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Editorials/Columns
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Hillary Headed To White House
illary Clinton is
headed to the White House and it won’t be to visit with President Barack Obama. She will be moving in as the First Lady ever to serve as president of the United States of America. That’s right the stage is all set for her.
While this article is not necessarily an endorsement, all the signs point to a Clin- ton’s victory. First of all, the lady is extremely qualified. She is articulate and highly edu- cated. She has served eight years as America’s First Lady and four years as a United States Senator from New York. She also has the experience of being the Secretary of State.
Hillary was very impres- sive in the first of six presiden- tial debates. Hillary blew away Bernie Sanders in the debate, then came all the talk about Hillary’s upcoming grilling before a mean old
House Committee. At the same time Vice President Joe Biden was also contemplating a run for the presidency. Surely Biden would create problems for Mrs. Clinton.
The day before Hillary was to appear before the House Committee, Biden an- nounced that he would not seek the presidency.
Many folks saw this as a victory for the president-in- waiting. I did not. Hillary went before the House Com- mittee the next day.
In spite of a ten-hour grilling session of nasty ques- tions, she blew away the House Committee. The blow was total in it results.
You ask what about Bernie Sanders? Oh Bernie is going to be all right. He will continue to do his job of going around the country firing up Democrats to get out and vote. Those Democrats
will vote for Hillary knowing Bernie isn’t quite presidential material. Of course, he will be offered a job in the Clinton Administration.
Joe Biden is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. The man has been around politics so long until he has become a political genius. But, if he had entered this race Hillary would have kicked his butt. If Hillary had not been in the race, Biden would have been in the race.
The race is Hillary’s for the taking. All the signs point to a victory but, there are still some big ifs to overcome: The Republican witch hunt don’t turn up any thing damaging; Hillary doesn’t do or say something stupid; and Democ- rats get out to vote.
This is especially true of Blacks; much will be required of the next president. There was so much President Obama needed, wanted and tried to do, but a do-nothing Congress would not cooperate.
President Obama was the first African American to be President. Mrs. Clinton would be the first woman to become President. Hillary appears to be headed to the White House.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
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A Trip To Trump Tower
elcome to Trump Tower in Tampa, Florida. Come
with us for the next few paragraphs as we escort you through one of the eighth or ninth architectural won- ders of the world – if not that then most certainly one of the eighth or ninth wonders of Tampa-Hillsborough County.
So, let’s begin by walking through a lobby that re- minds us of the legendary Waldorf Astoria full with mir- rors, gold-gilt, and chandeliers. The exorbitantly elegant lobby of the $225 million hotel leads us to an elevator that would’ve put the Great Gatsby to envy as we step in and are magically whisked up to the 52nd floor, where we step out, look 600 feet down, and behold to our utter amaze- ment the longest continuous sidewalk in the world, a 4.5 mile anaconda that slithers into the underbrush of the Greenway Trail, that provides scenic views of urban Tampa, and its glistening waterways.
But that isn’t all. Stacked like a honeycomb are mil- lion-dollar condominiums, high-end boutiques, business offices, meeting rooms and hotel rooms of every dimen- sion that make up the “dream-come-true” of Trump’s Downtown Tampa “If You Build It, The World Will Come.” Except “the world didn’t come ... because Trump never built it.
All bluff! Investors bailed out like rats on a sinking Ti- tanic. Is that why Donald Trump has thus far steered clear of coming to Tampa? How many millions of dollars did he shell out to make the No-Trump Tower go away?
Furthermore, what might the Trump Tower fiasco sig- nal to a future America in Trump’s hands? Ask the stock holders who lost their shirts as well as their shorts on a gold-plated Bayshore Boulevard “pig-in-a-poke,” if they’d vote for the man who left them high and dry. And if they say “yes,” please build an ark because the rain is coming.
Now They Tell Us
guess our Muslim and vegetarian friends were right after all. Pork really is
bad for us.
According to a report re-
leased Monday by the W.H.O. (World Health Organization) pork bacon, hot dogs and processed red meats all con- tain cancer causing elements that are on the same level as those found in asbestos and cigarettes. In other words, eat- ing a double bacon cheese- burger or any one of our favorite deli sandwiches is about as healthy as wrapping our lips around a car's tailpipe.
For most people, myself in- cluded, this news appears to have come a little too late. After 30, 40 or even 60 years of attending family barbecues and chowing down on McDon- alds, many of us have con- sumed enough processed meats to make an elephant's heart stop beating.
Now, with the damage al- ready done, we finally get the
memo stating that everything we've eaten up until this point should have been stamped with the same warning label found on the side of a pack of Newports. Somewhere, I can just picture that cow from those Chick-Fil-A commercials holding up a sign that reads "I Told Ya So."
This is one of those times when I really wish I would have listened to those brothers and sisters over the years who constantly attempted to warn me about the dangers of eating pork and red meat. And, as much as I hate to admit, my hard-headedness and current concern for my health, in the wake of this information, are both prime examples of what a good friend would tell me all the time. "Black people never believe anything until it comes from the lips of a white per- son."
If what they're saying is ac- curate, then whatever happens from this point, I only have
myself to blame. I made the conscious decision to continue to devour and savor the taste of flesh and now, like every other meat eater I suppose, I'll be forced to deal with the in- evitable consequences.
The thing is, even while I pray that my years of eating meat won't cause me problems down the road, I can't help but reflect back on the words of comic legend Redd Foxx. When asked if he was worried about the effects his heavy chain smoking would have on his life, Foxx said: "We all have to die of something. You'll look real stupid laying in the grave with a headstone reading 'Here lies Joe. He died of nothing.' "
So, with that being the case and understanding that they'll never stop discovering things that will eventually kill us, I say live as healthy as you can to extend your life. But leave yourself a little wiggle room so that you can, at least, enjoy the ride.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityon- ice@yahoo.com.
Diabetes Epidemic In Black Community
he nation’s attention will be focused on the issues
surrounding diabetes and the millions of Ameri- cans, nearly 117 million, who are impacted by the disease. Of course, diabetes is among the seven deadly diseases that strike Black Americans harder and more often than they do white Americans. Therefore, we commit to rais- ing awareness of the disease among Blacks in our com- munity.
No doubt, each of our readers either knows someone who is diabetic, who is undergoing kidney dialysis, or who has had a lower-limb amputation as a result of dia- betes. While we all have the same physiology, some doc- tors believe there are unique issues that affect Blacks with diabetes. Consider the following facts about Blacks who have the disease. Blacks are two times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes; they experience kidney failure, end-stage renal disease four times more often, and die at a rate 27 percent higher than whites.
Moreover, Blacks are more likely to develop diabetic
complications and experience greater disability from eye disease (retinopathy), kidney failure and lower-extremity amputations. Since more than 10 percent of Blacks (4.4 mil- lion) have diabetes, and the rate has tripled over the past 30 years, increased awareness and a change in lifestyles among Blacks is critical for improved health of the Black com- munity.
At least, we can control one of the key causes of diabetes: obesity, by diet and exercises. In fact, obesity is a factor in nearly all of the seven diseases that hit Blacks the hardest, and could very well eliminate the disparity among Blacks in at least five of them. So, let’s toast to healthy eating and more exercise for us all.
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