The Cafe' [Think Tank]

Mental disorders and mental illnesses are not race-specific. They can affect any race, nationality, gender or age. Yet, mental illness is very often stigmatized in black communities. As a result, they often do not seek help as they would with a physical illness. Why? In black communities, especially amongst young people - particularly teenagers, it is often not OK to talk about depression or other mental illnesses in their lives. Particularly among men, it is not socially acceptable for them to admit or talk about their mental illness. It is considered taboo to admit that they have something mentally wrong. The stigma of mental illness and resulting aversion to seeking treatment is reflected in some startling statistics: Many mental illnesses can be traced to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), such as divorce, neglect and abuse. Adverse Childhood Experiences greatly increase a person's risk of developing a mental illness at some point in their life. Yet, 62 percent of black ...

Updated story Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was charged Friday with violating federal law by misusing campaign funds -- and his wife Sandi Jackson was also charged with filing false joint tax returns. According to the Chicago Tribune, Jackson is accused of conspiring with his wife, formerly a Chicago alderman,  to divert $750,000 in campaign funds  for personal use. Politico reported earlier Friday that sources close to the case revealed  Jackson conspired with his wife Sandi to illegally spend the campaign funds on personal expenses.  Among the couple's improper expenditures: a $43,000 Rolex watch, home renovations, fur coats, cosmetic procedures, breakfast snacks and even beds for campaign workers.  ( Read Jesse Jackson Jr.'s full indictment document  and Sandi Jackson's separate indictment .) According to ABC Chicago,  Jesse Jackson Jr. released a statement on Friday : "Over the course of my life I have come to realize that none ...

President-elect Obama and President Bush stand together on the West Wing Colonnade of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) WASHINGTON —  President Barack Obama  has signed into law a five-year extension of the U.S. government’s authority to monitor the overseas activity of suspected foreign spies and terrorists. The warrantless intercept program would have expired at the end of 2012 without the president’s approval. The renewal bill won final passage in the Senate on Friday. Known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the law allows the government to monitor overseas phone calls and emails without obtaining a court order for each intercept. The law does not apply to Americans. When Americans are targeted for surveillance, the government must get a warrant from a special 11-judge court of U.S. district judges appointed by the Supreme Court.

I empathize with Eddie Long’s accusers. In August, two of them, Spencer LaGrande and Jamal Parris, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the alleged wounds of what they call exploitation by the man they knew as “bishop” and “Daddy” are still fresh. “I’m fighting not to pull the trigger,” Parris said, days after receiving probation for drug and gun possession charges. “I’d love to take pills and never wake up.” “The truth should’ve set [us] free,” he added, paraphrasing John 8:32. “I thought I could cover the pain up. I thought I could move, start over and everything would go away. I was terribly wrong. I’m living a lifestyle meant to crash.” Those summer interviews with the newspaper and two Atlanta TV stations, during which LaGrande and Parris reaffirmed accusations of sexual coercion by the mega-church pastor when they were teens, have jeopardized nearly $1 million of a settlement they and fellow litigants have been paid by Long (who has denied the allegations and se...

Wednesday, October 3, 2012 $100K bail for Chicago cop accused of having sex with prisoner A veteran Chicago cop charged for having sex with a prisoner he'd promised to release from the West Side lockup where the officer was stationed. Officer Nelson Stewart, 59, stood silently in court dressed in a red and white jacket and black pants as prosecutors detailed charges of custodial sexual misconduct, official misconduct and bribery, all felonies. He did not speak except to say he understood he could not have contact with the victim or witnesses when released on bond. Stewart was released on bond later Friday. Authorities said the incident occurred in early June in the lockup at the Harrison District police station, 3151 W. Harrison St., where the alleged victim was under arrest for prostitution. Stewart, a 24-year-veteran of the department, was in charge of the station’s male lockup facility when he approached the victim’s cell and offered to release him in...

Now, I think it’s safe to say there aren’t a lot of support groups for people who marry their fathers. Fortunately, Spruill has been working with a therapist since she found out. She praises the therapist for helping her realize she did nothing wrong. Talk about a psychological blockbuster. Not that Valerie Spruill' life had been a breeze four decades earlier when she found out at the age of 9 that the man she thought was her father was actually her grandfather, and that a person who had been identified as a “family friend” was actually her mother. Spruill didn’t learn until later that her mom also was one of three “night ladies,” as she terms it, who testified in the infamous 1980 corruption trial of Summit County Probate Judge James Barbuto. Why would anyone volunteer this kind of information? Because Valerie Spruill wants to be an example. The 60-year-old Doylestown woman wants to show other folks born into miserable situations that they can stil...

Daniel S Levine 9/13/2012 Bank robbery suspects were seen throwing cash out the window of their SUV as they were being pursued by police in Los Angeles County on Wednesday. There were four suspects in the car, two were arrested when the chase finally ended, but two others jumped from the car. One was later apprehended, while another is still at large. The hour-long chase started in Santa Clarita and finally came to an end in South LA, reports  CBS LA . Officials said that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies were responding to an armed robbery call from a Bank of America at 10:15am. The suspects were spotted driving a black Volvo SUV. As the chase went on, the suspects were seen throwing cash out the window, prompting many bystanders to rush to pick up the money. According to  The Associated Press , the chase finally ended when a pickup truck took a right turn, blocking the suspects’ path. Police pulled and arrested two men who were in the car and found a gun...