Happy Birthday Wishes!!!

Happy Birthday wishes to my sister Karen and my nephew Gabe. Love you both sooo much and I wish you two many happy more....(Gabe: top right)

More on the King of Bling - Mansa Musa

I discovered this Mansa Musa video on You Tube. I found it fascinating and richly informative. Watch it and I am sure you will feel the same.

Am I Becoming A Republican?

If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.
Winston Churchill

I agree with the above quote. As I have gotten older, I find my politics much more conservative. But somehow - ironically speaking - as conservative as I have become, I do not find the Republican party more attractive.

I am pro GOP bedrock issues like:

Education reform
Free Enterprise System
Law and Order
Education and Hard Work are the keys to Success
Personal Accountability

I am vehemently against:

People regardless of class, race or ethnicity trying to get a free lunch or playing the victim card
People thinking government should solve all their problems
Parents not fulfilling their parental responsibility
People not taking pride in their community
Reckless, violent and criminal behavior

I have been asked by my Republican associates why don't I join their party. I am lectured that African-Americans are too attached to the Democrats; and the Democrats take our voice and vote for granted. They inform me, the GOP needs more blacks and other like minded minorities to represent their interests.

I respond by telling them, I agree with their observations of the Democratic party to a certain degree. But, even though I have voted for Republican candidates in the past, I would not remotely consider becoming a member.

The GOP has been co-opted by an element that treads out the above mentioned core issues, while conversely pursuing an agenda that is anti poor, working, middle and upper middle class. Their agenda exclusively supports (outside of token bones thrown to appease their constituents)bankers, moguls and corporate tyrants.

For example, we desperately need a new energy policy, commonsense gun control laws, a more protective environment policy and infrastructure building investment; yet, because of big oil, the NRA, Wall Street and other corporate tyrants like Rupert Murdoch - that pimp the rank and file Republican members - we don't have our best interest served.

That is why - as conservative as I have become - I do not find the Republican party attractive...

President Obama: Up in the Polls

WASHINGTON — Americans give higher marks to President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans after a holiday season of compromise paid dividends for both, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll.

At the start of the divided government era, the survey found that 53 percent of Americans approve of how Obama is doing his job, his best numbers since the divisive health care vote 10 months ago. Read More

Massacre in Arizona: Were You Surprised?

Paul Krugman, New York Times columnist, asked the following question yesterday in his column called, Climate of Hate:

When you heard the terrible news from Arizona, were you completely surprised? Or were you, at some level, expecting something like this atrocity to happen?

Sadly, just as Krugman wasn't surprised, I was not surprised. Even if there is no direct link between the alleged assassin Jared Lee Loughner and any political group, I suspect that the climate of toxic politics - filled with violent metaphors and imagery - at the very least, tangentially inspired Loughner's demented rage.

My other observation, what type of society do we have when a mentally deranged person can walk into a gun shop and purchase a very dangerous weapon that can unleash over 30 shots in seconds? This was the same type of assault weapon banned during the Clinton presidency until 2004 (the assault weapon ban was allowed to expire under Bush, even though, police agencies around the country supported the ban).

Finally, how long will this event, shocking if not surprising, bring us together and say enough, (in the words of Gabrielle Gifford's brother-in-law) we can do better.

Open Letter from CODEPINK'S Medea Benjamin

Dear Ben,

As Congress reconvenes today, CODEPINK is not wasting any time. We will be in the office of Speaker John Boenher with a simple message: The best way to cut the deficit is to end the wars and bring our war dollars home. Please call 202-224-3121 and email your rep with the same message NOW!

The number one issue on the minds of the American people and this new Congress is our ailing economy. Everywhere one hears calls-particularly from the Tea Party-for slashing government spending.

But where should that money come? Not from social security, Medicare and programs shielding people from the ravages of the economic crisis. The only logical sector to cut is the military budget.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan-and the expanding attacks in Pakistan -- helped plunge us into this financial crisis and have not made us any safer at home. The U.S. will spend more on the war in Afghanistan this year, adjusting for inflation, than we spent on the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War COMBINED. The United States also spends nearly as much on military power as every other country in the world combined, plus we maintain troops at more than 800 bases around the world-often antagonizing the local people and making us targets for terrorist attacks.

We can't afford these wars. We can't afford the bases sprawled all over the world. We can't afford the bloated military budget. It's critical for you to send a message to your congressperson-ASAP. Call 202-224-3121 or email. Tell your rep that it's time to bring our war dollars home.

Thank you for helping bring peace, justice and sanity to 2011!
Janet, Jean, Joan, Jodie, Kristen, Lisa, Farida, Medea, Nancy, Rae, and Tighe

The Vick Discussion

As many bloggers do, I post my blog to many other web sites in order to maximize my audience. To date, my blog post on Tucker Carlson of FOX News calling for the execution of Mike Vick has sparked a heated discussion on multi fronts. I decided to present a few comments that appeared in Michael Baisden's Mingle City website.


Comment by Basketball Coach
I love dogs ... and I have no hatred towards Mike Vick. Unfortunately we still live in a society where "Blacks" are seen as less than dogs and it is shown by all the ill feelings toward Mike in the media and by animal activists. Dog fighting is common in America and yet it wasn't a major concern until a prominant Black athlete brought dog fighting to the limelight and yet other Black athletes who commit "real" crimes are no more frowned upon than a person stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. Nobody cares about Plaxico Burress or Adam Jones' issues with the law... Is it because they are less admired than Mike Vick ? or is it that its just them doing damage to their own ? I say "both" and Mike paid his dues. Whatever happened to the president of PETA when she left her dog in the car to suffocate ? ? ? ...Just something to think about FOX NEWS..


Comment by Ronald L. Salter
The news media will report on whatever is a hot topic. They can't report all of the news. I don't agree with Basketball Coache's assertion that black folks are seen as less than "dogs". The reality is that black folks treat each other worse than dogs, and then blame it on other people. There are more than eight thousand murders of black men by other other men yearly. So we need to tend to taking care of our own people.

Micheal Vick has redeemed himself. Who gives a hoot what Tucker Carlson thinks? He got kicked off of MSNBC for being such a fool. Why do black folks listen to anything that is said on Fox news anyway? They are a propaganda machine for the Republican party. Carlson relented on the statement and said that he is against capital punishment for anyone. But then again, it still doesn't matter what he says.

There are still people who dispise Sarah Palin and Cheney, as well as other hunters. When I saw Palin shoot that innocent deer. I cringed. Just like her. That animal has children. And they might have been near by watching their parent get slaughtered. It is unbelievable that they would show that on TV. It should be against the FCC rules.

Animal lovers are not racist. They consist of people from all races and they have protected animals against celebrities wearing mink coats etc. They have also protested other forms of aggression against the animal kingdom. So, lets not demean what they do, by calling them racist. They will also stand and take a bullet for a black person.

As for me, I see Micheal Vick as being a crazy young person who went too far. But there is a difference between animal cruelty and human abuse. Most laws are designed to protect humans.

Comment by Q
Ronald, we have to be vigilant in understanding how the press depict and distort our image to the world. The point in The Souls of Black Folks by W.E.B. Du Bois is that we possess two natures that are in conflict with each other -one American/white and one African/black. The self-hate and self-loathing that leads to self-inflected violence and self-worthlessness is taught by mainstream culture and internalized by us.

We have to challenge these attacks whenever they arrise, as well as, take personal responsibility for our actions. It's not one or the other in the battle of taking care of our own. I can not emphasize this enough, we can not allow the dehumanization of black folks to occur in any medium - and yes, even out our own mouths, journals, press. music, video, church, school etc.

My brother, I don't have to remind you, unchecked propaganda machines (think Germany and Rwanda) are dangerous. FOX NEWS can not be allowed to report or present slander, distortions, lies without no one to challenge them. Their poison infect the minds of millions and pollutes the atmosphere of race, class, ethnic discussion.

New Year's Resolutions

I have been struggling to identify personal and meaningful New Year's resolutions (not due to a lack of personal need) this year. My struggle has been in trying to honestly access my emotional, physical and spiritual status and develop a corresponding action plan.

Scratch all that, after reading Steve McSwain's article in the Huffington Post, the struggle ended.

I will practice meditation every day.

I will be one with all that is.

I will practice forgiveness, starting with myself.

I will be kind, even when the impulse is to be right.

I will judge or criticize no one, not even myself

I will practice presence.

I will be thankful for everything.

Read More...

FOX NEWS: Execute Mike Vick!

The ubiquitous and conservative pundit, Tucker Carlson, filling in for Sean Hannity on Fox News, weighed in on Mike Vick's quest for redemption after paying a huge debt for his self-confessed morality lapse, stated that not only shouldn't Vick be forgiven, he should be executed:

I’m Christian. I’ve made mistakes. I believe fervently in second chances. Michael Vick killed dogs in a heartless and cruel way. I think, firstly, he should have been executed for that. The idea the president of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs is beyond the pale.

Tucker took umbrage that President Obama called the Philadelphia Eagles owner to praise his act of giving Vick a second chance.

This represents an appalling low for the over-the-top FOX News and it epitomizes the situational morality they promote. On the one hand, they are staunch supporters of the NRA and recreational hunting (think Sarah Palin hunting caribou for fun or Dick Cheney shooting his friend while quail hunting); while on the other hand, they discover their righteous indignation over Vick efforts to rehabilitate himself after losing over 20 million dollars and serving over two years in prison for his cruel crimes.

Not to even mention, their silence on Cheney cooking the books, in order to led us to a preemptive and protracted war in Iraq. This war resulted in no WMD, terrorist relocating to Iraq, an embolden Iran, thousands and thousands of causalities and lost lives. Yet the head on the platter demanded by FOX is Vick's. Like I said, situational morality...

The Bling-Bling of Mansa Musa

Ask the average person about Mansa Musa and they will probably respond with a blank look. This is because our western mis-education conveniently omits great non-European/American figures - in particular, Sub-Saharan Africans. We are erroneously taught that pre-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa had little or no outstanding contribution to world history. This could not be further from the truth.

The great Mansa Musa, king of the Mali empire from 1312 to 1337, is best known for his extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324; building Mosques and madrases from Western Africa to Egypt; and his intellectual and financial contributions to the University of Sankore located in Timbuktu. He was widely believed to be the wealthiest and most powerful man in his time.

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Musa made his pilgrimage in 1324, his procession reported to include 60,000 men, 12,000 slaves, heralds dressed in silks who bore gold staffs, organized horses and handled bags. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals. Also in the train were 80 camels, which varying reports claim carried 300 pounds of gold. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. Furthermore, it has been recorded that he built a mosque each and every Friday.wikipedia

Contribution to Timbuktu:

Timbuktu soon became a center of trade, culture, and Islam; markets brought in merchants from Nigeria, Egypt, and other African kingdoms, a university was founded in the city (as well as in the Malian cities of Djenné and Ségou), and Islam was spread through the markets and university, making Timbuktu a new area for Islamic scholarship. News of the Malian empire’s city of wealth even traveled across the Mediterranean to southern Europe, where traders from Venice, Granada, and Genoa soon added Timbuktu to their maps to trade manufactured goods for gold. The University of Sankoré in Timbuktu was restaffed under Musa's reign, with jurists, astronomers, and mathematicians. The university became a center of learning and culture, drawing Muslim scholars from around Africa and the Middle East to Timbuktu.wikipedia