Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 10-28-16 Online Edition

Editorials/Columns
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She Deserves To Be Free
wo months ago,
Donella Harriel was one of the nearly 800 federal prisoners whose sentence was commuted by Presi- dent Barack Obama. But, instead of being home with her family, Donella is still languishing in prison be- cause of the state probation she was deemed guilty of vi- olating after being convicted in federal court 13 years ago.
Rather than accept the decade-plus time Donella has already spent behind bars as sufficient punish- ment for the violation and al- lowing her debt to society to be paid in full, the state at- torney in Martin County, Nita Denton, has issued an order that Donella remain in custody until she decides whether or not Donella owes the state more time.
In essence, she's holding
back the second chance Donella was granted by the President of the United States simply because she has the power to do so.
You would think, with the cost that comes with main- taining an already over- crowded and backlogged court system, that any rea- sonable prosecutor would be more than willing to lighten her caseload, especially when the defendant in question has already done more time on the federal government's dime than she would have re- ceived in state custody for the same charge.
Unfortunately, though, what's happening to Donella has nothing to do with justice or even common sense. It is a classic example of the level of spite many prosecutors maintain for the individuals they try in court
and, in this particular in- stance, it may also be attrib- uted to the resentment many of them have for President Obama because of the mercy he's shown to those they believe are undeserving.
Right now there's no rea- son why Donella shouldn't be spending time with her two children; the ones who she has only seen once dur- ing her entire incarceration. But, due to blatant prosecu- torial vindictiveness, that long awaited reunion will have to be put off a little while longer.
Hopefully, Ms. Denton will soon come around and realize that what she's doing to Donella is ethically and morally wrong. But, in the meantime, maybe a few phone calls to her office from concerned citizens across the state will help speed up the process of convincing her to do the right thing.
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Vote And Vote Early!
any of our readers should remember the presi-
dential elections of 2000 and the problem of “hanging chads,” the votomatic style punched card ballots where incompletely punched holes resulted in thousands of votes not being counted.
Then again in 2004, at least 36,000 newly registered voters were turned away from the polls because their names had never been added to the voter rolls, and voters were asked for two forms of identification instead of one.
Fast forward to the 2008 and 2012 elections that fea- tured long lines, which lasted well into the night, the shortening of early voting time, and an inadequate num- ber of voting machines.
Consequently, we’ve come to believe that if anything can go wrong, it will in this 2016 election. As a matter of fact, already, Facebook is laced with warnings that some voting machines are switching Hillary Clinton’s name to Trump and Trump’s name to Hillary’s.
So, we urge our voters to vote early, double-check your ballot before completing it, and make certain you receive the correct ballot. Do not leave your voting machine or ballot until you are completely satisfied the machine has registered your vote correctly.
By now, you should realize how important voting in this election will become. We owe it to our children and to our ancestors to vote in every election. This election is even more important than the ones in which George Wal- lace and President Obama ran for office. Please vote and vote early!
You Are Qualified
mpowered Greet-
ings. For those of you that are in the process of launching a business or starting a new phase in life, I want you to know that you are qualified. Life circum- stances have a way of causing you to think that you don’t have what it takes, when in all actuality, you do. It is be- cause of the hand that life has dealt you, that makes you qualified.
Everything you have gone through up until this point has prepared you for this moment in time. Don’t focus on your shortcomings, they will only blind you and leave you feeling stuck in rut. In- stead focus on your strengths, the things that you do well.
Take a sheet of paper and
list all the positives you pos- sess. List your skills and any certifications or degrees that you hold. List the things that you can do well. Review your list. They should be confi- dence boosters for you. They should let you know that you have something you can build on, to take your life up- ward and onward.
Success is at your finger- tips. Trust in the fact that you are qualified and have what it takes to not only launch your dreams but to create the future of those dreams. You are qualified to predict the successful outcomes that you want to see for your life.
Mentally prepare yourself to perform at your best and create a positive self-fulfill- ing prophesy by monitoring what you think, say and do.
Assure yourself of your self-worth through your self- talk. Value the things great and small that you are capa- ble of doing for they rein- force your qualifications to do that which you have been called to do. You have the power to perform any task set before you. So launch your business, ministry, or- ganization, career, educa- tional endeavors or whatever you desire with the confi- dence and courage that will inspire you and cause others to see you as a person to ad- mire.
Selphenia would love to speak, train or facilitate at your next event. Call her at 813-603-0088.
Stay connected to Selphenia on social media. Let her know you read her column in the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin.
Facebook: Selphenia Nichols Success Coach To Women Instagram: @Selphenia Twitter: @queenofsuc- cess1
A Wolf Knocks On The Election Door
ccording to The Washington Times, white suprema-
cist and Trump supporter Jim Morseley in a blister- ing Facebook response to the possibility that his candidate might lose the election, made the following re- marks: “Liberals will have targets on their backs, as their behaviors are pretty much evident . . . Race wars will begin as well, as your skin will be your uniform.”
Talk is cheap. But what makes this threat so credible is the fact many Democrats are more than nervous about this Neo-Nazi talk. And should we doubt them? Moreover, should we remember the words of Frederick Douglass who said years ago, “A man’s rights rest in three boxes: The ballot box, jury box, and the bullet box?”
Threatening to murder Black Americans if we fail to crawl back to the plantation (and the reality of the vio- lence that often follows such threats) is nothing new. But we recall the comment of a late Tampa sportsman who said wisely, “Whatever you tell me, I believe.” So, we will take Morseley’s statements seriously. But it would be bet- ter for him if we did otherwise.
Thanks to Mr. Morseley, we Black folks and all other folks who love Freedom and Democracy will crowd elec- tion polls with standing-room-only. And as we do, we shall post sentinels to make certain no cowards or eaves- droppers sneak in to spoil our victory.
Furthermore, we will guard our churches, schools, civic centers, businesses, and homes to make sure no wolf knocking at the door will catch us unaware. Police and deputies should take this renewed threat at its word.
But as for us Black folks, we thank Mr. Morseley for bearing his fangs and telegraph- ing his punch. And we promise, within the letter of the law, we will be ready.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A
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