Wendell Tucker Saves The World

Reposted from my new weekly guest blog on www.chicagonow.com !!

Greetings Chicagoans! As you probably realize, I am not Kyra. My name is Wendell Tucker, and every Wednesday I will be invading this blog on my personal quest to save the world and increase my Twitter following (@theori). Together, we are going to not just complain about problems, but come up with solutions (the more radical and insane the better). And it goes a little something like this!

The Inspiration:

Remember After School Specials? Saturday morning cartoon's with your favorite sports heroes battling evil while reminding you how important it was to eat your vegetables? How about cartoons that came on right after school? How about the characters who's soul purpose was to instill character? There once was a time, not too far ago, when children came home to programming that was definitely bubble gum, but certainly appropriate to a mind that was being raised to be conscientious and kind. Those days have passed. Children are now coming home to programming such as Maury, Wendy Williams, the various Judges and VH1 (eroding the moral fiber of America since 1999).

Credit: VH1's "Real Chance at Love"

The Problem:

 If you look at the condition of the children in our community, you can definitely see the effects. Though overall violence is down, the brutality and maliciousness of teen violence are at an all time high. We are experiencing teen birthrates that surpass that of the "baby boomers" era. A degeneration of self respect in our young ladies. Young men who find it more appropriate to be a "Goon" than a Graduate. Need proof? Just go to Facebook or Myspace and do a search for females under 21. Be prepared to cry inside. Log onto Twitter after 7pm and do a search for #twitterafterdark. Or simply do a search for "hip roll" on YouTube. These are your children and this is what they are learning from our media.




Understand this: EVERYONE IS A ROLE MODEL. We absorb information that shapes our values from every person we encounter, no matter what the medium. With the before school and after school programming for children on every major broadcast network television network gone (except PBS), children are now being inundated with programming designed for adults. We have 16 year old Hip-Hop artist making albums about sex and alcohol. Entertainers across the board reject the title of Role Model, even though they constantly put out projects that are marketed to children. How do we expect them to be children, when they are constantly surrounded with adult material?

My Radical Solutions:

Raise the standards of responsible broadcasting. All broadcast networks are REQUIRED by the FCC to air 3 hours per week of "core programming" (programming devoted to the intellectual and moral benefit of children under the age of 17). Neither Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC or WGN feature recurrent children programming on any day of the week except Saturday. Daily children's programming should be mandatory.

A "Sin" Fine

Advertising directed towards young people on shows that showcase low moral fiber should be taxed. Now I'm sure some leftist is going to come in crying about censorship. I can see the collective WTF moment now, but hear me out. Billions of dollars are being made off of products that are marketed to children during programming like "Real Chance at Love" and the "Frankie and Neffe" show. These type of shows are degenerative to the development of our youth, and profit from them should come at a cost. The revenue made off this tax can be funneled directly into local school districts to supplement underfunded budgets.

Nothing will replace good parenting, but it is pertinent that we begin to reshape our culture. It's the only way we can reshape our youth. There are many things that we can do to help save our children. This is where you come in. What "Radical Ideas" do you have to change the way media influences our children?



 

 

I think its tragic that many people will not understand Micheal Jackson's true contribution to the world. Where are the songs of pure joy? Who lives now, that will put a smile on every face? Where do we look to in order to find the unbridled optimism to combat all the negativity in the world? Part of our innocence has left us. And while it was here, in our adult ignorance we mocked it. Now we are left with a void. Jesus told us "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."

Micheal got it.

We missed it.

Now what do we do?

Tearfully, I'm afraid for the world. Jaded and cynical, it has lost a beacon of joy.

There are so many things in the world, that will try to drain your joy. Many times people will drain your joy, and not even know that they are doing it. It could be the expression on your face, an unnecessary remark, or just general negativity. Then there are the general stresses of the world. How do I pay my rent? When will I break through to the next level? "There are these things in my past, that I just can't get over." When the forces outside you are infringing on your own happiness, what do you do?

We can't always wait for someone else to come and make things all better. There is a war on joy, and sometimes we have to be our own hero. You don't have to do it alone.

In 1 Samuel 30:06, David and his men were traveling during a time of great war. They came to a city that was under siege. The attack was so fierce that it made the MEN of the city cry until they lost their voices. The people of the city turned on David. They spoke against him, they wanted to stone him. Even though he came to help. Attacked by the pillagers, then persecuted by the people he was trying to help, David was under the ultimate stress. "BUT DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD"

Your joy is always under attack. From those who hate you and even those who love you. Sometimes we even attack our own joy. Things are going too well and it seems too good to be true. What do we do? We find a way to sabotage it and make things "normal." But when you are in hands of The Lord, you are not supposed to be normal.

There is so much to discourage us, but you must be able to encourage yourself in the Lord. There will not always be someone who can do it for you. Joy doesn't always have to come to you, it can definitely come from you. You can win the war on your happiness. David was victorious against those attackers because he encouraged himself in God and realized that he had favor in His eyes. You have favor in God's eyes. But if you do not accept the favor, you cannot benefit from it. Practice claiming favor. Practice encouraging yourself in God and stop discouraging yourself in the world. You deserve the best. HE has given it to you. Wake up in joy. Everyday is another chance for another victory. There is nothing stronger than His love and His Word. Be encouraged in God. He's with you.

A friends status message, plus a couple of overbearing people I know inspired this note. As always, if you think I'm talking about you, then I probably am. Let me start off by saying this: The greatest man to ever live, was a servant of the people. If the heir to God's throne himself was a servant, and was humble enough to drink dirty water, to catch his own fish and cook for himself, humble enough to suffer indignities greater than we will ever experience in our collective lifetimes, how in the hell can someone who has contributed nothing to the world have an ego???

The worth of a man/woman is not found in his or her wallet, it is in the deposits that they have made to the bank of humanity. For some reason, it seems that everyone these days considers themselves a star. They believe that their life is more fantastic than the next person's, that apparently the life of a deadbeat dad, living home with his parents, working part time at best buy, splurging on playstation 3 and evisu jeans while his child is raised by a single mother surrounded by the most niggardly beings this side of the international date line is worthy of envy.

Reality Check: Because someone notes that what you are doing is wrong, does not make them a hater.

Reality Check 2: One half of One Percent of the population in this country has ninety-eight percent of the wealth. If you aren't in that tax bracket, you don't qualify to have haters.


What you do have is an over inflated sense of self worth. The reality tv epidemic has created a new disease. I call it American Idolitis. Everyone is a star now. I hate to break it to you lady, but you are not the next big thing, you are just a big thing. Legends are made because they had something that they contributed to society. What is your contribution? Where is your legacy? If you don't have one, guess what? THAT IS JUST FINE!!!

Everyone is not supposed to be a Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Bob Dylan, Mother Theresa, John Lennon, Cab Calloway, Bernie Mac or Micheal Jordan. These types of people are the exceptions. To be honest scientifically speaking, they would be your mutants, they would be your freaks. The norm would be people who's sole contribution to society is to be a part of it. Nothing more, nothing less. And that is ok.

What is not ok, is for a person to behave as if they are Barack Obama and you are just charles with the green jacket.

Big lips don't make you Angelina shorty.

Take an honest look at yourself and see where you fit in. If you believe you have a higher calling, then pursue that with all you have. If you are who you believe yourself to be you don't have to speak for your work. Your work will speak for you. There was no cnn.com, TMZ or Facebook and I am positive that MLK never had to introduce himself once his work began.

Please people, stop with the bullshit. If you have time enough to notice your "haters" then you clearly aren't focused on what matters, or else you would be to busy achieving to even realize they are there. Humble yourself. Its an endearing quality, and it makes the work you do even more appreciated.

“Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.”

~Saint Augustine

Dell Out.

As the self proclaimed leader of the Intergalactic Anti-Coon Force, I find it neccessary to outline proper behavior for those who consider themselves "Coon Free". Therefore I am demanding an immediate end to the following actions.

1) The white tee. Dammit that is an undershirt. That means that it goes under a shirt fool. It is not the main shirt, its a subshirt and as such should be on a sub-layer. Furthermore, your undershirt should not be longer than the over shirt. Get it together man.

2) The mohawk. Many great things came out of the 80's. Rakim, CD's, Def Jam, Nintendo, Me... The mohawk was not one of them. Especially since the majority of coons wearing this hairstyle refuse to comb their fucking hair. Look here you slovenly bastards, this is america and you have every right to look like an idiot, but at least be a neat idiot. I know yo mama had to teach you something in between homeboys in outer space and Cisco margaritas.

3) Baby Daddies/Mamas. If you ain't feelin each other wear a damn condom. I dont care about you havin random acts of sexy time. But be considerate, if you know you aint shit, and you know he/she aint shit, don't combine your wack ass forces to bring an heir to your lame ass misfortune into the world. And before some retarded ass Sith Coon Lord leaves me a comment talkin about condoms break or birth control isnt 100% effective think about this: 99% > 0% you simple bastard.

4) 30 year old aspiring rappers. And I'm being hella lenient. If yo ass has lived through more than two different presidents, and you still talking about "listen to my demo" or "check out my new tracks on myspace" unplug your computer, take that cord, scrape the plastic off, plug it back in and choke yourself electrically. Your time has passed and it would be prudent to consider a nice trade. I would suggest grave digging. That way you can save money when you kill yourself out of shame.

5) Dropping Out of High School. Nah this is not a PSA my spear chucking friend. Even drug dealers need a high school diploma now. You might as well have dropped out in kindergarten. Cause a high school diploma dont mean shit, and an 8th grade diploma means less than shit. You can't even work at McDonalds without a high school diploma. Do you understand what that shit means? You aint even qualified to push McGriddles my nigga. Good luck wit that demo.

6) Reppin for the hood. I'ma say this first, and maybe this will catch on. FUCK THE HOOD. FUCK HOOD NIGGAS, FUCK THE HOOD MENTALITY. That's some delusional ass thinking man. Fuck being proud of what you got, be proud of working to get more. Watch some clown with Coondows Vista brainwashing come up talkin about, "you forgot where you came from." NIGGA I WISH I COULD. Life in the hood is miserable, thats why people get money and MOVE OUT dumbass. I can't wait to be able to rep a place that coons ain't never heard of and cant get to because its out of the darklands.

7) Drug Dealers turned Rappers turned Political Scientist. Nigga shut up. Don't you try to tell me shit about africa, when the farthest you have been is Dolton. You aint thought about shit outside your neighborhood for 25 years, now all the sudden you're Young Kufi the Sociologist. Shut the fuck up and stick to snap music.


8) People complaining about foreigners opening businesses in their neighborhood. I don't care about your perspectives on how the koreans come in the hood and open up a store with $500, when you get your income tax (which has been padded by claiming kids that aint yours) and instead of investing, paying down your debt or using that money to start your own business, you go out and buy $1000 worth south pole jeans, some ugly ass dunks, 2 bottles of patron, and put a down payment on a an excursion. Meanwhile, Abu Graib over here is driving a 93 taurus and owns 3 restaurants, a nail shop, two cell phone places and a dollar store. But you flossy right? Dumbass.

9) Settling. Subjugation only last as long as you are submissive. Know why there was a boom of black business in the 60's? People were not settling for other people making money off them. Want to know why shorty's man treats her so well? Cause she won't put up with no bullshit and she lets him know it. Want to know why certain neighborhoods are clean, well lit, have nice parks and grocery stores that actually sell healthy food? Because the residents demand the best. As long as you don't stand for something you will fall for anything. Coons have "chronic have-not-itis". They pride themselves on saying that they can do ok even though they are the have not. It gives them an excuse to not be more. It seems rational that you may not be the best you can be, because you were deprived of the finer things. But evolutionist and creationist agree, man came from dirt. So if even dirt can evolve to single celled organisms, and those organisms can evolve to eventually become man, ain't no fuckin reason in the world that you shouldn't be able to go from broke to at least respectably stable. Unless you have settled for wretchedness.

10) Poor parenting. These kids are fucked up and its the parents fault. Your kid can't count, but he got on dunks. Your daughter is filthy, but you out at the club spending $10 per shot on don julio. Your kids don't have uniforms, but you have an IPhone. They don't know how to brush their own teeth, but you have you tube videos of them doin the stanky leg and the single ladies dance. The sins of the father are passed on to the son. So how do you expect your children to develop under your selfish, shortsighted, simple minded ass. What nutty ass logic, causes you to laugh when your child uses profanity. How do you send your child upstairs to play on the internet, while you bustin down some nigga cause "he got swag"? How the fuck do you expect that child to have any kind of moral fiber, when you will sit with them and watch A Real Chance at Love, but won't take them to church? You will get up at 4 am to embarrass yourself on american idol, but wont sit with them at 4pm to help with their home work. You spend $300 a month on liquor, but won't invest to put them in an after school program. Where are your priorities. Bad parenting is the the soil that the seeds of modern coonery is planted in. Its probly too late for you. But damn at least give the kid a chance to not follow in your niggerish ways.

Coons beware. Your days are numbered. You have been measured, you have been weighed and you have most definitely been found wanting. We are coming for you. Your time is shorter than Lil Zane's career. We will find you. Join us or perish sweater monkies.

Dell Out

I haven't been blogging much lately because I'm working on a Change of my own right now. Something has occurred to me that I have been remiss to speak about full out, but at this time would like to address.

About a week ago, Louisiana Rep. John Lewis accused John McCain and Sarah Palin of stirring up hatred at their rallies in a George Wallace like fashion. White America sprung to their defense calling the statement inappropriate, causing Rep. Lewis to immediately issue an apology. Last night John McCain attempted to force Barack Obama to apologize for the antics of yet another person. I have a serious issue with this.

Lets be clear. Palin and McCain have intentionally planted seeds of hate at their rallies. These people are not oblivious (well maybe Sarah is), to the degree of racism in these places. They know fully well that many of their supporters fear and hate Sen. Obama simply because he is a Black man. They know that because he does not have an "American Name", that ignorant people will swiftly associate him with terrorism and negativity, due to the US relationship with the most famous of Hussein's: Saddam. When you take these circumstances into account, and see the Republican maching putting out ads that call him, "dishonest", "untrustworthy" "unamerican" "anti-american", their intention becomes clear. When remarks are made at rallies that he "pals around with terrorist", their plan begins to reveal itself.

Yes, "my friends", the McCain campaign is conciously and intentionally cultivating racial hatred and animosity at their rallies. Even more obscene, they are trying to bully anyone out of mentioning it. If Sen. Obama even hints at anything he percieves to be racist, the McCain camp breaks out Mason-Dixie Violins, plays hurt and demands an apology. Meanwhile, the McCain cronies and head harpie Sarah Palin, are allowed to continue playing racial codeword yahtzee.

Sen. McCain, it is not enough to say "no he's ok". If you want us to believe that you really do not agree with these people, you must forcefully admonish the mindset that will drive people to say such things. If a person yells a racial epithet at your rally, it should be policy to have that purson escorted out. Speak up and tell your supporters that the things that they are saying is wrong, not just factually but also thematically.

A sideline racist is no better than a frontline racist.

Most importantly, put a muzzle on your "pitbull" and stop allowing her to say the ignorant, untruthful, hate enabling garbage that she has been spewing. If she wants to call him on his character due to HIS actions, then by all means, go right ahead. I'm not sure thats an argument that she would like to pose. However, it is unacceptable to use a protective blanket of gender discrimination to attempt to cloak your obvious racial discrimination. Or maybe its not her at all. Maybe she just needs to have more witches prayed out of her spirit.

Another one bites the dust. This weekend as Hurricane Ike submerged southern US States and the Midwest, two financial giants also found themselves drowning. Lehman Brothers Global Investment Bank has begun proceedings to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Perennial Wall Street powerhouse Merril Lynch has been bought out by Bank of America for a mere $29 per share or around $40 billion. Earlier this year we saw the fall of Bear Stearns, which was bought by J.P. Morgan Chase. Speculation abounds around the potential sales of Wachovia, Wells-Fargo and American Express. Is the collapse of these financial giants signalling an economic doomsday for the USA?

While I am quite sure that many Wall Street execs are losing sleep and hair over the economic turbulence, one industry that is suprisingly stable is the Credit Union. Because of the "Credit Crunch" one would be led to believe that the Credit Union (CU's from henceforth) would be suffering at this time. Not so. Being that CU's are not-for-profit organizations that do not play into the same financial charades as corporate banks, their approach to customers is more fiduciary and there for less risky. While banks will angle to get a customer into any kind of loan possible in order to increase their P&L, CU's are much more likely to give a more straight forward discussion and deal as it relates to lending. Even though the CU may have less atm's and branches, the low overhead allows them to give you higher rates and less fees. This is especially important when you consider the fact that the average American pays around $200 a year in "courtesy" overdraft fees. Most credit union patrons do not experience this, because many CU's offer an opt-out provision for the "courtesy" overdraft program. The not for profit status makes a world of difference. There are far fewer money grubbing shareholders, so the CU can put its focus on pleasing the consumer instead.

As a former employee of a major banking institution, I am very aware of how banks prey on consumers. We were consistently encouraged to sell credit cards to customers whether or not the could afford them or needed them. The maximum amount a customer could have was 5 cards. We were encouraged to get them to the max. Aside from the obvious moral issues with this approach, there is the economic issue. If you give a person more credit than they can pay back, no only do you sabotage that person's finances, but your institution's as well. This is what caused the credit collapse. For years banks have preyed upon the least wealthy their patrons. The more money you make, the more credit you can AFFORD and the lower your rate. The less money you make, the more credit you NEED and the higher your rate. What follows is simple. Mass credit default caused by a banking system who sold too much credit at a disproportionately high rate to people who couldn't afford it.

How do we fix it? Simple, revamp our crediting system. Credit Unions have shown that it can be profitable to to treat people correctly. So here's a 4 step solution to fixing our credit crisis.

1) Get rid of FairIsaac. Every credit score in America is determined by one corporation: FairIsaac. The Algorithm used to determine whether or not you are deserving of credit is a secret more closely kept than The Colonels 11 Herbs and spices. But what is not a secret is this. The Algorithm is designed to keep the credit scores of the wealthy high, and the credit scores of the poor low. It is a social control device that has helped crush many dreams, deprive families and keep middle to lower class right where they are. By abolishing their system of assesment and replacing it with a new one that EQUALLY takes into account payments and missed payments, chargeoffs and fulfillment of debt, and opening and closure of credit lines, Americans will have a FAIR opportunity to utilize the credit products available. Even more important, financial institutions will have a better way of assessing potential customers and will be able accurately discern who and who is not "credit worthy."

2) Impose Specific Federal Restrictions on High Interest Credit Products. The federal government is responsible for the general well being of America. The cancerous policy of raising rates due to income has been eating away at our financial body for too long. I agree that institutions should be compensated for the risk they incur from crediting. I disagree that a person should be punished for not being wealthy. 2.5% over the prime rate is more than enough for any loan. There must be an adjustable ceiling that cannot be surpassed. This is especially neccessary in the realm of Payday Loan institutions, where the interest can literally be as high as 600%.

3) Make the Courtesy Overdraft Opt-Out policy a law. Forcing a person to take a 45-300% loan is not a courtesy. That is exactly what happens when you overdraft. Many CU's and smaller community banks have already adopted the Opt-Out Policy. What resulted was higher balance growth and greater client retention. Seeing how this has played out on the smaller scale, one can logically assume that would occur exponentially on the larger corporate scale.

4) Mandate Financial Education in All State and/or Federally Funded Elementary and Secondary Schools. If a school recieves government funding, then that school should be required to teach finances to all students. A lack of financial education has caused many consumers to fail economically. There is no reason why an 18 year old should not be able to discern credit from debit or understand the difference between stocks and bonds. Financially educating the masses is key to salvaging our economy.

If these 4 things were to occur today, within 20 years, we would be in the midst of an economic boon. Banks would be able to find more credit worthy customers because of the accuracy of open-market credit scoring. Customers would be able to pay less fees and more bills, increasing economic stabilization across the board. Most importantly, consumers will be far more saavy than they currently are, leading them to make better decisions and be more financially responsible. Things have to change. We are watching our economy crumble right before our eyes. Being third world is only two worlds away.