Raised by an irresponsible mother during the Great Depression in the Jim Crow south, my father was on his own from the age of 13.

Optimism. It's not just a mind-set, it is behavior.

Because Fox News is allegedly biased in favor of conservatives, critics whine like children whose lunch money got snatched. Conservatives have been pummeled for decades. Now that Fox News and conservative talk radio give people alternatives, critics squeal as if being sodomized.

Bad schools, crime, drugs, high taxes, the social security mess, racism, the health care ? crisis? unemployment, welfare state dependency, illegitimacy, the gap between rich and poor. What do these issues have in common? Politicians, the media, and our so-called leaders lie to us about them. They lie about the cause. They lie about the effect. They lie about the solutions.

People-to-people charity is more efficient, less costly, more human and compassionate, and more likely to inspire change and self-sufficiency in the beneficiary.

To bring a child into the world that you cannot feed, clothe, house, and educate is the moral equivalent, in my opinion, of a drive-by shooting.

The No. 1 cause of preventable death for young black men is not auto accidents or accidental drowning, but homicide.