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At a recent interview on CNN, Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain claimed that African American voters have been brainwashed into not being open minded about voting for the GOP. Yet during this same interview, Cain said that one third to half of Black voters are open minded and he believes there is hope for African Americans to turn to the conservative side.  Like most Republicans, he offered no facts to support his conclusions except “people he meets in the airports.  Here are a few facts that apparently Herman Cain is not familiar with.

After the Civil War and through the early part of the 20th century, most African Americans voted Republican.  That’s not surprising when considering the fact that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican President who freed the slaves and the white, segregationist politicians who governed Southern states in those days were Democrats. The Democratic Party didn’t welcome African Americans then, and it wasn’t until 1924 that African Americans were even permitted to attend Democratic conventions.  Most African Americans lived in the South where many were prevented from voting at all.  The election of Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 marked the beginning of a change and Roosevelt got 71 percent of the African American vote for president in 1936 and did nearly that well in the next two elections, according to historical figures kept by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.  But even then, the number of African Americans identifying themselves as Republicans was about the same as the number who thought of themselves as Democrats.

It wasn’t until Harry Truman captured 77 percent of the African American vote in 1948 that a majority of African Americans considered themselves as Democrats.  Truman had issued an executive order desegregating the armed services and an executive order setting up regulations against racial bias in Federal employment.  Even after that, Republican nominees continued to get a significant portion of the African American vote for several elections.  Eisenhower got 39 percent of the vote in 1956, and Nixon got 32 percent in his narrow loss to John F. Kennedy in 1960.  President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed through the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed segregation in public places and his Republican opponent, Sen. Barry Goldwater, opposed it.  Johnson received 94 percent of the African American vote that year, a record for any presidential election.  The following year Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act and no Republican presidential candidate has gotten more than 15 percent of the African American vote since then.  Even though younger African American voters have been edging away from the Democratic Party, 90% of African Americans are registered Democrats.

In an article by Ehimwenma E. Aimiuwu, he notes that African Americans, especially seniors, are still one of the most conservative groups of people in America.  They are God fearing and church going, they are against abortion and homosexuality, they tend to stick to their traditional ways even if it was a method to survive adversity, they still stick to their traditional foods even if they are considered unhealthy, and they still believe in family even though the man may not be present.  I agree with Aimiuwu.

On the other hand, the Republican Party claims to be conservative because they stand for family, God, morality, do not support gay or abortion rights, and believe in tradition and heritage.  The difference between their conservatism and African American conservatism is that they have power, wealth, influence, and they do not want any system to change their advantage.  African Americans lack many of these things and the only advantage they seem to have is civil rights and affirmative action.  The conservatism of the Republicans is to maintain their culture, way of life, and most importantly to maintain their economic and political status.  African American conservatism is more religious than cultural.  They feel that is what the Bible says and so be it.

Many African Americans already know God, they already know morality, they reject abortion and homosexuality, they are conservatives, but they are in search of economic and political relevance, according to Mr. Aimiuwu.  As long as the Republicans are in power and are interested in keeping things the way they are African Americans will never achieve economic and political relevance.  Despite the fact that the Democrats may be a little too liberal on some issues, many African Americans perceive them as the vehicle to attaining true freedom, equality, and opportunity.  The conservatism of the Republicans helps make laws and creates systems that hinder African American progress, while the liberalism of Democrats promotes acceptance and tolerance for various groups to excel.

If the Republican Party can find a way to make laws and systems that encourage African American political and economic relevance, many will probably cross over to the Republican Party.  African Americans will always vote for God, morality, and tradition as long as they do not have to worry about equality and survival.  This could be the reason why some African Americans become Republicans when money and influence are no longer an issue

African Americans have not been brain-washed as claimed by Cain, but a conservative people that continue to find more relevance within the Democratic Party. They have been the Democrats’ most reliable voting bloc since Truman and with Barack Obama in the White House, that’s not going to change, but that’s just my take.

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According to recent reports, the Postal Service (USPS) is so low on cash that it will not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment and may have to shut down entirely unless Congress takes emergency action to stabilize its finances.  According to Patrick R. Donahoe, the Postmaster General, if Congress doesn’t act, the Postal Service will be in default.  In attempting to deal with its critical financial situation, Donahoe has been considering a series of painful cost-cutting measures to erase the agency’s deficit, expected to reach $9.2 billion this fiscal year.  These major steps include eliminating Saturday mail delivery, closing almost 3,700 postal locations and eliminating about 120,000 workers despite a no-layoffs clause in the unions’ contracts.  Even with significant cost reductions and revenue growth initiatives, current financial projections indicate the Postal Service will have a cash shortfall and will have reached its statutory borrowing limit by the end of this fiscal year.  Absent substantial legislative change, the Postal Service will be forced to default on payments to the Federal government.

It’s these payments to the Federal government that have significantly contributed to the Postal Service financial problems.  Further compounding the problem however, are the decades of contractual promises made to unionized workers including no-layoff clauses.  Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses when compared to 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.

The Postal Service’s third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2011 (April 1-June 30) ended with a net loss of $3.1 billion, compared to a net loss of $3.5 billion for the same period in FY 2010.  Total mail volume declined to 39.8 billion pieces for the quarter, compared to 40.9 billion pieces in the third quarter of FY 2010.  Postal Service third quarter revenue reflects the anemic state of the economy during the past three months. Additionally, the growth in electronic communications continues to erode core First-Class Mail volume. Net losses for the nine months ended June 30 amount to $5.7 billion in 2011 compared to $5.4 billion in 2010.

The Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible.  The Postal Service employs over 574,000 workers and operates over 218,000 vehicles.  It is the second-largest employer in the United States after Wal-Mart and the operator of the largest vehicle fleet in the world. Each day the United States Postal Service delivers approximately 660 million pieces of mail to as many as 142 million delivery points.” As of 2011, the USPS operates 31,000 post offices and locations in the U.S., and delivers 177 billion pieces of mail annually.  The USPS has not directly received taxpayer-dollars since the early 1980s with the minor exception of subsidies for costs associated with the disabled and overseas voters.

By a voice vote at the end of 2006, a Lame-Duck Congress approved the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.  In response to the needs identified in 2002 by the President’s Commission, the act replaced parts of the Postal Service Act, and focused the Postal Service on being a competitive monopoly.  Much emphasis was placed on providing management flexibility to choose service rate levels and their costs. By doing this, Congress hoped the latest act would allow the Postal Service to function freely in the market.  One of the main problems with the Bill, however, is that it forces to Postal Service to pre-paid seventy-five (75) years retirement and health benefit costs within 10 years, a restriction not imposed on any other Federal components.

In April 2011, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) introduced H.R. 1351, which would correct the overfunding of the Postal Service’s pension accounts.  Lynch’s bill, “The USPS Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act of 2011,” instructs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to recalculate the Postal Service’s payments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) using updated methodology. Independent actuarial studies have concluded that as a result of improper funding formulas, the USPS has overpaid CSRS by $50 billion to $75 billion. FERS overpayments are estimated at $6.9 billion.

The measure says that if overpayments are found during OPM’s recalculation, any surplus would be transferred to the USPS. OPM also would be required to immediately repay the USPS money it overpaid into its FERS account. The Postal Service could use these funds to meet its retiree health benefits funding obligations.  APWU President Cliff Guffey applauded the legislation, saying: “This bill would get the Postal Service on track toward fiscal solvency”.

H. R. 1351 appeared to pick up some momentum.  As of today, the Bill has 216 co-sponsors, over half of the House.  “It’s a good sign,” said APWU Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid. “Members of Congress are obviously hearing from concerned workers, business people, and citizens who are demanding that Congress act,” he added.

H.R. 1351 would allow the Postal Service to use billions of dollars in pension overpayments to the congressional mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees. No other government agency bears this burden, which forces the Postal Service to fund a 75-year liability in 10 years — at a cost of more than $5 billion annually. Without the mandate, the USPS would have a surplus of $1.5 Billion.

Unfortunately, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is withholding action on H. R. 1351 while advocating his own bill, H.R 2309.  Issa’s Bill would destroy the Postal Service as we know it and would do nothing to correct the cause of the USPS financial crisis.  It would do nothing about the pension overpayments or the pre-funding requirement but it would establish a “solvency authority” with the power to unilaterally cut wages, abolish benefits, and end protection against layoffs.  It also would create a board that would order $1 billion worth of post office closures in the first year and $1 billion worth of facility closures in the second year.  If H.R. 2309 is enacted, thousands of offices throughout the country would be closed.  I guess, this is another example of Republicans’ efforts to privatize the Postal Service and to destroy the American Postal Workers Union, but that’s just my take.

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Most Christians have probably had moments of doubt about their salvation. After all, we’ve all entertained thoughts and have committed acts that we knew were displeasing to God. We’ve all experienced that sense of remorse and sometimes questioned the reality of our salvation afterwards. Backsliding can no doubt cause such feelings to arise, and should hopefully move us to repentance (1 John 1:9).

However, when it comes to the issue of eternal security, the Bible makes it absolutely clear that those who have been saved will never be lost. Jesus emphatically pointed this out in the Gospel of John when, in reference to believers, He said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand…” (John 10:28). In this passage, Christ explicitly declared that no one who has received eternal life will ever lose it.

Furthermore, in such passages as 2 Corinthians 1:22, and Ephesians 1:13, the apostle Paul indicated that the Holy Spirit acts as the very seal of God’s ownership of the believer; He serves as the guarantee of our inheritance to come – namely, eternal life (John 5:24; 1 John 5:13). In describing our inheritance the apostle Peter used some very powerful words – words like “imperishable,” “undefiled,” and “unfading” (1 Peter. 1:5). With these words He underscored the everlasting assurance believers have with respect to God’s gift of salvation.

“What about the Christians who have completely abandoned their faith?” Well, judging by what we’re told in Scripture we can only conclude that they were never saved from the start. You see, while “once saved, always saved” is true from God’s perspective, man only looks at the outward appearance and thus cannot always accurately assess who is really saved in the first place. The question therefore is not whether someone lost their salvation, but whether they had ever had it at all. As Romans chapter eight says, “there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 38-29). He is the very source of our salvation.

Remember, eternal life that comes to the believer through faith in Christ is not life for two weeks, two months, or even two years; eternal life is everlasting life. It begins at the moment of conversion and stretches on through the eons of time, but that’s just my take.

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