She’s still number one..

Last night’s democratic debate at Drexel University was a hot one.

Both the front runners, Edwards and Obama, went after Hillary highlighting her ‘double speak’ on issues including social security, the Iraq war and a few others.

 But the one that stands out in my mind was one of the last issues of the night when Hillary was asked about New York’s controversial plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, Hillary refused to openly endorse the plan but she thinks it ‘makes good sense’. Edwards and Obama jumped at the opportunity like sharks who smelt blood they both blasted Clinton for being inconsistent by saying that even during this debate she could not give a consistent answer to a question when this was highlighted she did look a bit frazzled but she stood her ground and in the end Hillary may have been battered and bruised but she’s still the clear winner. 

I don’t know if Edwards and Obama will get a bit of a push from this debate but even if they do it’s not going to be enough to dethrone Hillary.

Here’s a few of my observations about the other guys up there…

Obama is not a good debater. He needs to become more comfortable going after the jugular of his opponents if he doesn’t do that he will never and I mean never be able to win the presidency. As a debater there’s a fine line you have to walk between being passionate about your issue and trying not to belittle or demean your opponent but it must be mastered if not you just look like a talking head up there and whatever passion you do have gets lost in the delivery. Obama, clearly needs to master this aspect of debating.

Edwards-Your hair is too manicured (I know that shouldn’t be an issue but a man shouldn’t look like he’s spent five hours in mirror priming and primping) and your expressions too staged and you always seem to be telling the people exactly what they want to hear..come on man..we can tell you want it too bad and that is going to be your downfall.

Biden- hell no it ain’t going to happen..you have one thing going for you though you know your foreign policy.

Richardson: You’re having a laugh mate but you’re going to make a great VP..I called this one guys… you just wait..

Kucinich-In an ideal world you would be the president but in this one mate, you see too many lights in the sky.

Dodd-You don’t have a chance but I as well as the majority of public I’m sure, respect the fact that you’re trying to highlight issues that should be of more importance to us like crime and education.

TI released on bond..

Rapper TI has been released on a 3 million dollar bond.

Hmm…I don’t know why the judge decided to let him out but I just want to see how long it takes before a couple of those witnesses start recanting/forgetting ‘the facts’ of the incident etc or he flees even though I think that’s a long shot given how much money is involved and who the money belongs too.

I can only hope that the witnesses do not recant and that they stand strong in the face of whatever is thrown at them and that the prosecution are dilligently working on their case against this idiot who should be punished severely for this stupid illegal act and that he becomes an example to all those who think that they can promote and engage in their gangsta lifestyle outside of the lenses of a camera without consequeces.

Phony theories, facts, people, press conferences

Wow..this administration just gets better and better, if they aren’t voted the worst administration in history I’m sure they will be a secure runner up.

First they led us into a war based on phony theories and facts.

Then they allowed a hurricane to wreck havoc on one of our major cities by hiring phony people like Michael Brown to run major federal agencies. A man who before he became Director of FEMA was a judge for the Arabian Horse Association. A man whose resume was such BS that only one thing could be confirmed the fact that he was a mediocore lawyer at a firm for a couple of years.

And now they are holding phony press conferences, during a national disaster in order to reassure us that they are on top of the situation while convincing us not to worry or clog our pretty little heads with all the mundane details of disaster management which if they held a ‘real’ press conference would inevitably happen because all those pesky, liberal reporters would be asking ’real’ questions.

Words fail me..if this wasn’t true I would think I was reading an Issac Assimov tale or at least a great futuristic sci-fi novel about a despot government.

NB. I still give FEMA a passing grade for their handling of this disaster but instead of an A+ it shall be reduced to a B-. Because if you’re going to hold a fake press conference to convince us that you’re on top of the situation whatelse have you or haven’t you done in order to cover up your incompetencies or mismanagement?

Fake news, fake facts, fake people are just unacceptable to me and the American people most of the times but even moreso when it comes to our government agencies managment during a crisis. At those times we want the cold hard facts.  We’re strong we can take it straight next time try it, it just might work.

Gone but never forgotten..

 

Dr. James Watson is gone. He has retired from his post at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

So he will no longer hold ’an official’ position with the lab he founded and built but he still has an office and house on the laboratory’s property so he’s no longer ‘ofiicially’ with them but he’s still ‘with them’ you get me?  

But you know what I really didn’t care if he had stayed or resigned that mattered little he could have been a recluse that lived on the outskirts of a town in some remote part of Wisconsin who is known for scaring children and teenagers off his property with a shot gun for all I care because the fact remains that his words matter to so many because of what he accomplished not where he works or doesn’t work.

With a just a few words Mr.Watson came, he saw and he reaffirmed what countless millions of people in the US and around the globle think of black people, that we’re a dumb, child like people who can’t think for ourselves because we are incapable of doing so due to genetics or whatever reason he or others like him believe.

Glorified across the globe for his work with DNA Dr.Watson can now retire with pride for instead of being remembered for his accomplishment he shall be remembered for his stupidity and prejudice.

Well done sir! Well done!

You’ve made us all very proud!

Sticks and stones…

Now I’m watching Chris Matthews and a few minutes ago he asked Congressmen Duncan Hunter, who also coincidentally represents San Diego, a Republican presidential candidate to explain the difference between the treatment the San Diego evacuees are receiving vs the treatment of those in New Orleans.

Less than a minute into his explaination he refers to the New Orleans evacuees as refugees, now there is a clear difference between the word evacuee and refugee, I list their meanings below both words conjure up different images you know it as well as I do and this is also what set the New Orleans evacuees and the New Orleans catastrophe apart from so called ordinary Americans for as long as it was and also helped to contribute to the feeling in many quarter throughout the African American community that the American government didn’t care about them because they weren’t being evacuated they were fleeing. Big difference.

I’m sure Hunter knows what he’s saying when he uses that term and I’m sure he doesn’t consider that evacuees where forced to flee because of the failure of their government.

Anyway, Hunter goes on to talk about how there is no looting going on in California that people have left there properties open and return to find everything as it should be, neighbors and taking care of neighbors..blase, blase, blase..now again I wonder if the situation had been reversed and the San Diegoans as he called them had been left for days on end without food or water, appropriate shelter and sanitary conditions for the living and the dead how long it would have taken them to have rioted and looted?

evacuee n. a person evacuated from a dangerous situation.

refugee n. one who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression or religious persecution.

But of course..

Since I’m a news junkie I follow most of the top stories.

So of course I’ve been following the California wildfire stories but before I begin my post I want to express my sincere sadness to all those who have lost a loved one (s) and their homes in the fires. Words fail me when I try to comprehend what it would be like to loose everything I love and cherished so my sympathies are with those who have and their friends and their families.

Since I was a vocal critic of FEMA’s handling of the Katrina disaster I will tell you I was watching quite closely to see how they would respond to this disaster and I must say FEMA has definitely earned a passing grade.

They have provided the necessary services for the evacuees and in most cases they seem to be going above and beyond to make sure the victims of this disaster are not only comfortable in their temporary homes but also that their physical and emotional needs are being met. 

Even Mike Chertoff Homeland Security Secretary agreed that they’ve learned lessons from Katrina. FEMA’s execution of staff and resources was surgical and precise.

As one CNN newscaster said, it has been a “well orchestrated, well oiled machine..anything anyone can ever want or need is here,” she was referring to all the services that are being offered at the shelters (they also have yoga service, acupuncture, I don’t think these are necessary services but I don’t know if FEMA is actually paying for them, if they are then I hope and will expect that they should be provided at all major national catastrophic events) and she attributed the organisational response and success to local leadership she believes that this is what differentiates San Diego from New Orleans.

But I’m not so sure that’s the reason why, obviously most local, state and federal agencies learned lessons from Katrina but I have to wonder and we’ll never know but had there not been a Katrina would FEMA and other federal agencies have responded in the exact same way to this particular disaster?

Would the evacuees be as comfortable in their shelters as they appear to be now?

Would federal funds and resources have been freed up as easily as they seem to have been this time?

Would President Bush’s have responded as quickly as he has to the victims and to reach out and reassure those by visiting them as early as tomorrow?

I believe the answer to these three questions is simply YES.

Why? Economic power usually goes hand in hand with political clout. 

San Diego is the fifth richest city in the US it’s median income for a household in the city was a $45, 733  and the per capita income for the city was $ 23, 609  and about 14.6 % of the population lived below the poverty line compare this too New Orleans which ranks as the ninth poorest city in America (and both these stats were prior Katrina) it’s median income for a household in the city was $27, 133 and the per capita income for the city was $17, 258 and 27.9% of the population live below the poverty line.. and who lines the pockets of the political parties can definitely expect to be taken care off while those with less money are beholden to those in power this is how is always been I DON’T think this is how it should always be.

Now, I will not say for a minute that the government allocates its services or funds based on wealth but the cynic in me fails to believe that leadership is the sole reason behind the drastic differences that are clearly seen between how those in San Diego are being treated versus the treatment of those in New Orleans.

And I wonder how those New Orleans evacuees feel when they watch t.v and learn about the yoga and acupuncture treatments that are being offered in the shelter (s) to those evacuees when all they wanted in the Superdome was clean running water, clean bathrooms and a bit of food?

It makes me wonder and unfortunately it leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.

Hillary pick me, pick me..

Ok..I know I shouldn’t be doing this since I’m one of those people who believes that it isn’t over to the fat lady sings.

But I can’t help it.

I keep looking at those national polls that shows Hillary Clinton’s considerable lead over Barack Obama and John Edwards and I’m almost willing to say it’s over.  Almost.

But the story got me thinking about when/if she becomes the Dems nominee who will she choose as her running mate?

To be honest I don’t think she will choose Obama that’s wishful thinking on my part but I do think she might consider a governor or senator from a conservative state like Iowa’s former Governor Tom Vilsack or Evan Bayh the Senator from Indiana that would definitely help her to gain some conservative votes in red states.

But you know what, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that she’s going to pick Bill Richardson.

Why?

For a couple of reasons. I think he has an impressive resume I’m not going to list all of the stuff he’s done it’s impressive but in addition to his natural leadership abilities and his impressive foreign policy creds I also think it would help Hillary lock up the Hispanic vote, even though Hispanics lean, not heavily but they do lean, towards Republicans I would be willing to bet money that the possibility of a Hispanic in the White House would send millions of Hispanics out to vote election day and most of those votes would be for Hillary helping her to cruise to victory.

Also I don’t think Richardson would outshine Hillary like an Obama or Edwards instead he would complement her and I could see Hillary, Richardson and Bill (her husband remember him?) working on restoring America’s reputation across the globe. So I think he’s definitely head and shoulders above the rest plus Richardson hasn’t pissed her off the way Obama and Edwards have over the last few months.  

So I think the Clinton-Richardson ticket is more of possibility than any other but I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Another bad example

Rapper TI should go to jail. Period.

I want to plead with the judge..please, please send him to jail don’t give him bond and then when he’s tried and proven guilty he should go to prison for a long time.

I want an example to be made of him.

He’s an idiot who committed a serious illegal offence and this wouldn’t be the first time either he should have known better since he was in jail before and he should have been trying his best to avoid ever having to go back there. His family want to protect him for whatever reasons and the record execs want to protect their money maker.

I don’t care how talented he is I’m sick and tired of seeing black rappers, black sports stars and others in the entertainment field break the law and getting away with it and as a black person I am even more fed up because these individuals are contributing to the delinquency of countless others in the black community.

With their songs of violence and glorification of the ghetto and gangsta lifestyle. They aren’t just hurting themselves they are hurting us (black people) so instead of this being viewed as just another, ‘here we go again scenario’ I want him to be made an example of as well as any other person who comes after him who’s willing to so flagrantly break the law.

TI is a felon he knows what he was doing was illegal. I have no sympathy for him or others like him. You would think that after getting out of the ghetto these men and sometimes women would do their best not to get back there but instead it seems after attaining just a hint of affluence they do their best to head back there but as they say, “You can take a person out of the ghetto but you can’t take…

you know how it ends….

 Check out these stats on black males in prison and tell me if we need to hear another violent rap song?

I think, therfore I am..

I don’t even know how to begin this blog.

Words continually escape me.

How can I express the hurt and outrage I feel at the comments made by Nobel scientist James Watson about the supposed ‘inferior intelligence’ of my race, of my people.

However, forgive me if I am not surprised.

People across the world are stunned because how could such a smart man believe such a stupid and prejudice thing? But you know smart people and very smart people often believe such things and are sometimes just as prejudice and racist as the ignorant among us. But because he is one of the most accomplished human beings to ever live his comments have hurt and brought tears to my eyes not because he is the first to have said such hateful and stupid things about my people but his comments have forced me to relive horrible experiences that I have had over the years.

As a black person I have seen so many looks of surprise on the faces of numerous individuals young, old, white, asian when they realise that not only am I capable of completing a sentence in English but also that I am smart, and in some cases if not most, smarter and better educated than they are. I have seen the look of pure horror on the face of a white roommate from a European country when she realised not only had I beat her on a Math exam that I had failed to study for (and she knew this because she was always begging me to study with her, I however would always choose to watch reruns of Golden Girls)  but I had also received one of the best grades in the entire class. She was in such shock that she continuously tried to assert that the reason I had done better was not because I was smarter but because the teacher was easier..I don’t know if an easier professor can miraculously transform equations and facts on my exam into answers but I know this was her only way to rationalize the fact that I, a black woman woman, could ever beat her at anything.

And this was not only the only experience I have had with members of the white community expressing incredulity with my intelligence because of my race. However it was one of the most memorable and hurtful and the fact that I attended a predominantly white university in a predominantly white city these interactions and comments happened with some frequency.

Can a white person or asian person ever know what it’s like to be continuously questioned about your abilities, theories, or comments because you’re black?  Black? Race, something that you obviously have no control over and something that even if you did have control over you would not change at least I wouldn’t. Many people of other races believe I wasn’t supposed to have been born with the brain or the looks that I have I presume it would have been more fitting if it had come in the body of a white male or female or an asian female or male but not in the body of female as dark as velvet.

My white professional and personal colleagues often can and are willing to, even if they fail to acknowledge, cloak themselves in the supposed certainty of the global hierarchy and intellectual superiority of their races. Read this great article on the hierarchy by Martin Jacques .

But I have no such cloak I don’t even have a damn shawl. Because as painful as Dr.Watson’s comments are they are held by numerous intelligent and brilliant people across the world.

Everyday when I wake up and go out into the world I have to fight a battle. 

I fight to achieve true equality for my race, for my people in all things in all areas of this great and wonderful life. From science to perceptions of beauty we are just capable, just as competent and in some cases can even outperform any race when we do it should not be viewed as a fluke or some ‘mistake’ in nature but should be viewed as the individual or individuals who have bettered us all. 

My battles have been tough I’ve been fighting this battle for years. I score some victories but since their are millions of others like Dr.Watson I still don’t know if I’ll ever win the war.

  

Public service for Obama

If Obama wins the democratic nomination I will definitely devote my life, my entire life to public service.

That is a promise.

The gift that keeps on giving

THANK YOU LARRY CRAIG!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!