State of the Union!

 Last night was the State of the Union address. I've been watching the SOTU address every year since the middle of W.'s 8 year term. I didn't think I'd get to see the whole thing because I was sitting on the train and the feed on my phone kept cutting out. But in the end, I was able to watch it (thanks to PBS).
 There were a lot of things that struck me about it. I gained a lot of information I previously was not aware of and I realized that our country is building momentum to a brighter future...too bad Congress won't get out of the way and let it happen. But I'm not going spout off about the relationship between the President and Congress. No, instead I want to talk about heartbreak.

  This is Army Ranger Sgt.1st Class Cory Remsburg. He was invited to sit in the box with the first lady during the address. He's known the President for awhile, in fact, they met in 2009 on the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in France. The President told his story...how he was injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, he was found by other members of his unit, face down in water with shrapnel in his brain. After months in a coma, he met the President again and was unable to speak or move. The thing that got me about this story was the fact that this brave man was on his 10th deployment to the Middle East! 10TH! 10TH!...That's all that kept running through my head when I was watching the rest of the speech. Not only should he not have been there at all, but he was there for the 10th time. This to me is absolutely heartbreaking...but it also shows the spirit of the brave people who enlisted (they all enlist...no one is being draft, these are all volunteers). Not only are they willing to go in the first place, but they are willing to go again and again and again...never knowing if they'll come back whole or at all.
  Cory is just a glaring example of what's happening everyday. Our military hospitals are full of men and women who gave so much of themselves for the rest of us. And it's heartbreaking because it's so unnecessary. Now, we have some members of Congress trying to pick another unnecessary fight...it's like now that we're out of one country and making strides to get out of another they wanted to pick a fight just to send our troops back. I'm glad the President said NO, I'm glad he's standing up to the war machine the US is funding and telling the Congress people to back down and shut up. We don't need to send anymore troops out to die or be severely injured over nothing.
  My heart is broken for our troops...the the injured and the whole...for the families of those who aren't coming back and for those who will have to go out with the unknown lingering over their heads.

  Until Next Time.
  ~m

The Era of Big Brother

So last week news hit that the NSA is secretly spying on American citizens via Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Mircosoft and Apple. People have been outraged by this fact coming to light. But why is this news to anyone? There was this thing called the "Patriot Act" that basicly gave the government the freedom to listen in to all of our private phone calls. W signed it in secret and when we all discovered what he was up to we got the "it's for your own protection" line. There was nothing we could do because he violated many laws governing our right to privacy to "protect" us. So, even though people gripe about it still, most of us just live with it.

I started to monitor my own online "language" and subject matter that I discuss after 9/11. Once I realized that the government put out a hit list on the songs the radio was allowed to play I knew it was only a matter of time before my own words would be monitored and maybe even sensored. Then a list was released...the list was of words that you should not say or text or type online...they would be red flagged and subject to government "inspection". Over the last 12 years the government has moved more and more into our "private and personal" lives in order to protect us from the terrorists. As sad as these facts are...there's nothing to be done about them...unless you decide to go off the grid and never use a phone or the computer again. Also, if you have a camera on any device hooked to the internet, assume that the government can turn it on when they want and peered into your home.

I wasn't surprised by the "revelations" that the NSA is spying on us or that the President knew about it. I'm not surprised that it's been justified as a necessary step in protecting the country or that no apologies will be given. What I am surprised by is people's outrage and naivete about the subject. In an age where most people give away WAY to much info on the internet it's very surprising that anyone would be upset by the NSA reading your stupid facebook updates or twitter rants. Or even your stupid blog posts about the government reading your blog posts!

Oh and another thing...if you think this started after 9/11 I'd like to direct you to this place called the FBI and it's former head J. Edgar who, if I'm not mistaken, had pretty much the entire country wiretapped before he died.

Well, that's all for me...

Until Next Time!

~m

Ramblings...Part 1

  Leaving Twitter has been harder than I thought it would be. I find myself wanting to give snarky comments about things that happen in life and on Television, but I have no one to make them to. Those are the comments I'd tweet...but alas, no Twitter means no way to snark. I do know that eventually this impulse will fade (not the snarky comments, but the want to tweet them). I'll find another outlet. I didn't always have a twitter, so it's not like I don't know how to live without...it was just so convenient!
 
   I had a dream that a 15 year old I've know all her life got married. When I asked her why she said "all we do is make out and bone, so we thought we should just get married already. Oh and we had a baby after you moved away". Needless, to say I woke up a little worse for wear after that.

  I'm not sure who has a better accent....Lindsay Graham or Mitch McConnell...just sayin'

 

Missing Politics

Yes, that may sound weird, but it's true. I miss politics.
Over the course of the last several years I started to slowly but surely move away from the mainstream media. In fact, it was after a prime time newscast started with a top story that was about Paris Hilton that I decided enough was enough! I still watched cable news and read newspapers, but I started to see the slant in every story and how news was becoming more and more celebrity/entertainment driven than actual legitimate news driven. I saw it as a way of the government distracting the people from seeing what was really happening in the world (and let's face it, this was when our Pres and VP were starting wars with random nations and getting richer off of them). By the time, Katrina hit I was all but tuned out...so most of what happened around that I know nothing about. Although I still watched cable news (CNN, primarily) it wasn't a frequent thing (I do have to say that during national elections I watch all the news I can get, so during that time its different). However, after the Newton shootings I pretty much swore off media coverage completely. A) Because there aren't any real news stations any more (they are all entertainment) and B) What the media deems important is not the same as what I deem is important. The Newton coverage made me ill and I just stepped away.

Because of that, I missed most of the Benghazi "Scandal" have a vague idea of what "Fast and Furious " is/was and I'm not really sure what the current (supposed) cover up is about. Also who the hell is Jodi Arias? I came up for air during the Boston Bombings...but after the CNN debacle...(I was watching CNN when it happened). I was done...so I have no real idea of what's going on in the world at large. Okay that's a lie...I know a few things. I know about the soldier being killed in England and about the IRS going after the "Tea Party" and the Disneyland bomb (but I only know about that one because I was trying to find out about the weather).

Anyway, because of my thorough lack of any type of news information I am severely lacking in my knowledge of what's happening in American Politics. I love politics! There's just something about it all that makes me excited about this country. It's gives me something to think about...ways to consider different ideals and learn more about this country, and consequently, the world. I use to watch CNN and CSPAN all the time. I was engaged and engrossed in whatever was coming out of Washington. Not anymore.  Not at all!

And I miss that...it's funny that the thing that made me realize this is the Daily Show. As I watched clips of the show this morning, I realized that it's been too long since I've sat (or laid) and watched the ongoings of the country. Since I've actually knew and full understood what was happening in the federal government. I don't know how I'm going to do it (like what websites, blogs, newspapers I should read or which news stations to what, but I need to get back into my secret love...

Politics!

Until Next Time,
~m

Opinions...right or wrong

I may get some crazy responses to this...I may not, but I will share my opinion without fear, because even though I think I'm right, everyone has a right to believe whatever it is they want and I am no one to judge. But saying that, everyone has a right to their own opinion...I'm going to give you mine.

I'm black, I'm a woman, I'm a Christ-Follower, I'm a lover of all peoples, and I try my best to be open to everyone. That being said, I do not understand how people can be so hateful of another's opinion or belief. I'm speaking directly about people jumping up and down on Christians who do not believe in Gay Rights/Marriage. Before anyone thinks this is going to turn into hate I'll say this...I have gay friends, THEY KNOW MY BELIEFS. I, as a Christian, have been called not to judge my fellow man, no....I've been called to love them. So any Gay friends I have I love with all my heart the way God told me to.

And just like I cannot and do not judge gay people (who I've actually been around all my life, I had a gay uncle and my mother has always had gay friends), I cannot judge Christians who do not believe that gays should have rights. People always wonder who others can hate...I don't believe most actual loving "Christ-Followers" hate gays. In fact, I'm pretty sure the genuine ones see them as people and look past what it is they do in the bedroom. As a black person in America I've heard negative things about myself and my people all my life. As a woman in this world, I've heard negatives about myself all my life...I don't hate those who say it...I just allow them to have and voice their opinion. I don't jump on them because of it. Do I think they're wrong yes, but I don't hate them because of it.

I see people jumping on others for an opinion that doesn't mirror that of Lady Gaga or Perez Hilton (whom I've stopped reading because he does the very things I'm speaking of) and I wonder what people are thinking. In truth, how can anyone take one persons opinion over another. I'm fascinated by the fact that people are so quick to judge those who they disagree with...but disagreeing is something we all do at some point in our lives.

Not only do I not agree with the people who jump on Christians, I also don't agree with the Christians who sprew hate at others. Jesus didn't come down here to teach hate...if he did, he wouldn't have eaten with the tax collector, or gone to the well at noon just to speak to the woman...he wouldn't have healed the sick or poor or sat with the children. No, if Jesus had come here to sprew hate, he wouldn't be the same Jesus described in the bible, he'd be completely different. Christians we can disagree, we can even hate the sin love the sinner, but what exactly is the point of being hateful to the people? Why hold signs saying that God hates them...when clearly that is a lie!

Listen, maybe you think I'm naive, maybe you think I'm ignorant or a fool...that's your opinion and you are supposed to have it. There's no reason to be mean about it. In the end, on the day of judgment God will judge us on what we've done on earth. And yes, that includes how we treated people, what words we used and how we're showed ourselves to the world. I don't think he'll be happy with any of us who hate on someone else...whether it be for their opinion, sex, sexual orientation or the color of their skin.

Until Next Time...

History in the making

 I am literally watching History in the making. Libya is a war zone...the rebels have taken over Tripoli, two of Gaddafi's sons have been arrested and Gaddafi himself is either on the run or in hiding. This is the 3rd time this year that I have been glued to my Television set watching CNN intently. First was the uprising in Egypt, then the death of Bin Laden and now this. I'm overwhelmed and hopeful for the future of that country. I am also hopeful that these monsters are put on trail and brought to justice.

  There are moments in history I wish I was able to witness whether firsthand or through the telly. The march on Washington, the fall of the Berlin wall, the Gettysburg address (just to name a few) and then there are some (9/11, Norway tragedies) that I wish I didn't have to. This year, these moments changing the world are things I'll remember...no matter the outcome, I will remember what I saw, the happiness of people who are experiencing freedom (some for the first time).

   There will always be skeptics (the news anchors seem to be very skeptical)...always, but I have faith in people who want to desperately make changes in their situations. Who want to desperately change the world! That's happening...everywhere we look, all around the world. And I'm glad I'm here to witness it.

   Good Luck to the people of Libya, I hope and pray that your freedom stands and that you are all better because of it. Your courage, your strength is an inspiration.

Budgets

 The other day I said I didn't have anything to say, because they was so much going on in this world I didn't know where to start. Well, that night as I was dozing off the news gave me something to speak on...budget cuts.
 This country is in the midst of a financial crisis...this state (California) is way worse off that most. We can't win for losing and it sucks...especially because we can't get the money for the things we really need. Los Angeles, which is full of the ultra wealthy and super poor, is suffering just like every other city. But the length at which our mayor is willing to cutback is ridiculous.
  Fire, Police, Emergency Services are all being cut...all of them across the line. Firefighters and Police have been protesting but to no avail. Look I understand that we have no money to pay them...I understand that it's hard on everyone, but living in a neighborhood were gun shots are a regular thing it's scary to know that there may be a day when I call 911 and won't get any help. When a house on my block might catch fire and we have to put it out ourselves because the engines won't show.
   We have terrible streets, a terrible school system and now this...Los Angeles, how I hate you more and more each day. I'm not saying I have a solution for the budget problems or how to get money to the places that need it most, but what I am saying is that Police, Firefighters and Emergency Services in general need as much money as they can get.


  oh and in a related topic. In a Northern California city, Emergency Service workers watched a man drown because extreme cutbacks meant they weren't trained for water to land rescues and because of their lack of training it was legally for them to rescue him. Sad, disappointing and a direct result of a mayor taking the short way out.

Anne Rice and her Facebook Post

   Yes, I'm a Christian...(I always say I'm a Christian in the true sense, i.e.  a follower of Christ...not a "born again christian" i.e. those crazy bible belt picket sign holding hate-filled christians...that's where I categorize my difference.)

   I'm also a democratic and pro-choice. I often talk to people about my views on my faith in a "different" way because I see myself as a different type of Christian. I try to see the world through God's eyes...try to allow my heart to break at the sight of the things that would break His...but at the same time...there are things other Christians do and say that I'm completely against. For me, my walk with Christ is a personal relationship with the two of us...like a marriage where others are not involved, because it's not their relationship or their place. Most of the time, when I hear about "Christian Leaders" preaching things I cringe, shake my head or just think, are we reading the same bible? My view of my God seems so different from other Christians that at times I feel completely disconnected...
  So when Anne Rice, famous vampire author, took to her facebook page last week to announce her "retirement" from Christianity, I started to read it knowing pretty much what it would say and that I'd whole-heartedly agree with it.

“For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.



As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”


   You may not agree with what she has to say but I do...and I think it's very fair of her to say all those things, because to her (and me) they are true problems we have with this religious movement. Being a follower of Christ and having a relationship with him is truly lost on many Christians, who feel it's their destiny to point fingers and hate. Christ tells us to love...and to follow Him means to follow His teachings and principles...so why do so many Christians follow men who are just making it up as they go along? I don't know...but I like my relationship with Christ...my personal relationship with Him.
   She never said she'd stop following God or Christ...never did she reject the Holy Spirit...what she's saying is she's done trying to follow this doctrine that we as imperfect people have warped to fit our way of thinking. We've changed it from God Centered to hate centered and she's tired of it...so am I.

   AMEN

Reluctant Conservative.

  Okay...let me just say this. I'm not a Republican...sorry I'm not.


   I didn't vote for W. and I did vote for Obama....I don't watch Fox News and I think TeaBaggers are ridiculous, stupid and blind. But the more I've listen, learn and lived in the last year the more I realize there are a couple of issues I have conservative leanings to. Can I just tell you, this has left me dismayed and I'm sure many people would try to argue the facts with me...and that's fine, I'll gladly listen. But my gut tells me that some things I just can't get past and those things I feel strongly about.
   I'm not going to state here which topics have me leaning...but I will say this...I am reluctantly admitting to conservative tendencies....but I still think Sarah Palin is a moron.

You May Say I'm A Dreamer...

  The past couple of months I've been trying hard to figure out how I could have been so naive about the state of the world around me. How I could think/believe that the blatant racism rising up in the Tea Party movement would/could never happen. Part of it has to do with the fact that I watched as this country elected a Bi-Racial man as our president. But the other, I realized is rooted in a moment from my childhood...


  I can clearly remember the first time I heard, grasped onto and truly understood the song "Imagine" by John Lennon. I was sitting at home in front of the television and this video came on...John Lennon sitting at a piano in a dark room with Yoko Ono by his side....as he sung this song asking us to Imagine this world she moves away from him opening the curtains on the floor to ceiling windows...letting the light flow over him...all in white. The song captured me and I was fully caught in the imagination of a child wanting the world to be better.
  From that moment on I think I've had my Rose Colored glasses on...not seeing the world in it's true form but in an askew form of a world working to become that perfect world Mr. Lennon was talking about. Only seeing the good, refusing to look at the bad and trying my best to believe that the words that captured my heart at that young age had captured everyone else's...I was wrong.
  The problem is truly that the song speaks beautifully about a perfect world. And we as humans can't have a perfect world because we are not perfect. We are angry, hate-filled, spiteful liars. We steal, kill and cheat each other without hesitation and we can't truly accomplish everything he speaks of because we don't really have it in us to. I know now that I was so influenced by hope that I lived on a make shift cloud. When I took my glasses off to watch in full glory the presidency of Barack Obama, I realized sadly that although we've moved in great steps toward a better world, we have also fallen so very far short of being anywhere near where we should be.
  I don't think that John was saying that this world would one day be perfect, what I think he was saying, is that if we were to all sit down and imagine ourselves in a perfect world then we would come out of the experience wanting to make the world around us better. Some did, but others didn't catch that point. We live in a global market...a global community where the coffee I buy in the morning directly effects someone in Africa or South America. So you'd think that we'd be at a point in 2010 where there'd be no hunger, no child dying of preventable disease and no people living with illness because companies are charging them ridiculous prices for medication. But in 2010, we still have all this and more!


  My mind is blow, my heart sadden and my eyes full of tears at the state of the world. And at the fact that people are so selfish and stupid that they'd rather protest, spit on and ridicule others than to really help them. That's what wrong with this world and that is why we will never be the world that John Lennon sang about. Tragic and unnecessary!




Here's a link to the video!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GAHFrLAxzM

I Opened My Eyes to a World of Bad

 There are moments in life when you look around you and see the truth you've (probably) been hiding from yourself for a long time. For me this has been happening more and more over the passed year. Since American went off and decided to get all great and hire the first Black President it seems like the world is going to hell. Well, at least that's what I see now.

  I guess that because I've hidden my face away from the news of the world for so long I just live in this bubble that doesn't let the negative in. Which is fine by me, because really all there seems to be is the negative. Over the past year, the climate in this country has gone from bad to worse. Really, we've been overtaken by this group of people called the Tea Party (I'll talk about them in another post). Who, the more I learn about them, just seem to be the bottom barrel of hate filled imbreds ever! Recently, the Catholic church has found itself in the grips of another scandal...but its the same as before. This sexual abuse outcry has taken two forms, 1. people from different countries are beginning to speak out about being abused and 2. the pope (who was a Nazi) has been directly charged with doing nothing, actually covering up a serious series of abuse. He swept under the rug a priest who had abused more than 200 deaf boys he was charged with caring for.
  
   I'm disgusted, angry and my heart breaks more and more everyday! There seems like no end in sight! Earlier this week a series of suicide bombers attacked Russia. Now, honestly I can say I don't know what the attacks were about or why they happened, but it's just another tragedy in an already tragic world.

   "LET THE THINGS THAT BREAK GOD'S HEART ALSO BREAK MINE"

   I always thought about poverty, disease and war when I thought of that quote (which I paraphrased) but now I see that it's not just those things. I've opened my eyes to a world of madness and turmoil, with no end in sight. Everyday is more and more bleak, so much so that even some so called Christians have taken up a mantle of hate, yet dare to call themselves followers of Christ. Honestly, I've come to the end of what I feel is just the beginning of this revelation. I'm allowing myself to see and take in the true honesty of the world I walk in. Taking in all the things that my brain and heart reject, because if I'm going live in this world, if I'm going to pray and hope and love in this world, I should really know what this world is all about.

   Shouldn't I?

The Tea Party

     

     I try to put myself in other people's shoes, to see how they see and at least try to really understand where they are coming from before I dismiss them as crazy. So when I heard about this group of people calling themselves the Tea Party I decided not to judge, but instead to learn about them and what they believe. I didn't want to dismiss them as crazies because I first believed they were only picking on the President because he was black. But come on, in this world...the first black president, they couldn't possibly just be after him because he's black...could they?

     Well, over a year later...I've been rudely awakened and shaken awake from the dream that this world (or should I say this country) would give this black man a chance. It turns out that my gut reaction was the truth, these people...these so called Tea Partiers that are out to take back the country are really only trying to take the country back from Minorities and Homosexuals. I discovered all this in the light of the passing of the health care reform bill. The reaction this group (of mostly white people) had was WAY over the top. They reduced themselves to name calling, hate-filled ranting and spitting (yes, spitting) on and at black and a gay congressmen. They've also begun to terrorize democratic representatives and senators, throwing bricks through both their home and office windows. Is it just me or has this whole thing thrown us back into the 1950's? I'm expecting someone to pull out the water hoses and let the dogs loose.
      I don't find it strange that this is happening it's happened before, but I do find it painful to watch. That these people are so angry they aren't in charge they are willing to act like preschool children to make their point. The Republican party, who these people represent, are just a bunch of selfish, hateful racists, (Yes, I know that the head of the party is black, I also know that they hired him to look progressive and that they've wanted his head since he started the job). Wait, I know lots of Republicans, as a Christian I can't help but know lots of them. I don't consider any of them racists, but if they are sitting back and letting racists run their party, then I can call it that way.
      For me, maybe the worse part of the whole thing is that they are no longer trying to even hide the fact that they hate blacks and our black President. They are actively fighting against anything President Obama does because he's black and because he's a democrat. They are actively doing and saying hateful things because they lost the "White" House. They are acting out because this is what they've been allowed to do since the turn of the century...basically, they are having a big ol' tantrum.

       A Friend of mine asked me what the women of this group are doing in it? I told her that I didn't think they had really thought it out fully, this group is a bunch of boys wanting to take their country back. They want it to go back to the way it was when they had all the power. Basically going back to women in the kitchen, Homosexuals in the closet and Niggars in the fields! That's what they want in a nutshell. The country back run by right-wing white men, anything less isn't good enough!
       Frankly, this whole group of mad people scare me, so do their leaders. One of whom seems to be Sarah Palin, who even in the election encouraged her followers to act and say racist things and since the election has done nothing but run her mouth into more and more stupid circles. I'm afraid for this country and to even think of the pains this causes...I'm afraid it'll spill over into the streets and into the general public. And I'm afraid of the imagine this is projecting to the world at large. We are a family infighting, but displaying it to everyone in the neighborhood...how embarrassing.
     

I just don't get it?!

I was reading the headlines on google news yesterday and came across one that simply left me speechless.

Apparently Danny Glover (of Lethal Weapon fame) came out and said that the President isn't doing enough for black people. To which the President basically replied, I'm the President of the United States not the President of Black People. I like that come back.

For me as a black woman, I can be proud to say that this Black Man has set an example as a man, husband, father, leader that the black community rarely sees. So that, in it self, is enough! Now, on the whole, as a citizen of this country, I do believe that our President is doing his best. I believe that he is, in fact, working his butt off to rebuild our crumbling economy and overblown self-righteousness. I think he's hard at work trying to make a difference in what short time he has (at this point I don't have high hopes that the American people will re-elect him). In this 11 months he's had in office he has accomplished so much, but people only see what they want.

The question that always pops into my mind is, "would this be happening if he was white?"...truthfully, I hate to admit it, but I don't think it would. I believe that if President Barack Obama was President Tom Doe he wouldn't be under that same pressure. I am frankly, very angry that anyone in the black community can be so selfish. I don't get it, maybe it's because I didn't grow up in the black community, but at some point we, as black people, have to stop pointing the one finger at others and look at those three that are pointing back at us!

He never said he was going to Washington to paint the White House Black. He never said he was going to make things better for only black people. He said he would do his best to restore this country to it's former greatness...trying to bring EVERYONE to a greater standing as a whole. It's not his fault that people in the black community only saw the color of his skin and voted for him because of it (which makes you as bad as the people who voted against him because of it) and didn't listen to him speak or learn about his brand of politics. Black people if you thought he was going to come out fist baring telling "whitey" to pay up or whatever then you obviously need to go back under whatever rock you came from. Because you missed the point.

Maybe my father is right, maybe this country will always be corrupt, maybe black people will always face challenges, but right now, he's not the one causing the divide...."black activists" like Danny Glover are....

And Black People if you really want to hate on a black political figure hate on Michael Steele, leader of the Republican Party....yes he's black!

The Obamas and The Huckstables!

There was a time in the United States when the only glimpse of a beautiful Black Family we saw on Television was the Huckstables (pictured below)! I, as a young black girl looked up to Claire, Cliff and all the kids! I saw love, family, success in life, spirituality and my skin on a screen that couldn't show me any of that in a package anywhere else.

Yesterday, I stumbled across this, the official family portrait, of our First Family (pictured above)! The first thought to pop in my head was what a beautiful black family, but now I say what a beautiful family! Does it matter that they are my skin tone...yes and no. Yes because finally young black girls and boys have someone other than the Huckstables to look up to and no because in our world of divorce, fighting and torn families, a family together in love and devotion to one another is to be praised no matter what they look like!

I am inspired by these people and proud that they are our first family!

Headlines and Heartbreaks!!!!

9/11

Today is the Anniversary of 9/11. I am sure we all remember where we were when we first heard that a plane hit the twin towers....when we watched them fall...when we heard the stories of the brave men and women that didn't escape...and when the firemen raised the flag above the site.

I'm sure you remember the first time you heard of Al'Queda and Osama Bin Laden....who the Hijackers were...and that because of a strong few the last plane did not reach it's target! I'm sure you remember what that day was like, whether you were directly involved or just a witness...you remember.

I think we can live everyday with the memory of those events in our minds and hearts, and we see reminders of it on our television sets every evening. This day is special, but not because of the devastation, because of the hope. In all this... within families, communities and as a nation we came together to honor those who we lost and to show the world that the Sleeping Giant had been roused from sleep once again. It's been a hard eight years, but we have continued to stand strong as a country and most importantly we have continued to hope.

God Bless America, the families that lost and a country that remembers!




Caster Semenya

My heart goes out to this young woman, she comes out of no where to win and because she doesn't "look" like what the world says a girl should look like her identity is called into question. She was subjected to gender testing...and not quietly either! She was set out there in front of the whole world and told "we think you're a man". I know if that was me, I'd be completely and utterly devastated...but she seemed to handle the situation with grace...submitting to the tests and giving interviews telling the world that she is a woman.

Yesterday news broke that she is a woman...although not completely. It seems that Caster, has both male and female parts (the male parts being inside her body...so she never knew anything about them). She has been put out in the world as a hermaphrodite, something that most people would not want anyone to know. Now, that this news is out there the committee in charge of her sport has to decide if she can continue to participate in it.

I feel for her, and I hope that these people do right by her...after completely turning her life upside down I hope they do not take from her the thing that she loves to do!



President Obama and that Senator

I didn't watch President Obama's speech (I will...it's the power of YouTube) but I did hear about the Senator who blurted out Liar! in the middle of it....my first reaction (I'm assuming like most black people) was "OH, NO HE DIDN'T!" "He only did that because he's black" "How Rude!"...and still thinking about it today I still think those things...but also I'm starting to think about it in a different way.

I'm not a movie talker, I go to the movies to escape and I DO NOT appreciate people interrupting my happy time. But sometimes...I'm so into the movie that I can't help but blurt something out....its happened 3 times...all three times my strong opinion just came bursting out of my mouth it was uncontrollable and unstoppable. I think this may have been what happened to that senator!

Now, I'm not justifying what this man did. I think it was rude and unnecessary. No one ever yelled out liar to W. when we ALL knew he was lying, why... because we have respect for the office even if we don't have respect for the man. Saying that, I do think that he was suffering from a moment of overwhelming emotional conflict and couldn't keep it to himself. Though he is wrong (and clearly didn't read the bill) he believes that the President was lying about something. And he just couldn't keep it to himself. I don't know if he doesn't respect the man in office (that's not the point), but he clearly doesn't respect the office....or maybe it's as simple as calling a White Republican Senator from South Carolina what we all have thought but none have actually said....maybe the man is racist and he's views and anything the President ever attempts to do will be (in this man's mind) unreasonable and irresponsible.

I really don't know he's deal, but I do know that respect is respect and this man is lacking it greatly...but that just shows you what the people of South Carolina are really about...he is, after all, THEIR elected representative!

Mrs. Obama

I have watched and read how the world has been captivated by the first couple, but primarily with the First Lady. I have to admit that I too am captivated by her.


In my youth I remember two First Ladies...Nancy Regan and Hilary Clinton. I remember Mrs. Regan because of the "Say No to Drugs Campaign" which the public schools forced down our throats as children (and for some reason I always picture her in red). Mrs. Clinton I remember as being very homely looking and young. Well she was younger the her recent predecessors. I also remember alot of talk about her putting her career on the back-burner so that her husband could thrive. Now, I know that between these two women was another Barbara Bush, but because my parents are stanch Democrats and I don't really remember her doing much, I don't ever think about her.


In the last 8 years (give of take a few months) we had Laura Bush who, in my opinion, didn't do very much either. Which leads to Michelle. Now, I'm not saying all this because she's black, I'm going to say what I am saying because this is what I feel...black, white or purple!


I believe that our country needed some new blood, a new spirit in the white house. We needed youth, energy, culture and modernity! I believe that when the President and Mrs. Obama moved into the White House we finally got it. I am awed by the example she is setting not only in this country but in the world. I am proud that this country has stood up and embraced this woman...and as the world has done the same, I am proud that I can say I live in the country that put her on the world stage and I'm proud to be a woman and have a role model to look up too and yes I'm proud that she's African-American...but wait...there's more!


If she was a Caucasian, Asian or Indian woman bringing this type of poise and brightness to the world I would be just as proud. You see my pride isn't just in her color, it is in her. If Jed Bartlett and Dr. Bartlett (West Wing reference )had been real I would feel that same amount of pride. In her first 100 days she set out to show the country what kind of First Lady she wanted to be and in the middle of that she showed the world that the U.S. could be so much more than it currently is.


She hasn't hidden away in the White House, she's gone out gotten her hands dirty in the garden, volunteered for vets, gone to visit schools and more remarkably went to every major D.C. office and thanked the staffs personally shaking hands and letting them know that the First Family and nation appreciates what they do.

I could talk about her fashion, her hair and make up or the way her husband and children look at her, but I'm more interested in how the world and the country see her. If they look through my eyes they'd a strong woman, who knows who she is, knows who her husband is and knows what kind of mother, wife, first lady, daughter and role model she wants to be. I and many others aspire the know those things about myself some day and I'm glad that there's a woman on the forefront to show us that!

Sad...makes me want to cry.

I was reading an article this morning about a solider stationed in Iraq who killed 5 and injured 3 other military personnel. The more of the story I read the sadder I got. The incident took place at a stress clinic in Camp Liberty. I can only assume that the solider was there seeking some kind of treatment to whatever may be ailing him.

I'm not going to preach that he is not at fault for his/her actions, what I will say is...if this person is already showing signs of stress, so much so, that he's seeking help then why does that person have access to a weapon?

Although this shooting is painful and sad the information I gathered from the rest of the article broke my heart. This type of shooting (officer on officer) although more prevalent during Vietnam, has happened before in Iraq, as recently as September 08. And more soldiers have died of non-hostile incidents then have in combat. Most of these incidents stemming from PTD related suicides...and 5 SOLDIERS ATTEMPT SUICIDE EVERY SINGLE DAY IN IRAQ.

5 EVERYDAY!

I think that, for no other reason than this, we need to bring our people home and get them ALL the help and love they need and deserve. My heart goes out to all...the living and the unfortunate dead...lies took them there...hopefully hope will bring them home!


Below is a link to the article I read, if I got any facts wrong I'm sorry.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/11/baghdad-us-soldier-dead

Yesterday

I was a proud American yesterday...not a proud African American but a proud American! I was grateful that we've come as far as we have. That people have gotten past the history of this country to greet a black family as the first family and be happy for them. We, as a nation, didn't just elect a black president, we elected a black family to represent us. To go out to the world and say look at us, we are adults now and we can look past the small things, like color, and see the bigger picture like humanity! I am honored, hopeful and curious to see what the future will bring and if this first time deed will also translate in other countries around the world.

I am not so naive to think that everyone in this country voted for him or sees past his skin (or name), I'm not blind to the racism and prejudice that still haunts us. I am not so abundantly happy that I don't fear for the safety and care of this, our first family. I am extremely sensitive to this new situations flaws, distractions and dangers...but I am more hopeful.

I hope that these next four years will lead to more understanding and help ease racial tensions in this country. I hope that people will look on this family as an example of a good family, not just a good black family. For generations, white people have always had very visible families to look up too, now (besides the Cosby Show) black people do to.

Congratulations Mr. President, Mrs. Obama, Malia and Sasha....and congratulations to you America.

The Election

I know that I haven't spoken about the election very much, in fact I only mentioned it once. But now that it's all said I done I'm going to give my opinion about what has transpired over this past year.
I have been raised a Democrat, my parents have always been the type to voice their opinions about the state of the country and we've always had discussions, as a family, about how we feel things are headed. We try to see who can make the best impact for our nation and which candidate would do the best job. This election was no different, but it was, at least for me. For African American people in this country this election was important but I also think it was tricky. Before Mr Obama was even a real candidate I heard a woman on TV say he wasn't black enough, because his mother was white and he was raised by his white grandparents and that black he's father was from African, he could not be truly classified as an African American. Of course there are lots of people who where going to vote for him because he's brown. Hey, that's there choice, but I wanted to know the man and how he thought.
I never really cared for Hilary Clinton, and although I love her husband, there was always something about her that put me off, but I did and still do think that Bill would be an AWESOME first man! I never felt connected to her. On the flip side, I never felt connected to any of the Republican candidates.
John McCain, although he did suffer as a P.O.W. for this country, wasn't in touch with me. I can't trust a man to take my needs and concerns seriously if he's never had to deal with them. Yes, I'm talking about living paycheck to paycheck as appose to not really having to check your bank account and worrying about losing your house and being put on the street, cause you don't have 11 (more or less) other ones to live in. And as a 29 year old woman, I don't think that this man from my grandmother's generation can really understand what I see and go through.
I knew that to be true when he picked Gov. Palin to be his running mate. As a woman, I was shocked and disappointed that this woman was given the national stage to parade around on like the perfect wife and mother. I was irritated that she was thought to be more of a mother to her pregnant teenager daughter then other women in the same position. And frankly, I was offended when during her debate she wanted to talk to the "real" American people and ended up sounding like an uneducated idiot. I'm a real American, but I don't speak that way and maybe she means that real Americans aren't really intelligent but rednecks...and if that's true then she just blew off every one else in this country.
There are reasons why people vote the way they do, but I voted my heart. I heard this man speak, he was consistent, warm and thoughtful. He didn't try to hide behind things that happened 40 years ago and he didn't shy away from the hard stuff. I honestly feel that he conducted himself in outstanding fashion, in such away that every American, not only blacks, should be proud of.

Do I believe that he can change this country around, yes, but he's going to have a hell of a time wading through the muck and myer left by W. The bad thing is that I don't think the country will give him enough time to clean up the mess, remember it took 8 years to get this deep, it's gonna take at least 8 more to clean it up.
At this point I am hopeful for the future, I am hopeful for our country and I'm hopeful for the world. And I pray not only for the safety of President Elect Obama and his family, but also that our current president won't do anything else to sabotage the White House and our nation before we square off and kick him out!

politics

I guess I should be paying attention, but I just don't really care. I will more than likely vote for the democratic nominee, whom ever it may be, but I'm not going to get my hopes up or bank on any promises they make now.
I have learned that the first four years of a presidents term are spent with hands tied trying to get through the policies of the previous president and in our case thats Lil Bush. So all the promises and policy changes being promised now are all for not, I mean I understand why they say things, but I also understand that if we want the promises they are speaking of then we have to re-elect them in 2012, although I have a feeling that its going to take longer than 4 years to undo what Bushy has done.
Also, I'm voting democratic, but I don't think the nation at large is ready for a black man or white woman, even if her name is Clinton, that leaves John MaCain. I don't know maybe I'll be surprised and if I am I'll apologize, but until that day, I guess I will just hope for the best.