supporter.

I also have issue with the ignorance of supporting Sen Obama just because he is black. I REFUSE to choose a candidate just because of race. There are more important things to look at including elect ability, character, and if the candidate is speaking about issues that are important to me. Too many times have I seen elected officials and activists, including many African Americans who have SOLD US OUT on too many issues that affect us such as payday lending, affordable housing, public housing, gentrification, police brutality, education, and access to affordable health care, to blindly give them my support. For example, I also wouldn't expect myself or any other African American to support George Bush's nominee to the supreme court just because he is black. (Not to call anyone out but it's something to think about)

I would love to see a Black president in the near future, but its more important to me to win and bring about the change that I think will most benefit everyone and Senator Obama is respectfully not my choice.

As a good friend said recently, "What is HOPE? Hope essentially is the by-product of the absence of a definitive PLAN. (i.e. "Lets HOPE we make it to church on time this week...I HOPE the Lakers win tomorrow...I HOPE Obama isn't the democratic nominee") Something Obama's campaign clearly lacks - a plan"

You know, I never marched with King and my parents were in diapers around that time so they didn't either but I do think I remember hearing him say something about judging someone by "the content of their character and not the color of their skin" but what do I know, I'm just a young buck who is wet behind his ears and has a slavery mentality..

I do challenge everyone before they go to the voting booth to look at a few things...
1. What are the platforms of each candidate? Which one most represents you
2. Who is most likely to beat a republican and help down ballot races as well (US Senate and House, governors, and State Legislature races)

If you can honestly answer that your candidate does this, then I can respect you and your choice, but if you can't respect mine, go kick rocks.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Delegate breakdown

Here is a current breakdown of the delegate count for both parties

Democrats (2025 needed)
Clinton - 183
Obama- 78
Edwards - 52
Kucinich - 1

Republicans (1191 needed)

Romney 30
Huckabee- 21
Mccain- 10
Thompson- 6
Paul-2
Guliani- 1

The only thing that this tells us is that the primaries are far from over. There is no candidate that is anywhere near the votes needed to win the nomination. I think the next month will be interesting as the candidates criss cross the country seeking delegates.

With Richardson out, the Nevada race just got more interesting. I am wondering if the Clinton Campaign is trying to usurp the nominating process and will name Governor Richardson as her running mate soon in an attempt to trump all other campaigns. If that is the case, this is how I see the next few weeks playing out...

Clinton names Richardson as VP.
Clinton Skips South Carolina and focuses on Nevada
After the South Carolina, Edwards joins Obama as a ticket,
The campaigns come into Georgia California and other Feb 5 states campaigning stronger than ever and the central theme will still be "change vs. experience"

My question is, if this happens, which ticket benefits? Do we go all the way through the primary not knowing who our nominee is? Will that cause a knockdown dragout fight on the convention floor then Al Gore is nominated from the floor? (I come up with these scenarios at 4am when i'm battling insomnia)

Friday, January 04, 2008

Why I think John Edwards can still win the nomination

John Edwards has been polling in 3rd place for months and was often seen as a second tier candidate. Senator Edwards was outspent by Senator Clinton and still managed to beat her in the Iowa Caucuses. A former first lady who had the "establishment" supporting her as well as the former POTUS as well as Secretary of State campaigning for her to be beat by a former Senator who many pundits wrote off is AMAZING!!!

I believe that Senator Clinton will spend a lot of her money attacking Senator Obama in the next few days before the New Hampshire Primary. If Edwards continues a positive message, he may be able to siphon votes from both candidate and make a surprising show in New Hampshire and particularly South Carolina.

Alot of people are supporting Obama because he is black. This is more than about race. This is about electing the person that most represents your values. I must say this as I have been saying for a while as well, HOPE doesn't put food on the table, HOPE doesn't give you a fair mortage, HOPE doesn't give you universal healthcare.

Many people talk about Obama and the black vote, I'm still supporting a candidate who talks about issues that affect African Americans.