Life goes on and on and on...

Thursday, 6 April 00

Well, Juan Miguel Gonzalez is now on American soil. He still is seeking what fathers across the country -- mind you, all over the world are seeking. He just wants to be with his son.

I have found a rather surprising note on the Gonzalez situation. Many blacks -- conservative and not -- are squarely in the same camp as I am. Reunite the boy with his father and let them go back to Cuba, if that is what they want to do. It isn't our place to condone the kidnapping of little Elian by his mother, no matter what the situation.

I'm no friend of Castro's, although I like a good Cuban cigar as much as the next guy. But this rabid hatred is blinding everyone to the law. And what's more, if the boy had come from Haiti, it wouldn't be on the radar screen. As a matter of fact, US officials would have fallen on top of each other to get him sent back home. It's a shame that we couldn't have done the same in this situation.

But since it's an election year, everyone has to chime in, depending on the direction the wind is blowing.

Ah, well, life goes on...

I'm going to be appearing on the Stan Solomon Show this evening, if you are around at that point, please tune in either on one of his local affiliates, on shortwave, or on the internet. I'm sure the Gonzalez situation will come up over the course of the conversation. We'll also be hitting on the Jamil Al-Amin proceedings here in the South as well.

For those of you who have been under a rock for the last couple of weeks, Jamil Al-Amin is more widely known as the former H. Rap Brown. Brown was the minister of justice in the Black Panther Party in the late 60's, and promoted the use of violent resistance against the "establishment" in those days. More recently, Brown (or Al-Amin) has become a sort of spiritual leader in Atlanta's West End neighborhood.

After an early 70's conviction, Al-Amin is not permitted to own or posses a firearm. During a warrant service last month on weapons charges, Al-Amin allegedly gunned down two Fulton County Deputies, killing one and wounding the other seriously. Al-Amin was captured in Alabama, claiming that he feared for his life at the hands of a "government conspiracy" in Georgia.

His lawyer is fighting extradition back to Atlanta, where law enforcement officials want to try him in a death penalty trial for the murder of the slain deputy. As you can imagine, there are those who have taken this "conspiracy theory" and run with it. Like I said. Life goes on...