Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 October 2005 — Page 9

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2005

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE A9

EDUCATION DOES MAHER Take a stance for what is positive and good in African-American community,

By LEROY ROBINSON

Well, it looks like there has been another “Black” insult hurled at the American community and like clock work, the “reactionaries” have responded. The talking heads are continuing to make their rounds on the cable news programs, as they purposely selected a guest who is as far left as William Bennett is right. Former Ronald Reagan appointee, ex-Secretary of Education William Bennett, has spoken the words that he, along with so many other, financially wealthy right wing conservative Americans think, “If you wanted to reduce crime...if that were the sole purpose, you could abort every Black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” These comments were recently made by Bennett on his national talk radio show, which is broadcast on 115 radio stations, with an estimated 1.25 million listeners per week. After these inflammatory remarks, the African-American community and their “leaders” reacted. And they reacted fast and with a vengeance. Honestly, the remarks by Bennett did not really concern or offend me that much. What bothers me most is the often “reactionary” tactics usually employed by many in our community. It seems as though

we as African Americans sit back, wait for someone to make a derogatory remark about our “culture” and then we move full steam ahead on the defensive. Last year’s comments made by entertainer Bill Cosby also struck a cord in the African-American community, and he is supposed to be one of “us.” There is no doubt that the African-American community is often an easy target for politicians, right-wing radio and television show host, and even late-night comedians on our very own BET “Comic View,” but it is a known fact that we will “react” briefly and for the moment, with few apologies offered or recourse taken, and then it will be back to business as usual. Forget what those outside of our community have to say about us. Our real issue is what those within our community are saying about us and doing to us. From the buffoonish African-American television shows on UPN and the WB, to the despicable African-American videos on BET and MTV, to the disrespectful name calling of our African-American females, to the glorifying of murder, mayhem, and drug dealing within our AfricanAmerican community by many of our rappers and hip-hoppers, no one outside of our community is verbally assaulting us to this same degree. But there are very few protests, there are very little reactionary actions, and there are no boycotts taking place to rid ourselves of these perpetrators who are propagandizing this

destructive and deceptive behavior throughout our community. Sure, others outside of our community will verbally attack our leadership, they will attack our value system, and they will even challenge and ridicule our moral integrity, but when these attacks are committed by those within our community, and directed towards those residing in our community, the effects are much more devastating. Our focus, our energy, our dedication, our commitment, and our “reactionary” responses would be more beneficial to our entire community, if we worked with and help to educate those within our community of the self-destructive nature that some of their actions create. We should take a stance for what is positive and for what is good about the African-American community, by introducing a pro-life agenda, a pro-edu-cation agenda, a pro-family agenda, a pro-positive message agenda, a pro-healthy lifestyles agenda, and a pro-community agenda, and focus on being more proactive towards those things that directly affect our community, instead of being so reactive to those who live outside of it. For lectures, panel discussions, or education workshops, contact Robinson at: educationdoesmatter@h otmail.com or write: 9701 E. 63rd St., Indianapolis, IN. 46236. For questions or comments, call (317) 502-0272.

LETTERS TO EDITOR

Keep memories alive This year I have been on two Underground Railroad tours sponsored by Donna Lucas of XPression Book Store and Art Gallery. We went to the actual Underground Railroad sites and not to some nice clean hands-off museum tucked away in some big city. If we have love and respect for our history, heritage and culture, we need to keep these memories alive and pass the stories of our history on to our children. Every day we are bombarded with the European version of America’s history. Then we are told by Negroes, colored people and Europeans to forget about the horrors of the enslavement of African Americans. America is constantly reminding us of what Europeans did to European Jews during Nazi Germany’s racist war. But there is little mention of the genocide they committed in Africa. If they killed 6 million European Jews in Europe, how many Africans did they murder in Africa? America wants to downplay what America continues to do to Americans of African descent yet today. Our descendents must

be told the African side of America’s history. James R. Depp Sr. How to save on gasoline Soaring fuel prices have motorists scrambling to find ways to save money by using less gas. Sure, you can simply stop driving as much, but for many consumers, that’s not an option. But there are two ways all of us can stretch our precious gasoline dollars. One strategy is to change how we drive, and the other is to perform simple and inexpensive vehicle maintenance. Taking these steps will not only save gas money, but will improve a vehicle’s safety and dependability. The Car Care Council offers these gas-savings maintenance and driving tips: • Check your vehicle gas cap. About 17 percent of the vehicles on the roads have gas caps that are either damaged, loose or are missing altogether, causing 147 million gallons of gas to vaporize every year. • When tires aren’t inflated properly, it’s like driving with the parking brake on, and can cost a mile or two per gallon. • A vehicle can have either four, six or

eight spark plugs, which fire as many as three million times each 1,000 miles, resulting in a lot of heat, electrical and chemical erosion. A dirty spark plug causes misfiring, which wastes fuel. Spark plugs need to be replaced regularly. • An air filter that is clogged with dirt, dust and bugs chokes off the air and creates a “rich” mixture - too much gas being burned for the amount of air, which wastes gas and causes the engine to lose power. Replacing a clogged air filter can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent, saving about 15 cents on a gallon. • Aggressive driving can lower gas mileage by as much as 22 percent on the highway and five percent on city streets, which results in seven to 49 cents per gallon. • Sitting idle gets zero miles per gallon. Letting the vehicle warm up for one to two minutes is sufficient. • Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. Each mph driven over 60 results in an additional 10 cents per gallon. To maintain a constant speed on the highway, cruise control is recommended. Rich White Executive Director Car Care Council

Daniels banking big parts of road plan on lawmakers

By MIKE SMITH AP Political Writer

Gov. Mitch Daniels hit the road last week, this time to promote his administration’s “top tier” plan to reap and spend billions of dollars to improve Indiana’s roads and highways. After announcing the 10-year plan, he spent four days and hit 12 cities playing it up, touting it as a boon to the state’s economic future. “I’m trying to get my fellow citizens as excited as I am about the opportunities for a major leap forward in employment, income for Hoosiers and a stronger economic future for the long term,” Daniels said. The 10-year roads plan was the most important thing Indiana could do to move ahead and keep fewer bright college graduates from driving past our state borders for jobs, he said. They’ll stay here instead. Daniels has tagged his plan as “Major Moves” to create a top-tier economy. His plan includes fee increases on the Indiana Toll Road in Northern Indiana, something he can do on his own and plans by next spring. Toll increases would vary according to entry point and bring in millions over 10 years. The toll for cars traveling the entire 157-mile highway would go from $4.65 to $ 8. Trucks traveling the same distance would pay $32, up from $14.55. Daniels said toll rates have not been raised since 1985 and could no longer pay for maintenance. Of the projected $770 million in new revenue through increased tolls, $344 million would go to state highway projects in toll-road counties, and $226 million would be used for toll road maintenance. The remaining $200 million would be used for local roads and economic development projects in northwestern Indiana. Daniels will do that on his own, but major parts of his plan require legislative approval. His plan envisions leasing the toll road to a private venture. It also calls for possibly making an extension of Interstate

69 between Indianapolis and Evansville a toll road and leasing it to a private company as well. Those proposals will require legislative approval, however, and such big ideas in a short legislative session might not fly. Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, and chairman of the tax- and budget-writ-ing House Ways and Means Committee, commended the governor for ahold plan. Indiana would never have the cash to make such major improvements minus the kind of ideas Daniels presented, Espich said. But some Republicans whose districts include the toll road will be wary of raising what is essentially - in motorists’ minds - a state tax in an election year. And Democrats, especially in the House, are eating this plan up as more election-year ammunition. And they are sounding off. “By drastically increasing the tolls in such a manner, the governor will be ensuring that more people look at alternative routes of travel, which will increase the wear and tear on local roads and streets,” said Rep. Ryan Dvorak, DSouth Bend. Democratic Rep. Scott Pelath of Michigan City noted that the City of Chicago leased the Chicago Skyway bridge from Hammond into Illinois to a foreign venture of companies from Spain and Australia. “I have grave reservations about the possibility of handing our state’s roads over to the Germans, Russians or Chinese,” Pelath said. Many Republicans might go along with their governor on this roads proposal, but some might not, having paid a heavy price for backing Daniels last session. Chances are, the governor’s batting average will go down. Mike Smith has covered Indiana’s Statehouse and political scene since 1993.

MBE/WBE Construction Forum to Be Held at French Lick Springs Resort & Casino

Blue Sky, Lauth Construction and CFC Construction invite minority- and women-owned business enterprises in the construction industry to participate in a construction informational forum for the French Lick Springs Resort & Casino project. Where: French Lick Springs Resort 8670 West State Road 56 French Lick, Indiana 47432 When: Wednesday, October 12th, 2 p.m. The French Lick Springs Resort & Casino construction project, bid package and prequalification requirements will be discussed. If you are interested in more information, directions or cannot attend, please contact Ryan Page with Lauth Construction at 812-936-3600.

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