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I attended tonight’s Gang Awareness Forum at A&T. City Council members Goldie Wells and Dianne Bellamy-Small opened the meeting, which was led by GPD Detective Ernest Cuthbertson, who was accompanied by Sgt. Mike Richey. Chief Bellamy was in the audience, along with other police officers. (Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston and Guilford County School Board member Amos Quick were there, as was City Council candidate Greg Woodard. I think I also saw candidates Luther Falls and Joe Wilson. Update: Yes, it was Joe.)

Read more on Gang Awareness Forum At A&T…

Via Ed:

The N&R has posted Joe Killian’s “The story behind the story,” about his investigation of the gang story that ran in Sunday’s paper.

I should start by saying that my writing about “the gang problem” was sort of a divisive thing — even in the N&R office. There were reporters and editors who thought (and were not shy about saying) that they thought the whole thing was being trumped up…

Read more on Rebel With A Keyboard?…

Greensboro’s Urban Sophisticates leave today for a month-long tour, playing for U.S. troops in Japan, Guam and Korea. The tour is sponsored by Armed Forces Entertainment.

Urban Sophisticates is a five-year old, seven member, live hip hop band, mixing live drums, guitar, bass, trombone, trumpet, and rap vocals.

The members of Urban Sophisticates attend Grace Community Church (me, too) and today, the elders led the congregation in praying for them before they left for their tour. (Bass player Ricky Nxumalo spoke to the high school students, and then played and sang for them, in their youth class before the service.)

I’ve already emailed military friends serving in the Pacific. I hope they’ll have a chance to see the guys play.

God bless Benton, James, Ricky, Jeremy, Ben, Romondo, and Sal. And God bless our troops.

>> Urban Sophisticates web site
>> Urban Sophisticates MySpace
>> Urban Sophisticates at Armed Forces Entertainment

Listen to Urban Sophisticates below… Read more on Urban Sophisticates Play For Troops In Pacific…

Updated with additional info below.

Have you ever wanted to do something for someone — to give, to donate — but you wanted to make sure that what you were giving went directly to the people you intended to give it to? Well, I have a giving opportunity for you.

Read more on Want To See Where Your Donation Is Going? Give Food!…

Updated below.

There’s more to being pro-life than just opposing abortion. There are 50 million* orphaned children in the world. But there are 2.1 billion Christians. And we have a responsibility to those children.

Read more on Pro-Life: More Than Anti-Abortion…

A YouTube video of Marine Staff Sgt. Lawrence E. Dean II rapping his poem, “FREE,” about why he serves in the Marines, was viewed 400,000 times in two days this week. Dean is a Conway, S.C. native, stationed at Cherry Point Air Station in Havelock, N.C.

Dean says:

“It’s about the military service and the reason we do things. We just defend the country, no questions asked. As a family, we do it. The poem was just utmost admiration and respect for the individuals that are there. … They’ve answered the country’s call.”

God bless Staff Sgt. Dean and all our troops.

Lyrics to “FREE” below.

Read more on YouTube Marine Poet Is From The Carolinas…

Canadians are debating public policy on aggressive panhandling in the wake of recent violence by panhandlers in major cities:

“In a shocking attack in Vancouver, a beggar assaulted and robbed a 79-year-old man as he left church, even though the man had regularly and voluntarily given money to the assailant. In Toronto, an out-of-town visitor who apparently objected to aggressive begging was attacked by four panhandlers and fatally stabbed. These are notorious recent examples of beggars turning violent. But every large city in Canada is dealing with the problem, and what used to be considered a mere nuisance of the “buddy can you spare a dime” variety is coming to be seen as a real threat to public safety.”
– The Globe & Mail | View full article here

Read more on Canadians Debate Policy After Tourist Killed By Panhandlers…

Sick.

>> Read “Planned “Parenthood’s Racism: Facts about Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood.”

Anderson Grove Baptist Church will hold a Community Outreach on Saturday, August 18th at Festival Park, 200 N. Davie St., in downtown Greensboro.

Outreach 2007 is an annual initiative to benefit residents in the Greensboro area. Our attendance has grown over the years and is expected to exceed 2000 people. Some of our charitable efforts will include provisions for children’s school supplies, information on educational opportunities, give- a -ways of clothing, toys, & groceries while addressing the social and emotional needs of the children and adults in attendance. [source: AGBC web site]

Read more on Community Outreach Event Downtown, Saturday, Aug. 18th…

David Wharton is back from vacation:

“Many of the girls’ vacation activities seem to have taken place between the hours of 1 and 5 a.m. For example, one night Laurette and I went to bed as the parents and temporary guardians of three redheads and a brunette, and woke up the next day looking after three brunettes and a blond. Good morning, Miss Clairol, how nice of you to join us.”

Read more on The Joy Of Raising Daughters…

I wish you could see me now, I wish I could show you how, I’m not who I was.

Thank you, Jesus.

Lyrics below.

Read more on I’m Not Who I Was…

“Right now the biggest killer of the African-American community is abortion.”
– Joseph Parker, pastor of Campbell Chapel AME Church in Pulaski, TN, birthplace of the Klan

“Although black women constitute only 6% of the population, they comprise 36% of the abortion industry’s clientele. The leading abortion providers have chosen to exploit blacks by locating 94% of their abortuaries in urban neighborhoods with high black populations.”
– BlackGenocide.org

Read more on Abortion: Black Genocide…