Smoking among Afrikans in America

Smoking rates among African American adults historically have been higher than among the general U.S. population; however, in recent years smoking rates have been similar. Smoking among African American teens has declined dramatically since 1976; however, recent increases in teen smoking among African Americans document the need for continued prevention efforts. African Americans continue to suffer disproportionately from chronic and preventable disease compared to white Americans. Of the three leading causes of death in African Americans -- heart disease, cancer, and stroke -- smoking and other tobacco use are major contributors to these illnesses.¹

• Each year, approximately 45,000 African Americans die from a smoking-related disease that could have been prevented. ²

• If current patterns continue, an estimated 1.6 million African Americans who are now under the age of 18 will become regular smokers. About 500,000 of those smokers will die of a smoking-related disease.²

• Aggregated data from 1994 and 1995 show that current smoking prevalence rates were similar among African American adults (26.5%) and white adults (25.9%) in the United States. ³

• In 1995, about 5.7 million African American adults smoked cigarettes, accounting for approximately 12% of the 47 million adult smokers in the United States.³

• In 1994 and 1995, African American men (31.4%) smoked at a higher rate than white men (27.6%), while African American women (22.7%) and white women (24.4%) smoked at a similar rate.³

• Among African Americans, as seen in other U.S. populations, the prevalence of smoking declines as education increases. Smoking rates were higher among African Americans who had less than a high school education (34.8%) compared to those with a college education (16.7%).³

• Among African American high school seniors, cigarette smoking declined from 1977 (36.7%) to 1992 (8.7%). However, smoking prevalence rates increased from 1992 to 1997 (14.3%).⁴

• Among African American 10th-grade students, smoking prevalence increased by 94% from 1992 (6.6%) to 1997 (12.8%). For African American eighth grade students, smoking prevalence increased by 106% from 1992 (5.3%) to 1997 (10.9%). Although smoking prevalence among African American students continues to be lower than for white and Hispanic students, the rate of increase was substantially higher among African African students than for white and Hispanic students.⁴

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data also show that the rate of past month cigarette smoking among high school students in grades nine through 12 are on the rise -- increasing by nearly a third from 27.5% in 1991 to 36.4% in 1997. The rate of cigarette smoking increased by 80% among African American students, climbing from 12.6% to 22.7% between 1991 and 1997. The most dramatic increase was observed among African American males, whose cigarette smoking prevalence doubled from 14.1% in 1991 to 28.2% in 1997.⁵

• In 1997, there was no significant difference in current cigar use among racial/ethnic groups of high school students -- 22.5% of whites, 19.4% of African Americans, and 20.3% of Hispanics reported smoking cigars in the past month. Cigar prevalence was higher among males than females in all three racial/ethnic groups.⁵

• In 1997, African American male high school students (3.2%) were less likely to use smokeless tobacco products than white male (20.6%) and Hispanic male (5.1%) high school students.⁵

• Of current African American adult smokers, more than 70% indicated that they want to quit smoking completely.⁶ African American smokers are more likely than white smokers to have quit for at least one day during the previous year (48.7% vs 40.3%). African Americans (7.9%), however, are much less likely than whites (14.0%) to remain abstinent for one month or more.⁷

• Prevalence of cessation (the percentage of persons who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes and quit) is higher among whites (50.7%) than African Americans (35.4%).³

• A one-year study found that three major African American publications -- Ebony, Jet, and Essence -- had 12% more cigarette advertisements than widespread publications -- Newsweek, Time, People, and Mademoiselle.⁸

• Studies have found a higher density of tobacco billboards in racial/ethnic communities. For example, a study conducted in Los Angeles, California found the highest density of tobacco billboards (the number of billboards per mile) in African American communities and the lowest billboard placement in white communities.⁹

• Approximately 90% of the billboards in African American communities featured an African American as the central character, while in other ethnic communities whites were portrayed as the central characters.⁹

• The tobacco industry attempts to maintain a positive image and public support among African Americans by supporting cultural events and by funding minority higher education institutions, elected officials, civic and community organizations, and scholarship programs.¹⁰

REFERENCES
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chronic Disease in Minority Populations (1994):. 2-16.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health, Unpublished data, 1995.
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Groups -- African Americans, American Indian and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998.
4. The University of Michigan. Cigarette Smoking Rates May Have Peaked Among Younger Teens 1997 (press release), December 18, 1997.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Tobacco Use Among High School Students--United States, 1997. " Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1998 (46): 433-440.
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Cigarette Smoking Among Adults - United States, 1993." MMWR 1994 (43): 925-929.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Smoking Cessation During Previous Year Among Adults - United States, 1990 and 1991." MMWR 1993, (42): 504-507.
8. Cummings KM, Giovino G. Mendicino AJ. "Cigarette Advertising and Black-White Differences in Brand Preference." Public Health Reports, 1987 (102):698-701.
9. Stoddard JL, Johnson CA, Boley-Cruz T, Sussman S. "Target Tobacco Markets: Outdoor Advertising in Los Angeles Minority Neighbors" [Letter]. American Journal of Public Health, 1997 (87):1232-1233.
10. Freeman H, Delgado JL, Douglas CE. Minority Issues. Tobacco Use: An American Crisis. Final Report of the Conference (January 1993): 43-47.

Theory of multiple intelligences (Professor Howard Earl Gardner)

Gardner's categories of multiple intelligences is a theoretical axiom whose structure is a derivative of Kant's metaphysical theory of personality. Gardner's perspective of human intelligence attempts to deconstruct Kant's a priori categorical structure. Whereas Kant describes human personality as a homeostatic dialog-ism that extends Aristotelian "idea", Gardner suggests that personality is not static at all; rather it is in a constant state of flux. While personality cannot be pinned down and truly defined, he argues that it circumnavigates around a central impossibility. Therefore, positive human traits often embody the characteristics of their opposites. Human intelligence is both a reflection of and a collapse of its own categories. This being the case, Gardner tries to reconstruct the disintegration of Kant's faulty construction. Gardner's heteroglossia entails 7 distinct non-Kantian groups. The categories of intelligence proposed by Gardner (1983) are the following: 


Bodily-kinesthetic

This area has to do with bodily movement and physiology. In theory, people who have bodily-kinesthetic intelligence should learn better by involving muscular movement (eg. getting up and moving around into the learning experience), and are generally good at physical activities such as sports or dance. They may enjoy acting or performing, and in general they are good at building and making things. They often learn best by doing something physically, rather than reading or hearing about it. Those with strong bodily-kinesthetic intelligence seem to use what might be termed muscle memory - they remember things through their body such as verbal memory or images.

Careers that suit those with this intelligence include: athletes, dancers, musicians, actors, surgeons, doctors, builders, police officers, and soldiers. Although these careers can be duplicated through virtual simulation, they will not produce the actual physical learning that is needed in this intelligence.


Interpersonal

This area has to do with interaction with others. In theory, people who have a high interpersonal intelligence tend to be extroverts, characterized by their sensitivity to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations, and their ability to cooperate in order to work as part of a group. They communicate effectively and empathize easily with others, and may be either leaders or followers. They typically learn best by working with others and often enjoy discussion and debate.

Careers that suit those with this intelligence include sales, politicians, managers, teachers, and social workers.

Verbal Linguistic

This area has to do with words, spoken or written. People with high verbal-linguistic intelligence display a facility with words and languages. They are typically good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words along with dates. They tend to learn best by reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, and discussion and debate. They are also frequently skilled at explaining, teaching and oration or persuasive speaking. Those with verbal-linguistic intelligence learn foreign languages very easily as they have high verbal memory and recall, and an ability to understand and manipulate syntax and structure.

Careers that suit those with this intelligence include writers, lawyers, philosophers, journalists, politicians, poets, and teachers


Logical-mathematical

This area has to do with logic, abstractions, reasoning, and numbers. While it is often assumed that those with this intelligence naturally excel in mathematics, chess, computer programming and other logical or numerical activities, a more accurate definition places emphasis on traditional mathematical ability and more reasoning capabilities, abstract patterns of recognition, scientific thinking and investigation, and the ability to perform complex calculations. It correlates strongly with traditional concepts of "intelligence" or IQ.

Careers which suit those with this intelligence include scientists, mathematicians, engineers, doctors and economists.


Intrapersonal

This area has to do with introspective and self-reflective capacities. People with intrapersonal intelligence are intuitive and typically introverted. They are skillful at deciphering their own feelings and motivations. This refers to having a deep understanding of the self; what are your strengths/ weaknesses, what makes you unique, can you predict your own reactions/ emotions.

Careers which suit those with this intelligence include philosophers, psychologists, theologians and writers.

Visual-Spatial


Main article: Spatial reasoning

This area has to do with vision and spatial judgment. People with strong visual-spatial intelligence are typically very good at visualizing and mentally manipulating objects. Those with strong spatial intelligence are often proficient at solving puzzles. They have a strong visual memory and are often artistically inclined. Those with visual-spatial intelligence also generally have a very good sense of direction and may also have very good hand-eye coordination, although this is normally seen as a characteristic of the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.

There appears to be a high correlation between spatial and mathematical abilities, which seems to indicate that these two intelligences are not independent.Since solving a mathematical problem involves manipulating symbols and numbers, spatial intelligence is involved.

Careers that suit those with this intelligence include artists, engineers, and architects. 


Musical

This area has to do with rhythm, music, and hearing. Those who have a high level of musical-rhythmic intelligence display greater sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones, and music. They normally have good pitch and may even have absolute pitch, and are able to sing, play musical instruments, and compose music. Since there is a strong auditory component to this intelligence, those who are strongest in it may learn best via lecture. In addition, they will often use songs or rhythms to learn and memorize information, and may work best with music playing in the background.

Careers that suit those with this intelligence include instrumentalists, singers, conductors, disc-jockeys, orators, writers (to a certain extent) and composers.


Naturalistic

This area has to do with nature, nurturing and relating information to one's natural surroundings. This type of intelligence was not part of Gardner's original theory of Multiple Intelligences, but was added to the theory in 1997. Those with it are said to have greater sensitivity to nature and their place within it, the ability to nurture and grow things, and greater ease in caring for, taming and interacting with animals. They may also be able to discern changes in weather or similar fluctuations in their natural surroundings. They are also good at recognizing and classifying different species. They must connect a new experience with prior knowledge to truly learn something new.

"Naturalists" learn best when the subject involves collecting and analyzing, or is closely related to something prominent in nature; they also don't enjoy learning unfamiliar or seemingly useless subjects with little or no connections to nature. It is advised that naturalistic learners would learn more through being outside or in a kinesthetic way.

The theory behind this intelligence is often criticized, much like the spiritual or existential intelligence (see below), as it is seen by many as not indicative of an intelligence but rather an interest. However, it remains an indispensable intelligence for humans who live almost entirely from nature such as some native populations.

Careers which suit those with this intelligence include scientists, naturalists, conservationists, gardeners, and farmers.

State agency rejects wrongful conviction compensation request (Change you can believe in?)

The state Claims Board has rejected a request for compensation from a man who said he was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault along with two other men in 2000.
Jarrett Adams spent seven years in prison until a federal appeals court overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial in Jefferson County. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Adams' attorney had been ineffective because he failed to introduce a defense witness who testified at the trial of one of his co-defendants that the alleged victim was seen chatting amiably with the three suspects after the alleged attack occurred. That case resulted in a hung jury.
Jefferson County District Attorney David Wambach declined to prosecute Adams a second time for the assault, which allegedly occurred in 1998 at UW-Whitewater.
Wambach urged the board to reject the request, arguing that the reversal of Adams' conviction doesn't mean he's innocent. In its summary, the claims board said Wambach, who is now an assistant attorney general, didn't pursue a retrial "in deference to the wishes of the victim, who did not want to relive the trauma of the sexual assault."
The board concluded in its decision, released Dec. 17, that "the evidence is not clear and convincing that the claimant was innocent of the crime for which he suffered imprisonment."
Adams, of South Holland, Ill., had been seeking the maximum $25,000 reimbursement for wrongful conviction plus $56,111 in attorneys fees.
Keith Findley of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, which represented Adams in his successful appeal, reacted strongly to the decision.
"This is a very unfortunate turn of events and highlights that Wisconsin's system for compensating the wrongly convicted is woefully inadequate," Findley said. "It was bad enough that the state wrongly convicted Jarrett, deprived him of years of freedom for a crime that important new evidence says he did not commit, but now it adds insult to injury by completely turning its back on him when he seeks assistance to get back on his feet and tries to reclaim some of what the state took from him."

David Walker's Appeal (What they will never teach you in history class)

Excerpts from the Appeal



My dearly beloved Brethren and Fellow Citizens.


Having travelled over a considerable portion of these United States, and having, in the course of my travels, taken the most accurate observations of things as they exist -- the result of my observations has warranted the full and unshaken conviction, that we, (coloured people of these United States,) are the most degraded, wretched, and abject set of beings that ever lived since the world began; and I pray God that none like us ever may live again until time shall be no more. They tell us of the Israelites in Egypt, the Helots in Sparta, and of the Roman Slaves, which last were made up from almost every nation under heaven, whose sufferings under those ancient and heathen nations, were, in comparison with ours, under this enlightened and Christian nation, no more than a cypher -- or, in other words, those heathen nations of antiquity, had but little more among them than the name and form of slavery; while wretchedness and endless miseries were reserved, apparently in a phial, to be poured out upon, our fathers ourselves and our children, by Christian Americans!

...


... I call upon the professing Christians, I call upon the philanthropist, I call upon the very tyrant himself, to show me a page of history, either sacred or profane, on which a verse can be found, which maintains, that the Egyptians heaped the insupportable insult upon the children of Israel, by telling them that they were not of the human family. Can the whites deny this charge? Have they not, after having reduced us to the deplorable condition of slaves under their feet, held us up as descending originally from the tribes of Monkeys or Orang-Outangs? O! my God! I appeal to every man of feeling-is not this insupportable? Is it not heaping the most gross insult upon our miseries, because they have got us under their feet and we cannot help ourselves? Oh! pity us we pray thee, Lord Jesus, Master. -- Has Mr. Jefferson declared to the world, that we are inferior to the whites, both in the endowments of our bodies and our minds? It is indeed surprising, that a man of such great learning, combined with such excellent natural parts, should speak so of a set of men in chains. I do not know what to compare it to, unless, like putting one wild deer in an iron cage, where it will be secured, and hold another by the side of the same, then let it go, and expect the one in the cage to run as fast as the one at liberty. So far, my brethren, were the Egyptians from heaping these insults upon their slaves, that Pharaoh's daughter took Moses, a son of Israel for her own, as will appear by the following.

...


The world knows, that slavery as it existed was, mans, (which was the primary cause of their destruction) was, comparatively speaking, no more than a cypher, when compared with ours under the Americans. Indeed I should not have noticed the Roman slaves, had not the very learned and penetrating Mr. Jefferson said, "when a master was murdered, all his slaves in the same house, or within hearing, were condemned to death." -- Here let me ask Mr. Jefferson, (but he is gone to answer at the bar of God, for the deeds done in his body while living,) I therefore ask the whole American people, had I not rather die, or be put to death, than to be a slave to any tyrant, who takes not only my own, but my wife and children's lives by the inches? Yea, would I meet death with avidity far! far!! in preference to such servile submission to the murderous hands of tyrants. Mr. Jefferson's very severe remarks on us have been so extensively argued upon by men whose attainments in literature, I shall never be able to reach, that I would not have meddled with it, were it not to solicit each of my brethren, who has the spirit of a man, to buy a copy of Mr. Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia," and put it in the hand of his son.

...


But let us review Mr. Jefferson's remarks respecting us some further. Comparing our miserable fathers, with the learned philosophers of Greece, he says: "Yet notwithstanding these and other discouraging circumstances among the Romans, their slaves were often their rarest artists. They excelled too, in science, insomuch as to be usually employed as tutors to their master's children; Epictetus, Terence and Phaedrus, were slaves, -- but they were of the race of whites. It is not their condition then, but nature, which has produced the distinction." See this, my brethren! ! Do you believe that this assertion is swallowed by millions of the whites? Do you know that Mr. Jefferson was one of as great characters as ever lived among the whites? See his writings for the world, and public labours for the United States of America. Do you believe that the assertions of such a man, will pass away into oblivion unobserved by this people and the world? If you do you are much mistaken-See how the American people treat us -- have we souls in our bodies? Are we men who have any spirits at all? I know that there are many swell-bellied fellows among us, whose greatest object is to fill their stomachs. Such I do not mean -- I am after those who know and feel, that we are MEN, as well as other people; to them, I say, that unless we try to refute Mr. Jefferson's arguments respecting us, we will only establish them.

...


...I must observe to my brethren that at the close of the first Revolution in this country, with Great Britain, there were but thirteen States in the Union, now there are twenty-four, most of which are slave-holding States, and the whites are dragging us around in chains and in handcuffs, to their new States and Territories to work their mines and farms, to enrich them and their children-and millions of them believing firmly that we being a little darker than they, were made by our Creator to be an inheritance to them and their children for ever-the same as a parcel of brutes.


Are we MEN! ! -- I ask you, 0 my brethren I are we MEN? Did our Creator make us to be slaves to dust and ashes like ourselves? Are they not dying worms as well as we? Have they not to make their appearance before the tribunal of Heaven, to answer for the deeds done in the body, as well as we? Have we any other Master but Jesus Christ alone? Is he not their Master as well as ours? -- What right then, have we to obey and call any other Master, but Himself? How we could be so submissive to a gang of men, whom we cannot tell whether they are as good as ourselves or not, I never could conceive. However, this is shut up with the Lord, and we cannot precisely tell -- but I declare, we judge men by their works.


The whites have always been an unjust, jealous, unmerciful, avaricious and blood-thirsty set of beings, always seeking after power and authority.

...


...to my no ordinary astonishment, [a] Reverend gentleman got up and told us (coloured people) that slaves must be obedient to their masters -- must do their duty to their masters or be whipped -- the whip was made for the backs of fools, &c. Here I pause for a moment, to give the world time to consider what was my surprise, to hear such preaching from a minister of my Master, whose very gospel is that of peace and not of blood and whips, as this pretended preacher tried to make us believe. What the American preachers can think of us, I aver this day before my God, I have never been able to define. They have newspapers and monthly periodicals, which they receive in continual succession, but on the pages of which, you will scarcely ever find a paragraph respecting slavery, which is ten thousand times more injurious to this country than all the other evils put together; and which will be the final overthrow of its government, unless something is very speedily done; for their cup is nearly full.-Perhaps they will laugh at or make light of this; but I tell you Americans! that unless you speedily alter your course, you and your Country are gone! ! ! ! !

...


If any of us see fit to go away, go to those who have been for many years, and are now our greatest earthly friends and benefactors -- the English. If not so, go to our brethren, the Haytians, who, according to their word, are bound to protect and comfort us. The Americans say, that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for -- for murdering our fathers and mothers ? -- Or do they wish us to return thanks to them for chaining and handcuffing us, branding us, cramming fire down our throats, or for keeping us in slavery, and beating us nearly or quite to death to make us work in ignorance and miseries, to support them and their families. They certainly think that we are a gang of fools. Those among them, who have volunteered their services for our redemption, though we are unable to compensate them for their labours, we nevertheless thank them from the bottom of our hearts, and have our eyes steadfastly fixed upon them, and their labours of love for God and man. -- But do slave-holders think that we thank them for keeping us in miseries, and taking our lives by the inches?

...


Let no man of us budge one step, and let slave-holders come to beat us from our country. America is more our country, than it is the whites-we have enriched it with our blood and tears. The greatest riches in all America have arisen from our blood and tears: -- and will they drive us from our property and homes, which we have earned with our blood? They must look sharp or this very thing will bring swift destruction upon them. The Americans have got so fat on our blood and groans, that they have almost forgotten the God of armies. But let the go on.

...


Do the colonizationists think to send us off without first being reconciled to us? Do they think to bundle us up like brutes and send us off, as they did our brethren of the State of Ohio? Have they not to be reconciled to us, or reconcile us to them, for the cruelties with which they have afflicted our fathers and us? Methinks colonizationists think they have a set of brutes to deal with, sure enough. Do they think to drive us from our country and homes, after having enriched it with our blood and tears, and keep back millions of our dear brethren, sunk in the most barbarous wretchedness, to dig up gold and silver for them and their children? Surely, the Americans must think that we are brutes, as some of them have represented us to be. They think that we do not feel for our brethren, whom they are murdering by the inches, but they are dreadfully deceived.

...


What nation under heaven, will be able to do any thing with us, unless God gives us up into its hand? But Americans. I declare to you, while you keep us and our children in bondage, and treat us like brutes, to make us support you and your families, we cannot be your friends. You do not look for it do you? Treat us then like men, and we will be your friends. And there is not a doubt in my mind, but that the whole of the past will be sunk into oblivion, and we yet, under God, will become a united and happy people. The whites may say it is impossible, but remember that nothing is impossible with God.

...


I count my life not dear unto me, but I am ready to be offered at any moment, For what is the use of living, when in fact I am dead. But remember, Americans, that as miserable, wretched, degraded and abject as you have made us in preceding, and in this generation, to support you and your families, that some of you, (whites) on the continent of America, will yet curse the day that you ever were born. You want slaves, and want us for your slaves ! ! ! My colour will yet, root some of you out of the very face of the earth ! ! ! ! ! ! You may doubt it if you please. I know that thousands will doubt-they think they have us so well secured in wretchedness, to them and their children, that it is impossible for such things to occur.

...


See your Declaration Americans! ! ! Do you understand your won language? Hear your languages, proclaimed to the world, July 4th, 1776 -- "We hold these truths to be self evident -- that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL! ! that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness! !" Compare your own language above, extracted from your Declaration of Independence, with your cruelties and murders inflicted by your cruel and unmerciful fathers and yourselves on our fathers and on us -- men who have never given your fathers or you the least provocation! ! ! ! ! !

Teacher Cuts Off Girl's Braid In Front Of Class (Police Issue Teacher $175 Ticket For Disorderly Conduct)

MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee teacher is charged with disorderly conduct after punishing a first-grader by cutting her hair.

Lamya Cammon is angry, confused, and scared by the incident last week in which the apparently frustrated teacher cut one of her braids off after she wouldn't stop playing with them in class.Cammon, 7, sports a few dozen braids, but one is conspicuously absent."She told me to stop playing with it. Then cut it off and sent me back to my desk," Cammon said.Cammon's a first-grader at Congress Elementary and said her teacher used a pair of classroom scissors to cut off one of the braids after she absent-mindedly kept playing with them."Tell me how you play with your hair. Show me what that means," 12 News reporter Nick Bohr said to Cammon."I wasn't playing with it that loud," Cammon said.She said the teacher called her to the front of the room and cut it in front of the whole class."What did you do?" Bohr asked."I went to my desk and cried. And they was laughing," Cammon said. "She threw it away, and she said, 'Now what you gonna go home and say to your momma? ' And I said, 'That you cut off my hair,'" Cammon said.Cammon's mother is furious. She went to the school and confronted the teacher."I said, 'Well, you know, you cut a lot of her hair off.' And she was like, 'Well, I do apologize.' She said, 'But I was frustrated,'" Cammon's mother, Helen Cunningham, said.The Milwaukee Public Schools District said it is going through the disciplinary process with the teacher, who remains in class, although Cammon has been moved to a different classroom by the principal."The main thing is, from the heart of the principal, and me speaking for the district, we're very sorry that this happened," MPS spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said.Cammon's mother said she appreciates the apology but said the district should seriously question whether the teacher should keep her job."Why would we want someone like that teaching our kids? We trust our kids once they go to school to be safe," Cunningham said.Milwaukee police investigated the case and referred it to the district attorney for possible physical or mental abuse of a child charges.When the district attorney's office decided not to file criminal charges, police this week issued the teacher a $175 ticket for disorderly conduct.The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association can't talk about the incident, but said stress is not unusual.“As budget constraints get tighter every year, the stress level and frustrations do increase,” said the MTEA’s Sid Hatch.12 News called the teacher Friday night and went to her home for comment, but someone came to the door and said she did not want to talk.

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Questionable?

The Commander in Chief of a nation fighting two wars wins an award for PEACE. Questionable? What's you opinion?