JESUS Best Friend...Arrested & Raided By The FBI...

UPDATE: See Vicki Yohe interview at end of article

Prov. 1:24-32 ~ 24 - Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25-But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26-I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27- When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28-Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29-For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30-They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31-Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32-For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

David E (EVERYTHING BUT GOD) Taylor is once again experiencing a calamity, a judgment of epic proportions, one which I do not think he will be able to escape from this time. 

For those who don't know...complete with claims to be "Jesus best friend" an "Apostle" and to have God appearing on his stages, and a host of other idiotic ramblings, David E Taylor puts the "CHAR" in CHARLATAN...He is one of the top ENEMIES of God, with an alleged ministry full of inconsistencies, sin, opulence, control, abuse and everything that should not and will not enter the Kingdom of God. 

His reputation and lack of integrity precedes him greatly...and believe me, I am not writing this out of some type of "joy" or gladness, but I am so very happy for all of those who have been victimized by this man, and have lived to see God's justice begin to take over in this case...

The current accusations are as follows:

"Taylor and Brannon, according to the indictment, compelled their victims to work at their call centers and to work for Taylor as his “armor bearers.” Armor bearers were Taylors’s personal servants who fulfilled Taylor’s demands around the clock. Taylor and Brannon controlled every aspect of the daily living of their victims. Victims slept in the call center facility or in a “ministry” house, and Taylor and Brannon did not permit them to leave without permission. Taylor demanded that his Armor Bearers transport women from ministry houses, airports, and other locations to Taylor’s location and ensured the women transported to Taylor took Plan B emergency contraceptives.

In addition, according to the indictment, Taylor and Brannon required victims to work in the call centers long hours without pay or perform other services for Taylor. Taylor set unobtainable daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly monetary donation goals for victims working in the call centers and required victims to follow the orders he created without question. If victims disobeyed an order or failed to reach his monetary goals, Taylor and Brannon punished the victims with public humiliation, additional work, food and shelter restrictions, psychological abuse, forced repentance, sleep deprivation, physical assaults, and threats of divine judgment in the form of sickness, accidents, and eternal damnation.

KOGGC/JMMI received millions of dollars in donations each year through its call centers. Taylor and Brannon used much of the money to purchase luxury properties, luxury vehicles, and sporting equipment such as a boat, jet skis, and ATVs. In total, Taylor received approximately $50 million in donations since 2014."

At the end of the day, we can be thankful that the Lord is on the side of the righteousness and though we be slain, the ultimate hand of God's justice will be shown, both now and in eternity. All these "giants" are nothing but men to be defeated and brought down before God. I say, let God be God because he knows how to do things much better than we ever could. Sisera has his day and when that comes...well, let's just say, he won't be back!

Blessed 

References:

US Dept. Of Justice Easter Michigan

NEW: Vickie Yohe Interview

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The Cost Of Reparations

I know many of my regular readers may think I may have gone off the "deep end" over reparations talk etc. Well, truth is, although reparations is not an end all to all problems associated with our community and in particular the Black community and the Black church (and don't give me this that the church is colorless, it is NOT.), the issue or reparations is one that every church and pastor should be fully aware of and enlightening the congregations about. 

Why? 

We spend time praying for people's financial needs to be met and addressed. Some of you critics have implemented more "give to get" schemes than a little bit. Consistently telling, many times, poor people, to give and expect a blessing...Well, what if our church, your church, can raise itself to a level that everyone could give out of abundance and with greater purpose than looking to receive? What if families, can be equipped, to not simply occupy land and homes while renting and making others fat, but to actually own their properties, raise their families, create their own schools or at least have the ability to self direct and take control of their financial horizons and outcomes? 

This is the story and the land (so to speak) of reparations, which our ancestors paid for! They PAID through abuse, blood, sweat, tears, loss and suffering for our ability to come up in this world and not only take a greater place, our rightful place within society, but also advance the Kingdom of Christ from a position of strength. 

Reparations is an answer to long prayed prayers and a direct demand for our Government to finally get the issues right and address her response to the underlying atrocity of slavery and the resultant rejection of the era of reconstruction, the implementation of Black Codes, Jim Crow and failed promises of social and financial restitution. This issue is important whether one embraces 1619 under British North American rule or our country's founding as a Constitutional Republic 1776, as both segments embraced slavery as a method and practice. The minister, bishop, pastor, evangelist, missionary, must familiarize themselves with the issue and educate the people on why this particular time is so important and why prayers over decades could now finally be answered. 

Living In The Past?

I once thought that too. Until I really looked at the reparations argument. First, America has never failed to restore groups of individuals for their suffering. American has sent over $1Trillion in 2 years to Ukraine, taken in dislocated Afghans at a cost of $80,000 per individual, illegal immigrants (now calling them migrants) to the tune of $20,000 to $50,000 per individual, compensated Japanese Americans over $20,000 each (over 120,000) for 3 years of internment during WW2, overseen the settlement of some of the Jewish reparations as a result of Holocaust to the tune of over $55Billion dollars, the reparation of 11 Italian American's lynched in 1891 ($25,000 paid in 1892 a modern equivalent of $800,000 per family)...NOBODY accuses any of these folk who were repaired or who's sufferings were acknowledged by direct payments to their families as "living in the past". Individuals have those sentiments for Blacks because they can and or think they should.  In other words, many, who say they are "Christian" perpetuate the abuse of generations before them without regard for what God thinks and or concepts of righteousness, morality, justice and or truth. 

Yes, this may be challenging. Yes, like me, you may have to rethink what your once casually dismissed, but it is an effort certainly worthy of your time and one that history demands that we regard. 

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Religion. Black Americans. The Church. Is God Just Or Unjust?

The Black community has traditionally been very close to propositions of faith. In particular, the Black Christian church within the United States has been the place that has shaped values, held the community together and been the place from which much community change growth and development has occurred over the years.

To be clear, the abolition of slavery, the creation and promotion of civil rights agenda and many other things that we now enjoy, were direct products and results of religious and bible based concepts with secular ideology in tow. I contend that the proliferation of freedom all around the world would not exist unless it was for religious influence and in particularly that of the Christian religion and religious influence. I further contend that for someone to doubt the benefit of the church within modern society is someone who hasn't taken the time to study, but bury their head in the sand and someone who doesn't know or simply hasn't been taught how to reconcile history...HOWEVER...and that's a huge HOWEVER...the modern CHURCH has done itself no favors with her desire to be relevant, pseudo-spirituality, lust and desire for sin, search for physical and material wealth, and morally debase practices which allows, and in many cases, supports PERVERTS, sexual immorality, and moral & spiritual impurity, in congregations and pulpits all across the nation...

I mean, did you see the HORROR Church movie "Honk For Jesus"??? YES, it was a HORROR FILM, similar to "Friday The 13th" and "Halloween" or better yet "Psycho". From beginning to end this movie it was a complete horror flick, displaying the horrors of big church "showtime" (in many cases and places) and a look at what people will do and allow and promote within the church. Although this movie may have been about and mixed scandalous acts of the late Bishop Eddie Long & his predecessor (spiritual father) the late Bishop Earl(you ARE the father)Paulk. The movie's culprit was not only a sick, debase and narcissistic out of control pastor, but also a complete corrupt accountability and support system, beginning with what appeared to be, at first glance, an innocent/supportive wife, who, along with others, wanted relevance, acknowledgement and material position in this world greater than they wanted God, truth, right and moral and spiritual purity. I could give you a complete synopsis of the movie in the comments, as I was enamored with it, but I digress...

So while the church has her faults, flaws and sins, she is still yet the vehicle that God has used and will use to unite himself to this world. the fact is that no matter how bad it gets or is, the very "gates of hell shall not prevail" against her. (Mt. 16:18)

Sad Result Of The Church's Apostasy

The apostasy of the church, in my opinion, has caused a greater secularization of the Black community. Not only are former servants of the church running from her vowing to never come back, usually because of some church practice based on governmental or hierarchical structure, as opposed to doctrine and or biblical teaching, what cannot be overlooked is that common people who were raised in church and that have benefited from Church and Christian morality in particularly in their own lives, have, in many cases, also hit the door with a promise to not come back to the church. This has also, in many cases, fueled with disdain against church practices and actions and caused many, who's ancestors prayed for their deliverance and freedom to leave and move away from the very institution through which deliverance and freedom was prayed for.

Recently, in a Twitter forum sponsored by an organization named NewsToter, a topic was raised "Has Religion Helped Or Hurt Black Americans?" One question that I was looking to address was the matter of tithes and what has the Black community has received in return...however, I could not and was not able to get to that issue, but short answer, in too many places...WE BEEN ROBBED!!!

My message was that religion, in particular the Christian religion has certainly helped, but that there is a distinguishable difference between the practice of religion and that of spirituality or service to God...

I mean in my opinion, the very question is like a healthy, fed child standing on his mothers lap, with a full stomach questioning, "Is it good that my parents feed me?"...The very question overlooks the fact that you have what you have and are full solely because your parents and their efforts to feed you because you couldn't feed yourself. In this case it is the mother, that has fed you, otherwise you'd still be hungry or hospitalized for malnutrition or even dead leaving your ability to take care of yourself up to you.

With that said, as I was commenting, my phone went out and would not allow me back into the forum, but I was able to hear the recording the next day. After my abrupt mid comment departure, most were very nice, including the host himself, but a gentlemen raised a comment saying that I was a liar and that the God of the bible was responsible for over 266 wars and or conflicts and for some over 2M deaths and suggested that was his reason to reject religion and Christianity. Another also didn't know what the word "novel" meant as it pertained to historical events...It is that commentary, which has been common among many atheists, that I would like to deal with in the balance of this post.

The God Of The Bible...
Is He Unjust?
Has He Caused Over 2M Deaths Within The Bible?
Is Man Better To Men Than God?

Certainly the gentleman stating this erroneous information was not a biblical scholar, but he was also no less of a biblical critic than many of the modern atheists. At this point I will reprint my response to him, that was at least 15 parts on Twitter, with revisions and insertions to add additional information and clear up misinformation.

"...my brother stated after my phone went out last evening (not due to "judgement") that the God of the Bible was responsible for over 266 incidents of violence in which over 2M people were killed. For sure he is incorrect, but for sake of argument, I say he is on point and 100% accurate.

The young man is a good young man that believes in justice, right and equity, I am confident. Let's look at 3 things that displays the inadequacy of that (his) argument when we speak of the implications of religion (aka: Judaeo-Christian Biblical belief)

1- Israel's time in SLAVERY for over 400 years.
We BOTH agree that slavery is/was horrible and needed to be put down. In Ex. 3 God sends Moses to free Israel from slavery. Folk die as a result. (INSERTION: Even 1st born children die in the last plague. The critic says that God kills children. However, without exception EVERYONE'S 1st born could be saved during this plague. Only those who followed the instructions of applying blood to the doorpost and lentil, whether one worshiped and believed in the God of the Israelite's or not, would actually be saved.) Is/was God unrighteous by ending it (slavery) and setting people free?

2- God commanded that Israel enter land he had promised to Abraham & his descendants.
There were only 5 nations that God said should be utterly destroyed [INSERTION: Deut. 20:17, there are 6 nations depending upon how you count nations]. Leviticus 23 (and I meant Leviticus 18) indicates what the inhabitants of the land were doing. (INSERTION: Lev. 18:3 ~ After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances...indicates that that practices, outlined in the chapter, were some of the practices that both Egyptians and Canaanites. v.25 indicates that it was because of these practices, which included baby and child murder and indiscriminate human sacrifice v.21, that God was removing them from the land) Among other things they killed indiscriminately, sacrificed children and totally perverted justice. Raping, pillaging, and denigrating themselves in every possible human way...Molech, a baby murderer was their god. God said they, the Canaanites were spewed out of the land because they defiled it. Would it have been justice to allow those things to go (on)? In other words, is the (Biblical God) unrighteous to STOP injustice? If so, then how are YOU or can you possibly be just or justified? Ie: if God himself can't order and decree evil to be stopped, then under and by who's authority do you "demand" anyone to stop their unjust acts or actions? In other words, to reject the God of the bible and claim some moral superiority is an argument of special pleading and logically inconsistent.

3- Have you ever hear of Pol Pot? (INSERT: 1976-1979) During his lifetime he was responsible for the death of some reported 2M Cambodians by himself.
Nothing to do with God. That was a product of the HUMAN CONDITION...How about Joseph Stahlin? (INSERT: 1929-1953) 6M to 9M people killed (INSERT: By conservative estimates. Some report 20M to 60M plus people killed) No God. in fact anti-God atheist. HUMAN CONDITION. How about Hitler? (INSERT: 1933-1945) over 7M and hated religion especially the Abrahamic faith of Judaism. HUMAN CONDITION.
How about Mau (INSERT: Mau Zedong, 1958-1962) Heard of him? In 5 years they say he starved to death and killed over 20M of his own people. 5 years! (INSERT: 20M is a conservative estimate. Many say the proper amount was roughly 45M people killed in 5 years under this God hating, humanist and secular regime)

You said God ordered the death of 2M through 266 conflicts and that would be over at least 40 to 80 years.

(INSERT: According to the numbers, SECULARISM and perverted concepts of governance through various forms of Marxism, has been responsible for the deaths of over 35M to over 100M people not including those killed through war in under 100 slightly over years)

The EVIDENCE says that INJUSTICES were ended by God as opposed to simply allowing things (INSERT: evil and senseless killings) to go on forever.

RELIGION (INSERT: The Christian faith) teaches that EVIL has an end and that even while evil proliferates, they that trust in God have life here, now and in the future. We have confidence that no tear shed, no striped back, no rape, murder, or other injustice will be without meaning and ultimate reckoning, Our "sky" hears us. YOURS however is simply an ongoing gripe with justice determined by you and for you as it only effects YOU. RELIGION gives us the ability to face injustice and stand up to it, bc (because) we know who and what supports our efforts and we look forward to HIM bringing that reconciliation to us.
As I was attempting to state last night, race based slavery is fairly new (that's what NOVEL actually means) considering history. Slavery occurred historically in spite of race, not because of race. Race based slavery is a newer form of slavery. Blacks and Whites, Arabs and Chinese, every race (INSERT: and ethnicity) has participated in slavery, primarily of their OWN people. You guys want to hear someone blame the victim so bad, you can't see the forest looking at the trees.

Young man, I AIN'T the one to see the tree as bigger than the forest. I also AIN'T the one to look at our current condition with fictition or fantasy, that some white supremacy boogie man, whether real of fictitious, is responsible for all moral evil...that AIN'T the case.

The HUMAN CONDITION (INSERT: SINFUL NATURE OF MAN) is responsible for moral evil and the actual physical evil we experience and our ancestors experienced. That HUMAN CONDITION has tainted (not taunted) ALL of us and if we really want justice, we should render our individual selves first as EVERY ONE is guilty.
Thanks." 

I'll conclude by saying that noone is insulated from the sometimes absolute garbage that happens within the church. However, it is disingenuous and historically incorrect as well as biblically unsupportable to conflate racial hatred and bigotry with the church as a biblical teaching or something ordained by God. Where there was slavery and or injustice, God, through time, eliminated and stopped its ugly grip. The church has been the progenitor of concepts that stop evil, such as the evil of slavery, abuse and misuse and mistreatment of the innocent and support for people to treat one another in a more humane fashion for generations all over the world.

Just as we are not insulated from the evil that has crept into the church, we are also not insulated from the TRUE and real presence of God that we find within the church as well. There is church related hurt, but there is church and god related victory as well. God has not been so bad to any of us that we leave HIM behind, because he has not ever left us behind. It may take something to hold on, but don't be worldly smart and spiritually blind and defenseless. 

David, with all of his faults, ways and inconsistencies yet recorded this:

Ps. 34: 8 ~ O taste and see that the LORD is good: 

blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

 Blessed!

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Let's Talk The TRUTH About Police Shootings, Crime & Violence

Please allow me to make this clear from the beginning... this post is not anything I have done to make friends either politically or socially, nor to seek to bolster a secular world view or politic. There have been so many misstatements, and plain out false assertions and partially true assertions regarding many of these issues, that have led to so much division within our country, that I thought it best to simply take a look at the topic addressing some of the more pertinent issues at hand. 

No, I am not a so called crime and violence expert, but I have a solid record of addressing this topic by my actions from a front line position within my community serving the hurtng and those suffering fallout from "street violence" whether that violence was perpetrated by citizens or police. 

As a Black conservative, I believe the entire conservative movement must deal with and confront the FACT that there is not only street crime, where the lawless take the lives of others, but also "Blue Crime" or Police crime as well, where those entrused with securing the community are responsible for and guilty of killing. Those who support the police tend to think it is anathema to admit that the police do kill and many times that killing IS NOT justified nor justifiable. 

Non-Justifieable Killing

Let's be honest, our major cities are off the chain with homicide. In nearly all cases Black on Black crime and violence is destroying families and our inner cities. I want you to know that nothing can justify what we are seeing.

The top 5 cities for homicide in 2022 are:

1- St Louis, MO. with a rate of 69.4/100,000

2- Baltimore, MD. with a rate of 51.1/100,000

3- New Orleans, LA. with a rate of 40.6/100,000

4- Detroit, MI. with a rate of 39.7/100,000

5- Cleveland, OH with a rate of 33.7/100,000

These are followed by LasVegas, NV at 31.4/100,000 and Kansas City, MO a rate of 31.2/100,000

No, you don't see Chicago on this list do you? They are currently 10th on the list at 24/100,000. One would assume that Chicago is relatively safe as compared. However, many make the case that the opposite is true.

Regardless of the narrative, these are the facts concerning Chicago:

Chicago, murders (which have been high over 600 in the prior 3 years) are actually UP 34% year over 2021 with over 1,300 shootings and actual year to date murders of 320. 31 of those murdered were under age 18 as of this writing with 10 dead on July 4th alone and multiple babies shot in strollers, cars and elsewhere this year. The murder rate tells a different story than what is actually happening on the ground by sheer numbers. It appears numbers can be manipulated to fit a narrative, and my contention is that WE have been victimized both by conservative media and liberal media depending upon the narrative either have chosen to push.  

As stated, I DO NOT downplay crime and violence either in Chicago or anywhere, but one should ask, seeing that Chicago IS NOT in the top 10 cities for crime and violence in 2022 based on population, why is it getting nearly all the attention? Clearly, the violence is senseless, stupid and harmful to everyone, but narratives based on population or sheer numbers tell two different stories, at least potentially. 

Manipulation Of Public Sentiment

Murder is UNJUSTIFIABLE. Babies should not be getting killed in the womb, strollers, while playing or even in their homes or anywhere. Neither should adults be killed. However, neither should  anyone who is a non violent offender, especially those who do not have guns or are not brandishing weapons or agressive behavior. They also should not be killed either by police, other members of the public nor by those in authority!

In other words, to shift the murder of the citizenry from other citizens to police authority is not justifiable. 

Jayland Walker

I want to begin by saying, I don't know who Jayland Walker was, except for what is in the news. From what I can gather, a traffic stop, led to a police foot chase, and ended in 60 fatal gun shots fired by 8 surrounding police officers at 1 unarmed, now dead 22 year old Black male who was handcuffed AFTER he was killed. This was NOT justifiable in any manner. [ I don't care if you found an UNSPENT magazine and gun in the car...the man DID NOT have a weapon on him while being shot 60 times and was certainly not shooting back with air] Then handcuffs??? UNBELIEVEABLE!!! 

What brings me to that conclusion is that we can only view Jayland's death in Akron, OH, in light of the police arrest of a White, armed murderer who recently shot and killed 7 and injured 30 people in Highland Park, IL. (No, I don't know anything about this character either except for what is in the news and Yes, like him, his victims were all White, so this was not an incident that had to do with race) This ratchet piece of a person, not only murdered innocents, but evaded police who also followed him in a short high speed chase, had multiple loaded weapons on his person and in his car at time of arrest, and was taken into custody without ONE shot being fired. And the critic says, "well, he didn't run"...well, Jayland DIDN'T MURDER!

Unequal Justice?

In my opinion YES, this is a case of unequal justice and the resolution was not commensurate with the crime in either case! Not that the clown in Highland Park should have been executed on the street like Jayland was, but a blind man can see the difference in both application and results of good policing. An anomaly? NO! This happens far too easily and often to Black citizens in particularly and the FACTS bear this out although the news media, both conservative and liberal, continue to smokescreen the whole issue as a  complaint towards either the Black community's morals and value ethics, or that these actions are a result of White supremacy and systemmic infiltration of policies and practices based on race. 

Ooh yes, it is an amazing the slight of hand that causes one to view the victim, in this case the Black community, and this young Black men in particular, as the perpetrator of their own misfortune...It is that "partial" information and slither of truth which allows many to buid a whole case either defending indefensible actions or calling for a hate filled response, rather than an effective response to the evil that we all face. We are in a society of extremism and blame, instead of balance, perspective, acceptance and growth. 

Dispelling Myths With Facts

Let's look at some facts to dispell the myths that seem to prevail when it comes to conversations regarding Blacks and their interractions with police and violencet crime in general. 

Myth 1: Blacks Offend More And Are Therefore Killed More By Police

FACT: Blacks are still the LEAST violent crime offending ethnicity, but yet account for the highest percentage of ethnicity killed by police annually.

The liberal and conservative news have used this myth so much and attempted to paint the picture from one extreme to the other. Conservatives often base their narrative on sheer numbers to obfuscate the truth here. The Left, usually base their assessment on percentage of population to bolster their position. Both (political conservatives and liberals) manage to skew the facts, to make us think certain things are normal. Political conservatives often say,"NOT TRUE. FAR MORE WHITES ARE KILLED ANNUALLY BY POLICE THAN BLACKS!"... This is a retort based on sheer numbers. But does that tell the story? 

Understanding The Narrative

Yes, it is true. More Whites are killed by police annually than Blacks based on sheer numbers, but I contend those using this narrative solely to justify the actions of police are using the WRONG METRIC and making FALSE ASSUMPTIONS to make the assessment. Both news media presentations (liberal and conservative) base their reporting on sheer numbers, and they both interpret sheer numbers to their advantage, playing the public. However, as stated sheer numbers only tell part of the story.

Here's what we know: Blacks represent only 13% of population and Black males 6.1% of total US Population. So anytime we see Blacks, especially Black men, leading any category by sheer numbers, there is a greater percentage of the community effected. The math is simple...1 out of 3 (33%) is greater than 2 out of 5 (20%) but 2 is greater than 1 considering numbers only.

Therefore a much better way to assess and evaluate what is really going on with violent crime is by looking at the RATE of SHOOTINGS (killings) per million or per 100,000 of population rather than by sheer numbers. Although one should be cautions about this approach, as I have explained above regarding Chicago and violent crime. Generally, when one uses this approach, amazing information is produced:

Myth Dispelling FACTS:

Blacks are shot and killed at the hand of the police at a 37/million rate 

Hispanics are shot and killed at the hand of the police at a 28/million rate

Whites are shot and killed at the hand of the police at a 15/million rate 

Yes, Whites are killed by police at higher sheer numbers because the population is greater, but they are killed at a less rate than Blacks and Hispanics, at least by police. So for one to be concerned over this issue is not some type of false narrative or over the top rant. It is a real situation borne out by the facts. 

ADDITIONAL Myth Dispelling FACTS:

In 2021,

Blacks accounted for 33% of all arrests for non fatal violent crime. 

Whites accounted for 46% of all arrests for non fatal violent crime.

Blacks were 36% of all arrests for serious non fatal violent crime

Whites were 39% of all arrests for serious non fatal violent crime.

Now, these numbers are not based on population. They are based on all arrests made, which has nothing to do with a racial population or demographic. News often skew numbers and create a case for race based moral ethics by blurring the line and using numbers such as these to suggest percentage of population or demographic.

You don't hear on ANY news, liberal or conservative that Blacks are arrested less for non fatal violent crime and serious non fatal violent crimes than Whites. The narrative is always different and tends to say that Blacks are not only arrested more, they also offend more in every category...While NONE of these crimes are good and all of the offenders should be prosecuted to the highest, the facts is that Blacks are a least non violent and serious non violent criminally offensive ethnic group, even less than Whites by comparison. 

Police In Fear

So WHY is the fear of a Black man running away, so much and so until 8 officers unload their clips to the tune of 60 bullets any one of those bullets fatal, into an unarmed offender? 

YEP...YOU DON'T LIKE ME ON THIS ONE DO YOU?!?!?!

The answer to policing a community is not easy. Humans, that are prone to error and misjudgement, are at the wheel. What is additionally problematic is the blind allegience to partyline politics and desire to display some seemingly moral superiority depending upon what side of the issue one is on. However, people, fellow citizens, not all of whom are either criminals nor engaged in criminal activity, are caught in the middle, fed a line of garbage and used for propaganda's sake. 

FINAL WORD

Even though I have no regard or honor for the Black Lives Matter organization, amazingly they were able to sieze on this issue and dupe the American public and American businesses out of millions of dollars, go on to buy their homes, cars and vacations and otherwise live lavish lifestyles without giving anything to victims or victims families (I don't have enough time or energy to rehash all the absolute GARBAGE they did, but you already know...) Additionally, some claim that attorney's such as Ben Crump and activists such as Al Sharpton are nothing more than "race baiters", which, in my opinion is another way of saying "BLACK MAN SHUT UP and enjoy the "comforts" that you have"., which seems to be a run of the mill conservative sentiment every time a Black man speaks up on this and
related issues pointing towards race.  

Yes, these are extreme sentiments. It is said on one hand we should support police no matter what. On the other hand everything police do should come under scruitiny. On one hand racism is inescapeable and woven into the fabric or all that we do (alas CRT), but on the other hand racism is not an issue and has no effect on our everyday lives. Both sides will offer their version of the narrative to support their views, but neither extreme is better than the other and both extremes are incorrect and in my opinion, immoral. 

There is room for police accountability. Their is room for police improvement. Their is room for better citizen responsibility. There is room for activism on the issues and it is disengenuous to write off those who seek accountability as "race baiters" or "trouble makers" by assuming  that those who speak up have some nefarious motive, simply because you don't like them or don't appreciate their perspective. It is that perspective that you may just need to hear in order to understand, address and solve the issue. 

Blessed! 

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Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Day Special

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American Freedom & Football...A Kaepernick Story

In a recent Facebook posting, this is what I had to say regarding the Colin Kaepernick exercise of free speech and protest. 

"Now please allow me to say something...

The football QB known as Colin Kaeprrnick made and continues to make a stand for what he believes and has every right to voice his opinion and launch his protest by every peaceful means of a free society in which he lives. 

Many people have said that because he is a person that earns millions of dollars and is Black that he is somehow exempt from being able to protest....Others have said that his wallet proves that racism does not exist in America. What we hear when that is said is ample proof of the hypocrisy that we have accepted as Americans when it comes to fairness, equality, money and Black exceptionalism. 

When such sentiments are invoked it is clearly a throwback to the slave/master mentality. Should a Black man not protest because he has 40 acres and a mule? Should Black exceptionalism remove blocks of successful Black men and women from the struggle and liberation of them that are suffering? 

To believe that is to believe that money buys equality and further that money should buy silence. This is the root of slavery. This is the philosophical construct of the slave master. For the trade of money the person is purchased to sit silently and be who we tell him that he is...His name is TOBY...we have demanded his identity to be reconstructed to our liking...this is the American hypocrisy that he is protesting. Not the military or good police and what works in society. He protests what is wrong in society and given life and strength by our hypocrisy and failure to act upon what we know should be addressed. 

Most times the White wealthy are unopposed in dissent of any fashion and are understood to represent an "honorable" cause. So much so until a nation (America) that dishonored the flag of another (Great Britain) taking land that was not theirs (What we call America now), wealthy and poor working together were called PATRIOTS, pioneers and exemplary Americans. 

Yet today, they burn jerseys of an athlete that has paid for his place with bumps, bruises, and all sorts of other injuries and an insurmountable amount of time and pain that none of his critics care to mention. He has run every play, followed the rules for free while others earned millions off of his success. 

Remember the "owners"? They traded or what we call "contracted" to give him money but they too made insurmountable dollars off of the talents he honed and developed over the years. They only contributed after the fact. In any sense none of their contribution included taking away of his personal freedoms? Or do we now say that payments (ie: money & salaries) now strip individuals of their freedom? If so, that is the essence of slavery is it not? 

No, I have no regard for the BLM movement but I have every regard for a free man's right to dissent, not based on what he has done in the past, but what he has come to stand for and believe now. 

For those, all of those, to call him un-American is to affirm that the flag is nothing more than a sham. If the flag cannot guarantee his right of dissent then it certainly cannot provide his freedom. 

I say listen to the young man. He may be saying something that many of us if not all of us have known for generations...only something GOOD is worth fighting for!

I am Pastor Harvey Burnett, God gave me my freedom and I approved this message.

Blessed!

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THIS Is About Human Rights...

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Is It Open Season On Black Men?

UPDATE 11/26/2014: Much has been made of forensics saying that Michael Brown was not shot in the back. Forensic specialists conclude eye witnesses that say that Officer Darren Wilson shot at Michael Brown while he was running away, were simply wrong. They further conclude that because there were no shots in the back that Darren Wilson is credible and simply told the truth.

But we remember the testimony of Piaget Crenshaw who says that she saw and heard Darren Wilson shooting at Michael Brown.while Michael Brown was running away. Now, why would they conclude that she was wrong? There is only one reason...They ASSUME that Darren Wilson was an accurate shooter. If that is the case, then why are none of the shots that hit the target center mass of Mike Brown's body? It is quite easy to understand why there were no shots in the back. Darren Wilson was not a good shooter.

***THIS WAS TOP STORY ON NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS 8/11/2014***

18 Yr. Old Michael Brown

18 year old, UNARMED, Black youth Michael Brown, was killed by the Police in Ferguson, MO Saturday afternoon Aug. 9th, 2014. According to the police, Michael was a participant in an "altercation" with police when "someone" fired a shot at the police. The policeman, after being pushed into his car, responded by coming up and shooting multiple shots. Reportedly, Michael was hit by most of these multiple shots and killed.

Eyewitnesses however have somewhat of a different version of events which has stirred considerable controversy. One eyewitness, who happens to be the other young man whom the police stopped with Michael, Dorian Johnson, reported that the police initially stopped both the youths without provocation and proceeded to try to place Michael in the squad car forcibly. Michael resisted. The police evidently shot though no shots were fired at him/them. Johnson went on to say this:

“He shot again and once my friend felt that shot he turned around and put his hands in the air and started to get down, and the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and fired several more shots.”...“We wasn’t causing no harm to nobody [sic],”...“We had no weapons on us at all.”

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Does Black Justice Exist In The Criminal Justice System?

"The popular narrative that emphasizes the death of slavery and Jim Crow and celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama is dangerously misguided. The colorblind public consensus that prevails in America today-i.e., the widespread belief that race no longer matters- has blinded us to the realities of race in our society and facilitated the emergence of a new caste system. " ~ Alexander, Michelle "The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness [The New Press, NY 2012}Pg. 12

Although I have tried to refrain from an indepth commentary, and don't plan on spending a lot of time on the subject, because there is far too much work to do within the church when addressing mindsets and stereotypes of victimization and abuse, I couldn't really go without at least addressing some of the issues surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman and Mr. Zimmerman's subsequent not guilty verdict. 

In all that has been said and done over the last year or so and through the verdict of this trial, we have heard some pretty polarizing statements and sentiments on both sides of the issue. We have seen people say that Trayvon should have simply gone home, or that George should not have stalked, yet alone, killed Trayvon (a sentiment to which I agree) and it seems that admonitions on at least what should have happened run along racial and ethnic lines.

In my mind this only further solidifies the understanding that America is divided into casts or sects and that

there are at least two philosophical views of America within the USA. There is an America whose systems and laws are fashioned for the people, and there is an America whose systems and laws are USED against certain of her own people. Although both of these Americas exist together; they even entertain one another, they do not exist in union with one another no matter how much they may appear to do so. Then there is an underlying mistrust, distrust and broken union among many of America's citizens that live in her everyday. This has caused much recent and modern controversy as we all remember the sentiments of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright who instead of saying "God bless America" said, "...God dxxx America, for what she has done..."

Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Can these things simply be written off as mainstream White dominated media wish to do with such sentiments? Can they or should they be simply be disavowed for political and mass social appeal? Are we experiencing a reemergence of ultra-classism, sectarianism and creedalism? Can we as a people stand it, and how should we address it? 

In this article I would like to look a a few pieces to the current puzzle in America. I don't think it is a debate in any other civilized nation that there is something wrong when an adult (or anyone else for that matter) stalks another person who is doing nothing wrong, and ultimately confronts and kills them, that an offence has occurred. But somehow part of America feels that the opinion in favor of death for the Black youth is somehow justified and understandable to whatever degree....      

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