Roland Martin’s gripe with the feds

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Roland Martin’s gripe with the feds

By Michaela L. Duckett – July 11, 2011

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Good Morning! The weatherman is calling for a mixture of sunshine and clouds with a stray thunderstorm possible this afternoon. Today’s high will be in the low 90’s.

Did you know that it took over 1800 years for the world’s population to reach 1 billion? It took 123 more years to reach 2 billion and only 33 years to reach 3 billion. By 1999, we crossed the 6 billion mark and the growth rate continues to increase.

Today is World Population Day, which was established to raise awareness about how international family planning can help slow population growth in an effort to save lives. This year’s theme is “The World at 7 Billion.” Right now there are 311,740,033 people living in the U.S. That number grows every 13 seconds.

Here’s what’s brewing in the news:

Roland Martin’s gripe with the feds

Author and syndicated columnist Roland Martin is questioning the integrity of the nation’s legal system. In a political commentary piece for CNN, Martin questions why the feds have so relentless pursued Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for “supposedly lying” about their steroid use, while allowing the "fat cats” on Wall Street to go virtually unpunished.

Martin writes:

“Lady Justice is supposed to be blind. But if you screw millions of Americans out of billions of dollars, and force the federal government to bail your firm out with billions of dollars, then prosecutors won't even bother to knock on your door. But lie to a grand jury about injecting yourself with steroids? Your world will be turned upside down!”

Martin says he’s not big fan of Bonds or Clemmons and doesn’t think it should be an either/or scenario. But with the nation’s unemployment rate at 9.2 percent, he believes Americans deserve the satisfaction of seeing Wall Street bankers being held accountable for their deeds. He writes:

“Don't get me wrong, we are supposed to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, but looking at the amount of time and dollars spent by the feds on these two baseball players, you would think they were drug kingpins. Yet while this is going on, the biggest crooks in the world, who almost singlehandedly took down the United States economy with their shady banking practices, are kicking it in their private suites at the baseball park, enjoying the huge bonuses that continue to flow on Wall Street.”

QUESTION: What do you think the feds should do to hold Wall Street accountable?
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Blacks families falling out of middle class into poverty

Speaking of the fat cats on Wall Street, their “shady banking practices” may have cost African Americans decades of hard-won economic gains. During the Great Recession, millions of Americans have endured financial calamity. But in the black community, where unemployment continues to rise, many families have been knocked completely out of the middle class and back into poverty. According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by the Economic Policy Institute, from 2004 to 2009, the median net worth for black families had fallen 83 percent to $2,170. (Read more here)
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Who’s got stolen jokes?

The Wayans brothers will soon have their date with justice. The family is being sued by Jared Edwards, a former assistant who claims the brothers stole his jokes and used them in their book, 101 Ways to Know You're a Golddigger. Unfortunately for Edwards, due to the lackluster sales of the Wayans’ book, the amount he will be able to claim in damages will likely be limited. The Wayans have denied any wrong doing. (Read more here)