The Afrocentric Pundit

For Colored Girls May Still Not Be Enuf

2010-10-25T11:12:00.014-05:00

Here we go again...Tyler Perry bashing. It seems that whenever a Black producer makes a movie, whether good or not, the usual people climb on their high horses and start throwing stones. I often wonder whether his movies would do much better at the box office, enabling him to do a more broader type of film, if his detractors would tone it down and try to be more objective. At the same time they are bashing him they are not coming out with their own films, books or plays. It is easy to throw that stone when you don't see yourself walking into that glass house.

When I first started seeing advertisements of his plays back in the day, I dismissed them because they sounded ridiculous and made specifically for the Bible thumping COGIC, Baptist and Methodist Black church crowd. They all had one common theme...woman scorned or abused...resurrected by her faith in God. Nice thought but simplistic, often unrealistic and the acting just left little to be desired. His two TV shows, 'The House of Payne' and 'Meet the Browns' definitely raises both of my eyebrows. After spending the late '80's into the '90s watching 'Cosby', 'A Different World' and 'Living Single' showing African Americans as professionals as well as intelligent college students and entrepreneurs, it is sad to see buffoonery back on TV, played over and over, rerunning as if there is nothing else ever made. I don't like the images, albeit normal for some people, therefore I don't tune them in. Spike Lee said it best in an interview for shadowandact.com: "When John Singleton made Boyz in the Hood, people came out to see it. But when he did Rosewood, nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us! You vote with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time sitting in front of the idiot box, and [Tyler Perry] has a huge audience. We shouldn’t think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee would make. As African Americans, we’re not one monolithic group so there is room for all of that." Let's remember that Spike was also criticized when he made his films, regardless of how relevant the storyline.

Perry's new movie is a screen adaptation of the critically acclaimed 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf' 1975 play by Ntozake Shange. If the book was so critically acclaimed, what is the problem w/doing a movie? Everything isn't always roses in any community. Perhaps African American dramatic writers need to write about things other than abusive people so that 'acceptable' material is available for movies. Even writers such as Terry McMillan have less than desirable male characters. As we live in our country with the first AA president, I am hoping we can begin to experience movies w/new material. There are science fiction writers such as Octavia Butler and Tenanarive Due whose books really deserve a closer look because they are FANTASTIC and w/technology their characters can now come to life. These are just two of the myriad of authors out there writing stories that could be silver screen worthy.

I plan to see the movie as Tyler is a talent and one of the ONLY AA's in Hollywood willing or able to put US on the screen even if the characters are less than desirable at times. It's a shame we still have to 'settle' some times, but we do it and don't make much effort to demand better. My hope is that Mr. Perry will get better as time goes by and I have begun to see a shift already. 'The Family That Preys' I thought was well done and had more than just US hurting US. I do hope we can look forward to stories showing AA men (and women) in a better light because I know plenty of wonderful normal men who aren't abusive...but does it make for a good story and will all the detractors go see it when it comes out even if it's bashed by mainstream critics? I will let you know what I think of the movie and how it represented the narratives in the book after I see it.

Until next time...

Slavery Was Work

2010-09-12T15:12:00.001-05:00

I have tried really hard to keep certain issues off FB so I will vent on my blog. I just have to say that anyone who says "we don’t cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards" in an attempt to make a point is incredibly ignorant. Putting aside all the political crap going on, I am just offended at the thought that someone actually thinks of slavery as non-work. Furthermore, the 'consequences' of slavery were extremely harsh. If a slave tried to think for themselves they may have ended up with a harsh whipping or even worse. In attempting to make light of something to get a point across, this person has just reinforced the idea that many people have no idea why America still bleeds from her very ugly past.

Note to those who prescribe to a certain way of thinking: slavery was work and slaves suffered extreme consequences for even trying to think for themselves!

A Few Random Rants...Incomplete

2010-08-13T09:33:00.004-05:00

Obama is correct...no nation should dominate another nation. It is time that the US end it's wasteful spending on military and other programs whose intent is world domination. Every country deserves to exist on it's own terms based on the desires of it's people.

We cannot AFFORD to occupy with such military force any country for an undetermined period of time.

There will be turmoil in the middle east as long as EVERYONE wants the oil and other valuable minerals, regardless of whether the US occupies countries. If England is worried, let them send then's of thousands of their own troops to die.

'American Greatness' is almost a conundrum. This country owes many countries and people of the world more apologies than has been given. Do a little bit of research and you can find out about all the horrible things our government has done. Perhaps as president Obama is now privy to the info and remains in shock and disbelief...most of the US led terror doesn't make any headlines.

Timetables for both wars were announced or discussed before Obama was president. Bush put in place the timetable for Iraq. The US simply cannot afford to be at war. If there are other countries that can afford wars, then have at it! But exactly why are we at war again?

Where did the Obama's vacation before the white house? I have friends who are not rich and treated themselves to lavish vacations just because they wanted to and they saved and could afford to. Did other presidents not go on vacation if the economy was bad? I'll have to do research on that one as does anyone who criticizes.

Is he perfect? No. Is anyone? No. Could he do better? Sure.

Drill Baby Drill!

2010-06-01T15:09:00.002-05:00

O my little goldfish that can't remember more than 5 minutes of history, it was the Republicans' Palin and McCain that had that inane motto of Drill Baby Drill!! Get your facts straight before posting responses on sites and writing articles!! But good job rewriting history!! I suppose Obama better use his 'engineering' degree (lol) and some pure elbow grease, get a wetsuit and snorkels and dive a mile down to 'stop this immediate leak' like the idiot author of an article on CNN.com states! Either way all of those idiots are in a dream world!! A nuclear bomb under water, used many times before, or the relief wells is the only sure thing...But those who really don't care about the environment just want to politicize this horrible oil disaster. Sad, really sad!! If you have time, drive or fly to the gulf coast while you still can...it has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

Grandmotherhood

2010-03-23T22:23:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to me and my family. My eldest had a son on March 2. His name is Zyiere and he is just beautiful! Welcome to the world, baby Zy!

My heart goes out to the people of Haiti.

2010-01-13T22:35:00.003-06:00

According to Pat Robertson, Haitian slaves made a pact with the Devil when they decided they didn't want to be enslaved anymore. The Devil helped them beat the poor helpless Godfearing white slave masters and now they suffer because of the Devil-based help they received, therefore it's their fault they are so poor and the earthquake happened. God is punishing them for winning their freedom!

I guess he forgot that Haiti was ostracized economically because of the fear that the success of the slave revolt would inspire other slaves to do the same and the economic warfare continues even today.

I pray for all those lives lost in the earthquake and I pray that the ignorant and hateful people of the world will eventually feel the verbal pain the inflict on innocent people.

Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross because every little bit helps.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Habari Gani!

2009-12-26T09:29:00.005-06:00

As we celebrate the season, let's try real hard to not give a strange, fat, dressed in red white guy credit for all the fabulous gifts we worked hard to buy our children. Let them understand that it takes mom and dad's commitment to their jobs, love and understanding to get those gifts under that tree. Then ask yourself why you would even want some strange person to come in your home in the middle of the night for any reason while your children were nestled in their beds.

Official Kwanzaa Website

Tiger Revisited

2009-12-14T20:00:00.005-06:00

Before I let this go, I have one more thought on the Tiger's wood debacle. I kept running into articles mentioning how Black women were upset because Tiger was with only white women. I of course wondered why any Black woman would think this. Tiger stated many times that he was not Black and distanced himself from the Black community. Well thank God he did!! Why would anyone want to claim this mess?

I was happy to see that his 'women' were all white 'semi-professionals'...if you get my drift. I would have been embarrassed if a Black woman was caught up in this mess. His is a world of high-pay-expecting 'dates' and who wants to be seen as that kind of classless whore all over the world? You never see Black women caught up in such a thing thank heavens because these clueless men run to cheap whore-ish white women with fake boobs, buns and silicone lips instead. We lose out on the dinners, limo rides, clothes and cash here and there (very little as I have read) but we keep our dignity. Thanks Tiger for being very discriminating on your taste in women. I appreciate you keeping Black women on a much higher pedestal than the white bimbos with which you surround yourself.

Good looking out, player!!

...I am wondering though...how long will it be after all the white people have dropped him before he starts claiming he is Black, accepting gigs in Black venues and being seen with Black people. I tell ya, we Black folks have to start discriminating a bit...if he tries...maybe we should run the other way...because next time the headlines will read 'Top Black Golfer Caught with His Pants Down'!!

Child Star Lessons

2009-12-13T08:23:00.004-06:00

Tiger is going through later in life what all child stars do...act out and get in trouble. His life was dictated to him and he gained wealth and notoriety from it. But ultimately, he missed a lot of maturing and growing up time practicing on the golf course. Now he feels like he needs to go through his teen years and go buck wild. The only problem is that he is an adult and married with children and a huge public figure. Most child stars do this at some point in their lives. The list is very long...most children who were stars at a young age, spent most of their time practicing a sport the parents thought they 'showed talent in' endure some sort of crisis in their adult years. They often have drug problems, alcohol addiction, or get arrested for some crazy reason. It amazes me that people actually thought this man was perfection personified and he could do no wrong. They forgot he was human and male!

His parents have insisted that he had a normal childhood with plenty of video game playing and eating junk food. The problem is that I never hear about the teen years, dating, hanging with friends, doing what a 'normal' teen does. They say he liked playing golf and was happy to practice. Unfortunately kids don't always let a parent know how they really feel. They know the parents are happy seeing the practicing, the TV appearances, so the child continues without complaining. The child may not even know that being driven at such an early age is a problem. But in our society it is. This may not be an issue in another country with different values and commitments to discipline, but in the US, children need time to act out and do silly things.

Someone said Tiger perpetrated a fraud through the image we see of him in the media. I don't think so...fans created the image of Tiger...Don't ever remember him saying he is perfect without any faults...He was just making money from whomever offered and by winning his game. Being faithful to the wife was never part of the package. So he has made millions and that may end but he is still rich beyond most of our imaginations. He may be hurting because he looks bad in the media but his wallet is still stuffed. Wrong as it may have been, the image they all talk about was a media image created for the money machine called Tiger Woods.

This is another lesson to all parents who live through their kids. Tiger and his parents reaped the financial benefits but the emotional issues remain unresolved. I am not saying that I condone what he has done or even feel sorry for him, but there is an explanation worth thinking about.

Life Lessons

2009-10-11T13:11:00.004-05:00

As the years go by I am increasingly thankful for that little thing called life. It doesn't have to be the best life. It doesn't have to be the richest life. My life does not have to be 'better' than the Jones' down the street. It just has to be the life I am living. So many of us use our entire lives to worry about what we don't have and what we should have been doing. I have spent many years of my adult life thinking of these things, but as the years go by I have begun to think that my life is just fine and I really am happy just the way things are and have been.

I spent 11 years home with the children being a mother and wife and manager of the household. When the children started school I decided it was time for me to get out there and start making a 'real contribution' to family so I got a job. I first started part-time then got greedy liking the money I could take to the mall and waste on meaningless items I did not need. I was always a very competitive and ambitious person, so when the thought of my useless B.S. degree in HR Management came to mind it made me think that I had to go out there and get some return on my education investment. A second thought was my mother who always wanted her children to do great things in life. She did not even finish high school although you would never know because she is one of the most insightful and intelligent women I know. So you can very well understand her aspirations for me as the daughter of an immigrant who struggled as a single parent, sending a few dollars home to her children left behind while she created a better life for us all. I have trudged along now for 10 years employed. Each day I wake up and drive up the road to work I am thinking 'why am I doing this?'. My husband makes a good living and certainly makes enough for us to have a comfortable home and lifestyle. He has always indicated that my need to work is unnecessary and may even be silly because my job will not make us rich; it just makes us spend more. True enough although my jobs have also allowed me to build up our savings quite well.

This brings me to the recent economic downturn and all the research on the economy that my dear spouse has been engulfed in for quite some time. He was able to tell me what was going to happen and when enabling me to move things around to minimize loss. I could go on but that's a subject best left for him. I watched all these jobs disappear. I watched all these people become unemployed. I saw so many homes fall under foreclosure and poor families living in tents. It made me think again about my job dilemma. All these people thought their extra income gave them that little step into a new income bracket so therefore they needed the car, house and clothes to go with it. Here go the Jones' again. And I had fallen into the same trap although I thought I was above all that nonsense. That extra income seems to have done more harm than good for many families as they tried to attain a certain stature, a certain place in the economic ladder. That silly little word called greed. So I began to wonder...am I working to fulfill my mother's dreams? Am I working to fulfill my dream of having an important position I can flaunt? Am I working to better my family's finances? But more importantly...does my working add anything to my overall happiness or the satisfaction of my family? This much I now know--being a mother and a wife was the best job I ever had and I truly loved it. So why did I so willingly push it to second place?

I flip back to my daily trek down the road to work. I dread it. I almost hate it. It does not make me happy, satisfied or content. I cannot stop thinking that there is something else...that there is more to life and it is passing me by. What am I missing? What am I giving up? I am home right now recuperating from a hospital stay and it is really hard for me to think about going back to work. Can I walk away and choose the happier route? Time will tell as I continue to ponder my future.

Obama....AAAHHGGGGHHHH!!!

2009-09-09T18:11:00.002-05:00

I am just about tired of hearing about all the horrible Communist and Nazi programs our president is trying to push on us helpless citizens. I am tired of the media giving so much voice and credence to cries of Nazism and the like. I am tired of hearing the ignorant religious bigoted prejudiced displays of hatred. They went too far with the education speech. When are we going to stand up and vocally support the president? The only people who are being heard right now are those against him and it makes me worry. It makes me worry because it seems like a scene from True Blood when Mary Ann vibrates wildly and all the townspeople break into a crazed frenzy. That's what's going on now.

This is what the main problem is:

They are afraid the face of intelligence is no longer White Anglo Saxon. They don't want their kids learning anything from a Black man even if he is president. They worry we peoples of color are taking over. That's what it's all about. They also want to make sure they pounce on everything Obama so he has no chance of winning in 4 years. I also believe some are thinking that if 'Maryann' vibrates enough with all that negative crap and all the misinformation and lies, someone will be so entranced that they will try to hurt the president. This was evident in the fall during the campaign and it is even more evident now. They don't care what happens to our country, just how they can keep their foot on Obama's neck pressed to the floor.

Let's work hard to make sure they don't get their wish. Let's work on getting our voices out there.

Way to Go George Stephanopoulos! (errr...well...sort of...this time...)

2009-08-09T12:49:00.011-05:00

I watched George Stephanopoulos this morning and wanted to jump through the TV and give George a high five!! I loved how he called Newt Gingrich out on the fear mongering lies being touted by so-called media experts such as himself, Sarah Palin (gag) and the far right orchestrated demonstrators !! I wish the media would do this more often rather than let those spewing lies speak as if their point of view is expertise, wanted or even relevant. Thank you, George, for standing up for truth at least once in your life!! I also watched a similar conversation with David Gregory on NBC and he made no attempts at pointing out the lies and twists of facts. (I miss Tim Russert. He was so much more objective.)

I have not read many specifics about the proposed health care reforms so I don't have a lot of facts to throw at you but I do have an opinion. I do know crap when I see and hear it and I see and hear a lot of it being shoveled into the mouths of, I am sorry to say, so-called conservative white people who are still mad that a Black man is president. It seems to me that ideas are pushed aside and jumped on just because it's Obama. Why was it so easy for Americans to go along with everything Bush did and proposed to do? All the while, people were touting him as the worst president, a total idiot, a fool and a liar. But when it was time to vote, make important decisions, this 'idiot of a president' always came out on top. I am sorry to say that it was because he was white and the fear mongers had no worries, because all was white, after all. Now the leader of the free world is a half Black man and suddenly it's OK to call the president a Nazi, a racist, a Communist, and any other ugly word they can find as a supposed way to protest something with which they don't agree.

According to The Commonwealth Fund, "With the exception of federal–state partnerships, all of the proposals (including G. W. Bush's) would transform the traditional role of employers by eventually scaling back or eliminating the extent to which they contract directly with health plans for coverage. The president's and Senator Wyden's proposals would achieve this in part by eliminating the tax exemption for employer-provided benefits and replacing it with an income tax deduction." So in essence, everyone is proposing some sort of eventual state run plan that could cover everyone. The problem is how certain people are presenting their proposals. Some hide this fact, others attempt to be more translucent.

A couple things that are missing in all of these debates was touched on slightly this morning by Howard Dean. He indicated that as a medical practitioner her received no refusal of treatments from the Medicare system but always received them from private insurers. As a military spouse, I can say that the healthcare provided is not the health care that Bill Gates would get, but it is adequate, and best of all, I don't have to pay directly out of pocket because taxes take care of the expenses. Doctors who are private practitioners can opt into the military health care system either agreeing to accept what the government deems is appropriate payment for a procedure or have the military member pay an additional amount. The nice thing is that we can choose the free care or we have a choice to pay a little extra for the nice frilly offices. I do have to admit that I seem to be paying more out of pocket these days, but I am still satisfied with the care I get.

The second important fact mentioned this morning was that some countries with government run health care programs have higher life expectancies. This point can be contested. However, our life expectancy is affected directly by a lifestyle of overeating and over driving. Just think of the reductions in total cost we would have if we would just eat less and eat healthier. My individual costs alone from my sickle cell issues have severely decreased from repeated hospital stays per year to none simply because I eat healthier. I haven't even mentioned smoking, drinking and the lack of exercise yet. I would just like to hear everyone talking about all the changes we could make in our own personal lives making parts of this whole health care mess irrelevant. I suspect that this will never happen because insurance companies need us to be dependent upon them so that they can continue to rake in the cash. And perhaps, even more importantly, politicians need us to be dependent upon insurers because they need the contributions to support their political ambitions. The problem is that the average American is once again always on the losing end.

Breaking and Entering While Black

2009-07-23T00:00:00.003-05:00

My 18 year old daughter gets stopped all the time by the police. She's used to it by now as is her boyfriend who really feels as though he is harassed. As a result he has many tickets (some warranted, some not). This happens all the time to African Americans (and other people of color). Many years ago I was told about an incident that resulted in the murder of a college acquaintance who was subsequently stopped because he was driving a car the police thought he stole. The car was expensive--owned by his NFL cousin--so therefore, that meant that it had to be stolen since the driver was a young black male. What occurred during that stop is anyone's guess but the result was the death of the young man at the hands of the officers that stopped him. My own brother also has many tales of being stopped for no reason except for the fact that he is black. For many years he felt that buying certain vehicles would cause random stops and searches. While house hunting, my husband was driving around the neighborhood trying to see if parking on the street was an issue. He was stopped by an officer because he looked 'lost'. Gee, what a nice guy worrying that a motorist is 'lost'. The ultimate problem for these individuals is simply put: Driving While Black. A DWB.

This brings me to the recent incident where Dr. Gates, a Harvard Professor, was arrested for disorderly conduct, when someone thought he was breaking into his house. In that respect, President Obama is correct in his analysis when asked about the Gates arrest in his own home. The president indicated that the police acted stupidly in arresting this man after proper ID was provided and proof given that the man had a reason to be in his own home. The police officer should have left after Mr. Gates presented his ID and an apology given for the intrusion. The man was tired from a long trip, he's educated and older...that means no patience for that kind of nonsense. Furthermore, when proof of identity was presented, there should be no reason this older gentleman would have been required to subsequently step out of his own home!! After all, we have all been taught that words cannot physically hurt anyone. Therefore, it didn't matter what Gates said to express his displeasure at the treatment he was getting by the officer. The really scary thing is that had this been in a worse part of the city, Mr. Gates may be dead after a beating or shooting by the police because they 'mistook the cane for a gun'. One question though...do his neighbors not know who he is and did they not notice the cane???

I suspect that those who jump on anything stated by our president with which they do not agree are going to be having a lot of fun claiming that the president is calling the police stupid and being soft on crime. I am sure some people will point out something (if not now, during the next presidential race) stated by Dr. Gates as being controversial as they did the minister. I suspect that much of his comments surrounding the 'stupidly' word will be taken out of context as I have already seen. Already the media is stating simply that Obama said the police acted stupidly without adding the rest of the sentence. Once again, an important issue will turn into a political game...I am sure the 'clarification' has already been prepared by the White House and will soon be out...let's wait and see.

Rest In Peace Michael

2009-06-25T17:56:00.011-05:00

Shock, dismay, regret, disbelief and sadness are amongst the emotions I am experiencing right now. Micheal Jackson was one of my favorite singers and as a teenager, he was my all time favorite person!! I loved his singing, his dancing...he made me proud to be Black for the very first time. There is so much to say, but mostly I just kept wishing he could get one more chance to shine.

Rest in Peace, Michael. We all loved you so very much. You will be missed.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T10:33:00.002-05:00

I just read an article about the Obama outing to a custard shop in Alexandria, VA. I then was curious, of course, about the comments posted after the article. Most of them went on their rants about politics, policy, etc. One person indicated that this is another example of the media love fest, another didn't want to read about anything but policies, politics and the like. One comment stated that Obama was exploiting the children with yet another photo op. How is going out for custard exploiting his children? Photo op? Do most dads not take their kids out for ice cream once in a while? I know my husband does and they are adults!! Thank heavens there were a few that saw this as they should: Dad spending time with the kids doing something normal and natural. Let's leave this at what it is, daddy and kids celebrating father's day. He's the president so nothing is 'normal' and they cannot go anywhere w/o being in the news. I really enjoyed the little story because it shows a normal family enjoying time together...something that is rare in America these days. Even more rare in the African American community. This should be celebrated!!

To the father of my children, I remember all those trips to get ice cream, the drives in the country, the camping , the fishing...thank goodness we didn't need a team on the roof or armed men surrounding us. I love you not only because you are my husband, but because every day you strive to be the best father you can!

44 Years of Sickle Beta Thalassemia! Happy Birthday to Me!!

2009-05-26T21:49:00.002-05:00

I am about to celebrate my 44th birthday this Friday. I'm excited as usual because each birthday celebrated means another year I have survived. I have a combination of Sickle Cell and Beta Thalassemia. They are blood disorders that, when combined in my case, act like Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). Over the years I have suffered through a lot of pain, hospitalizations, and other health issues that developed because of my blood disorder. There's no need to go into all of that here. I once read that people with SCD die before they turned 40. I anxiously awaited my 40th hoping that I would still be alive and not a statistic in a biology book. There have been a lot of bumps in the road along the way, but here I am, fairly healthy and have not endured a hospital stay in almost two years!

My family has been by my side through all of it. I have watched my mother worry about me all my life. As I am now older, I can look back and really 'see' all the worry and pain she carried. She would not let me ride a bike for fear of getting hurt. She spent so many days waiting with me at the emergency room, so many hours sitting by my bedside when I was admitted worried that this time I would not be coming home. She prayed a lot and I am sure, like many concerned mothers, she cried a lot. I wish she had not spent so much of her time worrying. But she is a mother and that's what mothers do. I am now a mother and I can relate. I am 44 and she still worries. I learned over the years not to hide my crises and pain because she always wanted to be able to say a special prayer. She never wanted to be in the dark about my problems and I learned that it was OK to share with her because she wanted to be able to worry because that meant at least I was still alive.

My husband picked up where my mother couldn't...when I became an adult, moved away from home, became a college graduate and a loving mother. He sat by my hospital bed when needed, looking on with all the love in the world in his eyes and all the concern in the world. He worried as I had our first child. He worried as I died and came back to life while trying to have our second child. He is here now, growing older with me, hoping that we will be able to spend the rest of an appropriately long lives together.

My children have unfortunately had to live with a parent dealing with a bothersome illness. They all worry when I am in pain. My eldest daughter lived without me for six weeks while I was in a coma during her third year of life, bouncing from friend to friend as my husband traveled out of state to see me (I was airlifted to another military facility). She has seen me in the hospital with tubes and needles stuck in my throat, my nose, my arms. I imagine there have been many times in her short life when she has worried that mommy would not come home. I think she has internalized those fears. Now that she is an adult, she visits all the time telling me she misses me if she doesn't see me every few days. She got physically ill when I was out of town for a couple weeks helping my mother back to good health. Ultimately she worries that her mom will be taken too early because she has had to think this way since she was a toddler. For that I am sorry.

But I am not gone, I am still here and plan to be here for many years to come. I plan to be here to see the marriages of my daughters and the births of my grandchildren. I am not going anywhere any time soon. I am happy with my life, my friends, my family. I will see many many more birthdays come and go.

Happy Birthday to Me and Cheers to you!!

Tea Party

2009-04-15T20:26:00.002-05:00

I was on another blog today that was criticizing the 'tea party' demonstrations against taxes. He posted a picture of a protester holding a sign. What really made me laugh was that a protester was holding a sign that says 'cut taxes, not defense'. Is she serious??!! If we cut taxes, how do we NOT cut defense? Don't these ignorant people realize that taxes are directly related to every government office, employee, military and defense dollar spent? How do you cut taxes and have the same level of services, roads, medical care, etc.? Instead of a tea party they need to be waking up to smell the coffee!

Happy Anniversary to Me and Mine

2009-03-31T21:10:00.003-05:00

Today is my 21st wedding anniversary!! I'm quite proud that we have made it this far and look forward to 21 more years! Whoo hooo!!

Free Gifts

2009-03-14T22:17:00.005-05:00

Enough of the gift already!! I was reading a blog that was criticizing a gift given to a foreign head of state. It was just such a stupid topic to be still beating that poor poor dead horse, I had to post something here.

Who the hell cares what was given to a political leader of another country--and what makes him or them more important than anyone else on this planet? And isn't that a form of socialism...taking taxpayer money and getting something to give to another person? All the criticisms have been coming from the 'right' and they don't believe in giving someone something for free supposedly. LOL In fact, the nicer gifts should be given to the average person the Obamas meet who could use a lift of spirits. I think the idea of those on top economically always getting the great freebies has always been a horrible practice. Mr. Head of State doesn't need a gift at all!! Mr. Head of State makes tons of money, will make tons of money and can buy whatever he likes. Gosh...Americans are sooooooo incredibly stupid Hellooooooo...it's the economy stupid!! Let's move on to something that is actually important to most people in the world.

Rush 2009

2009-03-07T13:49:00.006-06:00

I was fairly amused the last two weeks at Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh jockeying for position in the Republican party. I was equally amused and the Obama administration making Rush seem like the ad hoc leader with Steele in place simply in a dumb attempt to attract non-white male voters. It seems they are still up to their mind games thinking an intelligent individual will jump on board simply because someone looks like them.

That's not what happened with Obama. People of color didn't make him president. White people did. Now Rush is trying to make sure the second term does not happen by trying to reduce Obama's effectiveness making sure all eyes are on him. He is an entertainer and likes to entertain. But ultimately, he is not in the government so therefore cannot make any policies. But the RNC holds him higher than their own leader. This is evident because Steele was required to publicly apologize to someone that did not need an apology. I would not be surprised if Steele leaves his post early. If he stays it's because he is greedy and foolish. It is obvious that he is simply being used as a figurehead but others are making the real decisions. His apology had to send his mind reeling. I can't imagine it was easy for him to degrade himself that much.

It's interesting how some people love certain ideas when it's coming out of Limbaugh's mouth. They like to put blinders on. As I recall there are tax cuts in the bill even though Rush is claiming his idea for the economy is the only one that contains tax cuts. As I recall, cutting corporate taxes and 'promoting' job creation by allowing the wealthy to keep more of their money was the name of the game since the '80's with Reagan at the helm. Ultimately it and Bush's two wars brought us to where we are now. Ideas such as supply side will only work if the wealthy do not get greedy. That is the problem. Greed caused the creation of sub-prime lending. Greed caused these banks to package their debts and sell them as investments. Greed caused the big CEO's to sign off on irresponsible investments and policies. Greed caused many Americans to spend more than they had and buy homes they could not afford. Until we fix the basic desire for 'more' that is inherent in many human beings, society will continue to have it's ups and downs. No one program will work because supply side economics has already been tried and failed. If it worked we would not be here now. Big spending will not work either.

We all just have to learn to live differently. Be responsible. Be reasonable. Be informed. My husband told me about the economic crisis looming in the horizon over three years ago (I called him Chicken Little at the time) and all he did was do some reading online. I began paying attention to him, stopped calling him Chicken Little as the sky started to seem much closer, moved my investments and avoided a financial blood bath. We cut spending and drove less. Why did he know three years ago about the sub-prime mess, skyrocketing gas prices and economic collapse when you never heard about it here or anywhere else in the media? Because government and the media hide the truth to make things look better than they are while they are running away with your money. Wait until we hear about the bundling of credit card debt as an investment vehicle. Here comes the next wave so be prepared and get yourself educated. Just don't agree with someone because you see them all over the news.

BlagoyaBurris Pay for Play

2009-02-21T11:26:00.009-06:00

The pay for play news that came out in good ol' IL for the most part is not news to anyone who pays attention to politics. The only difference here is that certain people wanted a chance at getting a Republican seat. Except for our dear president and a select few in government, pay for play happens all the time. I am sure even our president hinted at giving something further consideration because someone wholeheartedly, wholepocketedly gave their support. Presidential cabinets and other appointments are always prime examples of pay for play. For anyone to pretend this is unusual and/or new is at best disingenuous.

If we have not learned anything in this past year, we should at least have learned that money makes the world go around. Greed is and was in fashion and those in power will do anything to feed their greedy desires. They know that if they are successful and become one of the more popular politicians, they will move on to a television spot, best-selling books, high-paying jobs or on the guest speaker tour--all of which lead to higher financial gains. You support a candidate because you expect them to do 'something' for you when they are elected. You expect them to remember your 'support'. Us regular folks just hope they will remember who voted them in when getting funding for their locality, state, etc. We want them to remember our faces when they vote for new taxes. We want them to remember us when they throw our dollars away on stupid pet projects. We pay to put them in office so they will support our interests. Now, someone who has real power, i.e. lots of money, supports a candidate because they know they can count on this candidate to enact a specific law or at least introduce it. They know that the need for their dollars for the next election will weigh heavily on that candidate when they vote for or against things like clean air, health care and energy initiatives. They know that their company will be on the list for possible or probable government contracts. They know that they may have already become the object of a vetting process for a position high up on an administration, whether local or national. That's just how our governments work now. There is rarely true honesty. The very idea that we need to run a campaign for 2 years, wasting billions of dollars should tell you that fund raising is job one for our elected officials. And this is at least partly the fault of us every day folks who allow this to continue. We are complacent now because we have our decent jobs and our nice cars and homes.

That's why you have to be a different animal to want to be in politics. You have to be willing to give up (or at least temporarily alter) some of your mores. Many of our politicians want to effect positive changes for their constituents and may even start their political career working towards that goal. But ultimately they too realize the game of finance. I am sure we have many politicians who are disheartened and disappointed when they 'make it' because they will see no way around being somewhat unscrupulous, turning their promises to constituents into disingenuous banter. They then have to decide that they need to 'pay for play' in hopes that 'compromising' just a bit enables them to see a small victory down the road. When our president talks about the different dynamics in the community between the people who were active in his organizing efforts in his book, Dreams From My Father, he addresses this disparity between those who genuinely want to do good and those who know they can manipulate people into thinking they want to improve their community. He saw how officials from the church to the state houses used their influence to get some personal benefits for themselves or those close to them. He also seems to have successfully maneuvered around most of this to get where he is--much to the chagrin of those whom he passed. The only people initially around him that were pure in their desires were the moms and dads living in Altgeld who had children and family that were directly affected by the dearth of financial attention to their neighborhoods. Obama's sincerity, inability and unwillingness to be 'purchased' is evident because the only thing they were able to 'pin' on him was a connection to a minister who didn't mind speaking the truth from his pulpit.

I knew there was more to come when Mr. Burris accepted the appointment. I initially thought that any person who accepted an appointment by Blago was just plain stupid. But Burris knew what he was doing when he accepted (I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt here). He knew the dems wanted to avoid a special election and also knew that once appointed it would be difficult to remove him...thus the use of 'friends'. Mr. Burris needs to just let the focus on him stew and slowly dissipate. The media will find something else to focus on (you know, like turning to their penchant for revisionist history to start working on blaming our pres for the economic mess created by those before him) because, if nothing else, they suffer from ADHD!

Stimulate This

2009-02-01T08:11:00.008-06:00

I was watching 'This Week' on ABC the other morning and as the panel discussed the economic stimulus plan pushed through the House of Representatives and now handed over to the Senate, Fred Smith, the CEO of FedEx stated that "the growth of global trade has been enormously beneficial to the United States." That line immediately made me get out of my warm, comfy bed, turn on the computer and write down the quote exactly. Of course I am not surprised that he said this because the company he runs greatly depends on the growth of global trade. In fact I think Mr. Smith wanted to say that 'the growth of Fedex has been enormously stimulated by the transferring of manufacturing from the United States to the global economies who have the lowest wages.' They went on to mention customer service centers and blah, blah blah.

Customer service centers are a relatively new creation. Although relevant to the argument, it is manufacturing that is at the crux of the problem. The destruction of the Unites States economy is directly related to the so-called 'globalization' of world economies that Mr. Smith is holding on to like 'his precious'. Unfortunately, he is not Golum, this is not the 'Lord of the Rings', and Bilbo is not about to ask the Elves for help! This is a ruse being sold by multinational corporations who prey on poor countries with their environmentally dirty manufacturing practices and grossly low wages. Today's multinationals are miscreants, to say the least, who prey on the weak countries that have less opportunities to offer their people.

WHOOOO HOOOOO!!! AT LAST!!

2009-01-20T20:40:00.003-06:00

Mr. and Mrs. President:

It give's me such pleasure to see our president so outwardly showing love and affection for his wife. Hollywood needs to step up and give us some of this on the big screen and little screen. Can we say Cliff and Claire Huxtable II??

Yes, we Black folks do love each other too!!

We are Experiencing the Dream!

2009-01-18T13:19:00.002-06:00

I'm so excited I can't decide what I should do with myself!! I took the day off so I could experience everything as our new president is inaugurated. I plan to go out to breakfast. I encouraged others to take a day off in celebration, in reflection...just to bask in the joy and take it all in. But do I celebrate with friends? Do I go to a big bash downtown dressed up in my best gown? Do I just stay home and enjoy it comfortably with my husband?

This much I do know...life as we know it as Black people in America means much more to us all now. If only we can keep the momentum going and change other things for the better. This truly is one of the first times I will feel truly proud of my fellow Americans--I knew what Michelle meant. Somehow so many people made this happen and I am grateful.

Fifteen Days and Counting Down!!

2009-01-05T19:22:00.004-06:00

Are you excited? I know I am. Only 15 days until Barack Obama becomes president! I am so looking forward to having an intelligent Black man speak for our nation. I already submitted my vacation request...have you? I don't plan to miss a moment of that day!

I do, however, have one criticism. Stop with the old Clinton people already!! As you are young and new to the national political scene, perhaps it is time to give other young and new people a chance. Must every cabinet appointment be of a former Clinton aid or appointee. I read today that a 70 year old Panetta was chosen to be CIA director. I'm sorry, but that is too old!! The man should be retired, sitting on the lanais, fruity drink in hand, in sunny FL basking in the sun! There are plenty of people out there that are qualified for positions on the cabinet and other high appointments. I thought we were bringing in the new but it's turning out to be reinventing the Clinton White House. I hope this isn't the beginning of a long list of disappointments.

I will continue to give our new president the benefit of the doubt. I am hoping his brilliant mind has a plan!

Brick...er...Barack's House

Israel's note to Gazans: 'Leave the Area Immediately'

2009-01-03T09:15:00.004-06:00

Where would millions of people go when told to leave because you are being invaded? Why is the world standing by watching the genocide of a people? The Palestinians only have an area that is approximately 15 x 3 miles long. To where are they fleeing? Why should they have to leave their homes? Why is it all right for Europeans to, once again, decide it's OK to displace indigenous peoples so more Europeans can settle somewhere? This land was given to the European Jews after World War II as a kind of consolation prize. Why didn't Europeans want Jews to remain in their borders? It smacks of the injustices against Native Americans in the United States when Europeans decided they had 'discovered' a new world. Why does the world not notice that this is a terrible injustice and that is why Hamas continues to fight and be defiant? Why has Barack Obama not stood up and defended the Palestinians who are losing their homes, their lives, their generations to come, their future? We support the Jews? Why? What has Israel done for the United States? Why do they continue to receive monetary support from the taxpayers? Why was it ok for Israel to have nuclear weapons but not ok for other Middle Eastern nations?

Removing all irrelevant religious banter, the reason is OIL! Oil's importance was determined over 60 years ago and Israel's existence lauds over the nations rich with oil. But how long will we sit idly by while people are killed and displaced so that we can maintain our oil watch dogs in the Middle East? It's not ok with me...it shouldn't be ok with any morally grounded person.

Links of interest:

Israel's land grab

A few more truths

What Really Happened

Habari Gani?

2008-12-28T08:18:00.007-06:00

Ujima!

Hello and welcome to the third day of Kwanzaa, Ujima. Ujima represents Collective Work and Responsibility. In essence this day focuses on the need for us to work together, to internalize the needs of each individual in the community and work collectively to maintain that community working towards solving our problems. The feeling that we are all responsible for each other is an important part of Ujima.

If we don't have a sense of connectivity, then we cannot conceive of the need to work together. The African American and Pan-African communities are expansive. When we speak of community in this context, it is meant as a collective gathering of our people wherever they may be. In the United States, we still have 'Black communities' concentrated near larger metropolitan areas but we are widespread in the suburbs and rural areas. So, in this respect, you may feel that the concept of Ujima is no longer applicable. You can espouse this concept by doing simple things like what we saw in the Obama campaign-many small community organizations developed all over the nation. You had the opportunity to create your own group right in your own home if you wanted to.

The 'community' has many problems, issues and concerns upon which we can all focus our attention. For example, with the global problem of teen pregnancy, we can work on educating our own children, teaching them abstinence, getting them the proper birth control. We can volunteer to help tutor school-age children so that they perform better academically. We can organize a community garden, teaching each other how to raise our own food. There are so many things we can do. The key is doing them together all over the world.

It starts small but can grow to something much larger, just as Kwanzaa has grown over the years.

Harambee!

Happy Kwanzaa!

2008-12-27T09:06:00.002-06:00

Habari Gani!

Remembering all our ancestors who first brought knowledge and enlightenment to the world; who suffered the cruelty of slavery, racism, segregation and oppression throughout the world. Thank you, great ancestors, for the precious gift of your blood, sweat and tears and your fight for freedom, justice and equality. You have helped to bring us to this point in History as we prepare to receive our first Black president of the US and we can begin to say it has not all been in vain. The World sees him as a symbol of hope and honesty because of who we are and where we have been.

The Official Kwanzaa Website

Her Beauty Was Skin Deep

2008-12-16T18:33:00.006-06:00

I was walking in the mall the other day with my beautiful daughter, had no makeup on... just jeans, a turtleneck sweater, flats and a leather jacket. ..43 with gray hairs peeking out from the rinse that is wearing off. I notice when I am being noticed (and love it!) but I try to be respectful to my admirers, smile and just move on. I never disrespect an admiring brother because they get enough of that from others. Anyway, we came upon some very handsome what seemed to be like 25 to 30ish, 6-foot plus tall, fashionable brothers and I noticed them checking me out. I played it off and simply smiled (I did noticed one of them had turned completely around to follow me and made sure that I had noticed him looking). My daughter exclaimed, "Wow, Mom...that guy did a complete 360 just to look at you and watch you walk by!!" I merely replied, "Oh really?". In my mind I thanked him for boosting the ego of a 43 year old, married 20 years sister.

I was always a shy timid girl growing up and fealt that I was ugly. Why? Because not one boy in my high school ever asked me out. When I got my driver's license and started to visit the local mall, I began to realize that I was wrong. It wasn't that I didn't look pretty enough...the problem was that I was the only Black girl in the school. The only other Black boy was my brother. It was in the country in upstate New York in the '80's. Ahhh...you say...that explains it! Yes! That explains it all right! Anyway, when I started to go to 'town' I noticed the black boys would try to talk to me and give me compliments. WOW! I really wasn't ugly after all! It was just racism or fear. I think that if someone did 'like' me at my school, they were afraid of what others may say. They just could not get past the racism but I sure got past thinking I was ugly!! But, that's another subject all by itself for a future blog.

I am thankful that it is better for my daughters. They are growing up in a world that often does not care about your racial ethnicity (to a point). Don't get me wrong...racism still exists. In fact, the problem of racial identity and the idea of beauty still exists and may be more prevalent now. Black women not only braid, press and straighten...they have turned the clock back and are starting to wear wigs again. They shave everything and even wear foundation on a daily basis. Sad, sad, sad...Asian women are getting operations to 'open' their eyes, make their noses more European...African men and women are addictively bleaching their skin. European women have their own set of problems as bolemia, anorexia, plastic surgery, etc. continue to be bigger and growing problems. Teens are now going under the knife and asking for a boob job as a sweet 16 birthday gift! The list goes on.

I read a story the other day about a Korean singer/model who was obsessed with her appearance and plastic surgery. She went under the knife many times and received silicone injections illegally. The first picture below are the after results. In Japan she was able to find doctors who performed many surgeries on her face until she was unrecognizable. She went home to Korea where her parents sough psychological help. That worked for a while until she again found a doctor who not only gave her the injections, he gave her the syringes so that she could inject herself. After she could not afford or get the silicone injections she did something else. I guess the silicone must have reminded her of vegetable oil because that is what she decided to use when she became her own plastic surgeon!!

After

When I saw the 'before' pictures, I was floored!! I could not believe that such a beautiful woman purposely made herself look like a monster!! What does this say about society today? What was she thinking? Was she mentally unstable? Is she suffering from the same apparent mental issues that may plague Michael Jackson? I don't know.

Before

What I do know is that the image of beauty is greatly distorted. Women are trying to make themselves look like something that is not the norm in any society. The average woman does not look like the examples in the magazines nor on television. Heck, the ones in the magazines and on television don't look that way either...they are made up to look like that and it takes a staff of people to make the 'look' complete! But you already know all of this. There's no need to preach to the choir, right? My only hope is that women stop disfiguring themselves in the name of beauty and learn to love themselves for who they are. So at least once a week, go out without makeup. Be comfortable in your own beautiful skin.

Here's the YouTube Link to the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1JLL51ox3k&NR=1

What's Wrong With Exponential Growth?

2008-12-08T22:07:00.003-06:00

Part I of a series by guest writer Kamau:

What's wrong in the world today? As I scour the news waves daily, I can't find nary a bit of good news. Sure we have days the DOW goes up, but what does that really mean? Did a new factory open? Did a new revolutionary product or manufacturing process come into being? Did a million new jobs appear on the books? Are Americans making and/or keeping more of their own money? So what does the DOW signify? I will tell you; It represents the amount of activity or trade among the people that actually have wealth in this country. Last time I checked that was a scant few percent of the population (less then 10). So why do we get all excited to know the DOW went up (or down)??

Remember the Reagan years, the “trickle-down “philosophy? That rabbit hole goes deeper than you know and yes you (YOU) are still in it's clutches. Didn't think you believed in the idea, did you? Well, now you know.

YOU DO!!

Ask yourself why? If the DOW was a true indicator of wealth and welfare in America, why is it that even as oil prices dropped like a rock, there was no patterned effect to the larger economy. We are still losing employers by the droves and banks are dropping like flies. The larger banks are yet afraid to lend even to one another. So, what's wrong??

I listened to a lecture by Doctor Albert Bartlett about the theory and science behind exponential growth and the failure of mankind to truly understand it. In fact he stated “The greatest shortcoming of the human race is the failure to understand exponential growth”. The public school nightmare we call education today only takes a cursory swipe at teaching abstract subject matter, but a mere 20 years ago, we “youngster's “ had to know the basic mathematical tools. Exponents was one of them. We actually learned how to plot curves on graph paper (today graphing calculators have take that requirement away). My own high-schoolers have difficulty at linear math (i.e straight lines). Not to get off on too great a tangent here, but I want to point out that our current quagmire has a long history that took a while to devolve into the mess we see today. For example; can something...anything... grow forever??? Please narrow that question to the planet Earth. This rock isn't getting any bigger as the years click by [trust me]. Yet we have devised a global economic paradigm that requires perpetual growth. Think about what that means. Every year, every quarter, every cycle, we all believe that the economy worldwide must grow. And true, grow it must or it crashes.

But....we live on a finite planet. We are citizens of a finite country (empire building aside). Yet, still we must grow. Here is a question for you; when does it stop? Stop it also must because, again, this rock is the same size it was 1 million years ago. It will be the same size (unless it explodes) 1 million years from now. When do we stop growing.

The preceding question is posed for your conjecture. As for myself, its a given; we will stop growing and the only question is: What will happen? Going back to what is wrong in the world today. Answer: seemingly everything.

I can't find a single item in modern life that is correct and/or functioning properly. The economy is on the skids, the climate is whacked, the soil is eroding, the rainforest's are being cut down, species are disappearing, the oceans are becoming acidic, the fish are being depleted, CO2 is still increasing, hunger is becoming more prevalent, old diseases are coming back, the bees are dying, the oil is running out, the coal is running out, the natural gas is running out, copper is running out, iron is running out, uranium is running out, fresh water is running out; the list is very long and I have barely touched the surface. I hope we can all discern each item of depletion is a direct result of over-use. If the economy must continue to grow, so must the population. There is the core issue or shortcoming of the perpetual growth disaster. In part two let's take the population issue to task......Kamau

Black Friday @ The Evil Empire

2008-11-30T20:00:00.000-06:00

Just when we had an event that included a positive (at least to retail establishments) use of the word 'black' some nappy-headed, crazy-as-they-wanna-be, stupid-acting, cheap-Walmart- shopping, dumb-ass Negroes go stampeding to buy some cheap shit at the Evil Empire. What the hell is wrong with these Black folks? You killed a human being to be the first to get some dumb shit at a slight discount!! Hmmm...guess the 'reason for the season' is lost on all of you standing there that morning waiting in the cold with 1,999 other ignorami. And a poor guy trying to make a little extra cash gave his life for all of you. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

People, 'THINGS' ARE NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE!! This should have never happened and shines a very bright light on our need for the biggest, brightest, best new toy or gadget in the store. We gotta get it before the neighbors do. Little Jr. needs that video game machine so that he can play it instead of studying. Gotta get that HDTV before the football game. Gotta get that deep discount the 'Empire' advertised even though we know there are only 5 of that item in the whole damn store.

We no longer have anything to live for, to look forward to, if the goal is to be standing in a line in the middle of the night at the doors of the 'Empire' waiting for them to let us in so we can spend our hard earned money on some little piece of trash made by a 10 year old kid in China. Now I must admit that I too have stood in a line at a few stores over the years to get in on a good shopping deal even though I knew it was silly. But I tell myself, the discount was worth it. But a discount is definitely not worth risking my life, the life of my kids (I always brought my oldest to help and saw many other kids there too) and the life of an employee of any store. The one rule I always had was to never go to the 'Empire' because the quality of their stuff is shitty at best. I assumed it would be mayhem at that place. As a general rule, I don't shop there because they don't even have the decency to tidy the store and mop the floors every day. This year I decided that no discount was worth losing sleep over and looking foolish standing out there in the cold (well lesser warmth as I am in San Antonio!). Besides, I can do just as well shopping online. I did go out later in the morning and got a really great deal on a mixer, leather jacket, etc. I went to more respectable stores (yes, I know, still made in China). Even then someone was complaining that the electronics store only had 7 of a certain HDTV he wanted. The difference between crowds at the 'Empire' and crowds at other stores is stark--we respect other human beings. Some stores gave out lottery tickets so that there was no need to panic and they controlled the flow of people as they opened the door. They had security at the door. They had police in the parking lot. They took care of their shoppers and their employees. I read that the employees made a human fence by linking arms to control the flow of shoppers. I hope this has taught them (those employees) that no job is worth putting yourself in front of an angry mob and risking your life.

...And this happens after we got an image of a black thug who violently killed the pretty blond news anchor in Arkansas...

This happens after we just elected a highly educated and qualified mixed-race African American to be our president. Some of us may have thought that maybe this election was a sign that we are getting 'there' and we are beginning to 'achieve', take our rightful place in history, putting a positive face out there for all the world to see. Enter the Negroes of the 'Empire' to dash our hopes all to hell! Their stampeding faces plastered all over the Internet, on every newspaper...

To those who willingly stomped on someone's body: HOPE LITTLE JR. LIKED THE NEW TOY--A MAN GAVE HIS LIFE SO YOU COULD BUY IT!

My Holiday Top 10 Suggestions

2008-11-21T21:37:00.000-06:00

Ho, Ho, Ho...merry...spending!! Are you ready? Are you ready for the holiday rush? Are you ready to charge into the store and shop your wallets empty? Ready to stand in line at the checkout? Ready to wait out in the cold in the dark Friday morning to get first dibs on the post-Thanksgiving sales?

Here are my top 10 tips:

1. Have a budget! Better yet, have a cash budget--one that does not rely on using credit cards. After all, what good is a sale if you are paying months and months of finance charges?! Have you not erased the benefit of getting the sale if you're paying MiseryCard your savings and more in finance charges? Creative financing didn't work for the banks so what makes you think it will work for you?

2. Go out with a shopping list. Better yet, use the list you had your gift recipients make (of course, cut it in half and toss the more expensive half--lol). Just like you should while grocery shopping, a list allows you to stay within your budget, and you won't forget Jr.'s number 7 video game on his list. Don't stray from that list. Ask yourself if little Nadira really needs that pink and white, zebra-striped, frilly, tasseled Betsy Johnson purse you just walked by sitting there teasing your visual mommy senses--then remind yourself that little Dejanee doesn't even like purses!

3. Wear comfortable shoes. You can't shop 'til your wallet drops if you can't walk longer than 30 minutes.

4. Carry a purse that sits on our shoulders--you'll need that second hand. Guys, carry a wallet that's not afraid of getting lighter right before your eyes.

5. Shop online. You can get refurbished Ipods, overstock bedding, discount books and all with free shipping, no long checkout lines and no crazy parent trying to knock you out because you got the last Guitar Hero bundled with 3 other random games they will never play.

6. Buy a gift card...they'll thank you for it when they think of that magenta flannel pajama set you got them last year.

7. Stop writing 'From Santa' on the gift tags...they can tell it's your handwriting!!

8. Wrap the gifts before Christmas Eve.

9. Take a day off just to rest after New Year's Day, after the kids are back in school. You'll need it and deserve it.

10. Remember the reason for the season---food, glorious food!

United We Stand?

2008-11-10T19:24:00.000-06:00

I read a post on CNN that criticized Obama supporters for saying negative things about McCouldn't when 'we should all be uniting'. The following was my response:

As I read about the republican effort to insinuate that Obama was like Fidel Castro and referred to in the same sentence as several Latin and South American dictators, I was proud of the fact that Obama did not reciprocate. As I read all the silly stories about how he was not a citizen because he was born in Kenya (which would not matter as his mother was a citizen), I was amazed that he let that slide without much mention. As I read that he was in prison and a murderer, I thought it wonderful that Obama paid not attention. As I listened to the other candidates call him a terrorist, I was amused at the level at which they would sink to win...Barack simply, calmly set the record straight. As I listened to my mother telling about the robocalls she received in her own home saying ridiculously outrageous things about this upstanding citizen, I was angry, but Obama was not. As I listened to so many people, even his own colleagues, discount his power, authority, and credibility, I kept on hoping and he kept on trying to be heard. As I watched history in the making unfold, I was proud. Proud.

As I listened to Obama's speech Tuesday night, I got excited, I was invigorated, I felt as if finally so many young people who had no hope may be able to find a way to hope now. As I realized the reality of Obama's win hit my consciousness, I was disappointed in myself for not completely believing that it could happen. But how ironic that in this seemingly anti-Muslim time, an Anglo-African-American man would be elected president using his Muslim-sounding name, recollecting his life with his white grandparents, mother and African father.

I will be one of those people knocking on your doors in 3 years working hard to re-elect Mr. Obama because he has instilled a sense of confidence in me because of his reactions to all the negativism that was thrown at him. Through it all, never did he stoop as low. Through it all he kept his cool. Through it all he convinced so many of us that we had chosen the right man to lead our country. Through it all, he acted like a future president should. In light of all the negative information coming out now on the other side, I say thank God Mr. Obama won!!

We are all entitled to our opinions and I respect most of them. Why do we keep bringing out the negative even after the campaign is over? Because we were screaming on the inside. We (many of us) kept it in. We knew it would only hurt our candidate as it did yours so we helped Barack by standing unified and strong. As Oprah put it...now we are all UNLEASHED!!!
*********

Many of us instead used our computers to dispel the myths and inform those we could reach about the misleading falsehoods out there. We tried to set the record straight. Never did anyone try to destroy, defame and possibly insight others to physically harm the other candidate. Never would Obama have tolerated people yelling 'kill him' in his audience. Now the election has been decided. For those of you who chose to be so negative, shame on you. But the American people are smarter now. Do they really want to keep being so polarizing? Do they really think it's enough when so many people are hurting in their bank accounts? I think not. Substance is now a requirement. Finally America may be waking up!!

2008-11-04T22:15:00.000-06:00

HIP HIP HOORAAYYYY!!!

AND A 'MUSLIM FIST JAB' TO YOU ALL!!

CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!!!

(Thanks, but no thanks to the 'Mavricky' team! LOL)

Pre-election Jitters

2008-11-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

...so yesterday afternoon I cast my vote. As you can tell, I have been quite excited about the election because of Barack Obama. Every day I joke with a coworker about this election and I tell him I don't think Barak will be allowed to win. Every day I tell myself that he is not going to win. I guess I am trying to prepare myself for that very real possibility. There are so many dirty tricks the media and the other side has still yet to pull that I have no faith in our electoral system. My dear husband believes all elections are 'fixed' and already decided upon long before we vote. I am inclined to believe him. After all, he did predict the sub-prime and stock crash long ago.

Each time I have voted in the past, I have hoped that my one little vote could help juxtapose my chosen candidate to the top. This time, having already witnessed an election stolen, having seen the true powers of those who really decide the presidency-our electoral college-having seen and heard people give outrageous reasons for supporting McCain, I have almost lost hope. They tried the 'black radical' story, they tried the 'Muslim' story, they tried the 'not prepared' story, they tried the 'elitist' story, they tried the 'not a citizen' story, they tried the 'terrorist' story, they even tried the '6'4" black attacker' story, and now it's the 'illegal immigrant aunt' story. What will be next? There are 3 days left and that seems like a lifetime. In three days a lot can happen.

I cannot fathom a real reason to support McCain other than his race. Usually there are two white guys battling it out and I try to choose the lesser of two evils. I truly don't believe there is any kind of 'evil' with Obama. I truly believe that he wants to make a difference. So many people believe and hope this to be true. But I'm afraid there are many more who just want him gone because of who he is. I sit now waiting in anticipation for Tuesday night to come so it will be all over. The waiting is killing my spirit. I should be happy and excited about the fact that a partially black man that is highly intelligent (not forgetting very HOT!!) and more than qualified to be president has a real chance. Nope...all I am doing is worrying...not only worrying that he will not win, but worrying that he will win. Worrying that someone will take it upon themselves to cause him harm. I don't want to witness a possibly great leader's life ending before his children grow up.

Minister Farrakhan, where is your bulletproof wall from the Million Man March? Barak could really use it right now!!

GET OUT THERE AND VOTE PEOPLE!! IF MY MAN DOESN'T WIN I'M GONNA BE FORCED TO BREAK WINDOWS AT BEST BUY AND CHOOSE MY FAVORITE FLAT SCREEN FOR FREE!! ...Just kidding...!!! LOL

Messiah

2008-10-26T22:46:00.000-05:00

According to Mr. Oliver North, when he was in DC the other day, Barack Obama's motorcade came by as he drove down the 'Dulles Greenway'. People were directed to the side of the street and when they realized whose motorcade it was, many supporters got out of their cars and started taking pictures. Some of them started to shout, according to Mr. North: '"The Messiah! He's coming! Obama is coming!" The shouting only intensified as the candidate and his entourage — motorcycles, police cars, black Secret Service Suburbans and busses — roared past us.'

People, if any of that is true...please get a proper perspective. He is not a Messiah...umm...er...at least I don't think he is...so let's stick to reality.

Have a nice week and get to the polls early!!

'Let the Circle be Unbroken'

2008-10-19T19:48:00.000-05:00

Today is the 18th birthday of my eldest child. Happy birthday, sweetheart. May the spirit of our ancestors guide you to your destiny.

************************

If you didn't get the pleasure of seeing and hearing Colin Powell speak on 'Meet the Press' today, you missed what I believe to be one of the best moments in this entire presidential campaign. The following is an excerpt of a portion of Colin Powell's words leading up to his endorsement of Barack Obama:

"Senator Obama has demonstrated the kind of calm, patient, intellectual, steady approach to problem-solving that I think we need in this country," Powell declared.

"I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama," Powell said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Powell said Obama "displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems ... . I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well."

So very eloquently put, I felt a sense of pride as I sat literally leaning on the edge of my seat, not wanting to miss one single word. It gives me hope that maybe all isn't lost and maybe at some point we can make a difference...I could not have expressed how I feel any better...Change that we need indeed.

Ase! (So shall it be!)

Start your own PAC

2008-10-12T11:21:00.000-05:00

I read a very discouraging article today. It was about the low number of black voter registrants and reasons for the problem. Although I am already aware of the problems and most things discussed in the article, I thought it noteworthy enough to pass it on. The link is below and I suggest you read it.

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=c22598f2e13ed9421a7933e8d9d25977&from=rss%20

Although it highlights minority voting problems, I think this is one of the reasons why our country is now run by economic elites. The average American is very un-American, very unpatriotic because they no longer participate in the political process. I was very interested in the information presented about voting in Europe. It is also interesting to note that for the country that claims it is the most democratic, it is low on the totem pole when it comes to voter participation.

Here’s my suggestion: When you vote on Nov. 4, bring at least one person with you. In fact fill your car. Make it a voting party; then come back home and watch the results and the annoying political pundits (talk about nothing)…make a cheese and cracker plate, order some Buffalo wings, pizza or whatever floats your boat. I have already requested half the day off for this event and am thinking of taking the next day off (in celebration –or in sorrow…depending on the results) too.

Please also remember that you can vote early if you don’t want to bother with the crowds (or worry about running out of ballots and hanging chads). Check out this link if you are not sure about your state laws:

http://www.earlyvoting.net/states/abslaws.php

If you can do this for the Superbowl why can’t you do this for something that actually matters?

Dumb and Dumber

2008-10-07T19:39:00.000-05:00

I wrote the following observations in response to an article siting the Princeton Reviews study of the grade levels of language used in the debates. The writer indicated the he or she will be watching the next debate differently because he or she did not realize that the language used was devoid of any intellectual challenges:

Everything these days is 'dumbed' down. Society is less intelligent as a whole and most people do not seek out knowledge, they believe what they hear on TV. I pay attention to the public school education my children are getting and it is very different than the public school education I received. There are a lot of bells and whistles, gadgets, computers, etc...all deflecting from the fact that our public education system is worse. The children graduate knowing less and acting less mature. Thus the reason the candidates have to talk down to America. We no longer expect our leaders to exhibit intelligence. We examine their personalities. We need them to be able to have a drink with us. All silly reasons to vote for anyone whether democrat or republican.

Our leaders need to be intelligent, competent, and able to conduct meetings, interviews with people from all over the world. The funny thing is that people from other countries tend to speak English more intelligently than those born right here in the good old USA. They also tend to do better in our own education systems. I don't need to watch differently because I already noticed that we are a nation that thrives on the lack of knowledge.

I thought I would share because this has been one of my biggest problems with political elections as of late. Here are the debate statistics as they relate to reading levels:

2000 George W. Bush: spoke at a sixth-grade level (6.7) Al Gore: seventh-grade (7.9)

1992 Bill Clinton scored in the seventh grade (7.6), President George Bush in the sixth grade (6.8), and Ross Perot at a sixth-grade level (6.3).

1960 Kennedy and Nixon, both of whom spoke in a vocabulary appropriate for tenth graders.

1858 Lincoln vs. Douglas: Lincoln spoke at an eleventh grade level (11.2); Douglas 12.0

Looking at these results reinforces the fact that America is getting dumber. Sad indeed.

Why do I have a Job?

2008-10-03T17:50:00.000-05:00

I was watching a show on television the other day about women who are overwhelmed with their lives because they have careers outside of the home in addition to taking care of their family. One woman described how she hated being the financial officer of her company and another explained how she spends most of her time completing tasks for her teaching job. I could not help thinking about my own struggle with my desire to have a career while still being a mother. Of course, the next thought was then why should they struggle like this when they could simply choose not to work. None of the women seemed to be in financial danger if they quit as they had spouses who were also employed.

My husband’s words began to ring in my ear. He believes that I should choose to stay home because we will never be rich from our jobs and my income just makes it easier for us to be better consumers. I began to question all of my arguments for having a job: It enables me to save more money for our future; I can save for retirement; my children can have summer vacations; I can go on the occasional shopping spree; it gives me something to do in the days; I can make friends and converse with adults like me; blah, blah, blah it goes. As I sit here writing down all these excuses, the reality I see and feel is that my husband is right--I work to consume. When I initially started working, on payday I would think about the new outfit, new purse…the new shoes. I thought about going out to dinner more than once in the week, perhaps treating the children to a movie with dinner. Why are these things so important to me? Why are these consumer driven desires so important to our society? Does this make us better people? Are we better parents? Of what real advantage is the effect of our willingness to give up our lives at home for a few extra dollars that are mostly used to increase the wealth of those that are truly wealthy? Could our desire to consume more than the neighbors and co-workers be driving the economic problems so many of us are feeling today?

Did you need the house you are living in or just wanted to show off how much you can afford? Could you have purchased your car slightly used and saved several thousand dollars? Did you have to go out to eat tonight? Do you realize that you spend at least 2.5 hours on a typical night out to eat at your favorite restaurant? Just think of what you could have done with the time had you stayed home. Cooking dinner may have taken 1 hour. You would have had an additional 1.5 hours to spend relaxing with your family. So tell me…why are we OK with the idea of sitting at a restaurant waiting to be seated for 2 hours? Crazy, isn’t it? So why do we do it? Why do we do all we can to make money and have a nice home then make up all these reasons to not be in it? My husband asks me that all the time. I no longer have an answer.

I must admit that I have gotten to be a lot more frugal over the years since I started working. I want to keep as much of my hard earned money as I can. So now, I don’t go on shopping sprees; I don’t go out to dinner twice each week (I’m watching my girlish figure too!!); I try to spend only when I have to and it is almost painful to see how much is left, even after being careful, by the time the next payday rolls around. Granted, I save before I spend, but it sure would be nice to save even more!!

Every day at work is less tolerable to me. Is there anyone who truly loves working? So why work when we don’t have to? Why can’t we just let go of a few things, stop consuming so much and be satisfied with less?

Hmmm…let me know what you think. Post your comment below.

A Letter to Our Leaders

2008-09-30T22:03:00.001-05:00

The following is written by one of my favorite writers, my very wise husband:

Dear Congress,

Enough is enough. You have had your fun, but this little game of continuing to deceive is becoming tiresome. The economists have good points, but let's cut to the chase here and get the extemporaneous stuff out of the way. You have [just] realized that our economy is in trouble, yes. You have [just] realized that many large financial institutions are not going to survive, yes. You have noted that the demise of these institutions will have dire consequences on the general well-being of the economy, yes. Your answer (solution) to this crisis is to throw a significant amount of taxpayer dollars at it. Go on, admit it. The only point of contention is how many of these ill-fated dollars each of you are willing to have your names adhered to in case this fails. Otherwise each one of you wants to throw money at it and hope it goes away until you are no longer in office.

Let's examine the mechanics of this mess for a moment. The real problem is older than most Americans know. It is more pervasive than you have allowed Americans to understand. My dear Congress, remember when this country had it own factories for the products we consume? What happened to those?
Ok....we all know what happened to them, but I need you to think about why it happened. Why did we move our manufacturing capability to other shores? What sane society would get rid of the employment structure its own citizens need to buy the products they produce/need? Never mind, we did it and that's history, but why? What could we fill the income gap with since we became a country that stopped producing products to sell? Good idea! We’ll make money a product itself and sell that, along with various services, for a profit.

Problems right out of the chute. We must grow our economy without pause because we get most of our money from a cartel of big banks that control our money supply. As we all know, we borrow this money (at interest) from the Federal Reserve. [For all you folks that don't quite understand that there is never enough money in existence to cover the interest on the money already created, I can explain that in a sidebar] Take my word for it that the economy has to grow because the money supply has to continually increase in order to cover the interest on the money being borrowed. Since [ALL] our money is "borrowed" into existence, this mechanism is very key to the stability of the entire system.

At this moment, the keener among you should have just noticed a paradox in reasoning. As in the boat example with the apple, the more money that is created, the less it is worth. Even in good times, the system does not hold up to logic and will implode over a period. However, and remember, your solution to the problem at hand is to inject $700b (to start) additional money into a system that is already bloated with overpriced assets. Am I the only one that can see why this will not work? It’s insane! Another paradox for the truly gifted among you is the fact that the Fed has managed this crisis from the beginning. However, it is their lane in the road that includes managing the money supply. The more we have to borrow, the more money they earn as a corporation of banks, yet, they are leading the charge on fixing this problem. The fact that they are encouraging this injection of capital into the system cannot be dismissed. However, we have to borrow that $700b from them and that little detail fails to get mentioned.

So Congress, if you really want to solve this problem, get rid of the Fed.
Take the constitution of this country out of the mothballs, dust it off, and get back to your responsibilities stated therein. Otherwise, shut your collective mouths and get ready to preside over the world's newest third world country.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen

I don't eat leftovers...

2008-09-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

I just got off the phone with my eldest daughter who is in her first year of college. As we were going through the usual, I asked what she had for lunch. She informed me that she had a peanut butter sandwich and a fruit cup. Of course, I was impressed because her usual lunch consisted of junk food during the past several years of high school. During her senior year, as she was able to go off campus for lunch, she typically ate Burger King, Churches Chicken and Wok Inn spending sometimes up to $9 on just lunch. Meanwhile, I was trying to be good and spend $5 at my cafe at work. I have been trying to get my oldest (who also has an ulcer) to eat healthier and warn her of the weight gain experienced by many during their freshman year. Of course this is hardly applicable these days as kids eat junk on a regular basis. Back when I was in secondary school we all usually ate well rounded meals and obesity was not a problem for kids or adults as it is now. I also stress healthy eating as being overweight is an issue for our ethnicity and our immediate family.

...Now back to the peanut butter and fruit...After she got her car and a job, my dear daughter always would proclaim on the leftover days that she was not eating. She would use her hard earned money to buy junk food or skip dinner all together; she spent a lot on junk food. During any given week, she would spend more than $35 on lunch alone! My lunch checks stopped the moment I noticed that she was spending so much. At that point I realized that she needs to know how it feels to take so much money out of your own pocket. I would warn her about spending so much on food, manicures, clothes, gas, etc. I would tell her that she is actually spending more than me on those things (especially the manicure as I think it is a ridiculous waste of a persons income). I would tell her that she will want all that money back when fall came and she had college expenses. But this was all to no avail. 'I'm a senior and I am going to have fun and buy what I want' would be the general sentiment. She would continue to say, "Since I will be on my own next year, I have to buy these things now while I don't have bills and live at home."

Well, during our conversation tonight, I went on to ask if she went home for lunch as she has classes about 5 minutes from her apartment. She informed me that she brought her lunch with her today to save money and try to eat healthier. WOW! Oprah does not know an AHA moment is until she can experience her own child telling you something like that!!

I am beginning to think (and know) that somewhere behind those rolling eyes, frowns and bored stares during one of our many lectures to our child about being prepared for the future, something actually stuck or perhaps, had to stick. We as parents have always been afraid our children would just be lost after they graduated. We tried to scare them. We tried to encourage them. We tried to inform them and warn them so that things would not be as difficult as it was for us. In an age where kids think of themselves first (and sometimes only) and what their parents are going to give them next, I see a beacon ahead in the darkness. I am starting to think that for some of us, for some of them, life has to happen first before they can change. Like many parents, I had to have one of those children who had to make all the mistakes to learn about what is important. I think she has even said I was right on some things.

In the end, unfortunately, we were right as parents usually are. She now has her own apartment, her own rent, her own electric bill, her own water bill and her own grocery list for which she has to plan and pay!! Our daughter has learned that she does want a clean bedroom, a clean house, money in the bank, gas in the tank and she now wants to study!! She realizes that you have to do chores to have a nice home. And indeed she wants a fabulous place. She knows now that eventually you do get tired of frozen waffles and Poptarts for every meal. She now thinks about how much gas it will take to go somewhere. She now works diligently to set priorities. She has started her journey to becoming her parents and I am loving it!!

So eat up, my darling...and enjoy those leftovers that you now eat all the time!!

...so I was trying to put lipstick on my pig the other day....

2008-09-14T12:40:00.000-05:00

As I peruse the myriad of news sites, blogs and commentaries, I have to wonder if Americans are as uninformed as it seems. I have to wonder why no one bothers to mention that the news media that are accusing McCain of lying are the same media outlets that play these lies over and over again 'reporting' that they are in fact lies. Are they that foolish to not realize that playing these little snippets of soundbites only reinforces the very ideas that they are 'reporting' to be false. Does it really help Obama to replay McCain ads that are lies and negative just for the sake of pointing out the untruths? Or...is there something else going on here?

I rarely see an Obama ad in the news. For the past month or so the media has been reporting on McCain and now McCain & Palin. There was a time when all candidates were in the news but it seems as if once Clinton was gone and Obama was the apparent winner, news disappeared. I have to wonder if this is not an effort to stifel Obama's efforts and pump up McCain. Do we really need to hear over and over about the lipsticked pig? Of what purpose is continuing to report this if it is not to make sure as many people as possible actually begin to believe that Obama called Palin a pig. Of course we all know that he is far too intelligent and cultured to ever do such a thing. I never noticed the media mentioning when McCain does not wear a flag pin; where is the criticism when McCain belittled Clinton? Where was the media when the extremely wealthy McCains were calling Obama an Elitist? Did he mean to say that Obama is more intelligent and worked harder? If that isn't an attempt to put lipstick on a pig, I don't know what is!!

And a few words on the Clintons. It's over. Your time has passed for now so give it up. I see your true colors...they shone through the past couple months. You are sore loosers and you are more interested in yourselves than the Democratic Party. To the media that reported the DNC: your reporting was more about the Clintons than Obama and the actual Convention.

Here's my suggestion for Obama: start fighting hard and trump the garbage ads by good ones of your own because the point is to win. Find a way to get back into the medias radar in a positive way. Come to TX and offer help for the hurricane victims. You must be willing to be a participant in the game with the media if you want to win! Take back your 'rockstar' persona, make big events happen because Americans are shallow and sometimes you have to sink a little lower than you want.

I could go on and on but I have to season the chicken for dinner. A mother's job is never finished...

Coming up sometime in the future: America's strange attatchment to unintelligent life.