 
Delivered fresh on June 27th, 2011
Greetings!
As I grapple with my own frustration with regard to the world of politics today, it occurs to me that there exists a fundamentally undeniable truth: There is a very thin line between compromise and selling out and to cross that line is to commit the very worst kind of betrayal... Dana DANA DELIVERED! User's Guide: 1) Open up your Dana Delivered! email. 2) Choose an article from the menu on the left hand side or just start from the beginning and read all the way through. 3) If you are reading an article and want to finish, Click on "Read More..." and you will be taken to our website. You can finish reading and while there, have a look around. Note: Dana's Dailies changes, well, daily so come back often. 4) Click on any of the words highlighted in red and you will be taken right to our site, DanaRoc.com. In INSPIRING PEOPLE: Dana talks Television Talk Show Host, LaMont Graves. To say that LaMont is an inspiration is to minimize his contribution to humanity. Read Dana's EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with LaMont Graves and renew your faith in the kindness of strangers! Take a minute to read DANA'S WEEKLY INSIGHT and make sure that you listen to the AUDIO VERSION as well. There may be someone who needs you to pass that along. Check out DANA'S DAILIES for no other reason than to hopefully smile. And come back and visit the blog all week at www.danaroc.com/dailies. The special article FROM DANA'S GUESTS: this week is Nelson Mandela: Free At Last. Check out AUGUSTE ROC'S MY TWO CENTS (For Whatever It Is Worth). There is something in it for YOU! While it may be "Two Cents" but you'll find it's worth a whole lot more. Feel free to email your comments to Auguste at auguste@danaroc.com. This week's THE GOOD LIFE : BOOKS selection is A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present by Howard Zinn. Read this book! Something useful in THE GOOD LIFE : WEB SITES is Feeding America this week. Check it out! And there's more so sit back, grab a cup of coffee, relax and enjoy. As always, thanks for reading! Stay cool. Be hungry. Never look back. Always reach back. Fear not. Believe always, Dana In Case Of Emergency...
If I only had a dime for every time that exhausted, I had to entertain the power of HOPE. Waiting for its deliverance, resenting the need to have to summon up its promise, struggling to find the strength to trust in it again -- if I had a dime for every time - I would indeed be rich. HOPE is the lonely man's companion; the faithful man's best friend and it is, without a doubt, the luxury that no man can afford to do without. We need it when it is all we've got, and although merciful, HOPE refuses to offer a guarantee and it rarely, if ever, provides the easy way out. HOPE - real HOPE -- will require that you boldly reach for something that you are convinced is just not there, while at the same time it will demand that you ignore the undeniable proof that the game is over, while you endure the indisputable evidence that this time there is no way that you can win. "Houston we have a problem..." Those sobering words, and the decisions that followed, would usher in one of the most remarkable and unlikely recoveries in modern day history. Once upon a time, Man in Space was an unthinkable proposition; a brand new phenomenon that captured the imagination of a generation by forcing the boundaries of what we knew could or could not be. The earth was rendered spellbound as large television sets across a captivated nation transmitted the vibrations of a brave new world. Those memories reside in the collective consciousness of a generation but, with the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon, the excitement about the race to the moon was over and the world would turn its attention back to the more mundane. In April of 1970 when Apollo 13 was preparing to go back to the moon, space travel didn't seem anymore like much of a big deal. The journey of crew members Commander James A. Lovell, Command Module pilot John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Lunar Module pilot Fred W. Haise was to be a pretty routine flight and, for the most part, anti-climatic until that somber declaration from the man in charge: "Houston, we have a problem". And with that the world braced itself for the absolute inevitability of a very tragic end. Apollo 13 routinely launched on April 11, 1970. Two days after the launch, the Apollo spacecraft was crippled by an explosion, caused by a fault in the oxygen tank. The explosion damaged the Service Module, resulting in a loss of oxygen and electrical power forcing the crew to use the Lunar Module as a "lifeboat" in space. The command module systems remained functional, but were deactivated to preserve the vehicle's capability to reenter Earth's atmosphere. Back on earth the world waited with the full expectation that the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 would run out of air; would suffocate and die as heroes lost in space. But then, HOPE. Then HOPE, wrapped up and presented in the non-negotiable orders of mission project manager, Gene Krantz, insisted it was a force to be reckoned with and it persisted ruthlessly -- until. Imagine. When failure is a possibility, but definitely not an option then you've got no choice but to conjure up real HOPE. And, it is only under the severe stress of limitation and the unwillingness to abandon HOPE that the lines that define are redefined, ideas are reshaped, connections rewired, and our relationship to the reality of what is possible, shatters. "Failure is not an option!" was his battle cry as he dared anybody not to believe that he would get those men back home alive. "Forget the flight plan," ordered Kranz. "From this moment on we are improvising a new mission. How do we get our men home?" "Working the problem" and against the most incredible odds, Gene Krantz demanded that the wheel be re-invented. "I don't want to know what anything is for. The question now is, what can it do?" Dealing with all of the scientific, tried and truth considerations, when nothing seemed like it could work, he forced the renegotiation of old ideas, conventional wisdom, typical talent and presumptive skill. Under his direction, his crew set out to figure out, transferring systems from one capsule to the other and adapting each operation to match the emerging demands of this mission of precious life and imminent death. Krantz never once demonstrated resignation and as a result of his refusal to entertain the thought of giving up, he got those men back down to earth -- ALIVE. And you? When there is no obvious solution; when something must be created that has not yet been conceived; when the mission seems impossible and the odds aren't on your side, will you resist the temptation to just surrender and call it a day? It's the hardest thing to do when it's the only thing you've got. When absolutely everything around you suggests it can't be done, it won't work out, there is no way, HOPE looms as its own most difficult challenge and the thing on which you must depend. Trading on HOPE is a courageous proposition and not something that everybody will choose to do. Courage is the currency of HOPE and HOPE is the fuel that will get us through to the other side of "it can not be done". It takes guts and the willingness to put everything you know, everything you have and everything you are -- on the line for the profound and unique opportunity to invoke the companionship of - HOPE. Dana Have a great week!
  Television Talk Show Host, LaMont Graves
It can often feel a little cliché and insincere to hear some talk of giving back. LaMont Graves however is an inspiring example of what it means to truly give from the bottom of your heart and when it takes everything and costs a lot. Always in search of the silver lining, LaMont Graves is truly an Everyday Hero... DR: Tell me about winning two Emmy Awards. LG: Yes. I just picked up two Emmys. I started a television show called Everyday Heroes. We have aired about six or seven episodes... It all started because I had borrowed $15,000 dollars from a friend. Before I could pay him back, which took me a year and half, he passed away. When he died it bothered me so much that I did not get a chance to pay him back and that ignited my passion for giving back. I was trying to figure out what I could do with the $15,000 and I came up with this idea that I would go to our community church. We went out and bought Toys ‘R Us gift cards and gave them to the church to bless children and families for Christmas. The following year I wanted to do more and I wanted to get my children involved so we asked the church and the community outreach centers if they had families that were in need of Christmas gifts. After we identified families, my wife and my children and I took the families to Toys ‘R Us and bought toys for the families for Christmas. By the third year we were reaching 800 families. We did a tour of Florida, Miami and Los Angeles and that is when somebody said that I was like Oprah with all of this gift giving. They suggested that I do a TV show. That’s how we created Everyday Heroes. I have a producer friend and we pitched the show to a network and wound up getting picked up. And that was the beginning of us getting two statues. DR: How are you feeling about all of that right now? LG: I feel a sense of accomplishment. Prior to winning the Emmys I was really down about the TV show and I was wondering if I was doing the right thing. On the show we find ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their communities. Then we chronicle their lives and at the end of the show we give them some kind of reveal like a celebrity coming on the show to meet them or some kind of personal gift that we hope will blow them away. It’s kind of the same concept as Extreme Home. It really bothers me that I turn on the TV and all I see is Snooky and The Situation on the Jersey Shore. These guys will be making 5 million dollars at the end of this year and I can’t even get a “pay it forward” show on the air, and, I was willing to do it for free! I spoke to my friend Vanessa Williams, the actress, and I was complaining to her after I won the Emmys (here I am complaining while I am still winning Emmys) and I told her that I was upset and that I was having a hard time pitching the show and yet, The Situation who adds no value to people’s lives will be making all of this money. Vanessa summed it up by saying: “Apparently you must be on the right path if you are holding tow of “them” in your hand.” I do really feel a sense of accomplishment... DR: So now what? Where would you like to see the show go from here? LG: We are actually revamping the whole show...
 A life and a legacy that inspires courage and continues to humbles the heart... Nelson Mandela: Free At Last
NELSON MANDELA'S ADDRESS TO RALLY IN CAPE TOWN ON HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON Friends, comrades and fellow South Africans. I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands. On this day of my release, I extend my...
 Free Speech
I'd rather take a stand and risk being on the unpopular side of an issue, than to remain quiet, especially when somebody needs to know what I think. And, in a situation where my opinion is the one that is supposed to matter, I feel a particular obligation to speak up. It's confusing, counter productive and chaotic when the voice that is designated to make the call chooses instead, to be silent. Imagine having to wait and wait and wait and keep waiting for the umpire to call "you're out" or "he's safe" at the end of a critical play. What would happen if a quarterback kept his team in the huddle indefinitely because he was unwilling to say what he thought about what he wanted to do? Everyday, people everywhere are faced with the often uncomfortable prospect of having to take responsibility for an outcome by having to take a stand. And everyday, people everywhere choose to take the easy way out because - "I'd just rather not". Complacency doesn't work, not when courage is what is required. When we choose to make the call we draw the line by saying out loud what it is that we think, based in part by what we stand for and why, regardless of where the chips may or may not fall - stuff gets done. That's my two cents (for whatever it's worth), Auguste Roc
 The 100 Years Project - Richard Bonilla
Name: Richard Bonilla Age: 45 years old Where are you from: I’m originally from Brooklyn. Where do you live: I live on Staten Island. Occupation: I’m a Union Carpenter. 100 Years from now what do you want to be remembered for: I want to be remembered for all the stuff I built in New York City.  Feeding America
Why I am recommending Feeding America: Because nobody should go hungry when there is enough food...
 A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
Why I am recommending this book: Finally, a book that allows us to examine American History from the perspective of the oppressed, which, when alongside more traditional studies, allows for a broader more accurate version of the facts. Click here to purchase this book. From Publisher's Weekly:
 
When I doubt – just be quiet.
 
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