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Editorials/Column
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One Step Away
“Functioning in your set place is the key to a ful- filled life.”
Bishop I.V. Hilliard mpowered Greet-
ings. You are one step away from moving into your set place. A place that has been designed for you to fill and be fulfilled.
Don’t let anything come to rob you of your future because you are only one step away from experiencing the opti- mum conditions that God has planned for your life.
You’re just one step away from a simple solution to all the difficult challenges you’ve been facing.
You’re just one step away from your faith allowing you to stand steadfast when discour- agement comes to cripple you with its grip.
Walk in an unwavering for- titude of faith that says “I will not be moved from my set place.”
You cannot be moved be- cause you are only one step away from your breakthrough.
You cannot be moved be-
cause you are only one step away from possessing your promise.
You cannot be moved be- cause you are only one step away from your overflow.
No matter what comes to stop you, don’t draw back be- cause you are only one step away from victory.
Feel free to call me at 813- 603-0088 for assistance with staying in step to your success.
To speak or train at your next conference, retreat, orga- nizational meeting, school or event.
Let’s stay connected on social media.
Facebook: Coach To Women
Success
Twitter: queenofsuc- cess1
Instagram: Selphenia
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An ‘Eye-For-An-Eye’ Renders Everyone Blind!
hey face incoming gunfire while yelling to a crowd
to take cover. One of them even positions his cruiser to take the brunt of the impact of a speeding car, and by doing so, protects a citizen he had never seen before. An- other one bought pampers, formula, and food for a young, single mother he caught shoplifting pampers. Yet, another man gave his life evacuating people from the 27th floor of one of the buildings that collapsed during the 9/11 attack.
Many accounts of heroism by law enforcement officers go unnoticed – like buying shoes, coffee and meals for homeless people, helping to deliver a baby when the par- ents couldn’t make it to the hospital in time.
Who are these selfless individuals? Try local police, deputy sheriffs, and state troopers.
Indeed, the countless good deeds of law enforcement officers seldom make the 6 o’clock news. But their hero- ism and countless acts of kindness don’t wait for the news, and outnumber the times they have made mistakes or committed fatal use of force. Yes, practically everyone knows there are certain law enforcement professionals who should never have been given a badge or a gun, and we urge their immediate dismissal from the ranks of law enforcement.
So, we regret that several homicidal maniacs believed they were being martyrs by seeking retaliation against in- nocent police officers for the recent rash of deaths of Black men at the hands of police. But history has proven two wrongs never make a right. Instead, they endanger the cause of movements like Black Lives Matter.
Therefore, we urge our readers to show respect and common sense for all law enforcement officers, but to immediately report any law enforcement officer engag- ing in unprofessional conduct. After all, “The police are the public. And the public is the police.”
A PSA For A Convicted Felon
arlier this month Rev-
erend Willie Dixon
was granted a full pardon by Florida Governor Rick Scott. For Rev. Dixon, 84, the pardon completely re- stores the rights he lost after becoming a convicted felon over half a century ago.
If anyone is deserving of this rare privilege it is defi- nitely Rev. Dixon. This is a man who dedicated the last four decades of his life to helping the community through his ministry while using his own experiences to encourage those, headed down the wrong path, to turn their lives around.
The thing that drew me to this story, apart from it being about a good thing happening to a good man, was the rea- soning Rev. Dixon gave to Gov. Scott when asked why receiving a full-pardon, which also allows him to purchase a gun, was so important? He told the governor that he wanted to live his life without worrying about being sent back to prison for "construc- tive possession" of a firearm.
For me, Rev. Dixon's words were a reality check. The fact that an 84-year-old
man, who lived his life as clean and as straight as any- one possibly could for over forty years, still worried about being caught around a gun as a convicted felon spoke vol- umes.
It reminded me that, it doesn't matter how long a person stays out of prison, he or she will always carry the "convicted felon" classifica- tion. And, as such, he or she will forever be subjected to the enforcement of laws de- signed for the sole purpose of keeping convicted felons away from certain dangerous devices.
Constructive possession of a firearm is, arguably, the most lethal of these laws. This is a federal statute that allows for the federal prosecution of any person, previously con- victed of committing a felony, who is found in the near vicinity of a firearm.
This means that if a con- victed felon is in a house, car, telephone booth or even a port-a-potty where a gun is present he or she will be charged with possession. It doesn't matter who claims the weapon or if the person who claims the weapon has a per-
mit to carry, if the gun is not secured inside of a glove box, trunk or locked inside of a cabinet, it will technically be- long to the felon in closest proximity.
The penalty for construc- tive possession ranges from anywhere between 3 years to 22 years depending upon a person's background, previ- ous charges, how the judge's golfing game went the day be- fore, the weather in Idaho or any other factors the govern- ment feels like using to trigger an enhanced sentence.
Avoiding the trap of being caught anywhere around a gun in a society where fire sticks are as readily available as cell phones is a challenge every felon faces. Whether you're 18 or 90, unless you're as lucky as Rev. Dixon, it's the one thing they can always use against you.
The thing I try to tell every- one in this unfortunate situa- tion is to always remember their status. Regardless of how free you feel, once you have that felony on your record, you always have to be on point on who or what is in your presence.
That is mainly because, while you may forget where you've been, one thing is for certain, the law never will.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can TEXT C.B., II, at (+1813-308- 0849).
Donald Trump, The King Of Plagiarism
What is plagiarism? It is when someone takes some- one else’s words and reintroduces them as his or her own. Now, let’s marry that concept to another state-
ment, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
Would it surprise you that a Republican (Abraham Lincoln) made that statement? Many fear that if the cur- rent presumptive Republican presidential candidate be- comes our nation’s next Commander-In-Chief, we may witness to our disgust the outright reversal and failure of Abraham Lincoln’s once-iconic words.
No, it wasn’t Melania Trump who started a mudslide of marathon plagiarism. It was her husband who tried on a too-big shirt of former President Ronald Reagan then pranced around, looking for all the world like a reincar- nation of Benito Mussolini, saying whatever came to
mind, including the comment, “I could shoot anybody I want, and still get elected Presi- dent.”
Does he mean what he says? Is he the first one to say it? When he spouts, “We cannot afford to be politically correct anymore,” Barry Goldwater said it 40 years first. Then came Nixon and finally America’s presidential cowboy Ronald Reagan. They all put on a Barnum and Bailey show before Trump was out of diapers.
Perhaps, the Great Plagiarizer saw Ossie Davis’ comedic character Reverend Purlie Victorious who observed, “I ain’t never told a lie I didn’t mean to make come true, some- day.” If so, when Trump speaks riddles and a miss-guided America roars, maybe by wit- nessing the twist of a term, we can appreciate the horror in the reworked statement, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time,” but if you falsely convince them that they are the ones being left out, then it doesn’t matter what you plagiarize because you can indeed fool all of the people all of the time. Just ask Adolf Hitler.
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PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016