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Aug. 20, 2005 1) When I originally began writing this article, Latoiya Figueroa was still missing. The story about the pregnant, 24-year-old African-American woman, which had garnered national attention due to Internet bloggers, had taken a back seat to other news, even in Miss Figueroa’s hometown of Philadelphia. Shortly after I submitted it, however, the worst possible news had come in. Miss Figueroa and her unborn child are dead, the remains being found in the suburb of Chester. Her boyfriend, 25-year-old Stephen Poaches, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Since Pennsylvania has the death penalty, and this has been such a high-profile case, I would not be surprised if the district attorney does not seek it. For the Figueroa family, finding Latoiya cannot be an easy thing. But at least, now, they know and can move forward with life. My heart goes out to them, and to everyone involved in the search for her. I especially want to thank Richard Blair, the 51-year-old Caucasian who heads up the website All Spin Zone, who helped bring this story into the national spotlight. Because of his efforts, and the work of many other concerned Internet bloggers, an important story did not get ignored. 2) Kudos to Bob Costas, the long-time NBC Sports host who also pulls duty on HBO, as host of the talk show “Costas Now” and the pro-football preview show “Inside the NFL”. Signed to fill in for CNN’s Larry King for about 20 episodes this season, Costas declined to do a recent “Larry King Live” devoted to the Natalee Holloway case. Costas did not feel comfortable with the subject matter (although he didn’t elaborate on what specifically caused the discomfort) and suggested some alternate topics for the night’s discussion. When the producers pushed back, Costas stepped aside. The disagreement was amicable, according to the Associated Press article on the matter. He still has about 14 shows left to do this year, and according to Wendy Walker, the senior executive producer for “Larry King”, there’ll be other shows with topics more to Costas’s liking. 3) My articles on missing black women drew the attention of Alonzo Washington, a comic-book creator from Kansas City, who recently solved the case of an unidentified girl, given the name Precious Doe by the police, whose decapitated body was found in a wooded area in April of 1981. Washington’s efforts in identifying the girl, three-year-old Erica Green, led to the arrest of her mother, Michelle Johnson, and her stepfather, Harrell Johnson, back in May. Mr. Johnson has been charged with first-degree murder, while Mrs. Johnson faces second-degree murder charges. Like Mr. Blair, Mr. Washington felt that the biases of the liberal media focused attention away from missing black women and children. He continues to be heavily involved in cases that haven’t seen public light. Despite the national press his work has generated, he’s not doing it for the fame. He simply wants to see the missing reunited with their families. Alonzo Washington’s website, http://www.omega7.com/, has information about his missing-persons work and his comic-book character, Omega Man. 4) Would Cindy Sheehan have gotten as much attention from the press if she were black? The short answer is, no. The longer answer would be, of course not. The more correct answer would be, only if Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton was protesting with her, and then it would only get about two days’ worth of coverage, max. After that, she be written off as a kook. 5) Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., suffered a major stroke and a minor heart attack on Tuesday, August 16. The 78-year-old matriarch of the King family is, according to the latest reports, alert and aware, but has suffered impaired mobility on her right side and is unable to speak. Doctors at Piedmont Hospital say that a blood clot moved from her heart and lodged in an artery on the left side of her brain. Mrs. King has made a name for herself beyond her husband’s famous shadow. Amidst the turmoil of the civil rights movement, she raised four children, all of whom have followed in their parent’s footsteps. She has been active in numerous causes, including women’s rights, AIDS awareness, and establishment of a national holiday honoring her husband. Most telling is the fact that, even after her husband’s assassination, she has remained a vocal opponent of the death penalty, just as he was. Losing such a powerful voice is always tough. But even if she is never heard from again, Coretta Scott King’s voice will echo along with the many others who fought in and died in a domestic battle for freedom and justice. 6) At last check, the Kansas City Royals were still the worst team in baseball. Riding an 18-game losing streak, the Royals have managed only 38 wins this year. In contrast, the next-worst team in the American League, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, have won 48 times. And baseball’s second-worst team, the Colorado Rockies, have notched 45 victories. There is good news for Royals fans, though—the Chiefs open the regular season on September 11. 7) Who will be the first NFL coach fired this season? My money is on New Orleans Saints’ coach Jim Haslett. Of all coaches on the hot seat, his is the hottest. True, the Saints finished last season by winning their last four games and finished second in the NFC South (three games behind division champion Atlanta), but in retrospect, only one of them meant anything—a 21-18 win on the road against Carolina that kept the Panthers out of the playoffs. In 2000, Haslett’s first year, the Saints were 10-6, winning the NFC West beating the St. Louis Rams in the Wild Card Round. They would fall to the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Playoffs that same year. That was their last playoff appearance. Since then, they’ve gone 7-9, 9-7, 8-8 and 8-8. Despite flashes of brilliance, Aaron Brooks has not come on to be the leader of the team many believed he would. In the last four seasons, he has thrown more passes (2,146) than any other quarterback except Peyton Manning; has more passing yardage (14,760) than anyone except Manning, Trent Green and Brett Favre; and more touchdown passes (98) than anyone except Manning or Favre. But miscues and bad execution have cost the Saints games. Defense was also a problem last season, as New Orleans tied Dallas as the NFC’s second-worst scoring defense (405 points allowed), and the team had a -57 point differential. To put that in perspective, Carolina, which finished one game behind New Orleans, had a +16 point differential, best in the NFC South. For a team with so much potential, there’s been a lot of disappointment. If the Saints don’t get a good start out of the gate—I’d give it six games, at most—look for Haslett to be. There may be a new stadium riding on the Saints’ success, as rumblings have been heard about the team wanting to move out of the cavernous and ancient (by modern standards) Louisiana Superdome. Haslett isn’t the only one on the hot seat. Keep an eye on Joe Gibbs, Mike Holmgren, Mike Martz, Bill Parcells, Mike Tice and Dick Vermeil. Between them, they have seven Super Bowl rings as head coaches, but one or more of them may also join Haslett off the sidelines before the season is done. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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