The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

Comics: Boondocks

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

Comics: Boondocks

Van Stone’s Social Sci-Fi Report: Black Superhero Comics Genre

Van Stone’s Social Sci-Fi Report: Black Superhero Comics Genre



Bumblebee: Black Superhero list of Van Stone's Social Sci-Fi Report.

Van Stone’s Social Sci-Fi Report: Black Superhero Comics Genre

There are barely 700 Superhero characters recognized worldwide as Black Superhero comics. There are barely 30 comic book publishers recognized worldwide. But the Black Superhero Genre or the style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a black person or group of black people or black period has struggled as long as anyone can remember coloring books, comic books, or comic strips have begun in the United States. Only in the continent of the United States of America has there been an issue with whether or not children and youths can be told that blacks can ever be considered a hero, aka superhero. In France, Spain, Japan, Africa and any part of the world where mankind is found to have human beginnings, being of a biologically relation to Black Land aborigines, the black person is embraced as hero without question. It's own kind of hero. Celebrated and sought out as a means of credibility, joy, inspiration and the intrepid of standing up to whatever is dark hearted and whatever is intentionally cruel in spirit is the black hero.

The Black Superhero Comic Book Character or Black Comic Strip Character became an alternative format of storytelling compared to the underdeveloped black hero action industry worldwide. In America, the black hero action industry stayed as an unwanted market and suffered from drawing, location, and character restrictions. The lack of Black Artist, Book Writers, Newspaper Reporters, for example, made it next to impossible to develop black comics in America, or fantasy worlds that do not naturally involve Native Americans or Free Blacks. The varied use of animation allowed Japanese, French, Canadian, and African artists to create any characters and settings that involved Black Superhero and Black Leader Genre.

Van Stone blends science fiction with social-welfare issues so all the comic book and comic strip and animation lovers (including anime comics and movies) will be expected to adopt the style of the Black Superhero Comics. And next up is history of the black superhero this week:

Bumblebee; is the superhero alias of Karen Beecher, a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. She is a former member of the superhero team Teen Titans and a current member of the superhero teams the Doom Patrol.

Scientist Karen Beecher was the girlfriend of Teen Titans member the Herald (a.k.a.Mal Duncan). In order to help make Herald look good in front of the team, Beecher secretly made herself a bumblebee-themed supersuit and attacked the Teen Titans. She escaped without this ruse being revealed.

When she later explained to Mal and the Titans what she had done, they were impressed enough to offer her membership, which she accepted. She and Mal subsequently moved to the new Titans West team, having relocated to San Francisco. When the Titans team dissolved for a time, Karen and Mal married and 'retired' from superheroics. Karen took a job with S.T.A.R. Labs, where she designs non-lethal weaponry.

They have returned to crime-fighting from time to time to assist the team, most notably during a short-lived revival of Titans West and the JLA/Titans event, which reunited everyone involved with the team. A fight broke out over the fate of Victor Stone, Cyborg. Bumblebee personally fought Zauriel, a member of the Justice League. Despite the assistance of the current Supergirl, Bumblebee was swiftly defeated.

Following this, Mal and Karen briefly joined the latest incarnation of Titans West (now called Titans L.A.), but this incarnation of the team never really got off the ground.

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

Comics: Boondocks

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder

HoopGurlz

HoopGurlz

Tierra Rogers of Sacred Heart

BEAVERTON, Ore. — One has speed.

The other has, well, speed.

And when the two two-time defending state champions from California meet Saturday, it's going to be fast. And physical.

By virtue of semifinal wins Friday in the Northwest Nike Invitational at Southridge High, Long Beach Poly and Sacred Heart will finally clash at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

"They're like women in a girls' world," Prairie coach Al Aldridge said after his Falcons lost to Long Beach Poly, 59-35.

It wasn't all easy for the second-ranked Jackrabbits as Prairie took an early lead and then stayed within three points for much of the first half.

Poly's Jasmine Dixon

But in the third quarter, junior Monique Oliver blocked four of Prairie's shots. The Falcons managed to get three past her and into the net, but the damage was done. Long Beach Poly made a 20-7 run and had a 20-point lead.

"We didn't want to run with them," Aldridge said. "We were down seven, eight in that one stretch and in a minute and a half it went to 20. We came down, took quick shots and missed. They threw over the top of us; we didn't get back in time."

And Long Beach Poly can run all day. Fourteen different girls played for the Jackrabbits against Prairie. Of the 14, 13 scored at least one point.

Senior Jasmine Dixon, who signed with Rutgers in November, led the Jackrabbits with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Oliver, a transfer from Las Vegas, had seven points and five blocks.

The Jackrabbits' speed kept them all over the boards as well, outrebounding Prairie 42-18, while the pressure defense kept Falcon point guard Ashley Corral to 12 points.

"We don't see that kind of pressure anywhere," Aldridge said. "Nobody in the state (of Washington) puts that kind of pressure on you, and with those kind of athletes, that's amazing. … Lewis and Clark (of Spokane) is about as close to that pressure as we'll ever see, but even Lewis and Clark, as athletic as they are, they don't rotate to other players like those guys do. As a coach looking, you swear you're seeing seven players on the floor sometimes on defense."

Corral, who played against Dixon and Oliver during the summer, knew the team would be tough.

Ki-Shawna Moore of Sacred Heart
challenges Michelle Jenkins of Southridge

"They're a very physical team, but that's the name of the game," Corral said. "Once you get to this level and you get to college, that's the name of the game. They're already there."

With Long Beach Poly already in the title game, San Francisco's Sacred Heart took the court against host Southridge.

The Skyhawks jumped out to a 17-4 lead at the beginning of the second period, allowing just four free-throws to sink for the Irish, but Sacred Heart coach Brian Harrigan turned on the pressure defense and quickly caught up. The Irish allowed just seven Southridge points in the second half while scoring 35 of their own, sailing to the 58-36 victory.

"We thought just coming here it was going to be a great tournament," Harrigan said. "We've gotten to play two great teams, so we're going to get an opportunity to play three great teams. We have a lot of respect for Long Beach. They're not ranked No. 1 for nothing."

The fast pace from Sacred Heart tuckered out the Skyhawks, who also aren't quite as deep. Irish junior Tierra Rogers led all scorers with 13, while Sacred Heart senior Lauren Bell and Southridge senior Michelle Jenkins each had 12. Point guard Alex Earl added 11 for the Skyhawks before fouling out of the game early in the fourth quarter.

"They're phenomenally athletic," Southridge coach Michael Meek said. "I felt yesterday they were the best team in the tournament. Today Long Beach Poly came back and played really well. It should be a great matchup."

Central Catholic, Highland Ranch Advance in Consolation

Luckily for Kate Lanz, she didn't have to shoulder the load for Central Catholic Friday.

Carley Losk of Beaverton

While Lanz, who is still suffering from a bad cold she's had for nearly a week, scored just three points, junior wing Dani Klupinger led the Rams with 13 points. Classmate Chelsea Christensen was right behind her with 10 as Central Catholic bumped Beaverton into the seventh-place game with a 64-41 win.

The Rams went on an 18-0 run near the end of the game to put it out of reach for the Beavers. Freshman guard Nicole Hartzog led Beaverton with 14 points.

In the second game, Highlands Ranch, the two-time defending Colorado state champions, wanted to bounce back from Thursday's loss to Long Beach Poly that the team took pretty hard.

A 62-42 win against South Eugene may have done the trick, as senior guard Alyssa Fressle was back in form for the Falcons. Leading the squad, along with senior forward Taylor Johnson, each scored 12 points.

Another senior, center Jordan Floyd, added 10 as the Rams recovered from Friday's seven-point loss. They face Central Catholic for fifth place.

Senior post Sarah Whitfield scored 13 for the Axemen.

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder


A Word from the Philadelphia Front Page News:

The Holiday season is here. With good cheer we like to help the readers of the Philadelphia Front Page News be joyful. Many folks will not be able to do what they feel is needed to have a happy holiday celebration. But the publisher and editor came up with an idea to give something that will put a smile on faces regardless of the readers situation this year. Black Superhero Comics are very positive and fun. So, when you need a bit of cheer from here to after the holidays visit www.frontpagenews.us to read black comic strips or comics that are silly and political correct. Have a great holiday season. And we hope to keep Black comic strips like The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder and Black Superhero comics by Marvel as a regular review or daily at the Philadelphia Front Page News.

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks

by Aaron McGruder

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks, 10/28/04

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

The Boondocks at Philadelphia Front Page News

James Sullivan's Resource Center helping for profit and non-profit concepts

James Sullivan's Resource Center helping for profit and non-profit concepts
by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (215) 747-8746

Here are the facts and some things you should know about James Sullivan Resource Center. Sullivan's resource center tries to assist small entrepreneurs businesses, non-profit and for profit leadership, Ex-offenders, At-Risk Youth and Home Improvement ventures that give dollars to its charitable programs. And Sullivan's resource center has affiliations with strong local organizations and people.

The resource center market is a low margin, highly competitive business. But smaller upstart enterprises like Sullivan Resource Center is just one that can help non-profits and for profits become successful. The Sullivan Resource Center too collect companies and get involved with reselling companies or help individuals remodel, resell and rebuild realistic concepts in their neighborhood area. James uses zip code areas to help target potential business people but is not limited to working by a particular zip code. Sullivan is looking to support any small efficient operation, attracting significant donations and impacting the market share of the other businesses in the neighborhood

In Philadelphia, at the moment, resource for small non-profit and for profit companies demands very good prices and there is money to be made in reselling companies and concepts, selling construction, and other entrepreneurs programs such as photography, books, and recreational activities and Internet services. As a result, new commercial, for-profit, companies have jumped into the market.

Sullivan is an independent, dealing in non-profit and for profit, fully compliant with all governmental and IRS regulations. And so, he encourages charitable Organizations City wide with similar goals and missions. Sullivan rather foremost fosters creativity and productivity for the benefit of other people or social issues of importance in Philadelphia.

Sullivan's approach to getting involved with creating a resource center is different. He wants each individual or group working for the community and themselves to understand how believing in their goal should result in a not so bad profit margin. Differently from a for profit corporation where the profit only go to owners or shareholders, funds can be donated to non-profit programs. Both non-profit and for profit can serve the community regardless if there is exceptions as to how a profit margin exist. And the profit margin is the key to working with Sullivan. Many lenders or groups seek out small businesses asking for a 20% profit mark up of the new venture. But when the business fail the lender still wants their full cut from the deal. However, as for Sullivan's program, he is looking for a 3% profit mark up that will go directly back into non-profit interest concerning community improvement. Improvement can be environmental, public safety, jobs, or education.

Sullivan, a Philadelphian native has been interested in collecting companies, selling them and using the profits to support worthy causes for over 30 some odd years. Sullivan has organized a resource center drive and collected unwanted small businesses at the close of the 2007 winter year. Having a Sullivan resource center collecting businesses and donated to non-profits helps support Youth programs, teaching and community development projects in Philadelphia County and other counties. Sullivan's goals are to protect the environment through recycling, conserving resources, and contributing to economic and social progress in the developing at-risk Philadelphia areas. James is looking for his resource center to become such a success that 1 center will be placed on each central living area of Philadelphia permanently for the convenience of students, Ex-offenders, small businesses and grass roots community organizations to drop by at any time to get guaranteed help with logistics.

The Best of Philadlephia Front Page News with James Sullivan and Friends 2007

The Best of Philadlephia Front Page News with James Sullivan and Friends 2007

Malik Aziz, of Ex Offenders Association of PA & wife Antoinette Jackson-Aziz calls for elected officials to communicate about their launch to end withholding ex offender's needed ability to help stop the drug-related and gun related-violence. Building anew, Summer Camp, Town Watch, Construction Business Fairs and Youth Programs West Philly Leaders join in. From middle R to L: Abudul Malik Aziz, Co-chair Men United, Van Stone, Founder, Camp VPAL, Imam Naadim Abdulkhabiyr, Police Clergy Pres., Bessie Woods, X Park Friends, Deshawn Brown, Teen Supporter, Stephanie Booker, Myrikal's Teen Star Mom, Myrikal, Teen Hip-Hop & Soul Star, Gregorio Pac Cojulun Jr., X Park Pres., Antoinette Aziz, Ex Offenders Association of PA, James Sullivan, Camp VPAL, Director, Karen Miller, K & W Construction OSHA Instructor, Ylemia Fatima Aziz, Studious Daughter.


Malik Aziz & Antionette Aziz Anew Violence-Stop; Free Summer Camp
by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (215) 747-8746

Abdul "Malik Aziz" co-chair of Men United for A Better Philadelphia? Yup, just about everyone knows just what that means. The Beautiful hearted and highly incredibly talented, much earned to be respected, can't be duplicated, Mrs. "Antoinette Jackson-Aziz" the wife of Malik Aziz? Yes, just about everyone knows just what that means too.

But to hear about Malik Aziz and strong support for anew violence-stop, we need a bit of understanding just what anew is about. Well, straight to the point, over again in a new form or way. So, Malik Aziz and Antionette Aziz, you can be sure that they both wrote the story about Ex Offenders voting rights, calling to stop the homicide involved with drugs and or gun violence and case management anew. For the moment though I focus on Malik Aziz. "Men United for a Better Philadelphia, the Ex Offender Association of Pennsylvania, Lifer Public Safety Initiative and the Exodus Tour and the New Elders Council are all organizations that I am directly affiliated with," says Malik about help.

Malik Aziz, truly a community activist continues to say, "advocate the point that only the community can make the change for peace and harmony when it is so deeply seeking crime prevention, gang prevention and intervention." This is his violence-stop CARE.

From the words Cooperative for) A(merican) R(elief) E(verywhere), Malik is on a mission to make, "drug and alcohol treatment, employment, education, housing, street cleaning on a daily basis, recreation and sports," as he says, is a much needed Pennsylvania success story. Delivery of certain kind of anti-hero men and women, that has a criminal record of some illegal offense yet do crime fighting against evil, "who are from daily street life that the violence has invaded our mental state," according to Malik are the last hope for Philadelphia and the state of PA. They're Ex Offenders against evil.

"Malik tells me, "the re-entry of men and women coming back to our community from incarceration, creating viable employment and career opportunity" is the key to ending street violence. Adding that "using livable wages construction jobs and benefits, self employment with technical assistance, with new start up businesses created to jump start an energy depleted community would allow Ex Offenders to work with our troubled youth and life coach and mentor," he said. Aziz knows from personal experience that Ex Offenders thing will be about letting youth know to make the right choices in life."

Why these folks above all others are a pressure point of street life that would bust the pipes of drug and gun related killing? "Teaching morals, respect for others and self-respect, cleanliness, cultural love for each other and those of other culturally all have a role in the development and redevelopment of our community," says, Aziz. Ex offenders have the will and desire to end gang tuff violence. Many ex offender, like Antoinette Jackson-Aziz have a strong history of community and social change and absolutely nothing to do with killing just because there is a lack of jobs. What's also important is "having our elected officials in tune so that we get adequate resources to help our youth develop properly," says Malik Aziz, who in his own eyes, is often encouraged about his goals by the first lady of the Ex Offender Association of PA, -Mrs. Aziz. Youth do need camp?

Malik Aziz is leading this effort of positive will against sense less brawn by Partnership Power. There is a free summer camp in the West Philly area. Malik Aziz and Camp VPAL will begin the week of June 25, for ages 5 to ages 12 at 52nd Pine St with support of the Malcolm X Park leadership. To find out dates for Malik Aziz's camp enrollment and when summer sessions end anyone may call Mr. James Sullivan, Program Director at: (215) 416-0862 or visit Malik Aziz on the web at: www.frontpagenews.us

Hope and Leadership in Brown Campaign Causes Surge in New Young Activists Registering Green

Elaine Brown
By Diane White diane@dlighten.

Be positive, read a book, be a newly-registered green, change a diaper, cause word on the streets of Watts, Watsonville, Santa Ana, Oakland/Berkeley, Houston, Pittsburgh, DC, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit is that despite the cages, or the acts of the grinches, the birds are singing, and singing, and singing...

With hardly any money at all, a new generation of youth -- alienated by war, incarceration, violence, and all the sequelae of anarchistic, valueless privatization and free trade -- have found in the Philadelphia native, senior 60's Black and Peace movement spokesperson, not defeated by the US War and Terror machine, not duped by the shock doctrine, not dead from disaster capitalism, no not this Woman of Our Time, but rather sharpened like a sickle, and made flexible not hard by the hammer of corporate big money and COINTELPRO, HER canary song announcing that we CAN win, and that human needs and the crisis of human suffering WILL trump private profits, if we stand up now.

This wise voice which has endured beatings, continual harassment and threats, and a willful refusal by the mainstream media to allow her to have the same platform built for others, is inspiring a most electrifying and empowering movement of disenchanted non-voters all over the United States to take charge of their lives and to register green and become delegates for Elaine Brown at the 2008 Green Party Nominating Convention July 10-13 in Chicago, Ill.

"We don't have the money of the democrats, and we're not asking for the money funding the other candidates", says Brown.

"We are just registering voters and inspiring them to see their power."

A passionate leader who leads not with money but with her heart, spirit, and un-silenced voice, Elaine "Green Party" Brown is seeking the Green Party of the United State 2008 Presidential Nomination.

Elaine Brown's book, A Taste of Power, about her earlier life as she became the top leader and only-ever Womyn Chair of the Black Panther Party, can be purchased in soft cover at Amazon.com or your local Barnes and Noble.

http://www.freespeech.org/videodb/index.php?action=detail&video_id=10741&browse=0

Elaine Brown is a former Black Panther Party leader, noted author, community and prison justice activist. Elaine addresses students at Regis University as a part of women’s history month.

Series: Keynote
Episode: Keynote: Elaine Brown

Viewing options
Play RealMedia format (55m 33s; for broadband users)

Producer: Kevin Price (www.freespeech.org)

PS Join us! Off of the listserves and into the screen door porches and
streets!

News Stories about Black Superhero Comics at the Philadelphia Front Page News Online

News Stories about Black Superhero Comics at the Philadelphia Front Page News Online
by Van Stone

The Philadelphia Front Page News, an online newspaper, is widely regarded as the premiere Black Superhero comics-related site on the Web. The Philadelphia Front Page News seeks sponsors by comic book fans and professionals interested in decreasing school Dropout rates, illiteracy amongst adults and youth and non-violent and violent crime. It provides a variety of original ongoing columns, together with an outstanding collection of news covering hundreds of resources. It also has a weekly opinion feature.

Philadelphia Front Page News publishes brief comics industry news, and previews available online as premium features-primarily feature articles, and editorials-features at no cost.

The professed mission of Philadelphia Front Page News is to raise the level of discourse on Black Superhero comic books and encourage comic book fans to expand their reading interests. Philadelphia Front Page News welcomes like-minded contributors.

Highly opinionated, highly entertaining with reviews from Van Stone, Philadelphia writer amongst others, the Philadelphia Front Page News focuses on Black Superhero family of comics, but contributors regularly reviews all types of other titles as well. Updated weekly, with an archive of previous articles. The Philadelphia Front Page New is a resource for the discerning reader.

The Philadelphia Front Page News goal is to help give introduction to graphic novels in libraries, schools, home-based business, online, prisons, recreation centers and neighborhood retail and community social-welfare services. Stories and art are compiled by community activist, political activist and environmental activist created for Teen Reading and Ex-offender Reading and High School Dropout Reading. The online newspaper recommends comics and graphic arts novels, organized by age level and genre.

Many readers of the Philadelphia Front Page News can learn about bibliography of comic Black Superhero comics, paperback books, illustrated histories of artist, and other reference books relating to news stories and comic books. Those who didn’t find interest in comic books when they were children may today get extensive guide to the comics of the Golden and Silver Ages, including title checklists, character fact files, and scanned images. Maintained by comics’ collectors.

From time to time the Philadelphia Front Page News provides a guide to the history of American comic books, Black American comic books, and Asian Animated comic books during the 1940s and 1950s, including background the United States and China and Japan, and the crusade against comics.

If you’re looking for deeper information about comics in general the Philadelphia Front Page News, which can be visited at www.frontpagenews.us, concise, well-written encyclopedia-type profiles on comic-related topics. Comic book researchers focus on animated cartoons, but extensive coverage is given to Black Superheroes, including articles on major publishers, characters, and series and cartooning. Data for hundreds of major comic book creators, living and dead, plus biographical profiles for several dozen of the most prominent artists and several artist are written about to help at-risk black males and females to avoid crime, violence and drug activity in Urban and Suburban big cities.

And finally, the Philadelphia Front Page News can work as a resource guide for teachers on using comic books in the classroom. Writers use the relationship between comic books and reading skills, providing lists of recommended comics and graphic novels for children, teens, and adults that can’t read well and offers ideas for classroom activities using comic books and comics concepts.

SEAN TAYLOR'S ALLEGED SHOOTER WANTS PLEA DEAL: Eric Rivera's lawyer seeks resolution that has 'best interest of all parties in mind.'

SEAN TAYLOR'S ALLEGED SHOOTER WANTS PLEA DEAL: Eric Rivera's lawyer seeks resolution that has 'best interest of all parties in mind.'

*Eric Rivera has not admitted that he was the man who shot Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor in what has been described as a botched home invasion, but his lawyer is said to be searching high and low for a plea deal with prosecutors.
"When the State Attorney's Office is ready, we would like to sit down and begin discussion with them so we can move towards a resolution in the case that has the best interest of all parties in mind," said his lawyer Sawyer Smith, according to the Associated Press. "We want to minimize the impact of case resolution on the Taylor family and find a result that's in the best interest of justice."
The State is accusing Rivera of being the trigger man during the Nov. 26 incident at Taylor's Miami home. The 17-year-old will be tried as an adult, which means he will also be eligible for the death penalty.
Circuit Judge John Thornton Jr. denied Rivera bail Wednesday in his brief appearance via videoconference in a Miami-Dade County courtroom. He has been indicted as an adult and Judge John Thornton found probable cause to support charges of first degree felony murder and burglary with assault or battery with a firearm against Rivera and his three co-defendants Charles Wardlow, 18; Jason Mitchell, 19; and Venjah Hunte, 20. All four will be arraigned later this month.
A lawyer for Wardlow has stated that his client did not know that Rivera was carrying a gun during the attempted burglary, and therefore, had no prior knowledge that a weapon would be used against Taylor.
Smith said the defense attorneys in the case have a history of working together, but he said he understood the grand jury's identification of his client as the alleged gunman puts him in a unique position.
"The other boys may be in a position to separate themselves somewhat from our client," he said. "However, under the felony murder rule, if it can be shown that they're involved in it, if they're involved in the burglary, then it's not a defense that they were not the one that pulled the trigger."

What has happened with Black Superhero Comics from beginning until 2007

What has happened with Black Superhero Comics from beginning until 2007

What has happened with Black Superhero Comics from beginning until 2007

by Van Stone

What if anything can save black youth and adults interested forever in superhero comics telling stories about blacks from the late '60's until 2007 and beyond? No one seems to really know. But below is a long history of black superhero comics and the trouble with blacks being missing in action of heroism by art, comics, and cartoons. The question still remains in young black and white American minds: What black superhero character, if ever, will get everyones attention when the SOS is said by any city on Earth- "He is our last hope.?"

Brad Mackay

The superhero comics that kids once knew (and perhaps loved) are in trouble. Notwithstanding Hollywood's recent infatuation with big-budget superhero movies, for much of the past 30 years the monthly comic book adventures of Spider-Man, Batman and their kind have been suffering from shrinking readership and slumping sales.

For example, during the heyday of the late 1970s, a bestseller from DC or Marvel Comics, two of the biggest publishers, could expect to sell 300,000 copies. These days a similar title would be fortunate to move more than 50,000.

For an industry famous for tales packed full of muscles and melodrama, the situation has prompted an unusual amount of soul searching. The would-be villains are many. Some have blamed the sales slide on cultural upstarts, like video games, manga and the ever-present Internet. Others point to the increased popularity of bookstore-friendly graphic novels, sales of which have recently surpassed traditional comics.

But there are those who have begun to ask more complex questions, like how characters that are 40, or even 70, years old can remain relevant in an increasingly diverse society. This raises one of the oldest and most uncomfortable truths about the superhero genre: its surprising dearth of non-white heroes, particularly black ones.

Take Marvel Comics, home to such super-powered luminaries as Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine and the Fantastic Four. For more than 40 years, the New York-based company has modelled itself as the more progressive half of a superhero industry dyad, the other half being DC Comics. But on closer inspection, Marvel's catalogue tells a different story. According to their own figures, the Marvel universe contains more than 5,000 characters, yet even a generous count reveals that only 100 or so of these are black – less than two per cent of their fictional population. This pales in comparison to the nearly 14 per cent that the U.S. Census says makes up American society at present (the number is more like 12 if you expand the numbers to include all of North America).

The rest of the mainstream industry doesn't fair much better. Of the 300 comics published monthly by Marvel, DC, and a clutch of other companies, only a half-dozen or so titles feature a black hero in a starring role. And according to the industry website Icv2.com, none of these titles – which include the Black Panther, Blade and Spawn – sell well enough to regularly crack the Top 50, which on most months is a realm reserved for an all-star (and all-white) cast of heroes like Spider-Man, Superman and Captain America.

Female superheroes, meanwhile, haven't fared much better in the pages of mainstream comics. While there have been many notable super-heroines in comics – including DC's Wonder Woman, who was among the first to debut way back in 1941 – their ranks are far outweighed by the men.

But for those working in the estimated $400 million mainstream comic business, the homogeneity of heroes is becoming harder and harder to ignore.

Just ask Reginald Hudlin. The writer and director behind such films like House Party and Boomerang and TV shows like Everybody Hates Chris has been frustrated for decades by what he sees as the gross under-representation of black heroes in comics. A comic fan since he was a kid (he owns more than 30,000) and the current writer behind Marvel's Black Panther title, Hudlin is perplexed by how one of the oldest and most "pop" of all popular cultures could remain so whitewashed.

"In every other medium, the most successful concept or product is black. Whether it's music, movies, TV shows: out of the top 10, four of them are black," he says from his office at Black Entertainment Television, where he is an executive. "Who are the biggest movie stars? Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy. Only in comics are blacks so under represented. Somehow, in this medium people are so out of touch with popular culture that they don't understand that black culture is popular culture."

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To understand how this came to be, a brief history lesson is in order. This one starts in the summer of 1938. That's when a fledgling company called National Allied Publications (later to become DC Comics) published the first issue of Action Comics, featuring a rejected newspaper strip about a super-strong bully who could leap "an eighth of a mile." That character was Superman. Co-created by Toronto-born Joe Shuster, he served as a bolt of creative energy in a young medium populated by lacklustre adventure stories.

The success of this ur-superhero spawned a cast of similar DC characters, from Batman and Wonder Woman to the Green Lantern and The Flash. By the 1940s, superhero comics were a certified pop phenomenon, with single issues of Superman selling a million copies and dozens of companies sprouting up to cash in. In this Golden Age, the first black comic book characters mirrored attitudes of the day – simpleminded sidekicks with names like Sunny Boy Sam and Whitewash Jones. One of the companies that emerged during the initial superhero book boom was Timely Comics. It unveiled its first heroes, The Human Torch and The Submariner, in 1939's Marvel Comics No. 1. Timely would eventually take its name from that comic, rebranding itself Marvel Comics in the early 1960s not long before the appearance of another epochal comic title, Fantastic Four No. 1. Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, the November 1961 debut of the super-powered team launched a second Silver Age of superhero comics, one in which heroes were flawed, often spending as much time fretting as fighting.

From this formula came a series of new superheroes and super anti-heroes, like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Daredevil and Iron Man, who caught on with a new generation looking for a change. But as society continued to progress, comics began to fall into a rut, relying on the same old characters, the majority white, that initially proved so popular.

"Comics in the last 30 years have been heavily vested in catering to nostalgia for a fan base," Regina-based cultural historian Jeet Heer said via email. "That is to say, the audience for superhero comics has gotten smaller, older and more intense over the last three decades."

As a result, most successful superhero comics continue to have roots in either the Golden Age or the Silver Age. "As it happens, both these time periods were really pre-Civil Rights (or at the very cusp of the civil rights movement), so the comics done in the past didn't really address multicultural or black issues, and the ones being done now that hearken back to the past don't deal with these issues either."

In their defence, the mainstream companies have endeavoured to inject a little diversity into their books over the years. Some would argue the results have been less than super. Marvel was the first out of the blocks in the mid-1960s when, inspired by the civil rights movement in the U.S., they unveiled several visible black heroes to their universe. Among the first were Black Panther, the tribal leader of a fictional African country, and Black Goliath, a ghetto-raised scientist who, in a freak lab accident, gains the power to grow by 15 feet.

DC didn't really get into the game until the 1970s, when the industry began to take its inspiration from blaxploitation films. Memorably, in 1972 they introduced John Stewart, an architect who becomes an emergency replacement for the Green Lantern of the day, Hal Jordan. By resisting a suggestion to name him Isaiah Washington (a stereotypical slave name), artist Neal Adams struck a blow for diversity at DC.

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Another arrived later that same year, when Marvel introduced Luke Cage (a.k.a. Power Man), the first black superhero to get his own eponymous title. It would also prove to be the longest lasting, running an admirable 125 issues.

The track record of ensuing black superheroes is dominated by disappointment or dismal failure. There were spectacular flops, from DC's multi-racial "Planet DC" line to Spike Lee's best-forgotten "Comics With Spike" line. The mainstream comic industry's pitiable, and even outright embarrassing, track record on diversity comes as no surprise to retailers like Peter Birkemoe.

"Everything that these companies do is in complete isolation from true market forces. They are not now, nor have they been for 30 years, part of the mass media," says the co-owner of Toronto's most discerning comic shop, The Beguiling. "Companies run by fans with comics drawn by fans rarely think of catering to anyone but themselves, which unfortunately means comics aimed primarily at adult men who still want to read comics featuring characters suited to children's entertainment."

If they're truly unable to recruit younger readers, superhero comics are destined to whither and possibly die within a generation or two. It is entirely possible that our grandchildren will know of Spider-Man or Batman only through other iterations, like Hollywood, cartoons, or video games.

Leopold Campbell, a 34-year-old vice-principal and die-hard superhero fan, has an easy solution: write better stories. Campbell, who has been reading comics since he was "a working-class black kid" in Toronto, says comic fans of all colours get hooked on them for one reason, the addictive nature of serialized storylines – many of which involve complex plots and take years to resolve.

Most black comics, on the other hand, "are insulting to the intelligence," he says. "The problem is, black characters always have to be protest characters... They're always arguing about something or they're always angry, and it always has to do with race. So they're fixed within one specific subject."

The worst recent example of this was Steel, a 1994 Superman spin-off that featured a black engineer-turned-superhero. "The stories were insulting. [Here's] this guy that's supposed to be highly intelligent and makes weapons for the military, and he's fighting people in the ghetto. It just made no sense." This is especially frustrating for Campbell who runs a book club for boys (many of whom are black) at Toronto's Fisherville Junior High School.

"The black students are very much intrigued by the black characters, they want the black heroes. They feel a sense pride and they relate to them... but it's the story that will keep them coming back, and often the problem is the stories aren't great. They'd rather go out and buy a hip-hop CD than go buy a bunch of comics."

If anyone is going to take the black superhero out of the ghetto, it just might be Marvel's executive editor, Axel Alonso.

A veteran of Marvel and DC, Alonso has championed controversial projects, including a 2003 miniseries that re-imagined the 1950s western hero Rawhide Kid as a leather-clad gay cowboy, and the 2004 series Truth: Red, White and Black. It recounted the untold story of the first Captain America, an African American who endured brutal tests that echoed the real-life Tuskegee syphilis experiments that were conducted starting in the 1930s on a group of American men who were black and poor.

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Both series were praised by many outside of the comic industry, yet Marvel weathered intense – and often racially charged – criticism from fans.

"The comic book industry is a little bit like the music industry before hip-hop," Alonso says. "When hip-hop broke, it was embraced almost 100 per cent by a black and Latino audience, and it took quite a while for it to get the inroads that it did to a white audience. There were some quantum leaps in the music industry as hip-hop found its footing and arguably supplanted rock as the cultural mainstream. Within comics we haven't had that kind of thing yet."

To help get there, in 2005 Marvel mounted a high-profile launch of a title starring their marquee black hero, the Black Panther. The series debuted in February – Black History Month – and landed at the No. 27 spot on the monthly bestseller list (above the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man).

But in the two years since, sales have dropped 50 per cent and Hudlin has been the target of venomous criticism. One early scene that depicted Black Panther beating Captain America in a fight provoked online critics to accuse him of "shameless race-card playing" and "promoting an exaggerated super Negro."

It got so bad last fall that the website Comic Book Resources temporarily suspended all discussion of the comic on its message boards, citing an "unacceptable level of vitriol."

"I won't lie," says Alonso. "This is a title that we need to fight to keep alive. I mean, I've yet to see a writer take more hits from the right people than Reggie."

He adds that Marvel is committed to keeping the book alive, even if it means ignoring low sales figures.

"If we can't have the Black Panther as a major player in the Marvel Universe then we're not doing our job. This isn't affirmative action – it's just the facts. This is a character that we feel has legs, and if it takes an extra commitment to making that be the case, then so be it."

Last summer DC Comics unveiled its own diversification gambit that it hopes will win over fans, however calls to DC comics publisher Paul Levitz, seeking further comment were not returned by press time. As part of a larger shake-up of its fictional universe, DC introduced radical reboots of some of its stock superheroes, including an African American version of Firestorm, a Hispanic Blue Beetle, and a new Batwoman, resurrected as a gay socialite. It's not much, but if it convinces even a few kids to put down their PSP or step away from their computer long enough to get lost in a good, old-fashioned, four-colour power fantasy then there may be hope for superhero comics after all.

"I like to think," says Alonso, "that there'll always be a place in our universe where a kid can look and see reflected in the mirror an idealized form of themselves."

A dearth of black heroes

. . . count the major ones on one hand; meet them below, plus a milestone comic company

» Black Panther

Acknowledged as comics' first black superhero, the Black Panther (a.k.a. King T'Challa of the affluent nation of Wakanda) first appeared in July 1966 in Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four No. 52 – several months before the militant civil rights group appeared. Two years later, the "Sidney Poitier" of superheroes became the first black member of The Avengers and later earned his first starring role in a 1973 issue of Jungle Action. In the year since he has had several different series and miniseries, including the current ongoing series penned by filmmaker Reginald Hudlin.

» The Falcon

Born and raised in Harlem, Sam ``Snap'' Wilson became Marvel's first African American superhero after his debut in Captain America No. 117 in 1969. A long-time partner of Captain America, The Falcon, once quit The Avengers after he learned he had been hired to fill a super-quota.

» John Stewart (Green Lantern)

An architect turned intergalactic protector, John Stewart was one of the first black superheroes to not be saddled with a code name that began conspicuously with the word "black." His first appearance came in the January 1972 issue of the socially minded series Green Lantern/Green Arrow, where he was selected as a substitute for the then-injured Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

» Luke Cage (Power Man)

A trash-talking ex-con with super-strength and steel hard skin, in July 1972 Luke Cage became the first black superhero to get his own self-titled comic with Marvel's Luke Cage: Hero for Hire No. 1. The streetwise series ran for 125 issues, making it the longest running comic ever to date featuring a black superhero. A young Nicolas Cage was such a big fan of the character that he used him as inspiration when searching for a replacement for his famous surname, Coppola.

» Black Lightning

DC Comics' first black superhero, Black Lightning, debuted in his own self-titled series in April 1977. Lightning, a.k.a. Jefferson Pierce, an Olympic athlete turned inner city school teacher, toted a voltage-generating belt and a white mask with a unique afro attachment. He once turned down an invitation from Superman to join the Justice League of America.

» Milestone Comics

Created in 1992 in partnership with DC Comics, Milestone Comics was likely the most high-profile comic company to feature a complete line of African-American and other ethnically diverse superheroes. Owned and operated by African American writers and artists (and featuring early work by Toronto artist Ho Che Anderson), it published a series of comics, including Static, Hardware and Icon, before closing up shop in 1997.

Groundbreaking Study Examines Drug Imprisonment in 198 Counties;

97 Percent Experienced Racial Disparities

WASHINGTON - New report released today by the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) finds that 97 percent of the nation's large-population counties imprisoned African Americans at a higher rate than whites. The report documents racial disparities in the use of prison for drug offenses in 193 of the 198 counties that reported to government entities. (The findings for the 198 counties are available from JPI on an embargoed basis).

Download Report

The Vortex: The Concentrated Racial Impact of Drug Imprisonment and the Characteristics of Punitive Counties <http://www.justicepolicy.org/content.php?hmID=1811&smID=1581&ssmID=69> found that counties with higher poverty rates, larger African-American populations and larger police or judicial budgets imprison people for drug offenses at higher rates than counties without these characteristics. These relationships were found to be independent of whether the county actually had a higher rate of crime.

The Vortex is the first study to examine the relationships between these sociodemographic structures and the specific annual rate at which people are admitted to prison for drug offenses and the first to localize the racially disparate impact of drug imprisonment at the county level.

The exponential removal of people of color who have substance abuse problems from their communities and into prisons undermines and destabilizes neighborhoods "it does not make them safer, says Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. Drug addiction doesn't discriminate but our drug policies do.

The report is being released just days before the Drug Policy Alliance hosts its 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.


Major findings include:

* While tens of millions of people use illicit drugs, prison and policing responses to drug behavior have a concentrated impact on a subset of the population. In 2002, there were 19.5 million illicit drug users, 1.5 million drug arrests, and 175,000 people admitted to prison for a drug offense.

* While African Americans and whites use and sell drugs at similar rates, African Americans are ten times more likely than whites to be imprisoned for drug offenses.

* Of the 175,000 admitted to prison nationwide in 2002, over half were African American, despite the fact that African Americans make up less than 13 percent of the U.S. population.

* There is no relationship between the rates at which people are sent to prison for drug offenses and the rates at which people use drugs in counties. For example, although Rockingham County, NH, has a larger percent of its population reporting illicit drug use, Jefferson Parish, LA, sent more people to prison for a drug offense at a rate 36 times that of Rockingham.

* Higher county drug prison admission rates were associated with how much was spent on policing and the judicial system, higher poverty and unemployment rates, and the proportion of the county's population that is African American.

Researchers attributed disparate policing practices, disparate treatment before the courts, mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws, and differences in the availability of drug treatment for African Americans compared with whites as reasons for the significant racial disparities seen in drug imprisonment rates.

Laws "like drug laws” that are violated by a large percentage of the population are particularly prone to selective enforcement, says Phillip Beatty, co-author of the study. The reason African Americans are so disproportionately impacted may, in part, be related to social policy, the amount spent on law enforcement and judiciary systems, and local drug enforcement practices.

While the report does not make detailed recommendations for counties, the authors suggest that policymakers consider reforming drug policies to include:

* De-escalation of the drug war. Drug enforcement practices are focused in the African-American community, despite evidence that they are no more likely than their white counterparts to be engaged in drug use or drug delivery behaviors. Local, state and federal policymakers should closely examine racial disparities in local drug imprisonment rates that result from these practices, and consider alternative approaches to reducing drug use and sales.

* Careful consideration of public safety funding. While policing and judicial expenditures need to be prioritized to help deal with violent crime, other ways to promote public safety would include investments in public health policies and services that reduce poverty and unemployment.

* A shift to evidence-based drug enforcement practices. Reform drug enforcement practices, and collect data to analyze the fairness of local drug enforcement tactics and policies.

Rather than focus law enforcement efforts on drug-involved people who bear little threat to public safety, we should free up local resources to fund treatment, job training, supportive housing, and other effective public safety strategies, says Jason Ziedenberg, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute.

The report, The Vortex: The Concentrated Racial Impact of Drug Imprisonment and the Characteristics of Punitive Counties, is embargoed until Tuesday, December 4, 12:01 a.m. (Tuesday's Newspapers). After December 4th, the report will be available on JPITs website at www.justicepoilicy.org <http://www.justicepoilicy.org>. For more information, contact LaWanda Johnson at 202/558-7974 ext. 308 or ljohnson@justicepolicy.org

HoopGurlz: Stars Come Out

HoopGurlz: Stars Come Out

Alyssa Fressle of Highlands Ranch, Michelle Jenkins of Southridge, Ashley Corral of Prairie, Jasmine Dixon and April Cook of Long Beach Poly and Alex Earl of Southridge are the top seniors in the Northwest Nike Invitational

If Long Beach Poly is to improve on its once-beaten, No. 2 nationally ranked 2006-07 season, it will have to survive the first leg in what promises to be one of the most challenging stretches ever attempted by a high-school program.

That leg is this week, Dec. 6-8 at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore., in a field that contains two other nationally ranked teams, three other state champions and several of the country's top-ranked players.

HoopGurlz.com is a media sponsor for the event.

Monique Oliver of LB Poly

Poly, the consensus No. 2 pick, nationally, and defending California Division I state champions, open on Thursday against Central Catholic of Portland, Ore., which features point guard Kate Lanz, who is ranked No. 33 overall in the HoopGurlz Super Sixty for the 2009 class.

Host Southridge, the three-time defending Oregon state champions, is ranked 10th nationally by Full Court Press and 13th by ESPN and has two Pac-10 signees - USC-bound Michelle Jenkins, ranked No. 93 in the HoopGurlz Hundred, and Arizona State-bound Alex Earl, who is ranked No. 96.

Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco is the other nationally ranked team, coming in at No. 11 in the Full Court Press rankings. Sacred Heart is the defending California Division III champions led by Tierra Rogers, ranked No. 37 in the Super Sixty for 2009.

The other state champion is Highlands Ranch, the two-time defending large classification Colorado titlists led by Colorado-bound guard Alyssa Fressle, No. 76 in the HoopGurlz Hundred, and Wisconsin-bound Jade Davis.

Alex Earl of Southridge

Long Beach Poly (No. 1, West), Southridge (No. 4), Highlands Ranch (No. 6) and Sacred Heart (No. 7) also are regionally ranked by ESPN.

Ashley Corral, No. 23 in the HoopGurlz Hundred and headed to USC, leads Prairie, a perennial power in the state of Washington out of Vancouver. Beaverton and South Eugene, a pair of perennial Oregon state playoff contenders, round out the field.

In accordance with its lofty status, Long Beach Poly boasts of two major Division I signees - Jasmine Dixon, No. 26 in the HoopGurlz Hundred who is headed to Rutgers, and April Cook, No. 76 in the HoopGurlz Hundred who is bound for Washington State. The aptly named Jackrabbits also have the highest ranked prospect in the field, Monique Oliver, No. 5 overall in the Super Sixty for 2009, as well as Kelli Thompson, a 6-foot wing who is ranked No. 36 in the Super Sixty.

After the Northwest Nike Invitational, Long Beach Poly will compete in the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions, Dec. 19-22, in Chandler, Ariz. That tournament boasts 11 nationally ranked schools, including No. 1 Notre Dame Academy of Middleburg, Va. After Christmas, Poly will play in the T-Mobile Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., then will be matched against St. Paul Central in the Gatorade Timberwolves Shootout on Jan. 5.

FireFighter Fatalities in the Nation

Firefighter Fatalities in the Nation

Notice of Firefighter Fatality: Geary, OK

Jon Bingham of the Geary Fire Department in Geary, OK has died as the result of an on-duty incident that occurred on 2007-11-28

Assistant Fire Chief Bingham responded with his department to an apartment building fire with fatality late in the evening of 11/28/2007. According to reports, he stayed on-scene over the next 18 hours until the recovery of the deceased was completed. Bingham returned to the station to put away equipment, finishing at approximately 1800hrs (11/29/2007). Several hours after returning to his residence and going to bed, Assistant Fire Chief Bingham passed away from an apparent heart attack (0230hrs, 11/30/2007).

Donations in the name and memory of Assistant Fire Chief Jon Bingham may be made to the Geary Fire Department, PO Box 54, Geary, OK 73040; and/or the American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org).

Long lines form for Firefighter Jobs at Oakland (CA) Fire Department

Dec. 2--OAKLAND -- After camping in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza for two days, many cold and disgruntled firefighter applicants Saturday started circulating a petition calling for a fresh hiring process.

They said the Oakland Fire Department's system for scouting new recruits is unfair, as some people had been handpicked over others. In addition, they said, the unofficial waiting lines that formed in the plaza created intense competition and overall confusion.

"A lot of people were sneaking in when others were sleeping," said Noe Leon, 22, of Fremont. He slept overnight in the plaza with six friends. "At 4 a.m., everyone got an urge to rush to the front."

Some people tried to defend their space with yellow caution tape, he added.

The department, which is trying to add another 20 firefighting positions to its current 450, recently waived its emergency medical technician requirement and said it would process only the first 1,000 applicants.

"We are moving forward with the process," Oakland fire Lt. David Brue said.

The deadline to submit applications was noon Saturday.

A multiple-choice test will be administered next Saturday to the remaining candidates. Oral interviews will be conducted Jan. 28 to Feb. 1, and physical agility tests will be given Feb. 25-29.

More than 8,000 firefighter-training applications were distributed.

Evan Rogers, 23, of San Leandro signed the petition being circulated Saturday because he said he was frustrated by the lack of organization.

"People started mosh pitting," he said. "This is not a rock concert."

Applicants' patience began to wear thin when some people were handpicked from the crowd. Many male applicants said minority female applicants were favored.

Other applicants became upset after standing in a line for hours only to find out that theirs was not an official line.

A recording from a loudspeaker in the plaza Friday night urged applicants to go home and return at 5 a.m. Saturday, but no one wanted to lose their place in line, Leon said.

According to Brue, no "official lines" were established until between 6 and 7 a.m. Saturday.

In addition, the Fire Department, Police Department and Personnel Department helped secure and manage five entry points, allowing up to 20 applicants at a time into the building on a rotational basis.

"The closest 20 to 30 people at those entry points were being picked," Brue said.

Some of the hopefuls camping in the plaza said they were afraid to talk to the media for fear of hurting their chances with the department during the application process.

"It's not fair," said one applicant, who preferred to be unnamed. "All you have to be is 18 and breathing to apply, and this process is not giving the public the best."

Philadelphia Front Page News Picks "Roger Robbie" and Gene Way This Week

Philadelphia Front Page News Picks "Roger Robbie" and Gene Way This Week



WheelsFinder Allstar, Rider & Tuneup Pick of the Week
Gene volunteers to work with the community and youth on his spare time, dealing with free blood pressure screenings, plus a range of info about Health and Safety, First aid/CPR training info, stroke and heart attack prevention ,and risk factors awareness. Ask for Uncle Gene Way where customers are friends. He says he sells the best cars in the world to friends and relatives or call (215) 476-1200 for more info.


© 2006 T.S.M.T., Inc.


"Roger Robbie's" Children's Value Positive T-shirts, Posters, Teaching Guide, and 10 Reproducible Sheets and Values Box." And Super "Heroes of the Last Q," staring, "U7," Black male Tennis character, also, starring, "Shadai Chiropratra," Black female Tennis Superstar, action figures collection. Roger Robbie and Super Heroes Educational Materials are 17" x 22" posters highlighting values that will enable parents and youth supplement value-building activities in their own classrooms and N' hoods. Created by Herb Rogers, Jr., and by Van Stone. James Sullivan is using an exciting way for children to learn and identify values and their meanings for....School. Home. Church. Mayor Office. Police Commissioner. Fire Commissioner. District Attorney. Urban Neighborhood. Values that will stop the youth gun-violence, fire deaths, and promote snitching-supporting Police and Fire Rescue citywide. Interested in using Roger Robbie Image on your stationary or community safety project to support controlling children firearms injuries and children fire deaths call Chapel-Police at (215) 747-8746 or contact Safety Minister Stone at vspfoundation@yahoo.com.

Philadelphia Front Page News About Philadelphia Eagles This Weekend

Philadelphia Front Page News About Philadelphia Eagles This Weekend

QB A.J Feeley

Not even Brian Westbrook could save the Eagles this time.

Westbrook, who has been carrying the Eagles all year, tried to do it one last time Sunday, in the latest must-win game of the Eagles' season. They trailed 28-24 Sunday to Seattle, despite 139 total yards from Westbrook, including a 29-yard touchdown run that gave the Eagles (briefly) the lead in the third quarter.

With 1:37 left, Westbrook was in as the punt returner. It was save-the-game time, and Westbrook got the call.

"I should have told (Seattle punter Ryan Plackemeier) to kick the ball out of bounds," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "I didn't think about it, and I should have. I should have been more aware of him in that situation. He's a great football player."

Westbrook fielded the punt, made one move and took off down the left sideline. He made it 64 yards before two Seahawks pushed him out of bounds, but he gave the offense the ball on Seattle's 14-yard line with 1:16 left. Surely that was enough.

"Brian's amazing," Sheldon Brown said. "I was hoping he'd score."

Under normal circumstances, it might not be fair to ask Westbrook to make a 70-yard sprint and then go out and carry the offense. But these are not normal circumstances. Still Westbrook did not get the ball on any of the Eagles' last three offensive snaps -- and the final play was A.J. Feeley's fourth interception that ended the game.

"You get Brian to do what he does, just make plays, and we can't capitalize," Brian Dawkins said. "It doesn't feel too good."

The Eagles did not capitalize on Westbrook's return just as they have not capitalized on his remarkable season. One of the best offensive seasons in Eagles history is being wasted, as Westbrook's heroics keep coming up just short.

"Everybody's going out there and giving everything they have," Westbrook said. "This team is comprised of guys that are very unselfish and we're going to go out there and try to do everything we can. I try to hold up my end and do my part.

"I'm frustrated because we're not winning, and we're good enough to win football games. We're just not doing it. My stats, and my numbers aren't such a big deal. I would love to have victories. I want my team to have a sense of success above my success."

He keeps trying. Westbrook leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage, and Sunday edged just 6 yards from another 1,000 yard rushing season. He's scored 11 touchdowns and carried the offense all year.

But the Eagles just can't capitalize

Next Top 10 people for Black Representation In The Philadelphia State.

Next Top 10 people for Black Representation In The Philadelphia State.
by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (215) 747-8756

By 1778, Philadelphia controlled the largest empire in the Pennsylvania State. The city officials of Philadelphia helped to make Philadelphia the strongest state in Pennsylvania. This is no fiction. At one time, publicly together both the county and the city of Philadelphia were viewed as a state in North America. Land claimed by Philadelphia City government made it’s Downtown City Hall the capital of Philadelphia. Since Philadelphia is the largest city in the Pennsylvania State, today, Black and white elected official and commissioner and/or supervisor ways will soon combine to create a new way of life. They will introduce the population to new education and to new public safety and health, such as peaceful protest against certain wealthy colleges in Philadelphia to assure that the quality of life is effected for the success of African-Americans and the poor. During this election year dealing with citywide legislation, courts, and voter and press education, the next top 10 people for Black representation in Philly will quickly help African-Americans have their share of the wealth from certain colleges and government.

In 2007, the Philadelphia people will re-elect Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell, 3rd District Majority Leader back to City Hall, Philadelphia, PA. Blackwell, is a four-term Councilwoman with a thirty-year reputation of serving the community also as Chair of the City Council Finance Committee, Education Committee, and the newly created Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless. She is a member of National Political Congress of Black Women and The National Coalition of 100 Black Women. Blackwell is Ward Leader, 46th Ward, and Executive Democratic Committee. Blackwell is listed 1st amongst the top 10 to fight for Black Philadelphia changes. She is the only one of the Philadelphia city council that has declared ’07 war against the University City District, a work for hire firm by the wealthy University of Penn, speaking out against Black community bias and property monopoly over blacks.

Listed 2nd to represent black folk for Philly as a State where jobs will be plenty, crime will be low, and young black males will rise in attending college after High School is, State Rep. Tommy W. Blackwell, IV, 190th Legislative District, House of Rep. Common Wealth of PA. T. Blackwell has worked for job stability in Phila. in vesting millions of dollars in Philly education and quality of life interest. As State Rep he will peer more closely in 2007 into the wealthy university’s lack of providing monetary support to African-American students that need tutors preparing children for employment now.

Third is Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, 8th District. Miller, is the Chairlady of the Public Safety Committee. 4.2 million-dollar funding for renovation of a “state of the art” Lonnie Young Recreation Center. Myself having had a chance to make a most recent visit to Lonnie Young, in 2007 Miller will expect answers from wealthy colleges that make decisions severely effecting the quality of life in Germantown. 4th is Councilman Darrell L. Clark, 5th District. Clarke will develop black youth violence reduction in 2007 using curfew centers in recreation centers. 5th is Lewis Harris Jr., Citywide Philadelphia improvement businessman. Harris Jr’s experience to alliance community groups, elected officials, and black school age students to repel wealthy universities attempts to close public schools and public housing so that these might be purchased for college gain will quickly restore the empowerment of block captains and families where black quality of life issues can get more service from city officials. 6th is Tyrone Reed, Trudy Haynes Enterprise, Director of TV Marketing; 7th is James Sullivan, Community Activist; 8th is Malik Aziz, Founder of Ex Offenders Association; 9th is Jackie Frazier-Lyde, Lawyer who is the daughter of former world Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier; 10th is Minister Van Stone, Citywide Education, Public and Health Activist/Political Analyst.