Dinner and Discussion Book Club: Postcards from Cookie

I received a copy Postcards from Cookie in March and fell in love with the author's, Caroline Clarke Graves, journey. I recommended the book to the book club I am in, to listeners of Living Your Best Life Radio and several friends in women groups. I have read the book several times since March and with each sitting, I felt as if I was turning the pages of the book for the first time.

I knew the book was a hit when I got an email from Diane Hines who simply stated "I loved Postcards From Cookie." I immediately called her and we spent the afternoon sharing our favorite stories from the book. A few days later, Joyce Searcy emailed me from London and said, "I read the book while I was on the plane." I also recieved a postcard from her which I thought was a great lead up to our book club meeting. When Cathy Ramsey called she said, "I have something to share but will wait until we see each other."

With so many positive comments, I could not wait for our meeting to hurry up and get here. The anticipation to fellowship with fellow book lovers and natural story tellers and hear their feedback had me counting down the days until I could see the ladies of club share more of their thoughts about Postcards from Cookie. While waiting to meet with them, I sent emails to the Caroline, letting her know the popularity of the book and how I could not wait to see her in person soon.

The Dinner and Discussion Book Club met at Sunset Grill to discuss Postcards From Cookie.
The afternoon spent together over diner and drinks was truly a special time. Cathy put our discussion questions on postcards that she made from photographs of student life at Palmer Memorial Institute. During dinner, Cathy revealed that she had attended the school at one point and understood the mindset of many of the women like Maria Cole who graduated from the school.

As usual, Cathy's questions were thought provoking and lead to follow up questions and sharing of individual stories that mirrored some of the family dynamics that were told in the book. As Veronica and Anessa shared from chapters of their lives, I felt the strong pull of Postcards from Cookie bringing women closer together as we read Caroline peeling back layers of her life one page after another while giving readers a glimpse of how life was in the inner circle of Black Royalty through Cookie's life.

Postcards from Cookie is rich with history, heritage, and mayhem that have helped shaped African American communities from North to South and East to West over several generations. It mingles the past with the future while having you reaching for your latest issue of Black Enterprise. After my first reading, I reached out to old friends that I met at BE Conferences and Events over years. Several places mentioned in the book during Caroline's travels regarding BE, I was there with other entrepreneurs. Oh, the fund memories. Those calls to friends had me searching for thank you notes from Mr. and Mrs. Graves that I saved. I was reminded of the power of sending notes and thank you cards and how special I feel when I receive one for any reason.

As Caroline reveals in Postcards from Cookie and my biggest take away from reading it, God does not make mistakes and we are all "uniquely and wonderfully" made.



Photo Credits: Genma Holmes, Harper Collins

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee held its annual selection meeting today and elected seven individuals to the Class of 2014. Bringing the total number of members in the Hall of Fame to 287 are linebacker Derrick Brooks, punter Ray Guy, defensive end Claude Humphrey, tackle Walter Jones, wide receiver Andre Reed, defensive end Michael Strahan, and cornerback/safety Aeneas Williams. - See more at: http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/2014/2/2/pro-football-hall-of-fame-class-of-2014-elected/#sthash.jtyMmoEW.dpuf

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee held its annual selection meeting today and elected seven individuals to the Class of 2014. Bringing the total number of members in the Hall of Fame to 287 are linebacker Derrick Brooks, punter Ray Guy, defensive end Claude Humphrey, tackle Walter Jones, wide receiver Andre Reed, defensive end Michael Strahan, and cornerback/safety Aeneas Williams. - See more at: http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/2014/2/2/pro-football-hall-of-fame-class-of-2014-elected/#sthash.jtyMmoEW.dpuf

Why Blacks Watch Fox News and Listen to Rush Limbaugh

Often, I turn on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh to hear their points of view on hot topics. Whenever I repeat Rush Limbaugh’s name or mention Fox News to some of my Hispanic and Black friends, I get two responses; bewilderment or disgust. Then, I am peppered with questions as to why would I listen to “those racists people.” This usually leads to long discussions about the latest comments from Limbaugh about the President or how Fox News is trying to destroy our communities.

This happened last week with me and a longtime friend as we discussed the knee-jerk reaction to the Sherrod debacle by the Obama Administration that led to more criticisms by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. As I was railed against for even mentioning Fox News, I told my friend that many Black folks listen to Rush Limbaugh and watch Fox News for various reasons. She stared at me as if I fallen off a turnip truck and could not believe that anyone would listen to “those racists”. I informed her that Rush Limbaugh’s producer, James Sheldon, is a Black man who Limbaugh depends on to keep the show going. In disbelief she said, “No Black man would work for someone who spits that venom?” I agreed that Rush Limbaugh “spits venom” but I do not listen to him for news or information. He gives commentary from his point of view. I want to hear what he has to say whether I agree with him or not. My grandfather often said, “Even a broke clock is right twice a day!” Rush has built an empire that generates millions and gives his opinion on everything from a kitchen blender to the President. He makes money by being controversial not because of his fact finding revelations. As a business owner, I am not mad at him. My friend continued to share her views about programs that she do not watch or listen too until I interrupted her to ask has she turned on MSNBC to hear their resident bigot, Pat Buchanan. I stated that Pat Buchanan gets a pass for his ever-ready racial statements by the press and is far more damaging to Blacks than Rush Limbaugh or anyone Fox News has on their airwaves.

MSNBC is the cable news arm of NBC news. Both, NBC and MSNBC, are part of NBC Universal. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi, which are publically held companies.

In the world of stockholder satisfaction first, news second, MSNBC Cable News puts on several programs in a 24-hour cycle. The actual journalism arm of NBC Universal is NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. It is on one time of day-5:30 in the evening. The narrative of the MSNBC may appear to lean more towards the NBC news side but on further examination of its programming like, Joe in the Morning, hosted by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, one will find that it showcases its racial extremist, Pat Buchanan, front and center. Pat Buchanan is one of Joe in the Morning’s political commentators. Buchanan is not limited to Joe in the Morning; his colorful commentary is sought after for input time and again on MSNBC’s midday programs and Chris Matthew’s Hard Ball. In my opinion, one of the worst offenders is Chris Matthews who gives Buchanan uninterrupted space at the table frequently. Hard Ball airs at 4:00 PM and is repeated twice in MSNBC’s rotation. Buchanan’s resume includes being an author, a syndicated columnist, and a broadcaster. He was a political advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Regan. Buchanan also sought the Republican nomination for President in 1992 and 1996. He ran in 2000 as the Reform Party’s candidate.


MSNBC took Fox News, Andrew Brietbart, and the NAACP to task over the Sherrod video last week and is well, they should have. However, while judging from on high they ignored the headlines that Buchanan has generated while commentating at MSNBC that received little or no rebuke from the network that gives him a seat at the table on racial discussions. In March 2008, Buchanan authored “A Brief for Whitey”. When “A Brief for Whitey” was penned, the country was at the height of the Rev. Wright controversy. Never one to miss an opportunity to keep the races divided Buchanan stated:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

I take it Buchanan is telling Black folks they should be glad to have been slaves. I could be wrong; however, it would be nice if MSNBC and Chris Matthews asked him exactly what did he mean. With a constant eye on Fox News, MSNBC gave Buchanan unlimited access to its viewers to shape opinions on Rev. Wright by focusing on some of his statements from one speech while ignoring Buchanan’s constant barrage of race baiting. One look at the titles of Pat Buchanan’s articles shows you why he was so successful with the Southern Strategy. Pat Buchanan’s article discusses racial prejudices in the ugliest of terms. Andrew Brietbart is a baby by comparison.

· Whitey Need Not Apply

· PBS is Hiring – Blacks, Whitey Need Not Apply

· The Color of Crime

· How Liberals Play Race Politics

· Pastor to the President?

· Uprooting the New Racism.

· To Advance Diversity: Should Chelsea Quit Stanford?

Many are offended by his comments but MSNBC allows him back day after day without any repercussions. Now look at the swiftness that MSNBC handed Carlos Watson a pink slip when he dared to utter the now infamous statement, “Socialist is the new N-Word”. Carlos Watson words in August 2009 led him out the door the following month. His show was abruptly ended without much explanation. Watson tried his hand at racial commentary that was off limits for people of color at MSNBC. He learned the hard way race baiting is Pat Buchanan’s territory, do not trespass.

Since the election of the President Obama, MSNBC has become less diverse than Fox News. When it comes to diversity, Fox actually has the other networks beat when it comes to commentators and guests that support their view point and even those who disagree with Fox’s narrative. You can find Julie Banderas, Linda Chavez, Wendell Goler, Lauren Green, Marc Lamont Hill, Michelle Malkin, Star Parker, Uma Pemmaraju, Jesse Lee Peterson, Al Sharpton, and Juan Williams on the network on fairly consistent bases. Glenn Beck has had town halls filled with Blacks and oddly, has had bible study on air with a member of the King family. By contrast, MSNBC allows visits from Eugene Robinson who often can not articulate what he wrote in his own column in the Washington Post. Appearances from Charles Blow of the New York Times are announced on Twitter when “balance” from the ever critique of the Obama Administration is needed and Harold Ford drops by to hold a cup of Starbucks. Professor Melissa Lacewell Harris was a regular at one point in the morning but is often found on the Rachel Maddow Show now here she is usually limited to race relations discussions. As for the Rachel Maddow, its gaining respect from fans and adversaries for actually investigating the issues before giving an opinion. Maddow’s show is taped for the 8:00 hour and repeated once before midnight. To Maddow’s credit, Pat Buchanan has been on her show, I believe, once.

This week the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, is having its annual convention in San Diego. Hopefully, honest discussion about how journalists of color have helped create this atmosphere by not challenging news organization to get back to journalism and less opinion led talk shows that give little specifics and all hype. I hear more protest from NABJ members about the color of the anchor instead of the substance of the news given by the media outlet. If there were more stories about how to move the country forward, more investigative news pieces and less talk about racial hate, folks will start to watch the news more for information and less for entertainment. Until then, MSNBC will continue to slip Pat Buchanan into its lineup while telling us that the Fox News has a diversity problem.

In closing, my post is to show it is easier to allow the news to drive the storyline than to actually view the facts even when it comes to reporting on itself. I always appreciate a person who tells me they dislike me upfront rather than one who smiles in my face while plotting my demise. When I see Pat Buchanan on MSNBC, I find myself totally disgusted that his history of race baiting while wearing a Christian halo (smiling in my face) is accepted by anyone let alone a news organization that spends a lot of time sitting naked in glass anchor chairs. With Fox and Limbaugh, I am told upfront who or what they dislike. With MSNBC, I am given racial commentary from a serial racist who plays a political commentator on TV.

UT's Audit Figures Revealed without any Media Headlines

The University of Tennessee’s audit figures were released on May 20, 2010. There were no media inquires from school news reporters, glaring headlines or articles that insinuated that University of Tennessee is incompetent with its accounting and educating students. As I stated a few weeks ago, school audits are part of the checks and balances the Tennessee Comptroller’s Department conducts for all public colleges and universities in Tennessee; not as a witch hunt of any school.

What is disturbing about the lack of media attention for this school’s audit is the contrast to the continuous rectal probing of the folks at 3500 John Merritt Blvd by the very media outlet that did not report about UT’s audit that was newsworthy. Where are the protesters on this issue?

To blog about one school's audit and not others is not fair and balance reporting. In order for one not to appear bias or one sided, each school should be given equal scrutiny, don't you think? This is not an attempt to make any institution look bad but making sure a complete picture is given on the auditing process. All public schools are audited. But to be honest, the actions by a school of color are viewed far more harshly than their majority counterparts and are used to blanket the entire school while the same actions conducted by the majority are departmentalized or not viewed as an offense at all. This should also remind members of the community of color how working against each other is used to cement negative stereotypes about its community in the minds of the majority.

Let’s review why the audits are conducted:
1.To consider the university’s internal control over financial reporting to determine auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing opinions on the financial
statements;
2. To determine compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements;
3. To determine the fairness of the presentation of the financial statements; and
4. To recommend appropriate actions to correct any deficiencies.

University of Tennessee’s audit was 87 pages and it was as scary and spooky as the other schools given in March. Grab a glass of gin and tonic as you read from the findings and recommendations pages how the folks from Rocky Top count money without an accompanying headline or anyone raising a hand to ask questions.

1. The university needs improved review procedures to prevent errors in the preparation of the university’s financial statements
Finding

Our audit found that the University of Tennessee’s procedures for financial statement preparation should be improved to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the financial statements. This weakness resulted in several significant reporting errors:

•On the university’s June 30, 2009, statement of net assets, the Controller reported $36,743,054 of unexpended state appropriations restricted for the construction of a Biofuels Center as unrestricted net assets. The amount should have been reported as expendable restricted net assets for capital projects. The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•On the university’s June 30,2009,statement of net assets, the Associate Controller did not separately report $32,179,500 of unexpended ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization funds, which were due to the State of TN.This amount should have been classified as due to the primary government but was instead classified as accounts payable. According to GASB Statement 34, Basic Financial Statements—and Management’s Discussion and Analysis—for State and Local Governments, paragraph 61, “amounts payable and receivable between the primary government and its discretely presented component units or between those component units should be reported on a separate line.” The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•On the university’s statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets for the year ended June 30, 2009, nonoperating grants and contracts were understated by $7,134,555.00, and operating governmental grants and contracts were overstated by the same amount.A Business Manager in the Controller’s Office failed to reclassify
$7,134,555.00 of TSAC revenues as nonoperating revenues in a year-end reclassification entry. Four TSAC accounts were inadvertently omitted from the entry. The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•The Director of Accounting and Budget at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis incorrectly credited revenues against expenses in the university’s Graduate Medical Education Strategic Fund in the 2008 fiscal year. The error was discovered and the Director attempted to correct the error by reversing the entry in the current fiscal year. This actually led to an equal, but opposite, error in the current fiscal year. Therefore, on the university’s 2009 statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets, utilities, supplies, and other services (an expense category) was overstated by $4,200,000, and governmental grants and contracts were overstated by $4,200,000.The statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets was not corrected. The entry was deemed immaterial by the university’s Controller and not corrected in the financial statements.

According to the Controller, the two errors on the statement of net assets were due to the unusual nature of the transactions. The university has never been advanced state capital appropriations and is seldom advanced grant funding from the state. The Controller attributed the errors on the statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets to an oversight.

These reporting errors resulted in significant misstatements in the university’s unaudited financial statements. With an improved review process, the Controller or Associate Controller could have detected and corrected these errors before the financial statements were completed.

(In case you weren’t paying attention the unexpended ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization is called “Obama’s Stimulus money” at HBCU schools. Just making sure you folks are awake. You should take a quick break right here, refill your glass and count to five, there’s more.)

2.University personnel overbilled facilities and administrative (F&A) costs to a federal research and development grant, resulting in $11,816.04 of questioned costs
Finding

During the year ended June 30, 2009, the University of Tennessee charged $50,140.50 of subcontractor expenses for Department of Energy grant number DE-FG07-07ID14895 to the expense object code “subcontractor expenses of less than $25,000.00.” Of this amount,$25,140.50 should have been charged to the expense object code “subcontractor expenses of greater than $25,000.00.”According to applicable federal regulations, the university’s predetermined F&A rate of 47% can only be charged against the first $25,000.00 of subcontractor expenses. Because of this posting error, the 47% rate was applied against the entire $50,140.50 amount, instead of just the allowable $25,000.00. As a result, the grantor was overbilled by $11,816.04.This resulted in $11,816.04 of questioned costs.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 2, Part 220, Appendix A,F&A costs [indirect costs] shall be distributed to applicable sponsored agreements and other benefiting activities within each major function on the basis of modified total direct costs, consisting of all salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered by the subgrant or subcontract.) Equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care and tuition remission, rental costs, scholarships, and fellowships as well as the portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of $25,000 shall be excluded from modified total direct costs.

The departmental bookkeeper in the UT Knoxville Nuclear Engineering Department miscoded the $25,140.50 of subcontractor expenses.In accordance with university Fiscal Policy 115,the departmental bookkeeper reconciled the departmental ledger on a monthly basis, and the principal investigator reviewed the reconciliation on a monthly basis.F&A (indirect) costs are automatically calculated by the university’s accounting system based on the modified total direct costs posted to the grant.The total expenses, including the allocated F&A costs per the general ledger, were used to draw down federal funds. This was done by the responsible grant accountant in the Sponsored Projects Accounting Dept at Knoxville.The error was not discovered by the departmental bookkeeper, the principal investigator, or the responsible grant accountant.

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133 requires us to report in a finding all known questioned costs when the known questioned costs exceed $10,000 for a type of compliance requirement for a major federal program. Federal questioned costs totaled $11,816.04.

I don’t want to give you all of the report in one sitting, this is good reading. For more reasons to drink, read the rest of the audit at; http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/SA/cu09084.pdf

I still believe that folks in Tennessee can’t count. Y’all will stick money in columns that makes me wonder if you can count marbles in a mason jar. What is so glaring about UT’s audit is the perception of the school is not reality. UT, who is often blessed by the media, but is no different in its accounting practices than other Tennessee colleges or universities. Dare I say worst? Some in the media have written the narratives about Tennessee’s colleges and universities and feeds the public what they want you to know about a particular school, whether it is true or not. The media determines what schools gets stories depicting dark blue woes or bright fuzzy orange storylines. I am inclined to ask, why pitch or advertised with media outlets that work against a school’s goals continuously?

The storyline about school audits, in particular, began in March with my boys taking offense to how their school was being beaten black and blue two weeks in a row by Broadway's media. After researching the audits to help alleviate my sons’ distress, what I read about their school was not only unfair but WRONG. The issues uncovered were far deeper than unfairness and truthiness; my sons were unaware of the politics and motives at work to portray the institution of higher learning at 3500 John Merritt Blvd. as one of the worst in the state. The release of the audit of UT with millions of dollars in accounting errors and no media coverage shows the media’s double standard in reporting of “school related news stories”. This also illustrates the importance of questioning the motives behind storylines. What some may report as news should make one pause to inquiry about the source and the agenda behind the story. As we have learned in the last few months, some stories are gossip whispered in the wind and are given sensational headlines. The stories are half-baked sprinkled with little facts and then frosted with rumors to feed malicious appetites.

What were the real motives for reporting only ONE school’s audit figures is still being asked by many in Nashville. While we are waiting for the next color of paint to be splashed/written, we know for sure it is easier to feed negativity about an HBCU school to the public. The media can used any medium to portray an HBCU school without any retribution and sell the story as a masterpiece when the story is really garbage posing as a reporter’s work of art.



for other related stories:
http://genmaspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/03/boogie-man-stalks-tsu.html
http://genmaspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/boogie-man-spotted-on-tennessee-state.html