Essie Mae Washington-Williams Passes Away!

Civil Rights activist Essie Mae Washington-Williams died in Columbia, South Carolina. It was confirmed by her family.

Black History Month is a part of American history. Today we learned that the "love child" of 1948 United States presidential candidate and formerly devout segregationist Strom Thurmond passed away today! It's been about 10 years since the death of the South Carolina senator who rose to fame as the southern politician who had a hate of integration and Civil Rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

James Strom Thurmond was born on December 5, 1902 in the Edgefield, South Carolina. He was an American politician who served for 48 years as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrat) candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes. He was the 103rd governor of the state of South Carolina.

Thurmond represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 until 2003. Originally he started as a Democrat. After the Democratic Party supported the landmark Civil Rights Act, Thurmond conversion to Republican came. He switched because of his opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, disaffection with the national party, and support for the conservatism of the Republican presidential candidate and Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. 

He left office as the only senator to reach the age of 100 while still in office and as the oldest-serving and longest-serving senator in U.S. history (although he was later surpassed in length of service by Robert Byrd and Daniel Inouye).

Thurmond holds the record at 14 years as the longest-serving Dean of the United States Senate in U.S. history.

In opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957, he conducted the longest filibuster ever by a lone senator, at 24 hours and 18 minutes in length, nonstop. 

In the 1960s, he opposed the civil rights legislation of 1964 and 1965 to end segregation and enforce the voting rights of African-American citizens. He always insisted he had never been a racist, but was opposed to excessive federal authority. 

He notably was quoted as saying that "all the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, into our schools, our churches and our places of recreation and amusement."

He attributed the movement for integration to Communist agitators.

Essie Mae Washington-Williams meets with people.

Starting in the 1970s, he moderated his position on race, but continued to defend his early segregationist campaigns on the basis of states' rights in the context of Southern society at the time, never fully renouncing his earlier viewpoints.

Six months after Thurmond's death in 2003, it was revealed that at age 22, he had fathered a mixed-race daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, with his family's maid, Carrie Butler, a 16-year-old black girl. 

Although Thurmond never publicly acknowledged Essie Mae, he paid for her education at a historically black college and passed other money to her for some time. His children by his marriage eventually acknowledged their father bore a child outside of marriage.

TPM reports that Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the biracial daughter of the former presidential candidate who ran on the segregationist platform of the Dixiecrat Party. The Dixiecrats were conservative based group of Democrats who supported Jim Crow legislation to keep separate facilities for Whites and non-White citizens.

Washington was the natural daughter of Carrie Butler, who was 16 when her daughter was born, and Strom Thurmond, then 22. Butler worked for his parents as a domestic servant. She sent her daughter from South Carolina to her older sister Mary and her husband John Henry Washington to be raised in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. 

She was named Essie after another of Carrie's sisters, who fostered her briefly as an infant. Growing up, Essie Mae lived with a cousin seven years older than she, who she believed was her half-brother. 

Washington was unaware of the identity of her biological parents until 1941, when she was 16, when her mother told her and took her to meet Thurmond in person.

Washington-Williams and her mother met infrequently with Thurmond after that, although they had some contact for years.

Strom Thurmond

After high school, Washington-Williams worked as a nurse at Harlem Hospital in New York City, and took a course in business education at New York University.

She did not live in the segregated South until 1942, when she started college at South Carolina State University (SCSU), a historically black college. Thurmond paid for her college education. After having grown up in Pennsylvania, Washington was shocked by the racial restrictions of the South. She graduated from SCSU around 1946 with a degree in business.

When Washington-Williams announced her family connection, it was acknowledged by the Thurmond family. 

In 2004 the state legislature approved the addition of her name to the list of Thurmond children on a monument for Senator Thurmond on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.

Washington-Williams said she would apply for membership in the United Daughters of the Confederacy, based on her heritage through Thurmond to ancestors who fought as Confederate soldiers. She encouraged other African Americans to do so as well, in the interests of exploring their heritage and promoting a more inclusive view of Southern history among lineage societies. She said,

"It is important for all Americans to have the opportunity to know and understand their bloodline. Through my father's line, I am fortunate to trace my heritage back to the birth of our nation and beyond. On my mother's side, like most African-Americans, my history is broken by the course of human events."

The lineage society is for female descendants of Confederate veterans of the American Civil War. As her father Thurmond had been a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, she could use his completed genealogical documentation of links to participating ancestor(s). She also intended to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In 2005, Washington-Williams was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in education from South Carolina State University at Orangeburg when she was invited to speak at their commencement ceremony. That year she had published a memoir, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond (2005), written with William Stadiem. It explored her sense of dislocation based on her mixed heritage, as well as going to college in the segregated South after having grown up in Pennsylvania.

It was nominated for both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

Washington-Williams said that she intended to be active on behalf of the Black Patriots Foundation, which was raising funds to build a monument on the National Mall in Washington D.C. to honor American blacks who served in the American Revolutionary War.

Her death brought forth a legacy shattered by the notion of a colorblind society. Even though Strom Thurmond legacy was marred with controversy, I guess before he had died, he had a change of heart!

He voted in favor for the national recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of National Service.

He voted for the James Brady Law in which it banned semi-automatic firearms.

He went on to hire his first Black staffer in 1971. 

Thurmond still supported state's rights but toned down his rhetoric in later years. He was a big contributor to Ronald Reagan's electoral victory over Jimmy Carter, the incumbent president of the late 1970s. Thurmond was friends with late senators Ted Kennedy, Daniel Inouye, and Robert Byrd.   

In 2002, then U.S. Majority Leader Trent Lott, the Republican from Mississippi caused a firestorm. While he attended the birthday of Thurmond. He fell from power after praising Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist Dixiecrat presidential bid. Lott said: "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either.

That was the last controversy for Thurmond before he died later into 2003.

Essie Mae Washington-Williams didn't want to ruin her father's legacy as a decent man! She give him the opportunity to change his ways before he would have died. And today, I think her father would have been proud to have to see her help people of color succeed in America.

Today the United States has the first Black president and two members* of the United States senate who are Black. Ceiling are broken and legacies will be born!

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Essie Mae Williams-Washington.

Sidenote:

Democrat Barack Obama is the current President of The United States. He was elected to become the president in 2008. Previously Obama was previously elected as a United States senator from Illinois. Obama successfully won reelection in 2012 and is the first Black president. He was born by an African man and American white woman.

*Republican Senator Tim Scott was appointed to represent South Carolina after Jim DeMint resigned to become the president of the Heritage Foundation.

*Democrat Senator Mo Cowan was appointed to represent Massachusetts after John Kerry resigned to become the Secretary of State.

_____________________________________________________

The liberal wing of the Democratic Party continues to be at odds with the conservative wing of the party. 

As we continue into modern politics, the Democrats from the South, Midwest and Mountains West are scared shitless. The conservative U.S. Senate Democrats from North Carolina, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Montana, Alaska, Nevada, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota are scared of the vindictive National Rifle Assocation over firearm regulations.

This week alone we have seen incidents that involved firearms. Many Americans lose their lives due to unregistered firearms in the hands of people who have mental issues.

From the comments on social networks to the guy holed up in the bunker, the gun nuts are out! The Republican, the NRA and conservatives relish in this paranoid fantasy that President Barack Obama is mounting a full-scale war against the Second Amendment.

They can't even accept the fact the president shoots a firearm. The Republicans and their conservative allies continue to waste their time and energy fighting a culture war. As the president keeps laying out traps, as expected they'll fall through them.

How many more people must lose their lives?

Is your firearm more important than your life?

How many Americans died at the hands of a gun?

More Details Emerge On Alabama Extremist Kidnapping Child!

FBI and Swat team officers raid the bunker of a shooter holding a young boy hostage.

Jimmy Lee Dykes was killed when the SWAT team entered the compound where he and a 5 year old boy were. The boy was kidnapped off the bus after Dykes killed driver Charles Poland, Jr.

Hey I want to say thank you to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, Alex Jones, Matt Drudge, Michelle Malkin, Fox News, and the Republican Party. 

Without these individuals in the political arena, there wouldn't be Jimmy Lee Dykes and every other WHITE TERRORIST!

The Huffington Post and Associated Press reports that the standoff between law enforcement and an Alabama man who held a boy in a bunker for seven days ended with the suspect dead and the 5-year-old safely rescued.

Layout of the shooter's underground bunker by police camera description.

Reports of an explosion at Jimmy Lee Dykes' Midland City property came first on Monday afternoon, followed by media reports of the 65-year-old's death.

At a hastily organized roadside press conference near the crime scene, FBI agent Steve Richardson said negotiations had deteriorated over the last 24 hours. He said they entered the bunker shortly after 3 p.m. fearing the child was "in imminent danger," because they'd seen Dykes carrying a firearm.

The boy, identified only as Ethan, was transported to a hospital, state Rep. Steve Clouse told CNN. He appeared physically unharmed, according to reports.

Witnesses said they heard a boom and gunfire. Ambulances arrived soon afterward.

The crisis began Jan. 29 when authorities say Dykes boarded a school bus and demanded that he take two boys between six and eight years old. The bus driver -- Charles Albert Poland, Jr. -- is hailed as a hero for putting himself between Dykes and the children. His valor cost him his life, as Dykes allegedly shot Poland several times before taking the 5-year-old boy from the bus.

"You didn't deserve to die but you died knowing you kept everyone safe," said a letter from a student on Poland's bus that was read aloud at the bus driver's funeral.

The bunker in which Dykes holed up was four feet underground. He equipped it with electricity and was said to possibly have weeks of supplies stored. Negotiators communicated to him through a ventilation pipe. Because of the risk of tornadoes in this part of Alabama, bunkers are a relative fixture on the landscape.

Ethan, the little boy was rescued in a successful raid of the suspect's underground bunker.

Authorities sent Ethan's prescription medicine as well as items the boy requested like Cheez-Its snacks and a red Hot Wheels toy car.

There was open communication with Dykes, according to authorities, but they said he'd made few demands, making it unclear what he hoped to accomplish.

Some neighbors believed Dykes timed the abduction to nearly coincide with a court appearance scheduled for the day after he shot Poland. In December, Dykes was arrested for allegedly shooting a gun to frighten a neighbor.

For that incident and others, people who lived near Dykes were leery of him long before he became a hostage-taker. They said that he once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, that he warned children they'd be shot for crossing onto his land and that he guarded his property at night with a flashlight and gun.

He was a loner who allegedly lost contact with an adult daughter years ago, according to people who lived near him. 

The sounds of conservative talk radio filled his home and fed his anti-government attitudes, locals said.

Details about Dykes slowly emerged as negotiations failed to break the impasse. Dykes was a decorated Vietnam War veteran who'd served in the Navy. He'd grown up nearby, but later in life, he moved to Florida where he worked as a surveyor and truck driver. He returned to Alabama about two years ago, acquiring the rural property on a dirt road.

In 1995, he was arrested for improper exhibition of a weapon. That charge was dismissed. In 2000, he was booked on marijuana possession charges.

Ohio City Denies Public Transit To Area Residents!

Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority and local riders demand bus service to Beavercreek, a nearby suburb. The city refuses to allow bus service to Dayton area malls.

I reside in the Rust Belt city of Dayton, Ohio. The city is seeing a gradual decrease in its population due to the loss of manufacturing, white flight and urban sprawl. The Midwestern city is caught between Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Columbus, three cities that has most of the area's major attractions. Dayton's basically surviving on the military's continuation of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the health care industry.

Beavercreek, Ohio is a city in Greene, County that's approximately 6 miles from Dayton, Ohio. The city is one of suburbs that has an issue with the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority. The RTA has a bus line that goes to Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio and is at least 2 miles away from the Mall of Fairfield Commons. Many riders want access to the Mall at Fairfield Commons and The Greene, an outdoor shopping mall.

Beavercreek continues to deny the RTA the access to their city.

The Department of Transportation and Justice are looking into complaints made by local riders against the city.

The residents of Beavercreek are pretty conservative. The area appears to favor Republicans over Democrats in the last elections. It was the hometown of former Ohio Congressman Steve Austria, the three term Republican who resigned from office in 2013.

The Republicans in the state house once again have the power of congressional districts and thanks to the Tea Party and fear-mongering from those in the conservative agitating media, Republicans have stronger advantages in state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Greene is an outdoor mall located in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek, Ohio.

Current area Congressman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) represent the Miami Valley, a mixture of communities centered around Dayton.

Turner was the former mayor of Dayton. He became a U.S. Representative after conservative Democrat Tony Hall resigned in protest after Republicans gerrymandered his district away from stronger Democratic regions and put his district in a competitive region. Turner represents Dayton and recently areas absorbed by the former congressman Steve Austria.

Boehner, a former lawyer and lobbyist has been in Congress since former Republican congressman Buzz Luken, Jr. resigned in shame after a sex scandal. Boehner dreamed of being a big player in the Republican Party. He was part of the major leadership in the Republican Party.

When the Democrats took back the House of Representatives briefly, Boehner was chosen to be the Minority Leader. After the 2010 U.S. midterm elections in which Republicans took the House of Representatives and state governorships, Boehner became the current House Speaker replacing Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-California), the first woman to ever hold that post. Boehner represents West Chester, Troy, and now parts of Springfield, Ohio.

Boehner is considered a joke among the politicos in Washington. He's taunted for being too emotional and his often glowing tans. But his supporters state that he's a great leader and handles a crisis effectively.

Well here a crisis that our local congressmen failed at solving.

Equal rights for those who travel by public transit.

The Greene County Transit Authority and Greater Dayton Transit Authority have often clashed with Beavercreek city leaders over installing bus stops near the Mall at Fairfield Commons, The Greene, the new Soin Hospital and the Ervin J. Nutter Center, an indoor entertainment facility.

Beavercreek refuses because of perceptions of violent crime and a rise in theft around the mall.

They have major concerns about loitering by riders and those who may solicit for money near stops.

A civil rights group in Ohio say otherwise. The group believes that due to the local leaders and the extremely conservative views of most residents in the city, they feel that race and class perceive a bias in their decisions.

The outdoor sign for The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek, Ohio.

The civil rights group have asked for action to matter by contacting the Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to solve this matter.

The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (previously known as the Miami Valley RTA) serves the metro Dayton, Ohio area. The RTA has over 30 routes that serve most of Montgomery County (Dayton being its county seat) and portions of Greene County. The city of Dayton is one of the last cities to have overhead trolley buses.

The RTA doesn't provide bus serve to nearby suburb Fairborn, the Dayton International Airport, The Mall At Fairfield Commons or areas that connect to other areas within a 25 mile radius.

The RTA only travel through Fairborn and Beavercreek for access to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Wright State University.

Dayton is the smallest city that has overhead trolley service. Other cities include Seattle, San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia have trolley service.

Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco are cities with populations that reach over 300,000. The city of Dayton most recent population is 141,000 as of 2010.

The city of Dayton still have issues with race. Dayton's population declined rapidly after the manufacturing bust by General Motors, and government facilities closing up in the city. The city was left with a large presence of boarded homes and abandoned businesses. Local shopping centers are bare and major retailers are moving further and further from the city. Most suburban shopping centers felt the bust as well. The two shopping complexes the Town & Country Shopping Center that's located in Kettering and the Dayton Mall are the only shopping areas with bus services. They both express concern about the public transportation.

They were concerned that fights, theft and panhandling would plague the malls. They concluded that the Salem Mall in Trotwood went out of business due to public transportation. The Salem Mall was the first Dayton mall. The mall was demolished years ago after many of its shops closed up! The residents of Trotwood blamed the bus for allowing criminals ruin a mall and the region.

The RTA have tried to calm the bad publicity. They've opened up transit centers that provide connecting services from Dayton to many area suburbs. They've partnered up with the Dayton Police and the county sheriff to provide adequate security for all RTA properties and the safety of all riders.

Dayton is bounded by the Great Miami River which separates the city from east to west.

Interstate 75 a major north-south highway passes through Dayton. It begins from the U.S.- Canada border to near Miami, Florida.

Dayton is an urban rust city. Manufacturing dried up! White flight left the city with a nearly minority-majority population. The city is caught between major cities within a few hours drive. Most of the major attractions aren't near the city, they're either in the suburbs or the somewhere else.

Dayton has a long way to go in order to solve its racial issues! Hopefully it will for the better!

Ohio Mother May Get Life In Prison For Death Of Son!

Ohio couple facing prison time for murder of toddler.

Although, I've distanced myself from my best friend (and two others I've previously associated with), I can testify that lives were changed that night when we found out that his son was dead! This friend experienced a traumatic incident in which he lost his youngest son to a crime committed by a man and the mother of his child.

Today, I want to share a brief and yet subtle opinion of this tragedy. It hits close to home because I know the individual and his family. It's been over a year since the death of his youngest son, and I am assuming that he's trying his best to move forward.

Joe Watson and Michelle Mooty are the people responsible in the death of a toddler named Levi Barrett.

Mooty who also was the mother of three other children was staying at the home of Watson.

My best friend's son Levi was killed in December 2011 by an abusive parent.

Watson and Mooty were a couple at the time when it was reported in December 2011, the boy was injured in a "fall" and taken to the hospital to be treated. The boy's injuries didn't amount to a fall! The police and county prosecutors didn't think the story matched up! With an indictment by the prosecutor, the mother and her boyfriend were charged with murder.

The police charged Watson with murder and Mooty with reckless endangerment and allowing child abuse.

Watson was recently sentenced for 15 to life in prison. Watson has a child with Mooty. He may never see his child ever grow up! Mooty right now is going to face her fate soon. Mooty could get 10 years to life if she is found guilty in this. She may lose her children to adoptive services and my friend will go through legal limbo to obtain custody.

They both realized that the court system is brutal on bad parents.
________________________________________


My Note To The Underwritten:

My friend isn't perfect. He's a struggling person with his own personal demons. For over 10 years, we've been friends. Through the good times and often bad times, I've tried to be there as much as I could! He didn't need my help, so we moved on!

My friend has a perennial habit of moving from home to home, job to job, from a girl to another girl, and from jail to court!

His personal demons began when he became a first time father! He met a woman near one of his jobs and became a father to his first child. He would eventually bailed out on his responsibilities as a parent.

He would later have two other sons by Michelle Mooty and eventually bail out on them. Although he loved his children, he wanted to venue into dead ends like drug dealing, selling stolen property and making enemies with friends and family. This all came to head when he realized that day he would never see his youngest son alive ever again!

As his first child grows up to become a teenager and his second child begins to understand life itself, my friend has to "get his ass" together to better himself for the sake of his children.

Now I've haven't spoken to him in nearly a year. I can only assume he'll have more children and keep a memory of his son either through his part-time career as a rapper or tattoos on his body. Something symbolic.

My other two friends are struggling as well.

My friend's first child comes from one my friends. She struggles as a mother of two with thoughts of her mother. Her mother was killed in a domestic violence dispute when she was very young and it permanently scarred her for life.

The last friend explained is former ex-girlfriend. This one comes from a troubled home. Being a rape survivor and a shooting victim seven years ago in December hasn't changed her from the reckless behavior. She nearly died in 2005, after one of her boyfriends shot her in the chest.

Each of these individuals are troubled. They've relied on me for years for personal advice and help in crisis after crisis. Each of them had opportunities as I to move on with success. Yet, we're still here with the burden of our personal demons.

I concluded that it's time to move away from them! I figured that problems may come and go from time to time, I figured that I exhausted my options and will no longer be a reliable friend.

I wish them all well, but as of today, they're issues aren't my problems anymore! I've got my own problems to deal with!

BREAKING: Alabama Child Safe! Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead!

What trigger this extremist? Was it the angry voices of talk radio, Fox News and the NRA?

Today, word out of Midland City, Alabama reports that the White Extremist, Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65 is dead and the young boy was safe.

After nearly a week of a major standoff in the rural area of the Midland City area, multiple sources say that the shooter was found dead.

Dykes was described by neighbors as an anti-government recluse! He would often get into a violent confrontation with neighbors and had killed animals that went onto his property.

Jimmy Lee Dykes, the retired Alabama trucker who suppose to be in court, committed murder on a person who just doing his job as a bus driver.

On Tuesday, Dykes stormed a bus and ordered the driver to give him children. The bus driver refused and he paid the price for his heroic actions. Charles Poland, Jr. was laid to rest on Sunday.

Dykes kidnapped the 5 year old boy and took him to the underground bunker near his property.

Alabama police and the FBI were involved in trying to negotiate a peaceful end to the situation.

Unfortunately, Dykes went out like every terrorist, in a bloody death.

We don't know what happened but we'll keep you posted on the latest coming out of Alabama here on Journal de la Reyna.

Is Muhammad Ali Gravely Ill?

Muhammad Ali

Although his family declines this, word is that the famed boxer is sick and he may eventually succumb to it!

People in the media have wonder what's going on with Muhammad Ali!

Fox News reports that Muhammad Ali's daughter dispels rumors famed boxer near death. The 71-year old was doing fine and he's spending time with his family according to May May Ali, one the boxer's daughters.

May May Ali said she talked to her father Sunday morning on the phone and he was fine. She said he was watching the Super Bowl at home in Arizona, wearing a Baltimore Ravens jersey.

"He's fine, in fact he was talking well this morning," she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "These rumors pop up every once in a while but there's nothing to them."

The family later posted a photo on Twitter of Ali sitting in a chair wearing a Ray Lewis T-shirt.

The rumors were started by a report in a British tabloid quoting Ali's brother, Rahman, as saying the former heavyweight champion was near death. Rahman, though, said he hadn't seen his brother since last summer and had no contact with the family.

The report was widely repeated on the Internet, drawing expressions of condolences on Twitter and Facebook.

Ali suffers from Parkinson's disease. He celebrated his 71st birthday last month.

Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., January 17, 1942. Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist. Considered a cultural icon, Ali has both been idolized and vilified.

Originally known as Cassius Clay, at the age of 22 he won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston. Ali changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975. In 1967, three years after Ali had won the heavyweight championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. 

Ali was eventually arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges; he was stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended. He was not imprisoned, but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was eventually successful.

Ali would go on to become the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion.

Nicknamed "The Greatest", Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches.

KO the rumors, Muhammad Ali is fine says family! 

Notable among these were three with rival Joe Frazier, which are considered among the greatest in boxing history, and one with George Foreman, where he finally regained his stripped titles seven years later. Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style, epitomized by his catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", and employing techniques such as the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope.

Ali brought beauty and grace to the most uncompromising of sports and through the wonderful excesses of skill and character, he became the most famous athlete in the world.

He was also known for his pre-match hype, where he would "trash talk" opponents, often with rhymes.

In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.

Bite The Bullet!

Reality star Chris Kyle, former Navy seal and best selling writer was gunned down.

Writer of the bestseller book American Sniper was gunned down at a place he felt most comfort, his local shooting range. Chris Kyle, famed ex-Navy Seal sniper was helping a returning soldier at the firing range and he and another man were gunned down.

Born in Odessa, Texas, Kyle was the son of a Sunday school teacher and a deacon. His father bought him his first gun at 8 years old, a bolt-action .30-06 Springfield rifle, and later a shotgun, with which they hunted pheasant, quail, and deer.



Kyle attended Tarleton State University in the early 1990s, where he studied Ranch Management. After school, Kyle became a professional bronco rodeo rider, but his profession ended abruptly when he severely injured his arm. After his arm healed, he went to a military recruiting office, interested in joining the United States Marine Corps. He went to BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL school) and joined the United States Navy in 1999.

Assigned to SEAL Team 3, Sniper Element Charlie platoon within the Naval Special Warfare Command, and with over four tours of duty, Kyle served in every major battle of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

His first long-range kill shot was taken during the initial invasion, when he shot a woman approaching a group of US Marines with a hand grenade in her hand. As ordered, he opened fire, killing the woman before she could attack.

For his deadly track record as a marksman during his deployment to Ramadi, the insurgents named him Al-Shaitan Ramad (English The Devil of Rahmadi), and put a $20,000 bounty on his head that was later increased to $80,000.

In 2008 outside Sadr City, he made his longest successful shot, after he spotted an insurgent with a rocket launcher near a U.S. Army convoy at a range of 2,100 yards (1.2 mi). He fired a shot from his Lapua Magnum PGM .338 rifle, killing the insurgent as told in his book American Sniper.

Trained to kill, Kyle served with the Naval Command Sniper Team.

During four tours of duty in Iraq, Kyle was shot twice and caught up in six separate IED explosions.

Kyle was a hero of the conservative movement. Already conservatives are throwing around conspiracy theories about the president being involved in the murder of this man.

Knowing how far they'll go to find someone who's probably relishing in the death of Kyle, conservatives race to the social networks to whine about how "evil and heartless" these people are!

They're right, there are some who are evil and heartless humans out there who are just happy to see a rival gone! It's human nature, it plays on both sides of the fence!

But the question here is how did it happen? The person who shot him was 25 year old former Marine returning from Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder. The individual (basically with mental issues) operating a firearm! Isn't this constantly an issue with gun control advocates?


And to make it worse, the person Eddie Ray Routh took his truck and led the police on a brief chase before he was going to be caught. I am guessing he was plotting on taking his own life or inducing more harm by vehicle.

Kyle left the US Navy in 2009, and moved to Mid-Texas with his wife, Taya, and two children. He ran Craft International, which provides military, law enforcement, and civilian training, as well as private security and protection until his death.

In 2012, Harper Collins released Kyle's autobiographical book American Sniper.

Kyle also paired with FITCO Cares Foundation, a non-profit organization which created the Heroes Project to provide free in-home fitness equipment, individualized programs, personal training, and life-coaching to in-need veterans with disabilities, Gold Star families, or those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

While on the media circuit he bragged about getting into a confrontation with reality star Jesse Ventura.

While on Opie & Anthony's, Kyle boasted that he called out the Ventura on bad mouthing Navy Seals.

Ventura is a conspiracy kook who rose to fame as a World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) wrestler. He went on to serve one term as Minnesota governor. He promotes himself as "The Body" and writes books on conspiracies and appears on talk radio agitators Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, Stephanie Miller, Glenn Beck and Alan Colmes shows frequently.

Kyle was killed February 2, 2013 at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range in Erath County, Texas.

Washed up politician Sarah Palin shared some words for the slained celebrity.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and many friends of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle tonight. Todd and I first met Chris in Pella, Iowa, when he helped out with security for the premiere of the film “The Undefeated.” And later we became friends with Chris when he was on “Stars Earn Stripes” with Todd. Chris was a wonderful man, a good friend, and a true American hero who loved our country and served honorably. He was loved and admired by so many, and he will never be forgotten.

- Todd and Sarah Palin

To have such tragedies happen is a damn shame. We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Chris Kyle and the other individual lost in this senseless tragedy.

Later we'll deal with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace interviewing retired Air Force captain and NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of shooting survivor Gabrielle Giffords, a former congressowman for a segment on gun control.

Wallace also interviewed NRA chief spokesman Wayne LaPierre on the issue with gun control.

Conservatives Outraged Over Obama Firing A Gun!

President Barack Obama shooting! Conservatives wanted proof that he shoots and they're still not satisfied!

Obviously, these Republicans and their conservative allies didn't think President Barack Obama shoots! 

Of course with all the training from the United States Secret Service and Central Intelligence Agency, the president is probably prepared to beat someone down or fire upon that individual if he's cornered and his protection was penetrated! 

To think the president has no firearm training was silly! 

The president probably carries a firearm! And these stupid ass conservatives wouldn't even know!

Seriously, did you think that President Barack Obama never owned a firearm?

Well in the minds of these WHITE EXTREMISTS, the president can't shoot a gun and he's determined to strip them of their Second Amendment Rights.

Of course, Jon Stewart made note to the president that anything he does isn't going to win over Republicans!

No matter what evidence, the Republicans continue to be skeptical about the president admitting that he "shoots all the time".

The Drudge Report splashed on the screen a picture of the president laughing with his cabinet with the screen caption "I Go Shooting All The Time!"

Now the proof and yet, the gay conservative agitator isn't impressed!

I am assuming these racist bigots aren't either!

I guess when Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and the National Rifle Association wanted proof, they got it!

The White House released a photo of the president firing a rifle practicing skeet shooting!

Put this in the rifle and shoot it!

Anyway, I want the Republicans to get even more nutter (or I meant nastier)! Because they've already riled up the Black and Latinos across this nation! Hopefully the energy continues on so it could affect members of Congress. The Democrats want to target members who've been the spotlight for far too long!

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) is one member they want out of Congress.

President Barack Obama is going to be aggressive against the NRA, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Drudge and World Net Daily. He's had enough of the false information being spread by these fools!

They've made a complete NIGGERIZATION of the first Black president who managed to write a legacy of great achievements despite these WHITE EXTREMISTS in the conservative movement. Note I don't say Republicans or Democrats often, but a WHITE MALE is likely going to have a reactionary response to the president, regardless of what he does!

Now that they see a Black man with a gun!

GUN CONTROL SCREAMS THE WHITE CONSERVATIVE EXTREMIST!

GUN RIGHTS FOR US SCREAMS THE WHITE CONSERVATIVE EXTREMIST!

[INSERT RACIAL OR DEROGATORY STATEMENT] [OBAMA OR INTENTIONAL MISSPELLING] CAN'T SHOOT A GUN! HE'S TOO [VERB] TO DO ANYTHING! 

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Applebee's Cans Worker After Complaining Online About Rude Customer!

Ms. Chelsea Welch, I've been in your shoes! I promise it'll get better! - Blue Light Buzz
Customer leaves server an offensive message on a receipt. The server post it on the social networks and she gets fired for the posting!

A lesson to me and millions of users of the social networks, once you post something and it hits the internet, it's there forever. And it could get you in trouble not only with your family, but your job! It could get you a lawsuit! It could lead to law enforcement arresting you! The digital fingerprint is just easy to obtain than a person's fingerprint!

Take this as a lesson to how bad publicity eventually gets a worker fired. And even though, she didn't intend on making her job look bad, her behavior express irresponsibility and lack of judgment.

The young woman Chelsea Welch, a server at a St. Louis area Applebee's got stiffed a tip from a customer.

The customer leaves a not so nice comment on the receipt and the young woman took it to Reddit and it went viral.

I am assuming that the customer got the death threats and probably a dose of national shame. So in order to get revenge, the customer calls the corporate offices of Applebee's. The company had no choice but to fire the young woman.

Even though Chelsea deserves to vent off her frustration with rude customers, her position is to basically shrug it off and move on! And yes it's very hard to take it! But if you work in retail, it's best to satisfy the customer.

The customer was a pastor of a local church. Alois Bell is the person who left the message "I Give God 10%, Why Do You Get 18%?

Alois Bell, the pastor who caused a controversy!

The Daily Mail tells the tale of a pastor, a waitress and the not so "GODLY" tip!

An Applebee's waitress has been fired after a bizarre handwritten note from an annoyed customer turned into the latest internet sensation.

The waitress in St Louis, Missouri, identified as Chelsea Welch, was shown the door two days after she posted the passive aggressive memo on the popular site Reddit.com.

Next to the line indicating that an 18 per cent tip had been automatically added to the bill, the customer, a local pastor, crossed out the tip total, replaced it with a 'zero' and wrote: the offensive message.

She then signed the bill 'Pastor Alois Bell.'

Befuddled, Ms. Welch posted a photo of the bill on Reddit with the headline: 'My mistake sir, I'm sure Jesus will pay for my rent and groceries.'

Chelsea Welch was served her walking papers after posting a complaint about a rude customer on Reddit.

Ms. Welch said she was not the waitress who received the note, and posted it on behalf of a fellow Applebee's worker.

But as the posting took on a life of its own on the internet this week, Ms.Welch was fired.

She said that she's a dedicated employee and was shocked to hear the news.

Ms. Welch told The Consumerist: 'When I posted this, I didn't represent Applebee's in a bad light. In fact, I didn't represent them at all. I did my best to protect the identity of all parties involved. I didn't break any specific guidelines in the company handbook - I checked.

She went on: 'But because this person got embarrassed that their selfishness was made public, Applebee's has made it clear that they would rather lose a dedicated employee than lose an angry customer. That's a policy I can't understand.'

In a statement to The Smoking Gun, Applebee's spokesman Dan Smith said: 'Our franchisee has apologized to the guest,' and that the employee who posted the bill to Reddit 'is no longer employed by the franchise.'

Speaking to KTVI-TV on Thursday, the pastor said she should have thought better of the message she wrote.

Ms. Bell, who preaches at the Truth in the Word Deliverance Ministries, told the station: That was a lapse in my judgment. I should've have did that. I apologize for that. I'm human. I did that.'

She also said that despite reports, she didn't stiff the waitress. In fact, she left two tips - the 18 percent automatic tip and an additional $6 she left on the table.

Also on Thursday, a 'Boycott Applebee's for Chelsea Welch' page sprung up on Facebook, with users venting their outrage against the chain and one user even offering Ms. Welch a job.

This pastor is a Black woman. The server was a White woman.

A big Black woman! A young White woman!

Guess what this is going to do?

I'll bet you that the moment it hits the conservative/White supremacist bubble, it's going to be another word salad mixed with racial slurs and nuts! Of course another dig at President Barack Obama and primates!

FBI And Alabama Police Release White Extremist Mug To The Press!

This guy represents the average Fox News viewer! This guy represents what you may hear calling into a talk radio show! This guy maybe the one who post inflammatory comments on social networking websites or blogs that cater to extremism.

James Lee Dykes aka Jimmy Lee is the face of the newest domestic terrorist!

This controversy continues in Midland City, Alabama. Dykes has held hostage a young boy and murder the bus driver who risked his life to stop him.

Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Alex Jones and every other agitator in the conservative media has rallied the no-so-rational individual to stockpile firearms in preparedness of the great race war!

These individuals are driven by the hate of a liberal government, a Black man leading this nation, and the changing demographics that gives Whites a disadvantage. With the growing Hispanic and Black population on the rise, White conservative males are driven to hate these groups even more!

The FBI, Homeland Security and Alabama police are waiting for the next move by Jimmy Lee Dykes.

The man is an extremist and could potential harm the young boy he's held hostage for over four days now!

This is an ongoing issue and we here at Journal de la Reyna continue to keep you informed about this controversy.

At this time, anything posted about this controversy will be through the Associated Press and CNN.

Ed Koch Passes Away!

Controversial figure Ed Koch died.

The former mayor of New York who brought the city from the brink of bankruptcy! At times the often controversial Ed Koch perhaps best known for his over the top rhetoric and his colorful personality died Friday.

Edward Irving "Ed" Koch (pron.: /ˈkɒtʃ/; December 12, 1924 – February 1, 2013) was an American lawyer, politician, political commentator, movie critic and television reality show judge. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City, which he led from fiscal insolvency to economic boom from 1978 to 1989.

Koch was a lifelong Democrat who described himself as a "liberal with sanity". The author of an ambitious public housing renewal program in his later years as mayor, he began by cutting spending and taxes and cutting 7,000 from the city payroll after the expansive Lindsay and Beame administrations. As a congressman and after his terms as mayor he was a hawkish supporter of Israel. He crossed party lines to endorse Rudy Giuliani for mayor in 1993, Michael Bloomberg in 2001, and George W. Bush in 2004.

A popular figure, he rode the New York City subways and stood at street corners greeting passersby with the slogan "How'm I doin'?" His private life was enigmatic, with speculation about his sexuality, which he rebuffed as nobody's business but his own, no children, and no known romantic relationships. He won re-election with 75%, the first New York mayor to win endorsement on both the Democratic and Republican party tickets. He won his second re-election with 78% of the vote. His third term was fraught with scandal regarding political associates, although it never touched him personally, and with racial tensions including the murder of Yusuf Hawkins a month before a fourth primary which he lost in a close race to New York City's first black mayor, David Dinkins.

In political retirement he was a radio show host, author, and political gadfly. He also became known as a judge on the television judge show The People's Court from 1997 to 1999. He died on February 1, 2013 of congestive heart failure.

Koch led New York through some tough times. With the platform of changing New York from "smut" to "friendly", Koch managed to win over three terms as the city mayor.

Koch endorsed many politicians who supported the Jewish state of Israel. Whether they were Democrat or Republican, Koch knew who to vote for in the best interest of the Israel. He wasn't a huge fan of Jesse Jackson. The former mayor Koch became a controversial figure in the 1988 presidential campaign with his public criticism of then Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, who had surprised many political observers by winning key primaries in March and running even with the front runner, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. As the April New York primary approached, Koch reminded voters of Jackson’s alleged anti-semitism and said that Jews would be "crazy" to vote for Jackson. Koch endorsed Tennessee Senator Al Gore, who had run well in his native south, but hadn't won 20% in a northern state.

Koch continued to be a colorful figure after being a mayor of the largest city in the nation. The former mayor went on to start a law firm. He went on to become the successor to Joseph Wapner on the American judicial reality show The People's Court. He also wrote books for children. Koch wrote as a film and music critic.

Koch had appeared as a commentator on Fox News and became somewhat critical of the Democratic Party. In a response to controversial movie director Michael Moore's blockbuster movie Fahrenheit 9/11, the former mayor hit back claiming that Moore was "off his rocker". Koch was quoted  saying Moore's film, Fahrenheit 9/11, "It's not a documentary, it's a lie." He appeared in the documentary FahrenHYPE 9/11 defending President Bush and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and blasting Michael Moore.

Koch often wrote in defense of Israel and, also, against anti-Semitism. He was a contributor to Newsmax, a conservative magazine.

Many of his critics thought that Koch was gay! Although he denied he was gay, Koch was a lifelong bachelor, and his sexual orientation became an issue in the 1977 mayoral election with the appearance of placards and posters (disavowed by the Cuomo campaign) with the slogan "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo." Koch denounced the attack. During the campaign and after becoming mayor, Koch began attending public events with former Miss America, well-known television game show panelist and consumer advocate Bess Myerson.

Many New Yorkers send their condolences to Koch and it's seems to President Barack Obama took an opportunity to praise the former mayor.

President Barack Obama is praising former New York Mayor Ed Koch as an "extraordinary mayor, irrepressible character, and quintessential New Yorker."

Obama said Koch took office when New York was in a fiscal crisis and helped the city's economic revival. He applauded Koch's energy and force of personality. He took note of Koch commitment to causes, including Israel's security.

The topic of Israel created a rift between the president and Koch during Obama's first term, a rift that Koch said was patched after the president came out in a U.N. speech against the Palestinians' bid for statehood.

Obama said he and first lady Michelle Obama send prayers to Koch's loved ones "and to the city that survives him."

White Extremist Kidnaps Child, Standoffs With Alabama Police!

Feds hope a hostage situation ends peacefully. A white extremist with anti-government views kidnaps a child and has the Alabama police and FBI at odds.

Thank you Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, NRA and Fox News for all the hard work you've done so far. Without you guys in the conservative media, we wouldn't have so many mentally disturbed individuals with firearms. Especially those who end up sheltered in the bunker prepping for the end of days.

Like this is umpteenth story about a WHITE EXTREMIST who kills someone and then takes refuge in an underground bunker near the property.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the heroic bus driver Charles Poland, Jr.

But this story has a horrible scenario. The little child that was abducted off the bus is with this lunatic in the bunker and law enforcement and ATF are standing by hoping this situation ends peacefully.

The man who is confirmed to be a "survivalist" by neighbors stormed a bus and ordered the bus driver to give him two children. The bus driver refused and the man shot and killed the bus driver.

Jimmy Lee Dykes is one of those EXTREMISTS the Department of Homeland Security worried about. Ah, I remember back in early 2009, the declassified report about homegrown right wing extremism. It was spawned by the economic turmoils, changing demographics in the United States and the presidency of Barack Obama.

I held back this story because there's no developments in this as of yet, but police are getting restless and they'll take extreme measures if things continue. It appears that it may be four days into the standoff.

The picture of the individual and name the hostage are being withheld due to the possible threat it may pose if the individual is riled up by the media. The FBI and Alabama law enforcement are trying to piece together how this individual managed to snap and take this young child.

Charles Albert Poland, Jr. is a heroic bus driver that was killed by a madman. The madman kidnapped a student on his bus and took him to a bunker near the property.

Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, has been holed up in a 6 by 8 foot bunker 4 feet underground with a 5-year-old autistic boy named Ethan since Tuesday, when he boarded a school bus and asked for two 6 to 8 year old boys. School bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was shot several times by Dykes, and died trying to protect the children.

Dykes' neighbor Claudia Davis told The Associated Press that he had yelled at her and fired his gun at her, her son James Davis, Jr. and her baby grandson after he claimed their truck caused damage to a speed bump in the dirt road near his property. No one was hurt, but Davis, Jr. told the AP that he believes the shooting and kidnapping are connected to the scheduled court hearing.

"I believe he thought I was going to be in court and he was going to get more charges than the menacing, which he deserved, and he had a bunch of stuff to hide and that's why he did it," he said.

This was not Dykes' only run-in with people in the neighborhood, where he had come to be known as a menacing figure. Neighbor Ronda Wilbur told the AP that Dykes beat her 120-pound dog with a lead pipe when it entered the side of the dirt rode his trailer sits on. Wilbur said her dog died a week later.

Early last year, two pit bulls belonging to neighbors Mike and Patricia Smith escaped and got into his yard. Patricia Smith said that Dykes threatened to shoot her children when they went to retrieve them.

Neighbor Ronda Wilbur said that Dykes would be seen on his property at all hours of the day.

"It could be 2 o'clock in the morning, it could be midnight. He was out there either digging or moving dirt," she said.

As the underground standoff moved into its fourth day, tensions grow in this small community near Midland City, Alabama, which is now enveloped by SWAT teams and police.

According to some, this Dykes character was a nutjob! He's shot pets who roamed on his property. He used to get riled up with neighbors over small issues such as turning into his driveway. He would probably shot at neighbors if they've passed his property.

Dykes doesn't know his hostage. The child has Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The police at least managed to give the child his medication and some entertainment for the long nights ahead.

The police are concerned that if Dykes and his hostage are holed up in the bunker, the man could keep the child in there for weeks because of his hoarding of rationing. He was a former Vietnam veteran who had opposition to President Barack Obama, the entertainment industry, liberalism and changing demographics.

The man was suppose to be in court during the week's ordeal.

This is an ongoing issue, we'll keep you posted on what happens in this!