urban pro weekly, september 13, 2012

SEPTEMBER 13-19, 2012

Will Augusta follow its own rules in parking-deck land transfer?

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NEWS • COMMENTARY ARTS ENTERTAINMENT Urban WeeklyPro Newspaper

The CSRA’s

FREEWEEKLY

VOL.2 NO.2

City administrator Fred Russell

Are city-owned golfcourses a sand trap?

A view of the Augusta Municipal Golf Course, also known as “The Patch.” After eight months under a private operator, the city finds itself in charge of a city facility in need of major infrastrucure and cosmetic remake. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

“The Patch” privatization debacle

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Can ‘The Patch’ ever make a profit?Municipal golf courses all across the nation are losing money bigtime, but cities are reluctant to give them up. Many are viewed in the same light as libraries, swimming pools and parks.

GONE FOR NOW: A year ago golf carts awaited “The Patch” loyal golfers. A week ago, they had disappeared. A local vendor says that they will be brought back when the municipal golf course returns to full operation.

Tony Brooks (L) and Sean Keels (R) play a round of golf at the Augusta Municipal Golf Course, also known as “The Patch”. The golfers took advantage of the free golf rounds being offered by the new management of the golf course.Photo by Vincent Hobbs

By Frederick Benjamin Sr.UPW Staff Writer

AUGUSTAIt’s a toss-up whether the name Augusta

conjures up images of entertainer James Brown or the pristine grounds of The Augusta National, but one thing is certain, Augusta needs a golf course.

Or does it?The current controversy which led to the

abrupt closing of the Augusta Municipal Golf Course known as “The Patch” revolves not around whether or not Augusta needs a golf course for the people, but rather how is the best way to pay for that course.

Even before the great recession of 2008, city’s that owned golf courses were looking for ways to make their courses profitable.

Golf course industry experts attest that the golf course operation business (especially for municipal courses) has become extremely competitive. Cities just aren’t growing enough golfers to go around.

Still, there is great support for maintaining municipal courses by any means necessary. Most of the municipal golf courses are a long way from breaking even.

Many city leaders across the country view golf course operation as an amenity to their citizens similar to swimming pools, libraries, parks and recreation centers.

Commissioner Joe Bowles represents a faction on the Augusta commission which feels that because the golf course doesn’t make money, the city taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for it. He would much rather that a third party – a private company – pay for the right to lease the course from the city. He was instrumental in engineering a deal with Brian Hendry, a Scotsman, whose company was the sole entity that was willing to pay Augusta to lease the course.

Commissioner Bill Lockett doesn’t feel that a public course which exists to serve the pub-lic should, necessarily, have to make money.

While seemingly poles apart, both agree that the course needs improvements, both were caught off guard recently when Hendry opted out of his contract and left The Patch golfers, literally, in the rough.

Bowles responded to the unfortunate set of circumstances by moving swiftly and,

apparently, unilaterally in clearing the way for the Kelly brothers, who sublet the course from Hendry. Bowles got the blessing from six commissioners, but didn’t have the legal high ground to make the assignment stick.

Commissioner Lockett and others objected to the Kelly brothers sliding into the spot vacated by Hendry. His objection became more vocal once he learned that the Kelly brothers were making demands from the city for improvements to the course and the club house.

When he learned that his name along with those of two other commissioners were posted on a sign suggesting that they were to blame for the course being closed, he decided to go on the offensive.

“There is so much erroneous information and the one’s that are putting it out are really to blame,” Lockett said.

According to Lockett, “There was so much that we didn’t know since they told us that the Kelly bros. were interested. We didn’t realize that the agreement was for the golf course as is. The administrator had taken it upon himself to tell the Kelly Bros. that the city could use $60,000 from the SPLOST money to bring the building up to code.”

When Lockett and others balked at the demand, the Kelly Bros. said that they weren’t going for the ‘as is.’ proposition.

Lockett went on to say that, “A few weeks ago, Joe Bowles sent out an email to transfer operation of the Patch to the Kelly Brothers. They convinced Corey Johnson to go along.

The Kelly brothers were already out there on the course and they had no authority to be there, Lockett said. Based on the six votes to give the operation to the Kelly brothers, the administrator had begun making plans with them.

“When we were in legal, [Friday, September 7] we discussed that there was no way that we could support the Kelly brothers because (a) there had been no vetting and (b) there were others that were interested,” Lockett said.

Bowles and Commissioner Jerry Brigham boycotted the remainder of that legal meet-ing, The meeting continued on Monday (Sept. 10) and it was decided that the city would operated the course until a suitable manager could be found.

City set to transfer parking deck property to land bank

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eekly • SEPTEMBER 13-19, 2012

LOCAL NEWS & Commentary

Can ‘The Patch’ ever make a profit?

City set to transfer parking deck property to land bank

UPW AUGUSTAAfter months of search-

ing, UrbanProWeekly was finally been able to isolate the relevant state statute which the city of Augusta feels gives it the right to expect that the Land Bank is the proper vehicle to accept the donation of the land underneath the Reynolds Street Parking Deck.

City attorney Andrew Mackenzie responded to our request last week. He sent the following docu-ment:

Attached are some of the Georgia Law provisions establish-ing the powers of the Land Bank to hold and lease real property. I have also provided an excerpt of some of the relevant provisions below.

O.C.G.A. § 48-4-106(a) A land bank shall constitute a

public body, corporate and politic, and shall have all powers neces-sary or appropriate to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article, including the following powers:

… (4) To acquire by purchase,

lease, or otherwise and to hold, lease, and dispose of real or per-sonal property of every kind and character, or any interest therein, in furtherance of the public pur-poses of the land bank;

(5) To acquire, accept, or retain

equitable interests, security inter-ests, or other interests in any real property, personal property, or fixtures by loan agreement, note, mortgage, deed to secure debt, trust deed, security agreement, assignment, pledge, conveyance,

contract, lien, loan agreement, or other consensual transfer in order to secure credit extended by the land bank;

… (14) To use any real property,

personal property, or fixtures or any interest therein or to rent or lease such property to or from others or make contracts with respect to the use thereof, or to sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge, or otherwise dis-pose of or grant options for any such property in any manner as it deems to be in the best interests of the land bank and the public purpose thereof;

O.C.G.A. § 48-4-109. Acquisition of property in own

name; transfer of property (a) A land bank shall hold in

its own name all real property acquired by the land bank without regard to the identity of the trans-feror of the property.

(b) A land bank shall maintain

and make available for public review and inspection an inven-tory of all real property held by the land bank.

(c) A land bank may convey,

exchange, sell, transfer, lease as lessor, grant, and mortgage as mortgagor any and all interests in, upon, or to real property of the land bank in some form and by such method as determined by the board to be in the best interest of the land bank.

According to City Administrator Fred Russell, the transfer should occur at the end of this week.

Roundtree win energizes base2012 Democratic Ticket

Barack Obama PresidentJohn Barrow CongressRichard Roundtree Sheriff___________ District 1?

By Frederick Benjamin Sr.UrbanProWeekly News

AUGUSTAAbout three weeks ago the

Augusta Chronicle editorial staff attempted to energize the county’s Republican base by suggesting that the sheriff’s and congressional primary runoffs were the most important of the decade — for Republicans. Both of their candidates, however, lost by narrow margins. Scott Peebles was defeated by Richard Roundtree in the sheriff’s race and Rick Allen was defeated by Lee Anderson in the Congressional runoff.

Now, local Democrats are calling the November 6 elec-

tion the most important of the decade.

President Obama and Congressman John Barrow are certain of victory in Richmond County — a stal-wart Democratic oasis in a state awash with the GOP faithful. But it’s the local commission elections that will go a long way toward boosting Democratic clout on the Augusta commission and local politics in general.

Although the commission-ers don’t run as Democrats or Republicans, black politi-cal leaders are looking for-ward to the opportunity to elect progressive candidates to ride the coattails of emerg-ing Democratic powerhouse

Augusta CommissionDISTRICT 1Aitken, Matt Fennoy, Bill Hawes, Stanley Traina, Denice

DISTRICT 3Davis, Mary Enoch, Ed O’Steen, Cleveland

DISTRICT 7Echols, Kenneth Smith, Donnie

DISTRICT 9Jones, Harold Williams, Marion

School Board

DISTRICT 1Barnes, Marion Williams, Lucien

DISTRICT 8Atkins, Jimmy Cheek, Robert

Richard Roundtree, the last Democrat standing in the Richmond County sheriff’s race.

Roundtree supporters are taking nothing for grant-ed and expect an all out effort on the part of local Republicans and conservative leaning Democrats to defeat him in November.

District One targetedThe number one prize aside

from the sheriff’s post is the District 1 seat held by Matt Aitkin, progressive Democrats are saying. While Aitkin’s party affiliation is not widely known, he is seen as clearly voting with the interests of the down-town power structure which is unabashedly Republican in ideology and behavior.

The chances are good that the District 1 race will end in a runoff because there are four candidates in the race. At one point there had been six. Community activist Lori Davis dropped out early on and just this week Thelonious Jones opted out.

The abrupt departure of Thelonious Jones from the District 1 race was greeted with cheers from black politi-cal operatives who believe that fewer black candidates in the race improve the chances that Matt Aitkin will be a one-term commissioner.

“I was very glad to see

Thelonious Jones depart from the race,” one longtime political leader said. “The First District is very impor-tant to us because it will provide some balance on the commission. We are not well represented by Matt Aitkin. He has leaned totally toward the power structure. There has been no progress in East Augusta since he took office.

Just which District 1 will land on the most popular “ticket” for this election is anyone’s guess at this point. The easy money is on either Bill Fennoy or Stanley Hawes. A working relationship with the Roundtree campaign would be a plus for either

candidate.Some operatives who sup-

ported Roundtree before sup-porting Roundtree became cool, are looking toward Bill Fennoy. Fennoy provided food for the Roundtree cam-paign, a source close to the Roundtree campaign told UrbanProWeekly.

Stanley Hawe’s deep ties in the community have encour-aged his supporters.

Overall, there has been increased optimism from black voters since Richard Roundtree’s historic victory.

“It woke us up. Finally, we may have a place at the seat of power,” one black Democrat said.

Which District 1 candidate’s name will be on the tickets circulated by neighborhood political cells as they work to get marginal voters to the polls on November 6? One thing is certain: even though the District 1 seat is non-partisan, only a strong Democrat will get the nod.

Contested Races For Commission & School Board

The Reynolds Street Parking Deck may soon become part of the Augusta Land Bank.

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10:30 am - 2 pmJoin us for lunch as we share how we work to improve the health status of our community.

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For information contact 706-312-3179.

‘Famous Door’ saleBy Frederick BenjaminUPW News Staff

AUGUSTAThe recent sale of the property

which housed Mister J’s Famous Door Supper Club highlighted the consider-able clout of Chester Wheeler, director of the city’s Housing and Community Development Department. It also underscored the importance that the Augusta Georgia Land Bank Authority in local land deals.

According to sources who are famil-

iar with the sale and the operation of the land bank, the purchase was made only months ago, but that the night club was targeted as far back as 2010.

City development officials didn’t see the night club as fitting in with the overall plan to redevelop the Laney-Walker corridor. The owner of the property Richard L. Johnson, initially didn’t want to sell, sources said, but eventually relented.

According to sources, they were no longer interested in operating the

night club, but wouldn’t have sold unless they got the right amount.

The $332,840 price tag that the land bank paid was most likely hotel-motel tax money or HUD money that had been earmarked for Laney-Walker development. .

The amount paid was about as close to top dollar as could be expected in the current precarious commercial real estate market, some are saying.

“I know they needed to get the right offer. They were prepared to sell. They were ready to let the busi-

ness go. It was a big surprise that they paid that much,” a source close to the seller said.

A common misconception is that the city purchased the land. The land bank purchased the land using money from the Housing and Community Development department’s coffers. If the land was going to be held in the city’s name, they would have had to go through the normal procurement pro-cess. Using the land bank prevents the transaction from becoming entangled in commission politics.

AUGUSTALeona Barr Davenport will be the

keynote luncheon speaker at the upcoming CSRA Business League’s Women’s Empowerment Conference on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at the Kroc Center at 1833 Broad Street.

Ms. Barr is president and CEO of the Atlanta Business League.

Additional workshops being devel-oped include Access to Capital, Technology, Credit and Procurement policies.

For additional information, contact the League at 706 722 – 0994 or by email at [email protected]. Mrs. Veronica Shareef

is the Board Chair, Mrs. E a r n e s t i n e Howard is the c o n f e r e n c e c h a i r p e r s o n and the point of contact is Ms. Shirmaine Ivey.

The CSRA B u s i n e s s League has been a bridge to success for small, women, disadvantaged

and minority owned businesses in the CSRA for the past 42 years.

Business League to host Women’s Empowerment Conference

Leona Barr Davenport

price raises eyebrows

AUGUSTAIn a monastery tucked away in

the small town of Moncks Corner, S.C., Augusta State University com-munications instructor Will Bryant lived 44 days with Trappist monks to better understand contemplation and mindfulness.

Although living in a monastery seems like a great way to escape one’s busy schedule, Bryant used this time to observe the daily lives of monks in hopes of developing

practices that will help teachers and students increase their ability to focus in the classroom.

Bryant is using these observations for his dissertation in the doctoral program in the Educational Studies program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; his disser-tation is titled Contemplation and Mindfulness in Education: Between Self and Other in Modernity.

Since 2010, Bryant has been con-ducting this ethnographic research,

and he bases his study on the belief that students can experience aca-demic success if they can be guided into focusing on the task at hand.

“Students and teachers have tre-mendous potential; but, we are easily distracted by the internal dialogues occurring in our minds, making it difficult to ‘stay in the moment,’” said Bryant. “When stu-dents and teachers become unfo-cused, we run the risk of education being less effective.”

Bryant says he has already begun developing focusing techniques that can be used in the classrooms, but he will be continuing his study by conducting observations of Buddhist monks. He is scheduled to defend his dissertation next year.

Bryant received his bache-lor’s degree from Augusta State University and earned his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Monks help ASU professor develop better education practices

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COLLEGE BOUND - A college recruiter from North Greenville University talks to a student attending CSRA College Night on Thursday, Sept. 6. The event was held at the James Brown Arena, and featured almost 200 colleges and universities that provided information to students and parents. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

‘Famous Door’ sale

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2Laney volleyball player Aailyah Collier (L) goes up against Aquinas’ Nadia Bouisden (R) during a match at the Wildcat’s gymnasium. The Fightin’ Irish defeat-ed the Wildcats 2-0.Photo by Vincent Hobbs

THANK YOU For Your Vote

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It had to be around 2005 when I was enticed to join the group, The Creative Goddesses of

Augusta. With a group name like that, who wouldn’t be enticed?! I was welcomed into a world of diverse intellects. It was a celebra-tion of singing, sculpture, poetry, and everything wild and free-spir-ited in between. Through gather-ings including red and white wine, we discussed the ultimate goal of joining like-minded creative people of all cultures to inspire the artist in all of us.

Yes, Augusta….I still have a dream. The annual Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival held downtown each year is a personification reality

of a vision I’ve had for the Augusta arts scene for over the 5 years in which I’ve been involved. This fes-tival gives people of every culture the opportunity to showcase what makes them unique through ward-robe, food, dance, song, literary performances, etc. An audience of all ages gets to see a full spectrum of what “art” really is. It’s a blend-ing of independent thought that builds and grows through various different experiences.

In my opinion, there are some artists and promoters in the CSRA with an “us-against-them” men-tality. It’s fine to think that way if you want to limit yourself to being inspired only by your own

community and placing boundar-ies on your opportunities. While you’re supporting and encouraging your own culture, it’s important to expand the arts within that culture by exposing it to different artistic mediums as well. Where would rock music be if it weren’t inspired by hip hop? Where would modern fashion be if it didn’t take on the styles of the vintage past? Why must we continually put ourselves in a restrictive box when we can blend everyone’s style in a melting pot of awesome?

As an artist that wants to stay on the cutting edge of the global audi-ence, it’s important to think beyond your own life story. Walking in

other people’s shoes helps a whole other audi-ence to relate to your work and find themselves in it so much that they want to support it and help it grow. It excites me that every year at the Arts in the Heart of Augusta, we have a chance to see the power of art bringing unity to the diverse cultures of our great city. As the co-chair of the Troubadour Stage (formally the Literary Village) I look forward to providing a stage where artists of every culture can truly express themselves!

Join us! More details here: www.artsintheheart.com

Livin OutLoud Artistic Commentary Provided by LadyVee DaPoet

One nation under arts - With unity and creativity for all

Symphony Orchestra Augusta and Alternative Artworks (AA) to present, Debut at the Miller on Friday, September 14, 2012, at 6 p.m. at the Miller Theater. Debut at the Miller is free event and open to the public. The Miller Theater is located at 708 Broad Street, in historical downtown Augusta, Georgia. Alternative Artworks will present the art work of several local artists who wish to exhibit in an extempore forum unique to Augusta, Georgia.

AA will present eight to ten art-ist exhibits. Artists include but not limited to Hooman Haghbin, Xavier Jones, Laura Neff, Syd Padgett, Catherine Balbucci, and Martha Deller. All work will be available for purchase and all forms of payment are accepted. In addition to the artist exhibits, AA will also have Guitars with Artitude on display for bidding. Guitars with Artitude is an annual silent auction to benefit the Artist Row Scholarship

Fund (ARSF). In 2011, ARSF awarded one individual with a$1000 scholar-ship. In 2012, ARSF nearly tripled the amount by awarding two individ-uals with a $1500 scholarship each.

Garden City Jazz, led by Karen Gordon will be present to provide a musical performance to compli-ment the art exhibits. AA is an arts group formed in May of 2012, com-posed of local artists seeking support from fellow members in a setting to exchange ideas.

Debut at the Miller is made possi-ble by Symphony Orchestra Augusta, Garden City Jazz, and the help of vol-unteers from across the C.S.R.A.

For more information about Symphony Orchestra Augusta, visit www.soaugusta.org, call 706.826.4705, email [email protected] or fax 706.826.4735. Located on the sec-ond floor of Sacred Heart Cultural Center, the Symphony office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SOA opens Miller Theater doors to host “SOA Presents” event

Symphony Orchestra Augusta and Alternative Artworks

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Urban WeeklyPro Commentary

Black America, it is now time for a “black love revolution”. Black love refers to the endearing bond between black man and black woman. Black love con-sists of two people that share both simi-larities and differences. He is the joy to her pain, the sun to his moon, and the yin to her yang. This love possesses the nec-essary ingredients upon which to build a proper foundation. The success of the black family is directly related to the suc-cess of black society in America.

The root of the word revolution is “revolve”; to complete a cycle. When something revolves it completes a 360 degree circle, thus returning to the point in which it began. Black people in America originated in the birthplace of civilization. In our villages and tribes, the family was the central component to all aspects of life.

Black Americans are descendants of slaves. Slavery stripped us completely of our identities and of the values in which we were accustomed. Like livestock, we were a commodity with the ability to produce and reproduce, creating man-power and wealth for privileged slave owners. The current day black man pos-sesses a “breeder’s mentality.” During slavery the male was used to populate the plantation. He was uprooted from his family and sold off to fulfill an obliga-tion as daytime laborer and nighttime stud, thus creating a dysfunctional black family. Without a proper foundation and without the element of black love, we as slaves would be unable to unite, to bond, and to rise up. This produced a

black man incapable of loving and a black woman with a lessened value of her body and sexuality.

Today’s black man is still affected by the residual effects that linger from over 400 years ago. Black man, we must real-ize where we originated and we must over-stand the reason why we behave as we do. Why is it complimentary for black men to address one another as “pimps” or “players”? Why are we the “baby daddies” to numerous “baby mamas”? Why are we ashamed to be known as a one woman man that loves and cherishes his mate? Why do we encourage our son’s to be like us and become victims of this harmful cycle? Once we become aware of why we behave as we do, we can then begin to take steps to reverse the curse of the “breeder’s mentality.”

The “black love revolution” that I speak of is a return to the values that were once held dear in the land in which we originated. We must learn to love and appreciate our black women. We must realize the power and significance of the black family. This realization holds the solution to all of the issues that plague black society today. We must know that the success of our love lives and the suc-cess of our families are vital to the success of the black community. Black man, are you ready, willing, and prepared to join the “black love revolution”?

This work was written the day after I married the love of my life.

W. Travis “Brotha Trav” Wright; Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Writer, Activist, and now host of “Artskool.”

Black love revolutionBy Corey Washington

I would like to add my name and voice to the long list of complaints, against the horrendous proposed new name for the centerpiece of higher educa-tion here in the CSRA. Much has been said already about the naming debacle, so there is not much to add at this point. People who are not from Augusta, or who have not received a degree(s) from either GHSU or ASU may not be as vocal as those of us who have, but we all seem to pretty much agree that the will of the people is not being respected.

What perplexes me the most seems to be the unwillingness of Dr. Azziz and the board of Regents to reverse their decision. What do they have to gain from keeping the unmentionable name? Is there a cost to reversing their decision? Is that cost higher than the $45,000 that was used as a smoke-screen? Is the board of Regents going to withhold funding because of a name change? Is that legal? So many unan-swered questions remain. What’s even more frustrating is the reason that was given for the choice of the unmention-able name over the more popular: University of Augusta. Who out there really thinks that Georgia Regents....... (almost forgot!) will be a name to build a world class institute of higher learning? Who in their right mind sees Augusta as a “local” name? When it was announced that two females were finally admitted to become mem-

bers at the Augusta National, the first name that I saw on all media reports was Augusta. Every year Augusta is in the spotlight when the Masters rolls around. Augusta was also proudly touted by the Godfather of Soul James Brown. Whether it was in his songs, or his personal appearances, he also made sure to mention Augusta GA.

On a more personal note, I am one of the few people on this planet to attend the last Summer session at Augusta College, and then come right back for the Fall session at Augusta State University. I remember the pride that I felt, knowing that I was now attending a University instead of a college. All of the old asbestos buildings were coming down and these new grand buildings were being put up instead. The new name was just the icing on the cake. I not only received my Bachelor’s degree from ASU, but also my Master’s. That’s not odd, because many people here in the CSRA have received multiple degrees from ASU. What if an outsider rolled into Clemson, South Carolina and wanted to change the name of Clemson University because they felt the name was a local one? It should be the same feeling here!

The athletic department here at ASU have made national headlines in basket-ball and more recently golf. Augusta is certainly not a local name when it comes to those two sports. Why am I even bothering to write all of

King Darius/Azziz has spoken

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Urban WeeklyPro CommentaryThe Calmness Before The Storm

By Kurt EichenwaldNew York Timee Op/Ed

IT was perhaps the most famous presidential briefing in history.

On Aug. 6, 2001, President George W. Bush received a classified review of the threats posed by Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, Al Qaeda. That morning’s “presidential daily brief” — the top-secret document pre-pared by America’s intelligence agen-cies — featured the now-infamous heading: “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” A few weeks later, on 9/11, Al Qaeda accomplished that goal.

On April 10, 2004, the Bush White House declassified that daily brief — and only that daily brief — in response to pressure from the 9/11 Commission, which was investigat-ing the events leading to the attack. Administration officials dismissed the document’s significance, saying that, despite the jaw-dropping headline, it was only an assessment of Al Qaeda’s history, not a warning of the impend-ing attack. While some critics consid-ered that claim absurd, a close reading of the brief showed that the argument had some validity.

That is, unless it was read in con-junction with the daily briefs preced-ing Aug. 6, the ones the Bush adminis-tration would not release. While those documents are still not public, I have

read excerpts from many of them, along with other recently declassified records, and come to an inescap-able conclusion: the administration’s reaction to what Mr. Bush was told in the weeks before that infamous briefing reflected significantly more negligence than has been disclosed. In other words, the Aug. 6 document, for all of the controversy it provoked, is not nearly as shocking as the briefs that came before it.

The direct warnings to Mr. Bush about the possibility of a Qaeda attack began in the spring of 2001. By May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency told the White House of a report that “a group presently in the United States” was planning a terrorist operation. Weeks later, on June 22, the daily brief reported that Qaeda strikes could be “imminent,” although intelligence sug-gested the time frame was flexible.

But some in the administration con-sidered the warning to be just bluster. An intelligence official and a member of the Bush administration both told me in interviews that the neocon-servative leaders who had recently assumed power at the Pentagon were warning the White House that the C.I.A. had been fooled; according to this theory, Bin Laden was merely pretending to be planning an attack to distract the administration from Saddam Hussein, whom the neocon-

servatives saw as a greater threat. In-telligence officials, these sources said, protested that the idea of Bin Laden, an Islamic fundamentalist, conspiring with Mr. Hussein, an Iraqi secularist, was ridiculous, but the neoconserva-tives’ suspicions were nevertheless carrying the day.

In response, the C.I.A. prepared an analysis that all but pleaded with the White House to accept that the danger from Bin Laden was real.

“The U.S. is not the target of a dis-information campaign by Usama Bin Laden,” the daily brief of June 29 read, using the government’s transliteration of Bin Laden’s first name. Going on for more than a page, the document recit-ed much of the evidence, including an interview that month with a Middle Eastern journalist in which Bin Laden aides warned of a coming attack, as well as competitive pressures that the terrorist leader was feeling, given the number of Islamists being recruited for the separatist Russian region of Chechnya.

And the C.I.A. repeated the warn-ings in the briefs that followed. Operatives connected to Bin Laden, one reported on June 29, expected the planned near-term attacks to have “dramatic consequences,” including major casualties. On July 1, the brief stated that the operation had been delayed, but “will occur soon.” Some

of the briefs again reminded Mr. Bush that the attack timing was flexible, and that, despite any perceived delay, the planned assault was on track.

Yet, the White House failed to take significant action. Officials at the Counterterrorism Center of the C.I.A. grew apoplectic. On July 9, at a meet-ing of the counterterrorism group, one official suggested that the staff put in for a transfer so that somebody else would be responsible when the attack took place, two people who were there told me in interviews. The suggestion was batted down, they said, because there would be no time to train anyone else.

That same day in Chechnya, accord-ing to intelligence I reviewed, Ibn Al-Khattab, an extremist who was known for his brutality and his links to Al Qaeda, told his followers that there would soon be very big news. Within 48 hours, an intelligence official told me, that information was conveyed to the White House, providing more data supporting the C.I.A.’s warnings. Still, the alarm bells didn’t sound.

On July 24, Mr. Bush was notified that the attack was still being read-ied, but that it had been postponed, perhaps by a few months. But the president did not feel the briefings on potential attacks were sufficient,


Black America, it is now time for a “black love revolution”. Black love refers to the endearing bond between black man and black woman. Black love con-sists of two people that share both simi-larities and differences. He is the joy to her pain, the sun to his moon, and the yin to her yang. This love possesses the nec-essary ingredients upon which to build a proper foundation. The success of the black family is directly related to the suc-cess of black society in America.

The root of the word revolution is “revolve”; to complete a cycle. When something revolves it completes a 360 degree circle, thus returning to the point in which it began. Black people in America originated in the birthplace of civilization. In our villages and tribes, the family was the central component to all aspects of life.

Black Americans are descendants of slaves. Slavery stripped us completely of our identities and of the values in which we were accustomed. Like livestock, we were a commodity with the ability to produce and reproduce, creating man-power and wealth for privileged slave owners. The current day black man pos-sesses a “breeder’s mentality.” During slavery the male was used to populate the plantation. He was uprooted from his family and sold off to fulfill an obli-gation as daytime laborer and nighttime stud, thus creating a dysfunctional black family. Without a proper foundation and without the element of black love, we as slaves would be unable to unite, to bond, and to rise up. This produced a

black man incapable of loving and a black woman with a lessened value of her body and sexuality.

Today’s black man is still affected by the residual effects that linger from over 400 years ago. Black man, we must real-ize where we originated and we must over-stand the reason why we behave as we do. Why is it complimentary for black men to address one another as “pimps” or “players”? Why are we the “baby daddies” to numerous “baby mamas”? Why are we ashamed to be known as a one woman man that loves and cherishes his mate? Why do we encourage our son’s to be like us and become victims of this harmful cycle? Once we become aware of why we behave as we do, we can then begin to take steps to reverse the curse of the “breeder’s mentality.”

The “black love revolution” that I speak of is a return to the values that were once held dear in the land in which we originated. We must learn to love and appreciate our black women. We must realize the power and significance of the black family. This realization holds the solution to all of the issues that plague black society today. We must know that the success of our love lives and the suc-cess of our families are vital to the success of the black community. Black man, are you ready, willing, and prepared to join the “black love revolution”?

This work was written the day after I married the love of my life.

W. Travis “Brotha Trav” Wright; Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Writer, Activist, and now host of “Artskool.”

Black love revolutionBy Corey Washington

I would like to add my name and voice to the long list of complaints, against the horrendous proposed new name for the centerpiece of higher educa-tion here in the CSRA. Much has been said already about the naming debacle, so there is not much to add at this point. People who are not from Augusta, or who have not received a degree(s) from either GHSU or ASU may not be as vocal as those of us who have, but we all seem to pretty much agree that the will of the people is not being respected.

What perplexes me the most seems to be the unwillingness of Dr. Azizz and the board of Regents to reverse their decision. What do they have to gain from keeping the unmention-able name? Is there a cost to revers-ing their decision? Is that cost higher than the $45,000 that was used as a smokescreen? Is the board of Regents going to withhold funding because of a name change? Is that legal? So many unanswered questions remain. What’s even more frustrating is the reason that was given for the choice of the unmentionable name over the more popular: University of Augusta. Who out there really thinks that Georgia Regents....... (almost forgot!) will be a name to build a world class institute of higher learning? Who in their right mind sees Augusta as a “local” name? When it was announced that two females were finally admitted

to become members at the Augusta National, the first name that I saw on all media reports was Augusta. Every year Augusta is in the spotlight when the Masters rolls around. Augusta was also proudly touted by the Godfather of Soul James Brown. Whether it was in his songs, or his personal appear-ances, he also made sure to mention Augusta GA.

On a more personal note, I am one of the few people on this planet to attend the last Summer session at Augusta College, and then come right back for the Fall session at Augusta State University. I remember the pride that I felt, knowing that I was now attending a University instead of a college. All of the old asbestos buildings were coming down and these new grand buildings were being put up instead. The new name was just the icing on the cake. I not only received my Bachelor’s degree from ASU, but also my Master’s. That’s not odd, because many people here in the CSRA have received multiple degrees from ASU. What if an outsider rolled into Clemson, South Carolina and wanted to change the name of Clemson University because they felt the name was a local one? It should be the same feeling here!

The athletic department here at ASU have made national headlines in basketball and more recently golf. Augusta is certainly not a local name when it comes to those two

King Darius/Azizz has spoken


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MORMONS from page 9

An economy purely driven by markets, without regards to what happens to those who fall through the cracks, is an economy heading toward ruins. No one pushes this kind of economic philosophy other than those greedy investors and business owners who stand to gain at the rest of the country’s loss. You can count on them doing everything to maximize their return on invest-ment, disregarding the implications that such an economy will bring on those who are at the bottom already.

Do we want to end up like other countries where the sick, hungry, destitute are sleeping on the streets? The poor always is going to be with us. The question is how are we going to deal with them, not how well we are going to treat the rich? Will it be about compassion or will it all be about numbers? What I am hear-

ing from some in this political race for the presidency is frightening. In essence, their solution is to make the poor and middle class poorer and the rich richer. Somebody is going to have to pay for balancing the budget. The poor do not have any money. So, they will pay their part, as sug-gested by the Romney campaign, doing without essential programs, i.e., food, health care, educational assistance, etc.

The rich have lots of it, some say over forty percent of the wealth, and that is just one percent of the popula-tion. Nevertheless, the people who are trying to win the presidency are telling us that we need to give them a tax break. So who is left to pay the taxes? You guessed right. The middle class who, by the way, are out there fighting for the rich to get in office. Now explain that to me. It is one thing to be taken advantage of

when your eyes are closed, but when they are wide open indicates that somebody is not thinking. Instead, they are wrapped up in the emotion of the issues not the substance.

We do not yet have a complete government “of” the business world, “by” the business world, and “for” the business world, but if we put people into office who espouse the ideas now floating around, that business knows best how to solve the political and economic problems facing this country, the middle class will no lon-ger exist – just the rich and poor.

I have no political party prefer-ence. However, I know that I do not want to live under a government that puts more tax burdens on the middle class and poor who can least afford them. These are the prover-bial ones “behind the tree” that have been taxed to death. And the ones still spewing “Don’t tax him, don’t

tax me; tax that man behind the tree are the greedy rich. Their solution is what is quoted in Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Confession: “Qu’ls man-gent de la brioche” – “Let them eat cake.” They are that far from reality and understanding the problems of the middle class and poor.

I say it is time for the rich to be taxed in proportion to their earnings. Why should we assume that they would reinvest the billions of dollars we give, through tax write-offs and incentives, back into the economy? Some of those dollars may end up in secret bank accounts where they do the country no good whatsoever or overseas investment at the expense of American workers. Who knows? In some political circles, it is all about the numbers, not the people.

Grady AbramsAugust 13, 2012

READERS’ FORUM: Thinking or just absorbing? Part 2

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The Richmond County School System will accept bids and request for proposals until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, for the following:

1. School Bus Seat Repair Supplies RFQ #12-8762. Xerographic Paper RFQ #12-10153. Baseball Uniforms Bid #3114. Baseball Equipment Bid #3125. Track Uniforms Bid #3136. Track Equipment Bid #3147. Soccer Uniforms Bid #3158. Soccer Equipment Bid #3169. Replacement School Bus Tires RFP #12-60210. Replacement Tires for Cars, Light Trucks and Vans RFQ

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By: Dr. Frank G. Roberson, Secretary

African descent in Latin America. In the United States, not all Mormons look like members of the Romney family: Mia Love, a daughter of Haitian immigrants and the Republican nominee for a Utah Congressional seat, proudly states that she has “never felt unwelcome in the church.”

Statements by prior church presidents and apostles provide fodder for those Latter-day Saints — if small in number — who adhere to racist notions.

The church could begin leaving those problems behind if its leaders explained

that their predecessors had confused their own racist views with God’s will and that the priesthood ban resulted from human error and limitations rather than a divine curse. Given the church’s ecclesiology, this step would be difficult.

Mormons have no reason to feel unusually ashamed of their church’s past racial restrictions, except maybe for their duration. Their church, like most other white American churches, was entangled in a deeply entrenched national sin.

Still, acknowledging serious errors on the part of past prophets inevitably raises questions about the revelatory authority of contemporary leaders.

sports. Why am I even bothering to write all of this, because according to those with all the power, the name change is irreversible. Who do these people think they are King Darius? Are these char-acters invoking the ancient law of the Medes and Persians that says once a king

makes a law and seals it with his ring, it is not to be annulled? Is the community of Augusta being thrown into the proverbial Lion’s Den? Well if so, we all know how that turned out for Daniel and those who conspired to do him harm. Yes folks, we are pretty passionate about this name change. No matter what happens, I will never call the merged university G*U!

Azziz from page 9

Likewise, the abiding love and venera-tion most Latter-day Saints have for their leaders would readily survive a fuller reckoning with their human frailties and flaws. The Mormon people need not believe they have perfect prophets, either

past or present.John G. Turner is an assistant profes-

sor at George Mason University and the author of “Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet.”

11UrbanProW


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urban pro weekly, september 13, 2012

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