Page 5 - 3-17-15 Tuesday's Edition

Editorials
Women Of Pain And Gain
Alright, GOP, We Finally Get The Message
I n the words of an outraged bride, “If you hated me this much, why did you marry me in the first place?” No doubt, the Obama Administration has asked itself that question more than a million times as it has weath- ered the most ridiculous insults since Ringling Brothers
ran for political office.
But most recently came a light of common sense from
– of all voices – a GOP presidential candidate who, no doubt, had had enough of his comrades’ malarkey. For- mer Republican New York governor George Pataki took time to steer away from what was supposed to be an in- terview about the e-mail of Hillary Clinton, and made it a smack upside the head against the recent lunacy of 47 Republican senatorial Katzenjammer Kids who took it upon themselves to write Iran and tell its leaders to pay no mind to the Negro currently in the White House.
What Pataki told Republicans despite himself was a mouthful. He said, “Just imagine if, come 2017, there’s a Republican President and a Democratic Congress: Would Republican senators want a Democratic Senate sending a letter to a country when the President is en- gaged in negotiations?” Responded certain Republican senators, “As long as it wasn’t a Negro (or Hillary Clin- ton), we wouldn’t mind” (or so it would seem they would say).
But the truth of the matter is plain to see: The Repub- lican-run Senate and its supporters have declared all-out war (a coup d’état) on America’s Executive Branch, bend- ing all rules, doing everything, but dropping their trousers in the middle of the street in the misguided be- lief that when the smoke has cleared and President Obama has gone, political America will return to May- berry RFD.
However, there is one thing we now know. What irks Republicans most about President Obama is not his com- ments, but his color. And if they hate him this much, what does it say about us, they people they serve?
Thanks to singer John Legend and rapper Common, the world knows there are more Black men and women behind bars than are attending colleges and uni-
versities. Add to that knowledge the fact that nearly 50% of Florida’s prison population is Black. So, should we be alarmed to discover high rates of alleged abuse, corrup- tion, and crime occurring in our prison system? Frankly, we don’t think so. Indeed, the 2008 Bureau of Justice data breakdown for adults under correctional control re- veals one-in-eleven Blacks (9.2%), one-in-27 Latinos (3.7%), and one-in-45 whites (2.2%). So, the face of prison populations is predominately Black and Brown.
Sadly, one in 36 adult Americans are jailed, making America have the highest prison population in the world. In 2111, nearly 7 million Americans were incarcerated in U. S. federal and state prisons, county jails and on pro- bation or parole. Several other studies claim America’s prisons have become “filled with mostly nonviolent of- fenders, the poor, mentally ill, and people suffering from addictions and who lack the financial means or mental
capacity to post bail.”
A 2014 report by the Human Rights Watch found that
the “tough-on-crime” laws adopted in the 1980s have failed to rehabilitate prisoners and in many cases made the prisoners worse upon release than before incarcera- tion. Consequently, charges by Florida’s state prison in- spectors could just be the tip of a very cold iceberg.
These charges demand a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation and report to taxpayers who fund Florida’s prisons. If not, the world’s proudest para- dise state may soon become the world’s grizzliest.
“A woman is like a teabag, you cannot tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
NANCY REAGAN
Empowered greetings, to all my phenomenal sisters out there. You know the ones, the innovators, com- mentators, motivators, movers, shakers and history makers. I applaud you this Women’s History Month as you continue to achieve greatness despite the odds.
Your true value and worth may have been under-
If there is one thing I can say about the federal court system it’s that, when it comes to their reputation of being heartless, they defi- nitely make sure that there’s truth in advertisement. And the way they handled the case of Ms. Rashia Wilson recently is a prime example.
After Ms. Wilson, who was once infamously known as the “First Lady” of tax fraud, won her appeal on the grounds of procedural error at her sentencing, she was remanded back to district court to have the 21 years she was given lowered. But once she re-appeared before Judge James S. Moody, Jr., a man whose reputation for harshness precedes him, things didn’t go exactly how she probably planned.
Instead of adhering to the instructions passed down by the 11th circuit appellate court and re-sentencing Ms. Wilson in a more appropri- ate guideline range, Judge Moody, essentially, bucked the higher legal authority and re-imposed the same 21 years he gave Ms. Wilson the first time. After which he smugly stated for the record, “There was no mathematical error. It was my intent to give her that time.” In other words, to him, she got what she deserved.
When the news of what transpired first reached me, I couldn’t help but feel sym-
estimated, degraded and of- tentimes obliterated from the literary pages of life. In the words of Betty Wright you’ve mastered the art of being “a cook in the kitchen, a lady in the streets, a mamma to the kids and you know what in the sheets.”
You are financially savvy, politically astute, girl you’re bad to bone and did I men- tion you’re also cute. You have power in your purse and pep in your step. You know who you are and all that you can be. You’ve learned how to love without losing your identity. Your
pathy for Ms. Wilson. Knowing how hard it is to get back into court, and the mental anguish that haunts a person when their release date seems light years away, I can only imagine the level of disappointment she expe- rienced.
Being incarcerated is, by no stretch of the imagina- tion, a game. And to have someone treat it as such when you’re already in a vul- nerable situation only adds insult to injury.
I get it though. They want to make an example out of her because of how they feel she played the system. But shouldn’t two decades in prison be enough? Should she be tormented during the process as well?
Besides, they’ve been try- ing to make examples out of drug dealers and bank rob- bers for years. And, as far as I can see, that hasn’t proven to stop anyone from commit- ting those crimes either.
What happened to Ms. Wilson amounts to simple cruelty. Judge Moody knew what he was going to do the minute the order came across his desk to cor- rect his mistake. Yet, rather than send a letter to inform Ms. Wilson that he had no intentions of giving her less time, he allowed her to get her hopes up just so he could see the expression on her face when he crushed them.
presence speaks volumes and your words are in de- mand to be heard.
For all that you’ve done and will continue to do, this columnist is eternally grate- ful for you. Thank you for breaking the glass ceilings and blazing new trails. This Women’s History Month it’s you I hail.
Let’s stay connected, as women we need to draw from each other’s strength.
Visit my Facebook Busi- ness Fan Page: Selphenia Nichols, or Success Coach To Women website: http://successcoachto- women.com or check us out on either Twitter: queenofsuccess1 or on Instagram: Selphenia.
You can also call or text (813) 956-0185 with a re- quest to book Selphenia to speak, facilitate or train at your next event.
What Judge Moody did to Ms. Wilson was equiva- lent to killing her, bringing her back to life and shooting her in the face. A move so treacherous and wicked in its implementation that you have to wonder if there’s a man carrying a pitchfork be- hind the scenes calling the shots.
Regardless of how Ms. Wilson conducted her busi- ness on the street, when it comes to her punishment, she still deserves fair play. And if she received more time than what’s mandated, there’s no reason for per- sonal feelings to get in the way of what the law stipu- lates.
The good news for Ms. Wilson is that the higher court has already ruled in her favor. Now, it’s just a matter of dealing with Judge Moody’s spite until they force him to adhere to their instructions. The bot- tom line is that, sooner or later, she has something coming.
In the meantime, I think it would be wise for Ms. Wil- son to begin her transition from “Queenpin” to “Queen Of the Pen” by writing her memoir. Not only is her rags-to-riches-to- incarceration story exciting enough to be a bestseller or even a hit movie, but it has the potential to earn her mil- lions that, this time around, she’ll actually be able to keep.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: Cbreality1@yahoo.com.
Tough Luck For The First Lady
Investigate Prison Plantations And Warehouses
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5