Dec. 15, 2019

Black Folks Should Zip Lips About Impeaching No. 45
By A. Peter Bailey

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In the late 1960s six young Black dudes, including myself, had a life-changing opportunity to meet with and learn from a brilliant African professor who expanded our knowledge in the field of propaganda analysis. He told us that every movie, television and radio program, book, song, newspaper or magazine article, no matter how innocent it appeared to be, had a message. He would take us to movies, especially those in which Black folks were included. We then analyzed them when getting together at our monthly meetings.

One of his teaching tools was a book, The Political World of American Zionism. Knowing that anti-Semitism is a force below the surface in this country, the author told American Jews that they were times when it was strategically important to let a Christian be the most visible public advocate for Israel in the U.S. Congress. Thus, for many years, Israel’s most ardent public advocate was Senator Henry Jackson of Washington State, not Jewish Senators Jacob Javits of New York and Abe Ribicoff of Connecticut.

The current ongoing goal of the Democratic party to impeach Number 45 (aka Donald J. Trump) reminds me of the wise advice given to the Jewish community in the aforementioned book. I am proposing that Black politicians, civil rights leaders, broadcast and print correspondents and commentators cease insisting that Number 45 should be impeached. Every time one of them does such, Number 45 and his Trumpettes document it for future campaign use.

Throughout suburban, small city, small town and rural America, they won’t show a pro-impeachment White person. All they will show in their political commercials and ads are Black folks demanding that Number 45 be impeached. The response of Whites in those places will be “Those N-words are trying to get rid of your president. Who do they think they are?”

It’s time for us Black folks to realize that the often patronizing Whites we deal with in urban areas such as Washington, DC, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, even Atlanta; etc. are not, by any means, the majority of Whites in this country. Number 45 is very much aware of this. That’s why he rarely campaigns in such places. He sticks to places where he knows ads and commercials featuring Black folks calling for his impeachment is a significant political plus for him. We have to be equally smart in the political arena. That is if getting Number 45 out of the White House is really as important as Black politicians, civil rights leaders, journalists, etc. consistently insist.

Perhaps the best course of action should have been for Black people who had any dirt on Number 45 - and there is plenty - to have given it quietly to Nancy Pelosi.

Dec. 1, 2019

Jesse Jackson Calls Patrick, Bloomberg Entries to Democratic Race ‘Unfair’
’84 and ’88 primary candidate has advised many in current race

By Hazel Trice Edney

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg

Former Massachusettes Governor Deval Patrick

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., who stunned America when he became the first viable Black candidate for president in 1984 and 1988, says he has been ‘highly impressed’ with the initial Democratic field of candidates. But Jackson says he believes the last minute candidacies of former Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick, and former New York city mayor, Mike Bloomberg, are unfair.

“I think [Patrick] and Bloomberg coming in at the halfway point, running for the finish line, seems to be unfair. I worked through the rains of the wintertime, through the spring, running to the end,” he recalls.

Despite his disagreement with Patrick’s entry, he said of the former governor, “He is very talented, very able, I like him very much; I respect him very much.”

Patrick has said he had planned to enter the race from the beginning, but his wife was being treated for uterine cancer. Now that she is cancer free, he said he saw the opportunity to move ahead as planned to fill what he believes to be "voids" in the messages. Bloomberg, a billionaire, who implies he is the one who can beat President Trump, has already bought at least $37 million in television ads in an attempt to catch up. Both Patrick and Bloomberg have entered the race with only three months before the first votes are casted in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, Feb. 3^rd.

In his own 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns, Jackson won a combination of 16 state primaries and caucuses, including in the states of South Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama. The 3.2 million votes he won in ‘84 and the 6.9 million he received in ’88, gave him the reputation as the first viable African-American candidate for president. Jackson's national political successes have been credited for paving the way for other Black candidates namely former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, America's first elected Black governor, and President Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president.

Apparently because of his winning strategies, as of mid-November, Jackson had spoken to 10 of the 17 Democratic candidates still vying for the nomination. According to sources close to Jackson, he has advised the campaigns of former Vice President Biden; Sen. Kamala Harris; Sen. Elizabeth Warren; Sen. Bernie Sanders; Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Sen. Cory Booker; Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Sec. Julián Castro; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and businessman Tom Steyer. Jackson said he has not spoken to the Bloomberg; nor Patrick campaigns.

Others still bidding for the Democratic nomination are former tech executive Andrew Yang; lecturer and author Marianne Williamson, former Maryland congressman, John Delaney; Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet; and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock.

The only announced Republican candidates against Trump are former Massachusetts governor and former federal prosecutor William F. Weld; and radio talk show host and former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh.

Jackson says he has been focused more on voting rights and “economic exploitation schemes”, such as redlining, than on the campaigns.

However, he contemplated why the only two African-Americans in the race, Sens. Harris and Booker, are trailing behind White candidates such as Biden, Warren and Sanders.

“The novelty of the Black or Female that are running has worn off,” he speculated. “When I ran in ‘84 and ‘88 it was an anomaly. When Barack ran in 2008 it was a novelty. Now it seems that some of that has worn off. But they should not give up,” he said.

He concluded, “People want to defeat trump at all costs. I think that’s what it is.”

Dec. 8, 2019

Beware of a “Toxic” Christmas
By Glenn Ellis

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Finding great holiday gifts for your children should be fun. Yet there are toxic chemicals in children's toys that simply shouldn't be on anyone’s list.

However, if you’re like most people, there are lots of children in your life that you would like to get something for as a gift. Of course, as there are typically so many of them, you have to be careful not to “break the bank”. That means you’re bound to looking for affordable options for some cute toys and gifts.

And, like most people, you’re bound to make a few runs to the “dollar stores”.

Afterall, they certainly got the right price range, and there always some novel little trinkets to buy. But what you probably aren’t counting on is that the very gift you give to a child could be dangerously toxic and/or poisonous. Many communities served by dollar stores are predominantly communities of color or low-income communities that are already disproportionately exposed to chemical hazards and health effects linked to chemical exposures.

We already know that many chronic diseases and health conditions are linked to chemical exposures, and are potentially deadly, especially for children. These links have been established for everything from ADHD; to brain cancer; to asthma; and to birth defects, just to name a few. In all diseases and conditions, black and brown communities in this country are hit the hardest; upwards of 2-3 times more likely to be struck by one of these problems. This means that they are more likely to die or suffer serious ill-effects if they do become ill after continuous exposure to these chemicals.

Think about how much of our family’s lives are filled with all the stuff you usually buy at a ‘dollar store”- all to save a few bucks: dolls, kid backpacks, pencil cases, toy cars, kids jewelry, rug pads, household cleansers; fragrances; soaps; and dozens of other household items. Young children are at a high risk as they often put these “gifts” into their mouths. Other toxins can come in contact with your skin or respiratory system, exposing you to danger.

Specifically, this time of year, we, especially, have to think about the children. Toys sold in the US are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which enforces federal standards for children’s products. Generally, there are laws that regulate all products with sharp points or edges, parts small enough for a child to swallow, and lead in paint, according to Consumer Reports. Unfortunately, this does not mean that the government tests toys for safety before they go on the market.

I know you’re thinking that we have agencies, whose responsibility it is to see to it that as consumers, we are protected from being harmed by products we purchase. Sorry to disappoint…

Of all of the stuff we are exposed to in the products we buy, only about 200 chemicals out of 80,000 registered for commercial use have been fully screened for health and safety, and of these, only 5 have ever been banned!

Researchers found a full 81 percent of the products tested from “dollar stores” contained at least one hazardous chemical of concern. Nearly half (49 percent) of the products at these stores contained two or more toxic chemicals.

This information should make you think, not just about those holiday gifts, but also about the decorations, tinsel, Christmas lights; candles; ornaments; cooking utensils; just about everything.

Chemicals detected included phthalates; polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl); and toxic metals such as lead and chromium, bromine, and antimony. What they are, and how they harm your health? The “old folks” use to say, that if it’s a word your Grandmama couldn’t pronounce, or didn’t eat, neither should you. Have you ever wondered why the whole store smells like cheap plastic as soon as you walk in?

One of the biggest culprits is a more common, but no least harmful substance - lead: it is illegal for the paint on toys, and other products, to contain more than 0.06 percent concentration lead, and with good reason. When ingested in the human body, lead can cause nerve damage, learning and behavioral problems, reproductive damage, and irreversible brain damage. It can also increase the risk of cancer. The CDC warns that “no safe blood level in children has been identified.” With recent revelations of the extensive lead contamination in our children’s schools and in some municipal water systems, wouldn’t it make sense to protect our children in ways that we have direct control over?

Also keep in mind that regardless of what is legal, and allowed, in the United States, toys made in China or other developing countries carry a higher risk of containing chemicals that are illegal than toys made in the US, Canada, or the European Union (EU), because dangerous chemicals are less well-regulated in these countries.

Make sure that the gift you give to a young child for the holidays brings them joy, without the “side effects”!

Remember, I’m not a doctor. I just sound like one. Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!

The information included in this column is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Glenn Ellis, is Research Bioethics Fellow at Harvard Medical School and author of Which Doctor?, and Information is the Best Medicine. Ellis is an active media contributor on Health Equity and Medical Ethics. For more good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com