OPINIONS: George W. Bush, former President of the U.S. calls Grand Jury’s decision not to Indict Officer Pantaleo ‘hard to understand”

George W. Bush

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OPINIONS: George W. Bush, former President of the United States calls Grand Jury’s decision not to Indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo "hard to understand"

By Aubrey R. Taylor

Publisher of Houston Business Connections Magazine

A lot of times, our calling in life is connected to the things we're most passionate about. But be reminded today that passion unchecked can lead us down the wrong path. We each have a calling! So don’t ever forget the fact that your calling may not involve you going out to protest injustices by marching, or throwing your body down in the middle of a busy freeway. Nope. God may be calling you to use your wisdom, resources, intellect, gifts, talents, and education to mobilize people in a different way. Maybe you should think about tackling economic and racial injustice you believe to exist in America by organizing people to vote. Or maybe you should seriously consider starting a business. Or perhaps the way you are going to make a difference in America is by becoming a legislator, judge, attorney, governor, mayor, city council member, senator, congressman, or community activist. 

You know, you could very well be the person whom God has called to usher in the change you're waiting for someone else to deliver to you!

There are times in life when you should get angry. But what you do in those times is extremely important. The deaths of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri (two young black males) at the hands of those sworn to protect us has open a much needed dialogue about race in America.

And as I have said before, I believe we can gain victory over half the battles we’re facing in America today by simply making sure that we’re doing our part to put people of God who have a heart for us into positions of authority on a local, state and federal level.

Again, my call is for us to do everything we can to put Godly people with a heart for us into positions of authority. There’s a passage of scripture I once read in the book of Proverbs 29:2 that states: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” 

Here’s what former President George W. Bush told CNN reporter Candy Crowley recently about the grand jury’s decision in Eric Garner’s death:

"You know, the verdict was hard to understand…But I hadn't seen all the details -- but it's sad that race continues to play such an emotional, divisive part of life."

Bush went on to tell Crowley that he believed the United States has improved since the 1970s, when he was young, as he openly shared his memories about race riots with American cities being burned.

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Click here if you would like to learn more about former President of the United States George W Bush.

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To discuss advertising inside Houston Business Connections Magazine call (832)212-8735. If you need to speak directly with Aubrey R. Taylor call (832)894-1352. *The individuals featured on this page are not connected or associated with one another in anyway unless noted. Houston Business Connections Magazine is published by Aubrey R. Taylor Communications. All rights reserved. 

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OPINIONS: The Death of Eric Garner at the Hands of Officer Daniel Pantaleo Is Mourned, Big Government Is Blamed

Niger Innis

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“Black lives do matter, and Eric Garner should not have died for selling loose cigarettes. I agree with Al Sharpton and the racialist lobby that there is a crisis of black men losing their lives, but my harmony with them ends there because they tend to only mourn the loss of black lives taken by whites,” said Project 21Niger Innis , national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality and executive director of the TheTeaParty.Net. 

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Eric Garner's Death Is Mourned, Big Government Is Blamed for Tragedy

“A Man Died over Cigarettes and Tax Revenue”

Washington, DC - WASHINGTON, DC — As members of the Project 21 black leadership network mourn the regretful loss of Eric Garner’s life during a confrontation with New York City police officers, they see the root problem in government overreach.

Garner died at least in part from a chokehold administered by a police officer last July after he was accused of selling “loose” untaxed cigarettes outside a New York City storefront. On December 2, a grand jury did not indict the officer who put Garner in the apparently deadly hold. While most protesters are focused on the issue of police brutality, Project 21 members are looking at the bigger-picture problem of an increasingly powerful government which zealously enforces regulations so that even minor offenses can have deadly outcomes.

“A man died over cigarettes and tax revenue. Eric Garner died because of an all too powerful state,” said Project 21 member Shelby Emmett, an attorney and former congressional staffer. “We must ask ourselves what exactly we want the police enforcing with such deadly strength. These officers confronted Garner because he was selling single cigarettes and was thus depriving the government of revenue. He was not threatening anyone’s life, starting fires or even holding up traffic. He was not suspected of a violent crime, so such force should never have been justified. Any person concerned with individual liberty should be disgusted.”

“The overregulated nanny state not only inconveniences our everyday lives, but — as we’ve now witnessed in New York City — it can even end up costing someone their life,” said Project 21 member Christopher Arps, a resident of St. Louis who was witness to both cycles of violence in Ferguson, Missouri after the death of Michael Brown. “I would never condone breaking the law, but it is inconceivable to me that a citizen can be put into a police chokehold and, despite repeatedly saying he couldn’t breathe, be allowed to die over the crime of selling untaxed, loose cigarettes on the street.”

Besides government, violent cultural factors and unchecked crime within the black community is cited as a factor in the death of Eric Garner.

“Black lives do matter, and Eric Garner should not have died for selling loose cigarettes. I agree with Al Sharpton and the racialist lobby that there is a crisis of black men losing their lives, but my harmony with them ends there because they tend to only mourn the loss of black lives taken by whites,” said Project 21Niger Innis , national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality and executive director of the TheTeaParty.Net. “The plague on young black men in urban centers is not white racists and nor murderous cops because 93 percent of black men are killed by other black men. There are far too many black men raised in households that have no black male role models and the entertainment-industrial complex perpetuates a gangsta criminal chic. Until so-called civil rights leaders can openly and honestly address this problem, the plague will continue unabated. We need to target the real cause of the genocide of young black men.”

Project 21 member were interviewed or cited by the media over 1,900 other times in 2014 – including TVOne, Fox News Channel, CNN, the Philadelphia Inquirer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Orlando Sentinel, National Public Radio, Westwood One, SiriusXM satellite radio and the 50,000-watt radio stations WBZ-Boston, WHO-Des Moines, KDKA-Pittsburgh, KOA-Denver, WGN-Chicago and WJR-Detroit – on issues that include civil rights, entitlement programs, the economy, race preferences, education and corporate social responsibility. Project 21 has participated in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding race preferences and voting rights, defended voter ID laws at the United Nations and provided comment during the Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown judicial proceedings. Its volunteer members come from all walks of life and are not salaried political professionals.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over two decades, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org).

Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

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To discuss advertising inside Houston Business Connections Magazine call (832)212-8735. If you need to speak directly with Aubrey R. Taylor call (832)894-1352. *The individuals featured on this page are not connected or associated with one another in anyway unless noted. Houston Business Connections Magazine is published by Aubrey R. Taylor Communications. All rights reserved. 

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OPINION: Diddy Says He Can’t Take it Anymore in Response to Officer Daniel Pantaleo Not Being Indicted in the Case Involving Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York

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OPINION: Diddy Says He Can’t Take it Anymore in Response to Officer Pantaleo Not Being Indicted in the Case Involving Eric Garner

By Aubrey R. Taylor

Publisher of Houston Business Connection Magazine

As president and CEO of Aubrey R. Taylor Communications, and publisher of Houston Business Connections Magazine, I applaud Sean “Diddy” Combs for declaring that He’s going to do what it takes to be part of the solution we desperately need in America. I keep stressing that we must become active participants in the process of electing people into office who love God and have a heart for us. And I believe, that real lasting change will only come via economic, political, social, and community organization and mobilization. Marching and protesting before the news cameras will only get us so far in this nation. These demonstrations must be married to proactive (rather than reactive) measures that will foster the lasting change we seek.

A short time after the grand jury’s decision to not indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold he placed on Eric Garner, the following declaration was made by Sean “Diddy” Combs via his Instagram account:

#WATCH .......I can't take it anymore! It's Enough, and enough is enough! Honestly my emotions are all over the place. We as artists, myself included, all have to step up and be better leaders in our communities. It's a hard burden to bear, but we have been chosen whether we like it or not. We need to do whatever we can in a POSITIVE way, to help unite people of all colors in this injustice! In order to be successful, it is very important that we have a well ORGANIZED, STRATEGIC plan. This is super important in order for us to make change!! REAL organization, REAL strategy and a TRUE commitment to not forget and move on like we usually do when the news stops reporting. This has to stop and we as a people are the only ones that can stop it. I truly do not have the right to preach, but I do have the right to speak. #EricGarner #MikeBrown #UNITE

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Click here if you would like to connect with Sean “Diddy” Combs via Instagram

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To discuss advertising inside Houston Business Connections Magazine call (832)212-8735. If you need to speak directly with Aubrey R. Taylor call (832)894-1352. *The individuals featured on this page are not connected or associated with one another in anyway unless noted. Houston Business Connections Magazine is published by Aubrey R. Taylor Communications. All rights reserved. 

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