How to grow your money even if you don’t have any!

Learn How to Grow Your Money: My50CHICAGO.com

1-on-1 with Senator Meeks

Gays and God: How Bishop Eddie Long makes the church have to rexamine sex and sexuality

Why are Chicago Kids so Fat?

Who will be Chicago’s Next Mayor?

Should Students Get Paid for Good Grades?

Ryan Hutmacher from Centered Chef and Rochelle Davis from Healthy Schools

If your kids are fat, they will probably be fatter as adults. Fat adults usually have a long list of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and more. I’ve always heard people refer to fat kids as cute. They always assume the “baby fat” will go away once the child gets older. That is an attitude of denial. If you don’t do something about your child’s weight, it will likely spiral waaaay out of control.  So since September is childhood obesity awareness month, we decided to confront the issue today on Perspective.  I hand-picked 4 great experts who will give you all the 4-1-1 you need to help you get control of your kids health.

So first up will be Dr. Adam Becker.  He’s with the Consortium to Lower Childhood Obesity in Chicago.  Apparently the problem is so bad here in the windy city that they had to set up shop here.  Sad.  He gave some interesting stats on where the problem persists.

Rochelle Davis and the folks over at the Healthy Schools Campaign have done a lot to help get healthier lunches in the school.  You won’t believe the amt of money schools spend on your kids’ lunch.  It’s Shocking!!

I love having Chefs on the show, especially when they bring food!!  Chef Ryan Hutmacher is from one of Chicago’s premier food studios.  Check him out over at The Centered Chef.  They help families and busy professionals eat right but they also work with the folks over at the Healthy Schools Campaign.

We also had a cardiologist from Northwestern Memorial Hospital explain exactly what is happening inside the body when your kids are overweight.

As the Bishop Eddie Long saga continues, victims are starting to speak out. First, FOX Atlanta featured this exclusive interview with Jamal Parris, one of Long’s accusers. Then, Spencer LeGrande shared his story.   I also featured the issue of Gays and God on a recent episode of Perspective.  Check out all the videos here.

Spencer LeGrande

Long addressed the issue from the pulpit of New Birth on Sunday 9.26

Here’s one of the initial reports that was done when the Long controversy first errupted.

Long issued this statement Thursday, September 23, 2010

The cult-like mentality shown in this video is an example of the blind trust we put in our preachers.  Sad.

Derrion Albert was murdered in a street fight in Chicago on September 24, 2009.  The senseless violence in Chicago has become all too common.  Derrion’s mother Anjanette joins me today on the Monique Caradine Show for an exclusive interview.  We must not forget Derrion and all the other innocent lives lost.  We must also demand action on the part of the stakeholders in our community.  Children should not be dying like this.

September 24th marks the one year anniversary of Derrion Albert's tragic murder.

As you know, John Hall has been training me for almost 2 years now.  My results have been life-changing! For the past several weeks, he’s been working with a small group of WVON listeners to see exactly who is the “most motivated.”  To help you do your own at home workouts, he’s putting together a series of videos that you can follow with little or no equipment.

So what are you waiting for? Get started!

My birthday is September 21st. I cannot believe I will be 40 years old! I get anxious just thinking about it. For some reason, I feel like 40 is the age when you have to get really serious about being a grown up. No more getting bogged down with the trivial nonsense. At 40, you have reached the pinnacle of adulthood! Get focused! Stop playing and start being who God created you to be!

With that said, I have decided that I will continue to boldly live my purpose. I will be more straight forward about the things I want. I will get the things I deserve and most importantly, I will give more. Giving is so important!

That’s why, instead of having a big party to celebrate my birthday, I have decided to launch my extended birthday celebration by raising money for one of my favorite non-profit groups– the Provident Foundation. The Provident Foundation’s mission is to provide scholarships to inner city students pursuing degrees in medicine, nursing and other healthcare professions. They support students at schools right in our community, like Olive-Harvey College, Malcolm X, Northwestern University and Chicago State University. Since I’ve started working with the foundation, I’ve literally watched them give tens of thousands of dollars away to students who might have otherwised dropped out of medical and nursing school.

Recent Provident Foundation Scholarship Recipients

The organization also works to identify future doctors and nurses in area high schools. These students often come from very difficult socio-economic backgrounds. In many cases, they’ve never imagined they could actually pursue such a highly-respected career path! So the foundation goes into schools like Dunbar, Hyde Park, Carver and others to show students what’s possible for them.

Lastly, the Provident Foundation works to preserve the awesome legacy of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams.  He was the first doctor to ever perform a delicate open-heart surgery and he just so happened to be African American.  He also (along with a very smart African American nurse named Emma Reynolds) founded the original Provident Hospital which was right here in Chicago.  For a long-time, it was the only place aspiring black nurses and doctors could go to study medicine.  It was also one of the only places blacks could go to receive medical treatment.

The work of this organization is so vitally important.  I’ve seen the students’ eyes light up when they come to our annual receptions to receive their $1,000 scholarship checks!  Such a feeling of hope for the future!  So now, I’m asking you to support the organization as well.  Instead of sending me cards, flowers, chocolate covered strawberries and gift cards Please donate to the Provident Foundation.   Just go to their homepage and hit the PayPal button on the right side of the page.  You can either pay with a credit card or if you have a PayPal account, use it!

My goal is to help them raise $4,000.  That’s 4 scholarships and it would be a wonderful way to help me start this second half of my life by giving and supporting others!

Thank you in advance and I’ll keep you updated on the progress of my fundraising goal!

www.ProvidentFoundation.org

For months now, I’ve had an ongoing dialogue on my radio program about the church’s and religious leadership’s responsibility to aggressively confront violence in a strategic, aggressive and collective way.  As Chicago’s crime rates have continued to rise, I have openly challenged them to step outside the comfort of the church walls and take the message to the streets.  As I’ve talked to ministers and believers alike,  I’ve found several surprising and frustrating issues:

• Many ministers are fearful of going against the grain or doing anything that might be considered controversial
• Many ministers lack faith and have forgotten what Jesus said in the bible about the power of faith
• Many ministers are more consumed with superficial distractions (like the size of their church and the quality of their congregations) and have forgotten about their primary responsibility to save souls, serve and do good wherever they go.

Enter Gainesville, Florida preacher Terry Jones.  He’s the dude who, along with his 50-member church, has designated September 11, 2010 “Burn a Koran” Day.  For months he’s been gathering support from his small congregation, whipping them into a frenzy about taking a stand against Islamic extremists.

The threat of burning Korans has garnered this wacko worldwide attention.  Even the President of the United States has spoken against it.  Leaders from our military  have warned that such a hateful act could put the lives of our service men and women danger. Muslims from around the world have burned Terry Jones effigies and our beloved Bible.  How could this obscure church of only 50 members ignite such a volatile reaction?

The answer: because he did not allow his lack of notoriety, his lack of money, his lack of man power or his lack of resources stop him for leading this twisted effort.

My question: Why can’t level-headed, resourceful, clear-thinking, popular, well-respected ministers take a similar stand against violence?  Why are too many of them afraid to take a bold stand for what they believe in?  Why won’t they sacrifice their sanctity and comfort to protect the lives of innocent people?  Isn’t that what Jesus would do?  Isn’t that what Jesus requires of those who truly follow Him?

While I think Terry Jones way of taking a stand of Islamic extremists is ass-backward, dangerous, mis-guided and downright stupid, I absolutely admire his boldness and his willingness to put himself on the line for what HE believes in.  My sincere hope is that come Saturday, September 11. 2011, someone will have talked him down from this.  The potential global backlash from “Burn a Koran” day are far too great.  But there’s a lesson to be learned.  I believe the lesson for church leaders is that NOW is the time for us to take a bold and righteous stand against the crime that is plaguing our streets everyday and all the other social issues that lead to it.  Once we as believers fight that demon then we can go about sharing the Good News with the rest of the world.  That’s what Jesus would do.

As the murder rate in Chicago continues to rise, police and elected officials are still trying to figure out what to do to solve this problem.  So far this year more than 300 people have been murdered–most of the victims have been young black men. Some say the black community, which is most directly affected, needs to solve its own problems and simply stop killing.  Apparently that’s easier said than done.  Others believe that the answer is jobs. Either way, the one thing I know for sure is that we are living in a state of emergency and drastic times call for drastic measures.

Police Supt. Jody Weis has been harshly criticized for his “secret” meeting with gang members, where he threatened to take their stuff if the killings don’t stop…As far as I’m concerned he should have done worse! At the same time however, I don’t care if you threatened to emasculate these guys. If they don’t have jobs, trades or some kind of meaningful opportunity to replace their gang activity with this vicious cycle will continue.

The problem also lies at the feet of Chicago Political leadership. In my opinion, the all seem to be either clueless or just don’t really give a damn. Why can’t Mayor Daley and the city council see that what’s needed are more jobs and better quality education? Sure, it’s a long term solution. You can’t just “arrest” away this problem. There are not enough jails on the planet to house wrong doers at this level. They need jobs and opportunity. They need to be able to support their families just like anyone else. My friend Mark Allen says continuously, “you can’t solve and economic problem with military solutions,” but for some reason, that simple solution is not getting through to the powers that be. They just aren’t seeing the “forrest” for the “trees.” I guess that means that until they do, our children will continue to die on the streets. Oh well.