It’s been ten years since DJ Jam Master Jay was gunned down in his New York recording studio, but the case of his murder remains unsolved as the pioneering hip-hop trio he was once a part of, Run-DMC, goes back on tour.

“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since Jay’s death,” Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, now a part of a duo, said to the New York Daily News in a statement. “That’s crazy. It seems like I just saw him yesterday.”

McDaniels and Rev. Joe “Run” Simmons kicked off their tour last month.

NYPD investigators have grown frustrated over the years after chasing down many leads, none of which have resulted in an arrest.

“We never really had a good lead,” the case’s head detective, Vincent Santangelo, said. “Nobody would or nobody could tell us the who or what. We’re still looking for that person.”

Jam Master Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, had arrived at the studio on October 30, 2002, just hours before he was killed. Police say the people inside the building that evening all gave an account of what happened, but no one identified the gunman or his accomplice.

The Daily News gives the play-by-play:

After packing some equipment for a show in Philadelphia the next day, Mizell got a bite to eat and took a seat on a couch at the rear of the studio. His pal, Uriel (Tony) Rincon, sat next to him and the pair began playing a video game.

Mizell placed a .45-caliber pistol on the arm rest.

A short time later, Mizell’s assistant, Lydia High, entered the cramped studio to go over his itinerary. High’s brother, Randy Allen – Mizell’s longtime pal and business partner – soon came in with two friends, but they shut themselves in the control room at the front of the studio.

Everyone had been in the room for less than an hour when a man dressed in black, possibly wearing a hat, stepped in and gave Mizell a hug about 7:30 p.m. But after the short embrace, the man pulled out a .40-caliber handgun.

“Oh, s—-,” was all a witness heard Mizell say before a shot rang out.

The bullet pierced Rincon’s left leg. Then, a second shot hit Mizell in the head, killing him before he hit the floor.

The killer and his accomplice, who was standing outside the door, both sprinted out of the two-story building and disappeared.

The NYPD is promising a $60,000 reward if someone is identified and convicted, which Santangelo believes will help close the case.

Police do have one suspect in mind, though: career criminal Ronald Washington, who’s currently serving 17 years for armed robbery. Investigators suspected Washington was either the lookout or the gunman after he allegedly confessed his part in the killing to an ex-girlfriend.

Lydia High, Mizell’s assistant who was in the studio with him that night, also initially confirmed Washington as one of the killers, but she later withdrew her statement.

Sources say the case has been difficult to shut close because of reluctant witnesses and bad press. They also say the murder may have been a result of a hit ordered by Curtis Scoon, an old friend Mizell refused to pay back for a years-long drug debt.

Neither Scoon or Washington have ever been charged in connection with the case.

“The past 10 years has been really hard,” Marvin Thompson, Mizell’s brother, who’s also convinced Washington was one of the killers, said. “There’s still so many unanswered questions … I pray that someone will step up and close this case and give us some peace.”

“It’s frustrating,” he added. “But the fact that he’s in jail … I guess that’s some kind of closure.”

Mizzell’s mother, Connie Mizell-Perry, believes karma will have its way in the end.

“One of these days, you’re going to think you have it made and someone is going to tap you on the shoulder and say, ‘Gotcha!’” she said.

“He impacted other people’s lives and that’s the Jay I loved and respected,” McDaniels said. “But spiritually, he’s always with me. His presence is felt as strongly today as it was the night he passed away.”

http://thegrio.com/2012/10/23/jam-master-jay-murder-still-unsolved-10-years-later/

(The Root) -- The tweet by Fox News contributor Kirsten Powers said it best: "Whoever did Obama's debate prep should get a raise." While the first presidential debate was a clear win for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the second debate was widely seen as a slim win for President Barack Obama, the third and final debate, which focused on foreign policy, brought a clear win for President Obama.

The president dominated the debate from the outset, attacking Romney immediately with this barb: "And, you know, Gov. Romney, I'm glad that you agree that we have been successful in going after al-Qaida, but I have to tell you that, you know, your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map and is not designed to keep Americans safe or to build on the opportunities that exist in the Middle East." That was the first of many blows the president landed.

He delivered a number of zingers that captivated cyberspace before the debate had even concluded, among them this: "I think Gov. Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines."

This attack resulted in "bayonets" being among the most searched Google terms of the night immediately following the debate, according to Howard Kurtz of the Daily Beast. It also spawned a number of satirical images, including this one of a mock Romney-Ryan campaign poster featuring bayonet wielding civil war re-enactors. Another image depicted Big Bird wielding a bayonet, a combination of two of the Obama campaign's most memorable attacks in recent weeks. (Big Bird emerged as one of the stars of the first presidential debate.)

There were times when Romney appeared so out of his element with the foreign policy focus that occasionally it was hard not to recall Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's performance in 2008. According to the book Game Change, which chronicled the 2008 presidential election and has been called accurate by senior McCain advisers, Palin memorized a series of lines for her debate against then-Sen. Joe Biden. She was instructed to "pivot" back to domestic issues within her comfort zone if she was asked about something she was not confident in discussing.

Time after time, Romney similarly attempted to pivot during last night's debate. While both he and the president seemed more interested in discussing the economy at times -- the defining issue of the election for most voters -- the governor's clumsy and insistent attempts at pivoting back toward domestic policy made it appear that he knew he couldn't go toe-to-toe with the president on foreign policy, and therefore wasn't going to try.

In light of last week's thwarted terror attack on the Federal Reserve, which, had it been successful, could have potentially rivaled 9/11, it is possible that foreign affairs could be more in the forefront of voters' minds than usual. Yet it is still unlikely the president's stellar performance in the final debate will matter all that much on Election Day. The reason? In part because not as many viewers are likely to have watched this debate as they did the first or the second. The third presidential debate had some stiff competition from both Monday Night Football as well as Game 7 in baseball's National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants.

But competition from sporting events aside, third debates traditionally have a smaller audience. Four years ago, the second presidential debate was the most-watched one, and the debate between vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden was even more widely watched, with 70 million viewers.

This time around, nearly 67 million people watched the first debate, declining to just under 66 million for the second debate. Factor in the sporting events last night, and it is anticipated that the viewership will prove to have been noticeably lower for the third debate. Combine this with the fact that Americans don't normally treat foreign policy as a priority, and the likelihood of this final debate being decisive in the election in any meaningful way is unlikely. Just ask former Vice President Al Gore.

Gore was widely perceived as the victor in his final presidential debate against George W. Bush. But his previous performances defined him, and we know how that election turned out.

It's possible that President Obama's performance in the second debate provided enough of a boost that those voters who did catch the final matchup will consider it the tiebreaker the president needs in the polls. But that's unlikely.

However, President Obama's performance in the final debate could help him in a different way. It could further energize those Obama supporters who were feeling deflated after the first debate, and who may just feel after this debate that their candidate is not only a good president but a good contender -- a winner -- and therefore someone worth fighting for. If they show up and convince others to join them, perhaps they can make the difference on Nov. 6.

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/blogging-beltway/obama-wins-debate-3-it-might-not-matter?page=0,1&wpisrc=root_lightbox

A genius is defined as someone who has an exceptional natural capacity of intellect. They are people whose lives and work have impacted the physical and cultural milieu of the world. NewsOne has put together a list of geniuses who continue the thread and spirit of Black life and culture. Check them out!

1. Ben Carson: In fifth grade, Carson was failing and his class mates called him “dummy.” Since Carson’s mom, Sonja, a third-grade drop-out, didn’t want her two boys to follow in her footsteps, she cracked the whip. The Mom-on-a-mission limited TV-watching and kept her sons from playing outside until all homework was done. The Carson boys had to read two books a week then give their mom two book reports on what they had read, even though she could barely make out what they had written. Within a few weeks, Carson turned his grade average around and realized he was far from stupid. A year later, he topped his class. Carson began to consume books and placed becoming a doctor on his radar. He soon graduated with honors from high school and set his sights on Yale University, earning a Psychology degree from the Ivy League school.

When he attended the University of Michigan’s medical school, he switched from psychiatry to neurosurgery. Upon graduating, Carson completed his residency at the famed Johns Hopkins, and by 32, he became the director of pediatric neurosurgery. In 1987, Carson made medical history with an operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins.

Carson has pioneered other successful surgical innovations that have actually cheated death. The man with the gifted hands, who lives by the belief that “no one should ever get too big for God,” has received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and is greatly in demand as a speaker.

Carson’s other true passion is the state of education in this country. Lamenting the lack of quality in this country’s public education system, Carson has dedicated himself to frequently visiting with Black school children in order to motivate them to strive to become all that they can be. “I tell them about slavery, when it was illegal for Blacks to learn how to read. I say, Now why do you think that was? Do you think that was just arbitrary? No, the reason they didn’t want you to be educated is because education empowers people. So why would you voluntarily do to yourself what was being imposed by an unjust system before?”

2. Brittney Exline: When Exline walked across the stage at the University of Pennsylvania graduating cum laude at age 19, she also walked in to the history books. Exline was the school’s youngest engineer and the nation’s youngest African-American engineer. In 2007, at age 15, Exline made headlines in her hometown when she graduated from her Colorado Springs high school at 15. There is no doubt that the young woman, who speaks Spanish, French, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, and German, was born with a genius gene. Exline was making pyramid designs with blocks at 6 months old, walking at 8 months old, and completing 24- to- 100-piece jigsaw puzzles at 15 months old.

Exline’s stellar academics helped her to secure an internship at a small hedge fund on New York City’s famed Wall Street at 16 and 17. In addition to all of her great academic and professional feats, Exline has won several pageant titles and is an accomplished dancer. Volunteerism has also remained a passion for the now-motivational speaker who during her college years worked with Community School Student Partnerships in Philadelphia to train and mentor 30 tutors.

3. Dr. Ronald Mallet: Physics? Mallet grew up poor and was the oldest of four children, and at 10 years old, he hadn’t even heard of physics until he read the H.G. Wells‘ classic “The Time Machine,” after his father died at age 33. The young Roaring Spring, Penn., native thought that if he built a device, such as the one in the Wells’ book, he could see his father again. This longing to reunite with his dad and travel back in time inspired him to become one of America’s first African-American Ph.D.s in theoretical physics. Ironically, the young Mallett was not terribly enthusiastic about school, but his singular passion to uncover the mysteries of space and time spurred him on to receive his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in physics from Pennsylvania State University. In 1975, Mallet joined the physics faculty at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where he has been a professor of theoretical physics ever since.

Dr. Mallet has published numerous papers on black holes and cosmology in professional journals. His breakthrough research on time travel has been featured extensively in the media around the world, including NPR’s “This American Life” and the History Channel, Science Channel, and Learning Channel.
Dr. Ronald Mallett is the personification of brilliance and greatness tempered by a true persevering spirit. He is a man of his own making who has — for the last 50 years — stayed his course, even though he began as a broken-hearted 10-year-old boy whose father was taken away from him much too soon.
 

 4. Ornette Coleman: Saxophonist extraordinaire Charlie Parker was Coleman’s greatest influence when he picked up the alto sax at age 14 and tenor two years later. The highly respected revolutionary is credited as being among the creators of free jazz. The innovative musician/composer has been hailed a musical genius and visionary while his “haters” have been unable to comprehend his radical, abstract, and highly cerebral work. Coleman began working in R&B bands in Texas, including those of Red Connors and Pee Wee Crayton, but his attempts to play in an original style were consistently met with hostility both by audiences and fellow musicians. Coleman moved to Los Angeles in the early ’50s, where he worked as an elevator operator while studying music books.
 

Finally in 1958, after many failed attempts to sit in with top L.A. musicians, Coleman found a clique of musicians who could do justice to his unique sound. In 1959, Coleman’s radical jazz sound found a home at the Five Spot in New York City, and each night his music filled the house with curious onlookers who would either label him a “genius” or a “fraud.”

Coleman created music that would greatly influence such noted great improvisers of the 1960s, including John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. In 1962, Coleman decided to take a break to teach himself the trumpet and violin, and three years later, he recorded a few mind-boggling sets on all his instruments with a trio featuring bassist David Izenzon and drummer Charles Moffett.
 

Coleman, a jazz giant, would later go on to form more quartets and perform on recordings, and to this day, he has remained true to his still-controversial sound.

5. Tiya Miles: A scholar and increasingly authoritative voice in reframing and reinterpreting the history of our diverse nation, Miles is a public historian and the country’s foremost expert on the complex interrelationships between African and Cherokee people living and working in colonial America. In her first book “Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom,” Miles explores Cherokee history with attention to the interrelated nature of slavery, race, kin, citizenship, and community. Miles continues her exploration in to early Afro-Indian relations with a public history project and book centered on the Diamond Hill plantation in Georgia, one of the largest Native-owned plantations in colonial history.
 

In “The House on Diamond Hill: A Cherokee Plantation Story,” she documents Chief James Vann‘s control of his plantation and abuse of his Cherokee wives and African slaves.

Miles, who received an B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. from Emory University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, is currently at the University of Michigan, where she serves as a professor in the Department of History and professor and chair of the Department of Afro-American and African Studies. She holds additional appointments in the Program in American Culture, the Native American Studies Program, and the Department of Women’s Studies.
Miles’ work collecting and analyzing information from the U.S. Census, oral histories, and newspapers has been recognized by the MacArthur Foundation, which awarded her with a MacArthur Genius grant last year. Regarding Miles’ life work, she says, “I think that history matters so much to who we are as individuals, as communities, as a nation, as a global community. I feel that it’s just so important to bring the meaningful stories of the past into the present, into today, and to allow people to engage with them and to connect them back to their own lives.”

6. Elise Tan: At age 2, Tan who had an IQ of 156, was a card-carrying member of Mensa, the international organization for people with very high scores in IQ tests. Tan was only 5 months old when she looked her dad, Edward (pictured), in the face and called him “Dada.” She was walking by 8 months, running at 10 months, and a year old when she could recognize her written name. At 16 months old, she could count to 10, and by age 2, she knew the capitals of the world and could speak Spanish. Before she began to verbally communicate, her parents noticed that she would stare at people and things as if she were taking everything in and then sorting things out. At a play group, her mom, Louise (pictured), once gave Tan a “rhinoceros” and the little tot corrected her mom by informing her that the toy was actually a triceratops. When Tan was evaluated by a specialist education psychologist, he concluded that the child was indeed “gifted.” Tan’s parents, Edward, a motor consultant and car buyer, and mom Louise, a homemaker, admit that neither side has geniuses in their lineage. The London couple just want their 5-year-old little girl to be happy for now, and as far as what the future holds, perhaps a revision to Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity?

http://newsone.com/2064927/black-geniuses/

The stock market is freaking out like Bill Paxton's panicky marine in "Aliens," yelling "Game over, man! Game over!" All because it's afraid of losing Ben Bernanke.

Late in the trading day on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 200 points, on track for its worst one-day loss since June. What had it in such a tizzy? There were lots of good reasons -- third-quarter corporate earnings have been kind of awful, and Europe's endless debt crisis continues.

But the main catalyst, according to Wall Street's best and brightest, are a couple of New York Times stories today, one by the well-sourced Andrew Ross Sorkin, suggesting that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke probably won't sign up for another term when his second term as Fed Chairman ends in January 2014. Binyamin Appelbaum runs through a handful of the possible replacements in a Mitt Romney administration, and at least one of them -- Stanford's John Taylor -- is known to be opposed to Bernanke's easy-money policies.

Of course the idea that Bernanke might be leaving should shock nobody, really. After eight years of riding herd on the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, all the while being accused of treason and threatened with old-fashioned Texas lynchings, did anybody really expect that Ben would want another four years of this?

Apparently so. The market indeed seems shocked and horrified by the idea that it will no longer be able to depend on what's come to be known as the "Bernanke Put" -- the implied promise that Bernanke won't let the stock market fall too far before riding to the rescue with another helicopter-load of money.

"If the market loses the confidence in the Fed's ability to keep asset prices higher, then there's not much fundamentally in the market to hold it up," Brian Kelly, founder of hedge-fund manager Shelter Harbor Capital, warned on CNBC.

This post-Bernanke panic sounds more like an excuse for an overdue selloff than an actual reason. Earnings really are bad so far, Europe really is in trouble, and the stock market doesn't seem to have yet fully embraced this negative information. A 240-point drop seems reasonable under those circumstances.

But if the market is indeed just suffering a bout of Bernanke Separation Anxiety, it should calm down. For one thing, Bernanke is not leaving his post until January 2014. Even after that, he will remain on the Fed board, affecting policy, until 2020.

As for the Fed's future policy direction, and the fear that it might stop the flow of sweet, sweet stimulus, the market hardly need worry. Most of the potential future Fed chairmen available to Romney or to a second-term President Obama will likely stick to Bernanke's policies at least for a while, to avoid further freaking out the market. Though Rick Perry and Ron Paul disagree with Bernanke, the steps he has taken so far are pretty much economic orthodoxy. It seems unlikely that anybody but the relatively stingy John Taylor would veer too far away from it. And Taylor seems unlikely to be picked as Fed chairman; President Bush already passed him over in favor of Bernanke.

The fact is that today's "Bernanke Put" follows the similar "Greenspan Put" of the previous decade. Fed Chairmen of either political stripe probably aren't going to sit back and watch the stock market go down in flames. What Wall Street should really hope for is an economic recovery strong enough that nobody has to worry any more about whether the Fed will come to its rescue again. And again. And again.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/stock-market-ben-bernanke_n_2005770.html

Stories of Detroit's emerging comeback often highlight the city's attraction to young hipsters. According to plentiful media reports, well-educated 20-somethings are streaming into the Motor City to test out new ideas, explore art and music projects or launch D-I-Y revitalization initiatives.

You can spot a number of once-dormant corners of the city now pulsing with activity thanks to young entrepreneurs. Corktown now sports pubs and restaurants that would fit in Brooklyn or Portland. Midtown shows all the makings of a creative class hub, complete with hipsters hanging out at the Good Girls Go to Paris creperie, the Avalon International Breads bakery and the N'Nmadi Center gallery, devoted to the rich tradition of African-American abstract art. Recent college grads can be seen all over town from the bountiful Eastern Market to bustling Campus Martius square to festive Mexicantown to the scenic Riverwalk to the yummy Good People Popcorn shop downtown, featuring flavors like cinnamon and chocolate drizzle.

This burst of youthful energy -- even in the face of the city's continuing economic and social woes -- debunks widespread opinion that nothing can be done to jumpstart the Motor City. While a new, more positive narrative about Detroit is welcome, there are problems in focusing entirely on idealistic young adventurers swooping in to save the city -- it reinforces the stereotype of native Detroiters as hapless, helpless and hopeless.

The truth is, locals have been working hard for years to uplift the common good in Detroit, which is now drawing the interest of outsiders. And newcomers aren't the only ones stirring up excitement around town. Good People Popcorn, for instance, was started by two sisters and a cousin, all of whom grew up here. Sarida Scott Montgomery, one of the founders who is also a lawyer and Executive Director of the Community Development Advocates of Detroit, says people are often surprised she grew up in the city. "Not in the suburbs," she says, "but in Detroit itself."

Regina Ann Campbell, Director of the Milwaukee Junction Business Center incubator in Detroit's North End, grew up on the Northwest side before earning a Masters in urban planning degree at the University of Michigan. "I welcome all the new people," she says. "But it's important for them to understand they are building on some things that have been going on for years. I want to help them appreciate the city though the eyes of the people who have lived here."

Scott Montgomery and Campbell are both part of a new initiative that matches the talents of bright, young professionals with local organizations working at the frontlines of reviving Detroit. The Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program (DRFP) selected 29 Fellows with backgrounds in urban planning, economic development, finance, real estate and related fields.

A lot of the buzz around the program highlights ambitious folks relocating from New York, Seattle, the Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Montreal, Chicago and Los Angeles to further their careers in Detroit, but in reality 10 of the fellows were already living in Detroit and nine others had grown up in the metro area or previously lived in the city.

For many of them it was a long-awaited homecoming, which shows that continuing loyalty from the Detroit Diaspora is a hidden asset in the city's favor. Jela Ellefson, who was working at a Los Angeles urban planning firm before moving with her husband, an architect, and two children back to Detroit, says, "We always followed what was happening in Detroit, and noticed that the urban planning world was paying a lot of attention." She now works to expand programs at the city's Eastern Market.

DRFP -- a Wayne State project financially supported by the Kresge Foundation, Ford Foundation, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Skillman Foundation and the university -- placed fellows at organizations identified as being "actively engaged in building the Detroit of tomorrow." The breadth and impact of these non-profit groups -- everything from the Data Driven Detroit research firm to the Community Investment Support Fund, which directs investment capital to low-income neighborhoods -- speaks to a strong sense of the commons that survives in Detroit even amid the economic setbacks.

Fellow Matteo Passalacqua works at the Vanguard community development corporation to rehab historic structures as affordable housing in the city's struggling North End, for instance, and Marcus Clarke at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and David Barna at Midtown Detroit Inc. are collaborating to help city firms acquire a larger share of procurement contracts from large local institutions.

Dan Varner, CEO of Excellent Schools Detroit who hired Fellow Eric Anderson as the organization's Director of Digital Media and Engagement, sees the DRFP as important in reversing Detroit's brain drain. "We've been losing talented folks for a long time. Part of what we have to do to recover our potential is stop that drain. The Fellows program represents that potential."

Allyson McLean, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs and has worked on brownfield redevelopment in Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority and on strategic planning for the Department of Homeland Security in D.C. is back in town aiding real estate development in low-income communities with the Community Investment Support Fund.

"Now that I am back," she says, "it's frustrating to hear from friends I grew up with who have no plans to ever return. In many cases they aren't necessarily staying in places like Chicago because they've landed great jobs, they simply think it's a cooler place to be. They have no idea what they're missing in their hometown."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-walljasper/detroit-revitalization-fellows-program_b_1997636.html

DETROIT, MI - Scott Moloney nearly moved into the wrong building, jammed his ice cream machine the first time he used it, and spent a summer weekend buying dry ice to keep his tasty creations from melting.
But the owner of Treat Dreams in Ferndale survived those twists - and many more - to create a thriving business over the past two years that's now looking to expand.

"You'll never have a week that goes according to plan," Moloney told Open City Detroit on Monday night. "You can't get too high when you have your best sales day ever. You can't get too low when you have your worst sales day ever."

Moloney and four other successful Detroit small business owners shared their experiences as part of the kickoff to Open City Detroit's 2012-13 season.

Dave Mancini, of Supino Pizzeria, Emily Linn of City Bird and Nest, Grant Lancaster of City Wings, and Moloney addressed the crowd at Cliff Bell's. Liz Blondy, owner of Canine to Five, moderated the panel.

Their collective message to would-be entreprenuers in Detroit is to find the right place, be prepared to do a lot by yourself, and be ready to work hard.

"It's a lot of work. It's a lot of late nights. ... It's also a lot of fun," said Linn, who owns the home goods and local art stores in Midtown with her brother Andy Linn. "I feel like I'm always learning things, not necessarily things I want to learn about."

"You'll never have a week that goes according to plan."
Mancini said the early stages of starting his popular, and nationally recognized, pizzeria in Eastern Market required patience. He spent years looking for the right location to open his restaurant. Once he did open he had to find people just as committed and he was to making it a success.

"One of the hard things about starting a business in the early stages is the weeding out process on who's giong to work with you, and who's not," he said. "You're going to kiss some frogs. You're going to hire people who aren't going to work out."

Lancaster started City Wings at 2896 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit without money to actually start his business. He signed a lease on the building and then took a couple of months visiting friens and family around the country to help him pay for the build out.

"I told people I've got a dollar and a dream and we're gonna make it," Lancaster said. "This 99 cents isn't gonna make it. I need your penny to come along."
Starting a business isn't a straight line, the owners said.

Moloney jumped into the ice cream business from an 18-year career in banking. He quit his job and decided to open the "Custard Shack" in downtown Royal Oak as a seasonal business. When the Royal Oak site fell through he almost opened in Warren before settling in Ferndale. The first batch of ice cream - coffee toffee - he made jammed his new machine in front of his inlaws a few days before the business was scheduled to open.

"I started making ice cream the first day we were open," Moloney said.
Lancaster hired a builder for his restaurant, but didn't have enough money for an assistant so he became the assistant.

"I told him, 'Whatever you need you'd better teach me how to do it,'" he said.
Monday's panel, hosted by Open City and co-sponsored by D:hive, was titled "Do It In Detroit."

D:hive, a hub for resources to live, work, engage or start a business in Detroit, joined the Detroit Creative Corridor Center and Model D Media to present this season of Open City.

http://www.mlive.com/business/detroit/index.ssf/2012/10/open_city_detroit_biz_owners_s.html#incart_river_default

A Chevrolet Volt on a GM assembly line in Detroit

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Would the U.S. auto industry be doing as well as it is today if it was Mitt Romney completing his first term as president?
Romney argues that his plan for the industry in his now-famous November 2008 New York Times op-ed piece, "Let Detroit go bankrupt," was what the Obama administration eventually did: a managed bankruptcy at both companies. He insists that he was not in favor of the companies going out of business.

But in the 2008 piece, Romney said the money needed to keep General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler Group alive during bankruptcy should have come from the private sector, with the government providing only "guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing." Those guarantees would have made lenders whole if the automakers subsequently defaulted.

The problem was that there was no one available to write checks for the automakers other than the government in late 2008 and early 2009.
The financial markets had melted down in the wake of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Treasury was pumping billions into the nation's banks, who were not willing to then lend money to a struggling auto industry -- or anyone else.

Photo Credit: ABC News

(CNN) -- Murder-suicides, by their very nature, leave a mountain of unanswered questions. When the killer pulls the trigger first on his victim and then himself, he takes with him to the grave the reasons that compelled the angry, desperate act.
Not so in the case of Radcliffe Haughton.

What prompted the 45-year-old former Marine to open fire at a suburban Milwaukee salon Sunday -- killing his wife and two other women, and wounding four others -- was foreshadowed in no uncertain terms by his estranged wife just three days earlier.

At a restraining order hearing Thursday, the wife, Zina, begged the court for protection, saying her husband would surely kill her.
With her voice shaking, she outlined how he'd threatened to throw acid in her face. How he accused her of cheating on him. How his red hot jealousy terrorized her "every waking moment."

 Witness: Woman ran out of spa screaming Suspected Wisconsin shooter dead Suspected Wisconsin spa shooter revealed

"Things have gotten so bad. We need to separate," she said at the hearing, according to a recording obtained by CNN affiliate WISN. "We need a divorce before you hurt me. I don't want to die."

The judge sided with her. Haughton was ordered to stay away from his wife for the next four years. He was forbidden from possessing a gun.
But on Saturday, he bought a .40-caliber handgun from a private seller. Wisconsin law only requires background checks for purchases from a dealer.

And he waited.

The next day he took her life.

'I don't want to die'

At the bizarre Thursday hearing, Haughton acted as his own attorney -- cross-examining his wife, asking questions that the judge refused to allow.
Haughton said his wife's infidelity was to blame for their failing marriage.

"I have been involved with Zina Haughton for most of my adult life. This is the woman that I love," he said.

"Things have not always been the best that they could have been but I can stand before the court, stand before God and say that I love her. I love her unconditionally. This situation was brought about by infidelity."

The wife said the abuse began long before the infidelity accusations.
She detailed a night when she said Haughton pulled a gun on her. It accidentally discharged. The bullet narrowly missed her and her daughter.

"For 20 years, we've fought. He's hit me. We've fought. But since May 29, the evening that he thinks I cheated on him, just the threats have gotten so bad, and like I said, I don't want to die," she said.

A long history with police

Police in the area say they had a long history of run-ins with Haughton, a general manager of a local Land Rover dealership.

"Since 2001, the Brown Deer Police Department has responded to calls for service regarding the Haughtons, ranging from animal complaints to domestic violence related cases," the Brown Deer Police said in a statement.

The police reports seemed to speak of a man who was destined to harm his wife.
In January 2011, Haughton was accused of throwing his wife's clothes out of their home during an argument and then pouring tomato juice on her car.
When police arrived, Haughton locked himself in the home and officers thought they saw Haughton holding a "long barreled" gun in the direction of his wife, according to a police report. Charges were eventually dropped in that case.

On October 4 this year, police say, Haughton slashed his wife's tires outside the salon.

After that incident, the wife applied for the restraining order.

"He threatened to throw acid in my face, burn me and my family with gas. His threats terrorize my every waking moment," she said in the request obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Calm in the face of death

On Saturday, Haughton walked into the two-story Azana Spa in Brookfield, outside Milwaukee, where his wife was a stylist. He was screaming.

"He yelled 'Everybody!' Get down. Get down,'" Betty Brunner, a customer in the salon, told WISN.

"And as I went to get down, Zina walked to the reception desk, and said, 'Calm down, sir. There are good people here."

Haughton grabbed his wife and pushed her behind a wall, Brunner said.

Then the bullets flew.

Brunner considers Haughton's wife a hero for confronting her husband and making sure to move him away from most of the customers.

She says she wonders how Zina Haughton stayed so calm in the face of death.

If the court hearing is any indication, perhaps she knew it was just a matter of time.

The third and final Presidential debate, which focused on foreign policy, accentuated the differences between the way President Obama and his challenger, Mitt Romney, see the role of government.  

Governor Romney advocates a policy of peace through strength and being aware of the serious threat of radical Islam to world peace.  He expressed that “peace through strength “must be achieved through maintaining a strong military.”

President Obama when pressed about the failure of Arab Spring, the dangers of radical Islam, and his peculiar approach of downsizing the U.S. military in the face of growing world terrorism, did what he has often done when confronted with the aforementioned issues. He avoided giving direct answers to the questions. 

The President justified the shrinking of the U.S. military, in spite of the growing thread of jihad, by saying the military now has “fewer ships and no longer relies upon horses, and bayonets”. 

The President was being sarcastic, responding to the fact that he has, as Governor Romney pointed out, reduced the navy to its weakest point since 1917. 

The reality is that the President has, in fact, not only weakened our military at a time when radical Islam continues to wage jihad against the free world, but has forged an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the leading threat to world peace and stability. 

Governor Romney emphasized that among the ways we promote national security is through economic strength. He emphasized the need to:

• Promote energy independence
• Increase trade, taking more advantage of opportunities in Latin America
• Make a real commitment to balancing our budget
• Develop and cultivate more successful training programs that put kids first
• Champion small businesses. 

“Mitt Romney clearly demonstrated his knowledge and ability to handle the foreign affairs of the United States. He was the only candidate to discuss how our struggling economy and staggering national debt puts our country at risk.”- Ronna Romney McDaniel

Regarding the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Governor Romney maintained that he believes that there must be a transition from dependence on the U.S. military to transitioning to the Afghan military taking full responsibility for the security of the region. 

As President, he said that he would determine withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, based on conditions on the ground as assessed by our military commanders.  He agreed that there should be a goal of completing the transition of combat operations to the Afghan Army by the end of 2014.

The difference is that President Obama has all but telegraphed to the enemies of peace in Afghanistan when there would be a withdrawal, making what appears to be political points rather than entrusting our military leaders to determine the best plan of action. 

Regarding Iran, the President refused to acknowledge that he has reduced our nuclear arsenal to the point of decimation while Iran will soon have access to a nuclear warhead.

Instead he boasted of sanctions against Iran that have in no way slowed or frustrated their commitment to accelerating their development of uranium enrichment, for the specific intent of attacking a trusted ally of the United States, Israel. 

President Obama claimed that the sanctions he boasted of were the product of bi-partisanship in the U.S. Congress, while attempting to sidestep Governor Romney’s strong indictment of the President’s refusal to commit to the very real possibility of having to use military force to prevent Iran from essentially starting WWIII.  

The President claims allegiance to Israel, stating: “If Israel is attacked, we will stand with Israel.” However, his policies invite attack against Israel. 

In May of 2011, President Obama stated: “"The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves and reach their potential in a sovereign and contiguous state."

This proposal would leave Israel in a position where it could not possibly defend itself against attacks from either the Palestinians or the Iranians. Only after an outcry from the American people, who are overwhelmingly in support of standing with Israel, did the President repent of his recommendation.

However, he now claims to “stand with Israel”. This, while he also refuses to support greater U.S.–Israeli cooperation on missile defenses that would serve to help defend Israel against Iran. 

Governor Romney, when discussing the “rise of China”, expressed what he has maintained throughout his campaign. He pointed out that China is a “currency manipulator”. 

The President called China a “partner” in one breath and then flip flopped by saying that China is an “adversary”, claiming that his administration has “brought more complaints against China for trade violations than George W. Bush did in two terms.”

What the President failed to tell the American people is that his failed economic policies are largely responsible for the so called rise of China. 

The U.S. debt is more than $16 trillion.  China is the largest foreign owner of U.S. debt. In effect, despite the President’s claim of issuing complaints against China, his administration is responsible for China increasing its holdings in the U.S. 

China's exports to the U.S are flourishing under the Obama administrations, helping its economy grow, while the President’s domestic policies have forced the U.S. economy into a recession. 

After four years of an Obama administration, the American people are less safe, more unemployed, and the U.S. economy is sinking at record pace.

Additionally, the President refuses to take responsibility for the fact that the economic recession produced by his failed domestic policies poses a major threat to our national security. 

The differences between the way Governor Romney and President Obama see the role of the U.S. in the world is clear and undeniable. Governor Romney sees America as the “hope of the world”. President Obama sees America as a thorn in the side of the world.  

The American people will have to decide whose views and values they trust most to rebuild our economy and to keep us safe. 

Editor’s Note: Stacy Swimp is president of the Frederick Douglass Society, a public policy organization that promotes free market economic solutions. He is also a spokesperson for Project 21, the nation's largest network of Black conservatives.  He can reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

(CNN) -- Although it has been over for nearly a year now, the war in Iraq continued to be a flash point in Monday night's debate between President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"You say that you're not interested in duplicating what happened in Iraq," said Obama, a Democrat who opposed the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. "But just a few weeks ago, you said you think we should have more troops in Iraq right now. ... You said that we should still have troops in Iraq to this day."

But Romney, who supported the invasion, said Obama wanted to keep U.S. troops there longer -- he just couldn't get the Iraqis to go along.

Fact Check: Comparing costs of Iraq, Libya missions
"There was an effort on the part of the president to have a Status of Forces Agreement, and I concurred in that, and said that we should have some number of troops that stayed on," Romney said.
 
 Obama, Romney spar over troops in Iraq Reality Check: Is Russia our biggest foe? Obama, Romney battle over foreign policy

"You thought it should have been 5,000 troops," he told Obama. "I thought there should have been more troops, but you know what? The answer was we got no troops through whatsoever."

Since the nearly nine-year war remains controversial back home, CNN is taking a closer look at both candidates' claims.

The facts:
The Status of Forces Agreement signed between the United States and Iraq in 2008 called for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by 2009 and be out of the country entirely by the end of 2011.

Obama opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq while still a state legislator in Illinois and ran for president on a platform of ending that war. But with the 2011 deadline nearing, his administration -- which took office after the agreement was signed -- tried to make arrangements with Iraq to keep between 3,000 and 5,000 Americans in the country to help train Iraqi security forces.

Fact Check: Obama's apology tour?
"If they want the benefits of what we can provide, if they want the assistance, if they want the training, if they want the operational skills that we can provide, then I think they have to understand that they've got to give us some protections in that process," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in October 2011.

Those talks failed when the Iraqis refused to grant legal immunity for U.S. troops, and the last U.S. convoy left Iraq in December 2011. Obama touted that as a promise kept, saying Americans would be leaving "with their heads held high."
The president also has touted that as a promise kept during his re-election campaign. But Romney has consistently criticized the Obama administration for its failure to reach a deal with the Iraqi government on keeping those troops there.

In December 2011, with the final pullout looming, Romney told Fox News Sunday that the Obama administration was ending the American presence "in a precipitous way, and we should have left 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 personnel there to help transition to the Iraqis' own military capabilities."
T

wo weeks before Monday night's debate, in a speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney said the "costly gains" made in Iraq were slipping away.

Fact Check: Is al Qaeda's core decimated or growing?
"And yet, America's ability to influence events for the better in Iraq has been undermined by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence," he said. "The president tried -- and failed -- to secure a responsible and gradual drawdown that would have better secured our gains."

Conclusion:
Each man's attacks are rooted in fact. The Obama administration did attempt, unsuccessfully, to extend the presence of a scaled-back U.S. training mission in Iraq, while Romney has said Washington should have kept a considerably larger force in Baghdad.