Source: nationalreview.com

The government doesn’t sleep, but I’ll settle for them having a stadium full of seats. Mayor Michael Bloomberg can be the first in line. The NYC politician wants to place a ban on sodas larger than 16 ounces.  Apparently, that’s the biggest problem facing New York and not the 8.1% unemployment rate or the rampant homelessness. Bloomberg has decided that this is the cause for him to put his cape on and fly into action.

His intentions are solid. Obesity is a serious epidemic in this country. While it should be addressed, it should not be legislated to these lengths. He is an elected official, not anyone’s parent or nanny. If he really wanted to stick his nose where it didn’t belong, Bloomberg could use some of the millions if not billions at his disposal and pay off my student loans. He’d get my vote on that. Until then, I need him to get himself all the way together. How can you be against soda but support National Donut Day? I’ll wait.

Not only is this proposed law a government overreach dictating what a person can buy with their own money, but it also falls flat when you really think about it. Sure, you can ban the sale of oversized sodas and try and control portions, but I can just as easily buy two small sizes. Or three. Or four. I’ll chug on a bottle of Pepsi and cheer to the friggin’ weekend while protestors side eye me with pickets raised high in the air. In my best Rihanna voice, “No1Currr!”

Diabetes, obesity and other health related dangers that high sugar intake can cause is very real. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, Big Brother needs to fall back on trying to limit choices just because they wouldn’t make the same ones. Bloomberg is not going to get a medal or ticker tape parade for attempting to mandate good health practices. He’ll likely have a riot. The government can’t even balance the federal budget and put suffering Americans back to work, yet they want to occupy vending machines and fast food joints? Are cupcakes, pretzels and candy next on the most wanted list?  I’ve got a birth certificate that says I’m old enough to decide for myself what I want to drink and at what size I want to drink it. I’m not the only grown person insulted by the government’s interference as to what I’m supposed to be quenching my thirst with.

While he might have good intentions, don’t fool yourselves into thinking that these good measures won’t pave the way for more laws for the “common good.” Some women choose to put that creamy crack into their hair every 4 to 6 weeks. I do. I’m too lazy to find another way to get my hair layed quick, so does that mean folks might decide that the chemicals in perms might mess me up and will determine how I use one? Uncle Sam might even decide next to ban tampons because it might lead to toxic shock syndrome. Think all that sounds ridiculous? So is putting the blame on soda for obesity and trying to place a Band-Aid on an issue that will not solve the problem.

I love my neighbors and I want what’s best for them. I want every person to be healthy, but it just can’t be done by force. It needs to be of a person’s free will to lead a healthy lifestyle. So until then, please pass the Pepsi.

You won’t be able to get a super-sized soda but you can buy Newports by the carton?! Where they do that at? Oh, that’s right. They want to start in New York.

Follow Stephanie Guerilus @qsteph

More on Madame Noire!

• What’s Black Enough For You?
• Grieving Over a Girlfriend: 7 Ways to Move on After a Break-up…Between Friends
• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind the Making of “Poetic Justice”
• Am I The Problem? Finding Accountability Within
• Don’t Look Back: Are You Spending Too Much Time Obsessing Over Your Past?
• Where Are They Now? 10 Black Actresses Who Should Have Blown Up Big…
• What About Ciara? Knicks Star Amar’e Stoudemire Proposes To Mother of His Children

Svante Myrick is just 24 years old but his age hasn’t stopped him from achieving. Myrick, who graduated from Cornell University, less than 3 years ago, is now serving as Ithaca, New York’s youngest mayor.

His story might sound familiar to us. Myrick is biracial, raised by a white mother, abandoned by his black father and raised partially by his grandparents.

Although his family struggled with homeless and poverty at times, Myrick claims he is not a self-made man.

Check out his inspiring story at theGrio.com.

More on Madame Noire!

• Ask a Very Smart Brotha Live: High School Sweethearts & Love Languages
• Divas in Training: Celebrities During Their High School Years
• Hold Up!: 7 Things You Should Stop Your Girlfriends From Doing
• “Mommy, Are We Born This Way Until We Get A Weave?”
• 10 Bad Habits That Get In the Way of Good Relationships
• Be Cool: 6 Signs You May Be Dealing With Anxiety Issues
• Tupac Comes to Broadway
• Show Off Your Shape! Style Tips To Flatter Your Body

by Candice Hardy

Alvin Brown, Democrat and Florida native, became the first African American Mayor of Jacksonville on Wednesday.  To the surprise of many, Brown beat out his Republican opponent and businessman, Mike Hogan, by approximately 1,600 votes.

Doubt against Brown’s ability to win the election spawned from Jacksonville’s trend of electing Republican candidates; therefore, leaving the chance for an African American to become elected slim to none.  However, Brown gained support from Jacksonville’s business community, which included a list of prominent Republicans.

In fact, once sworn in, Brown will become the first Democrat to take the mayor’s seat of Florida’s largest city since the 1991 election of Ed Austin.

Brown was raised by his mother and Grandmother who worked two jobs to ensure  the success of him and his siblings success.  While a student at Jacksonville State University, Brown worked vigorously at a Winn Dixie store to support himself through school.  However, being low on cash, Brown nearly dropped out until a Jacksonville pastor co-signed for a loan in order for him to finish college.

It was this experience that Brown has not forgotten.  Among several priorities for Jacksonville, he plans to create summer jobs for youth.  “I want to make sure the next generation has the same opportunity that I received,” Brown said in a recent interview with BlackAmericaWeb.com.  “My first priority is jobs. We must invest in the inner city and create public-private partnerships.”

In addition to his strong efforts to create summer jobs, Brown has listed improving the education system, increasing development in the downtown area of Jacksonville, addressing crime, and cleaning up neighborhoods as goals of his term as mayor.

(Washington Post) — The overarching question in the District’s mayoral race is how on Earth incumbent Adrian Fenty could be at risk of losing, when a majority of voters believe that conditions in the city are getting better. There are two answers — one of style and one of substance.

Read More…

(Black Enterprise) — As far as inauguration’s go, Cory Booker’s second term installation as mayor of Newark was quite nice. But “nice” is a disappointment compared to the reception his supporters gave him four years ago when people were turned away from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center because it was packed to the gills; and when all of the nine city council people installed that day were favored by him. Since then he has become somewhat of a celebrity. In fact, Booker’s good friend and talk show host Gail King sat on stage at the inauguration with Booker’s family, and@CoryBooker has almost 1.1 million twitter followers.

Read More..

(Wall Street Journal) — Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick got hit with a stiff prison sentence this morning ─ 18 months to 5 years ─ for violating the terms of his probation.An “audible gasp” erupted in the courtroom when Judge David Groner announced the sentence, according to this account from the Detroit Free Press. (HT: Sentencing Law and Policy blog).To recap, Kilpatrick in 2008 pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by committing perjury in connection with an investigation into text messages he had sent his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.

Read More…

(Wall Street Journal) — Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick got hit with a stiff prison sentence this morning ─ 18 months to 5 years ─ for violating the terms of his probation.An “audible gasp” erupted in the courtroom when Judge David Groner announced the sentence, according to this account from the Detroit Free Press. (HT: Sentencing Law and Policy blog).To recap, Kilpatrick in 2008 pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by committing perjury in connection with an investigation into text messages he had sent his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.

Read More…

(NJ Star-Ledger) — Newark Mayor Cory Booker easily won a second term Tuesday night, but with a tighter margin of victory than in 2006, and with only seven of his nine council candidates winning re-election, according to incomplete election results. Booker received 59 percent of the vote, beating out three challengers — Clifford Minor, Yvonne Garrett Moore and Mirna L. White. Minor, a subdued former prosecutor and municipal judge, received just 35 percent of the vote.

Read More…

(NYT) — Given a series of scandals involving the misuse of tax dollars, the idea hardly seemed controversial: force City Council members to disclose who was vying for every penny of their discretionary funds.

But the debate over how to shine a light on the funds, known as earmarks, has become the opening skirmish of the mayoral race, pitting the public advocate, Bill de Blasio, against the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn.

Read More…

by China N. Okasi

Whether it’s the California congressional seat that Anthony Woods sought in September of 2009, or the New Orleans mayoral race, which James Perry lost, or the New York City council seat that Medhanie Estiphanos pursued last year, first-time candidates provide a glimpse into today’s political climate.

They reveal current political buzzwords (e.g. “change,” and “Internet campaigning”), and expose the nuances between running a local campaign and a national one. As these candidates discuss their newbie political experiences with TAP, they offer a few tips they’ve acquired along the way.

Anthony Woods, 28

Party: Democratic

Education: West Point, Harvard University (Kennedy School of Government)

First-Time Candidacy: Ran for U.S. Congress in California’s 10th congressional district, to fill a vacant seat in a September 1, 2009 special election.

Why did you decide to run?

We have a really bad crop of politicians who are leading our country right now, and if that’s going to change, we need new people to step it up, and at least take a shot at these seats, so that’s what I decided to do.

In what ways did Obama influence your decision, or not?

You can certainly look at the first black president and realize that things have changed in America, but to be honest, Obama’s election confirmed what I had already felt. I really do feel like America’s changing; I really do feel like people are tired of the politicians we have right now… Certainly an African-American being elected president could trickle down to the local level. But had he not been elected president…I would have still made the same decision to run.

What was your general strategy?

Looking at California politics, and…how dysfunctional the state government is, I decided to offer myself as a real [person] who understands the challenges people are facing, whether it’s being uninsured, fighting in a war I disagree with, or the challenge of getting a quality education–these were all things that I knew first-hand. After that point, it’s a traditional race: you have to raise money as quickly as you can to get your message out.

Also, I was 28 at the time of my race, but my opponents had spent quite a bit of time in elected government. And I feel, no matter who you are, with time, you’re going to lose touch, so I do think it was an advantage that I had [more] recent experiences. I was also a veteran, so there were a number of perspectives that I could offer that they couldn’t. Another thing that distinguished [my campaign] as well, you know, just as with Obama, who really captured and leveraged the Internet, was that we tried to be more innovative with how we got our message out: relying on bloggers and Facebook, and our webpage…

What would you change about the race, if you could?

Time. It was a special election, so we literally had about 4 months to pull [the race] off, which was the hardest part, but the #1 thing is time. [But], I’m a much, much stronger candidate today than I was at the beginning of the race…It’s very difficult running, but I didn’t see any downsides. Even if you don’t win, you can help shape the debate; you can at least contribute to what the debate is about, you build relationships. So many of our successful politicians and a number of presidents lost their first race.

What would be your advice to future political candidates?

Don’t hesitate, just run. Get out there and do it. Pick up skills if you’re very serious about contributing to your community and government. You can’t practice this stuff, you have to run in order to know how to talk to a reporter, how to do a live interview, how to raise money, how to ask for money, and so on.

How much money does need to run a congressional race, practically speaking?

To start, you would need between $30,000 and $50,000. Polling is expensive; it’s $25,000. After that, a finance director will probably work for upwards of $5,000 a month. You can get your polling done, hire your first one or two staffers, and then you can raise more money to bring on more staff. You’ll need to put in sheer call time, convincing people that you’re the horse to back.

NEXT: James Perry