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Obama urges black men to be responsible

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by hondo, Jun 15, 2008.

  1. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    Chee, the big difference is that the JSN campaign was also part of a larger campaign. When it comes to illegal drugs, we have several options (education, interdicition, treatment, increased criminal penalties, etc.). We don't have the same series of options to force men to be involved fathers, who provide their children with a real male role model. The way to change it is to make it less socially acceptable and that starts with the community leaders stepping up to the plate.
     
  2. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    Alley -- Just one question -- who is responsible for every law on the books and every program or service? So if they suck or if they are weak -- what makes you think they will be "strengthened" which is always a politicians excuse to create a bigger bureaucracy.........
     
  3. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    Who said anything about me having a problem with making it tougher on deadbeat dads?

    What I said was -- as is usually the case in an election year when every politician is offering Christmas in November ---- this is an issue where WE DON'T NEED MORE OR TOUGHER LAWS --- we just need the current laws to be enforced.

    Unfortunately you don't win elections by saying I'm going to make sure that laws are followed -- you get elected by offering goodies.......
     
  4. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    It's not necessarily creating new laws, but increasing the available punishments. Each deadbeat has a different pressure point. Give the prosecutors more tools to find that pressure point.
     
  5. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    Hmmm...I'll give you a good example.

    A relative of mine was knocked up by a college student in Iowa, even though she's from and lives in Texas. But because of the laws on the books in Iowa, as long as a dad remains a college student, he can forego standard child support payments and give the mother and child a token amount under the guise that it's all they can afford.

    My relative gets no relief and has no real legal standing with which to fight this. It was a law written by the state government in Iowa, not Texas.

    So was the law full of fail? Yes. Was it politicians who wrote it but were influenced in writing it? Yes. But because politicians screwed up the original law, we should automatically say we're not going to allow future lawmakers to try and fix it? No.

    But that seems to be exactly what you're saying. If that's the case, why even have lawmakers? Maybe that's your intention.
     
  6. Big Chee

    Big Chee Active Member


    You can't legislate it, but you guys really believe there's an absence of Barack's kind of talk in a community I've lived in hearing that type of talk for years.

    I've heard this "stop being a deadbeat dad" thing comign from the African American community for years. Don't let Bill Cosby or Barack Obabma have you believe they've stumbled upon a epiphany and have enlightened the community with their words.

    This is nothing new. And the sad thing about it is how they're never tied with a plan.


    I've been around tons of black organizations like 100 men who go into the community and teach these young fathers on what it means to raise a child. I've seen programs like the one in Delaware my ex-girlfriend used to run which had parenting classes for black families. These are people who tackled these issues first hand. These are the type of things an Adam Clayton Powell envisioned when he spoke on these issues over 40 years ago.

    There are psychological issues tied to it as well when have over 10 generations of black boys used to their aunts, mothers and grandmothers being the pillars of their household, accustomed to not seeing male leadership in the home then growing up not

    Have you heard this OLD saying? I'm pretty sure you haven't. Its something in the African American community called "we raise our daughters but love our sons"
    It's an old African American saying going back years talking about this very same issue where we baby our boys but raise our daughters. But we want to believe that there is an absence of this talk in the Afircan American community. It isn't. It's the same tired lines being thrown around with NO plan followed behind it. And rather than some taking that in, some are satisfied by these empty speechs believing blacks need a good listening to on these issues as if there's an absence of this kind of talk.
     
  7. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    Unless the laws in effect are toothless or ineffective, in which case vowing to try and improve said laws is actually a good idea.

    But heaven forbid a government try to actually, y'know, govern.
     
  8. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    Child Support cannot get blood out of a stone it is based on income.

    If a guy is not working or if he is in college, he can't afford to pay more than he's paying. And guess what that would be the case if they were together -- if he were a college student they'd still be poor......

    However, it is based on a percentage of income and as he gets a job and begins to make more money, she'll get more money.

    But that will only happen if those laws are enforced.
     
  9. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    You should be ashamed of yourself.
     
  10. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    Don't talk to me about how income levels affect the amount of child support. I happily paid it prior to gaining custody of Little Man and I certainly don't need you to attempt, and fail, to educate me.

    The way the system is set up in Iowa, though, is that there's little incentive for a college student to ever stop being a college student if it means they can avoid responsibility.

    Also...you act like there's nothing wrong with child support laws across the country and the plain and simple fact is, there's PLENTY wrong with them. THAT'S why the laws need to be fixed. Enforcement alone isn't enough, nor is it the answer since many laws leave enforcement efforts toothless.
     
  11. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    Once again -- if the laws are toothless or ineffective -- whose fault is that and why do we think allowing more of them to be written by the same group of morons is going to change anything.

    The laws AREN'T toothless --many child support laws are very strong with stiff consequences -- the problem is branch of government that is charged with ENFORCING laws in this country, however, has been woefully weak.
     
  12. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    How anyone can chastize Obama and Bayh for fighting for the single mothers is completely disgraceful. I don't know how you can sleep at night.
     
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