America's Still Small Voice: Grow Up America

Evangelicals VOTE for OBAMA in 2012--He's your best candidate

2011-05-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

Evangelicals VOTE for OBAMA in 2012--He's your best candidate

With Mike Huckabee deciding not to run for President, I still contend that Barack Obama is the Evangelicals best candidate for President. His resume is quite impressive. He has confessed his belief in Jesus in front of millions. He called him by name by the way. He has been married to the same woman for 14-years and he has two lovely daughters who seem to be well rounded. He is also building leadership experiences that make him a good and deliberate military leader. Just look at how he took out Osama bin Laden. His work, as a domestic leader, is non-impeachable. Just ask Donald Trump and the birthers. So how does he compare to the leaders in the GOP field:

Mitt Romney: He is said to be the front-runner but the Wall Street Journal recently called him Obama’s running mate because of the Healthcare bill he passed in Massachusetts. It is what Obama based his healthcare reform bill on. It is Romney’s albatross.Romney’s other problem is that he is a Mormon. That may fly with those social conservatives in the north, but Evangelicals from the Bible belt will have a hard time with his religion because they do not think Mormons are going to heaven.
Newt Gingrich: Newt is probably the most financially and governmentally astute of the current candidates, but Newt has a problem keeping his pants on. Newt’s current wife worked in his office during Bill Clinton’s impeachment over Monica Lewinsky. They had an affair that lasted for years. Newt believes, rightly, that social conservatives will forgive him, but he will also have a problem with media because bloggers will constantly challenge him on the moral issues on which he has no standing but talks about anyway.
Jon Huntsman: Huntsman looks too much like an Obama ally since his stint as Ambassador to China. He also does not pass the religious mustard because he is Mormon.
Rick Santorum: This guy has a Google problem that he may never overcome. Google his last name and see what comes up.
Ron Paul: The Texas legislator has a minor credibility problem and his own party really does not want to vote for him. He may have the best chance of being the darling of the Tea Party though.
Donald Trump: Buffoon.
Sarah Palin: I hope she does run because she has got some hard questions to answer. She may be the one GOP candidate who can pull together the evangelicals and the social conservatives except she is prone to bouts of idiocy.

So, Evangelicals, you should VOTE for Obama in 2012. He is the best man for the job according to your core beliefs.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is an Anchor Baby

2011-05-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is an Anchor Baby

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal learned that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. You remember Jindal, he is the Governor who said that he would sign the birther bill if it crossed his desk. Well it appears that some industrious Louisianans decided to put the same pressure on Jindal because neither of his parents were born here. They are both Indian nationals who immigrated here on ‘highly skilled worker visas”. His mother was pregnant at the time. Do you see the irony in this? A week after our President had to release his birth certificate, so did Jindal.

However, he still has a problem. You see for birthers, it is not about whether Jindal is a citizen; it is the fact that he does not look or have the name of an American president. You see his name is not Bobby. It is really Piyush Jindal. He chose the name Bobby for himself because of Bobby Brady on "The Brady Bunch" or as one Times-Picayune reader put it "because every time someone said Piyush someone said "Bless you." Neither his mother nor father was born here. They came here on student Visas in 1970s--his father to work as an Engineer and his mother as a spouse. His mother was pregnant when she came to the states and received special dispensation from Louisiana State University. She got a month off to have her baby. Piyush ‘Bobby’ Jindal is an anchor baby.

This all came about because of article in which someone gave Jindal a middle name—he does not have one. “Piyush Amrit Jindal is the last man in America who should give his blessing to a birther bill.” My favorite line from the Times-Picayune article was from Jindal’s chief of staff, “Opponents have referred to Gov. Jindal as Piyush 'Amrit' Jindal for years to insinuate that someone with a foreign-sounding name is less American than you or I,” said Timothy Teepell. And there is the rub; Piyush Jindal would have trouble being president because he is not white. He does not have a white name and his parents were not born here.

The simple reason is birthers are racist. It is not about whether Obama was born here, it is about the color of his skin and Piyush has learned that lesson the hard way. Or as one columnist put it, “The man on the phone couldn't understand why people were even entertaining the idea of a Bobby Jindal presidential campaign. The Louisiana governor can't run for the White House, he said, because his parents were born in India.” Jindal may run for President in 2012 or he may be chosen for a Vice Presidential candidate. The bill that he plans to sign would make him ineligible if he were born today. Be careful where you throw stones Mr. Jindal.

Birthers are Racist: Where is John McCain's birth certificate?

2011-04-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Birthers are Racist: Where is John McCain's birth certificate?

Evangelicals Best Candidate: Obama vs. Trump--Obama hands down

2011-04-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Evangelicals Best Candidate: Obama vs. Trump--Obama hands down: "close

Racism: Obama's birth certificate won't stop the race baiting

2011-04-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Racism: Obama's birth certificate won't stop the race baiting

OMG The President is Black!!!

2011-04-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

OMG The President is Black!!!

OC Republican needs a history lesson

2011-04-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

OC Republican needs a history lesson

Obama should show his birth certificate; Palin should show Trigs

2011-04-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Obama should show his birth certificate; Palin should show Trigs

The Myth of Anchor Babies

2011-04-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

The Myth of Anchor Babies

Chase Bank Sucks

2009-11-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

Chase Bank Sucks

Customer Hell

Does anyone who was born before the seventies lament the lack of customer service in the world today. I will pay extra for good customer service and it is truly a lost art. That is why, when I returned from Central America and found Washington Mutual I was happy. They actually had good customer service. They cared when you were in crisis and needed their help.

Well, as we all know, WAMU is no longer with us and has been replaced by that behemoth Chase. A few days ago they changed their system to Chase permanently and all signs of WAMU were lost. Take what happened to me today for example.

I deposited my check from my job as a teacher. I get paid once a month so it is rather a large sum and I am going through a divorce and I recently changed checking accounts. So, for about two months I have been stuck in the cycle of waiting on my paychecks in the mail and then depositing them in the branch.

Today, my check came and I took it to the bank to deposit it. I have done this in one form or fashion for the last seven years. It is a government check and I realize that that is not saying much these days. I deposited it and the first thing that I noticed was that there was no balance on the receipt. That should have caused me to pause, but I was in a hurry. I went and took care of some business in Los Angeles and was headed to sit and have dinner with two friends when I decided that I should get some cash. I bought a car recently, so I was low on cash before my deposit. I put my card into the ATM at Chase in downtown Los Angeles and it said insufficient funds.

I immediately called Chase customer service. Now, if something like this had happened before with WAMU, it would have been fixed before I hung up the phone. However, Chase’s customer service people have a script and no matter how often you call them they give you the same patronizing corporate dribble.

The minions at Chase told me that there was nothing they could do for me and—one of them even said this—“we are not Washington Mutual anymore.” I spoke with a supervisor, whom I told, that I only needed a little cash available for the night and she gave me the same dribble.

I admit that by this time I was very peeved and my tone was not as professional as I would like, however, what horrible service. A customer—7 years—asks you to make a slight concession and you can only spout scripted baloney to them. Customer service means that sometimes you have to think outside of the box. Chase is so wrapped up in the box that their employees are like robots.

It’s a shame that WAMU had to disappear, but you would think that Chase would understand that customer service was why many of us went to WAMU in the first place. I would rather have the customer service people in India, who at least try to be friendly and accommodating than those at Chase whose brains have been taken out and replaced with sound bites. I’ll be changing banks this week. I’m looking for service and the smile.

Blurring the lines between church and state

2009-09-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Blurring the lines between church and state

Keep Church and State separate

Coach Scott Mooney of Breckinridge County High School in Louisville, KY took a group of football players on field trip to a church where a revival was going on and several of them were baptized without their parents’ permission. School Superintendent Janet Meeks was at that service. One mother was angered because her husband is Catholic and she is Baptist and they wanted to be a part of this decision with their son.

Meeks says that none of the students were coerced or forced into going to the service and that parents were told about it. She also said that it did not violate rules against separation of church and state because the gas for the bus was paid for by another coach. The pastor at the church said that about nine players came down to be baptized however none of them were manipulated into coming down.

Now anyone who has ever been to a revival knows that the whole process is manipulative and anyone who has ever played on a sports team knows the power of a coaches words to his/her players. So the pastor is a blatant liar because revivals are inherently manipulative because of the stories told and the music used and team sports, especially, football are coercive by their very nature.

Now we hear that a new law in the state of Texas requires teachers to teach bible literacy. Now, as a literature teacher, I find this an interesting proposition since most of our early American Literature was based on religion and bible beliefs. However, the State of Texas has required teacher to do this without giving them training or telling them how to do it to keep it religion neutral.

Texas has just opened the door for proselytizing by teachers with religious agendas. They have also broken their own laws by not training teachers to do the job they have given them to do. The program also lacks funding. This means that how to teach this material is left to individual teachers. Can you see the lines between church and state being blurred?

People have the right to believe what they want. The problem arises with forcing students to read a book they may not believe in. That goes against the Constitution of the United States. It also offers the opportunity for teachers with extreme beliefs to ingrain those beliefs in the minds of impressionable students without the consent of those students’ parents. Does this concern anyone else?

How do parents who do not believe in the bible guard against their children becoming indoctrinated with unwanted religious ideas? How do we guard against those who would indoctrinate children with their brand of radicalism or hate that they believe that the bible sanctions?

President Barack Obama took a lot of criticism for just asking kids to pay attention and stay in school. Yet, no one is screaming about this? I don’t believe in religion. I think that it has caused or been the catalyst for most of the world’s atrocities. As a literature teacher, I find it an interesting idea of teaching the bible as part of the literary experience. The problem I have is how do you keep your individual beliefs from being forced on the young minds before you? It is almost impossible.

Support Healthcare now

2009-09-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

Support Healthcare now

Stop the rhetoric

I heard about this charity called Remote Access Medical (RAM). Generally, RAM, drops medical supplies and medical teams into remote areas and treats people who may need it in countries like Haiti, Somalia, or Guyana. However, just last week, RAM was in Inglewood, CA at the Inglewood Forum helping people who lack health care. Many of the people lined up at 4 p.m. and were still there at midnight.

The stories were amazing. One little girl had to skip school so that she could go get glasses. When her father was asked about the alternative, he said, “She just wouldn’t get glasses.” Another gentleman who suffers from constant pain said that if he had not gone to the Forum, he would have had to suffer. Now many of these people were uninsured, but the vast majority of them were people with healthcare who could not afford their premiums or had inadequate coverage. Many were minorities, but a large number were Caucasian. Many were unemployed, but the vast majority hard working people.

The director of the program was appalled because he said that he should be in a third world country and not in downtown Los Angeles. I am amazed that most Americans do not agree. How horrid is it that hard working Americans have to go to a charity for basic health care, for dental care, and to have an eye exam. These seemingly intelligent people listen to the rhetoric of people like Sarah Palin who talks about death panels for seniors, they fail to see that the same representatives who jumped on this band wagon about death panels voted for the same language in a 2003 Medicare bill that was passed. Sen. Charles Grassley, of Iowa, who is one of the biggest opponents of health care reform voted for this bill which allowed seniors who were terminally ill to receive end-of-life counseling.

The question is one of equity. America is the richest country in the world, yet we have millions of children who go to bed each night hungry. One of the people at the RAM event said that she was afraid that she could be having a heart attack and not be able to call an ambulance because she would have to pay a large bill later. America is the richest country in the world and yet we have a large homeless population, many of which are children.

Christians are required to tithe 10% of their salary to the church to provide for those who give them spiritual “food”. This is an organization whose mandate, according to the Isaiah 58 is to care for those who can not care for themselves. My question to the church is where is the money? Why are you not taking care of the people in Inglewood? Why are you not taking these homeless people into your sanctuaries and feeding and clothing them? Why do you refuse to care for the infirmed?

Instead you preach hate, you preach intolerance, and you preach rhetoric while you fill you coffers.

RAM is doing what those in the church are supposed to be doing. Yet, we as a nation have the opportunity to do something great and take care of those who need a little help caring for themselves. Grow up America and support health care.

Watch 60 mins. About RAM in Tennessee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9JmEHsCv4c

Comparison: Who is more like Hitler--George Bush or Barack Obama

2009-09-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

Comparison: Who is more like Hitler--George Bush or Barack Obama

George Bush's Legacy

Racism abounds in America and a black president has just brought out the redneck in people. People have compared him to Adolph Hitler. However, the question must be asked, who is more like Hitler: Barack Obama or George Bush? Lets compare shall we?

George Bush started a war in Iraq under false pretenses. Reports range from 100,000-1.2 million Iraqis killed so far. However, no on knows for a fact because according to one American General Tommy Franks, “We don’t do body counts.” Obama wants to give all Americans health care and to make sure that our economy recovers. George Bush arrested, humiliated, and tortured men who had nothing to do with Osama bin Laden or September 11^th. Obama has been working to close Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

George Bush took away liberties and invaded our privacy more than any President since the McCarthy era, however, Obama is being called Hitler because he wants to fix health care in this country. Hitler killed 11 million people. Six million of those people were Jewish, but many others were gay, gypsies, or people who did not fit into Hitler’s master race plans. He sounds a bit like a Republican to me. George Bush allowed people to be tortured as part of his War on Terror. He imprisoned thousands and then used techniques that made them hate Americans. We are less safe as a nation because of George Bush.

George Bush waited while thousands of Americans died and suffered in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He praised his FEMA director who did nothing as the people died and the levees overflowed. Maybe, it was not important that most of these people were poor and African American.

George Bush had a private firm that Vice President Dick Cheney hired to assassinate the enemy. The problem is that this private firm is more like Hitler’s Gestapo and they believe in Christian Supremacy and that all Muslims should die. The owner of Xe/Blackwater is now being accused of murdering informants against his operation, running a child prostitute ring, and wife swapping among his top executives. Hitler had a lot of the same things going on in Nazi Germany.

What does the right say about Barack Obama? He is a socialist. He wants to change our way of life. He is muslim. He was not born in the United States. All of this hides a racist countries insecurity over having a black President.

The fact is that George Bush was the worst American President ever. He did more to damage American relations with other nations that Obama could undo in two terms. He murdered innocents, tortured people, and allowed people to die because of his political ideology. Maybe we should put the Hitler mustache on him.

Churches do your job!!!

2009-09-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Churches do your job!!!

People are dying

Pastor Steven Anderson of Arizona has a prayer that he says to God every day. That prayer is that President Barack Obama will die or be killed. One of his parishioners was the man who carried a loaded rifle outside of an Obama appearance in Arizona a few weeks ago. Anderson believes in the bible, but I am not sure which bible it is since the one that most Christians read is clear that believers should pray for the well being of their leaders and for their wisdom. However, a black president seems to bring out the worst in the faithful. It is obvious that Pastor Anderson does not read the bible because if he did he would not be praying for the death of another man.

Wednesday night I took part in a vigil for healthcare reform. There were about 150 people there. Most of them were pro-healthcare reform. There were six or seven people who were against healthcare reform and they were the most vocal people at this candle light vigil. They carried signs that disparaged President Barack Obama. Most of them called the idea of single-payer health care a socialist idea. Most of them spouted rhetoric—saying the same things over and over. They were aggressively pushing people and yelling in their faces. In another event in Thousand Oaks, CA, the violence escalated and one man had his pinky finger bitten off and had to rushed to the hospital.

The highlight of my night though was talking to a younger man who was basically saying the same things again and again. I asked him if he was Christian and he said yes. My next question to him was what was the solution for those who did not have health insurance? His answer was, “Get a skill and get a job.” With that, I asked him did he know that it was the church’s responsibility to care for the sick, the poor and the needy. His answer, “Says who?” The simple answer, “The Bible.” After a while, he just disappeared.

It became obvious that he doesn’t read the bible after a couple minutes of conversation because if he did, he would know that countless passages in bible from the old testament to the new testament direct those who believe to be the safety-net if you will--for those who cannot care for themselves. It is the theme of the entire Book of Ruth. Jesus said and taught that believers who did not do that were not even welcomed in the Kingdom.

So the question is where does the virulent hate come from? Why is it that those who are charged with caring for the poor are so adamant against legislation that would protect them? What happens to the money that big-time religion gets from its parishioners? It goes to building large sanctuaries and supporting political platforms based in hate because the faithful sit in pews and listen to rhetoric without questioning its veracity.

The fact is that the first church practiced a form of socialism. People sold land and brought there earnings and food and shared it in common with others because of the political climate of the day. I have heard this explained away in several ways. The first way is that the first church was not a government, however, it was a governing body and it used what was given to it as it saw fit. I have heard it said that under socialism there is no ownership of property, well the first Christians gave up their ownership of their property for the common good of their brothers and sisters.

The truth is that most of those who believe never read the book they say leads them or listen to and believe the politics of the right and deny the basic doctrines of their beliefs. They sit in churches and are spoon fed rhetoric which they take to the streets as the truth. They become an army for their leaders’ political agendas. They spread this vitriol without ever thinking about the logic. They do not question their leaders or their leaders’ doctrine.

There are a few for whom this will never change, but my problem is with those who know better and refuse to stand up to the hate. I have been proud to call many of these people my friends for years and now it is time for them to stand up for what is right. Most right-wing doctrine is based in the racism of the 50s and 60s. People are dying. Stop the rhetoric and look at the facts. It is your job to care for the sick, the needy, the widows, the orphans, prisoners and anyone else who cannot take care of themselves. Do your job.

Texas EXECUTED an innocent man

2009-09-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Texas EXECUTED an innocent man

Murder by state

Before his trial in 1992, Cameron Todd Willingham refused to plead guilty to the murder of his children in return for a life sentence. For the next twelve years, he maintained his innocence even though he faced the Texas death machine. On February 18, 2004 he was executed.

Now, it appears that the state of Texas murdered an innocent man. In an article in the New Yorker, writer David Grann makes a compelling argument that the State of Texas ignored an experts report that a fire in Willingham’s Corsicana, TX house was an accident and not arson. Further investigations into the case by a board of Arson Experts reached the same conclusion. Texas will release its own report next year and the question is whether officials in the death state will finally acknowledge that they murdered an innocent man.

The facts of the case are simple. On December 23, 1991 Willingham’s wife had left to go buy a Christmas presents for his three children at the Salvation Army. Willingham went to sleep and was awakened by his daughter Amber calling “Daddy, Daddy”. Willingham said later that he could not get close to the children’s room. He rushed outside and yelled at a neighbor to call the fire department because his “babies” were inside. He broke out windows and tried to get to the children to no avail.

Policemen, firemen, and neighbors all said at first that Willingham was trying to get into the house and he had to be restrained. Other people reported that he was hysterical. His babysitter and his wife said his children were spoiled and that he could never hurt them. As a matter of fact, no motive was ever found for Willingham killing his children except that he was a sociopath and they crimped his “beer drinking and dart throwing” time.

Willingham was tried and convicted on evidence collected by Douglas Fogg and Manuel Vasquez, two state investigators who were convinced that Willingham had killed his children by using an accelerant because, according to them, the fire had at least three points of origin. The investigators concluded that Willingham was the only person who could have started the fire.

The trial lasted two days and the jury was out for about an hour. Willingham was sent to death row where he spent 12 years. They relied on the testimony of jail house informant Johnny Webb, who testified that Willingham had confessed to him that he killed his children. Webb has since been diagnosed as being bi-polar. The defense only called one witness.

A short time before he was executed, his case file was given to arson expert, Dr. Gerald Hurst of Austin. Hurst systematically and scientifically disproved all of the evidence against Willingham and sent a hastily written report to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole. This group never vetted the report and voted by fax to execute Willingham. One member said that the board had never once met to in person. Governor Rick Perry denied clemency to Willingham and the state killed him, even though another inmate was earlier released using the same type of evidence. Willingham went to his death protesting his innocence.

Now, faced with a mountain of evidence, the state of Texas has to look in the mirror and decide whether to be the first state to admit that an innocent person was executed. If it is true, there should be an immediate stop to the death penalty and every case that is suspect should be vetted to see if those who claimed innocence are lying or telling the truth.

Stop Paranoia over Obama's Education Speech

2009-09-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Stop Paranoia over Obama's Education Speech

Well, tomorrow, The President of the United States plans to speak to the school children of America about their responsibility for their education. Despite all the rhetoric and fear that has been going around in the media, that is what the speech is about. If you do not believe me, read it for yourself. Now there has been a lot said in the media and by those who believe in this politics of paranoia that he is somehow going to indoctrinate there children into some socialist/Marxist/communist agenda. Well, if getting a good education and being responsible for yourself is socialist indoctrination, hallelujah.

I am a teacher and I see the effects of students who have no motivation and refuse to be responsible in the classroom every day. Most teachers spend valuable time dealing with those students instead of teaching those who actually came to learn. Yet a faction of American society has placed fear in the hearts of others because of this idea that the Obama will use mind control to indoctrinate children into his political agenda. They have done this without ever reading the words the President intends to deliver. Well, now is your chance to see for yourself what the President plans to say and stop the fear-mongering.

Most of this fear is from the far right and it carries with it a political agenda that is based in hate and racism. I have not seen such virulent hate since I was a boy in sixties watching the civil rights movement. There was the same paranoia in the sixties when some of the most religious people in the country fought vehemently to deny black people the right of citizenry.

I hope that every child who can watch takes Obama’s message to heart because we as a country need it. San Bernardino County, where I work, has a 25% dropout rate overall and it is closer to 50% among Hispanics and African-American males. Most people want to blame it on teachers, but the problems go deeper than that and most of them begin in the home. Kids come to school hungry, abused, and sometimes neglected. There are other distractions for their time including video games and the internet. Many seem to think that their education is not important and the President, by using his own life and that of others who have overcome difficult situations, is trying to point them in the right direction. Good for him.

I am teaching persuasive writing and speeches to my writing classes and I plan to use this in my classroom to show students the different techniques used to persuade people. I also plan to ask them, as I do every year, to be responsible for their education on a daily basis because it is the only way for them to overcome the poverty that surrounds them. I know because I was one of those kids who went to school hungry and struggled to stay focused on my education. Yet, I prevailed and they can too. Get over the paranoia America.

Extremism Kills

2009-08-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

Extremism Kills

Extremism kills

Two stories today really caught my eye. One was about a shooting in Tel Aviv where a shooter walked into a night club frequented by gays and opened fire. He killed two people and injured twelve others. Police have yet to catch the gunman who ran out of the club and into the night. The other story is about a father and mother in Wisconsin who prayed while their 11-year-old daughter died. The father, Dale Neumann (pictured) said he believed until the end that God would heal his daughter. It took the jury two days to reach a verdict in his case. His wife was found guilty earlier and both will be sentenced on the same day.

Extreme ideas bring on extreme actions. In the first story someone planned to walk into that club and shoot those people for no other reason than they were gay. He had to plan, he had to gather ammunition, and he had to go to the club and execute his plan. In the other case, two parents sat by and watched their flesh and blood die because of their of their belief in faith healing. This child suffered because they did not have the ability to use the common sense that GOD gave them and take the child to the doctor.

What kind of demented mind watches their child die? What kind of person can walk into a bar and shoot and kill people randomly because he doesn’t agree with their lifestyle? Extremism is dangerous and many of those who hold extreme ideas are powder kegs ready to explode. Yet, media outlets like Fox News and pundits such as Bill O’Reilly fuel their fires with rhetoric that is aimed specifically at them.

My concern, however, is those good people on the right who listen to this rhetoric and pass it own. They may not be extremist, but they support them by not standing up to those whose rhetoric is dangerous. They are no better than the organizations that support terrorist cells financially, but claim no responsibility when it comes to the destruction they cause. Spouting rhetoric that causes the modern day stoning of gays or that causes those who may be mentally unstable to allow their 11-year-old daughter to die is a crime. Those who use the rhetoric understand that they are protected by the first amendment. However, should they be?

Extremism is a killer. Intelligent people should be able to see that extreme ideas are destructive and cause those with extreme behavior to act. America needs to stop the rhetoric and get rid of extremism in any form

No Child Left Behind: Teaching Tales

2009-07-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

No Child Left Behind: Teaching Tales

The President and his educational secretary want to pay me based on my student’s performance on test. Lets get this straight: I believe that all children should be taught. I believe that all children can learn. I run my classroom so that all students get attention and their personal educational needs are met. That said, NCLB does not work and we need to stop putting all of our students in the same box. Here are some of my favorite student tales:

I teach a writing class and last year I had three such classes. In my final period of the day, I had 36 students. Half of those were students who did not speak English. One student in particular was very trying. We will call him R. R was born in the United States, but his first language is Spanish. He did not start school until he was six. His parents do not read in English or Spanish. He is on the fringes of a gang and has a bad attitude about school. For the first six weeks, he does not even come to class. After a call home, he comes sporadically. He cannot write a complete sentence and has trouble expressing himself in either language. He speaks Spanglish 80% of the time. When he takes test, he plays games and makes pretty patterns. His parents have no control over him and he has been arrested numerous times.

Another student is N. N is a 15 year-old soon to be mother. Her parents have thrown her out of the house because of the baby. She lives with an aunt. Her baby is due in January and she and her boyfriend do not have jobs. She was trying to get pregnant so that she could have someone to love her. I know this because she told me. She is afraid, but she is trying hard not to let her fear control her. She cannot concentrate on school. She comes to class every other day. Her belly is getting bigger. She eventually leaves school for three months after the Thanksgiving break. She does some home study, but no one is there to make her do her work. She has her baby and comes back but now she is even more distracted. The baby is at school with her in daycare. She cannot focus on her studies and her grades slip with all of her new demands.

G is an African-American male who at 14 is already over 6’ tall. He looks like a man. Most teachers are afraid of him. He does not read well. Gets kicked out of every class and has general contempt for teachers and authority in general. His main goal, once he is in class, is to get out. If he cannot get out, his goal is to disrupt. He does not sit in his seat. He does not do any work. If he can intimidate a teacher he will. His parents have four boys in high school and none of them go to class. They don’t care. No one cares. He does what he wants too, when he wants too.

Teacher merit pay sounds good and is politically correct, but it is a bad idea. We will lose good teachers because they teach in bad situations. Americans have this idea that teachers sit on their butts, get lots of holidays, and do not care about their students. That is not true for 95% of the teachers I know. They are hardworking dedicated professionals who only want the best for their students.

The problem is that we have been trying to teach G, N and R the same way for the last 50 years. It is time for a change and it is time for us to realize that not all students go to college and not all students are going to pass standardized test. Many students deal with grown-up situations. School and learning are the last things on their minds. They are hungry, being abused, neglected, or just simply alone. These things are not my fault and I should not be paid based on them. Policemen are not paid by the crimes they solve and firemen are not paid by the fires they put out. However, you want to pay me based on whether a student, who does not have the ability, can pass a test. Go figure.

Oh, by the way, I had all three of these students in one class. Grow up America.

Racism in America: Three Modern-Day stories

2009-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Racism in America: Three Modern-Day stories

Who says racism is dead in America?

I just got through watching a documentary about a little town called Charleston, Mississippi. The heart of the story was that in 2007-2008 students at the local highs school were still having segregated proms—a black prom and a white prom.

Actor Morgan Freeman is from Charleston and he held a meeting at the school and told the student body if they would end the practice, he would foot the bill.

A couple of days ago, on of America’s best minds, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested in his own home by and officer who felt that he was being abusive. They arrested Gates, even though he produced an identification that proved that the home was his. Gates became belligerent and has been outspoken about racial profiling every since.

Now, a story comes out about these so-called “birthers” who are claiming erroneously, that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. They insist that he does not have the right to be President because he was not born on U.S. soil. Lou Dobbs has allowed the story to fester by his refusal to say the story is wrong. Now, all those who refuse to read for themselves are screaming the same stupid thing.

The question becomes one of race. Some parents in Charleston, Mississippi forbade their children to go to the integrated prom because said one of them, “My daughter ain’t gone be grindin on no nigger, we didn’t raise her that way.” None of the parents who chose not to allow their children to go to the integrated prom were black.

Dr. Gates is over 60-years-old. What harm would it have been to step away from the pissing match with an old man and show some deference. I am assured of one thing: If Gates were white, he would not have been arrested. However, the police were responding a call that “two” black men were trying to break into a home. However, if Dr. Gates produced his identification the Officer should have shown deference and allowed him to stay home.

Finally, for those who believe that President Obama was born in Kenya. Go to Ancestry.com and the original birth record is there. Also, pick up some literature that tells the entire story. Racism is still going strong in this country and it is time that we begin a true dialogue on what causes it. Grow Up America.

Racial Profiling: My own personal stories

2009-07-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

It Happens

MY OWN PERSONAL PROFILING STORIES

Why did President Obama say Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley was stupid for arresting Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., because he was stupid. Whites do not understand racial profiling because it doesn’t happen to them. They do not understand the degradation that black men have experienced in this country for years.

The last time it happened to me was about four weeks ago in downtown Los Angeles. I was there taking pictures when two cops pulled me over. They were very polite and once they realized that I was not some drunk, they just gave me a fixit ticket. I drove off and thought, hmmm, maybe the LAPD has changed. The strange thing was I did not have my license and he did not ticket me for it.

At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, I was coming home from work when I pulled up behind a a Riverside County Sheriff’s officer and another car. The officer pulled over in front of both myself and the other car and pulled over to median, pulled in behind me, and then pulled me over. Two officers came up to me with their hands clearly on their weapons. I sat in my car and thought I was going to jail because I did not have my registration or insurance card in the car at the time for reasons beyond my control.

They approached the car and the officer asked me if I knew why he stopped me. I said no. He then asked me the standard question, “Do you have any warrants.”

“I said no.”

He said, “You’ve never been arrested?”

“I said nope.”

He then asked me for those papers that I did not have. My wife had the insurance card and my step-son had taken the registration from the car by accident. I called both of them on my cell phone and my wife headed down with the insurance card. I sat in the car and waited for the officer to get my information straight. When he came back he told me what he stopped me for. He said I had a brake light out. I was incensed.

I came home and started a phone calling campaign. I knew that this officer had stopped me because I was black. I called all around and finally I found out that officer who stopped me was a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officer who was on a warrant hunt. A warrant hunt is when an officer stops someone in hope landing a bigger perpetrator through warrant search. The problem was that I have never been arrested.

When I finished my calling campaign, I started a letter and e-mail campaign to find out where this guy worked. It turns out that he works in Indio. I wrote a letter to Sheriff office and even filed an official complaint. I eventually received a call from the officer’s supervisor who pointedly told me that I was part of a sweep for felons. The only reason these officers stopped me was because I would have a warrant. He apologized, but it did not assuage my anger.

I have never been arrested. I am college educated. I am a professional and I am a good father. I pay taxes and I work ever day, I have since I was 14-years-old. I have worked extremely hard all of my life. I am bilingual. I worked nine years for one of the largest newspaper in the country.

However, this happens to me all the time. I was once stopped in the middle of a street and when I asked the cop why he told me it was because I looked at him. I even wrote a story about this in the Los Angeles Times circa 1990 and it was later mentioned in an article by a Times editorial writer that included an incident with the Secret Service and future Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

This is not a figment of my imagination. I have no doubt that had Professor Gates been white, he would not have been arrested. Officer Crowley is a professional. Once Professor Gates showed him his ID, he should have walked away from a senior citizen who was tired, frustrated, and highly agitated because he was being asked to leave his home. He acted stupidly. Professor Gates may have overreacted. He may have even berated the officer, but the officer should have said thank you and then walked away. Instead he humiliated an old man for the sake of ego. Stupid.

Drug fatalities mounting: End the War on Drugs

2009-07-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Drug fatalities mounting: End the War on Drugs

Legalize It

"Police in law enforcement understand the facts," said Aaron Zelman, President of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. "They know restrictive, prohibition type laws only breeds more crime."

I copied that quote from an essay on gun control laws. However, it really does apply to the issue of the drug war. Just recently, 12 bodies were found on the side of a road in the state of Michocan, Mexico. A threatening not was found beside the bodies.

The war on drugs has become a scourge for our society. Drugs are now the centerpiece of war in Mexico that has claimed over 8600 people have been executed in Mexico alone because of drugs. Isn't it obvious that our restrictive, prohibition type laws are only breeding crime.

Restrictive drug laws have caused countless deaths and allowed cartels to terrorize entire nations. The main problem is that it America's fault. We have an appetite for illegal drugs that cannot be satiated and government's heavy-handed tactics have only made it worse. We need to begin to take responsibility for our on weaknesses and change restrictive drug laws so that those who need it can get help.

I was adopted into a family of addictive personalities. There were five kids in this family and at one point or another all but myself were addicted to something. The oldest son is a crack addict, the next to oldest son died from food addiction and smoking addiction, the next son was killed in a crack house, and the daughter has been a hooker on and off because of drugs.

The Right's Wrong Thinking: Gays and hate crimes

2009-07-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

The Right's Wrong Thinking: Gays and hate crimes

Human rights should apply

The religious right is at it again. The Senate approved a bill that would expand current hate crime legislation to include homosexuals. Though the bill narrowly focuses on violent crimes and has nothing to do with free speech, here is what some conservatives are saying: "This is the first time you would have written into law a government disapproval of a religious belief held by the majority of Americans—that homosexuality is sinful," says Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. "It's more of a slippery slope argument than about the law itself."

"When you have pastors being called to testify about what they taught or preached to a person convicted of a hate crime, that's going to send a shock wave through the religious community," says Stanley. "It will lead to a chill on speech and free exercise of religion as it relates to homosexual behavior."

How do these modern day prophets divine this information? They do so by not reading the legislation. If they had read, they would have known that the bill is focused on hate crimes. This legislation has nothing to do with the First Amendment. It has to do with the safety of other humans.

You are, also, able to believe whatever you want about homosexuality. You can believe it is a sin. You can believe that all homosexuals are evil. However, what you are not allowed to do is to beat, harass, or kill another Human Being based on their sexual preference. No one is disapproving of your religious belief Mr. Stanley, instead what they are saying is that you do not have a right, based on those beliefs to harm another human being.

Finally, as a matter of common sense, if you stop preaching hate from your pulpits, then maybe you will not have to worry about whether one of your parishioners commits a hate crime.

Discrimination in any form is wrong. People ask me why am I so passionate about this? I tell them that it is not because it is my sexual preference, but because every man, woman and child deserve to be treated with respect.

I was an Illegal Immigrant

2009-07-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

I was an Illegal Immigrant

Culture Shock

Illegal immigration is a thorny issue simply because there are people in the world who want to kill Americans. We need to close our borders, but we also need to have compassion on the people who are already here. I say this, because I understand what it is like to be a foreigner and not know the language. I was an illegal alien in Guatemala for one year. I know what it is like to have to leave your family behind in a third world country because there is NO MONEY to be MADE.

My family calls me the adventurous one because I am the only one who left Texas. I have always loved learning about people and cultures. I always knew that at some point in my life I would live in a foreign country and experience that culture for myself. When I met my ex-wife, I got that chance.

She came here as a child and when we wanted to get married we found out that she would be deported because she originally came here on a student visa. Even though we were about to get married, the United States was going to deport her back to Guatemala for 10 years. She spoke perfect English, worked for almost 12 years at the same job, and was a culturally an American.

At the time, I worked for a major newspaper and I felt stuck in an editing job and really wanted to get out. I thought it was a great idea to go to Central America because we would be able to fix her papers, I could learn Spanish, I would get the experience of living in a different culture, and I could get my teaching credential when I returned.

We arrived in Guatemala City on her birthday and in the town we would live in on mine, the very next day. Antigua, Guatemala is gorgeous little town that sits up in the mountains above Guatemala City. There were many people who spoke English, but to do business, you needed to speak Spanish. I had taken one Spanish class in high school. I had a basis to learn so I set out to do just that.

I taught English, did some freelance writing and photography, and even helped a guy from "Navy Intelligence" start a newspaper. However, by the end of April we were pregnant and I need to work right away. The prospects were grim and after seven and a half months of pregnancy the midwives we were working with told us my wife's blood pressure was rising and she needed to see a doctor. My daughter was born on December 30, 1999.

We lasted a year, but soon the government in Guatemala changed and that changed the economy. There was no money for anything. My daughter was almost two years old when I made the decision to catch a bus from Guatemala City to Moreno Valley, CA. I did have one problem and that was my visa had expired and I was going to have to pay a hefty fine for being Guatemala illegally. So, I told the embassy that my passport was destroyed by a dog and got another passport for $75.

I left on a September morning. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I remember just trying to survive the journey through Mexico because the Federales stopped the bus going north about ever 20 minutes. I arrived in Moreno Valley on September 10, 2001. I went to the beach that day and watched the planes fly into the World Trade Centers the next morning.

It took me two months and five letters to get my wife her visa and return to Guatemala the same way I came, three days on a bus. One of those letters made to Senator Barbara Boxer's office and she solved the problem of the my wife's visa. I was back in Guatemala before Christmas. My wife and daughter flew out of Guatemala a month after Christmas. I stayed another month.

So, that is the story of how I became an illegal immigrant. However, because of my education I was able to change things. Most of the people who come here from Mexico don't have any such thing. Take for instance, the little girl who rode up here with me on the bus. Her clothes were tattered, she was frightened, and she parked herself on the inside seat next to the only American on the bus, me. I also happened to be one of the biggest people on the bus. She was going into a world to cross a border that was dangerous and filled with pitfalls. She had no agenda, except she wanted to get to family in Jurupa.

Have some compassion America. Let's close the borders and accept the immigrants who are here into our melting pot. By the way, on the trip back to Guatemala, the Federales didn't stop the bus.

My Healthcare Story

2009-07-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

My Healthcare Story

Give us healthcare

It is time that Americans had healthcare. I am always hearing stories about people without healthcare and it makes me wonder how Americans can be against the idea. The truth is that we all have horror stories about healthcare, but this one caught my attention.

I am a teacher and I see all kinds of horror stories working in a poor school. However, when I saw one of my students walk onto campus with a swollen jaw it aroused my curiosity. It turned out that she had a toothache and it was getting worse. I asked her if she had been to the doctor and she said her parents couldn't afford it. I called her parents and they said that the father had recently lost his job and they were on the verge of having to move anyway.

Her mother then frightened me with this story. It turns out that the youngest child, a male, has a tumor on his testicle. If you are not aware, testicular cancer strikes young men under 30. He went to the doctor, but had not been back since because they do not have healthcare.

Recently, I read another story about a woman whose father was a doctor. He developed a serious illness and had to leave work and had NO health insurance. The medical bills wiped him out and his dying wish was to have universal healthcare for his children and grandchildren.

Grow up America. We need healthcare and we have to pay for it.

US policy on Gays in Military is like Saudi Arabias

2009-07-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

US policy on Gays in Military is like Saudi Arabias:

Great Britain allows it. Australia allows it. Israel allows it. The Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, Romania, and Switzerland also allow it. However, Americans cannot tolerate it. We are in league with Cuba, China, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. What am I speaking of, Gays in the military.

USA Today is reporting that our Allies stance on Gays in the military is much more open than ours. However, the tide seems to be changing according to U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy who said, 'I take it as a personal affront to our warriors to say that other countries' soldiers are professional enough to handle this and Americans aren't is really a slap in the face.'

Over 30,000 soldiers have been removed from American military roles because of their sexual orientation. We refuse to allow those willing to serve access to the military because of our closed minds. Isn't it time we came into the modern age and should we not bring our military with us.

Stop the idiocy of 'Don't ask, don't tell' and lets allow those who are willing to serve our country to do so with pride.

Dick Cheney is a traitor

2009-07-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Dick Cheney is a traitor

Charge Dick Cheney with Treason and George Bush with idiocy

We know that the Cheney Administration, come on lets call it what it was, stole an election. We know that they capitalized on our fears after September 11th and attacked Iraq without merit. We know that they arrested Muslims and put them in prison for years without so much as a hearing. We know that they tortured them.

Now we find out that the CIA had secret programs and it was Dick Cheney who told them to keep them secret.

Charge Dick Cheney with treason. I would say charge George Dubyuh Bush with treason too, but I fear he is just an idiot. Dick Cheney is a profiteer. He committed war crimes and he broke the Geneva Convention. If he were from Bosnia, Somalia, Cuba, or Venezuela we would be calling for his blood. However, because he is an American, even those who know that what he did was wrong refuse to speak out.

Americans have a habit of rationalizing heinous crimes when we are the ones committing them. We rationalized slaver, segregation, and hate crimes against blacks. We rationalized the annihilation of Native American societies. We rationalized the anti-Semitism of Hitler until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We rationalized after we were defeated in Vietnam and we rationalized when we entered Iraq this time.

Even after we found out that the Cheney Administration lied to us about Iraq, the mainstream media did not cry foul. If it had not been for the internet and the bloggers, the story would have died. Still, the most liberal Americans I know were the only ones asking the hard questions and they were being called traitors.

The real traitors in this scenario were Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and others.

It is time that Americans stop rationalizing and put these criminals away.

As for Dubyuh, he was a puppet. He should be charged also, but it is to bad you cannot throw someone in jail for being an idiot.

Get Rid of Handguns

2009-07-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Get Rid of Handguns: "HubPages

Handguns Kill

The Los Angeles Times has a story about a guy named Bruce Pardo. Pardo had an interesting Christmas Eve. He dressed up as Santa, rang the door bell at his ex-wife's home and shot nine people and himself with five 9-millimeter handguns. The first person he shot was a nine-year-old girl who was running to greet Santa. He shot her in the face.

Pardo had planned well, according to the article. He had five 9-millimeter handguns and had taped $17,000 in cashed plastic-wrapped to his body. He also had an air pump filled with octane fuel. He also had an airline ticket in his shoe. He spent months amassing a small arsenal. The thing about this guy was that he was charming and likable to the outside world, but a terror to his family.

This guy went to the same store over a period of five months and bought five handguns worth a $1000 dollars each. He had to wait 30 days after each purchase according to California law.

Now I am from Texas, and as such was raised around guns. I can handle all types of guns really well. I am not against people having guns, but I am amazed at the fascination with handguns. Handguns are meant for one thing and that is killing or harming humans.

Since this is true, I despise the National Rifle Associations desire to have them. I, recently, did a comparison of gun deaths in Canada and the United States. I chose Canada because Canadians have guns but not nearly as many deaths. Canadians hunt, target shoot, and go shooting on ranges also, but they do it with rifles and shot guns. It almost takes an act of Congress for a Canadian to get a handgun. Why, because handguns are used to kill people. Hence, here is thenumerical comparison:

Canadian Firearms Centre:

There are an estimated 7.4 million firearms in Canada, about 1.2 million of which are restricted firearms (mostly handguns). In the U.S., there are approximately 222 million firearms; 76 million of the firearms in circulation are handguns.
For 1987-96, on average, 65% of homicides in the U.S. involved firearms, compared to 32% for Canada
For 1987-96, the average firearm homicide rate was 5.7 per 100,000 in the U.S., compared to 0.7 per 100,000 for Canada.
For 1989-95, the average handgun homicide rate was 4.8 per 100,000 in the U.S., compared to 0.3 per 100,000 for Canada. Handguns were involved in more than half (52%) of the homicides in the U.S., compared to 14% in Canada.
For 1989-95, the average non-firearm homicide rate was 3.1 per 100,000 people in the U.S., compared to 1.6 per 100,000 for Canada.

Why do Canadians have less murders by guns than we do? It is because Canada really restricts who gets handguns. Guns kill, and those who hold on to these archaic ideas that you need a gun to protect yourself are delusional. Stop making excuses for failed policies. Owning a gun is not a right, it is a privilege and we need to start looking at it as such.

By habueld

Han"

Gays Deserve HUMAN Rights: Two Gay Bashing Incidents

2009-07-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

Gays Deserve HUMAN Rights: Two Gay Bashing Incidents

What Does The Church Do With Hermphrodites

People are going to begin to think I am some kind of Gay Rights Activist and maybe I am because I do not see gay I see human. Now comes two stories that have me wondering has the world gone insane or do we really live in a society where people could be denied their basic human rights.

First I must digress, I find the entire idea of two guys having sex very a-natural idea, to coin a phrase. By that, I mean that it is not something that I would do, but if we examine the food chain, we encounter it through out. I am a follower of Christ, but organized religion has shown itself to be the beast, or the AntiChrist to me. This Beast would deny other humans basic rights while it fans the flame of hate and war around the world.

It's not the body, it's the head. The people who follow the agenda set aside by organized religion allow others to think for them. That head has denied people their basic human rights for an innumerable amount of reason. Can we just name a few: Africa (almost the entire continent), India, Vietnam, Korea, countless islands, Hawaii, women, African Americans, Irish, Scottish, French, Mexican, all of Central America, Spanish, gypsies, whores, muslim. They truly are sheep led to a slaughter, whether it be theirs or yours.

Now we find out that a young seaman has been murdered at Camp Pendlenton and that it allegedly could be because of his sexual orientation. Andrew Provostwas found shot to death in a guard station while he stood sentry. The Navy has someone in custody but has not yet released the details of who and why.

The other incident happened in Fort Worth, Texas where the police raided a gay bar and seemed to get offended when the patrons gave them a few obscene gestures. This group of professional law enforcement agents bashed one guys head in and injured his brain causing it to bleed.

In both incidents, professional people who carry guns for a living do not seem to deal with the issue of people having sex with whomever they choose. The military I can understand, but police officers getting offended by gestures and losing their cool is inexcusable.

It is time that we realize that homosexuals have always existed. They are not new to the planet and we cannot go around 'stoning' them, no matter how much we may disagree with their preference and YES it is a preference. For those that do not think so, I have two questions. What do you do with people who are intersex, meaning that they have both sexual organs, neither functional usually? And do you remember choosing whether you were attracted to the opposite sex?

Gays are human and as such, they should have every right given to them as a member of the race.

Niggahs No Mo

2009-07-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

Niggahs No Mo

We ain’t niggahs no mo!

400 years of slavery where our women were raped

We were beaten, starved, and lynched

400 hundred years of being degraded

With a word that was formed out of brutality

I can’t understand why the sons of Royalty

Would label themselves as animals

I can’t understand why the root of mankind

Would continue to dishonor those who came before us

We ain’t niggahs no mo!

Term of endearment

Tell that to Malcolm X

Because we are brothas

What family kills itself?

Every time we acknowledge the word niggah

We accept a chain that was intended

To destroy our souls and to delete our humanity

It allows us to see ourselves as less than animals

It helps others justify their guilt

We ain’t niggahs no mo!

Term of endearment

Tell that to James Meredith

Because we are brothas

What family kills itself?

I reject the moniker of hate

It existed in the past

But it does not apply to me

I am a powerful Nubian Prince

Whose legacy was written

Before history was recorded

I am not a nigger anymore

Term of endearment

Tell that to that to those four little girls

Because we are brothas

What family kills itself?

It's time that we realize

That Bob Marley was right

We can ‘emancipate’ ourselves

By throwing off part off the yoke

That binds us to a past of violence

We ain’t niggahs no mo

by Bruce Bean

The poem above was written out of anger. I respect hip-hop and rap artist. I respect their message, but I refuse to listen to most of their music. The reason is simple and it has nothing to do with profanity or their their misogynistic lyrics. It has to do with what leads to their hate of women and that is the use of the word niggahs or any of its variations.

Now, I am not like many people who believe that the n-word should be banned form the planet forever. As a writer, I can see some context in my own life where I would have to write the word because that was what someone said. However, I fault those in the rap community with making the use of the n-word casual among a generation who do not understand its implications.

An example: I took my daughter and two other girls swimming at a public school and saw a group tennis players sitting on the court talking. They were a mixed group and probably representative of todays society. There was only one African-American among the group, two whites, an asian, and a couple of Hispanic kids. They were all males. One of the white kids was speaking and he said "Niggah, fu sho." He said it and then they all saw me and the conversation stopped.

As a teacher, I hear this all the time, but the most disturbing case that I have ever seen involved a student from another country. His parents were West African. He lived there until he was seven years old, yet, here he was seven years later and he had become a niggah to his friends.

I asked him about it and he said simply, it's how I grew up. Now black people have called each other a variation of the n-word for centuries. The question is when will we stop? The word was created to brutalize a people. It was used to rape our mothers and dehumanize our fathers. Yet, young princes and princess's of African heritage use it as if it were a badge. It is not term of endearment. It is a term of hate and you will make it as casual as using the word "Dude" is on a California beach.

Using the word niggah allows rap artist to justify calling our women bitches and hoes and degrading them on stage. Using the word niggah allows us to shoot each other and murder our future. Using the word niggah allows others to justify their brutalization of people of color because they say, "They are just animals anyway." Many of our brothers and sisters have died and niggah was the last word they heard.

Lets cut off this yoke of bondage. I hope my poem did not offend you.

Dangerous Palin

2009-07-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Dangerous Palin

Danger America Danger

I am not a fan of extremist. Extremist on the right frighten me because of their religious agenda and the extreme liberals they are annoying because sometimes they just do not make sense. Although, at this point in my life I much prefer the hippies to the "Drill, Baby, Drill", crowd. The latter can not see the idiocy of electing a woman Vice-President who has less than one year experience as a governor.

Now comes the news that our favorite Wasilla native is not going to finish her first term as governor because "she can affect more change outside of the Governor's office." Did you notice that she did not say outside of politics.

Most media pundits believe that she is gearing up for a run at the White House in 2012. If that is the case then that makes a danger to every American. Her extreme religious views and rhetoric isolate us from the rest of the world and make us appear to be bullies. Palin's lack of knowledge about how the world works will be a detriment to America's standing with other countries.

She quit her last job because of her ambitions. Yet, two more years as Governor of Alaska would have helped her become a more experienced executive. Her ambitions are lead her to delusions of grandeur. Those delusions will lead us to another president like George who actually believes in the failed policies of the Republican party.

Palin knows just enough about international politics to make her a danger to herself and to the rest of this country. Her extreme religious views cloud her judgement and could make her believe that she is the instrument of God in the start of some holy Armeggedon. This jihadist attitude will lead us down a path that could lead to nuclear arms being used during this generation.

Religious extremism frightens me because "the end times" are near. We have enough religious nuts running around the country without having one as our President. Sarah Palin is just too dangerous for America.

Teacher Merit Pay is criminal

2009-07-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Teacher Merit Pay is criminal

We need to reform our education system. Most Americans would say this is true, but as a teacher, I am really tired of Washington elite trying to blame me for poor test scores. Obama wants to pay me based on my students' test scores. Mind you, that this year over 75% of the 10th graders that had my classes passed the California High School Exit Exam. I had several students who do not speak English pass it. So, I would not suffer with merit pay. I just think it is wrong.

Let's take my school as an example of why merit pay based on test scores is wrong. I work in western San Bernardino. We have three active gangs at our school. Over 90% of our students get free or reduced lunches and 78% spoke another language as their primary language. We have a population that works out to be about 70% hispanic, 18% African American and about 12% other populations.

I get students in 10th grade whom:

Cannot write a sentence

Do not know how to use end punctuation

Do not know that sentences are to be capitalized

Come to school 3 days a week

Go on vacation for a month at a time

Pregnant girls. This year I ad a 9th grader who had one child and another on the way. (we have a daycare on campus)

Abused (One kid's father broke his arm and three of his fingers.)

Emotionally disturbed

Attention deficit, hyper-activity disorder

Have not ever read a book

Refuse to do homework

Don't take standardized testing seriously (they make patterns on the test)

Threaten violence

Drug problems

Alcohol problems

Not to mention that I have classes with 35 to 40 students in them on a daily basis. So, I may see all of the above problems in one classroom. If not for excellent classroom management skills, I would spend most of my days being a referee. For some teachers, there is little time for instruction.

Now, my question is how are you going to blame me for low test scores? If I do my job, prepare interesting lessons, give homework, stay after school to tutor students, and show improvement every year as a teacher, I should be paid. To pay me based on students scores with a population like ours would be criminal.

I would love to have a couple of these egg heads come to my classroom and teach for a day. How can schools be better reformed? Do away with top heavy districts where most of the money is put into administrations that run by people who are completely out of touch with the students they serve. Give the money to the school principals who have their fingers on the pulse of their school and know what the real needs are. This would reform how things are done. Not paying me based on Joe's test scores when: he didn't come to class, didn't complete his homework, thinks the test is a joke, and is distracted by simply trying to survive.

Bill Clinton's Dumb Idea: Don't ask, don't tell

2009-07-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of Bill Clinton's. I think that he was probably the smartest president of our generation. However, for such a smart man, he really did do some dumb things. Take his affair with Monica Lewinsky for instance. How dumb can a decision be, right? One of his dumbest decisions, however, was not to repeal the ban on gays in the military. Instead, he started "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which basically says that no one will ask you if you are having sex with another man and you should not tell anyone you are doing so, either.

Interesting idea, but it has failed miserably. In the 16 years since that rule was implemented, we have lost 13,000 military personnel. Now, I am a bit dyslexic and math is not my strong suit, but I do believe that a military that is fighting wars on two different fronts might be able to use 13,000 people.

Do not misunderstand me, I still get a little queasy when I see two men holding hands. I'm a little old fashioned. However, I work with gay people, I live around gay people and I have to tell you that I know a couple of my queer friends who I would rather go to war with than anyone. Most of us come into contact with gays on a daily basis and if they did not open their mouths about their sexual preferences, sometimes we would not even know. Still, we would deny them basic human rights.

I am not interested in what other people do in their bedrooms and the reason is that I do not want anyone in mine. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Now, I do not know about you, but that is pretty self-explanatory. We are all humans and our forefathers fought for this country next to men who were gay. There were even some women in those groups who fought in the revolutionary war as men and after the war continued to live their lives as men. We need to get over our petty grievances and remember that we are all humans and all humans should be treated fairly.

"Don't ask don't tell'' was dumb idea from a very smart person. There is a lesson in there somewhere.

Sarah Palin's difficult choice about her pregnancy

2009-06-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Todd S. Purdum wrote an interesting article about Sarah Palin. The article discusses her rise to national attention as Senator John McCain's running mate and how she was a handful for McCain's staff. The story also recounts some interesting details from those in Alaska who have dealt with Palin's brand of politics.

However, one quote from a Palin speech in Evanville, IA is very disturbing if not hypocritical. Palin was speaking to a group of conservatives who have her same values. According to Purdum, Palin found out that she was pregnant with her son Trip in Texas. This is the decision process that she went through, “While out of state, there just for a fleeting moment, I thought, Nobody knows me here. Nobody would ever know. I thought, Wow, it is easy to think maybe of trying to change the circumstances and no one would know—no one would ever know. Then when my amniocentesis results came back, showing what they called abnormalities—oh, dear God—I knew, I had instantly an understanding, for that fleeting moment, why someone would believe it could seem possible to change those circumstances, just make it all go away, get some normalcy back in life.”

Of course, Palin did not decide to terminate her pregnancy, but she had a choice to make. These are very revealing statements, but what they really show is the hypocrisy of one who vehemently anti-choice. Palin and others like her would deny the same decision process to every other American woman even in the event of rape and incest.

Palin's son was born with Down's Syndrome. She chose to have her son, even though she chose to hide her pregnancy from her staff and others. The question is, does Palin realize that if she had her way she would not have had those choices to make. Abortion is nasty business, but maybe it is a private matter between the woman and her creator.

Is it time to end the War on Drugs

2009-06-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Click the title: The article above recounts how Mexico's crack down on drug cartels has generated less product in Canada and spawned violence

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the drug war has changed borders. Tougher law enforcement in Mexico has created a cocaine shortage in the Canada and now gangs in that country are trying to fill the market need. Mind you that most of their product is he

aded her to he good 'ol USA but what has happened is that they have squeezed the Canadian market to trickle and started

a gang war.

According to the article parts of Vancouver have seen several shooting deaths in just the last year. Most of the shootings have been teenagers. One particularly heinous crime was the stabbing of a young man who fought furiously. His hands were cut so bad that the scars could be seen during his funeral.

The fact is that in this time of econo

mic crisis the drug war is too expensive. For instance the Drug Library reports that it cost the United States $450,00 a year to c

onvict

and house one prisoner. That same money could be used to treat and educate 200 people. The war on drugs cost more th

an $50 billion dollars a year and we only stop about 1% of the drugs that come into our country.

The Wall Street journal reports that Latin countries that have borne the brunt of our war are now saying that it is a failure.

Meanwhile, violence due to the drug war has spiraled out of control prompting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to say, "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to pr

event weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police, of soldiers and civilians."

The question is will we ever be able to prevent this from happening? The Drug Library goes on to compare the life of a drug addict in New York where drugs are criminalized and in Liverpool, England where drugs are not criminalized. The difference is shocking.

The United States needs to answer some serious questions about its drug war. We need to decide if it works and if not should we stop it. First, we need to get past all of the rhetoric.

Is Murder Ever Justified

2009-06-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Abortion is a nasty issue in American politics. Many of people who find abortions immoral, however, still support a woman's right to choose. Those who consider abortions murder do not support a woman's right for an abortion no matter the circumstances. The issue is a thorny one and Americans have been fighting this battle for decades.

One of the nastiest battles is on the front of late-term abortions. With the death of Dr. George Tiller of Kansas, there are now less than a handful of doctors in this country who perform later term abortions. As unpalatable as abortion is, to many late term abortions are criminal.

Tiller was the US' largest practitioner of late term abortions. As such, he was a target of FoxNews and other right wing pundits. Bill O'Reilly called him "Tiller the baby killer" on numerous occasions. Ann Coulter said that she doesn't agree with killing of abortion doctors, but refuses to push her morals on other people (watch videos above). Hal Lindsay hopes that Tiller burns in hell.

After Tiller's death, O'Reilly claimed that murder of any type was wrong and played the victim because major left wing pundits said that he had "blood on his hands". The fact is that O'Reilly's speech was reckless at best and possibly criminal. He speaks to an audience that is armed and sometimes paranoid. He knew that he was handing some nutcase a motive for murder and he continued to use hate speech. Coulter's statement was even disavowed by O'Reilly and Lindsay well is LIndsay. He has made a fortune on the fears of the faithful.

The questions is where are the laymen who believe that these people are urging hate? Or do they secretly harbor gratitude for Tiller's murderer? Is there ever a good reason to murder? Do most religions condone the murder of Tiller? Bill O'Reilly did long before Tiller was murdered and Ann Coulter and Hal Lindsay did after he was dead. How about other conservatives?

Is socialism being used as a racial slur in reference to Barack Obama

2009-06-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

In his article titled "Republicans make socialism appealing" blogger Pandora points out that by bantering around the word socialism in reference to Obama administration, Republicans have actually brought back a word that had been taboo in American society for many years. He points out a recent poll by the Rasmussen Report that shows that only 53 percent of Americans believe that socialism is "bad". However, some people believe that using the word socialism has a darker connotation when used in relation to African Americans. The question becomes do certain virulent Republicans use the word Socialism in place of the n-word when describing President Barack Obama?
During the election, Kansas City Star Columnist Lewis Diuguid, accused Sarah Palin and John McCain of doing just that. Said Diuguid, "The "socialist" label that Sen. John McCain and his GOP presidential running mate Sarah Palin are trying to attach to Sen. Barack Obama actually has long and very ugly historical roots."
He goes on to point out that J. Edgar Hoover used the word liberally to describe such notable African American activist as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois, and Paul Robeson. All of these men were active in trying to improve the lives of African Americans through activism. Hoover went on to call such men as Jim Brown and Bill Russell communist they recently revealed on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
Republican pundit Rush Limbaugh uses the word to describe an entire group of people he describes as unAmerican and it has become the new buzzword for Fox News. They use it to describe such Obama policies as comprehensive health care. According to them health care for everyone would mean the end of the world as we know it.
The truth may be more sinister in regards to Republican's use of socialism. Is the Republican party using the word socialist as a buzz word for the more extreme factions in their midst. Is the word socialist just another word for ni**er?

MySpace.com Blogs - Lisa Marie Presley MySpace Blog

2009-06-26T17:37:00.001-07:00

Below is a link to Lisa Marie Presley's Myspace post about her love and loss in Michael Jackson. It is really amazing.

MySpace.com Blogs - Lisa Marie Presley MySpace Blog

Shared via AddThis

A Tribute to Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Many people disagree with giving Michael Jackson the title the King of Pop. Jackson, who died of cardiac arrest yesterday in his home in Brentwood, CA, will of course be remembered for the adorable kid who first appeared on our TV screens with Ed Sullivan when he was 11-years-old. All will recall his problems with the law and how he became a cartoon later in life. He will also be remembered for a solo act that made him a true superstar all over the world. However, what only a few people will remember about Michael Jackson is that he and his music transcended the boundaries that had kept America separate.

Sure, he is infamous for his publicity stunts with Bubbles the chimp and shopping in disguise. Some of us wondered why he had this fascination with McCaulay Culkin and we understood why he wanted to be Peter Pan. He eventually did become a cartoonish character after multiple plastic surgeries and his skin color changing. When he was later charged with molestation some of us wondered if he had not brought the allegations on himself.

Despite all of that, what makes him King in our hearts was his ability to transport and audience from their seats. His performance of Billie Jean at Motown's 25th Anniversary is legendary and it was Robert Hilburn who later wrote that it was that performance that catapulted him to that title of "King of Pop". And no matter what we thought of his private life or problems later own that is what made him King. His music was not the greatest and even his songs were sometimes shallow, but his performance of those songs, whether in the studio, live, or on video was always electrifying. Just watch Billie Jean and enjoy:

Michael Jackson: A True Visionary

2009-06-25T16:51:00.001-07:00

Brian Oxman Says Jackson's Death Linked to Drugs

2009-06-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Brian Oxman (pictured), family friend of Michael Jackson, speaking on CNN said that "Anna Nicole Smith's case had nothing on the case of Michael Jackson. This family has been trying to take care of Michael Jackson. The people around him have been enabling him." This is in response to the death of the King of Pop at the age of 50 in his home in Brentwood, CA. A Los Angeles Coroner spokes later confirmed the pop icon's death by cardiac arrest.

An emotional Oxman was on his phone outside of UCLA Medical Center where he had just had a closed door meeting with Jermaine and Randy Jackson where they could do nothing but sob. He said that at that point he had not received any information from the family because they were "stunned". Oxman then went on to compare the King of Pop's death to that of Anna Nicole Smith.

You may recall that two doctors and Smith's boyfriend were later charged giving Smith a lethal drug cocktail. CNN later reported that "Dr. Khristine Eroshevich surrendered at the Van Nuys, California, jail, said police and jail officials. Bail was set at $20,000, but Eroshevich had not posted bail as of Monday afternoon.

Eroshevich was charged last week along with Howard K. Stern, Smith's longtime partner and attorney; and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor. Stern and Kapoor were arrested and released from a Los Angeles County jail Thursday night after each posted a $20,000 bond."

Rest in Peace King

2009-06-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

A Principled Disagreement

2009-06-25T10:32:00.001-07:00

On a recent Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel I watched NBA legend Bill Russell and NFL great Jim Brown talk about their activism during the 1960s. I was really interested in Brown's assessment of Michael Jordan's and Tiger Woods' lack of activism in the face of gang violence and overt racism in coaching ranks of the NFL and Major League Baseball. There is also the issue of the unavailability of access to major competitive golf by African Americans and other American minorities.
My question to Mr. Brown is this, "What were you fighting for?" Were you fighting for the rights of Mr. Jordan and Mr. Woods to be whom they please or where you fighting a battle that will never be won? The world that Mr. Jordan performed in and in which Mr. Woods continues to perform is a vastly different place. Your world was marred by racial hate and violence. Mr. Woods' parents are interracial and Mr. Jordan is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. In your world, African Americans galvanized around one common cause. In their world African Americans have become a fragmented society with upper-classes assimilating into American culture and the lower-classes relegated to the fringes.
You expect Mr. Woods and Mr. Jordan to go wading off into the battle of young African Americans killing themselves when that world is as foreign to them as African-American women were to you during your film career. Michael Jordan grew up with a loving father and mother who were the caretakers of his dreams. Tiger Woods was playing golf on TV when he was two.

Tiger Woods At 2 Years Old - The funniest movie is here. Find it
I agree with you that these two ultra-competitors should take a more social role in the world they live in. However, both of these men contribute to the fight quietly and with a modicum of dignity. Yet, you chide Mr. Woods for teaching kids to play golf.
As an African-American educator, I see the devastation caused when our African-American students who don't have access to these worlds are left on the fringes. I'm more interested in the fact that Mr. Jordan is keeping kids in school in his home state and that Mr. Woods is active in opening up all areas of athletics to all people.

I think it is time that we look at this fight in a different light. Muhammad Ali's fight was a fight against injustice and I applaud you for stepping in and supporting him when you did. However, the battle is different and you may be asking two people who are unequipped to lead the fight. You and Mr. Russell created Michael Jordan and Tiger woods. You should be proud, but don't blame them for just being themselves, it is what you fought for.

Hypocrisy comes 'home to roost'

2009-06-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

You can't make this stuff up. Governor Mark Sanford (pictured above), one of Bill Clinton's top critics during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, not only disappeared for five days, but he was in Argentina having an affair with a woman whom enjoys watching "the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night's light". Sanford's hypocrisy only highlights the problem that Republican's face when they fall off their moral high horse.
During the Clinton affair, Sanford was a Congressman who criticized Clinton and called him a rascal. He went on to call for Clinton's resignation. His moral grandstanding was hailed by the GOP and thrust him into the political spotlight.

But back in 1998, according to the Post and Courier, he said of Clinton, “Very damaging stuff. This one’s pretty cut and dried.” Calling the overall situation messy, he added: “I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally [to resign]."

Rhetoric like Sanford's helped vilify Clinton and keep the Lewinsky incident in the public eye. Now, he ask us and his wife for our forgiveness because he is truly sorry. Sanford should do what he asked Bill Clinton to do in 1998: Resign. He should go away and let us forget about his posturing and wind blown diatribes about stimulus. Go away Sanford.

What's in a Picture.

2009-06-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Iconic images that changed history.

A Crook and a Racist

2009-06-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Modern journalist amaze me with their naivete. Who of the millions of African-Americans, Women, Jews, Latinos and other ethnic groups did not know that Richard Nixon was not only a crook, but a racist. Now pundits for the Los Angeles Times are musing over how they wondered if Nixon was motivated by race. Well yes, Richard Nixon was a senator during the time of Joseph McCarthy, and though he prepared better, he was just as vehement about his hate of groups that he thought were Anti-American and as the article points out, became more virulent when he was on the campaign trail.

Now we have Nixon showing his racism in his own words. Just because members of the GOP say they are not racist and that their policies are for the better good, that doesn't make it so. Don't forget, Lincoln first tried to relocate slaves. Sometimes it is political pressure that causes us to change history.

Nixon did some good things, but in the end, just like those who followed, he was a crook and a racist.

Licking His Wounds

2009-06-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

After getting the crap kicked out of him in the previous legislative session, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford needed a vacation. The only problem is, he forgot to tell his staff and they began to speculate that he was on the Appalachian trail. Actually, Sanford was in Argentina driving down the coast.

The fact is that Sanford was licking his wounds after his state's Supreme Court decided that he had to take federal Stimulus Funds. Sanford was the GOPs hope for 2012 because of his decision not to take stimulus money and if he did take them, he would use it to only pay down the states' deficit.

The problem is the South Carolina unemployment rate is over 11%. South Carolina schools are moving up, but are still in the bottom half of state rankings. South Carolina needs stimulus just like the rest of the country does.

Sanford's rhetoric was not enough to stop the people of South Carolina from understanding that they need this money. It is rhetoric like Sanford's that has kept America from advancing its social services and kept us fighting 200-year-old battles over racism and class.

I hope that Sanford cleared his head and now realizes that rhetoric and political grandstanding will not solve America's problems. It's going to take hard work and some sacrifices on all of our parts.

2009-06-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

This video is shocking. It shows a young lady dying in the streets of Iran. She was shot by a police officer as she got out of her car to watch the demonstrations. I post it here because it brings home the reality of what happens when religion runs the state. We are all equal under out constitution and the beautiful thing is that we can all be different too. America needs to grow up so that the world can see our power and not have to pretend it doesn't exist.

Coming of Age

2009-06-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here's an article from Robert Reich of that liberal bastion, The Wall Street Journal, detailing why we need health care and asking the all important question of why Democrats are stalling. The truth is that we need health care coverage for all Americans and now is the time. Welcome to Grow Up America. Open your minds and your hearts and maybe we can conquer our fears and our problems together.

Millions of Americans are without proper health insurance. Yet, while other countries have settled this debt with society, we continue to espouse rhetoric that undercuts the message that every second a child dies before its first birthday in this country, that we have over 13 million uninsured children, and that the rate of those who under-served in this country is greater than that of any Western nation. We need to grow up.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose...Jim Elliott
Blessed are the merciful; for they shall receive mercy...Jesus
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?...Ghandi

A right delayed is a right denied.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. ...Dr. Martin Luther King

Love is kind...Paul

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...The Declaration of Indepenence