takeastand's Blog

Mandating NINE sick days to all employees may sound good, but it is actually absurd.. People love getting something for nothing. This something won’t be for nothing though; it will cost the city jobs.  It may cost some workers vacation days or paid holidays. I understand the sentiment; however you have to allow businesses to make decisions that work best for them. Companies that can afford to offer sick time already do so for the most part. If you want to attract the best talent, you have to offer good pay and benefits.  This mandate, should the voters pass it, will have very negative consequences on this city. It will most harm those that it is suppose to help. And NINE days is just plain excessive!! NINE days?!??! I mean, why stop at NINE?  Make it an even TEN. Better yet, go for FIFTEEN!!! Should this pass it will be abused by the irresponsible workers for sure.

I know what it’s like to work a job in which if you call in sick, you don’t get paid. But my desire was not to have government make my employer give me sick days; my desire was to improve my skills so I could get a job with those kinds of benefits. There are some entry level positions that employers can not afford to give someone NINE sick days This may come as a surprise to some, but not all businesses have deep pockets and there is a breaking point in which some will say forget it we are out of here.  Benefits should be earned and not handed to workers from the government or misguided or misinformed people. This upcoming referendum can not and should not pass. We have a city in some what of a decline. How low do we want to go? Citizens of Milwaukee, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

Peace

I would like to say how sadden I was at hearing about the death of Tony Snow.  I became a fan of his when he did the Sunday morning show. I became a bigger fan when he became White House Press Secretary.  He just came across as a genuinely nice guy. After his death, it was confirmed by his former co-workers and associates in some of the tributes, he was just that, one of the good guys. I was almost moved to tears watching the footage of his departure on his last day at the White House. Lots of people were lined out and just applauding him as he left………. it was a sight to see. He looked smaller, he had lost some of his hair, but he was smiling from ear to ear. And the people were just cheering. It was awesome!! I am sure he was a good man to know; a man of faith, character and integrity; a family man gone too soon.  He will be missed. Rest in peace Tony. My prayers are with his family.

First, I want to say congratulations to all those Milwaukee property owners who went to the MPS Administration Building to voice their opinion to the proposed 16% tax hike.  It is time we all stood up to the relentless tax hikes all over.

But after all of those people looked the board in their faces and said we can’t afford this 16% hike, they had mercy and only hiked the taxes up 9%.  Give me a break!!! I wonder if they never really wanted the 16% but started with that so when we got the 9 or 13%, we’d be thinking, what a deal. HA!!!  All of the excuses of why they had to do it are all a bunch of BLEEP. There has to be things in the budget that can be cut without impacting education. You can start with the advertising budget. Who ever heard of public school districts advertising? And what parent watches a MPS commercial and says, gee, I think I’ll send my kid there. NONE!!! Okay, maybe 2 or 3. WE NEED RESULTS!!! What are we going to get for the extra money? Will graduation rates go up or reading levels increase? No, we will have the same pathetic results we have been getting. The extra money will not make a difference.  The tax hike is only going to fuel the bloated bureaucracy.

It is time we look we look deep into our budgets and cut. It is always easy to raise taxes. I am very disappointed with the board for basically flipping off the citizens. I called my representative twice and he ignored me and did not return my calls.

 Wouldn’t it be nice if when we got into a personal bind, we could get 16% pay raises from our employers?  And how long would a car maker stay in business if 4 out of every 10 cars were never finished?  How many businesses hire more people if their sales are declining? If 40% of the Big Macs were served unfinished, would you pay more for one?  MPS does not graduate 40% of its students. This is unacceptable.

We are being hit at all ends; state, city, schools, MATC, enough is enough!!! More money into MPS is not going to do a thing for student achievement. You are forcing the very people who are trying to make this a great place to live again out of the city and state. 

My fellow citizens, we must hold these people accountable. They must be removed from office. I have an even more radical idea, let’s stage a tax revolt. I know how much the tax deduction means to everyone. But let this be the year we do not pay by Dec. 31.  I would even go so far as to say let’s not pay at all.  What are they going to do, take every ones home? Even if we just held out and paid after Dec 31 and paid in installments instead of in full. We have to do something to get their attention. Obviously looking them in the face and saying, I will lose my house if you raise taxes does not work.

I know we should be happy with “only” a 9% hike or 13% depending on how you look at it. But this is compounding and if they try to make up next year for “shortages” in this years budget, it is going to get worst.  It has to stop. Politicians seem to be hooked on raising taxes. It is not their money and they are not entitled to it. Perhaps too, MPS could take a few less trips.  Something has to give. Or else we will become that city that use to be nice; a place live with no middle class. To every elected official who will listen, read my blog, NO MORE TAX HIKES!!!

Peace

Takeastand

We have new issues today that we must address now!!! In the city of Milwaukee, there is a murderer on the loose responsible for the death of a beautiful 4 year old little girl. Will Al and Jessie come here to find justice for her? Only if the reporters and TV crews are here first. Did they even call the mother of the young 13 year old girl killed last year right before the start of the school year?  The frequency in which we are killing each other is probably greater then the days when we were being killed by the Klan. Pick any major city; the problems in the black community are out of control. We are loosing children and young people to senseless violence, we still have way too many out of wedlock babies, there’s an absence of fathers in the home, our kids are not graduating from high school and drugs are ravaging our neighborhoods.  I keep asking myself, what happens after the Jena 6?  Will Al and Jessie go back to their respective homes, reload their mouths with more bumper sticker slogans and wait for the next big thing where there are racial tensions and TV cameras?

The thing I love about the Civil Rights Movement is that it stood for change. There was something wrong that needed to be right. And you had people who were willing to sacrifice for change, even if they did not live to see it. Well, we are faced with new problems now.  In our city, in Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami, Baltimore, Washington DC, LA, etc., we are faced with a devastating level of violence. That alone is enough of a cause for us to focus 110% attention on. Would we be so silent if the deaths in the black community were at the hands of white people??!!!  

The report today about MPS and their “incentives” to get kids to come to school today to be counted should be protested loudly. I mean, okay, the numbers are up, they get better funding, but what about Monday and Tuesday of next week and so on? Do they care about the kids or the cash? Completely outrageous!!!

Let’s stand up for Fathers and against sperm donors.  Let’s stand up against violence.  Let’s stand against children having children. Let’s stand against drug infested neighborhoods. Let’s stand up and demand our kids’ value education. Let’s stand and demand our kids’ value hard work. These are the things that will transform our city and others. No matter what the outcome in Jena, if our day to day problems continue, we are in a heap of trouble. We don’t have to ignore the obvious bouts of injustice, but we can not keep ignoring the things we are doing to each other every day.

This ain’t your mothers Civil Rights Movement and this ain’t 1964!!!

Peace

takeastand

please turn out the lights!!!

I don’t mean to sound the alarm, but we have a serious crisis in the city of Milwaukee. Last night, six people were shot in four separate shootings. And I know from living in Metcalf Park for five years, all of the shootings don’t make the news. If they did, my block at that time I lived there would have been on the news everyday. Really, EVERYDAY!!!

It is time for black leaders, speak out and come up with a plan to deal with the criminal element that is terrorizing much of the inner city. Right now David Clark is the only one I hear on a regular basis that actually speaks with passion on this issue.

People are suffering needlessly. The silence of black leadership is doing way more harm than good. We have to get the attention of those young people who will listen. We need a tough plan to deal with those who won’t!!! If you are a thug, you will go to jail. It is time to stop coddling the thugs with silence. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I think this is a lot softer than the sound of gun fire. Our neighborhoods are really going down and it can be stopped. But, this will only happen if we act now. We need a plan and we need it now!!! If not, refer to my opening statement!!!

Peace

takeastand

Great Ted's Take!!! 

You are so right Ted, it is time for the good people of Milwaukee to come together and have some constructive conversations about each other and change in this city. I am guilty of getting caught up in the hype of the Imus thing, McGee and his constant barrage of hateful speech. But there are good people of all colors here who desire to live in peace. I say it is time to come together, get to know each other. I am sure we will find we will have more in common than we think. There will be things about each other we will really embrace. And there will be things where we might say, you can have that. But the bottom line is if we don't talk, we won't know.  So let's have some meaningful talks, here and elsewhere about us and what WE can do to make this a better community. I think there are more of us who believe in the power of love than those who are filled with hate.

Peace

takeastand

Not wanting to keep fanning the flames of the Imus controversy, but this post had to wait a little while. You see, after Don Imus was fire for his remarks, Al Sharpton told Sean Hannity on Fox News that the gangster rap industry was next on his list to go after for improper speech. Well, I watched the news daily and I have yet to see him with a picket sign outside the studios of BET, MTV or VHI. I have not seen him protesting outside the record companies that produce far worst than what Imus said. What about the companies that advertise on the cable music stations that run the videos with the degrading lyrics and portrays women as mindless sex objects? Has anyone seen Sharton out there with his bullhorn?

If Sharpton and also his buddy Jackson, unofficial spokespersons for the black community, do not picket and protest with the same intensity they did with Imus, they are hypocrites. The gangster rap industry fills the airways with the N word, the H word and the B word everyday. It is an industry that tells our young men to act like thugs and hustlers, dope smokers and dope dealers. It tells them it is ok to be a pimp. It makes prison life seem not so bad. Being shot or shooting someone is cool according to this awful music. What is heard on these records is being played out in cities all across the country. Gangster rap has a far greater negative impact than anything Don Imus said or will ever say!!!!

What Imus said was wrong and he deserved to be punished. As far as him being fired for it is debatable. He apologized and to not accept his apology when the women who were the target of his verbal assault did, I think is a joke. He deserved a second chance. I am not a Imus fan, just a fan of giving someone another chance when they admit they have made a mistake. After all, who has not messed up here or there?

When it comes to REALLY changing the black community, we can ill afford to be so selective with our outrage. We are at a critical point. It is time for Sharpton and those like him, to put up or shut up!!

Peace

You know, I don't even know where to begin. But I am amazed at the folks at MPS doing things the same way and expecting different results. The boards resent change of heart on the issue of using PLASTIC cuffs baffles me. What are these people thinking? They are not!!! They caved in to political pressure and maybe even a threat from and elected official.

With all of violence taking place in MPS schools at this time, we can not use PLASTIC cuffs to subdue UNRULEY students!!!! Are they waiting for some one to be seriously injured or killed? All of the people worried about the cuffs making kids feel like criminals should be more concerned with the kids actually acting like criminals. I mean, I am sure kids will not be cuffed for talking in class or chewing gum.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If Lena Taylor and the folks at the NAACP do not want this policy, they should come up with some viable suggestions!!! The safety of our children has to be a top priority so that the environment fosters learning. Also, someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I thought I heard Ms Taylor threaten MPS by stating she would not be inclined to vote on funding packages for the school district if they voted for this policy. Is that even right?!?!?! I think not!!!

I just don't get it. Kids die and there's silence. Guns and drugs found at the schools and there is silence. Drop out rate is one of the highest in the nation for black children nothing but silence. Teen pregnancy is off the charts and there’s silence. Our kids are leaving school and they can not read and nothing but SILENCE!!!! But try and take a tough stance on the thugs in our public schools and theses so called leaders come from everywhere to stand in opposition. It is just insane!!!

We must do something. The time is now. If we don't do something now, it won't be plastic cuffs, but the real ones our kids will be in.

Peace

This is just a question for anyone who may have insight. We have a sexual offender registry to protect our community from perverted individuals released from prison We know when they are released and we know where they are going to live. This helps play a role in a neighborhood rejecting their presence or it will help them keep an eye on him or her. 

However, seeing all of the violence taking place in our city, I have pondered, the idea of a violent offender registry. Most of the crimes that are being commited are not being done by first ime offenders. We look at people who live in our neighborhoods and they may act like a thug, dress like a thug and talk like a thug. But I guess, according to the PC police to assume he or she is a thug would be wrong. Wouldn't be nice if the state took away the guess work and informed the community that a violent offender is being released so that we can keep the eyes of the community on him or her. When they move, the neighbors would know there is a violent felon moving in.  By the reaction we have to sex offenders,  if we muster up a fraction of that energy for violent offenders, maybe things would change. Maybe, not for sure just maybe. Imagine neighbors being informed that the guy renting the house down the street is a paroled armed robber.

This may seem far fetched, but it is worth it to see if it is legal and can be done in a cost effective way.

We must find ways to keep our city safe.

Peace

takeastand

Why do we continue to protest and file complaints over things that in the big picture, really don't mean a hill of beans?!?!  Reading on JSonlie today I see a coalition of groups are filing complaints against Mayfair Mall. (See story: Coalition backs complaints against Mayfair) The complaints go back as far as eight months, but is said to include the new policy at the popular mall.  Where were these groups when all of the incidents were taking place. Is it not even more important that they let young people know and understand that good behavior and good character are very important. To impress upon them that fighting is unaccecptable. Beating up people on the bus is not right. Loud and rowdy is not the way to go. Why are they not teaching the kids right from wrong. It is so frustrating for all of the reaction to Mayfairs legitimate stance  and no group is being proactive addressing  the character issue in some of our young people.  If we do not stress the importance of good behavior, then all we are doing is endorsing their bad behavior.  I have witnessed good kids and bad ones at Mayfair and I have never seen security harrassing good kids. Not to say it does not happen, but how much truth are these coalitions getting prior to them launching these complaints.

If we are to advance as a people (as in the title NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) then we really need to look at the stuff that is truely ailing us. Where are these groups when a young person dies needlessly in our streets?  We have had four murders in broad daylight  so far and we have not  yet hit summer. I did not hear a word from any these groups   Where are they when the reports of fighting and bad bahavior comes from our schools? Where are they when the report cards on MPS comes out. Have they noticed our graduation rates? Where are they when our neighborhoods are being over taken by cruisers. Where are they on the issue of  teen pregnacy and gangster lifestyles? Why do we only get all upset when they perceive that something is being done to us by "the man"?

It is time we face the self inflicted problems that are challenging us. It is time we look our young people in the eyes and let them know the rewards and concequences good and bad behavior respectively. It is time we tell them to put the guns down and pull the pants up.  It is time we tell them to hit the books and to not have babies before they get married. It is time we tell them that selling drugs is not a good alternative to employment. It is time we tell them to avoid all types of illigal activity. It is time we tell them to get a job, not a hustle. It is time we tell them they are not victims, but they can be victorious over any situation. It is time we tell them what leads to prosperity and what keeps them bound in poverty.  It is really not that hard. Look them in the eyes and tell them!!!!  For the sake or our community we have to do it. Maybe if we did it, it will become a nation wide epidemic. Leaders and groups all over the country will tell young people the same thing. And you know what, you do not need a government grant for this. You just need people who will tell the truth.  The truth without compromise.  Know the the truth and it will make you free.

Peace

takeastand

It is sad to see Mayfair having to take such a stance. I am sure this was not an easy thing. It also has to be a very costly one. Having said that, I agree with the new policy 100% percent. As business owners and managers, they have every right to protect their investment. Mayfair Mall is a busness,  not a community center. A person of any age does not have a right to be there. If you want to shop or hang out there, you must behave. It is just that simple. If things continued to go the way they were going, Mayfair would be well on it's way to becoming the next Northridge or Capital Court. After Millions of dollars spent to renovate the mall, why should they allow the rift raff to destroy it. 

A question I have now is, all of the people protesting the new policy, where were they with each incident. Everything that happend that screamed for community envolvement, there was silence. Now that the policy has been instituted, there are protests. This is a very predictable patteren. And I am confused, wouldn't a protest by "Campaign Against Violence" been more appropriate after one of the many fights or when the man was arrested for posession of a gun?!?!?!  People, let's stand up against bad behavior, not the business protecting itself from it.

Just food for thought.

Peace.

takeastand