| 25Th Anniversary Of The Jewish Community Alliance In Jacksonville, Florida |
March 4, 2013 |
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Ander Crenshaw, R-FL
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish Community Alliance in Jacksonville, Florida. During this period of time, the JCA has become a pillar of good works in the community and has enriched the lives of tens of thousands of people who have sought assistance in a plethora of ways. JCA has worked tirelessly fulfilling its mission to enhance the quality of life for those in need regardless of age, religion, race, financial capabilities, and physical and mental abilities. On April 20, 2013, the family of the Jewish Community Alliance will celebrate its positive impact on our community. Open to people—young and old—the JCA offers classes in fitness, gardening, and art. There are concerts for the young and the young-at-heart. You can learn chess or play sports in a family-friendly atmosphere. Summer days are filled with fun at a variety of youth camps, and kids and parents enjoy scientific discovery challenges together. The JCA is celebrating a quarter of a century of providing pre-school age children with an enriched start in life and of offering adults and teens ways to improve their health and to partake in enrichment classes. For the last 25 years the JCA has provided a place that benefits both young and old and has enhanced its participants’ lives by allowing them to share intergenerational values. Children attend quality after-school programs that give comfort to their parents, and those with special needs, whether adults or children, are encouraged to reach their full potential with dignity. JCA has a rich history of making a difference in our Jacksonville community. The faces of the children and those who come to the JCA may change each year, but the mission remains the same—making a difference in the lives of those it touches. It is my honor to bring this historic commemoration of a quarter century of service to the community to the attention of the United States Congress and to invite Members to join me in extending our appreciation."
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| Remembering Dr. Carl Everett Drake, Sr. |
January 24, 2013 |
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Dianne Feinstein, D-CA
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"In Sacramento Carl and Bea joined a small circle of middle class African Americans who had also moved west to make a new life. A handful of doctors, lawyers, a defense contractor, and a funeral home owner formed a social group anchored by the “Couples Club,” which met on Saturdays once a month for a rotating house party. There were also civic activities like the Lions Club, competitive chess, and the NAACP, as well as the local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. The names of these pioneers: Colley, Jones, Morris, Morrissey, Nance, Rutland, Stewart, Trent, West, and a few others, are now a part of Sacramento history. In 1967 a reduction in State supported mental health services affected clinics, including the Sacramento branch where Carl was chief of psychiatry. The new Medicare and Medicaid programs made private practice more viable for physicians caring for low income patients. He converted to full time private practice, and the late 1960s and 1970s became a time of relative prosperity. A pool was added to the backyard, and Carl learned, for the first time, to swim. He remained health conscious, and he and Bea were in the pool everyday from May to October until they were both in their 90s."
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| In Remembrance Of Dr. Carl Everett Drake, Sr. |
January 15, 2013 |
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John Campbell, R-CA
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"In Sacramento Carl and Bea joined a small circle of middle class African Americans, who had also moved west to make a new life. A handful of doctors, lawyers, a defense contractor, and a funeral home owner formed a social group anchored by the “Couples Club”, which met on Saturdays once a month for a rotating house party. There were also civic activities like the Lions Club, competitive chess, and the NAACP, as well as the local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. The names of these pioneers: Colley, Jones, Morris, Morrissey, Nance, Rutland, Stewart, Trent, West, and a few others, are now a part of Sacramento history. In 1967 a reduction in state supported mental health services affected clinics, including the Sacramento branch where Carl was Chief of Psychiatry. The new Medicare and Medicaid programs made private practice more viable for physicians caring for low income patients. He converted to full time private practice, and the late 1960s and 1970s became a time of relative prosperity. A pool was added to the backyard, and Carl learned, for the first time, to swim. He remained health conscious, and he and Bea were in the pool everyday from May to October until they were both in their 90s."
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| A Most Dysfunctional Senate |
January 3, 2013 |
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Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI
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"When you see judges who have been cleared in the Judiciary Committee unanimously sitting on the Executive Calendar in what has become a hostage pool for purposes of trading—these are judges who are ready to go, and there may very well be a judicial emergency in their district; they have Republican and Democratic support, and they are held hostage to be used as trading pieces on either judges or other issues—I think that is a very poor way to go about doing business, particularly when you consider where that leaves an individual who has put their life on hold waiting to see if they will be confirmed, and all they are is a pawn in a chess game, even though everybody thinks that substantively they are qualified and should serve as judges."
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| Honoring Mr. Willie “Sonny Boy” Williamson |
October 19, 2012 |
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Bennie Thompson, D-MS
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"Sonny Boy finally got to record one of his many stories about the blues; it came in 1951 with his first single on Trumpet Records titled “Eyesight to the Blind,” where he was singing about a woman. Using the word “good” to describe him was not good enough; people often said that with this song he could make a blind man think he could see her. He was the primary artist for Trumpet Records. Henry and Lillian McMurry in Jackson, Mississippi were the owners. In 1955, he began recording for Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois after Trumpet Records went bankrupt. His years at Chess Records were his most successful in his career as a blues artist. In fact, he recorded about 70 songs from 1955 to 1964 for Checker Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records. In 1959 he finally got the opportunity to record a compilation of stories about the blues with his first LP record titled Down and Out Blues. It featured such hits as Dissatisfied, Your Funeral and My Trial, Don’t Start Me to Talkin, and All My Love in Vain."
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