Many times I’ve listened with attention to the views of the Mayor in the State of the City speeches, the presentations before organizations with which I am involved, at the City Club, on TV and in advertising. I've heard every one of the State of the City addresses.

On Friday he addressed the Metro Area County Commissioners in Broomfield, at the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library. In attendance at the proceedings were his Chief of Staff, a campaign aide, the Mayor's county representative, Mayor Bob Murphy of Lakewood, and many county commissioners. The primary thrust of the mayor's remarks is how he wins over approval of 90% of the people with whom he has ever worked. He said that he will never take anyone by surprise with which he disagrees the other 10% of the time because he does not believe in blindsiding his colleagues and trusted members of the community. He earnestly thinks that when a person succeeds or a public entity, like the counties surrounding Denver than everyone is better off. Throughout the hour long presentation of the Mayor he cited numerous occasions during his career when there were difficulties and he made decisions to assist and extend his efforts to collaborate with the other person or government. He mentioned water and how some people suggested that protecting the water rights of Denver was essential even if other counties did not have water. He said that this was unacceptable because we are all joined at the hip and what effects one entity impacts all others. he mentioned making amends with local officials and assisting them to create shared services such as a the fire department in Glendale. He mentioned ways in which everyone wins such as the restaurant business in which he worked together with the business community in Lodo to improve the messaging for all of the brew pubs. He said that when one bolsters the wealth of the competitors and thereby, their success that everyone succeeds.

The commissioners asked him tough questions about eminent domain, to which he suggested that coming up with fair and equitable strategies to help solve problems without stripping people of their personal property was his highest priority. He said that centralizing human services was a bad idea. He mentioned the need for people to be included in the process of decision making even though it takes longer and it is more intensive because collaborating does not work without input. He said that what he wishes to emphasize is ways to create many new small business opportunities. He spoke of the efforts to thwart frivolous amendments to the State Constitution by having people gain ten percent of the voters for signatures and making the process more stringent to get on the ballot. He talked about his opponent in the gubernatorial campaign, and how he knew that the challenger from the Constitutional Party would drop out of the race. He spoke about the need to work with all people regardless of their affiliation. He said that in his own administration the party was not important but how one worked and what a member of his staff had to offer.

In his last exchange with the commissioners they were discussing the regulations from Washington D.C. which also spoke about dispersing funds based on assessed needs. The argument was that Washington is interfering with local control. The Mayor said that in the nation's capitol that we are far from the decision making process. He said that states like Arizona get all of the revenue that is meant for Colorado. He said that under this new means of determining the rates that Colorado would make out better in retrieving its rightful amount of money for projects. He said that we do things smarter. There is a desire for more density and less sprawl.

In the end Colorado government will be lean and streamlined to merge departments. The emphasis will be made on business development and planning together with all of the major participants sharing the decision making process. Self interests will be put aside for collaborating and making the state a place in which everyone feels drawn to live and work.

In his speech before the commissioners he outlined the reason that he ran for mayor. he said that parking meter rates were going to be raised by the Webb Administration and the business owners said that this would hurt their profits and thus the revenues. The administration acted on their commitment to raise the parking meter rates and he felt that it was time to change the way that the city operated.

he mentioned being unemployed when he was laid off from his work with the oil companies and how that experience shaped his perspective of working hard and being fair. He likened the result of losing one's livelihood to being kicked in the gut. One gets the impression that the Mayor wants people to earn a living and pay revenue, to lessen the role of government, and to make certain the local level of counties and municipalities have the most say in what takes place in cooperating across the region and the state.

I am betting that the Mayor who will be Governor will succeed come November and that we will see sweeping reform not from the top but from the bottom up come January, 2011. It will take time for the new governor to implement his strategies but fiscally and strategically everyone will be a part of the plan if it is to succeed.

One hopes when this is said that poor people, with or without homes are a major part of the decision making apparatus.

ONE IDIOT STOOD UP TO BE COUNTED
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration

Some of you may recall that I pleaded with all idiots to please stand up to be counted. One did. On Thursday, June 24, 2010, one claimed his birthright when he queried, “Where is the White House?” “Where are the Senators and Congressmen?”
“Not a one of them is here!”

I’m going to attempt to paraphrase his ‘enlightened speech.’ “Last night I could not sleep thinking about this event, thinking about this building. Here we are in the Nations’ Capital and not one senator is here and only two congressmen are here. There is no one from the White House here, no cabinet members. Where are they? Where are they?”

It is with great pleasure that I tell you where the White House was, if you were referring specifically to President Barack Obama. President Obama was meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia attempting to mend some fences to eliminate the necessity for answering the red phone in the middle of the night. Thus, he was tending to the business of the
Nation. Bridging the divide, President Obama heartily endorsed the position that Russia be admitted into the WTO, the World Trade Organization, something that Russia has wanted for a long time.

Additionally, I’d like to inform you that because the Nation’s Capital has not moved to Bethesda, MD, you were not in the Nation’s Capital, my dear sir.

I listened to your remarks with mixed feelings, pleased that you answered roll call; but displeased that your cacophonous complaints spoiled the dignity that the ceremony deserved. The dedication of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD was a cause for elation and celebration. The $65,000,000.00 72,000 square foot state-of-the-art center dedicated to the diagnosis and clinical care of service members suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post traumatic stress syndrome (PTS) was built and paid for with private donations given to the military. Lacking both in class and candor, you misspoke because like most idiots, you were devoid of facts. Of course, absence of facts has never stopped the babbling of idiots.

I have to ask you were you equally concerned when Walter Reed Hospital and other veterans’ hospitals were neglected and were operating in disrepair? After an expose in the Washington Post in 2007, it came to light that a name familiar with troublesome ventures was named. The contract for maintenance was awarded to former executives with Kellog, Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Haliburton. Coincidentally, Haliburton’s name came up with some problems with overbilling and other problems with their contract in Iraq. Now with the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill, again the name Haliburton comes up. I’m beginning to wonder if there is a pattern developing. I am positive that you must have vented your fury about these disastrous events.

I am certain that you must be cognizant of the fact that to their credit both the President and Mrs. Obama have advocated for veterans and their families in order to make conditions better for them. President Obama tried to get a more substantial raise in the pay for service people; but, typically the opposition party blocked the effort. Have you ever taken the time to applaud them for that?

Now, let me tell you something about the absence of Secretary Gates who was scheduled to be there. All of us who were awake were aware of the fact that we had a general with motor mouth syndrome who had to be relieved of duty in Afghanistan. It was important that the Secretary be involved in the transition to make certain that a change in leadership would not create a lack of continuity in our efforts to carry out the mission in Afghanistan.
There is as pointy hat awaiting you. You have earned it. I have made several because daily the idiots are opening their mouths to prove to us that they have earned their stripes and their pointy hats. I’m so glad you answered roll call. You have a lot of company so don’t worry, don’t lose any sleep because you won’t be lonely or look odd for many will be wearing a pointy hat just like yours.

I’m sorry about the fact that your hat is not personalized but I could not find your name. Wear it as it is. As soon as I learn your name, I will personalize it for you.

Yesterday, and on any day there was a rally on the doorstep of El Centro Humanitario at 2250 California Street, across from the Blair-Caldwell Library of a decision with respect to a federal judge on an injunction against the onerous parts of a law passed by Arizona State Assembly, which stated that it was lawful for police to stop and search suspects who may be undocumented and on such a basis arrest them. This judge said that it is unconstitutional for a local law enforcement organization to determine to determine status of citizenship and that the federal government is the only legitimate place to determine the status and procedures of citizenship. Some parts of this new law in Arizona were not addressed in the court's decision striking down these requirements. Rights of undocumented people are hanging in the balance. The present administration has arrested and incarcerated more people than even in the previous administration.

Undocumented citizens have contributed more to the economy of America than most people realize, or care to acknowledge. One of the artists in the Biennial of the Americas did an installation on the floor of the McNichols Building that had a penny for every million dollars of contributed work of such people to this land. There were more that 3.756 pennies sitting side by side. The artist is donating the pennies to a local Latino organization at the end of the exhibition.

What overruns our imagination of this dramatic exhibition is the insignia on the penny, which states, "E pluribus Unum," Equality for all, is on the face of the penny.

The federal judge prescribed a cure for the ill of Arizona , which has set a standard for the neglect and harm of segment of our populace. Let us regard our neighbor in our image and see that all belong here.

THE COLOR OF MY HEART IS RED
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration

As a young teacher, I was assigned to a predominantly white school on the near west side of the City of Chicago. I wanted to request a transfer because I wanted to teach children of African descent. I had nothing against white children, but I knew unequivocally that they were already exposed to a much better education depending upon class and status. I also knew unequivocally, that wealthy white children of the upper class get a superior education compared to those of the lower class, especially those in the wealthier suburban communities. There are reasons for that. One of the reasons is that the elite demand quality schools and the tax base supports the demands that they make. The second reason is that the parents are very involved in their children’s education and equip them with whatever resources are required to facilitate the learning process, whether it’s tutoring or psychological support. In these homes there are the tools that enhance learning: computers, a quiet place to study, and books and supplies needed to supplement learning. In many instances the guests in the homes are the leaders in industry, finance, politics, government, the arts and literature.

On the other hand, in the inner cities where the community residents are mostly Americans of African descent, too often, the schools are overcrowded, dilapidated, poorly equipped and lacking in resources.

These are strong contrasts, but they are true. How do I know? I know because I have walked on both sides of the street. The elementary schools that I attended in the wealthier Hyde Park neighborhood where I grew up, were world-class schools with the best and the latest in equipment and texts. I attended Kenwood Elementary School from 1935-1940. I graduated in 1943 from Ray Elementary school, a few blocks away from the University of Chicago. I graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1946. Ray school was a pilot school and we were paired with the University’s education department. When William S. Gray of the Department of Education of the University came up with an innovation called the non-oral or silent approach to reading, we were the first public school to participate in the experimentation. My classmates and friends were children from wealthy homes. Their parents were in the legal and medical professions and giants of commerce: Kleins Potato Chips, Japps Potato Chips (later during WWII changed to Jays) Brandywein Mattress, Handmacher Clothiers, the granddaughter of Amos Alonzo Stagg, Judge Sabbath, Goodman Ice Cream Company and professors from the University of Chicago. Most of them had servants in the home and lived in some of the mansions in the area. Some of them had chauffeurs who drove them to school. They were the children of privilege. They had all the advantages that money could buy.
Let’s go back to the inner city school where I taught on Chicago’s south side. There were mobile units, popularly called Willis Wagons, classes were overcrowded and 2 and sometimes 3 children had to turn around in their seats to share a single text book. I then realized what happened to the text books my schools discarded at the end of each school year to be replaced by the latest copyright dates. In the inner city school, the texts were worn, often tattered, dirty and outdated. It was the tale of two cities: one rich and rewarded and the other poor, neglected and punished.

It was for this reason that I wanted to teach in the inner city schools where I could fully utilize all the skills and knowledge that I had gained at the privileged all white schools that I attended as a child. I worked diligently with the children trying to help them catch up by reaching and teaching each child according to his/her learning style. I had great success. I used the research writing book, written by Kate L. Turabian of the University of Chicago to teach research skills. I tailored the curriculum to meet the students where they were in order to bring them along to where I knew they needed to be. Today, I am in touch with many of my former students and I take pride in knowing that some have gone on to become professionals in all fields; one, after earning a doctorate became the head of the physical education department for the City of Chicago, there are educators, physicians, attorneys, ministers and just plain decent citizens; and, I am so glad that I could play a role in challenging them to excel.

This is being written because of what happened today to Shirley Sherrod, who, like me, had an epiphany and realized that people are people and when they need you, you respond, ignoring race, creed or color. Having experienced a personal tragedy, naturally, Ms. Sherrod viewed white people on the surface as those she did not want to help to the fullest extent. How many of you can honestly say, that you can love someone from a group that caused the death of your father? In spite of this, she overcame her bias; and, according to the farmer and his wife, who were the subject of her conversation, she saved their farm and they are now friends.

Like Ms. Sherrod, I had a change of heart. I loved my white students as much as I did those Americans of African descent. When I retired, my classes at the predominantly white school cried and kissed me goodbye when they found that despite their efforts I was leaving to become a full-time mother to my son. They had worked out a schedule where their mothers would volunteer to take care of my son on a rotating basis in order for me to continue teaching at their school because some had told their younger siblings to be certain to sign up for my classes.

Like Shirley Sherrod, I found a loving place in my heart. I pray that her life will serve as a lesson for us all and that she will be restored to her position which gives her an opportunity to demonstrate repeatedly that there is something stronger than ignorance; and, that is love.

All the ignorant should take a page from her book.

I love all children because the color of my heart is red!

IS THIS CONSIDERED AMERICAN JUSTICE?
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration

The case of Oscar Grant raises many questions. The first question is how could a trained police officer not know the difference between a gun and a taser? The second question is the placement of the two weapons, was the taser in a holster next to the gun or was the taser in a holster on the opposite side of the body? The next question raised is the training given in the use of a taser. Are officers trained to have each weapon in the same place or in opposite places? The next is, is there a weight difference which distinguishes the two weapons? This leads me to the next and a very important question. Also, isn’t the purpose of a taser to subdue an out of control person? Can a person be considered out of control if he is face down and motionless?

According to the video that has been shown, Mr. Grant was restrained, was on his stomach and motionless. How could an officer surrounded by several other officers feel threatened by a victim thus restrained?
This leads to a very important question. Once a trial date was set, why was there a change in venue? According to the American justice system as I understand it, due process includes the composition of a jury that is supposed to reflect one’s peers. Was the venue changed to circumvent finding a jury of the peers of the citizen who was dead as a result of being shot in the back?

Was the decision to change the venue made only by the prosecution without input from the defense attorney? What was the rationale for changing the venue? Was this a deliberate attempt to predetermine the outcome?
I remember a recent case where a college student cut in line in a Wal-Mart; and, because she was accused of resisting arrest, she was given a 14 year prison term. I understand that later through negotiations that that severe penalty was lifted. No one died as a result of the Wal-Mart incident.

One begins to wonder if Lady Justice has removed her blinders and is making arbitrary decisions based on reasons other than the merits of the case.

It was always my belief that there was equal justice under the law; but, I must admit my faith and confidence in our judicial system is being stretched to the limit.

The arbitrary and discretionary authority that police have and use in selected situations needs a very careful analysis and calls for that authority to be reformed to correspond to a given situation. No one can feel threatened by a man who is face down and motionless. American justice is being compromised and that does not bode well.

We have gone on record as a nation that does not sanction or tolerate torture; and, yet there are too many instances of selective torture and cruel and unusual punishment.

I have read that the Justice Department will investigate this case. It is my fervent prayer that they will remove any sun shades and with clear vision examine all the facts and procedures that resulted in what I consider to be a gross miscarriage of justice.

I raise the question, is what transpired in the case of the death of Oscar Grant considered American justice?

A Home for the Heart

We’ve a short stint in this life and for that matter, all humanity.
One has several choices:
to sit on a beach and eat bananas
to rumba until day break
to raise ones voice as a voice crying in the wilderness
to work to effect change
as it is said, to be the change
to work together with others across all cultural and economic lines
to sit in silence and live with compassion and reverence for all life, all sentient beings
to play
to suffer with the pain that life offers
or together to live fully and peacefully melding and blending with others.

There is something of all of this in our repertoire. Peace

The occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are making us poor. Right now, America spends $159 billion on contingency operations for the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s enough money to eliminate taxes for everyone who makes under $35,000 a year, while cutting the deficit.

Progressive hero, Congressman Alan Grayson, is once again leading the charge to put an end to this disastrous spending. I signed the petition to support 'The War is Making You Poor' Act, an act that would cut waste, fraud and abuse in the disastrous occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Join me and sign the petition at www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com

Do it now.

Memorial Day is a time for recollection about what is vital to our interests as sentient beings. Please take time and respond.

Ignite

Denied from the start

Indolence came calling and obsession with small things

Hardship and excuses criticizing lies, demeaning mean spirited

Veil of tears denying the inevitable pain that flesh is heir to

We crept in the darkness of slag heaps of bitter consciousness

Barely audible whimpering – shallow, nerve racking expectancy

Bleating hearts pierced with arrows slung by mine

Desolately waiting for an inevitable end to the interminable night

Fight or flight mirroring trembling deifies of the rapture

Leaves us gasping, fainting, and then failing to catch our breath

We gratefully lie down swooning violently waiting for the end of miracles