Enough is Enough

I am sure that many of you are like me and enjoy the social networking thing. Facebook is great for the the quizzes and the polls right…

Well, it is actually a couple of these polls that I have an issue with. The reason being is that people do not think before they answer the polls and send them out to all their “friends” or allow the results to be posted on their wall.

Issue Number One: Does Michael Jackson need a holiday?

Come on! Really, did we need a poll for this. Don’t get me wrong… I am fan of the man and his genius… but a holiday?

Issue Number Two: The polls on Universal Health Care

Okay, here is my rant…  I think that polls are important… if they are answered by people who have actually done research and are answering based on their own research and not the crap that the media pushes in the media. This country needs universal health care. People we are one of the ONLY countries that do not have universal health care in some form or another! Do you see people not getting medical care in these places? The answer is no, because if the coverage is not available in the country they reside in, there are already plans in place that get them the care then need and they do not have to pay extra for it. The best health care in the world… Scotland… and by the way, they have universal health care and in the next few years plan on phasing out any and all prescription charges.

DO THE RESEARCH!

Issue Number Three: 9 11

This is probably going to make a lot of people made, but it is time that we as a country move on. There are few people in this country that were not affected by 9/11. All of us either had family or friends in those towers and on those plans. My uncle was there and fortunately he survived. We are blessed, I know… there are many that lost loved ones and I am sorry for your loss.

BUT, do we really need to commemorate the event every year? Do we need to have a list read every year of the names of all the people that lost their lives?! Should it really be a national holiday?! NO.

The reason for this is simple, if you have lost someone that you love… the best way to let their memory live on is to remember all that they did in their lives. Start a charity or a foundation or scholarship in their name. Celebrate the day they were born… not the day they died. Yes, thier death was tragic and sudden… most people that die have a tragic or sudden death. I don’t know anyone that has been walking around saying, “I am going to die on this day and this is how I am going to die.”

We are a nation that lives to mourn, it is sad. We could do so much good if we focused on all the good people did in their lives and not on the day they died.

Issue Number Four: Less then Intelligent People Create These Quizzes

I think everyone that posts online should take advantage of spell check. ESPECIALLY if your name is tied to the posting. Plus the wonderful internet makes it possible for you to do a little research before you create your little quiz… which will help you look like someone that knows what they are talking about… if only a little.

This concludes my rant for the day. Thank you for your time… and patience.

Observations, Annoyances and Words of Wisdom

Today I have to vent. Lately I have witnessed to much stupidty. Therefore I can no longer be quiet about it.

All over the news for the last couple of months, locally atleast, there have been stories about auto accidents related to drivers texting while they are driving. Okay, to me this rates right up there with the intelligent people I have seen drive down the road while reading a book.

Typically the stories that have been on the news involve younger people, teens and twenty somethings, who were answering a text instead of paying attention to the road and low and behold the cars in front of them have stepped on the brakes… while the texter is typing away at the same speed… and crash! I am here to tell you that it is not just teens and twenty somethings out there on the road wrapped up in technology instead of paying attention to the road.

Last weekend as I was driving back from Indiana I was first behind, then next to, a gentlemen… from Philadeplhia, driving a nice car at about 80 miles an hour (I know this cause I was doing about 80) who started vering to the left towards the cement wall that divided the highway. It was rather late so at first I thought he may have fallen asleep. Until he did it again… and again… and I decided I would rather be in front of him when he caused an accident instead of being part of the accident. So I made my move to pass him. Now judging by the hair and face of this man… he had to be in his 50s. He had a passenger in his car, in the front passenger seat who was on his cell phone… the driver, this 50 something man… was reading either emails or texts on his phone while he was driving! Now after I passed him he decided he would get in the right lane. I suspect because the sound of the serated road would alert him while he was reading and that would be less surprising then the big white cement wall! Did he stop when he moved over? Of course not!

For five miles he did his texting! From mile marker 90 to mile marker 95 on I75 South. He went off the road over the serations about 6 times before he was done… and then decided that 80 miles an hour while reading was just not suiting his purpose so he sped up to 90 something and took off.

People, when you are driving a vehicle down the road, this is not the time to be reading emails or texting a friend! If it is that earth shattering that it can’t wait until you stop the damn car dial the frickin phone number of the person you want to talk to and talk on the phone. I would rather see that then a person that didn’t even have thier eyes on the road! Not that I think you should be driving down the road on the phone either, because people tend to get more involved in their conversations then focusing on driving.

I have even driven by a man on a motorcycle riding down the road, which had a speed limit of 35, doing about 10 mph… why you ask, because he was reading his messages on his cell phone. I give him credit for driving slow, but come on!!!

My next issue to vent about. This is to parents. More then once in the last couple of weeks either myself or my husband has been trying to back out of a parking space. No one is there when we start to back up, then all of a sudden there is a family with children. No one is holding the kids hands… the parents are going one way oblivous to where thier children are or the fact that they themselves are walking into a moving vehicle… but they don’t even grab thier kids to get them out of the way! Parents if you are not going to pay attention to where your kids are… LEAVE THEM AT HOME! If you want to risk your own life due to not paying attention fine, but don’t do that to your kids.

Finally… this isn’t really a venting topic, but more an observation. Last weekend my husband and I went to a casino for a poker tournament he was in. While he played, I played a few penny slots… walked around and did some people watching. Which offered up a lot of entertainment. Understand, that I am not saying that I don’t make excellent foder for other people watchers at times… but really, this was funny.

First, to all of the women out there that go to the casinos either alone or with your galpals… dress warm! Casinos are cold, so wearing your skimpy outfits to attract male onlookers while you stand and shiver with your arms crossed over your self is really just entertaining. You can wear a light sweater over your spaghetti strapped paper thin top and still look attractive and intelligent.

Second, I found it absolutely hilarious that people in a casino can be looking right at you and walk right into you. My husband calls it the “lost all my money to drunk to realize it” walk.

Thirdly, this more a bit of advice, don’t gamble more then you can stand to lose. To often I have seen people go to the ATM machine and draw out money until there isn’t any money left. Now, my husband and I have walked out of the casino empty handed… but not out of money. Agree to a limit that you are going to spend and only take that much money with you. Hide your ATM card in your car or leave it at home. Don’t walk into the casino going “I need to win to pay the bills.” There are other ways that will actually generate you money without you risking every penny you have. Professionally gamblers don’t leave a casino broke. If they leave because they lost, the only lost the money they walked in with, not the bank.

Final piece of advice on casinos. One that I desperately try to stick to, but then I play the penny slots and think “It’s only pennies!” When you win, so that you have doubled your money, CASH OUT. Keep your winnings and only play with the original investment. That way you walk out with money.

May You Always Have Enough

This is from an email that I received yesterday. I felt that it was worth sharing, especially in light of the post I did yesterday.Think about the people you love… and make sure that you always wish them enough.

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, ‘I love you, and I wish you enough.’

The daughter replied, ‘Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.’

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated..

Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’

‘Yes, I have,’ I replied.. ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a for ever good-bye?’.
‘I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is – the next trip back will be for my funeral,’ he said.

‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?’

He began to smile. ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone..’ He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. ‘When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.’ Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting..

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good- bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

The Insanity of People

On the one hand I can’t believe that I am actually getting ready to write this. Not that I don’t believe what I am getting ready to say, I believe it and feel it all the way down into my soul. But the topics that I am about to cover and the linkage between them… well… is almost funny. Not funny ha-ha, but funny.

The reason for this is an email that I got from a friend today. While I know that her intentions were pure, the message that was sent…  let’s just say that the original person that wrote it should’ve thought before he or she started writing and the people that pass it on should really stop to think about what it is they are passing on to others.

The first passage you are going to see is email. I have not altered it in anyway. I am posting it exactly as I received it. Now I want you to read it, and then keep reading so that you can understand why it bothers me and what has me upset.

“My sentiments exactly!

THIS WAS WRITTEN BY A SOLDIER
IN IRAQ.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report
on Michael Jackson .  As we all know, Jackson died the other
day.  He was an entertainer who performed for decades.  He made
millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villian to many people.  I understand that his death would affect a
lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn’t the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their
minds with grief.  When a man dies whose only contribution to the
country was to ENTERTAIN people, the Amercian people find
the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood , and even Congress sees the need to hold a “moment of silence” for his passing?

Am I missing something here?  ONE man dies, and all of
a sudden he’s a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades?  What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom?  All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America .  Where is
there moment of silence?  Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice?  Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying “good
ridence,” and “thank God for IEDs?”  When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off thier deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a “Pop Icon?”

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence
IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan .  They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxory and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them.  But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice.  After all, we will never make millions of dollars.  We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too.  We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.
Feel free to pass this along if you want.

Remember these five words the next time you think of
someone who is serving in the military;
“So that others may live…” “

Okay, let me start out by saying that I in no way take for granted what our armed forces are doing to protect our freedoms and our liberties. I am grateful each and every day for the sacrifices that they are making. I mean that.

Do I think that we should’ve gone to war? Do I think that we should still be over there? The answer to both of those is “NO.” I think as a country that we are wonderful at telling other countries what we think they should do while we neglect the people in our country. However, this topic is not the point of this post.

The reason that I am writing is because I am outraged at the fact that a solider would write something like the above. So I am going to go point by point from here on out.

First, Michael Jackson did die a sudden and tragic death. His legacy is not only for the music that he created, the industry that he changed but also for the amount of charity he gave. He did only entertain the world, he did all he could to make the world a better place.  Funny, but I thought that was the point of the US’s invasion into other countries, to teach other countries how to be free… how to offer their people something better. We do it by force; Michael did it by donating money and making music. A wise person would realize that both the military and Michael were working for the same cause but doing their work in different ways.

Secondly, he was accused of horrendous things, which in a court of law in the United States, he was found not guilty of. Which in the United States means he did not do it. If you want to go back to the case that he settled out of court a few years before then put yourself for one moment in his shoes. Court battles are long and costly. It doesn’t matter how innocent you are, it costs money… and as anyone can tell you… when someone in this country thinks they can get a lot of money from someone unjustly, they will try. I can speak to this personally. It was four years ago that we entered into a joint venture with a company that we thought was legit. We had done the research, we had papers signed, we thought we were protected. We lost $45,000 and when we tried to go to court to fight it, they started throwing false allegations at us. It was our lawyer that sat us down and said, “I have seen the evidence… I know that you are in the right. But they want to go to court, which they have the right to. A court battle can take years and cost thousands. Is that something you really want to put you and your family through?”  We had all the proof that was necessary to win our case… what we did not have was the thousands of dollars to fight it out, so that by the time we did win, we would’ve spent more than they stole from us.

Now, our soldiers have been accused of doing horrendous things to other human beings. Yes, that is right, though you may call them our enemy… they are human beings. We have seen the proof that infact our soldiers did do the unspeakable acts that they have been accused of. Are they going to court? Will there be charges? Are your families going to be drug through the mud over things that you did actually do, not just accused of doing, but did?

Thirdly, let’s address the “flocking” that we as Americans are accused of. There are thousands of people that felt close to Michael Jackson because of the music that he made and the charitable work that he did. If you knew anything at all about his charitable work then you would not it was not just in the US, it was all over the world. I find it hard to believe that Nelson Mandela would send a heartfelt message to his grieving family so easily, if Michael was not a good person.

His music and his talents touched so many people that people felt as if they knew him. And his tragic death made many people feel as though they had lost something. I ask you, when 911 happened… did you have people that you knew in the towers? Was your family directly impacted by the loss of someone in your life? Or did you just cry because you could not believe the tragedy that unfolded before your eyes. Were you not outraged that someone would come into our country and tragically take the lives of so many people just to make a point? You are a cold and callus person if you did not cry on 911. I would even go as far as to say that you are a cold and callus person if your heart does not ache each year on that day.

As far as remembering soldiers that gave their lives to protect our country, I believe we have holidays for that. National holidays that are celebrated each and every year. Each celebration has a moment of silence… and each soldiers name is read out loud. Does the entire nation take part in those celebrations each year, no… but the entire nation did not take part in Michael’s memorial service either. If you chose to turn on the television and watch so be it, if you did not then so be it. BUT don’t come down on others for mourning a loss that they felt.

I don’t think that Americans are cold and callus people. While I do not agree with everything that our country does, I am proud that we are one of the first nations to respond when people anywhere in the world are in trouble. We are a giving people, and when we see people hurt our hearts ache and we do what we can to help make things better.

I think that the death of Michael Jackson is tragic and sad… and I do feel as though I have lost something from my life. I also am saddened every time I hear on the news that more of our soldiers are dying senselessly, when they should be home with their families. If that, as this soldiers puts it, makes me callus then so be it. Your email however, makes you naïve, and I will light a candle for you.

Election Day is Almost Here – Thank God!

Ok, so I have been away for a bit, dealing with being very pregnant and starting a business. But I think that it is time for me to say what it is I have to say about the upcoming election.

First, I was incredibly relieved when the debates were over. Let’s just stand outside from our own individual preferences on the candidates. Honestly, if McCain and Obama were not running for President, they were just two business men making their case for a job, who would you hire. McCain was very condescending and downright angry during the debates. He never stated what it was he was going to do for the company, or what any of his plans were. Basically all he did was bad mouth his competition. I am pretty sure that if you talk to any company that is looking to hire someone to take control and improve thier company they are not going to hire someone that can do nothing but point out the flaws in the competition. I want to know what McCain can do, not what he thinks Obama can or can’t do.

Obama, while he was not as hard hitting and demeaning as McCain, he did offer plans, and explanations for what it is was he intended to do. He didn’t bash the competition, actually most of what he did was clarify inaccuracies that McCain was throwing out there. You never saw him make faces while McCain was talking, he was respectful. McCain was not. Do I think Obama presented a strong case as to why he should be hired to improve the company, no, but I do think that he presented a case.

Next, let’s talk about experience. Ok, so McCain’s position is that Obama has no experience to run the country. Just curious, what experience does McCain have? I don’t recall him being President or even Vice President before. So neither of them have experience as President. Neither of them has every been in a position to lead an entire country anywhere. I will also say that you do not have to have experience to know how to improve something. Actually perhaps the lack of experience there is of great benefit. I don’t need to stick my hand into a fire to know that the fire is hot and that I am going to get burned if I do. Please, maybe what we need in the White House is some one that isn’t going to play the same political games that our leaders have been playing for years.

I don’t know how to break it to the rest of America, but the world as a whole does NOT have a very high opinion of our country. If you would all step outside of your little boxes and do some research on your own, and not believe everything the news tells you, you will find out that Americans are not looked upon very favorably by most countries in the world.  I would like a President that is going to work to restore the view the world has of America and Americans. And I am sorry, but I want a President that is going to go out and tell other countries that we are done playing nice. Meet with other world leaders and show them that we are not afraid of them, meet with them face to face.

Let’s quickly talk about health insurance. I have been a nurse for over 10 years. I am also an individual, with a family and husband with health problems. As a nurse, let me tell you how much the current health insurance system sucks. I can not tell you how many times in a week I would sit on the phone in the office and argue with insurance companies that would not cover simple in office testing, or out patient procedures that would give an answer to what the patient was facing and the best most effective treatment plan so that the disease did not progress and the patient was not placed on unnecessary medications.

Now, as an individual and a family, I can go to most insurance companies and cover myself and our children, but not my husband. There isn’t an insurance company out there that will insure my husband because of his pre-existing health issues. It doesn’t matter that he is healthy now and has not had any problems in over 5 years. McCain wants to give us $5000 which he will tax, and give to the insurance company to cover our family. My family will only be partially covered, and without insurance we will not even be able to afford my husband’s and our son’s medications. We currently pay an insane premium, followed by a 5500 deductible before the insurance actually kicks in, and our prescriptions are $600 a month.

Obama wants to make available to everyone the same insurance that he has and Senator McCain has. He isn’t telling anyone that they have to do it if they currently have insurance. What he is doing is making insurance available to everyone, which over all will bring down the cost of insurance for everyone. Socialized medicine… my husband’s parents live in Canada. If his mom wakes up in the morning and decides that she is sick and needs to go to the doctor and the doctor orders tests to be done, she calls the doctor, she goes, the tests are scheduled and done. She doesn’t wait and she doesn’t have to pay anything. She is not denied anything. Her health is taken care of. Granted taxes are higher there to help cover the cost of the insurance they have, but if you were to stop and think about it, compared to what you pay now with premiums, deductibles and prescriptions in the long run it will actually be less, and as you age, you are going to need that health coverage more then when you are young and healthy. Through Obama, preexisting conditions are covered, no one is turned away!

Schools, all schools here in America need to be improved. Teachers that want to teach and do a good job at it need to be rewarded. The same benefits that are available in the upper scale white schools need to be available in the inner city schools. If the children that attend those schools don’t feel like anyone cares about what they are doing then why should they try. The need to be encouraged at home and at school.

Abortion, okay, no one is for abortion. Let’s get that straight right now. You are either for the right to make a choice about your own body or you are against that right. I do not agree with abortion, but I do think that it is an individual choice that a female has the right to make on her own without the influence or mandate of government. I worked in Planned Parenthood, and I can not tell you how many young girls would come in with numerous sexual issues including being pregnant and wanting an abortion because they never received the education they needed to be sexually active. Deciding to have an abortion is not an easy decision, and living with that for the rest of your life is not easy either. I also do not believe that forcing a woman to carry an embryo that will become a fetus that will nine months later be born a baby that she doesn’t want to begin with is cruel and unusual punishment. No child should be brought into the world if they are not wanted. Think about the damage that can be done to the growing entity before there is ever a chance for a life.

I also do not think that the man has a say so, he forfeited that right when he chose to use or not use protection. When a man is able to become pregnant and go through pregnancy then they will have the right to decided whether or not a pregnancy can be terminated. Unfortunately abortion falls under the same old laws our country and other countries have where they seem to think that a woman’s body is not here own, but the property of the government and whatever man she is with. We ended slavery… can we please get rid of this as well.

If there is one thing that our country lacks it is accountability. As a whole, America doesn’t take responsibility for what it has done. This goes from the big people I charge all the way down to the “Joe the Plumber” in Ohio. I would like to see people take responsibility for their actions that have lead them to where they are now, this includes our country. We have no business going into another country and tell them how to treat their people and run their country when we can not take care of our own. We have homeless, we have people that are on welfare that need to get off of it, our children are not getting the education they deserve our elderly are loosing what they worked their entire lives for. We need to fix our country before we can go and fix the world. If America was serious about improving the world, then we would lead by example and not through force.

I want a President that is going to address these issues and make America better. WE are not what we used to be. America is not the power it once was. We do not take care of our own people.

I am tired of the smear campaigns. I am sick of Vice Presidential candidates like Sarah Palin who has the brains of a carrot that would rather bad mouth other people then fess up to her own inadequacies and plans.

Ignorance is what fuels the fire that divides this country. Instead of sitting and talking and listening to one another people stick to their misguided beliefs and shut out a person expresses an opposing view.

So on election day, I hope that you make a decision based on facts and research and less on party and bashing. Let this President be someone that will actually work to make this country better, because if you were honest and looked around with your eyes open you would admit that we need a lot of work.

 

Something to Make You Think

Sometimes it is funny how the world gives to you exactly what you need when you need it. I received an email today containing a speech. Naturally I forwarded it to everyone in my address book. But I also thought it needed to be shared with the world. I am going to past it in it’s entirety here, hopefully you will read it… and it will make you think.

I also wanted to respond to Hektor’s comment. You my disillusioned friend exemplify what this speech says. So I hope you especially take the time to read this speech and actually think before you respond.

My friends.  I don’t usually send out these type of things mostly because I am rarely inspired by the majority of rhetoric and spin postured by the talking heads we are bombared with daily.  But this brief  speech by Tim Wise (a white Phd author) was powerful and as someone confounded by the recent ‘gap-narrowing’ of the Presidential election- I found it also illuminating.  I hope you will all take a minute to read it. 
 
 
White Privilege, White Entitlement and the 2008 Election

By Tim Wise

For those who still canʼt grasp the concept of white privilege, or who
are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it,
perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol
Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your
family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you
or your parents, because ‘every family has challenges,’ even as black
and Latino families with similar ‘challenges’ are regularly typified
as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a ‘fuckinʼ redneck,’
like Bristol Palinʼs boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone
messes with you, you’ll ‘kick their fuckin’ ass,’ and talk about how
you like to ’shoot shit’ for fun, and still be viewed as a
responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather
than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six
years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of,
then returned to after making up some coursework at a community
college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to
achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as
unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first
place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town
smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state
with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island
of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people
donʼt all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S.
Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means
youʼre ‘untested.’

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words ‘under
God’ in the pledge of allegiance because ‘if it was good enough for
the founding fathers, itʼs good enough for me,’ and not be immediately
disqualified from holding office–since, after all, the pledge was
written in the late 1800s and the ‘under God’ part wasnʼt added until
the 1950s–while believing that reading accused criminals and
terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you
used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous
and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make
people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to
have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that
wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was ‘Alaska
first,’ and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family,
while if you’re black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11
memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school,
people immediately think sheʼs being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and
the work they do–like, among other things, fight for the right of
women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end
to child labor–and people think youʼre being pithy and tough, but if
you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month
governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in
college–youʼre somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who donʼt even
agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your
running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the
ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made
them give your party a ’second look.’

White privilege is being able to fire people who didnʼt support your
political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being
a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and
merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in
Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose
pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize
George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly
Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian
theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who
say the conflict in the Middle East is Godʼs punishment on Jews for
rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think youʼre just a good
church-going Christian, but if youʼre black and friends with a black
pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of
Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign
policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on
black people, youʼre an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by
a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you
such a ‘trick question,’ while being black and merely refusing to give
one-word answers to the queries of Bill OʼReilly means youʼre dodging
the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has
anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being
black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a
‘light’ burden.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly
allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W.
Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing,
people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S.. is
increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters
arenʼt sure about that whole ‘change’ thing. Ya know, itʼs just too
vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which
is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

Hektor’s Response to the Last Post

 hektor said…

Palin and McCain were great in their speeches.

Finally America is seeing Obama for the fraud he is.

September 5, 2008 7:53 AM

My Plea to Barack Obama

Sometimes I think our personal views and ideas get in the way of our professional obligations and duties.

While I believe that everyone is entitled to practice the faith of their choice as long as it harms no one else… I don’t think that any religion should be supported by the government.

I have a huge concern over any politician… and I hate to say that I now have to include Barack Obama in that disappointing group… wanting to use government money to support religious charities and organizations. We are asking for more internal problems then our country already has… and I have to ask, do we really need anymore problems?

If we are looking for ways to improve our country and where to we should allocate government funds… let’s focus on making our country self sufficient and make sure that our people have every opportunity to take the first few steps to achieving the American dream.

Let’s make sure that our children have excellent schools that are equipped with quality teachers and programs of excellence and this includes sports, music and art.

Lets start drilling here in America and produce more of our own oil so that families don’t have to chose between fueling their car, heating their home or feeding their children.

Our government should be supporting programs that will help anyone that walks through the doors… it shouldn’t be tied to who or what you worship and how you do it.

I understand that our money is labeled “In God We Trust,” that is fine… I understand that when pledge allegiance to the United States that we say “one nation under God…” I don’t have a problem with that. But our government dollars can be better spent in so many other ways.

If you are going to fund religious based organizations then I suggest you set up a fund, 5% of the money the government has and split it evenly amongst every religious organization and charity there is in the US. Not just the organizations that are tied to your religious beliefs.

Don’t let your obligation to the country be confused with what you feel your obligations to your religion and faith are. Remember that there is suppose to be a separation of church and state… that it part of what is suppose to make America such a wonderful place to live.

I have another plea to Barack Obama… I understand the need to bridge the gap between democrats and republicans and the need to bring as many voters your way as possible… but don’t become like every other politician that gets up there and says or promises what ever it will take to gain more voters. The people that have supported you so far supported you because of what you stood for… something new… something positive… someone that was going to make change a reality. Stick to who you are… what it is you really stand for… what it is you have said.

Let Down By the Supreme Court Again

I wish that I could sit here today and say to the masses that our justice system has done us proud… but if you have read the news on the net or heard it on your local news channels, our justice system has yet again let us down.

The Supreme Court in all their wise thinking decided against the death penalty in cases of child rape.

There are currently five states that have the death penalty as punishment for rape of a child. Those five states are Louisiana (which is the state that is currently under fire) and Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. According to Justice Anthony Kennedy “the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child.”

WHAT!!!! A rapist takes away the innocence of a child, damages them for the rest of their life and that is not punishable by death?! We will sentence a person that is guilty of treason or espionage to death, but not someone that steals so much more from a child!

As far as I am concerned death is not harsh enough for these people. Instead we send them to prison where they get three meals a day, enjoy cable television, a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs all paid for by you, me and the parents of that child.

So what the Supreme Court is basically saying is that for all of those parents that have children who have been raped by a beast, and I am sorry but people who hurt children are beasts, should have to pay for that beast to be kept alive for years because the Supreme Court doesn’t feel that what the beast did was proportional enough to punish them with the death penalty.

How do you like that? Not only do parents get to work through the trauma with their child, pay for counseling and try to repair what was taken away from their child… they also get to pay for the beast to live on their tax dollars.

I say that it’s time that the United States Supreme Court wakes up. If we really wanted to end crime in this country we would have harsher punishments. Instead we want to rehabilitate and give second and third chances. I ask you, what second chance does a raped child have? Do they get to go on with their life not bothered by what happened to them? Do they have the same enjoyment of life? NO, so tell me why the person that raped them gets to.

Please, America do you honestly believe that child rapists sit in prison and feel bad for what they did? Do you think they cry at night… that they are afraid to be alone… that they are unable to trust people… are they tortured day after day reliving what they did. No the sick beasts lay there at night and think about what they did and how much fun they had. Really, we want to rehabilitate those people? Can a person like that be rehabilitated? Sure, there is the rarity… there is that one person in a hundred that might change their ways, have remorse for what they did and never do it again.

Former State Representative and author of the Louisiana law, Pete Schneider said that even opponents of the death penalty told him they would kill anyone who raped their children. “When are you going to have the courage to stand up for what’s right for all of the people — but especially the children under 12 that have been brutally raped by monsters?” Schneider said, directing his comments to the justices in Wednesday’s majority.

The decision by our so called “high court” leaves Patrick Kennedy’s conviction in place, but there will be new sentencing. I have a suggestion, seeing as how the Supreme Court doesn’t want to do what is right. His punishment should be that for everyday he is in prison he is brutalized and raped like his 8 year old step daughter… and his sentence should last for at least the next 50 years. That might come close to being proportional for what he did.
The case is Kennedy v. Louisiana, 07-343.

Here We Go Again Hektor

No Hektor, I wanted to be on level playing field with you, hence the lack of spell check for that post.

I live in the real world… Maybe you should step into it…

I find it hard to believe that such an educated person as yourself, would think that association with someone that has conflicting views from yours, means that those conflicting view points are then your own then as well. Based on your posts, you are obviously not a free thinking individual, but rather one that lets his mouth run off without the brain being engaged.

I don’t understand how you can look at the history of our country and not understand why people feel the way they do over issues of race and equality. Talk about living with your head in the sand… perhaps you missed US History in high school… oh wait, you were probably one of those people that I would argue with in US History, you were probably one of the people that thought the riots were insane, that the black community should’ve tried to resolve things peacefully… THEY TRIED THAT!!! It got them no where.

Unfortunately people do not want to step outside their own make believe worlds and see how it is for the person down the road, or across the street. Generally speaking the majority of people, such as yourself, would rather sit and cast accusations, call names, avoid the issues and say that any proof or argument against your rose colored vision is pointless.

What was the last thing you did to help this country?

What programs have you started to help the people around you that need help?

When was the last time you saw someone in trouble and DIDN’T think “Oh they must deserve it?”

Based on what you are saying… you must never have traveled anywhere…as that it would mean that you have become a chameleon and are never your true self…

I would also like to know what you know about the Muslim faith? Have you read the Koran… do you actually know what it says? I have to stop here because I would be willing to bet you have never even read the Bible… sure you have heard passages quoted and referenced, but I doubt that you have actually read the entire book.

I have read the Koran… and I have read the Bible… the Torah…(which incase you didn’t know is the old testament)… I have also studied Buddhism and Hinduism… I have read numerous books on Paganism… Wicca…

Yes actually read them, I know what they say… I know what the beliefs and practices of those followers are…

There are extremist in everything Hektor… extremist take a part of something and exaggerate it to the point that it really has nothing to do with what it was taken from and then they claim that it is in the name of God… Christians have done that for really long time…maybe you didn’t learn about the Holy Crusades… the persecution of innocent people that would not walk away from their own faith to become a Christian… Oh and another leader that persecuted people based on faith, Hitler!

Next time… study before you post. I have no problem debating with you… but atleast come to the field with an educated argument.