Harry Reid Is Just a Distraction Tactic For The GOP!

I just wanted to chime in on the Harry Reid incident regarding his own words published in the book "Game Change," by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. The book quotes Reid as saying privately in 2008 that President Obama could succeed as a black candidate partly because of his "light-skinned" appearance and speaking patterns "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." It is funny that these things come out now, but what is even funnier is all of the Black folk I saw on the news last night. Where do they come from? Can Blacks only get on the news when it is an issue that affects Blacks? Why is this? I am so furious at CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and HLN for calling up every Black person that ever has been on their show to discuss their opinion of Harry Reid's comments. We have to do better. This is a great example of the disparity in news and the how unbalanced our nation really is. Blacks can discuss topics that are not race based. Blacks can discuss issues about the economy, homeland security, world affairs and healthcare to name a few. Try it out! It would be great to really have real balance in news and have a real panel that represents our Nation.

Harry Reid's future in the Senate and as the Majority leader should not be "up in the air". That is non sense. Also, we have to stop being so extra sensitive when it comes to discussing race in America. So many times we are quick to label someone as racist just because they shared their authentic position.

Harry Reid's comments did not come across to me as "racist", but James Strom Thurmon was a RACIST! No doubt about it. Didn't he have a Black daughter? Hmmmm.....

Education: The Chancellor speaks to Anderson....

Michelle Rhee, Washington, D.C. Schools Chancellor was on Anderson 360 on Thursday, January 7th talking about innovations in education how ineffective many of the educators in DC are. That many are actually taking our children back instead of moving them forward. They had short video footage of children before each break discussing what they want in a teacher. Many of the children feel that their teacher should be knowledgeable about technology and new trends. However, Michelle thinks that technology isn't as important as preparedness overall for this generation. Teachers must be certified, trained regularly and held accountable for achieving academic excellence consistently. I normally don't like to hear what she has to say, but I will have to admit that I am aligned with this philosophy and will adopt it going forward. It is imperative that we begin educators to a high standard and we MUST close the achievement gap that the District Of Columbia students have been up against. It is a new year and a great time to implement new changes to improve our educational system. Let's see what the chancellor has in store for 2010. One thing we can see is, she has the Mayor's blessings.

Feel free to check out more infomation at http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/07/video-students-weigh-in-on-their-education/



The three things Michelle Rhee can't live without:

1. E-mail
2. Good Food
3. Mayor Fenty (she feels he is the strongest mayor advocating education as a priority)

Fear NOT!

I love listening and reading books by Joel and Victoria Osteen. They are such great positive energies and so I thought I would share their blog entry about "fear" that I hope you will enjoy!

Today’s Verse: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25, NIV).

Today’s Word

Fear is one of the enemy’s favorite tools to keep us from going forward in our lives. As soon as we make a decision to step out in faith and do what God is telling us to do, immediately the enemy will bring fear. He’ll put thoughts in your mind like, “What if I fail? What will others think? Maybe I don’t have what it takes.” He’ll do his best to use fear to try to convince you to shrink back and just stay right where you are.

The Bible tells us that fear is a spirit. It affects your emotions. But when you choose to put your trust in the Lord, no matter how you are feeling, you are combating fear.

Today, I encourage you, don’t allow fear to trap you and hold you back. Instead, take a step of faith knowing that God is on your side. He is for you and with you, leading and guiding you in the path of victory all the days of your life!


Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, I choose to put my trust in You. I choose to press forward and overcome fear. I believe You have my best interest at heart and know that You are leading me in the paths of righteousness all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Afghanistan Bound While The Hood Waits and Waits...

Heard President Obama's speech on Afghanistan and why he has made the decision to send 30000 additional troops to that region to fight both the Taliban and Al Qaeda. WOW! Imagine what 300000 troops could do for our border. Imagine what 300000 troops could do for many of our urban streets to encourage our own nation building. Maybe protect our children so that they can go to school, play on the playground or make it to and from the corner store alive and with their purchase. See the oil in these areas impact the US Economy and we have a financial stake in Afghanistan. We have to keep Pakistan safe/secure since they do hold nuclear weapons, but the reality is our hood nation is dying while we are over in the Middle East "nation building".

I know it wasn't an easy decision for President Obama. It really is not aligned with the promises he made and I pushed during his campaign. I know what he reads and sees in front of him is a lot different than what I get as a citizen. Therefore I have to pause and understand that if I trusted him to be our president, than I have to trust that he is making the best decision with the information he has in front of him. He is passionate about the US and wants us to be safe, so I will stand and support him even though I don't understand why Afghanistan's nation building is more important than building our own nation here in the United States of America. I guess the hood can wait, but I doubt if the hood will be silence. How many more will we loose in Chicago? How many more will we lose in East Cleveland? How many more will we lose in East LA? How many more will we lose in St. Louis? How many more will we lose in Detroit? How many more will we lose in Miami? How many more will we lose in DC? How many more will we lose in NYC? How many more will we lose in Baltimore? How many more will we lose in New Orleans? How many more will we lose in Oakcliff? How many more will we lose in Brownsville? How many more will we lose?

Oprah's Palin Interview - Post Feedback

Just heard what I needed to hear 18 minutes into the Oprah interview. So, Palin admits that the economy was "tanking" during the time of the presidential election campaign. Palin admits that under the Republican administration the nation's economy was in the toilet and that Americans wanted a change from Bush and the republican party.

For the most part it was a good interview and shows just how professional Oprah is. One would never know that she was supporting the other candidate (Obama). I think that Oprah was very fair and balanced during the entire interview.

I don't believe some of the things Palin said, with regard to Katie Couric, but it is her opinion and I haven't read the full transcript of the interview with Couric. I would like to read them so that I can have the full interview. However, I am not convinced that she is as well read as she tried to make herself out to be.

She was a bit stronger in her responses than when she was on the campaign trail to me. The success is that more folk listened to her than they would have normally listened and also, the interview peaked a curiosity about Palin. As a result, her book should do even better when it hits bookstore shelves tomorrow. Going Rogue on sale November 17th.

www.oprah.com for more details on the interview

Oprah Goes Rogue: A Sarah Palin Interview

I have been feverishly working today to have everything completed by 4pm so that I won't miss a single moment of Oprah today. For anyone who has been under a rock this week, Sarah Palin will be her guest today and she will answer all questions on deck on her show. I will be interesting to get a chance to hear Palin speak while not under the "McCain box" that she found herself in during the presidential run. Who knows, I may end up seeing eye-to-eye with her. I am hoping that we can meet on some of the issues that are brought up on the show today. I plan to take a lot of notes. Palin's book Going Rogue goes on sale tomorrow and is already a best-seller. Who knew, but they say that there is a book in all of us, just not a ghostwriter for all of us!

What are some questions you want Oprah to ask Palin? Do you think that Palin said those mean and hurtful things about her youngest son? Are you willing to watch the interview with an open mind?

I would like Oprah to ask Palin what her plans are for 2012? Why she left her position as Governor in Alaska and what message does that send to about her ability staying committed to an elected post? What are her short-term goals for 2010? I have told myself that there is no way that she could say or call her baby son those mean and demeaning names. I will watch today with an open mind and I hope that this interview goes way way way way better than the Katie Couric interview. At the end of the day, I am hoping that she doesn't feel slighted by Oprah's questions and that we all get a better glimpse of "who is Sarah Palin".

Don't miss Oprah today at 4pm @OPRAH
Barbara Walters will also have an interview with Sarah on ABC. Check your local listing for date and time.

Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" can be purchased at Wal-Mart for $9 along with other hardcover book titles. Buy it at Amazon.com for the same price too: http://www.amazon.com/Going-Rogue-American-Sarah-Palin/dp/0061939897/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258404043&sr=1-1

Going Rogue contributors include: Amy Alexander, Max Blumenthal, Joe Conason, Eve Ensler, Michelle Goldberg, Jane Hamsher, Christopher Hayes, Jim Hightower, Linda Hirshman, Naomi Klein, Dahlia Lithwick, Amanda Marcotte, Shannyn Moore, John Nichols, Tom Perrotta, Katha Pollitt, Frank Rich, Hanna Rosin, Matt Taibbi, Michael Tomasky, Rebecca Traister, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Jessica Valenti, Patricia Williams, JoAnn Wypijewski and Gary Younge.

President Obama's first 10 months in office

I have heard soooo many people complaining about President Obama. I have heard how they do not feel like he is doing anything in office as The President of United States of America. I have heard that they can't tangibly feel any of his policies. I have argued countless times that it takes more that 10 months to really make an impact. Our economy was bad prior to Obama coming in office, we were already at war Iraq and Afghanistan before Obama was in office and that the country was more divided too prior to Obama coming in office. I will continue to be a stand for the man that I worked to elect the president. Here is a list of some of President Obama's accomplishments over the past 10 months he has been in office (not a year yet).

In just ten short months, President Obama has:

Requested $15 billion in increased funding for the Veterans Administration over 30 years -- the largest increase in history

Signed into law the "VA Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act" which will provide the VA with advance funding-the #1 legislative priority of almost every Veterans Service Organization

Provided $1.4 billion in additional funding to the VA under the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" that is going directly to improving VA hospitals and clinics around the nation

Expanded VA-healthcare enrollment opportunities for more than 250,000 previously excluded Veterans, and continue to raise this number towards a goal of 500,000.
Launched a major Veterans Employment Initiative that is designed to make the federal government into the model employer of America's veterans.

I am humbled to be one of millions of courageous Americans who have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting our democracy. While there is much left to be done, under President Obama's leadership we have made historic progress towards fulfilling our commitment these patriotic men and women.

Happy Veteran's Day to our troops, men & women who have served in the past and their families. I hope you will take a moment today stand with those who served our nation by getting involved with one of the following organizations: USO, Fisher House, and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.