Ethic Soup

Burr Oak Cemetary: 'Mama Where Are You? They've Gone and Robbed Your Grave'

 

BURR OAK was for many years one of the few cemeteries around Chicago where a black person could be buried -- all of the other cemeteries were for WHITES ONLY. And now they've gone and robbed the graves of at least 300 buried souls, throwing the bodies in a common hole in back of the cemetery in the Chicago suburb Alsip, IL. "They" were not whites, but rather African-Americans. 

GRAVE DIGGERS ROBBED HUNDREDS OF GRAVES

There were four altogether -- a ring leader and three grave diggers. They plundered old graves, crushed open the concrete liners and carted the human remains to a dump site. If bones rattled off the dump truck on the way, the bones were left on the side of the cemetery roads, said investigators.

Other graves were double stacked, one body on top of another. It was all so the plots could be resold and the perpetrators could make money -- untraceable cash money. The sheriff says it was more than $300,000 over the last four years; but, they only just the investigatioon.

Yesterday, four cemetery employees were arrested by Cook County Sheriff's officers: former cemetery manager Carolyn Towns, 49; foreman Keith Nicks, 45, dump-truck operator Terrence Nicks, 39 and backhoe operator Maurice Dailey, 59. Each was charged initially with dismembering a human body and each faces 30 years in prison.

Hoards of TV news crews invaded the cemetery to tell the horrific story -- live and all day. Sheriff's officers, state police, and county state's attorney general were all there. The FBI was there with big gear, like a thermal imaging machine to see underground and figure out which graves were robbed and which untouched. When I tuned into CNN, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart was about to give a press conference. But, before the Reverend Jesse Jackson and most of the media mob had arrived, however, something really thoughtful and decent happened.

July 4th in History

TODAY is Independence Day in America and we celebrate the day in 1776 when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. It's our cherished symbol of human rights and liberty. And  other historical events have happened on the 4ths of July since then:

On July 4, 1802, the U.S. Military Academy officially opened its doors at West Point, N.Y. This photo from West Point archives shows various West Point cadet uniforms.

 

On July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years to-the-day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, both former presidents and intense competitors John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on Independence Day.

On July 4, 1831, James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States died.

 

On July 4, 1872, Calvin Coolidgewas born and would become the 30th president of the United States, when he got to put on an Indian headdress and pose for this picture. Actually in 1924, President Coolidge signed a bill granting Native Americans full citizenship in their native country (ahem). In the photo left, Coolidge was made a chief of the Sioux by Henry Standing Bear.

On July 4, 1919, Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willard in Toledo, Ohio, to win the world heavyweight boxing title.

 

 

 

Declaration of Independence: Cherished Symbol of Liberty Drafted by Thomas Jefferson

  

INDEPENDENCE Hall in Philadelphia was the site where the Declaration of Independence was signed -- not on July 4, 1776, as most believe, but rather August 2, 1776. It was drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28 and is America's most cherished symbol of liberty. In exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson wrote down the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. Here the ideals of individual liberty and "self-evident truths" were expressed as the nation broke ties between the colonies and the mother country.

Have you ever really read the Declaration of Independence -- more than a few oft-repeated phrases in the first few paragraphs? Stop and take ten minutes now and read it. After all, it is one of those things that should be on everyone's "Things to Do Before I Die" list. America is your country! This is how it started.

 

 

WHEN in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal stations to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security -- Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving for 4th of July and Freedom

This is a wonderful prayer written by Rabbi Michael Lerner, with some adaptation by Maureen Fiedler, first brought to our attention by Faithstones blog. Do share it with others also.

A Thanksgiving Prayer for the 4th of July

At this celebration, let's give thanks for the ordinary and extraordinary Americans whose struggles brought about the best of the United States: 

FOR THE WAVES of immigrants from all parts of the world who struggled to accept each other and find a place in this country ...

FOR THE ESCAPED SLAVES and their allies, particularly Quakers, evangelical Christians, and freedom-loving secularists, who built the underground railroad and helped countless people to freedom ...

FOR THE COALITIONS of people -- women and men, black and white -- who built popular support for the emancipation of the slaves ...

FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICANS and allies who went to prison, lost their livelihoods, and were savagely beaten in the struggle for civil rights ...

FOR THE WORKING PEOPLE who championed protections like the eight-hour day, minimum wage, workers' compensation, and the right to organize, often at great personal cost to themselves ...

FOR THE IMMIGRANTS who fought against "nativist" tendencies and refused to close the borders of this country to new groups of immigrants, and who continue to support a policy of "welcoming the stranger" just as this country opened its gates for their ancestors when they were the immigrants and strangers ...

FOR THE WOMEN who risked family, job security, and reputations to shift our collective consciousness about men and women and raise awareness of the effects of patriarchy ...

FOR ALL OF THOSE who risk scorn and violence to lead the struggle against homophobia and for the acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people ...

FOR THOSE WHO continue to work for equal access for people with disabilities ...

Doctors' White Coats Spread Infection -- So Do Their Hands

 They look so clean, so antiseptic, those doctors in their white coats. Their white lab coats are iconic, having been worn since the turn of the 20th century. Before that, physicians wore street clothes even while performing surgery.

But now, the American Medical Association is considering a resolution that would recommend hospitals ban doctor's white coats. Holy Cow!

AMA MAY SAY 'NO' TO DOC'S WHITE COATS

The AMA (Is there anything 'holier' in medicine?) has cited evidence that the garment contributes to the spread of infection. Apparently, a number of studies have shown that the lab coats hold a lot of bacteria, potentially harmful.

Wait a minute. Wouldn't any clothing do the same thing -- white coat or street clothes? Of course they would. So, getting rid of the white lab coat doesn't really mean a damn thing, does it? Rutt-row! Could the great AMA be leading up to suggesting nudist doctors?

WILL PHYSICIANS GO NUDE IN HOSPITALS?

Well, wait just another minute now. If doctors go nude in the hospitals, they'll have to shower between patient-examinations and surgeries. Nope, they won't do it. I know because all they have to do now is wash their hands. Just their hands. You'd think that comes automatic with physicians, right? Wrong.

DON'T KILL ME DOCTOR

This post is a follow-up to the Ethic Soup article "Don't Kill Me Doctor: Wash Your Hands. In this article, we talked about the National Quality Forum statistic that less than 50 percent of doctors follow hospital hand-washing rules. The odds that your doctor will have clean hands are about the same as flipping a coin. Who wants to take that gamble?

Methicillin-resistant staph aureus, or MRSA, is the strain of a once-innocuous staph infection that has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics and kills more people every year in the U.S. than the AIDS virus. In the majority of cases MRSA is contracted in hospitals.

HOSPITALS ARE DESPERATE 

Hospitals are desperate to get doctors to simply wash their hands and have taken to measuring their liquid soaps and using hidden cameras to see if physicians are really washing their hands. The hospitals are also threatening doctors with losing their jobs or hospital privileges if they don't wash up. In Houston, at both the Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital and the Ben Taub General Hospital, laminated handouts now come with every patient's first meal urging patients to "gently remind your health care providers to wash their hands and wear gloves." Don't you just love the "gently." You wouldn't want to upset the dirty doctor!

DIRTY HANDS SPREAD INFECTION

And now the AMA may decide to toss out the doctor's white coat to keep from spreading infection. WAKE UP AMA! You can't get the majority of your physician-members who go into hospitals to wash their hands -- and dirty hands are the Number One way hospital  infection spreads. Sadly, some people who go to hospitals for a minor surgery end up dying because they caught MRSA in the hospital.

Come on now, let's hear the AMA admit what's really going on. And medical consumers beware -- don't be embarrassed and neglect to ask your doctor directly if he or she has washed their hands. Better yet, tell them: "Don't kill me doctor -- wash your hands." Maybe that will actually get their attention. After all, there is a wash basin in every physician examining room and hospital room, so they have no excuse, and you can watch them. If they claim that they just washed their hands before coming into your room, ask them to humor you and do it again.

TO READ OTHER ETHIC SOUP ARTICLES RELATING TO DOCTORS, CLICK HERE.

 By Sharon McEachern 

Loud TV Commericals May Be Forced to a Lower Volume

"Ears-To-You Collage"  Copyright by Sharon McEachern

 

"No, no, we promise we'll voluntarily change and do right, just don't regulate us!"

Everyone has been singing this tune lately. Last week it was the health insurance industry promising gender parity,  saying it will no longer charge women more than men for health coverage.

Today it's television advertisers and broadcasters, promising to voluntarily lower the sound volume when TV commercials come on, if the government will just keep out of it.

WE PROMISE, TRUST US

But can we trust them? Why didn't they "voluntarily" do the right thing and lower the decibel level before? Because most of the greedy bastards won't practice ethical business standards unless they are forced by law -- and then, if you catch them breaking the law, they are seldom really punished for it.

The arrogance is unbelievable -- they have the expectation that we should be oh-so-grateful and accept their promises of future behavior, and forgive current and past discriminations and greed.

SORRY, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU

But, if you can pretend that the above-examples are merely aberrations and you can believe in promises from industries which spend millions of dollars lobbying to influence lawmakers, then things are looking up for saving your ear drums.

OUR EAR DRUMS BURST WATCHING TV

Under the proposal currently being considered, the Federal Communications Commission would turn down ad volumes to the average decibels of the TV show during which they appear. Right now, TV ads cannot be louder than the loudest peak in a show, according to David Perry, chairman of the broadcast production committee of the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies.  

JUST ONE BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM

"That means if the program you're watching has one bomb blast or just one blood curdling scream, all the commercials during that program may blast and scream at that same sound threshold," says Gary Sattler at Walletpop.

WE'RE GOING TO CALM YOU

The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act , or CALM, has 63 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate, according to the McClatchy Newspapers.

But advertisers and broadcasters say they have their own plan to lower TV ad volume and they want to set their own loudness standards. Well, of course, they do.

HEAR TV ADS IN MONGOLIA ?

Advertisers and broadcasters say they want a commercial which is "loud enough that a reasonable person can hear it, but not so loud you can hear it in Mongolia," according to Dan Jaffe, exec. vp of the Assn. of National Advertisers. 

Gary Sattler says: "Personally, I'd be happy with a level of volume which will simply keep my popcorn in its bowl and the bowl on my lap."

One Noreen Clark of Los Angeles said in a letter to the Daily Breeze (LA): "The sound jumps up so fast and obnoxiously that it not only hurts my ears, but the cat's claws go to into my leg and..."

It's not as if we the consumers have no control. Au contraire!And I'm not talking about grabbing the remote to mute the sound of TV commercials -- after we've been blasted off our couches.

YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME

We can simply record the programs we want to watch and fast-forward through the commercial interruptions.

Beware advertisers and broadcasters -- you aren't the boss of me! Keep it down!

By Sharon McEachern

Health Insurers Claim They will Stop Charging Women More Than Men

  GENDER PARITY is the latest compromise from the health insurance industry trying to convince lawmakers to not include a new public health-insurance plan in the enormous health-care overhaul Congress is preparing.

WOMEN PAY MORE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE

Well, they must be desperate to actually offer equality for women when they buy coverage identical to men. Did you know women are charged higher rates for health insurance coverage than what the health insurance industry charges men? In the future, the industry agreed that it will allow men to birth the babies and they'll pay for it.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (D) introduced legislation recently which would prevent insurers from charging women more than men, when women purchase coverage on the individual insurance market.

Karen Ignagni, a woman, and believe-it-or-not, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, told lawmakers she doesn't think gender should factor into women's rates when they're buying individual policies, reports The Wall Street Journal. When did the boys vote her in as president, just in time to testify? They knew a woman would be more believable. 

WHO IS REALLY MORE EXPENSIVE?

An argument for why women's insurance costs are higher -- it is mostly women who are seen in medical waiting rooms. Okay, let's talk. Pregnancy issues aside, it is true that men seek medical care less than women. Men are more often "in denial" and won't admit to health problems and the need for help.

And, despite the machismo myth, men are more frightened of the big, bad doctor than women. And since women see a physician more often, serious illnesses are caught early when care is both more successful AND less expensive. Besides, physicians have long ordered more expensive testing for men than women. The annual executive physical, for example, often costs many thousands of dollars.

For reasons such as these, many argue that there is no good justification for higher insurance rates for women since men cost more in the long run.

INSURANCE INDUSTRY ADMITS IT'S UNFAIR

Rather than a government plan as a check on their industry, health insurers are offering to accept stricter government rules they claim would produce a more fair marketplace. At least, they are admitting it is not fair now.

So, now that the health insurance industry has it's bollocks to the fire, excuse me President Ignagni, perhaps women will finally get parity -- in rates. Maybe it will dawn on lawmakers to bring up the subject of nonpayment of claims and pre-existing illness. Isn't it time to have insurance that follows us where ever we work and live? Now's the time to force the greedy bastards to stop making us go bankrupt in order to save a life.

TO READ "Life and Death Sexism: Fewer Girls  & Women on Kidney Transplant List," CLICK HERE.

By Sharon McEachern

Teacher Reinstated After Autistic Boy Voted Out of Kindergarten

     

KINDERGARTENERS, lead by their teacher, voted 14-to-2 to kick out 5-year-old Alex Barton from his kindergarten classroom. The teacher, Wendy Portillo, brought Alex to the front of the class and had his classmates tell how they felt about his behavior. Earlier, Alex had kicked a table leg and threw some crayons, appropriate behavior for a time out, not to be humiliated in front of the class and then thrown out forever.

TEACHERS AND TRUST

We trust teachers to protect our children, especially kindergartners -- the youngest, the most impressionable and vulnerable. If the child is further vulnerable due to autism, you don't anticipate that his teacher will discriminate and punish the child for his disability.  In this case, compassion and teacher's ethics were not present.

AUTISM --MISTREATED AND MISUNDERSTOOD

It happened one year ago. The school was Morningside Elementary School at Port St. Lucie, FL. Alex became a symbol around the world of how kids with autism are mistreated and misunderstood. The incident was the topic of blogs, national television news reports, radio programs and newspaper articles. Public response was immediate in support to Alex and his family.

Teacher Wendy Portillo was reassigned to school district offices. The Schools Superintendent recommended to the School Board that it suspend her without pay for one year and take away her tenure. The School Board agreed with the recommendation. Portillo appealed. However this March, an administrative law judge heard testimony from both sides and upheld the superintendent's recommendation.

REINSTATED WITH TENURE

But guess what? The teacher's punishment has been changed. The school district had previously determined that Portillo violated the state's code of ethics for teachers, according to the Miami Herald. However, last week the St. Lucie County School Board voted to reinstate Portillo's tenure upon her return to teaching in November. That means she is guaranteed a teaching position with the school district at the end of her suspension, reports Disability Scoop.  What happened?

Apparently if the board doesn't care for the judge's ruling, they can simply disregard it. This I don't understand.

The boy's mother, Melissa Barton, is suing the school district claiming discrimination and that her son's civil rights were violated. Perhaps the School Board is more concerned about a potential discrimination suit from Portillo than the one already filed by Barton. A lawsuit claiming discrimination by Portillo may be seen as a potentially more expensive proposition for the school district by setting a precedent for future lawsuits by teachers. 

Where do things stand now? Little Alex Barton is being schooled at home.  And come Fall, Teacher Wendy Portillo is going to get another classroom of little children.

TO READ: "Teachers Ethics Lesson: Don't Bind Black Students to Teach Slavery," CLICK HERE.

TO READ: "The Code of Ethics: Assn. of American Educators," CLICK HERE.

 By Sharon McEachern

 

Toymaker Mattel Fined $2.3 Million for Violating Lead Paint Ban

 

It's enough to age a girl, particularly Barbie, who is 50 years old now. Daddy Mattel keeps putting children in peril, with toys tainted with lead paint. And our government regulators pretend to punish Mattel Corp.

This is a follow-up on an Ethic Soup article posted back in December, "Toy Giant Mattel Settles With 38 States for Tainted Lead-Painted Toys."  At that time, Mattel agreed to pay $12 million to 38 U.S. states to settle claims that it shipped toys tainted with lead paint.

MATTEL PAYS FEDERAL CIVIL PENALTIES

Last week the toymaker agreed to pay $2.3 million in civil penalties for violating a federal lead paint ban that resulted in the recall of millions of popular-branded toys in 2007. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports the fine was the highest ever for the agency's regulated product violations and the third largest in its history. (This shows just how lenient the feds are when combating the greed of big corporations -- very!)

The $12 million in settlements and now $2.3 million in federal fines may sound like a lot of money, but look again. Mattel Corp is the world's largest toy manufacturer and last year had around $6 billion in revenues. The Barbie line alone accounts for 80 percent of the company's profits. (Have you purchased a Barbie outfit lately? OUCH!)

YOU CALL THIS PUNISHMENT?

The fine and settlement costs are hardly a punishment for Mattel. They are a mere drop in Barbie's pink motorcycle saddlebag. Aw, does Mattel Corp. have a boo-boo?  

Teens and Caffeine: Dangerously Wired and Chewing Gum Injuries

 

"DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!" warned the Robot, a surrogate guardian to the young teen in the 1960s TV series Lost in Space. The owl, pictured above, looks as if it's been up all night. Well, of course, it does. But if your teenager has this same look, you better toss the high caffeine-energy drinks. And for God's sake, get rid of the caffeinated stimulant chewing gum. 

Read the labels -- caffeine is in everything! 

In fact, this post is a follow-up to an Ethic Soup article posted three months ago: "Caffeine is in Everything: How Much Is In You." 

At that time, we were worried that most people had no idea just how much caffeine they consumed every day because it is an ingredient in so many products. Caffeine is in everything from high-octane energy drinks with mega milligrams of caffeine and cold medicine to candy bars, potato chips and even chewing gum.

CAFFEINE INTOXICATION CAN KILL YOU

Hospital emergency departments and poison control centers are reporting more and more people with caffeine intoxication -- a dangerous health condition unknown to most people. It can kill you.

TEENAGERS ARE TARGETED

And to whom do food and drink manufacturers of caffeinated products focus their millions of advertising dollars? It's teenagers. They are the major purchasers. They are also the largest demographic group to end up in hospital emergency rooms having consumed way too much caffeine. Also, teens will often mix high-caffeine energy drinks with alcohol and then they don't even recognize when they're drunk.

Now, in the last week, there are two different news stories involving teens and caffeine in the newspapers.