Op-Ed

Beyond the Rhetoric: Big Green Hustle (Part 1)

Published

11 years ago

February 23, 2015

By Harry C. Alford
NNPA Columnist

I have seen from time to time organized, polished scams that present themselves as a positive contribution to society via improved economics, safety or quality of life. Since we formed the National Black Chamber of Commerce ® in 1993, we have noticed two big scams that have taken our whole nation by storm. One is over and the other is in mid-session.

The scam that has been put to rest is the “dot.com era.” When high technology started to come of age, the general population had a fascination with the new gadgets, speed of communication, office disciplines being controlled by reasonably priced machines. IBM, Microsoft, Xerox, etc. were moving forward with innovation after innovation. Cell phones, email, websites started entering corporate America and would soon arrive into our sub-divisions and apartment buildings. Within five years, the hustlers would start to arrive.

People who could speak the next “tech-speak” would perpetrate that they were developing new technology that will save governments, companies and the general public billions of dollars. Therefore, their new technology was also worth billions. The smooth ones would start a company and do the necessary paperwork with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) and eventually apply for an Initial Public Offering – IPO. They would become publicly owned and traded on Wall Street as stock. Some IPO’s would start off at an asking price less than a quarter. The possibilities were endless, depending on the public relations, marketing and hype (be it true or not). The buyers could drive the cost up and those who bought the stock for less than a quarter could soon be selling it for more than $30 a share.

One such company was PurchasePro.com. This was proclaimed as an e-commerce system that could help corporations and governments buy goods at the best possible price and with the highest quality. The CEO came by our office one day and asked us to show support for his company. Frankly, none of us understood it at all but figured it must be good since the government and stock brokerages were having a love affair with it.

The CEO later claimed that when they started their IPO he was going to give the NBCC a $2 million contribution. Their IPO started at an asking price of $14 and within a couple of weeks it was approaching $100. They split the stock and it still kept growing. I said to myself, this guy is making billions of dollars and nobody knows what the company can do. I called him one day and demanded the $2 million he publicly pledged. The phone call ended with a lot of curse words from both of us. However, he wired $500, 000 the next day. That shut me up.

In the end, the public found out that PurchasePro.com was actually nothing. The CEO, some of his partners and some executives from AOL went to prison. It sounds amazing that a Las Vegas gambler could run this scheme and fool thousands, including executives of AOL. This is a perfect example of what the dot.com hustle was about.

One of the principles in the beginning of the dot.com hustle was Al Gore. While vice president he pushed for the support and super funding for high technology, especially with the Internet. He has claimed to have invented the Internet from time to time. Al is just amazing. Because he didn’t rest on his laurels with the dot.com hustle, he went right to work on the next big hustle. He proclaimed the world was dying because of “global warming.” Yes, he said we were all going to die unless we start addressing the issue. This was taken from a similar hustle in the 1950s known as global cooling. Back then, they said we were returning to the Ice Age. That didn’t take, so it was reversed and the claims of us turning into a huge dry dessert starting popping up big time.

Blacks are being used in this Big Green Hustle. Terms such as “environmental racism,” and “environmental justice” are popping up with no substance or proof. Young activist groups are being recruited to stir up our communities. Sometimes we can get whipped up into hysteria. Let me make this perfectly clear: I believe that our global climate is unpredictable and, so far, beyond our understanding. The term climate change seems to be a much more accurate term. As I write this, our whole nation is going through one of the coldest winters, replete with snow, in history. Right now, global warming could be laughable to many common sense thinkers.

The similarities between the two hustles are striking. There are some big time hustlers, including Wall Street players, who are concocting their big schemes of fraud and deceit. They are doing it with the government’s blessing and right before our eyes. It’s time to call them out in next week’s column.

Harry C. Alford is the Co-Founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®. Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email:halford@nationalbcc.org.

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Seth Curry Makes Impressive Debut with the Golden State Warriors

Seth looked comfortable in his new uniform, seamlessly fitting into the Warriors’ offensive and defensive system. He finished the night with an impressive 14 points, becoming one of the team’s top scorers for the game. Seth’s points came in a variety of ways – floaters, spot-up three-pointers, mid-range jumpers, and a handful of aggressive drives that kept the Oklahoma City Thunder defense on its heels.

Published

3 days ago

December 4, 2025

Oakland Post

Seth Curry is a point guard on the GSW team.Photo courtesy of the Golden State Warriors.

By Y’Anad Burrell

Tuesday night was anything but ordinary for fans in San Francisco as Seth Curry made his highly anticipated debut as a new member of the Golden State Warriors. Seth didn’t disappoint, delivering a performance that not only showcased his scoring ability but also demonstrated his added value to the team.

At 35, the 12-year NBA veteran on Monday signed a contract to play with the Warriors for the rest of the season.

One of the most memorable moments of the evening came before Seth even scored his first points. As he checked into the game, the Chase Center erupted into applause, with fans rising to their feet to give the newest Warrior a standing ovation.

The crowd’s reaction was a testament not only to Seth’s reputation as a sharpshooter but also to the excitement he brings to the Warriors. It was clear that fans quickly embraced Seth as one of their own, eager to see what he could bring to the team’s championship aspirations.

Warriors’ superstar Steph Curry – Seth’s brother – did not play due to an injury. One could only imagine what it would be like if the Curry brothers were on the court together. Magic in the making.

Seth’s debut proved to be a turning point for the Warriors. Not only did he contribute on the scoreboard, but he also brought a sense of confidence and composure to the floor.

While their loss last night, OKC 124 – GSW 112, Seth’s impact was a game-changer and there’s more yet to come. Beyond statistics, it was clear that Seth’s presence elevated the team’s performance, giving the Warriors a new force as they look to make a deep playoff run.

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Activism

Essay: Intentional Self Care and Community Connections Can Improve Our Wellbeing

At the deepest and also most expansive level of reality, we are all part of the same being, our bodies made from the minerals of the earth, our spirits infused by the spiritual breath that animates the universe. Willingness to move more deeply into fear and pain is the first step toward moving into a larger consciousness. Willingness to move beyond the delusion of our separateness can show us new ways of working and living together.

Published

1 month ago

October 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Lorraine Bonner is a retired physician. She is also a sculptor who works in clay, exploring issues of trust, trustworthiness and exploitation, as well as visions of a better world.

By Dr. Lorraine Bonner, Special to California Black Media Partners

I went to a medical school that was steeped in the principles of classical Western medicine. However, I also learned mindfulness meditation during that time, which opened me to the multifaceted relationship between illnesses and the interconnecting environmental, mental and emotional realities that can impact an individual’s health.

Therefore, when I began to practice medicine, I also pursued training in hypnosis, relaxation techniques, meditation, and guided imagery, to bring a mind-body focus to my work in medical care and prevention.

The people I saw in my practice had a mix of problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and a variety of pain issues. I taught almost everyone relaxation breathing and made some general relaxation tapes. To anyone willing, I offered guided imagery.

“My work embraced an approach to wellness I call “Liberatory Health” — one that not only addresses the treatment and management of disease symptoms but also seeks to dismantle the conditions that make people sick in the first place.”

From my perspective, illness is only the outermost manifestation of our efforts to cope, often fueled by addictions such as sugar, tobacco, or alcohol, shackled by an individualistic cult belief that we have only ourselves to blame for our suffering.

To put these ideas into practical form, I would quote the immortal Mr. Rogers: “Find the helpers.” There are already people in every community working for liberation. Some of them are running for office, others are giving food to those who need it. Some are volunteering in schools, libraries or hospitals. Some are studying liberation movements, or are working in urban or community gardens, or learning to practice restorative and transformative justice, or creating liberation art, music, dance, theater or writing. Some are mentoring high schoolers or apprenticing young people in a trade. There are many places where compassionate humans are finding other humans and working together for a better world.

A more compassionate world is possible, one in which we will all enjoy better health. Creating it will make us healthier, too.

In community, we are strong. Recognizing denial and overcoming the fragmenting effects of spiritual disorder offer us a path to liberation and true health.

Good health and well-being are the collective rights of all people!

About the Author

Dr. Lorraine Bonner is a retired physician. She is also a sculptor who works in clay, exploring issues of trust, trustworthiness and exploitation, as well as visions of a better world.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Opinion: Can Donald Trump Pole Dance?

Given all that is happening, if the presidency was more like pole dancing, you know Trump would be flat on his butt.

Published

3 months ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

The news cycle has been buzzing the last few weeks. Xi, with Putin and Kim, the sweethearts of Trump carousing alone without him? The victims of the pedophile Epstein speaking out publicly in DC.

Then, there’s the release of that salacious letter Donald Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump said the letter didn’t exist. But it does.

Timing is everything.

Additionally, there are further concerns, such as the Supreme Court removing restrictions on ICE interactions. ICE Agents can stop anyone now. For any reason. And there’s the threat of the U.S. sending the military to fight crime in Chicago. Trump even posted a meme of himself as a character in “Apocalypse Now.”

All that with bad polls and bad economic numbers, and these topics are dominating the news cycle — Trump era chaos.

Given all that is happening, if the presidency was more like pole dancing, you know Trump would be flat on his butt.

The reality is the opposite. He keeps going strong like nothing’s happened. Inexplicably, Trump always seems to defy gravity.

That’s why to reassure myself with reality, I just think of Trump on a pole. Dancing. He was born on Flag Day, after all.

I’ve got pole dancing on my mind because I’m in Canada at the Vancouver Fringe Festival doing my show, “Emil Amok 69, Everything’s Flipped,” about how the current political situation gets very personal.

Get tickets here if you’re near:

I’ve performed at 16 fringe festivals, and I always look for unique performers. This year, in my same venue (the Revue Stage) I found her in a show, “The Pole Shebang.”

Andrea James Lui may look like a typical Asian American at first.

But she’s Asian Canadian, married to an Australian, who now lives down under.

At the Vancouver Fringe, she highlights her special identity.

Pole Dancer

Yes, pole dancing has come to the fringe. Leave your dollar bills at home, this is not that kind of pole dancing.

This is more Cirque Du Soleil-ish- acrobatic stuff, yet it’s hard to deny the sexiness when a woman flawlessly swings from a pole with her legs apart.

The show is more intriguing than it is titillating.

Lui has created a behind-the-scenes look at the “polar” experience.

“She could have been a physicist,” says her big sister Christina, who despite saying that, supports her sister 100 percent.

Lui touches on some of the emotional depth in the poled subculture. But there’s plenty more to mine in the future. “Polar Bare,” the Musical? I’d see it.

Trump on a Pole

So that’s how I’ve come to the polar metaphor.

As Trump flails in the news, I picture him on a pole.

The letter to Epstein is further proof of the character of the man.

Will he stay afloat?

Not if the presidency were more like pole dancing.

You can’t lie on the pole.

That’s one way all of us in the Trump era can get to the truth.

About the Author

Emil Amok is a veteran journalist, commentator, and stage monologist. He has written a weekly column on Asian Americans for more than 30 years.

Contact: www.amok.com