District Chronicles V15 Issue 15 by District Chronicles

FRIDAY

Dec 4

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Dec 5

H: 54 SUNNY L: 33

Dec 6

H: 56 L: 36

SUNNY

MONDAY

Dec 7

H: 55 PARTLY L: 40

CLOUDY

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H: 53

SATURDAY

PEPCO DONATES 50K TO MONTGOMERY COUNTY COLLEGE 12

Councilwoman Alexander, Covenant House raise funds for homeless Page 4 December 3 - December 9, 2015

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Volume 15 Issue 15

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County gets tough on predatory towing

Editorial

Trumping American values, fairness By Lee A. Daniels George Curry Media Columnist

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As Donald Trump marches toward the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, holding high the banner of racist demagoguery, I suggest the GOP change its name to something more accurate. Given the despicable words and proposals of its leading presidencyseeking candidates and some of its elected officials this month, it should really be called the AntiAmerican Values Party. After all, isn’t closing America’s borders to refugees fleeing terror in their countries antiAmerican? Isn’t it anti-American to reach back to the unjustified World War II-era imprisonment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps, and the postwar “red-scare” witch hunts as models for putting “suspicious” people under surveillance? Isn’t proposing to wage a religious and race war against certain “not-like-us” Americans anti-American? Not if you’re a GOP presidential candidate or one of its leading racist provocateurs. Horrific terrorist attacks occur thousands of miles away in Beirut, Lebanon, in Paris, in Bamako, Mali, and out come the proposals to turn away Syrian refugees, close mosques, put Muslim Americans under surveillance and force them to “register” on a government “database.” “We’re going to have to do things that we never did before ... we’re going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago,” said Trump, the man who conflated his attending a military-themed boarding school with actual service in America’s military – which he dodged. Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio are all playing variations of this dirty gambit, too – underscoring the truism that when you lie down in the cesspool, the only place to go is deeper and deeper into the filth. But leave it to Iowa Rep. Steve King, America’s worst elected bigot, to be the deepest cesspool diver. He said on CNN Nov. 24, speaking of not only Syrian refugees but Arabs in general, “no one has shown me an example of people from [the

Donald Trumps outrageous proposals defies what America stands for.

Middle East] that have assimilated into the broader [American] society.” This kind of brazen racism disappeared from respectable political discourse with the defeat of the Southern segregationists and the dismantling of Jim Crow in the 1960s. And once upon a time, GOP officials regularly trotted out such slogans as “the Party of Lincoln” and “the Big Tent,” if only to continue to fool the foolish about how far it was tracking into the wilderness of reactionary ideology. But Trump’s money and low character has enabled him to strip such rhetoric out of the GOP playbook – with nary a peep of protest from the pathetic contingent of Black and Hispanic conservatives. Now, overt racism is the chief “talking point” of those Republicans – and some Democrats – playing armchair warrior. These are people who, when times are calm, boast of their being stewards of the “values” that made America great. But when danger looms, or they’re just feeling anxious – or they see a profit to be made – they readily choose callousness over compassion, cowardice over integrity, prejudice over tolerance, division over unity, and, most of all, the lie over the truth. So, one shouldn’t be that surprised at Trump’s anti-refugee

proposals; or his vile lie that on 9-11 he saw “thousands” of ArabAmerican residents of New Jersey cheering on the banks of the Hudson River as they watched the destruction of the World Trade Center. Remember, this is the man who opened his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination with a vicious slur against the Mexican government, undocumented Mexican immigrants and Hispanic Americans in general. And he then quickly incorporated all sorts of offensive remarks into a campaign built entirely on empty boasts, outright lies and naked appeals to bigotry of one kind or another. Racist verbal expression always contains at the least the implicit threat of physical violence, too. Sometimes the violence is expressed in nonviolent action - such as housing discrimination; or in just words and gestures alone. But the whole history of racial bigotry in America proves it can and does stoke physical violence as well. It should be clear to all now that that dynamic is central to not only Trump’s campaign but today’s Republican Party as a whole. Lee A. Daniels’ new collection of columns, Race Forward: Facing America’s Racial Divide in 2014, is available atwww.amazon.com

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Hilary Clinton to use Black media to reach Black voters

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Clinton campaign hires Burrell Communications in efforts obtain the African-American vote through media outreach.

By Ken Smikle Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Target Market News (TriceEdneyWire.com) – For African-American advertising, marketing, media and research firms, the 2016 political season officially began last week with the news that Hillary Clinton’s campaign had made its first hire. Chicago-based Burrell Communications has been selected to develop the creative for TV, radio, print and digital media targeting African-American voters. Also retained by the Clinton campaign is Ron Lester, whose expertise as a pollster for political candidates goes back 15 years when he formed his Washington-based Lester and Associates in 1990. The two recent appointments are the latest recognition within the Clinton organization that Black voters will be critical to success both in the primary and general elections. While African Americans voted in greater percentages than any other group in the 2012 national election, there’s no certainty that they will vote in record numbers next year when there isn’t a Black candidate at the

top of the ballot. Black marketing and media professionals have their eye on another barometer of how seriously both Democrats and Republicans will be taking the Black vote, and that is ad spending. There’s no shortage of experience in turning out the Black vote among Black ad agencies, media buyers and planners, and Black media. Firms such as UniWorld, Carol H. Williams, FUSE and GlobalHue have years of experience in developing successful political ads and media strategies for both Democrats and Republicans. But in the Obama era, few of the firms have been called upon. The Obama campaign and Political Action Committess (PACs) supporting his candidacy spent an estimated $409 million in all ads in the re-election effort in 2012, while Mitt Romney shelled out $492 million. While there’s no industry data available on what portion of those dollars went to African-American firms, those that have produced and carried political ads in the past say that they have never received budgets that reflected the importance of

Black voters to the election process. Following 2012, African-American marketing and media owners expressed anger at being excluded from the Obama campaign’s largess. Black newspapers in particular were very vocal about not getting what they considered was a fair share of those campaign dollars. Black voters’ participation, none the less, helped delivered victory for the president. However, outcomes could differ for Clinton. While this could again prove to be an historic election, Black influencers – which include black media owners – could temper their enthusiasm if they feel cut out of campaign budgets. And a lack of dollars and enthusiasm could be reflected in not just news content, but in the all-important impressions made through editorials and social media. One Black professional offered what he thought was a simple equation for political candidates’ success. “We’re 14 percent of the population, so spend 14 percent of your ad buys with us. That 14 percent margin assures you victory in November and defeat without it.”

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i av

ith city officials poised to demolish a makeshift homeless community of tents and with the imminent destruction a huge homeless shelter in southeast Washington, the Covenant House International’s annual “Sleep Out” demonstration and fundraiser took on a more poignant significance. The 50 people who awoke from their sleeping bags on the streets on 13th and Pennsylvania Street around Freedom Plaza last Friday were not part of the estimated 11,000 homeless people in Washington. Instead, they were people with homes who were trying to help the homeless and disconnected youth during a national fundraiser in more than 16 U.S. cities. The event, now in its fourth year, urged people to register to be “sleepers” on the street, encouraging each sleeper to raise about $2,500. According to Covenant House, the point of the demonstration is to show youth that someone cares for them and that they care enough to see their struggle. Brandon Martinez, 18, a former homeless youth, participated in the effort. Martinez said seeing other people sleep out in support of the homeless gave him a lot confidence to speak on homelessness. He now has a home thanks to D.C. Covenant, he said, and plans to enroll in culinary school after getting his G.E.D. Martinez participated in a panel in the John A. Wilson building across from Freedom’s Plaza before the Sleep Out with four other participants in the D.C. Covenant program. “I feel like a lot of people are ignorant and blissful about teen homelessness,” said Martinez. “D.C. Covenant has really been wonderful to me and everyone else. They accept everyone, no matter what.” During the event, sleepers and supporters heard the stories of other D.C. Covenant volunteers, and listened to local talent before finding a spot in the street to sleep.

“Sleep Out” participants spent the night out in sleeping bags in effort to help the homeless with their annual fundraiser.

Councilmember Yvette Alexander who, represents Ward 7, took to the streets last week. Donned in a skully hat and prepared with cardboard to sleep on, she challenged her council colleagues to join her. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska also participated. Sullivan came in support of the Alaska Covenant, which also had sleepers supporting the homeless in Anchorage, Alaska. Sullivan said he was impressed by the stories he heard from the participants. “I was kind of blown away by listening to these young men and women,” he said. “They have wisdom way beyond their years.” “I’m very honored to be here, and just like I think a lot of people that you see here are sleepers, I just want to be able to give back.” The D.C. Covenant, which 20 years ago, has helped thousands since its inception, said Guy Brami, chair of the board of directors. Last year, the organization provided over 58,000 meals and placed over 351 people through its GED program, he added. Brami said the purpose of the organization’s annual event is to

focus the city on the issue. “The upper side of the awareness is the awareness to the business community,” he said. “This is focused on bringing sleepers here who are business community leaders so that they can come here and be sponsored. It’s just like a 10K run.” Jasent Brown is director for D.C. ReEngagement Center, a government-sponsored program that helps young high school reconnect with educational options and receive a high school diploma or GED. She and her staff of five raised over $5,000 for the Sleep Out in the past six weeks by asking friends and family to donate. “A lot of times, especially since we’re all case manager as well, we get phone calls in the middle of the night saying ‘I’m sick and stuck at the park and have nowhere to go,’” said Brown. “In order for us to understand how they felt that night, how scared they were, how cold they were, we’re sleeping out. So when they call us and say it was cold, we can say, ‘Yes we know how cold it was for you.’”

Divine Intervention

Phonograph sermons once outsold jazz By Julie Kennedy Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

Morguefile

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – A recently published book chronicles a time when sermons by African-American clergy outsold recordings by popular performers like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey. In the 1920s and ’30s, these African-American preachers spread the word to a mass audience one phonograph record at a time, according to Lerone Martin, assistant professor of religion and politics in the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. In Preaching on Wax: The Phonograph and the Shaping of Modern African American Religion (NYU Press, 2014), Martin explains that clergy found themselves competing with blues singers and jazz artists for the souls of their flock. So, they took the fight to the recording booth and essentially joined the entertainment industry, where their sermons could reach tens of thousands. “There was debate within faith communities on how to respond to jazz and blues records, which had what would be considered lewd language and songs, and bragging about drinking during Prohibition,” said Martin. Some clergy offered alternate entertainment such as opera and classical music at their churches. Others argued that the church is for moral guidance, not entertainment. “But these preachers say, ‘We’re going to do both (guide and entertain),’” said Martin. “There is a pattern in evangelical religion in America, [B]lack and [W]hite, where evangelicals tend to take popular entertainment and sanctify it for their own purposes.” These religious recordings sold in stores alongside jazz and blues records. The preachers participated in the consumer marketplace alongside celebrities of the day and became celebrities themselves. Martin says the top-selling recording was “The Downfall of Nebuchadnezzar” by the Rev. J.C.

Preachers used phonographs to spread the word, out selling jazz and the blues.

Burnett, which sold 87,000 copies. The most popular preachers went on tour and had a nationwide following. They also drove the same fancy cars as celebrities such as Smith and wore nice clothes because they saw it as a way to authenticate the Gospel and themselves in the eyes of their followers.

like a church service. The records sold for 75 cents in department stores, mail-order catalogs, shoe-shine parlors, confectionaries, and drug stores all over the United States. Now, many of the sermons are sold on iTunes.

Phonograph, not radio

When World War II began, the boom in phonograph preachers ended as resources were needed for the war effort and radios became more common in AfricanAmerican homes. Martin wants his book to show the possibilities – and limits – of religion in the commercial marketplace and in mass media. The record companies helped preachers spread their message to a much larger audience, but not every message made it out of the recording studio. Martin gave an example of a popular preacher who recorded a sermon called “Stay Out of the Chain Stores.” During the Depression, chain stores were vilified for not contributing enough to local communities. According to studio production logs, that preacher recorded several sermons that day, but the chain store sermon was the only one not issued. He said, “Mass media shapes the religious discourse we hear, but perhaps more importantly, it shapes the religious discourse we don’t hear.”

In the 1920s and ’30s, radio was broadcasting the sermons of prominent White clerics such as Aimee Semple McPherson. Meanwhile, sponsors shied away from African-American clergy. Record companies sought out African-American preachers because they recognized there was a large market for the sermons. During this era, very few African Americans had a radio in the home, but most had a phonograph. Also, phonographs did not require electricity. The sermons had to be condensed and concise – the 1920s version of a tweet. “We are talking about 78 RPM records, so you only have about four minutes on each side,” said Martin. Between 1925 and 1941, Martin said there were about 100 ministers recording sermons. The first recordings were staid, dry talks, which didn’t sell well. Over the years, they evolved into more popular folk chanted sermons. The recordings were made in studios, not churches, although often musicians and “worshippers” were brought in to make it sound more

How to have a popular media ministry

Julie Kennedy is a senior publications editor at Washington University in St. Louis

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District Chronicles | Dec. 3 - Dec. 9, 2015 | 5

Cover

Project allows African-Americans to trace roots

By Erika Whitehead Howard University News Service

where I come from, I kind of started on this project at the end of February, when we really realized what we had and what we could do in engaging the African American community to help us with this record collection,” he said. “Personally I jumped at the chance to do this, because TIME did an article about this project. They mentioned the issues I had with my own family, hitting that brick wall. I can trace my lineage through my great grandfather, Thom Baynes, from years ago, but never knew anything about him.” The Freedmen’s Bureau was created near the end of the Civil War to assist newly freed slaves in 15 states and the District of Columbia. From 1865 to 1872, the bureau opened schools, hospitals, provided food and clothing and solemnized marriages. Sherri Camp, vice president of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, said the records reveal a treasure of information. “The Freedmen’s Bureau gives us actual dialogue, actual letters, actual handwriting, actual stories of African Americans and what

Howard University News Service

hom Reed sits in front of a computer day after day in Salt Lake City, Utah, researching name after name of former slaves, names that date back to just before the 13th Amendment that ended slavery. It is a late weekday evening, and Reed is drowsy as he flicks through each name, searching for a glimmer of where his ancestors may have come from, as well as the distant relatives of millions of other African Americans. He and others hope that Africans and African Americans across the globe will be able ultimately to use his work to discover in a matter of minutes what he is painstakingly trying to retrieve from one of the few bright lights in perhaps the darkest chapter in the nation’s history. Reed, the senior marketing manager at FamilySearch International, is one of thousands working on the Freedmen’s Bureau Project, an ambitious collaboration to index millions of records from the Freedmen’s Bureau, which was estab-

lished during the Civil War to help freed slaves. The other partners include the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and the California African American Museum. When the project is complete, it will allow people to access four million indexed records of slaves, which will help trace the ancestry of the African American race. Currently 10,200 volunteers are extracting raw record information about freed slaves, indexing the records to make them available to the public. There have been over 440,800 records indexed thus far, officials said. Reed, one of the leaders on the effort, said the goal is to have all four million records indexed in conjunction with the opening of the National Museum of AfricanAmerican History and Culture, which opens in fall 2016. Reed, a father of five, said his search for his own family’s ancestry is what drew him to the project. “Through my interest in my own family history, and knowing

Thom Reed, senior marketing manager at FamilySearch International, addresses an audience about the launch of the Freedmen’s Bureau Project.

they experienced during this time period,” said Camp. “The reason why the Freedmen’s Bureau was so important during this time was because it was a bridge between slavery and freedom.” Camp said she believes the information will be particularly helpful to young people. “We may not be able to have our history properly displayed in textbooks or in schools, but if we are researching our heritage and sharing this with others, young people have the opportunity now to know who they are and have a sense of direction,” she said.

“Once they have that, they have a sense of purpose, and they can begin to move in their lives with more power than they’ve had in the past. That I think is one of the major things that will change the trajectory of our youth. “Some of our young people don’t know what slavery is. So, knowing their history, knowing their family history, knowing there are people who went through this and survived, will change how they feel about themselves even.” For more about the project, visit http://www.discoverfreedmen. org/

‘Justice or Else’ spawns boycott Christmas, not Jesus campaign By Charlene Muhammad Special to NNPA through the Final Call Mobilization has increased for the national campaign to Boycott Christmas, Not Jesus, a movement spanning from Black Friday, Nov. 27, through January 1. It is the first action implemented out of Justice or Else, the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March. Approximately 1.4 million people joined the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on the National Mall on Oct. 10, to commemorate the historic 1995 gathering. Now they’re working to redistribute the pain Blacks have suffered under White supremacy, which plays out in areas like police brutality, mass incarceration and unemployment. Reasons for the two-pronged call to Boycott Christmas and redirect holiday and general spending dollars to Black and Indigenous businesses were highlighted dur-

ing the California State University Long Beach Black Student Union’s 36th Annual Black Consciousness Conference. Christmas is supposed to be a time of love, joy and giving in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ, but from the inception of so-called holidays in America, Black and Indigenous people have suffered atrocities. It’s all been a trick, said Student Minister Nuri Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque #74 in Indianapolis. “I read about Jesus and 12 disciples. I never read about Santa and nine reindeer. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John … Well, where did Donner and Blitzer and Comet and Cupid and Rudolph and them come from? This is paganism,” said Nuri Muhammad during a panel. He urged listeners to take responsibility and action to help forge a change in their communities and the world. For any looking for a place to start, Boycott Christmas, he offered.

6 | Dec. 3 - Dec. 9, 2015 | District Chronicles

‘Justice or Else’ leaders like Student Minister Muhammad encourage Blacks to boycott Christmas commercialism to bring about Black economic change.

“We’ve got to Boycott Christmas this year. We’re saying ‘Up with Jesus! Down with Santa! This year, we’re saying that if you can’t give no justice to us, then we can’t give no profits to you! If you won’t stop, then we won’t shop,” continued Muhammad.

Dr. Umar Abdullah-Johnson, nationally certified school psychologist and banquet keynote speaker for the conference, talked about Boycott Christmas in the context of the origin and Blackness of God, the divinity of Blacks and how to redirect the Black dollar. He is currently fundraising to acquire and rehabilitate property to open his own school, the Frederick Douglas-Marcus Garvey Academy, and said it’s shameful what’s happening with Black children in schools, especially since Blacks have the means to do something about the problem. “We’re the richest group of Africans on the face of the earth, the 10th richest nation on the globe, and we don’t have an infrastructure,” said AbdullahJohnson. “Where’s your hospital at? Where’s your distribution network? Where’s your independent schools? Where’s your airplanes?” Muhammad encouraged those who think Blacks aren’t ready to Boycott Christmas or that hitting

the system in the pocket won’t work to look at what happened in Missouri. Black students at the University of Missouri united and forced the recent resignations of university president Tim Wolfe and the university chancellor after complaining about racism at the school for years. “When people were out there talking about president resign, didn’t nobody move. When Brother Jonathan Butler was out there on a hunger strike, they didn’t budge, but the minute that those 25 football players said, ‘You know what, we’re not going to practice or play,’ they pulled their calculator out and said wait a minute, $35 million could be lost. The president and chancellor quit in 36 hours,” said Nuri Muhammad. He continued, “If the Mizzou football players plus economic withdrawal equals the president resigning, if Black people employed economic withdrawal, maybe we could make White supremacy resign.”

Donald Trump’s racism fuels his popularity By George E. Curry George Curry Media Columnist

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Blacks killed by Whites: 7.6 percent. Whites killed by Whites: 82.4 percent. Whites killed by Blacks: 14.8 percent. Blacks killed by Blacks: 90 percent. “And just to be clear, it is racebaiting, and nothing else. In neither case is there even a remote connection to some kind of legitimate policy question. When Trump says falsely that thousands of people in Jersey City (which has a large Muslim population) were celebrating the destruction of the World Trade Center, he isn’t

ABC News

t appears that every time Donald Trump unleashes another vile, racist or hateful diatribe, his support grows among the Republicans. “Just in the past few days, Mr. Trump has repeated the lie that President Obama intends to admit 200,000 Syrian refugees; the correct number is 10,000,” notes the Washington Post. “He spreads the lie that thousands of American Muslims openly celebrated the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center; in fact, there were no such celebrations. He tweeted a false statistic that Blacks are responsible for 81 percent of murders of White victims; in fact, 82 percent of Whites are killed by Whites. “These are not random errors. All of them appeal to the basest instincts in supporters; they reinforce fears and prejudices. All of them, Mr. Trump knows by now, even if he did not know when he first stated them, are false, but he does not care.” On the phony crime stat, “The graphic cited the Crime Statistics Bureau – San Francisco – which does not exist – as its source,” said watchdog group MediaMatters. Even if the bureau existed, the number is wildly off-target For 2014, the FBI provided the following figures:

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Trump remains the frontrunner despite spreading hateful and misleading messages.

making an argument about Syrian refugees,” a Washington Post blogger observed. “He’s simply saying that you should hate and fear Muslim Americans. When he tries to convince people that most White murder victims are killed by Black thugs (again, false), he isn’t arguing for some policy approach. He’s just trying to foment racism and convince racists that he’s their guy.” Trump even praised supporters for beating a Black protester and struck a new low by mocking a reporter with a physical disability. When New York Times reporter Serge F. Kovaleski, who covered the attacks, denied Trump’s account, Trump mocked his arthrogryposis, a condition that limits his arm movement. Jerking his arms, the candidate jeered, “Now, the poor guy – you’ve got to see this guy, ‘Ah, I don’t know what I said! I don’t remember!’” Instead of owning up to his obnoxious remarks, Trump denied mocking Kovaleski. Instead of slumping, Trump’s poll numbers have remained steady. How does Trump get away with such outlandish and demonstrably false assertions and not pay for it in the polls? First, he is tapping into raw racism. Second, his competitors are timid about criticizing him. Either, they fear his scorching counterattacks, or they don’t want to alien-

ate his followers, whom they may need to court in the event Trump fizzles. Only Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and to a lesser extent, Jeb Bush, have demonstrated any courage taking on Trump. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the likely benefactor of a Trump withdrawal, has said virtually nothing critical of him. And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in all his bluster, has wimped out in the face of Trump’s egregious lies. The news media should also provide more context in debunking Trump’s incendiary remarks. “The mainstream political media has such a pathological dedication to the notion of balance and ‘objectivity’ that it often finds itself at a complete loss when it comes to dealing with someone like Trump,” Jack Mirkinson observed in an article for Salon magazine. “But the kind of filth that he and others are putting out has long since moved past the debatable stage. There is an Islamophobic crisis building in this country. “To oppose discrimination against Muslims is not to take some partisan stand. It’s to be a human being. To oppose a prominent political figure’s use of fascistic slander toward Black people is not to shirk your objectivity. It’s the least the elite media should be doing.” George E. Curry is president and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He can be reached through his website, www. georgecurry.com.

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Morguefile

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Regulating food consumption during the holiday season from your normal diet will greatly improve your bowel movement.

By Glenn Ellis George Curry Media Columnist

oliday eating can wreak havoc on many of your normal routines. Since issues related to excessive food consumption are common during this time of the year, lets revisit a topic that few dare to explore: bowel movements. There’s a reason that the large intestine is the first organ developed in the fetus. It is the most important and influential organ of the body, and your bowel movement can tell you a lot about your health. One of the main indications of a good bowel movement is that the stool floats. However, floating stools are both a blessing and a curse. Floaters may be caused by gas in the stool, resulting from a change in the diet. Perhaps you’ve suddenly started eating more high fiber foods. Undigested fat will also make stools float. This could be an indication that your diet is too high in fat, or there could be a problem with nutrient absorption in your diet. Stools that result from poor food absorption often leave a greasy film on the water and are rather large. If you’re suffering from constipation, you may produce impacted stools, which will “sink” because of their density and lack of moisture. You need to include

more water and fiber, both soluble and insoluble, in your diet to bulk them out and get your digestive system working properly again. The truth is, a healthy stool is neither a sinker nor a floater; it’s a combination of the two. As long as your bowel motions are soft, fairly bulky and easy to pass with no sign of blood or excessive mucus, everything is well. The digestive process can vary depending on what is being eaten and the person’s metabolism. For example, fat takes a lot longer to digest than sugars and fiber in the diet speeds up transit time (the amount of time from chewing to bowel movement). Generally, it can range from 24 to 48 hours for men and slightly longer for women. Chewing takes 5 to 30 seconds followed by swallowing for up to 10 seconds. The food enters the stomach, where it is churned and broken apart by harsh acids, namely hydrochloric acid. The food can remain in the stomach from 1 to 4 hours after which it empties into the small intestine in a semi liquid form called chyme. Here is where most of the real digestion takes place. Most of the nutrients are absorbed from the small intestine into the blood stream. The chyme’s highly acidic nature is neutralized by the pancreas with bicarbonates and bile from the gallbladder and liver. This process can take about 3 to 6 hours.

Finally, about 10 hours after you’ve eaten, the mushy paste of undigested food enters the large intestine or colon. Here it may take anywhere between 18 hours to two days before its elimination as feces. Water and certain vitamins are absorbed from the colon, but most of the waste consists of indigestible bits of food, mostly fibers from fruit, vegetables and grains. For a person in generally good health and eating a healthy diet, the intestinal transit time will be about 12 to 24 hours. The average American will have a transit time of 40 to 45 hours. Enjoy the season, everyone, and may all your dishes be licked clean. DISCLAIMER: The information included in this column is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan.) Glenn Ellis is a regular media contributor on Health Equity and Medical Ethics. He is the author of “Which Doctor?,” and “Information is the Best Medicine.” For more good health information, visit: www.glennellis. com.

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In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington Montgomery County County moves to cut towing complaints, predatory practices

ontgomery County has a new towing law that is designed to address overly aggressive and predatory towing practices and restore regulatory balance in commercial and residential parking lots. Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) typically receives more towing complaints each month than any other single category of complaint. These unfair practices can be detrimental to businesses and residents’ quality of life. Aligned with the Maryland towing law, the county law includes the following provisions: Prohibits the use of “spotters” to identify vehicles for towing; Requires signs that are 24 inches by 30 inches be posted at entrances and in parking lots; Requires property owners to authorize each tow in writing (except between 2 and 9 a.m.); Requires photographic evidence of violations or of events

County hosts forum on ending obesity The public is invited to a free forum, Ending Obesity in Montgomery County: Understanding the Problem and Creating Solutions,” on Wednesday, Dec. 9, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. The forum is sponsored by the Healthy Montgomery Eat Well Be Active Partnership. The Healthy Montgomery Eat Well Be Active Partnership is one of several work groups formed through Healthy Montgomery, the County’s Community Health Improvement Process. Partnership members include representatives from Montgomery County government agencies and public schools, hospitals in Montgomery County, local non-profit and service pro-

precipitating the towing of a vehicle and requires a copy of photograph to be provided to the vehicle owner when retrieving a vehicle; Requires towing firms to notify the police before leaving the parking lot; Requires towing companies to accept credit cards as well as cash for the redemption of vehicles; Requires towing companies to have personnel available 24-hoursa-day at brightly lit impound lots so vehicle owners can safely retrieve cars at any time; Allows vehicle owners to retrieve personal property without charge from a vehicle that has been towed; Allows consumers to see the contract between the towing firm and property owner; Authorizes the County Executive to set flat rates; Limits the amount a towing firm can charge for an incomplete tow; and Gives OCP subpoena and enforcement authority In addition, commercial parking lot owners that elect to engage in trespass towing are now required to electronically register their parking lots with OCP and to provide annual reports to OCP regarding towing activities. The

online registration, as well as additional information about towing, is available on OCP’s website at www.montgomerycountymd. gov/consumer. Commercial parking lot owners have 30 days from the effective date of the new law to register. OCP, the county’s consumer protection agency, licenses certain businesses including towing firms, investigates thousands of complaints each year involving automotive sales and repairs, new home purchases, home improvements, credit issues, retail sales, internet services and most other consumer transactions. OCP provides pre-purchase information to consumers, as well as speakers to the community on consumer issues. For additional information about the Office of Consumer Protection, call 240.777.3636, visit www.montgomerycountymd. gov/consumer or email consumerprotection@montgomerycountymd.gov.

viders, health care providers, academic institutions, insurance payers and community members. The mission of the Eat Well Be Active Partnership is to promote health equity by increasing opportunities for all. Montgomery County residents to lead healthy, active lives. The Partnership works to accomplish its mission by rallying community resources and by using and evaluating strategies that work to support healthy eating and active lifestyles. Healthy Montgomery was launched in 2009 and is an ongoing effort that brings together a broad range of individuals representing county government agencies, the six community hospitals, minority health programs/initiatives, advocacy groups, academic institutions, community-based service providers and the health insurance com-

munity to develop action plans to improve the health and well-being of all Montgomery County residents, especially groups most at risk for poor health. Organizations participating in the panel discussion include the Montgomery County Food Council; Kaiser Permanente; the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program; the Montgomery County Planning Department; Montgomery County Public Schools; CCI Health and Wellness Centers; the Montgomery County Department of Recreation and Unity Health Care Health Center: Upper Cardozo. The Agricultural History Farm Park is located at 18410 Muncaster Road in Derwood. Register for the forum at http://endingobesity. eventbrite.com. For more information, call Linda Goldsholl at 240.777.1701.

The new law strengthens consumer protection against predatory towing.

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In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington Montgomery County

Pepco makes $50,000 donation to build STEM workforce

epco Holdings, Inc. is making a $50,000 donation to the Montgomery College Foundation that will establish a new scholarship fund at the college. The Pepco ACES Scholarship supports students participating in the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program who are studying for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers and demonstrate financial need. ACES is a long-term academic success and support program for students who are most

often underrepresented in college classrooms, as well as those who would be the first in their family to attend college. Through its corporate giving in 2014, Pepco Holdings donated about $5.3 million to more than 900 charities and nonprofit organizations. Youth and education is one of six pillars of the company’s charitable giving, which also include business initiatives and workforce development; social, health, safety and emergency services; environment and energy; civic engagement; and arts and culture. “Pepco has long recognized how important it is that the opportunity for a college education is accessible to all members of our community,” said Debbie Jarvis, vice president, corporate citizenship and social responsibility, for Pepco

Holdings. “We are excited that for years to come, this scholarship will help students with financial need to have the resources they need to earn their college degrees and pursue promising careers.” Launched in 2013, the ACES program is a collaborative effort between Montgomery College, Montgomery County Public Schools, and The Universities at Shady Grove to support students and provide a seamless path to a bachelor’s degree. Scholarships are an essential component of the support services that enable ACES students to succeed once they reach college. During the 2014-15 academic year, the Montgomery College Foundation awarded $243,990 in designated ACES scholarships to 144 students with financial need, thanks to the generosity of area businesses, foun-

Pepco’s Debbie Jarvis presents a check to Montgomery County College President DeRionne Pollard that will benefit students studying STEM programs.

dations, and individuals. “Pepco clearly recognizes the value of a college degree both in improving lives and strengthening our economy,” said Montgomery College President Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard. “We deeply appreciate their generous donation and thoughtful investment in our stu-

dents’ success.” To learn more about the Pepco ACES Scholarship or other opportunities to support Montgomery College students, contact Carol Rognrud, executive director of the Montgomery College Foundation at 240.567.7493 or carol.rognrud@ montgomerycollege.edu.

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Georgetown edge out UMES at Verizon Center