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“Souled Out!” Top Blacks Sell out the Black Community in Wisconsin Recalls.

Posted by Wonder Woman on

Black elected and top Black officials sell out the Black community in Wisconsin Recalls.

Aka …What Have You Done For Me Lately Tom Barrett?

Warning this is rated “T” for truth talk! You been warned.

Screw ideology, party politicking, Scott Walker love, and anything else people pin on me. This is about me “Citizen WW” of Milwaukee’s inner city and my disappointment with my mayor and some of my Black elected in which I entrusted to make ALL of Milwaukee a better place. I’m still waitin’!!

And now you want me to vote for you for governor so you can screw us statewide. Ah thanks, but no thanks!

My beloved Black community, no matter what, you must admit at one time or another you question, or have questioned where on the list of Tom Barrett’s priorities are we? We seem to be so loyal to the Democratic Party to the point we often forget that in these times when every vote counts, we need to put ourselves out there loudly and demand a little something, something for our vote!

FRUSTRATION

We have waited 8 years for Tom Barrett to do something together with us and for us to move this inner city out of the doomed, desolate independent island it has become. If it were not for Milele Coggs, Willie Hines, the new youth movements, and others (whether you agree with them or not) have been the only ones to recognize our existence. To my disappointment Mr. Barrett you have not formed successfully any segregation task force, an inner city business coalition, an independent task force to study urban blight in Milwaukee as it is uniquely different from anything in any other state in the union despite the painstaking work put out there for you to use in the war against racism and segregation.

Selling Out

Tom Barrett has been all over the state in the last months meeting with labor unions, residents, business officials, all to secure their vote. He is now engaged in “Neighbor to Neighbor” campaigning all around the state but noticeably absent from his list of “neighbors” is the Black population of the entire state. Yes thanks to our eagerness to support continued failure, we are not on Tom Barrett’s “to do” list AT ALL.

Before even becoming the Democratic candidate in the recall race, some Black s bucked with unions supporting Kathleen Falk in favor of the more appeasing Barrett. They also bucked union loyalty and the very reasons for the recalls, but that’s for another blog! Before the primary elections, before Tom Barrett even dropped his name officially, many Blacks signed off on his candidacy without any promises to the Wisconsin Negro. NONE! WE just gave it up. Barrett didn’t even have to ask. Lena Taylor appeared on Ed Schultz’s MSNBC show the very next night putting it out there for free (“it” meaning our support).

Barrett checked us off the “to do” list before we even had a chance to gather or list our demands without a care in the world. He sent Maholn Mitchell and other Black elected to gather the “loose sheep” and kept it moving.  Like the soulless people some of our Black elected have become they bowed down and kissed the ring. “All good here my Lord!!” “No problem here masa, we got your back!”

Hold the hell on one damn minute. Let’s take a look at what Tom Barrett has done, or rather not done for the Milwaukee Negro and his role in the lack of advancement of our people!

  • Barrett is a non factor, non presence in this community. A couple of appearances in safe houses like Black churches or in Black media don’t count as being actively present in our community. We have allowed him to use these comfort zones tirelessly. We never demand he be at the countless homicide vigils, on the porches of those who have nothing to do all day because they have no jobs, or at the homeless shelters filled to the brink with our people standing in never ending lines that seem to grow each day. He is not in the schools reading books or sponsoring drives to collect needed items for those desperately in need of saving. A good mayor would be on the front lines, boots on the ground…like Cory Booker of New Jersey. It ain’t that hard, it’s your city. Let me see you walk down all North Avenue without a camera crew and talk to real rock from the rock about what’s really hood out here.
  • Barrett has presided over 8 years of hyper segregation without saying a word about it. Milwaukee was in a measly third place pre-Barrett and now comfortably occupies the #1 spot under his regime. Makes you wonder if it was not his problem from jump as many claim, then why won’t he solve it or even address it? What does he have to loose? He didn’t create it. Agreed but he certainly has condoned its existence and growth by his consistent silence about it.
  • Instead of creating jobs and attending to the most pressing issues of the day, Barrett has been chasing Mr. Roger’s trolley dreams, with no promising interests for us. The trolley, a federal funded program that was designed to support transit in the city that links to the central train system has been sitting around for years until now. See my blogs “Streetcar Named Segregation” or “Streetcar Named Debt” for the run down. The plan has no inclusion of Negro interaction until its last stages only if it is successful. Even now we see alder people arguing, almost fighting on this issue and its importance on Milwaukee’s list of priorities. Those for it refuse a referendum because they don’t want the truth to come out about its “lack of steam.” Not to mention the utility concerns, outrageous costs, and local business concerns about how the trolley plan will hurt businesses by clogging up streets and blocking access.

One must in good concious wonder exactly where on the “Barrett list” are Black Milwaukeeans? More importantly why did our Black pols sell out our most precious vote without a request, list of demands, any programming, a meeting, or attention to what matters most to us-JOBS!

Like a cheap —– we gave it up, our vote, our voice, without getting our cut off the top! Like the unions are doing, they are getting something for their partnership with Barrett. Believe that!

Adding Insult to Injury

Sending Mahlon Mitchell to the hood was another insult and slap in the face. He is not from our hood and does not understand our struggle to survive. Not even sure who he is, hard to get some background on the brother. All I know is he is a union boy with no ties to Milwaukee’s inner city. He came with no plans, no promises, no prosperity for Milwaukee Negros, just more party rhetoric which means nothing to us. We heard it all before brother! We still looking to get fed and words ain’t fillin’ the empty plates. Bring us something we can get behind, some numbers, some benefits, or some programs and tell me what you will do if you had access to state coiffeurs. Unlike some of my Black elected and despite what ya heard, I like steak and lobster not hope and change. I can’t feed my family on promises anymore. Do some damage and show me what ya got! Unveil the plan, lead the new revolution, and give us the same thing you give to unions and those whose votes you all are working so hard to get. Don’t tell me about debates, investigations, and what the other guy didn’t do, tell me what you will do FOR ME!

So I ask as I hope all Blacks will demand of their Black elected, leaders, and media outlets:

  • What Black pol is going to dare tell Barrett to hold up a second and tell him we got some demands or we taking our ish back. No vote until we get some concessions!
  • What Black pol is willing to shed the “D” burned on their chest and tell these people we hurtin’ and until we see some hope and change coming our way we won’t be givin’ it up like expected?
  • What Black leader elected or otherwise is going to tell Barrett and the like that we dying out here and now the police are on us too? Come on somebody feel me out here!
  • What media outlet will ask the hard questions, buck the Democratic rhetoric and go off script to have some real grown up discussion? Hello anybody? I know somebody other than me is sick of taking the same old ish every single election cycle.

I’m just sayin’ we can do better, go further, move FORWARD if we weren’t so damn cheap with our vote. Want to know why so much apathy? We sell out every chance we get! Stand in solidarity and demand our 40 acres and a mule before we give our vote!

Tom Barrett win or lose we still got him one way or another so if not now when things are tight and votes matter, when do we put us first? I know in these next few weeks if we make a concentrated effort we can gain his attention and make our vote worth more than it has ever been. Lord knows we been carrying him all the way to the unemployment lines and back faithfully. It is time for Tom Barrett to do some heavy lifting and court us in the Black community like the rest of this state. It is also past time to demand that our Black pols do us a solid and stop selling us out without getting something off the top like every other group. Stop jumping the gun and being a “yes” person and make some demands.

SMH!!!

 “You’re quite hostile,

I got a right to be hostile, man my people being persecuted!”

….Prophets of Rage

 

No Peace this time Family, we at war!

WW

About Last Night: Wisconsin Recalls Round 1

Posted by Wonder Woman on

About Last Night: Wisconsin Recalls Round 1

Wisconsin Democrats turn out to support anything but Collective Bargaining & Unions.

Last night Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett defeated union backed Kathleen Falk, publically admitting the Democratic fight was not really a fight about union solidarity and Collective Bargaining after all.

For over a year now Wisconsin has been plagued with red shirts and blue fists, protests for union solidarity, and for collective bargaining. However the person who steered way far away from unions came out victorious. While Barrett made a very passionate speech last night, Dem blogs were lit up about the fact that he bucked the union solidarity day march and rally because he did not want to be seen with unions standing with him. Yet they voted for him anyway. So what was all that marching and protesting about if you voted for the very person who did to you what he has been doing to Blacks for over 8 years? Ignoring you!

In his speech, Barrett talked about out of state contributors, when in fact last week he welcomed Rahm Emmanuel and others to stand with him. He spoke about civility when his record shows a clear pattern of divisiveness in his own backyard. Some will remember when Barrett became mayor of Milwaukee; the city was #3 in most segregated cities in the nation. Milwaukee now under Barrett  has enjoyed the #1 most segregated city in the union for most of his mayorship. Yet we look at the Milwaukee Community Journal and see most of our Black elected supporting him. An inconvenient truth Black Milwaukee does not want to discuss, but it is so disturbing.

Many politicians ask are you better now than you where after my term? Well Black Milwaukee can unequivocally say hell no! Yet and still we support this man simply because he is a Democrat and the one thing we dare not upset is the Democratic Party. The Milwaukee Black has yet to learn this party has been no friend to us. Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying Republicans are better, but a blind vote for the Dems is a sign of agreement to the treatment we have been given. It is a clear overlooking of how our people have been ignored by this mayor and his party and thumbs up to continually being treated this way. Much like the battered wife, this abusive mayor keeps ignoring us except when the sheep need to be herded back into the fold. He uses our own people to do it, which is even worse. I will never understand our blind lust for this man or any party really, but particularly the Democratic Party, which is like a growing fungus in our community. What I do understand is that he is not the person to lead the Democrats and unions against a fight with this governor for the third time. REALLY??

Last Night’s Numbers:

Last night’s numbers do not have any real revelations for us other than Governor Scott Walker has a little more breathing room and Barrett’s climb is more uphill than predicted. Remember some Repubs played chess thinking a vote for Falk would be the best bet. Some Dems thought a vote for the fake Republican could catch Walker in a sneak attack and oust him right from jump. Neither move worked. The masses decided to send messages of support rather than play chicken. However the message was not well received and as the numbers came in, commercials for both candidates blitzed the media outlets in full force well before the AP declared anything.

Barrett vs. Walker

As mayor, Barrett will be hard pressed to speak to job creation, unifying the state, or education. He is 10% above the national average in unemployment, of course with Blacks highest in this category. Again #1 in segregation, and when he tried to take over MPS he was shouted down off the ledge. I really cannot think of the last time that idea crossed his lips again. He has proceeded over watching businesses leave Milwaukee, conventions and annual events never come back, leaving the Midwest Convention Center all but destitute. He has now watched condos go up only to be possibly half-filled. His trolley idea is a bust and he is pretty much left with attacks which will not create any civility. His campaign will have to be based on smearing and attacking. What else is there for him to speak positively about? Does anyone remember when Milwaukee hosted the biggest science fiction convention in the nation? They all but begged him to find a way to work with them to stay, but he had other things to do. They left and took millions in revenue and jobs with them. Not to mention gone are the Hollywood stars, TMZ, and all that comes with a international thriving industry. Aduh, where did they go?

There is the new hospitality industry and the new hotels being built but if you cannot keep conventions coming back how long will those hotels last? Summerfest is only for a few weeks and then what? Wait around for another Harley reunion? We have all been waiting for the “big plan” to accompany these new hotels but so far nada!

He cannot run on taxes because his have gone up every year except one and this year all Wisconsin homeowners saw monetary relief by April 15th courtesy of Governor Walker. Meanwhile this mayor had the nerve to get on TV and happily tell his constituents that foreclosed homes were theirs for the taking. Did he not forget that some of the people who saw that commercial were the very people evicted from their homes and foreclosure victims? Did he not think of the hurt and pain they faced as they watched their dreams being sold away as they watched him laughing it up on TV? They remember.

Barrett made the promise to young people that he would initiate a jobs program but with him being gone so much the program is sitting around with little movement and hundreds of applications waiting to be addressed. Another failed program that needed Barrett “all in” to get it moving. We now hold out hope the City Council led by Willie Hines will move it forward.

There are a host of other things that could be listed (after all, in 8 years of failed leadership there is a lot of time and damage to recount) but like the Teflon Don, this mayor will disavow these things like he does many of his failed ideas and programs. We have police brutality on the rise, crimes of armed robbery, car theft, property damage, sex trafficking all rising with little to no response by this mayor. It is as if he knows nothing about his own city. How can we expect him to deal with state issues? Will he bring his segregation to the state? Will he takeover state education as he attempted with MPS? Scary thoughts indeed.

And then there is Act 10. You cannot bash a governor and ride his coattails! His tools were implemented by you and now you are going to bash them? It won’t sit well outside Milwaukee.

Walker has going for him that he has not served a full term as a Governor, whereas Barrett has been allowed to ruin Milwaukee for 8 disastrous years. Walker however has some work to do. Many wonder if he had not had to address a statewide hissy fit, how far could we be? As far as the Jon Doe investigation, he can honestly say HE INITIATED IT! So if anything comes of it, short of him on the phone making an illegal transaction, that ship has sailed and he did what he was supposed to do. He reported it and yes in Wisconsin if I was a Republican I would lawyer up too! It is just par for the course. Dane county and Milwaukee County are liberal to the core and he has to protect himself. Most will understand this especially after looking at the recall signature sheets.

I would suggest to Walker that he be more vigilant about his dealings with Black media. He is going to have to take the fight to Barrett and that means dealing with the people who hate him the most, the black media in Milwaukee. This means buying whole pages of the Milwaukee Community Journal and Milwaukee Courier, with a simple message of what he has done. He will need to explain “Transforming Milwaukee.” He will have to sit in the hot seat and get away from the comfort of Mark, Charlie, and Jay. He will have to sit with Eric and Earl and bring it. He may also want to seek out the Black Conservative Media which is growing in the state. After hearing the Koch chants and big businesses mantra and all the rhetoric he can stomach, he will have his turn to speak. When all Dem talking points have been exhausted people tire of them and they will listen. He will have to get out and walk up and down North Avenue, something this mayor refuses to do, get back on busses and meet people where they are in the streets.

This fight does not have to get ugly; all he need do is what he should have been doing all along, connecting with us. No need to even mention Barrett because he is not present to us either! So why spend a single minute talking about him? We in the Black community know very well our plight (even though we ignore it so). Walker must show and tell what he is doing different to circumvent this mayor to get Black Milwaukee back on track. He must showcase his committee of bipartisan representation. This mayor does not have that type of committee; this governor has for well over a year.

June 5th

The next four weeks will be telling indeed. Barrett has already lied last night about civility. I have been subscribed to his tweets for some time and what he does not say in public, he and staff say via twitter. It is ugly and nasty and it will come to light. His calling for a state of healing was only a Kodak moment comment. His tweets show a very ugly side to his campaign.

How much will the unions conform and sell out? Given Barrett turned down their big union love day, he has some fence mending and kissing to do. Some of them are very upset and rightfully so. He is going away from everything they marched and protested for.

The flight of the 14 was a stunt and now it is confirmed as they sold out as soon as Barrett dropped his name. This race is not about unions or Collective Bargaining. It is about power and the lengths Dems will go not to part from it.

This race when all is said and done will not bring resolution or compromise people wish for. It will not end peacefully, nor will either side come together to sing Kumbaya!

At the end of the day this race will hopefully be about two men standing on their convictions and records allowing voters to judge those two things alone.

 

Peace Family,

WW

http://wonder2woman.blogspot.com/

@wonder2woman (Twitter)

SDC: Scandal, Deception, Chaos plagues the Social Development Commission.

Posted by Wonder Woman on

SDC:  Scandal, Deception, Chaos plagues the Social Development Commission.

Taking a closer look at the largest poverty resource agency in Wisconsin and their accountability in Milwaukee.

SDC, The Social Development Commission has come under fire lately for some of its practices, spending, and accountability.

Suppose I were to tell you Governor Scott Walker used and flew in the most expensive consultants from Michigan, treated his staff to aromatherapy, lavish parties with expensive menus and party frills, provided dental and mental health evaluations for administration and his staffers, okayed first-class flights for incoming consultants, and despite having qualified staff, used outside contractors costing the state $633,999 you would be outraged! Recall would be eminent.

This is exactly what is going down at SDC right now.

The Journal Sentinel too has reported on some unsettling discrepancies within SDC. One example being that $20,000 was spent training the board on new policy governance which the board untimely did not use because the policy change gave the CEO way too much power with little oversight. $20,000 up in smoke! Imagine if a government official did this. There would be outrage and recalls and heads would roll. But SDC kept on moving with very little mention of this waste. Money that could have been used for the poor, money desperately needed in these tough economic times. Debacles like this are of the utmost importance to us especially in the Black community because we depend on these services heavily to help make ends meet or to survive at all. With the Black unemployment rate being so high in Milwaukee, the services that SDC provide are critical to inner city families, single parent homes, and the elderly.

Some of the assistance SDC provides are Head Start, service to the elderly, energy assistance, tax preparation services, Wisconsin Works, Ways to Work, and the W-2 emergency assistance to families to list a few. Some of their programs have been suspended or ended because of financial issues or in the case of Ways to Work, too many delinquent accounts caused the program to collapse. They service a good number of people who desperately need these resources to stay alive literally. They also have other programs designed to strengthen the family, assist those who need help for addiction education, and sponsorship of programming for the community by the community.

Money is scarce and to waste thousands to hundreds of thousands is unconscionable.

SDC has come under fire because of their accountability, releasing an internal audit showing many flaws in the agency’s bookkeeping and accounting specifically. Some issues are being corrected like filing for charitable non-profit status, others still await attention. These flaws directly impact the monies available to the poor, keep possible donors from giving to the organization, and question the group’s commitment and intergrity to the community the agency claims to serve religiously.

SDC’s CEO, Deborah Blanks defends the agency’s practices and activities. She oversees $54 million dollars of SDC’s budget. Her current salary is $144,000. That is quite a hefty salary for an anti-poverty agency CEO. Some board members including Fred Royal Jr. (and remember that name), defend Blanks and SDC’s actions and believe this is a media attack, but is he right? Not in the least bit!! It is called accountability and caring about the very community we see as needing protection from predators that see agencies like SDC as stomping grounds for their cavalier lifestyles. No Mr. Royal Jr. this is not an attack, this is called protecting our fellow neighbor in need.

Using the same analogy with Governor Walker in the opening, we in the Black community would have been outraged! To know that a poverty agency tasked to help a sadly growing number of poor in Milwaukee seeing fit to spend money without caution or best practices is even worse. It is almost criminal. Our lack of outrage is also very upsetting to me. Reading the Milwaukee Community Journal the other day, the “Question of the Day” responses had no problems with the revelations of the SDC. I personally was sickened by it. Sometimes I think we forget about others and as long as we have been helped, who cares? We need to care! We can no longer live by the code that “I got mine, better get yours” mentality. People made fun of those lined up last week in preparation for the WE Energy moratorium lift but why is that funny? Regardless of our judgment of those people, they still needed assistance. Families needed energy and electricity and so we should laugh at their plight not truly knowing what their plight may be? This is what I saw constantly in the last weeks posted in social media chat rooms and networks, judgment and laughter. When one thinks of it, we may never know when that person we laugh at may be one of us.

Promise and Hope

Courageously some of the SDC board members have spoken out against the waste and lack of good oversight in SDC programming. They think it could run more efficiently and provide better service to more of the poor if the SDC would get its act together. They are actively seeking resolution to the issues facing the organization. Just by their courage to voice their concerns, change is eminent I pray.

SDC is no stranger to controversial spending and unfair practices. For example some summers ago during a scorching hot heat wave, SDC board members gave away air conditioners to family and friends instead of the elderly it was supposed to give them to. Some of these elderly people died in that heat wave. SDC was slapped on the hand but no one saw jail time. In fact one of those who did this went on to be honored as a community hero. I won’t name the person since they have left this earth and cannot defend themselves.  Another board member who did this is still in public service and was never reprimanded for her role in this scheme. Those who remember this horrific episode know exactly who I am referring to. It has been over a decade now and this board is not that same board. However with the board at odds with SDC practices, one wonders how SDC can serve the poor until it cleans its fiscal house? Blanks, who has held this position an adequate amount of time, allowed for these issues to fester causing possible loss of funding. She oversaw the hiring of someone unqualified by SDC standards to manage a program minus a degree the position required, and bends the rules as she sees fit.  Exactly how long do we continue to let her and those who agree with her to manage $54 million dollars if they have proven they are not good stewards of the poor and defenseless? Maybe SDC needs to clean house altogether.

Where SDC is at Now

As it stands SDC stands to loose its funding for Head Start and will have to bid on the program. This program serves over 3000 children and was designed to help little ones reach their maximum potential. The end result is to have these children at the same learning potential as their counterparts that we find are already at or above national kindergarten standard abilities. These kids need Head Start and without it or some type of programming similar to it will face a terrible uphill climb alone.

As an aside even President Obama is working to fix Head Start as many educators and experts in early learning education have reported that Head Start has become an outdated and an ineffective program that needs major reworking. President Obama has assigned a task force and finances to help the Federal program retool its curriculum and revise its outcomes-based goals to once again better meet the needs of those in the program. Locally many area daycares and childcare centers are no longer using the Head Start Program because of the inadequacy of the curriculum and are now using alternative educational methods that have shown aggressive and proven results preparing young ones to compete and excel at a much higher level once they reach school age.

Back to SDC

SDC’s board is comprised of 18 members, 6 members from community agencies, 6 members from the community at large, and 6 members holding public office. Two member positions remain vacant at present. For board member information see the inserted link:

http://www.cr-sdc.org/About/BoardofCommissioners.htm

The Executive Team:

http://www.cr-sdc.org/About/ExecutiveTeam.htm

Some board members say SDC would be more efficient if it was accountable and transparent in its business practices. It needs to hold program directors accountable to acceptable standards, and spend wisely. As we all know given this economy, agencies like SDC are overwhelmed with the number of those in need. They are the first responders for poverty assistance and need to take this position with more seriousness now more than ever before.

Family we need to be the advocates for the poor always. What is going on at SDC needs to be addressed immediately and vigorously. The poor in our community depend on us to be their voice as they find ways to stay above water. This means contacting SDC and being vigilant about SDC’s progress in dealing with their accountability issues. No more first class flights or aromatherapy, this is money better spent helping more people find resources to make ends meet. As it is often said silence is compliance. Let us voice loudly our concern for the poor and helpless. Let us make SDC a more reliable source in the fight against poverty and show compassion in its work.

For more about SDC and contact information lease visit the link below.

http://www.cr-sdc.org/index.htm

Peace Family,

WW

TMD’s Shakara interviews Mikel Holt

Posted by Shakara on

Hello again family,

I hope you were able to check out the first episode of the UWM campus TV show I founded, The U-View.

On the second episode, I interviewed Mikel Holt of the the Milwaukee Community Journal. You will learn A LOT from Mr. Holt about the history of black journalism here in Milwaukee.

Check it out at pawstv3.com. Once you get to the home page, it’s the first video on the left labeled “ U-View looks at the history of African American journalism in Milwaukee”.

-Shakara

For Love Of Country: Olympics Pay to Play?

Posted by Wonder Woman on

For Love Of Country: Olympics Pay to Play?

 

And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.

And I won’t forget those who died who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.

Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land.

God bless the USA!

Lee Greenwood

 

Last week Dwayne Wade and Ray Allen made mention of possibly getting compensated for their work as Olympians in this year’s London Summer Olympics. Both went on to further say it was an honor, but did they have a point about compensation for their appearances in the Olympics?

“It’s a lot of things you do for the Olympics — a lot of jerseys you sell,” Wade said after the Heat’s practice on Wednesday in advance of Thursday’s game against Chicago. “We play the whole summer. I do think guys should be compensated. Just like I think college players should be compensated as well. Unfortunately, it’s not there. But I think it should be something, you know, there for it.”

Dwayne Wade

As the above song suggest there is a certain honor for representing our country. Hell in some countries one could get killed for even suggesting such!

However there is honor and prestige in being chosen to represent our country once every four years. Firstly you were chosen because you are considered the best of thousands in your particular sport. Remember when we had college kids playing and they got spanked more often than not until the invention of the Dream Team.

These athletes represent our country, are ambassadors for us and our way of life, and in basketball particularly they set the standard for skilled basketball and how it has progressed. People from all countries watch our Dream Teams play. They love the star studded line ups, they love the dunks, the high flying aerodynamics, and the carefully crafted plays that make American basketball so very popular internationally. It is very hard to find those who feel pity for Wade or Allen who make millions every year.

In addition to being selected, being the best in their respective field; they receive accolades from their fellow countrymen, other countries, they go into the history books, and they play for the right to say America is #1! They lift that flag high above them and wave it with pride as our national anthem plays in the background. If they win gold medals they also get a $25,000 stipend and the medal to keep and show off. No other American gets this privilege every four years. Only these chosen few  get these honors.

As well as playing for pride, honor, and that nice stipend, they get endorsements and are accommodated in many more ways than your average Olympian. They have it pretty good compared to the others representing Team USA.

So what you have to give up time and may be weary from the season. No one forced you to do it. Enjoy the Olympics and the free trip to London! As LeBron James said, it is an honor and quite fun as well. The privilege to play on a dream team is an once-in-a-lifetime event for some. It is unique and very few can say they had such an honor.

Maybe in our culture the word honor has become associated with compensation. However I think we need to revisit that word and its true definition. Maybe ask a military person what honor and valor mean to them and remember what it is to serve your country in whatever way is asked of you.

Peace Family,

WW

For The Love Of Money –Bizarro Wonder Woman has something to say!

Hold on WW! Yes I am have a few things for you to think about on the subject.

Many of these players were high-jacked pre NBA. They were making money for other entities like the NCAA, all the while not being compensated for making those colleges big bucks off the sweat of their hard work.

The sponsors get a lot of loot too! Everything in Olympics is endorsed by some company. Nike, Adidas, Subway even finds a way to get paid off the Olympic celebs and their work and their fame. Dream Team jerseys go for a lot of money these days. What of that goes back to the player whose name is on that jersey? He is the one that made the jersey valuable! Everyone gets a piece of the pie so why shouldn’t they? They dedicate their time and possible off season earning potential to do this so why shouldn’t they see part of the earnings?

College athletes cannot get compensation and the NCAA is one of the biggest shills in town yet we let them make millions each year while student athletes get zilch! Yes even they get Olympic money. Everybody gets paid!

As Ray Allen pointed out if he is unavailable, his firm outsources his work. How is that fair? In the NBA there has been a shift in players. They were simply there to play the game, now we see these players as savvy businessmen and brands in addition to being athletes! Also think about the risks of playing such a long time. That intense labor to a human body can ruin a career or they can sustain an injury, possibly a career ending injury at that.

Sure honor is still meaningful, but if it is tainted, it is not by the hands of the athletes.

Show me the money!

Bizarro Wonder Woman