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Editorials/Column
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Go Deeper
mpowered Greetings.
You can get what you want and expect out of life if you just go deeper. At some point in your existence on this earth you will find yourself ask- ing the question or contemplat- ing if life has more to offer you than this. This being what you’ve experienced to this point. I want to be that inner voice to tell you YES IT DOES, IF YOU GO DEEPER.
There’s a lot of life circum- stances that are out of our hands. However, there is a lot that we can control. To help keep your life moving in the di- rection you desire take time to seriously dig deeper in connect- ing yourself with your inner self. Go deeper in exploring
who you really are at your core. Go deeper in developing your authentic voice. Go deeper in discovering your belief systems and why you believe what you believe. This will help you proj- ect your true voice and the real you so that you can lead a more fulfilling life. Go deeper and clarify what you care about so that you can begin to modify your behavior and actions to alignment with beliefs.
Go Deeper in building friendships. Friendships help build your confidence, emo- tional health and social life.
Go Deeper in express- ing love. There are great health benefits you will reap if you’re in a loving relationship. Be affectionate, kind, joyful.
Grateful and generous with ex- pressing your feelings of love.
Go Deeper in develop- ing a spiritual awareness. When dealing with the issues of life, your spiritual beliefs will help strengthen you, heal you where you’ve been broken, en- courage you, give you hope, quiet a raging soul and give you guidance.
Go Deeper in experienc- ing the adventures of life. Your life is waiting for you to live it. Stop dreaming about kicking your life up a notch and step out on faith and just do it.
Let Selphenia help you go deeper and experience a richer life. Invite her to speak, train or facilitate your next event. Stay connected through social media or call to get the help you need to succeed. 813-603-0088.
Facebook: Selphenia Nichols Success Coach To Women
Instagram: Selphenia
Twitter: queenofsuc- cess1
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A Roundabout Debate In East Tampa
hey’re called “Roundabouts.” For those of you who
may have mixed opinions, the term “Roundabout” may be a perfect title. Yet, experts say roundabouts may well be America’s next generation to replace the glut of traffic lights that have strewn America’s streets like Christmas lights for the past century.
Others swear these so-called beautiful-yet-utilitarian traffic ornaments may snarl the idea of traffic control in the future. But consider the argument against the traditional traffic light intersection. Opponents say it has far too many safety challenges including T-bone collisions, head-on crashes, pedestrian accidents and bicyclist fatalities.
Compared to roundabouts, which can reduce the inci- dence of automobile crashes, pedestrian injuries and deaths, say roundabout supporters, the difference between traffic lights and roundabouts is like night and day. Then comes East Tampa. Perhaps, this part of the city should be renamed “Area-51” after the mythical place where many new ideas are tried. Maybe, that’s why more roundabouts have been put in place and planned for this community than in any other neighborhood in our City.
The results have been problematic. For seasoned “Roundaboutists,” maneuvering around the circle (one on 22ndStreet and 3 on 40th Street) is mixed. But for the inexpe- rienced driver, bicyclist or pedestrian, cornering the circle could be unnerving.
And, then comes the fiscal issues. No doubt, roundabouts look prettier than traffic lights. But at $1 million dollars a pop, they hardly compete with traffic lights that cost far less to implement and maintain. Furthermore, few people who live in East Tampa were ever asked their opinions on round- abouts that make their streets look like European thorough- fares (no disrespect to London or Paris). But, the next time you want change in East Tampa, ask the folks who live there, first.
Officer Not So Friendly
hen Officer Lorne
Ahrens was killed two weeks ago in downtown Dallas, along with four other po- lice officers, he was classified as a hero; a brave member of law enforcement who gave the ulti- mate sacrifice for the greater
good.
He was considered such an
outstanding person that his life was celebrated at a ceremony at- tended by a sitting United States President, the Vice-President and a former president. All of them there to pay respects to someone who they believed was a man of outstanding character.
But, in the midst of all of the glorious accolades poured upon Ahrens and his fallen com- rades, there was a small detail about Officer Ahrens that they neglected to mention.... He was also an alleged white su- premacist.
From the hammer of Thor on his Facebook page to the Iron Cross and Crusader Shield tat- toos that adorned his body Of- ficer Ahrens seemed to embrace a number of the sym- bols normally associated with people who subscribe to white supremacy. While there's no proof that he was a member of any known hate group, his open display of "white pride" makes it safe to assume that he, at the very least, adhered to their be- liefs.
The question is, why wasn't any of this reported by the major news outlets? Instead of giving the world a full disclosure of who this officer was, like they seem to do with everyone else involved in a high profile homi- cide, they glossed over his image and had people, unknowingly, mourning for an individual who they may have, otherwise, not given a damn about.
The fact that all of the news organizations were aware of Of- ficer Ahrens’ personal issues, yet tried to keep them under wraps, becomes even more sus- picious when you consider how quickly they are to present any unflattering information they may discover on the people who police shoot.
Case in point, Alton Ster- ling's body wasn't even cold be- fore they began uncovering his petty arrest record.
The mainstream media is often tasked with the duty of disseminating information to the masses that falls in line with how the government wants au- thoritative figures to be per- ceived. Therefore, the military and law enforcement agencies are always going to be portrayed as the white-hat-wearing good guys, regardless of the situation, while anyone who opposes them will automatically take on the role of troublemaker or crimi- nal.
It is all a part of the public relations operation designed to keep society from ever question- ing the motives of the people as- signed to serve and protect.
Acknowledging that some- one like Officer Ahrens exists reduces the sympathy factor we're supposed to have when a police officer is killed in the line of duty. I mean, after this, how are we supposed to know if the next officer gunned down wasn't just another racist a--hole who wouldn't have had a problem with hanging a Black man from the nearest tree as well? For a person of color to feel sorry for him would be the equivalent of a chicken feeling sorry for the death of a chicken hawk.
Now that we have proof that people like Officer Ahrens are actually allowed on the force, it opens the door to questions like: How many more officers like him are out there? Why would a police department give someone like Officer Ahrens a badge and a gun? And, most impor- tantly, what's going to be done to keep this kind of extremely biased individual from pa- trolling the streets of our com- munities?
These are all valid things we need to know about the so- called "officer friendlies" who we're told are there to help. And, unless we begin to get some very good answers soon, going for- ward, I don't know how wise it would be for us to continue to trust them.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. You can TEXT C.B., II, at (+18133080849).
Republican Economic Doublespeak!
When we heard former New York City mayor Rudy Gu- liani rant and rave about returning to “One Amer- ica,” we wondered when and where America was ever
“One,” to begin with. For, certainly, not since the Civil War has this country ever been united as “One.”
During the Civil Rights Movement, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the SCLC, and the NAACP were considered as “Lucifer and Company” (until the introduction of H. “Rap” Brown and Stokely Carmichael) simply because we marched and protested against second class status and vio- lations of our human rights.
Currently, Giuliani is leading a tirade against the Black Lives Matter movement, calling its members “racists” and depicting them as “terrorists” as if those terms were “one- size fits all.”
However, when economics is mentioned and promises to “Bring back jobs” to America are made, we cringe because Donald Trump has used more than 1,100 federal guest worker visas to bring foreign workers to America to build Trump Towers in New York City and to work at his Mar-a-
Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump’s foreign worker hiring is, to hear him tell it, in sync, of course, with the majority
Republican Congress that has blocked stimulus (infrastructure funding) that would have put first responders back to work and would have hired more teachers for American public schools.
Furthermore, sources remind us that Republicans in Congress fought tooth-and-nail against raising minimum wage, equal pay for women; stopping special tax breaks for million- aire/billionaire corporations (oil industry) and for sending jobs overseas, providing student loan relief, helping the long-term unemployed and increased measures to protect our envi- ronment.
Indeed, the Republican Congress continues to tell us that the water falling on our heads is rain when by sight and smell, we know otherwise.
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PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2016