Starting Point: NightTalk – Get to the Point (February 21, 2014)

“Black History Month 2014…has us asking the question – where do we go from here? Any way we slice it, we must now ask ourselves as a community, as a city, and as a nation: Is this Black History Month a time for reflection or revolution? Is this a moment for courage for a better future, or simply a month for celebration of the past? African-American issues are obstacles for all of America to overcome together.” (Photo courtesy of Brian Cook / Golden Sky Media)

PITTSBURGH (February 21, 2014) –(As presented on the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel)

Our Starting Point tonight places us right in the middle of Black History Month 2014 and has us asking the question – where do we go from here?

It was a question proposed each year at the State of the Black Union, an event I participated in during their 10th annual summit out in California a few years ago.

The State of Black Pittsburgh is pondered regularly by groups such as the Allegheny Conference as well as the local chapters of the Urban League and the NAACP.

Many smart people often ask that question, but a quick look around already seems to give us the answers we’re looking for. And those answers aren’t so good right now.

Despite historic gains in civil rights, political representation, and spending power over the past 50 years, Black America still maintains a double unemployment rate compared to Whites and now even has an unemployment rate that is 33% more than Latino-Americans today.

Contrasting studies debate whether there are actually more Black men in prison than in college. The debate highlights the 800,000 Black men in prisons nationally and the current disconnect between young Black men and successful academic opportunities.

We can talk about the breakdown of the Black family, the unequal treatment of African-Americans in the court system, or the disparities in healthcare and life expectancy from infant mortality rates to food deserts and chronic diseases.

Any way we slice it, we must now ask ourselves as a community, as a city, and as a nation:

is this Black History Month a time for reflection or revolution?

is this a moment for courage for a better future, or simply a month for celebration of the past?

do we merely discuss the issues or do we activate solutions?

If nothing else, perhaps we’re learning this Black History Month and we’ll learn from our guests tonight that African-American issues are obstacles for all of America to overcome together.

The future success of Black Pittsburghers is vital for world-class prosperity throughout the Pittsburgh region.

Perhaps a revolution of thoughts and deeds will lead to reversing the downward trends hitting many struggling communities – and bring about a true resurgence for the region we call home – starting now in February 2014. 
That’s our Starting Point. Make your point by emailing us at NightTalkGTTP@wpxi.com or Tweeting us at @NightTalkGTTPLM. 

Starting Point: NightTalk – Get to the Point (February 14, 2014)

“What is Disappointment Friday? Well during the Great Recession , Disappointment Friday has been that first Friday of the month when the jobs reports come out from the Bureau of Labor Statistics…for the 75,000 jobs added in December and the 113,000 jobs added last month, we find hundreds of thousands of Americans dropping out of the work force…” (Photo courtesy of Brian Cook / Golden Sky Media)

 

PITTSBURGH (February 14, 2014) – (As presented on the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel)

Our Starting Point tonight focuses on the economy one week after experiencing what I have deemed “Disappointment Friday”

What is Disappointment Friday? Well during the Great Recession , Disappointment Friday has been that first Friday of the month when the jobs reports come out from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just when able-bodied Americans across the nation are hoping that the new month will bring them better economic futures, we find out that job creation is slow, work force participation is low, and hopes and dreams seem to be slipping away.

Yet, there are some that will tell you that the unemployment rate is actually going down and has been for several months now. They will also say that over 3 years of continuous job growth is nothing to sneeze at. They point to Wall Street gains and record profits by many corporations since 2008.

Yet, for the 75,000 jobs added in December and the 113,000 jobs added last month, we find 100s of thousands of Americans dropping out of the work force.

So either we’re headed in the right direction and turning the tide in America or we’re simply not.

75,000 added jobs would be sufficient – for Pennsylvania alone – but it doesn’t seem to be enough for our hurting economy nationally.

If this is a recovery – 113,000 jobs to start off 2014, I don’t want to see what happens if we slip into another recession.

That’s our Starting Point. Make your point by tweeting us at @NightTalkGTTPLM.

“The Pursuit of Happiness in the Shadow of Stand Your Ground and 21st Century Second Amendment Rights”

During the Zimmerman trial, the talk on one side of the issue was all about the 2nd Amendment, self-defense, and guarantees to one’s liberty and the “pursuit of happiness” highlighted in the founding documents of the United States of America…What about the “pursuit of happiness” for these victims, particularly victims that happen to be Black, young, male, and wrongfully stereotyped?

NEW YORK CITY/ PITTSBURGH (February 14, 2014) – (Courtesy Global Grind)

“The God-given right to pursue happiness as extolled in the Declaration of Independence and protected in codification via the United States Constitution in its present form should not and must not be shifted around in a shell-game manner only to be enjoyed by pre-selected winners and losers in America…the adherent support of constitutional rights and personal liberties for some Americans never seems to reverberate in tone or deed to the communities of citizens in most need of basic civil rights protections. Lost in the newly-vamped definitions of social justice and racial perspective is the notion of innocent until proven guilty while Black…When White men can assault and kill Black young men with the benefit of the doubt while Black men are presumed dangerous and guilty upon first contact, there is no longer a pursuit of true happiness, balance, or civic justice nationally. The foundation of equality and constitutional ethics becomes nothing but a slab of faulty lies and poetic hubris.”

 

Read “The Pursuit of Happiness in the Shadow of Stand Your Ground and 21st Century Second Amendment Rights” from Lenny McAllister on Global Grind by clicking HERE or clicking the picture above.

“Valentine’s Day 2014: Fathers, Fall in Love With Our Children Again”

“We must also fight for the sanctity of Black parenthood in the face of the “ghettoization” of Black adulthood and the degradation of Black womanhood. Black fathers can dually address, attack, and re-calibrate these realities with a stabilization of the Black family internally and the image of the Black household externally.”

WASHINGTON, DC / PITTSBURGH (February 14, 2014) – (Courtesy The Burton Wire)

“…Black fathers should make Valentine’s Day this year about our kids and graduating more from absenteeism to fatherhood to dadhood…I’m pretty sure that our wives will understand.

“Not that fatherhood should be a once-a-year phenomenon akin to how folks find love for Mom on the second Sunday in May or many Christians find religion – and church – on the 25th of December and Easter Sunday in the spring. However, with the continued build-up of odds against Black children in modern-day America – from the double unemployment rates (confirmed again in this past Friday’s jobs report), horrifying incarceration rates, and mortality rates – the best thing that we can do for our children this February 14 is fall in love with our children all over again in a stronger, fuller way. Perhaps this is the beginning of elevating more of our brothers from boyhood to fatherhood?

 

“Granted, there are plenty of Black fathers that already love their children – deeply. I’m the same way…I have loved being a dad since the moment I found out that I was becoming a father at 21-years-old…slept with the sonogram picture…underneath my pillow every night…raised my older two children as a divorcee and primary caregiver while I was finishing up…at Davidson College… became a dad two more times just over the past few years….I enjoy being a father and a husband daily. I always have and I always will enjoy fatherhood with a zeal that only the love of parenthood and the crystallization of modern society can foster.”

Read “Valentine’s Day 2014: Fathers, Fall in Love With Our Children Again” from Lenny McAllister on The Burton Wire while clicking HERE by clicking the picture above.

WATCH: Batra, McAllister Talk Latest on Obamacare on Sun News Network

CLICK PICTURE FOR VIDEO: Finally some good news on Obamacare? Join Adrienne Batra and Lenny McAllister as they discuss the latest on Obamacare on Canada’s Sun News Network

TORONTO / PITTSBURGH (February 13, 2014) – (Courtesy Sun News Network)

Finally some good news on Obamacare? Republican insider Lenny McAllister joins Adrienne Batra to discuss some long-awaited good news about Obamacare.

Catch this version of “Straight Talk” on Sun News Network by clicking the hyperlink or the picture above.

Catch more of Lenny’s video appearances HERE

 

 

LISTEN: Get Right with Lenny McAllister (February 13, 2014)

CLICK PICTURE FOR PODCAST: Was this the right move by Republicans to allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling without a fight?

WWW.LENNYMCALLISTER.COM (February 13, 2014) – PODCAST TOPIC:Was this the right move by Republicans to allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling without a fight?

Former WVON radio host, former congressional candidate, and nationally-respected political activist Lenny McAllister hosts today’s podcast of “Get Right with Lenny McAllister”.

 

Catch this version of Get Right with Lenny McAllisterby clicking the hyperlink or the picture above. 

 

LISTEN: Get Right with Lenny McAllister (February 12, 2014)

CLICK PICTURE FOR PODCAST: Are we facing yet another Zimmerman verdict and another round of societal excuses and woes like we did in 2012-2013?

WWW.LENNYMCALLISTER.COM (February 12, 2014) – PODCAST TOPIC:The Michael Dunn and another explosive moment for race relations in America.

Former WVON radio host, former congressional candidate, and nationally-respected political activist Lenny McAllister hosts today’s podcast of “Get Right with Lenny McAllister”.

 

Catch this version of Get Right with Lenny McAllisterby clicking the hyperlink or the picture above. 

 

LISTEN: Get Right with Lenny McAllister (February 11, 2014)

CLICK PICTURE FOR PODCAST: Yet another sign of failure from the self-repeal of Obamacare…

WWW.LENNYMCALLISTER.COM (February 11, 2014) – PODCAST TOPIC:What’s the deal with another incident of Obamacare self-repeal?

Former WVON radio host, former congressional candidate, and nationally-respected political activist Lenny McAllister hosts today’s podcast of “Get Right with Lenny McAllister”.

 

Catch this version of Get Right with Lenny McAllister by clicking the hyperlink or the picture above. 

 

LISTEN: Get Right with Lenny McAllister (February 10, 2014)

CLICK PICTURE FOR PODCAST:
Why Hillary Clinton is more entertainer – and distraction – than politician in 2014…and why that isn’t a good thing for our collective outlook in 2014.

WWW.LENNYMCALLISTER.COM (February 10, 2014) – PODCAST TOPIC:The 2014 distraction that is Hillary for President 2016 – all while the jobs outlook today continues to tank with no end in sight.

Former WVON radio host, former congressional candidate, and nationally-respected political activist Lenny McAllister hosts today’s podcast of “Get Right with Lenny McAllister”.

 

Catch this version of Get Right with Lenny McAllister by clicking the hyperlink or the picture above. 

 

LISTEN: Get Right with Lenny McAllister (February 7, 2014)

CLICK PICTURE FOR PODCAST:
“Disappointment Friday” doesn’t disappoint as it lives up to its moniker yet again with the latest jobs report.

WWW.LENNYMCALLISTER.COM (February 7, 2014) – PODCAST TOPIC:“Disappointment Friday” doesn’t disappoint – will you disappoint future generations as a result?

 

Former WVON radio host, former congressional candidate, and nationally-respected political activist Lenny McAllister hosts today’s podcast of “Get Right with Lenny McAllister”.

 

Catch this version of Get Right with Lenny McAllister by clicking the hyperlink or the picture above.