FORUM
The perils of poisonous politics
Jesse
Jackson
Guest
Columnist
By doubling down on
his vile slur on President
Obama's love for his coun
try, ex-New York City
Mayor Rudi Giuliani creat
ed the media frenzy that he
craved. He also set up an
easy test of decency for
Republican presidential
contenders: Who has the
sense to disavow Giuliani's
poison? Jeb Bush, Rand
Paul and Marco Rubio
passed the admittedly low
bar; Governors Scott
Walker and Bobby Jindal
failed ignominiously:
Governor Rick Perry pret
zeled his way through it.
If Republicans wonder
why 95 percent of African
Americans and 70 percent
of Latinos will likely end
up voting for Democrats in
2016, they should look in
the mirror. Virtually every
African American will see
this attack on President
Obama as racist, something
that would not be occur
were Obama White.
Silence in the face of
the attack will be seen as
proof that the Republican
race-based politics of divi
sion remains in force. In his
decision to weaken the
Voting Rights Act in
Shelby v. Holder, Justice
J^oberts wrote that "this
country has changed."
Giuliani's insult ratifies the 5
wisdom of Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsberg's ringing
dissent, that while progress
has been made, the
Congress surely was right
in deciding we still have far
to go.
Giuliani's rant echoes
the new hysteria that
Republicans are trying to
stoke: that Obama is "with
drawing" from the world,
and thereby weakening
America. A parade of hor
rors - Russia in Ukraine,
ISIS in Syria and Iraq,
negotiations over nukes
with Iran, terrorist violence
in Paris - is summoned up
and blamed on the presi
dent.
Recently, Obama made
the simple and common
sense observation that we
are not at war with Islam,
but with terrorist extremists
who want to hijack the reli
gion for their own ends.
His statement was similar
to that repeated frequently
by George W. Bush when
he was president.
Any future president
from either party will make
similar statements - both to
reflect reality and to keep
the fear-mongers from fan
ning hatred here at home.
Yet the president's com
ments sparked hysterical
comments from across the
right-wing noise machine
as if common sense were
somehow heresy.
This clamor is feeding a
mindless war fever. Do we
want to have an armed con
frontation with Russia over
Ukraine? Not really, the
macho hawks basically
want to fight to the last
Ukrainian. Do we want to
put troops back into Iraq?
Not really, although as
President Obama has esca
lated the U.S. response to
ISIS, the armchair hawks
have moved to more mus
cular positions, now even
mumbling about "boots on
the ground." We are fight
ing wars in Afghanistan,
providing troops and arms
ind bombs against ISIS,
running drone attacks in
nearly a dozen countries,
iispatching special forces
to 120 countries. And
somehow this is scorned as
withdrawal from the world.
Missing in the hysteria
and the vile attacks on
patriotism is a sensible pol
icy debate - and a sensible
reckoning of how we got to
where we are. The reality is
that excessive belief in mil
itary force has done more
than anything to cause this
mess. The catastrophic
invasion of Iraq is the worst
foreign policy debacle
since Vietnam.
The decision not simply
to go after Bin Laden and al
Qaeda, but to wage a coun
terinsurgency war in
Afghanistan and "rebuild"
that nation has led to the
longest war in our history
that shows no sign of end
ing.
The "humanitarian
intervention" in Libya has
left chaos and violence in
its wake.
The US invasion of
Iraq turned the country
over to Shiite rule, ironical
ly empowering Iran. ISIS
comes out of the Sunni
reaction to that reality.
Meanwhile we've only
begun to pay the $3 trillion
tab for Bush's Iraq War.
even as our own roads, rail,
sewage and water systems
grow ever more dangerous
for lack of investment.
Those who mindlessly
call the president weak,
impugn his patriotism, and
accuse him of withdrawing
from the world ought to be
called to account. Enough
with the rhetoric, the pos
turing, and the poison
What is the policy that they
want? Let us hear them
explain how they will drive
a confrontation with Russia
in Ukraine, while fighting
in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria.
Yemen and elsewhere.
The only way
Americans will accept this
nonsense is if they are
scared out of their wits.
Sadly, that seems to be the
intent of the fear mongers
who need to be challenged
before they frighten us into
yet another costly debacle.
Jesse L. Jackson. Sr. is
founder and president of
the Chicago-based
Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
The website is
www.rainbow push .org.
President Obama
Giuliani
FCC did the right thing with Internet vote
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON ? A cohort of civil
rights leaders applaud the Federal
Communications Commission for listen
ing to communities of color who have
called on the agency to protect the open
Internet applying strbng and enforceable
Net Neutrality rules.
The FCC voted 3-2 on Thursday to
adopt rules that prevent Internet service
providers like AT&T, Comcast and
Verizon from blocking, throttling or other
wise discriminating against Web traffic
and services. The rules apply the agency's
authority under Title II of the
Communications Act to prevent these
providers from creating a pay-for-play
Internet with fast lanes for the few who
can afford steep tolls and slow lanes for the
rest of us.
The following statements are from
civil rights and racial justice leaders repre
senting organizations that are members of
the Voices for Internet Freedom Coalition:
Malkia Cyril , executive director of the
Center for Media Justice
"The Center for Media Justice ?
home of the Media Action Grassroots
Network ? vigorously applauds today's
vote for Title II Net Neutrality. On this his
toric day, the FCC rejected separate and
unequal representation online and proved
that a small group of committed people
can make very big changes. Instead of
capitulating to the virulent race-baiting
and industry lies, or cowering before the
threat of legal action or legislation, today
the FCC codified rules that lock in place
the power of the Internet to help close gaps
in equity that disadvantage communities of
color."
Rashad Robinson, executive director
of ColorOfChange.org
"The open Internet is the platform that
allows ordinary people to speak with an
unfiltered voice, and Net Neutrality is
what protects that. A new civil rights
movement is now flourishing in this coun
try in respoi\se to tragic and unjust police
violence in Ferguson, Staten Island, and
many other communities. But without Net
Neutrality, the voices of everyday people
wouldn't have a chance. Today the FCC
has taken crucial steps toward protecting a
vital tool in the fight for equality and jus
tice. This victory shows that people power
can sometimes triumph over corporate
dollars."
Arturo Cannons, executive director
ofPresente.org
'Today we celebrate the FCC's deci
sion to protect Net Neutrality. This is an
important win for the rights of Latinos and
all people of color. Our ability to produce
our own content, speak for ourselves, and
use the Internet as. a crucial tool for engag
ing in our democracy has been protected.
We need to ensure that the fight to protect
Net Neutrality is protected and that the
FCC is empowered to do its job as a regu
latory agency."
Jessica Gonzalez, executive vice pres
ident and general counsel. National
Hispanic Media Coalition
"This is a historic day and a historic
victory. As people of color, we have come
to rely on the open Internet to educate our
selves, organize for social change, engage
in the political process and push back
against a history of discrimination and
exclusion in traditional media. I applaud
the FCC majority for sifting through the
nonsense arguments of a few Internet serv
ice providers and their massive team of
lobbyists, and siding with the American
people for a truly open Internet."
Joseph Torres, senior external affairs
director of Free Press
"The FCC's decision today is a victory
in the struggle for racial justice in our
country. It's simply hard to fight for the
health and well being of communities of
color if we aren't able to speak for our
selves. While we celebrate today's victo
ry, we know we're going to need to contin
ue to fight for our digital rights to ensure
our voices are never silenced."
Free Press is a nonpartisan organiza
tion fighting for people's rights to connect
and communicate.
Learn more at wwwfreepressjtet.
Coaches play an important role in our society
James
Ewers
Guest
Columnist
Men and women who
assume the role of a coach
play a defining role in the
lives of yoyng people.
Many of i&can point to
someone that we called
"coach" who was instru
mental in molding and
shaping our lives.
I grew up like most kids
playing sports. All of us
can remember our very
first coach. There are some
things that you never for
get. My first coach was
Mr. William Bryant, but we
called him Coach Bryant.
He was my baseball
coach and our team was
called the Skyland Blue
Jays.
Coach Bryant gave us
our instructions and
showed us what to do. Of
course we listened and did
as we were told. None of
us talked back to our coach
nor did our parents ask him
about our playing time.
Upon reflection now,
Coach Bryant was also a
life coach. He asked us
how our grades were and if
we were excited to return
to school in the fall. He
talked with us about having
goals and dreams.
He was always pleas
ant but he was also keenly
interested in us as boys. He
was much more than a
coach.
Coaches have always
played an important role in
our society. They have
served as role models and
mentors for us.
The title "coach" is one
that you hear a lot but
should not be taken lightly.
Those who wear it under
stand the awesome respon
sibility that they have. .
Students depend upon
coaches not only for sports
instruction but for social
instruction as well.
I can recall many years
ago when my sons, Aaron
and Chris, would come
home and tell me what the
coach said. What the coach
said was the gold standard
and had to be followed.
My sons had men who
wore the title coach well
and they were both influ
enced positively by them.
I grew up in Winston
Salem, N.C. during the
1960s and sports was
always the talk of the town.
For example, the recent
CIAA basketball tourna
ment had its early begin
nings in my hometown.
You know what it has
become now. My friends
and I saw Clarence "Big
House" Gaines a lot as he
lived around the corner
from us. What we soon
found out was that Coach
Gaines was the basketball
coach at Winston-Salem
Teachers College, now
Winston-Salem State
University. His wife, Mrs.
Gara Gaines, even taught
me Latin in high school.
Coach Gaines was a
legend who coached Earl
"The Pearl" Monroe and
received many national
honors along with winning
championships. He was
quite influential in our lives
as he provided us with
much needed guidance and
direction. I felt the gravity
of his mentorship as I later
became a tennis coach at
both the high school and
college level.
Dean Smith, the iconic
basketball coach at the
University of North
Carolina, passed away
recently, and the comments
about his character and his
love for his players came
from all across America. I
was privileged to have
taken a picture with him
many years ago now. One
of my college classmates'
son, Hubert Davis, was one
of his players. How inter
esting it was on that
Sunday years ago that one
of the ABC television
announcers for the
Carolina game against
Georgia Tech was Jim
Valvano. That was after his
time as a coach where he
led North Carolina State
University to a national
championship against the
University of Houston.
Our children and
grandchildren have every
confidence in their coach
es. If you want to enter the
coaching ranks, know that
you will be held to the
highest of standards.
It is a privilege to be
called coach. Wear the title
with dignity and honor.
Let it be said about you
that you fostered in young
people high ideals and lofty
goals.
James B. Ewers Jr.
Ed J), is a former tennis
champion at Atkins High
School and played college
tennis at Johnson C Smith
University, where he was
all-conference for four
years. He is a retired col
lege administrator. He can
he reached at
ewers jr56@yahoo .com.
v
AP tile pfKXo
Basketball superstar Michael Jordan, left, still
showed admiration for his college coach, Dean
Smith, the longtime coach at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Smith died last month.