Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 2-10-17

Editorials/Column
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Your Great Comeback
mpowered Greet-
ings. I watched the Super Bowl last night and was inspired to inspire you to get ready for your great comeback. The New England Patriots used their skills, wit and knowledge to win the Super Bowl.
At first glance it didn’t look possible. They went the entire first quarter without scoring. Not only that, they also experi- enced being down 25 points. This game truly goes to show that looks can be deceiving.
You may feel like the Patri- ots looked, as if there is no way you can win the game of your life. You may not have played all the right moves. You may have had some mishaps and turnovers. You may have suf- fered some injuries. There may have been times when it seemed as if everything was in
your favor, but the promotion or raise you thought you were going to get was stripped from you and intercepted by budget cuts.
It is because of the out- come of the first half of your life that others have counted you out. Guess what, it doesn’t matter what others say, as long as you can continue to say I haven’t come this far, not to finish the race that is before me.
You can’t give up on you. When the bystanders have lost hope, you gain strength from within to WIN! Don’t bow down to the pressure.
Tap into your skill set in- stead, and begin to drive the ball down field toward your goal. When things appear to be overwhelming, that is not the time to settle. That’s when you go hard because you refuse to
go home without being the vic- tor!
You use your wit to maneu- ver through the barriers that try to block you. You gain mo- mentum and maintain it by rushing up the middle if neces- sary or making miracle plays like Edelman.
The fact that you’ve made it to this point lets me and others around you know that you’re a winner.
No matter how high the odds are stacked against you, remember YOUR GREAT COMEBACK may come later than sooner, but it’s coming because you are a CHAMP!
I WANT TO HELP YOU WIN BIG IN LIFE. Call me at 813-603-0088 for a compli- mentary “Comeback” consul- tation.
Stay connected with me by following me on social media: Facebook Business Fan
Page: Selphenia Nichols Success Coach To Women Instagram: Selphenia Twitter: queenofsucces1 Call 813-603-0088 to in- vite me to train or speak at your upcoming event.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
County Sanctuary And The County Commission Chair
In the United States and Canada, the following interpre- tation is generally accepted: “A sanctuary city (or county) is any municipality that has adopted a policy of protecting unauthorized immigrants by not prosecuting them for vio- lating federal immigration laws and by ensuring that all res- idents have access to city/county services, regardless of immigration status.”
However, Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Stacy White is “deeply opposed” to such designation. In a tersely worded memo delivered to his six BOCC colleagues, he voiced displeasure after receiving an official recommen- dation that our county should by all means consider becom- ing a sanctuary. (According to contested comments by Dr. Rich Swier, Florida already is the site of 7 sanctuary counties wherein Hillsborough County is one of the seven.) Neverthe- less, writes White, “I am not in support of Hillsborough County being anything less than a county that respects and follows the rule of law.”
The law White’s referring to is no doubt the same law President Trump has touted when he recently signed an ex- ecutive order directing the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to defund sanctuary municipali- ties that refuse to comply with Federal immigration laws (and many, thus far, have refused to comply.).
But given BOCC Chairman White’s bitter opposition to and President Trump’s willful bullying against the idea of sanctuary, perhaps the following words might reset our moral compass.
“Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,/ The wretched refuse of our teem- ing shore./ Send these, the homeless, tempest-; lost to me,/ I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
After all, where do they think the idea of sanctuary came from in the first place?
Clap For ‘Em
am a firm believer in giving people props when they reach personal milestones. This is mainly due to my understand- ing of the kind of effort it nor- mally takes to obtain what you
want out of life.
With that being the case, I've
decided to dedicate this column to Corey Harris, Nathaniel Har- ris, Napoleon Harris, Jerry Green, Charlie Green and De- onte Martin. Consider this my round of applause for six young men who did, absolutely, every- thing they could to earn multiple life-sentences in federal prison after being convicted of kidnap- ping, murder, racketeering and drug charges (correction: Corey Harris was only given 120 years.) Congrats fellas.
This had to be what they wanted, right? Infamy? I mean how else do you explain a crew of guys engaging in this level of criminal activity for almost a decade in a small area like Bradenton, Florida?
No one can convince me that their actions weren't purely mo- tivated by a twisted desire to break into prison. Seriously, why else would they be stupid enough to go along with a crime spree that involved killing a man in broad daylight, in front of hundreds of witnesses, if their
goal WASN'T to get caught? When people pull these kind of insane stunts it usually means one of two things: They are ei- ther desperate for attention or tired of living in the free world. With these dudes it could have actually been a combination of
both.
I imagine it wasn't good
enough for them to simply rack in large amounts of cash with their drug enterprise. They had to live out their Scarface and Nino Brown fantasies in the process.
Unfortunately, the downfall they experienced typically hap- pens when street hustlers start believing in and imitating the kind of bull---- they see in movies. For some reason we al- ways seem to forget how those stories usually end.
But, at least, they accom- plished their ultimate goal. From this point on they can look forward to being the subject of articles in crime glorifying mag- azines like Don Diva or The F.E.D.S. They may even be fea- tured in one of those American Gangster documentaries, their names added to a long list of prison celebrities who also paid a heavy price for the fame they achieved.
Even though their fates have
been sealed I wouldn't be sur- prised to find out that the gra- vity of the situation still hasn't become fully realized to them yet. After all, it's probably kind of hard for 25, 26 and 30-year- olds to conceptualize the idea that, not only will they have to live the remainder of this life in- side a cage but that, they will have to come back and die sev- eral more times before their sen- tences are satisfied.
The good thing for them, I guess, is that they'll still be able to partake in the kind of drama and violence they relished on the streets. United States Peniten- tiaries (USP's) with names like Big Sandy, "Bloody" Beaumont, Lee County and Florence were built exactly for that reason.
I can't say I feel sorry for the way things turned out for these guys because, at the end of the day, this is the life that they chose. Whatever they endure from this point will simply be a part of the debt they incurred for their blatantly reckless behavior and the many lives they were found responsible for ending.
The prayers being sent up for them by their mother's and grandmother's may help them in the next life. But, as far as this one goes, it's already been for- feited to the feds..... Just the way they, obviously, wanted.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. You can write to Mr. Barr at: Clarence Barr 43110- 018, Oakdale F. C. I., P. O. BOX 5000, Oakdale, LA 71463.
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Make The Release Of Presidential Candidate’s Tax Returns Law
here there’s smoke, there’s fire! President Donald
Trump’s reluctance and failure to release his tax re- turns as promised is a clear indication of the need to make the release of presidential candidates’ tax returns federal law.
President Trump’s continued praise, defense and sup- port of Russian President Putin raises all kinds of alarms, even among fellow Republican lawmakers who supported his presidency.
That Trump won’t release his tax returns has led to spec- ulation that he did not pay any income taxes or has ties to countries Americans would find suspicious. Had President Barack Obama behaved in the despicable manner Trump has behaved and had hidden his tax returns as Trump has blatantly done, there is no doubt Republicans would have relentlessly dogged Mr. Obama.
Indeed, if history is any indication, we dare say Trump supporters and hate-mongers would have feasted on Mr. Obama’s bones for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Several news sources have pointed to an “emoluments
W
clause” as being the only conflict of interest law that applies to the presidency and that it is “designed to keep foreign interests from essentially buying influence with U. S. government officials.”
The potential for foreign interests to spend millions booking Trump hotel properties; for entering business deals with foreign governments or individuals with deep ties to those gov- ernments; and for mixing White House/Government business with foreign business dealings is too great.
Since Trump has more than 500 companies that have done business in at least 25 countries and has business deals or properties in Muslim countries from which he has not banned travel (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc...) and has lied about meetings he had with three business partners from India, the release of his tax returns should be mandated by U. S. law.
Either that or forget reality and take up basket weaving.
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2017