Category Archives: Lifestyle

Lifestyle

CHRISTIANITY & THE LAW OF ATTRACTION and THE ONE COMMAND

Leave a comment

Daood Obaid Aka Soul Detective
Contributing Writer

beverly jones

Daood: Ms. Beverly Jones you have a book signing Feb. 15th at Dock BookShop and will be reading from your new book Christianity, The Law Of Attraction And The One Command.” Exactly what separate this book from your contemporaries?

Ms. Jones: My book is written with Christians in mind. It doesn’t just tell you that you can ask for what you desire. It provides scriptures that tell you exactly what to do with examples.

Daood: For those of us not familiar with the One Command, from a general perspective can you expound?

Ms. Jones: the short answer is that The One Command is a six step technique that takes you into a meditative state where you connect with your creator to ask for what you desire. It takes away the negativity and self-doubt.

Daood: 13 chapters and this book is equivalent to an encyclopedia wealth of information which must have took great effort and ingenuity?

Ms. Jones: Daood, I did a lot of research for the book. As I was gathering information I was led to different books, TV programs, church services. It was as though I was being given the information to share. Each time I would stop working on it, a little nugget of information would arrive. I didn’t work on it consistently however it came together over a period of about two years. In putting the book together I didn’t know how the chapters would work until one morning the idea came to me to let each chapter stand on its own except for the first two which are the foundational chapters. That way my audience could read what they needed.

Daood: Were there any unique or vexed circumstance/s in accomplishing this book completion?

Ms. Jones: Mainly how the book should be organized. I have written course material and it must follow a certain order. A novel has one chapter that follows another until the climax. However this book is more like a text book. in that you go read understand and do what you need at that time. An example would be Chapter Six. Fear and The One Command. If you are experiencing doubt or fear of some type, this chapter will help you conquer that fear by recognizing what you really want and then asking the Creator for that specific thing.

Daood: Within the preface you question why so many people whom believe in the bible take issue with the Law of Attraction. Can you briefly elaborate as to Bible and The Laws Of Attraction precedent to each other?

Ms. Jones: If you are asking how they are related let me first explain the definition of “The Law of Attraction.” It is getting everything you want out of life through the power of your own mind. That which you think about most is what you will receive. The Law of Attraction is associated with new age thinking however the Scriptures tell us the same thing. In fact, my signature scripture is Matthew 9:29 “According to your faith let it be done to you,” they both tell you the same thing only in different words.

Daood: Dock Book Shop Feb. 15th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. That is a very famous bookstore in Fort Worth Texas. Exactly where is it located, and should be people arrive there earlier to get a parking space?

Ms. Jones: It is located at 6637 Meadowbrook Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76112. Meadowbrook Drive is off of 820 just south of the I-30 exit. It is located in a strip mall so parking is not a problem.

Daood: Well I think you for this opportunity and in closing communicate for us the important of the usage of words as it relates to the Bible & The Law’s Of Attraction?

Ms. Jones: The words that you speak are a blessing or a curse on your life. Speak only of what you desire as though it was already yours. If you desire to be debt free imagine what it is like (not would be) to be free from debt with a certain amount of money in the bank. Mathew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”

Thank you Daood for this opportunity to share with you just a little about what “Christianity, The Law of Attraction, and the One Command” will give to the reader. See you all on the 15th in Ft. Worth

Dock BookShop
Ms. Beverly Jones Book signing
February 15th at 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
6637 Meadowbrook Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76112
http://www.thedockbookshop.com

Ms. Beverly Jones
http://commandingyourlife.com
http://silverfox.silvacourses.com
https://www.facebook.com/CommandingYourLife
http://www.meetup.com/Commanding-Your-Life

Lifestyle

2014 MLK Oratory winner says a good education is essential

Leave a comment
Amari Venzor receiving award
SunPhoto/ Sheila Ray Reed Amari Venzor receiving award

By: Sheila Ray Reed
The Houston Sun

A group of 12 inspiring young speakers celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy of peace and unity by displaying their oratorical skills at the 18th Annual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition, at the historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in downtown Houston.

First place winner, Amari Venzor, a fifth-grader at Cornelius Elementary School garnered accolades for his powerful speech on this year’s theme: What Dr. King would say if the March on Washington was held today? Venzor’s topic resonated around the essence of a quality education.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and critically. We must remember that intelligence is not enough; but intelligence plus character now that is the goal of true education,” said Venzor.

He elaborated further and said that he found it interesting that the richest nation on earth hasn’t given enough money to build better schools and pay teachers what they are worth.
Venzor ended his speech by saying if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was speaking at a March on Washington today, he would say, “Until the valley of educational expectation is exalted and the mountain of style over substance is made low, that as long as we have breath in our bodies, then there is still work to be done,” he said

This young man has a heart of a champion and doesn’t believe in ever giving up. He said that even though he came close but didn’t win last year’s competition he had a feeling that he would win this year.

“I was excited about this year and I really prepared and felt confident,” he said. Venzor’s aspirations are to be an actor and a speechwriter.

The prizing winning speech won him top prize of $1,000. Second place went to Byron Roberson, a fifth-grade student at Dodson Elementary who won the $500 prize and the third place prize of $200 went to Chrystyna Haywood, a fourth-grader at Bruce Elementary.

The MLK Annual Oratory Competition is sponsored by the Gardere Wynne Sewell Law Firm. The contest aims to strengthen students’ skills while encouraging them to learn about and support the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lifestyle

Houston’s mayor Annise Parker weds long-time partner

2 Comments
Mayor Annise Parker weds long time partner.
Mayor Annise Parker weds long time partner.

Mayor Annise Parker and her long-time partner, First Lady Kathy Hubbard, were joined in marriage today in a sunset ceremony held at a private home in Palm Springs, California. A small gathering of family and friends, including the mayor’s mother and Ms. Hubbard’s sister, were on hand for the exchange of vows, which were presided over by the Reverend Paul Fromberg, a family friend from San Francisco. Two other close friends from Houston, Judge Steve Kirkland and Mr. Mark Parthie, served as the attendants and formal witnesses. Mayor Parker and the First Lady selected January 16th for their wedding because it marks the 23rd anniversary of the start of their lives together.

“This is a very happy day for us,” said Mayor Parker. “We have had to wait a very long time to formalize our commitment to each other. Kathy has been by my side for more than two decades, helping to raise a family, nurture my political career and all of the other ups and down and life events that come with a committed relationship. She is the love of my life and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life married to her.”

Ms. Hubbard has other insurance options available to her and will, therefore, not participate in the new policy granting city health insurance benefits to the spouses of legally-married city employees.

Lifestyle

104-year-old Mrs. Mildred Washington Anthony says, “it’s no secret” to long life, celebrates birthday

1 Comment

By:Sheila Ray Reed
The Houston Sun

For Mildred Washington Anthony who celebrated her 104th birthday with family, friends and church members at True Light Missionary Baptist Church, longevity is all about trusting in the Lord and allowing Him to lead.

“The Lord did it. The Lord kept me alive. Do you know the Lord,” she asked? “You know what he does for you; he will do for others. I trust in the Lord. I ask the Lord to keep me and be with me. Don’t leave me alone. I am going to let You lead me. The Lord, the good Lord. He loves you. He loves me. I know the Lord loves me because the Bible tells me so. That’s all I know; and it is no secret,” she boldly stated.

SunPhoto/Kenya Chavis Mildred Washington Anthony celebrated her 104th birthday at True Light Missionary Baptist Church, with family and church members. Anthony spoke to Sun Lifestyle Editor Sheila Ray Reed about life and the key to becoming a healthy 104 year old.
SunPhoto/Kenya Chavis
Mildred Washington Anthony celebrated her 104th birthday at True Light Missionary Baptist Church, with family and church members. Anthony spoke to Sun Lifestyle Editor Sheila Ray Reed about life and the key to becoming a healthy 104 year old.

Anthony is an early riser and has a quick-witted mind that knows how to get you thinking. “When I woke this morning, I thought today is my birthday, and I am a year older than yesterday. Right now, being 104-years of age doesn’t feel any different from being 103-years of age,” she said with a sly laugh.

She goes on and says, “I hope you are getting something from the background. Always listen to the background when anybody is talking to you,” said Anthony. “You know what, a lot of things are better when you do it for yourself. It makes you feel better about yourself.”

Growing up in her birth town of San Augustine, Texas, Anthony worked in the cotton-fields all day to support her nine younger siblings after the death of their parents. After a long days’ work, she then would return home to prepare dinner for her brothers and sisters. Even with being the oldest, she has outlived them all.

“My daddy used to say, “always cover the ground you stand on. Stand-up and be a woman, Stand-up and be a man. Don’t let nobody push you around. Don’t let nobody run over you. Take the Lord along with you. He will run the old devil clean away. You won’t see him anymore if you keep the Lord with you. The old devil stays away, because he doesn’t like the things of God. That’s what my daddy spoke,” said Anthony.

Even though Mrs. Anthony is not physically able to do some of the things she used to enjoy they still resonate in her heart.

“I like to keep house. I like to dress up and look real good. I do. I’ve always like to dress up. But now I can’t do that. It’s not because I don’t like it. I still like it. I still like good housekeeping, a good clean house. I like to look different. You see me today; I have on such-a-such thing. You see me tomorrow; I have on something different and look better. Let the world turn,” she said.

Her faith and love of the Lord has sustained her through some trials and tribulations. After her husband passed, she moved to Houston to live with one of their three children. She joined True Light Missionary Baptist Church where she has been a dedicated and active member for 51 years.

Anthony’s children have all since passed. She still does have a supportive family of three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and eight great-great grandchildren; and two great-great-great grandchildren.

In addition, she has a multitude of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and a beloved church family.

Her grandson, Michael Given visits his grandmother every day and says that she has only been ill twice in her life.

“Last year and the year before, she was in the hospital for chest pains. But she overcame that. She is strong and knows how to say what she wants and needs. As she told you, she likes to take very good care of herself,” Given said.

Mrs. Anthony says there isn’t one thing that she feels is missing in her life. She just knows that God knew her before she was born a 104-years-ago and knows her the same yesterday and today.

“When you pray, you are talking to the Lord. When you are reading the Bible, the Lord is talking to you. That is the way it is. That’s the way it goes. That’s the way it is written. And when you read the Bible and it is something important, write it down so you will not forget,” said Anthony.

Lifestyle

Mother found on Christmas after 28 years due to Facebook

Leave a comment

Daood Obaid
Special Edition
The Houston Sun

Kelly Lott, a Denton native and resident, spent her entire life overcoming drug abuse and homelessness. Within five years she lost her parents to cancer, her brother to a car accident, and three boys to Child Protective Services. Decades have passed, but Kelly has still managed to maintain peace of mind and life.

Born as a crack baby with several health problems and taken at birth, Milton Lee Hood was officially adopted by the Bradford family at the age of six years old and renamed J.R. Bradford. The young boy thrived in the environment created by his adopted parents. The family adopted five children with J.R. being the oldest and the only they’d adopted from two weeks old. Raised in Ft. Worth, J.R. spent his adolescent years searching for his true identity and family. A few years ago he found his passion and talent in acting and stage plays where he has been very successful.

SunPhoto/Daood Obaid J.R. Bradford poses with his biological mother Kelly Lott whom he met for the first time on Christmas Eve.
SunPhoto/Daood Obaid
J.R. Bradford poses with his biological mother Kelly Lott whom he met for the first time on Christmas Eve.

For the past five years every Christmas, J.R. has searched for his biological mother. While his adopted parents had passed away over the last few years. Time and time again, his research only unearthed bits and pieces of information but now had lead him in the right direction. On Thursday, December 24th, he decided to search for “Lott” on Facebook and added published author and entrepreneur Crystal Victoria as a friend. He quickly sent a short message to ask if she knew of a Kelly Lott. J.R. had finally met one of the only living relatives of Kelly Lott, her niece Crystal Victoria.

Crystal Victoria is the founder of Target Evolution Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization teaching entrepreneurship to at-risk youth and low income families located in Dallas, Texas. After reading J.R.’s message, Crystal called the contact number to arrange to meet J.R. in person. She drove across Dallas to pick him up and after one look decided they should go find Kelly together immediately. Crystal was unsure of where Kelly was located but knew her aunt wanted to find her children. Over the past few years, Crystal and Kelly searched online to locate her sons, however to no avail due to name changes. CPS and the adoption agencies had sealed the records making it impossible to locate the boys by their birth name.

Crystal had a hunch of where Kelly was living in Denton, and took J.R. to see if they could locate his long lost mother. On the way to Denton, Crystal and J.R. had a great conversation and became good friends immediately. Out of all the places Crystal wanted to check to find Kelly, they found her at the very first stop. J.R. watched as Kelly ran out of the house to embrace Crystal for the first time ever. Taking in every moment of time observing his mother, he anticipated the moment they’d meet for the first time.

Finally, Crystal introduced Kelly to J.R. and asked her if she saw a resemblance. Kelly looked baffled, but introduced herself as “Aunt Kelly”. Crystal intervened and said, “I’m not sure you’re Aunt Kelly in this case. In fact, I think y’all look a lot like mother and son.” Kelly’s eyes instantly watered as she asked Crystal if J.R. was her son. Crystal’s smile gave away the answer, and Kelly clinched her heart as tears of joy fell from her eyes. She turned to J.R. and embraced her son for the first time ever on Christmas Eve.

The three bonded for the next few hours and Crystal took J.R. back to Denton to spend Christmas Day with his mother. For the first time in 28 years, Kelly and her son were reunited for the holidays. Next, for Aunt Kelly, Crystal Victoria and J. R. Bradford is to find the other two siblings, Christopher Milton and Brett Boyeau.

If you or anyone you know, can assist them in their efforts to reunite their family please contact Crystal Victoria via email at CrystalV@eemceducation.com.

Lifestyle

Diabetes Awareness and Wellness Network grand opening at Third Ward Multi-Service Center

2 Comments
Farmers market provided fresh vegetables and fruit for D.A.W.N. participants.
Farmers market provided fresh vegetables and fruit for D.A.W.N. participants.

IMG_1343

The Third Ward Multi-Service Center is the home for the Diabetes Awareness and Wellness Network (D.A.W.N.) and they celebrated their grand opening for the community to embrace the new health program targeted for diabetics and pre-diabetics.

D.A.W.N. provides fitness facilities and recreational activities, healthy foods and nutrition, educational behavioral change, education and coaching, diabetes self-management, groups and free membership for adults who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetic glucose levels and health risk factors for diabetes.

“D.A.W.N. diabetes center is for individuals who are either pre- diabetic or are already living with diabetes. We are a behaviorally based center where anyone who is pre diabetic or is diabetic can come to learn about how to really manage their diabetes and to eat better,” said Assistant Director for the Health Department, Faith Foreman. “So we offer nutrition classes as well as a fitness center where they can come and work out and get the exercise and that fitness component they need to help them manage their diabetes and overall have a healthy life. So the center is complementary meaning that its free, there is no charge fee but you must become a member of DAWN.”

When members come in they show their member identification, go through the intake process so they may receive an assessment of where they are. D.A.W.N. has an in-house coaching staff, which are nutritionist or counselors, stress management coaches, dieticians as well as behavioral modification coaches which will work with each member.

There are three different levels of membership but a variety of ways to be a part of D.A.W.N. It’s open to anyone who has an interest in diabetes management.

“You have to be pre-diabetic, meaning your physician has told you, you’re borderline diabetic or if you don’t do preventive things in your lifestyle you may become diabetic so that means you may have an elevated glucose or elevated Hemoglobin A1c level or maybe you are taking care of a person with diabetes and you need to know more about how to make meal and really support them with diabetes and they too can become a part of the D.A.W.N. center,” said Foreman.

D.A.W.N. has been open and functioning for the past six months. Mayor Annise Parker attended the grand opening and spoke about a healthier Houston.

“We wanted to see what we could do about wellness and disease prevention and we changed our entire model of healthcare,” said Mayor Parker. “How can we be healthier as a community is the question and D.A.W.N. is a way to take both of those conversations and bring it down to the neighborhood and make it convenient?”

Barbara Walker, a member of D.A.W.N. , joined because her husband, Lee is a diabetic. They both joined to be more informed.

“We already knew a lot before we joined during the summer but it’s always good to get new information,” said Walker. “The exercising equipment and the dietician are a big help. I generally need the dietician so we can get the newer information.”

D.A.W.N. will partner with physicians, clinical and service provider organizations to assist members. To become a member of D.A.W.N. sign up at the Third Ward Multi-Service Center 3611 Ennis, Houston, Texas 77004 or call 832-393-4055. Free and open enrollment with a coach is on Tuesdays and Thursdays and classes are available now on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Classes may vary weekly.

The program also offers: understanding diabetes, kidney smart, looking good feeling good, self – monitoring your blood sugar, avoiding complications of diabetes, healthy eating, fitness room, availability for health achievement and maintenance level members, meal planning and food selection, eating well, understanding diabetes, exercise together, fitness room availability for health achievement and maintenance level members.

Lifestyle

BLUE CURE FOUNDATION LAUNCHES THE FRED AND MABEL R. PARKS LECTURE SERIES

Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information please contact:
Gabe Canales
Blue Cure Foundation
832-449-0865
gabe@bluecure.com

HOUSTON, TEXAS – Internationally accomplished philanthropist, author and art patron Dr. Carolyn Farb, hc and Blue Cure Foundation Founder and President,Gabe Canales, co-chaired The Fred and Mabel R. Parks Inaugural Lectureship Series event.

The luncheon and silent auction took place on Friday, September 27, 2013 at the Hotel ZaZa Houston. NBC KHOU News Anchor Dominique Sachse did a masterful job as Mistress of Ceremonies. The program
flowed smoothly and enjoyably. Dr. Rod Paige received the Inaugural Blue Cure Foundation Award for his extraordinary service to our country as one of the finest individuals who began his brilliant career as a
classroom teacher, advancing to become Houston Independent School District Superintendent,and serving as the 7
the United States Secretary of Education. Henceforth, the annual Blue Cure Award will be named in honor of Dr. Rod Paige,who is a member of the Blue Cure Foundation Board and a prostate cancer survivor. At the event, guests wished “Happy Birthday” to Dr. Paige on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

Gabe Canales, also a prostate cancer survivor, introduced guest speaker Dr. Margaret Cuomo,MD, author of
A World Without Cancer, who provided a look at how profit, personalities, and politics obstruct real progress toward prevention, cure of the disease, and what individuals can do to live a cancer-free life.
Blue Cure educates families and their loved ones with the knowledge of healthier dietary and
lifestyle habits to significantly become proactive in the war against all cancers- especially prostate cancer. Today in the United States, one out of two men is diagnosed with cancer; one
out of three women is diagnosed with cancer; and one out of four Americans die due to some
form of cancer. Yet, according to the National Cancer Institute, more than half of all cancers are
preventable.

Blue Cure’s mission is to prevent cancer before it begins and to reach a younger generation with the life-saving message of prevention. Some of the guests and supporters in attendance were fashion designer Jonathan Blake, Mary and Tony Gracely, Vern Montross of Bernstein Global Management, Reverend and Mrs. Joe Samuel Ratliff of Brentwood Baptist Church, Jonathan Pursch of Frost Bank, Deborah M. Colton, Betty Hrncir, Minute Maid’s Fred Arnold, Ben Hall III and Saundra Hall, Beth Wolff and
Ed Wolff, Dr. Robert Ivany, Maidie Ryan, Dr. Jack Christie, Lily and Charles Foster, Sylvia and
Gordon Quan, Jose and Daphne Rincon, David and Alviz Sierra, Jim McClellan of the Fred and
Mabel R. Parks Foundation, Peter Remington, Brad Deutser, Elizabeth and Glenn Howard,
Winell Herron of H-E-B, Brandon and Cindi Coleman, Thomas and Anna Au of Poung Au
Design, and Lee Slataper. Contributions were made in honor of Dr. Paige from the Edythe and Eli Broad Foundation, Richard Weekly, and the Fant Foundation.

Magic happened when Judge Eric Andell stopped in to auction the singular Live Auction item- a
three-night, four-day all-inclusive trip for two to Merida, Mexico, at the Presidente
Intercontinental Merida Hotel (including golfing, green fees, and round-trip airfare from
Aeromexico, donated by Patricia Herrera in memory of her late husband, Rafael, who lost his
brave battle to prostate cancer). Initially, George Mickelis of the iconic Cleburne Cafeteria was
the high bidder on the package at $4,000 and generously passed it back for re-auction; then
Elizabeth Howard won it for $3,500 and also passed it back; the final winning bid of the package
went to MD Anderson urologist, Dr. John Papadopoulos, who bid $3,000, bringing the grand
total to $10,500.

Auction items included, a photograph by Jay Rusovich, donated by Deborah Colton Gallery.
Other items included: “Blue Cure Boot” painting by artist Billy Miller, two personally inscribed
copies of Decision Points by President George W. Bush; four tickets to the Houston Texans vs.
New England Patriots game donated by NFL Texans Pro Bowl Player Chris Myers and wife Jenny; a Corner Table three-course dinner for 10; a Q Clothier custom made sport coat; and a Billy Reid canvas tote bag, among others. High-bidders Damian and Jessica Garza were delighted to take home the BellaVetra Van Gogh hand-cut mosaic tile of Armand Roulin. In a letter written to Dr. Rod Paige by President George W. Bush in Blue Cure’s tribute and read aloud by co-chair Carolyn Farb, the President thanked everyone for their efforts to increase prostate cancer awareness, prevention and promote healthy living.

Guests lunched on a specially created menu from ZaZa Chef Jeff Axline – divine and healthy –
punctuated by a chocolate flourless cake with a Chambord-raspberry coulis sprinkled with
berries. In true Carolyn Farb style, no detail was overlooked from the enchanting pale blue hydrangeas in crystal bowls donated by Kroger to the black chiavari chairs and linens by Distinctive Details.

Dr. Carolyn Farb stated, “I became involved with the Blue Cure Foundation when I met Gabe Canales. He is an amazing individual and prostate cancer survivor who has almost single handedly created this lifestyle prostate cancer movement which focuses on prevention, education, and support. The generous outpouring of support from our community has given this young organization the wings to fly and touched hearts.”

Gabe Canales asserted, “There is a difference between raising awareness and changing the way
people think. We’re empowering and educating men (and the women that love them!) with
life-saving information.”

For more information please visit
www.BlueCure.org

Community, Lifestyle

Supreme Court term begins with contentious topics

Leave a comment

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Supreme Court is beginning a new term with controversial topics that offer the court’s conservative majority the chance to move aggressively to undo limits on campaign contributions, undermine claims of discrimination in housing and mortgage lending, and allow for more government-sanctioned prayer.

Assuming the government shutdown doesn’t get in their way, the justices also will deal with a case that goes to the heart of the partisan impasse in Washington: whether and when the president may use recess appointments to fill key positions without Senate confirmation.

The court was unaffected for the first few days of the government shutdown and there was no expectation that arguments set for October would have to be rescheduled.

The new term that starts Monday may be short on the sort of high-profile battles over health care and gay marriage that marked the past two years. But several cases ask the court to overrule prior decisions _ bold action in an institution that relies on the power of precedent.

“There are an unusual number of cases going right to hot-button cultural issues and aggressive briefing on the conservative side asking precedents to be overruled,” said Georgetown University law professor Pamela Harris, who served in President Barack Obama’s Justice Department.

Paul Clement, a frequent advocate before the court and the top Supreme Court lawyer under President George W. Bush, agreed that the opportunity exists for dramatic precedent-busting decisions. But Clement said each case also offers the court “an off-ramp,” a narrower outcome that may be more in keeping with Chief Justice John Roberts’ stated desire for incremental decision-making that bridges the court’s ideological divide.

There is a familiar ring to several cases the justices will take up.

Campaign finance, affirmative action, legislative prayer and abortion clinic protests all are on the court’s calendar. The justices also will hear for the second time the case of Carol Anne Bond, a woman who was convicted under an anti-terrorism law for spreading deadly chemicals around the home of her husband’s mistress.

The justices probably will decide in the fall whether to resolve competing lower court decisions about the new health care law’s requirement that employer-sponsored health plans include coverage of contraceptives.

An issue with a good chance to be heard involves the authority of police to search the contents of a cellphone found on someone they arrest. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said over the summer that the right to privacy in the digital age “is bound to come up in many forms” in the years ahead.

The court may hear its first abortion case since 2007, a review of an Oklahoma law that would restrict the use of certain abortion-inducing drugs such as RU-486.

The campaign finance argument on Tuesday is the first major case on the calendar. The 5-4 decision in the Citizens United case in 2010 allowed corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited sums in support of or opposition to candidates, as long as the spending is independent of the candidates.

The new case, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, is a challenge to the overall limits on what an individual may give to candidates, political parties and political action committees in a two-year federal election cycle, currently $48,600 to candidates and $123,600 in total. The $2,600 limit on contributions to a candidate is not at issue.

Since the Buckley v. Valeo decision in 1976, the court has looked more favorably on contribution limits than on spending restrictions because of the potential for corruption in large contributions. The big issue in the current case is whether the justices will be just as skeptical of limits on contributing as on spending.

Three justices, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, have signaled their willingness to do so. It remains to be seen whether Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the other two members of the Citizens United majority, are willing to go along.

Among other top cases already set for review:

_Greece, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester, is asking the court to uphold its practice of opening town council meetings with a prayer, despite an appeals court ruling that found the invocations a violation of the First Amendment because they almost always were Christian prayers. The court could use the case to rule that courts should take a more hands-off approach to religion in the public square or it could hold more narrowly that the town’s practice is consistent with a 1983 decision upholding prayer at the start of government meetings.

_Mount Holly, N.J., is defending a plan to demolish and redevelop a rundown neighborhood against claims that it discriminates because it disproportionately affects African-American and Latino residents. At issue is whether there also must be an intent to discriminate under federal housing law. The issue affects a range of transactions involving real estate and applies to banks and mortgage companies as well as governments, such as the one involved in this case.

_Michigan is fighting to preserve a constitutional amendment that bans the use of racial preferences in education after a federal appeals court ruled that the constitutional ban is itself discriminatory. This case, unlike last term’s look at a University of Texas admissions plan, does not involve the viability of affirmative action, but rather whether opponents of racial preferences can enshrine that ban in the state constitution.

_Massachusetts is defending a law that creates a 35-foot buffer zone at abortion clinics to limit protesters’ ability to interact with patients. The court upheld a buffer zone law in Colorado in 2000, but Roberts and Alito have replaced members of that majority and are considered more sympathetic to the free-speech claims of the protesters.

While several cases call into question high court precedents, the justices will be writing on a blank slate when they take up the president’s recess appointment power under the Constitution.

In that case, the court will confront an appeals court ruling that effectively would end the president’s ability to make such appointments, if it is left standing.

Former Justice Department official Peter Keisler said that justices often ask a lawyer for the best case in support of his argument. “No one is going to ask that question because `t’aint none.’ No Supreme Court decisions are material here,” said Keisler, a partner at the Sidley, Austin law firm in Washington.

The impasse that led Obama to install members of the National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray in office without Senate confirmation has been resolved. So what remains of the issue is whether Obama and his successors will be constrained in the future.

The topic splits Democrats and Republicans, but their view of the matter is almost entirely dependent on which party controls the White House.

In another area, little drama is expected. Four justices are over the age of 75, but none is expected to retire in the coming year.

Ginsburg, at 80, is the oldest member of the court. Scalia and Kennedy are 77, and Justice Stephen Breyer is 75.

Ginsburg made clear in a series of media interviews this summer that she will stay on the court as long as she is able to do the work. Before the summer, Ginsburg had said she wanted to emulate Justice Louis Brandeis and stay on the bench as long as he did, 22 years. She will reach that mark in 2015, which also coincides with what is widely believed to be Obama’s last opportunity to name her replacement because the presidential election year of 2016 is an unlikely time to fill a high court vacancy, especially in the eighth and final year of a presidency.

City, Community, Lifestyle, News

Immigration reform in spotlight again across US

Leave a comment

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) _ Immigrants and their allies will march this weekend on Taylorville, Ill., in time for the annual chili fest. They’ll take a break from harvesting spuds to demonstrate in Boise, Idaho, and they’ll hold candles until dawn along the banks of Lake Hollingsworth near Orlando, Fla.

In more than 150 cities around the country, they will gather to remind the nation that despite the feuds in Congress over the debt ceiling and health care _ despite the government shutdown _ they are still here and still demanding immigration reform.

Organizers are pitching Saturday as a “National Day for Dignity and Respect” and the beginning of an “escalation to bring immigration reform across the finish line this year.”  Their weekend is the prelude to a rally and free concert Tuesday on the National Mall in Washington, where they hope to draw tens of thousands.

There also will be Texas rallies in Houston, San Antonio Dallas, Austin and Corpus Christi.

The chances they get anything through Congress before the year’s end, though, are splinter thin. If House Republicans are willing to make a deal on anything with Democrats, it’s likely to be about the budget, not immigration.

But Tampa-based activist Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez said Saturday’s events are as much about sending a message to average Americans and to the immigrants themselves as they are about spurring action in Congress.

“It’s about seeing us in our communities, not just as a number: 11 million undocumented,” he said. “And it’s about immigrants seeing that there are other immigrants out there, and that we are active members of our democracy,” he added. “A lot of people feel isolated, and when you see all these marchers, that gives you hope and the energy to join them.”

Sousa-Rodriguez knows about feeling isolated. He thought his situation was unique until the 2006 pro-immigrant marches, when he realized thousands of other immigrant youths were, like him, in the country illegally.

Sousa-Rodriguez, who works with the national LGBT grassroots group GetEQUAL, said Saturday’s mobilization is also about showing the support the immigrant movement has earned from religious leaders, labor and civil rights organizations and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The Alliance for Citizenship, a broad national coalition of organizations that includes the AFL-CIO, the ACLU, the YWCA and the Southern Poverty Law Center, is driving the mobilization.

In Washington, the shutdown aside, House Democrats unveiled an immigration bill Wednesday proposing an extended path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants illegally present, along with heightened border security. But immigration reform has been on the backburner since before the budget standoff. Many rank-and-file in the House’s Republican majority are disinclined to deal with the contentious issue of whether those in country without proper papers should be given such a path.

Tellingly, the organizers who came up with “Day of Dignity and Respect” found a somewhat vague, yet much more inclusive, name for the mobilization than anything linked to passage of a specific bill.

Saturday’s biggest rallies will likely be in the usual places, across California, in Chicago, Arizona and New York. In Los Angeles, organizers predict about 20,000 will march along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In New York, they’ll cross the Brooklyn Bridge. But more than 100 events will take place in towns and cities with far less visible immigrant communities.

In Boise, activist Fernando Mejia is organizing farm workers who will hold their mobilization Sunday because potato harvesting season is starting up anew and onion crops need to be picked into the weekend.

In Lakeland, Florida, midway between Tampa and Orlando, immigrants and their supporters will hold an overnight prayer vigil from 8 p.m. till 10:00 a.m. along the lake.

Professor Tom Shields, lecturer at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell said staging events in small towns across the country sends a message that immigration is not just an inside the Beltway concern. “It’s not just in California and Texas. You have these others states that are having this experience…. this population is living right next door to us.”

Shields likened the potential impact of the marches to the early March 2010 immigration demonstrations in Washington that drew thousands of youths just as lawmakers were on the cusp of approving the nation’s historic health care overhaul.

“That same day, 100 protesters against the Affordable Care Act stood outside the Capitol. And of course, the next day the press led with the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “But to the students who went down there, it felt like a galvanizing moment. They had not seen so many people gathered before. They felt like their personal struggles were now connected to larger issues.”

The result: more volunteers, more media attention back home and last but not least, more funding.

That’s not to say the weekend mobilizations don’t have specific targets.

In Arizona, activists are calling out Gov. Jan Brewer. She recently issued executive orders to bar immigrants who have received deferred action _ those granted temporary federal permission to live and work in the U.S. _ from getting drivers licenses.

In Illinois, immigrants will march 30 miles to the city of Taylorville _ in time for that heartland town’s annual Chili fest. Their goal: to get the attention of U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Republican from Taylorville who initially seemed open to comprehensive reform with a path to citizenship.

In Arkansas, activists are targeting U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a conservative Republican who has opposed a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, as well as their U.S.-born children. Organizers plan to march on his hometown of Rogers, where he was once mayor. Coordinator Mireya Reith, also a member of the State Board of Education, noted Arkansas is among the top five states with the fastest-growing immigrant population but that many eligible immigrants don’t become citizens, or if they do, they don’t vote.

She said her organization has been working to double the Latino and Asian vote in the state, and she views Saturday as a prime occasion for outreach, especially with the 2014 election a year away.

Whether Congress is willing to act, she says she’s already seen a change on the ground in Rogers.

Case in point: “Back when Wolmak was mayor, we never would have been able to do this,” she said.

Community, Lifestyle, News

Texas No. 1 in gun purchase applications

Leave a comment

HOUSTON (AP) _ Texas is leading the nation in the number of people seeking federal permission to buy guns.

Federal statistics reviewed Friday by the Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/17FYwPP ) show 1.2 million people in Texas through the end of September filled out applications for background checks.

At that rate, last year’s record 1.4 million requests will be surpassed by the end of 2013.

“The gun business is doing well,” Rob Elder, head of the Houston division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said.

He said number of requests could increase his agency’s workload, but he said most purchasers are law-abiding citizens seeking firearms for legitimate purposes.

The figures don’t equate to the number of purchases but represent people who have asked to buy from a federally licensed dealer.

Would-be purchasers must apply to a computerized database, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Criminal convictions, dishonorable military discharges, being in the country without an immigration permit or renouncing their U.S. citizenship can get a buyer rejected.

The application numbers, however, don’t include transactions between private citizens. Those don’t require background checks.

Gun dealers say the government shutdown hasn’t seemed to have slowed the computerized process, which normally takes just a few minutes.

Figures show California and Illinois are next after Texas in the number of applications and also are headed for annual records.

Alice Tripp, spokeswoman for the Texas State Rifle Association, said people may be hoarding guns out of fear of weapons and ammunition shortages.

“People are buying what they can buy, where they can find it, like they always do when they have concerns about availability of any item,” she said. “I am 67 and have lived through gasoline shortages, toilet-paper shortages, home shortages,” Tripp said. “Everything levels out.”

One Houston gun store owner, Jim Pruett, told the newspaper President Barack Obama motivates gun buyers.

“Any time he talks about gun control, it drives people crazy and they go and buy guns,” he said.