Dr. Anthony Asadullah Samad, PhD

Summer is a time to be outdoors and to experience the wonders of new things, including the diversity of others. Summer festivals bring education, socialization and family enjoyment. Even in momentary economic recessions, festivals bring a much needed relief where families can affordably entertain themselves. Many cities are known for their culture fests. Los Angeles…

Just when you think you’ve heard it all, you find out that you haven’t. It is difficult to process in a time of tragedy how some can politicize the moment. The Gulf Coast Region of the United States is encountering another disaster of monumental proportions. It’s not from a natural disaster created by an act…

The mid-year elections are coming up in California where the primaries for national and state office are sending a flurry of political junk mail our way. Between the television commercials, the mail and the lawn signs, a person doesn’t know who to vote for if they’re not plugged in and “in the know.” The sophistication…

The youth today, many known to be part of street organizations (what society calls “Gangs”), have this thing about respect. They’ll tell you in a heartbeat that all they want in this world is “respect.” Now you ask them what that means and you might get 100 different answers, but they all come down to…

College graduations are happily sobering times for most families. They are times for family reflections, sadness and gladness, prayers answered, knowing missions have been completed and the culmination of a determined commitment to prove one’s self worthy of scholarship in the hallowed halls of prestigious thinkers. Somebody’s “child” has fulfilled a family dream, and the…

There is a significant piece of legislation working its way through the California Assembly. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering releasing as many as 20,000 low level offenders back into communities throughout the state of California as a budget cost cutting measure. Every year, in the state of California, the nation’s largest jailer with a…

Guess who discovered Who’s Who In Black Los Angeles after two years? Before you ask, I really wanted to feature a Los Angeles Times editor in Who’s Who in Black Los Angeles. Really. The problem is, there is not a single African American among those who make coverage decisions for the paper. In hindsight, it…

Last week, I teed off on Republicans. This week is the Democrat’s turn. This issue? Change reformist, President Barack Obama, having to campaign for deadbeat Democrats in danger of losing their seats in November. This is a real touchy subject because Democrats (like Republicans) think you should support ALL Democrats, simply because they’re Democrats. Then…

It seems the Republicans need to pump themselves up every couple of months or so these days. It’s not so much that they are meeting that troubles me. It’s sorta like an AA meeting except here its where “ideologue-holics” come together and try to sober up on their 2008 Presidential defeat with new rhetoric that…