Life and Death

****UPDATE 4/30/10 Semi-related article in The Epoch Times ****

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So I almost didnt post this since it had been a while since the subject matter was relevant...but lo and behold, 7 am yesterday morning, I was blown yet again. Channel 4 news was reporting on a hit and run accident during rush hour. The reporter said we're trying to show you the accident without showing the victim since police have not removed the body. The camera pans to the truck that struck someone then pans down to avoid the body being shown. Then it pans back to the police, without titling down...and LINGERS ON THE GRISLY IMAGE OF THE VICTIM COVERED BY A WHITE SHEET LAYING DEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.

SMDH (-_-) ...

In our ever-changing, increasingly technological world, we are invited via many outlets to share every aspect of our life. Our every internal thought can be displayed for not only our friends, family, and acquaintances, but even to the entire WORLD if we wish; via outlets like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace. Technology can even save lives, look at the millions of dollars donated via text messaging to the people of Haiti. This interconnectivity has undoubtedly advanced our world and connected us in many useful ways, but has it gone too far?


So I pose the question, is it now appropriate for us to share all aspects of our life…and death??


Our relatively new, celebrity-obsessed media culture has somehow made it a norm for every private aspects of a celebrity’s life to be broadcasted to the world. Too often in the past few years, these aspects have included the tragic deaths of these people as well. The incident that inspired me to write this blog happened last week, when Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died during a training run for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. I was on Huffington Post at work when I saw that there had been an accident at the Olympics. Like any curious person, I clicked on it and read the story and watched the horrifying video of the crash. Then I scrolled down the page to view photos of the incident and was absolutely mortified by what I saw. There were photos of Kumaritashvili as he lay bleeding and receiving medical attention which showed his ear hanging off of his head. Gross, I know, but it gets worse. The next day, I asked my sister if she heard about the luge incident and proceeded to show her the page. To my surprise, even more pictures had been added, one of a close-up view of Kumaritashvili’s face, bloodied and pale, with his eyes and mouth completely open, devoid of any signs of life. I was amazed that such a photo would be posted on a respectable site like Huffington Post.


Nodar Kumaritashvili was someone’s son, possibly someone’s brother, father, or husband. How dare the media post such morbid photos of him, likely without family permission, since the incident just happened. How disgusting that HP would post ADDITIONAL pictures of the tragedy! Even worse is that NBC repeatedly aired the violent crash several times.

Yes, NBC eventually prompted all its subsidiaries to cease showing the accident, but shouldn’t that judgment call have been made PRIOR to releasing the footage to every newsmedia outlet worldwide? Not one upper or even mid-level executive thought “maybe this is too much?” Or was the almighty dollar in the form of ratings dancing like sugarplums in their greedy little minds…

This of course is not a new thing; I recall in February 2007, when Anna Nicole Smith died of a drug overdose, CNN.com posted pictures of her being taken out to the ambulance from her hotel. She was on a stretcher and I distinctly remember the photos being zoomed in to show her face as paramedics attempted in vain to resuscitate her. I believe she was dead in this picture since the reports were that she was found unconscious, covered in vomit, and not breathing in bed. Then her bodyguard tried to do CPR, then the paramedics came and tried CPR in the room, then she was taken out to the stretcher, where they continued CPR and she was pronounced Dead on Arrival. Often when several attempts to revive someone fail, they were already dead when they were found. These stretcher pictures are not hard to find and the integrity of serious news channels should be questioned for showing her dead body.


Entertainment Tonight and OK! Magazine were the first to show the photos of Michael Jackson the day he died, as he was taken from his rented home in LA to Mount Sinai hospital. They called them the “last photos” of Michael while he lay dying, but let’s be real. Michael was dead and had been dead for several hours when that picture was taken. They tried to resuscitate him for over an hour before he got to the hospital and an hour when he got to the hospital. I was repulsed when I was in Safeway checkout line and saw the ENITRE cover of OK! Magazine was the photo of his face on a stretcher with breathing tubes up his nose. Again, money must’ve been on the minds of the editors, although I can’t imagine who would want to buy that magazine with that cover. Like many others, I bought memorial issues of magazines, but not for that sensationalist and disgusting picture, but as a way to grieve and celebrate the life of one of my childhood idols. I wanted something to remember Michael, no matter which of his faces was on the cover, just not that one devoid of any life, riding in the back of an ambulance.


On TV shows and the news, you rarely see the face of a dead person. On the A&E show The First 48 they occasionally show blood and a dead body, but they always blur the person’s face out. This courtesy does not seem to be extended to celebrities though, as the world seems to have a ravenous hunger for that last image that proves their mortality. I have the feeling that the only reason why we do not see actual shootings on the 6 o’clock news is because there was not a videocamera there to capture it. Although if there’s a cell phone video (ie when a California man was shot in the back by police while handcuffed and laying on the ground or when a 15 year old in Chicago is brutally beaten to death by several students acting like a pack of savage animals), I guess that’s cool to broadcast as long as you put a “viewer discretion is advised” disclaimer on it.


Because of our technological connectivity to other human beings, have we lost grasp on our true sense of humanity?


Speak on it.

Preview for upcoming article on DMVUnplugged…..

****UPDATE 4/30/10: I'm not the only one who feels this way...check out a pictorial over @ Italian Vogue ****

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I love Lady Gaga as much as Perez Hilton does. Really, I do! Many people view her as a gimmick but she is one of the most uber – talented people of our generation. I relate to her in so many ways, one, because she’s exactly one day younger than me, I empathize with thee “Aries-experience” , and I also understand what she’s trying to do with fashion, her image, and her music. She created “Lady GaGa” as an entity for her fans, and while GaGa is an expression of her own creative self, Stefani Germanotta is the real person, completely separate from the entity that is GaGa. I also love the fact that no celebrity gossip site has ever run a diva-esque story about her. No tantrums, outlandish tour rider requests, and she is sooo gracious and loving to her fans.

But here’s my mini-beef with GaGa…
It’s not so much with her but with the society that endlessly praises her as “new” and “fresh”. I’m sorry hunny but hardly anything about what she’s doing is new and fresh. It’s something we’ve all seen before with a woman named Grace Jones. Jones was the Lady GaGa of the 1980s, with a cult gay following and a music career that gained most of its steam in the gay discotheques. You may remember Grace in Boomerang as Helen Strange





and as May Day in James Bond movie A View to Kill. She also famously dated Dolph Lundgren of Rocky VI, Ivan Drago fame (big square head, looked like a cartoon Neanderthal character on steroids, “I must break you.” Yeah, him)

***FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE CHECK DMVUnplugged.com/fashion soon !!! ***

Stop Thinking and START MAKiNG MOVES !!!

We are too complacent these days. Technology has advanced our world in innumerable ways, but it has come at a great cost: we are now content to sit and watch our lives happen to us, rather than making things happen ourselves. We are too content to let our fingers do the walking across a keyboard, when our feet should be walking and marching across the pavement!

These are desperate times. Every day I see the country dangerously inching back toward the hostile, polarized social climate of the 1960s. Racial, political, and socio-economical issues are derailing our way of life in such a way that demands action by the American People. History has shown us that two things get results in this country: Money and Emotions. Look at the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). The Montgomery bus boycotts integrated the public transportation system how? By hurting the pockets of the transit companies. Many people were able to organize without the use of more than a telephone, but imagine if there was only an online petition against the segregation policy. Nothing would have ever changed because anger and internet “outrage” affects nothing in cyberspace. Had protesters simply started an online blog collective to protest segregation instead of being at sit-ins, getting hosed by the police, etc., and allowing the subsequent melee to be broadcast on TV, they never would have gained the support of Northern sympathizers. Who knows what the outcome of the CRM may have been???

Because of technology, idiots like Sarah Palin are allowed to interact with the media via Facebook and Twitter. How self-deprecating for a news organization (even Faux [Fox]-News) to engage in her little game. Even the despicable piece of flotsam that is Rush Limbaugh gives interviews to the media and allows them to ask him questions that aren’t pre-screened beforehand. But noooo, the entire news world plays into Palin’s game, reporting on her tweets and Facebook status updates as If that is considered news. She refuses to give interviews to anyone but Faux News and does so because she is incapable of putting together coherent answers unless asked about “commonsense, conservative solutions”.

The aforementioned practices, not technology in and of itself, are what’s damaging the fabric of our society. It may seem hypocritical of me to write this on a blog on the Internet, but I’m not saying stay offline, just use it wisely! Harness the Internet’s interconnectivity to organize, but in order to mobilize, sorry my dears, you’ve got to GET OFF THE COMPUTER.

A funny thing happened on the way to the fair...a NIGGA MOMENT.

Well not to the fair, just to work. I was so upset by this because not only did it intensely annoy me, but I felt a slight tinge of racism and age-ism…let me know your thoughts.

Okay so I normally get a bacon, egg, and cheese starbucks sandwich every day before I get on the train for the retardely long ride into work. Occasionally, I take a bite or two of my sandwich because I don’t eat or drink before I get to the train, but by the time I get there, it’s about 90 minutes after I wake up and of course hours after my dinner, so I get a tad bit dizzy sometimes and might sneak a nibble from my sandwich. Yes, I know it’s illegal to eat on the metro. That law is in place to keep the subway cars and stations clean and to minimize litter. But I definitely am not littering by taking a bite out of my sandwich and putting the remainder back in the bag and back in my purse.

So I sit down on the blue line and take a bite out of my sandwich. An old white woman taps me and says “you’re not supposed to eat on the metro” I take off my headphones, and ask “’What?” halfway hearing her. She repeats herself and the random white dude sitting next to her chimes in to point at the sign.

*BITCHASSNESS PASS #1*
I am highly annoyed that she feels the need to police me, but I look at both of them, decide that neither one works for metro and say, “I know. But I just eat this before work because if I don’t, then I don’t feel good. I do this like every day and put it back in my purse. It’s fine”. Both whiteys say something else but I ignore them and put on my headphones again.

Now for those of you that don’t live with me, I am a DEMON in the morning. I have the permanent “I WISH A NIGGA WOULD” mentality in the AM. I hate waking up before 11am no matter what day it is. Every day starts out bad because I have to get up at 645 am and I do not smile, talk, or even change my facial expression before I walk into my office at 845. And especially on the train, when all I want to do is listen to some techno or house, think about my good ass weekend, catch a few extra zzzs, and people watch, the LAST thing I want to do is hold a conversation. The ABSOLUTE LAST thing I want to do is listen to someone I DON’T EVEN KNOW lecture me at 8:10 AM.
Anyways.

So 2 minutes later, I take another bite and old whitey taps me on my leg. I look at her and she says “do you want something else to eat? I have some in my bag”. WHAT IN THE FUCK.

*BITCHASSNESS PASS #2*
At this point I’m too tired to even realize she’s being sarcastic. I just think she’s a crazy old lady who just offered me some food. I politely smile like I’m looking at a special person and say, “oh, no thank you” and go back to my music.

Then all hell breaks loose.

White man breaks in with, “the sign is right there, it’s illegal! The fucking sign is RIGHT THERE”. WOAH. It’s now 812 AM, why are you cussin at me son? The 2 men behind them chime in “the sign is there, you’re not supposed to eat.” I try my best to stay calm because right now I am at my boiling point. Yes, it takes 2 minutes for me to get there and in the morning, it can be set off by the tiniest thing. I respond “ I see the sign, I’m really not even bothering anyone, can you please leave me alone.. It’s not a good morning for me” At this point, I’m quite impressed with myself. I realized the potential for a Nigga Moment as soon as the old whitey first spoke to me. I was now at the point where a Nigga Moment was virtually inevitable. I was like Sonic 2 when you stand on the edge of a cliff and Sonic goes up on his tippy toes. And if you push one button other than back, he’ll fall off the edge…that was me at 812AM.

*THE FINAL BITCHASSNESS PASS*
Now it’s sudden death. The reactions of these 4 people may decide if this train is heading in the direction of Franconia/Springfield or straight to Hell. Can you guess which destination they unknowingly chose?...
I put on my headphones AGAIN and miss most of what they’re saying, at this point, they are still yelling at me. I notice people looking, but not really with the *tisk tisk, look at that rambunctious negro girl* - look. More like the “this is so random” look, and they’re really not looking at me, they’re looking at the people yelling. These fuckers are STILL talking so it looks like they want to switch the track in the Hell direction. NIGGA MOMENT IMMINENT !!!!!

I mentally prepare myself for this, I try my best to be as articulate as possible and try not to raise my voice louder than it needs to be to reach 2 rows behind me. Partial success. I rip off my headphones and say to all of them “you know what, I find it amazing that you have the audacity to say something as if this Is really messing up your day. This isn’t even worth arguing about!” then they start yelling sommore basically not letting me finish another sentence and I focus on the main hecklers, old whitey and random whitey. I look at random whitey and say, am I really offending you right now??? Is me taking a bite out of my sandwich really messing up your day THAT bad? “ Now I know they’re just fucking with me cuz he smiles and says “Yes, I can smell it.” I’m just like “woooooooooow. You’re ridiculous.” I try to go back to putting my headphones on, but THEY KEEP YELLING. At this point my lone semi-defender steps in. A skinny tall black dude who says to old whitey “let it go, she’s gonna do what she wants to do” Then I’m just hoping against hope that she gets in an argument with him just so they’ll leave me alone and I go to put on my headphones. But whiteys CONTINUE TO YELL. Oh and they ran out of Bitchassness passes...oh well.

“ LISTEN, ITS NOT THAT FUCKING SERIOUS. WHY DON’T ALL OF YOU MIND YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS AND SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET ME RIDE THE TRAIN IN PEACE. I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE ME MAD AND FUCK MY DAY UP, BUT IM REALLY TRYING TO BE NICE TO YALL … LEAVE ME THE FUC K ALONE !!!”

So the 2 guys who are behind the whiteys don’t say anything else after that. But whiteys continue. Random whitey says “well, it must not be hard to make you mad” smiling all smugly n shyte. Old whitey says “ cant you read the sign?” I’m like " yes I can read the sign”,

“oh, no I don’t think you can.”

STINKMEANER KICK IN THE CHEST MOMENT IMMINENT!!!!!!

I reply in my calmest, I-will-cut-your-fucking-eyeballs-out-and-use-them-as-jelly-on-this-fucking-sandwich-if-you-say-something-racist-aka-exactly-what-you’re-thinking-right-now tone,

“Oh, really. And why is that, exactly?”

The look on my face must have scared the shit out of her because she just sat back in her seat.

30 seconds later, more yelling ensued, something about me being uncivilized and so I turn the tables and say to random whitey “oh, so I’m uncivilized but you all can sit here and insult me for eating a sandwich, and curse at me”

Random whitey - - “ I didn’t curse at you. I didn’t call you anything”
Old whitey - -“no one insulted you”

So at this point I begin to pray. Seriously. I’m getting madder than I’ve ever been because, 1) No one except my parents have tried to get in a dumbass argument with me that early in the morning. And I can’t hit family members, but I don’t know these fucktards, and I’m about to lose it... And 2) they are sitting next to me like 1 inch away cuz im in the handicap seats and they’re in the forward facing seats. And the train is extra crowded. I have no escape route and 2 immediate threats nearby. I still haven’t really wyled out verbally yet and am still holding things in and I can feel my face and chest getting hot. I’m clenching my hands so tightly into fists that my nails broke the skin on my palms...



So what did I do when faced with the dilemma of kirking out on these 2 whiteys trying to ruin my day?

I cried like a bitch.

Well maybe not a bitch but 2 tears fell down my cheeks. I was beyond pissed. My hands were shaking any time I unclenched my fists. Praying wasn’t working cuz I wanted to choke the shit out of these assclowns. I’m dead-ass serious. Every time I opened my eyes I just wanted to reach to the right an go for their fucking jugulars…. Plus, I hate when people just try to do shit to me when I kno they are taking things too far, therefore when I’m right, I don’t back down. Ever. (Exhibit A: the night when a bouncer thought I snuck into the bar, when I had actually been there for 2 hours. And it took him 10 minutes to try and grab me and pick me up to throw me out. And then it took 2 additional bouncers to get ME off of his bitch ass when he shoved me, unprovoked. Refer to the scars on him as well)

Anyways…I have never been so mad and felt so helpless: If I said anything else or had any further interaction with these people, I was going to get physical. I realized I could not beat up an old lady because she’s old and then I just look like the asshole; nor could I hit the random whitey guy because if I’m in any fight and charges are filed, I lose my job automatically. And my bomb-ass salary and office with a window is not worth a starbucks sandwich. I also could not hit efficiently from my position in the seat, a slap maybe , but it was so crowded, I couldn’t even stand up to deliver the jab to the jaw these fuckos deserved.

I was really upset though. More annoyed at the fact that someone that was not metro personnel was saying something to me about eating on the train. But FURIOUS at the fact that two things happened: 1) Racism and 2)Age-ism…but mostly racism.

RACISM

Why was this racist? Well, some white people have this crazy idea that because they have historically have tyrannically ruled most of the world, then whatever they say as a singular white person, must be adhered to. I forgot to mention that at one point during the yelling when asking the whiteys if I was really offending them by eating, I said “are you mad that I’m eating or are you mad because I’m not doing what you say. I don’t have to do what you tell me.” And she says “yes you do”.

STUCK FACE. -_-

WHAAA? White people sometimes think that black people (and minorities in general) have no agency over themselves and whitey feels the need to so graciously exert their guidance upon us poor misguided negroes. Call it a generalization, but you KNOW it’s true! They’re always unnecessarily investigating things, and just sticking their noses in complete strangers’ business…and even worse, feeling that they are completely entitled to doing so. Well they can investigate DEEZ NUTZ as far as I’m concerned. I think the situation escalated because I just totally disregarded what she said, and that offended her. She was old enough to have probably called someone “colored” and it still have been politically correct in her lifetime, and probably wasn’t used to someone so readily brushing her off. Now as far as random whitey male, I dunno what his deal was. He probably has a small penis and is mad at everyone, every day. Or makes like $28,000 a year at some whack ass job. Or it could’ve been jealousy. I was skinny and pretty and nicely dressed in a suit with a Calvin Klein purse, matching suede and croc skin heels, and fierce velvet leopard-print gloves. While old whitey’s face looked like a bleached version of the grandmother oak tree in Pocahontas and she carried some canvas, desperately free bag from some old people’s convention, and random whitey is sitting there with his busted ass Rockport shoes, ashy khakis, and dusty ass Columbia jacket. Especially since she was actually “nice” I guess when she first mentioned the sign to me, but after I dismissed her, she waited and I assumed probably sized me up and decided to tap me again to make her snide “you want something else to eat” comment and then continue the remainder of her dialogue in such a nasty, condescending tone; I bet she was thinking “who does this girl think she is? Dressed all nice, thinking she’s somebody…thinkin she can just dismiss me?” In a sane person’s mind, the real question is “hey old whitey, who the hell do you think YOU are, that you need to lecture people you don’t know on the rules of the metro when it DOESN’T EVEN AFFECT YOU? Are you the fucking safety patrol of subway car 12345? Where’s your orange belt bitch?”

*Let me just say that I have a certain respect for old people. However, they think they know everything and think just because they are old, they can say whatever they want to whomever they want. I do respect their years, but respect doesn’t mean obedience. The old lady was the original antagonizer so I focused mostly on her. But had this been a woman younger than 60 AND the random whitey (who was prolly like 30-ish) I probably would have been in a holding cell at 11 AM yesterday for aggravated assault and battery with a weapon (the iPod headphones cord I would have strangled them with).*

AGEISM

I am 5 feet, ½ inch tall and weigh about 105 pounds. I’ve had people mistake me for 17 years old (I'm almost 24). It is a complete possibility that everyone who said something thought I was a child and felt the need to chastise me. I really doubt the same situation would’ve happened to any big black male with dreads and a North Face on. Humans (at least while sober) choose their battles, and usually don’t challenge someone if they think they will fail. I don’t know what they thought I was going to do. Obviously they didn’t think I was going to get as crunk as I did. I probably shouldn’t have been so polite in my first interaction. They mistook my unwillingness to have a NIGGA MOMENT as weakness.

That’s another reason why I was so mad though. I shouldn’t care what people think (on the train of all places)but unfortunately, I am socially aware enough to know that succumbing to my strong desire to coon it up in this situation would have resulted in an automatic LOSS for my self-respect. Do I call an old lady a bitch? No, I was raised better than that, but OOOOOHHH did I wanna cal her old fortune-teller lookin ass a STUPID FUCKING BITCH so bad…And every insult that I’ve written in this blog about them (wait, is it an insult if it’s true? I really haven’t exaggerated ANY part of this story…hmm); had I said it during the train ride, I probably could not have delivered them in any type of normal tone of voice, or normal volume.; nor could I have said one more sentence to them while seated. It would have been an in-your-face, you-touch-me-and-I-will-break-yo-MUTHFUCKIN-hand-off, people scattering with the “oh shit, sumthin’s bout to pop-off” look, just overall bad situation.

In the end, I think I emerged the victor. On the train today, I got off at Foggy Bottom as usual and a girl (who looked like Precious, I swear) tapped me and said, “oh, you didn’t have any problems today?” with a smile. At first I was like huh? And then realized she must’ve been on the same train yesterday. I said, “Oh you saw that craziness over a sandwich?” and she says, “yeah, those people were ridiculous. I’ve never seen anyone act like that before. It was not that serious.” Then another dude in front of me was like “yeah I saw that too yesterday. Crazy”.

Oh and in case you were wondering, I did eat the rest of my sandwich on the train. If I couldn’t say anything else to them, a non-verbal “fuck you” still sufficed.

=)

THE MISS CALIFORNIA DEBACLE

There’s been a lot of fuss lately about Miss California Carrie Prejean and her botched answer to Perez Hilton’s question during the Miss USA pageant a couple weeks ago. This was her answer:

PEREZ: Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?

CARRIE: I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage and, you know what, in my country and my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anyone out there but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be between a man and a woman.

I personally think this deserves a "HO-SIT-DOWN" as well as her crown stripped away, and here's why:

1. She's abandoned her original platform cause of special needs children and now feels the need to actively campaign against gay marriage, becoming spokesperson for the National Organization for Marriage. In her contract , those holding positions in the Miss **** position must not become spokespersons for unapproved causes, nor are they supposed to have unapproved speaking arrangements, as Miss ShitForBrains has been doing all month on Faux (FOX) News and other places.

2. She lied to pageant officials. The contract asks if they ever took nude or semi nude photos; she answered NO. Penalties for discovery of such photos include crown revocation.

Faux News and Prejean’s supporters are saying a smear campaign has been run against her simply because she spoke her mind honestly. The term “Smear campaign” implies lies being told, yet nothing I’ve read about her has been untrue. She has taken it upon herself to speak out publicly about her opinions and now she's in the limelight and must deal with the backlash that comes with being a public figure. She is 100% entitled to her own opinions & beliefs, free to hate gays, blacks, anyone she wants to. But in a beauty pageant, you need to be diplomatic with your answers. She shouldn’t be punished for her personal opinion, but deserves to be punished for breaking rules of the pageant and the manner in which she is poorly representing the state of California.

However I do find it hypocritical that she received breast implants paid for by the Miss California Organization, yet they want this girl-next-door image. Only in California does the girl next door have silicone tigg ole bittys. However the stipulations in the contract she signed are the rules of the Miss California Organization. While misguided, those are rules she chose to play by; since she broke them, she should have to deal with the consequences.

As a pageant contestant, there are many ways to answer controversial questions like that diplomatically. She could have easily said "I think it's great that we live in a country where we have the right to choose and vote on the subject of gay marriage. That is an issue that should be decided upon by the voters, and not just one person." I always see contestants give "pageant answers" and go on to win a competition and her bumbling, inarticulate answer was delivered terribly, regardless of her opinion.

Hot - Topic questions should definitely be included because representing the country- even as a beauty contestant, people (mostly young girls with pageant aspirations) look up to you. You never know, in this world of super-connectivity via technology, today's public figures have to deal with hot-topics all the time. You want to know that they won't crack under pressure as Prejean did.

For S & G’s

Perez Hilton calling her a dumb bitch after the pageant. Lots of shade being thrown lol

I AM NOT A DUDE!

It has just come to my attention that the gender on my profile said male....I rectified that mistake and would just like to clarify I was born and remain a girl lol....although I have the soul of a drag queen at times....

THANK THE LORD

Sometimes people may not understand why there are so many Obama songs, memorabilia, etc, ie the FRENZY that is going on right now...ESPECIALLY among black people. Ihave heard people say, "why do black people act like he's only your President? He's everyones President?" Well I'm sorry, for the next lets sayyy....WEEK...... DAMMIT, MY PRESIDENT IS BLACK, MY DODGE IS CHAMPAGNE, AND IM POPPIN BOTTLES FOR BARACK’S CAMPAIGN.


I can’t tell you why every black person is so excited, but let me tell you why I’m SUPER SYCED....and why there is NOTHING you can say to take my joy, and if you try you are a hater who will be shut down, no matter what your color, race, or creed.


In a country where I am the descendant of people who were enslaved, the enslavers, and a people who’s land was stolen away from them by the founders of said country, this is only the second time I am Proud of my country. the first was on November 4, 2008 at 11pm, when California was awarded to Barack, making him the President-Elect. Being proud to be an American and being proud of your country are NOT the same thing. I am proud and thankful to live here, proud of all my heritage, but so often, I am not proud of my country’s actions and some of its people. As a student of history, when I thnk about how far this country has come in terms of its founding principles “Life liberty and the the pursiuit of happiness”, “Liberty & Justice for all”, and “ all men are created equal”...when I see Barack on tv with a Presidential seal behind him, it truly brings tears to my eyes every single time...

In a country where Presidents and the government and the majority of its citizens SANCTIONED, several times, the genocide of the indigenous people. Sanctioned forcing them from their lands and making them walk many miles to reservations in the Trail of Tears, in the hopes they wouldn’t live to make the full trip. Made false treaties and lied to tribes, came under false pretenses as missionaries, when they really saw native Americans as part of the problem and would not blink at the thought of eradicating their existence if they did not convert and comply with the wishes of the “superior race”. A country where someone who looked like Barack Obama was considered, chattel, property and 3/5 of a person by the US Government. Considered sub-human for many years according to widely upheld “scientific research”. A country where the government, state and federal stood by so many times and did NOTHING as men, women and children, tax paying citzens were treated like second class citizens for over 100 years, simply because of the color of thir skin. A country where the federal government sanctioned COINTELPRO to promote lies, and falsehoods in order to discredit the righteous causes of the Civil Rights Movement. A country where citizens killed leaders who wantded nothing but equal rights for all, AMERICAN CITIZENS killed Lincoln, Kennedy, Evers, King, X (Little), and another Kennendy. A country where the President elect would have no choice but to be considered either a bastard child or a product of an illegal marriage because his parents were not the same color....And now I’m in a country where AMERICAN CITIZENS, the majority of them, voted for a man who wouldve been 3/5 of a person 150 years ago, and I am finally proud.

I’m honest enough to say that I did not think he could do it, because America would not let it happen. You have someone smart, capable and qualified, and especially in comparison to the dunce of the last 8 years, the BEST man for the job. But he did not look like all the other men who sat in that Oval office. I honestly thought he would not have lived to win the Presidency, or lived to take the oath. And most certainly he probably would not have made it, if this was 40 years ago. But in Barack’s own lifetime, things have changed so much that he has reached a goal at age 48 that would have put a DEFINITE bounty on his head as late as age 10.

This is not just about written history, its about personal history too. As a person who has been called a nigger by someone white, and have experienced malice from another person simply because of my race in my short lifetime; it means something to me to have a President who looks like me, a First Lady who has relaxer in her hair like me, and looks like me, who attended predominantly white universities like me and I feel comfortable with her representing women like me in America..... 2 little girls running around the White House who look like me and my little sister as children. I can only imagine what it means to my parents, my Grandma, aunts & uncles who have unique experiences in life, but who share a common joy in the coming days. I cannot imagine what this means to those who are still alive and marched with Dr. king and were a part of SNCC, SCLC, the Panthers and all the other groups that fought, lived and died so that this day could maybe happen in their lifetimes.

On this day, (which Ronald Reagan and John McCain were one of those many who opposed celebrating the achievements of Dr. King as a federal holiday); it is the last day we live in a period of history. The last day when anyone can say there never was, never can be, never will be a black President.

This is something like the Civil Rights Movement; the day of Brown vs. Board of Education. Things changed in one day, facts changed, but not everything changed, I’m not that naive to believe that. I know that racism and prejudice is not dead in this country. In the days after Brown v. Board of Ed, there was still segregation in schools and in society, leaders were still assassinated, riots still ensued; the world did not change.....but many things did change that day and in the days and years to come. On January 21 at noon, the President will be black. On January 22, the Senate will still be 99% white (thanks to Blagejovic and Burris for keepin hope alive lol), a person that was racist or ignorant on January 19 will remain unchanged on January 22. Our country will still be in a recession......but in the days and years ahead things will change and I believe the President will have success in changing things for the better. and I make no apologies for being happy simply for the fact that he looks like me, after 233 years of not feeling like the President was one of “us”.


So for all of these reasons, and more, I am extra happy for the next couple of weeks, and A LOT of it has to do with the fact that my President is black; so for that, I MAKE NO APOLOGIES. And I really don’t care if anyone, black, white, green, or yellow is NOT happy about it, cuz I am. And for ANYONE who wants to comment on this in a negative way, I really dont care what you have to say and if you can’t understand my joy, that’s okay, because its not meant for you to understand, cuz its MY joy.


OBAMA, BITCHES!

REMINISCE

Carl Bernstein, one of the men who helped discover President Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal was a speaker for the main graduation ceremonies at the May 2008 Commencement for University of Maryland College Park. As I sat in my cap and gown, bedazzled and looking fabulous; clutching my cell phone texting in one hand, my flask full of tequila in the other, I had a bit of a revelation. I watched somewhat buzzed, as some of my fellow graduates dozed off, and I was just about to follow suit until I heard Mr. Bernstein say “I don’t understand why your generation does not question its leadership.”

I listened half drunkenly (5-7 shots prior to the graduation ceremonies has that effect on most people) but his point was blindingly clear. Our generation is brilliant, but for some reason we have allowed the last 8 years to go on with no one accepting responsibility for getting us into this position in which we now stand. An article on the Huffington Post today ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/will-the-madoff-debacle-f_b_151219.html ) created a resurgence in the emotions I felt on that May afternoon. The atrocities of the Bush Administration, the financial industry, & Wall Street are to say the least, DISGUSTING. Not only with the current economic recession, but in regards to the Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Fish and Wildlife Services, Iraq, Afghanistan, tax laws, the record breaking budget deficit….the list goes on and on of areas in which the government and our leaders have either deceived or failed us completely.




Millenials/ EchoBoomers/Generation Y, we have come of age in the Information Era. It seems like more investigative journalism is devoted to the latest scandals and clubbing activities of celebrities and pseudo-celebrities even (yes you, LC, Heidi, Spencer, Real Housewives, and the rest of you talentless pieces of flotsam on cable networks) than to issues that affect our daily lives and ultimately, our futures. We have endless resources at our fingertips, yet I feel for so long we have let those in power commit injustices to us and the world, with ZERO accountability for their actions. Many of us may ask “what CAN we do?” well, there are things like blogs, to educate people and share opinions, possibly even come up with plans of action. There are also groups in different areas and college campuses, for example Community Roots (http://croots.org/) headquartered at NYU and my alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park. Should we overthrow the government?…No, of course not. But we should make educated choices in picking our leadership at a federal, state, and local level. And when those leaders fail us, we most of the time, have the authority to rally and impeach them, get them out of office, or at the very least, shame them through some means of public humiliation.


Here’s one thing I don’t understand and which perfectly explains the country’s attitude of relative ambivalence to our governments’ failures. An MSNBC poll ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904 ) cites 89% of those polled feel that Bush’s actions as President justify impeachment. In June of this year Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D), introduced 35 articles of impeachment against Dubya. The Judiciary Committee heard the resolution yet; it was not pursued any further. Also hearings at the Congressional and State party level have been raised supporting the impeachment of Bush. Democrats in Congress did not pursue it any further in order not to cause a stir of disunity before the Presidential election, and of course now they have much bigger items on their plate than impeaching Bush. Its crazy to me that we impeached a President over 10 years ago for getting his dick sucked and not telling the whole truth about it, yet let a guy go SCOT FREE when he is responsible for the deaths of over 4000 troops and billions of dollars wasted in a horribly managed war, along with about a dozen blatant violations of the US Constitution. I guess the millions of sperm that met their end on Monica Lewinskys infamous blue dress mean more to America than the billions of taxpayers dollars (including a budget surplus) squandered over the past 8 years.

It seems like so many people feel that Bush should pay for his wrongdoings, yet no one wants to stand up and enforce any type of punishment. Not to Bush, nor to any of the executives who still collect their million dollar bonuses while their workers get laid off and their company accepts bailout money from taxpayers because they essentially FAILED at being profitable. No one seems to want to make these people pay; or at the VERY least, admit that they failed, and APOLOGIZE for the results of their ineptitude.

My sentiments toward this country and my generation in particular can be summed up in two quotes from once of my favorite movies and tv show:

“WAKE UP, PEOPLE”
~Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee

“ASK QUESTIONS, TAKE CHANCES, MAKE MISTAKES”
~The Magic School Bus, Ms. Frizzle

LET THE BACKLASH BEGIN!

You’re probably going to think I’m racist, but I’m no more racist than any other American; which is to say that I have prejudices, we all do, but I would never do any racist action or anything of violence to anyone solely because of their race or ethnicity. I have to preclude this blog entry with that because I’ve gotten harsh criticism from people whenever I express my views against accommodations made for illegal immigrants in this country.

So I was reading about Herbert Hoover in preparations for writing another blog and I came across the Mexican Repatriation Act. From 1928-1937 up to 2 million illegal and legal immigrants, citizens, and aliens were forcefully deported to Mexico. The reason was that American sentiment was that Mexicans were taking away jobs and aid from American citizens during the early stages of the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it turned into a classic example of the rampant xenophobia in the USA in the 1920s, with more than 60% of those deported being legal immigrants or American citizens. However, I agree with the premise of the program, and I believe something like it should be part of an economic stimulus program today.

Today, every time I mention sumthin about illegal immigrants gots to go, someone always responds with “theyre not takin food off your plate” or “theyre doing the jobs that Americans don’t want to do” or “you’re so racist” “They’re boosting our economy with cheap labor”. What they fail to realize is that my sentiments against immigrants have nothing to do with their country of origin or socioeconomic status. It mainly has to do with their ILLEGAL status. First of all, they aren’t takin food off my plate, but they are using my tax dollars to pay for services offered to their children. They send their children to schools here ; 90% of the time it’s a public school, which is funded by taxes. Illegal workers don’t pay taxes to the federal or state governments, so basically citizens foot the bill for things used by children of non citizens. Second, they are not doing jobs Americans don’t want to do; they are doing jobs that would be offered to Americans at higher wages, but they’re doing it for lower wages because they’re illegal and basically have no legal right to demand minimum wage from their employers, and if they tried to start a legal battle, they aren’t protected by US laws as illegals, and would prolly be deported by the government. Cleaning hotels, kitchens, other domestic jobs and construction jobs used to be done by American minorities, not illegal immigrants; and things were that way for decades until the influx of illegals, mainly from Latin countries. Its not that Americans don’t want to do these jobs, the unemployment level among minorities consistently has always been higher than that of whites. It the fact that employers would much rather pay an illegal $4 an hour rather than have to pay an American $5.15 and offer them benefits.

Also this cheap labor is NOT good for our economy. Those wages that illegals earn are not taxed. The money they earn also is not put back into the US economy on goods and services. Some of it is of course, but much of it is sent back to their home country to help their family there. Jobs are taken away from American citizens; so you have the double whammy of unemployment and money lost to US businesses; as a DIRECT result of illegal immigrants working and living here. How in the balls is that any type of good for our economy?

Being an illegal immigrant is a crime, no matter if you are from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Spain, Ethiopia, England, or Scotland. Those who are illegal need to be deported or there needs to be some comprehensive plan for legalization. Bush tried to get a plan passed and it got shut down by his own Republicans because they consider legalization some sort of amnesty. Which it isn’t, it’s a path to citizenship. So basically for the past 20 years, the US has chose to do NOTHING and let the problem get blasted out of proportion ie an estimated 10 MILLION illegals in the US today. I personally think there should be a period of time where they are able to begin a period of legalization. If they pass, then welcome to American citizenry. If you fail, (ie have a criminal record, will need government aid of any sort, are mentally unstable ) ADIOS AMIGO, BON VOYAGE, MON FRERE…you GOTS to go. They even get a free ride home! And if you decide not to apply for legalization, well then you are knowingly and intentionally committing a crime and your ass needs to be deported. At that point, I definitely agree with immigration raids. It’s sad, because yeh, families will be broken up, a lot of these people are not criminals or delinquents, but when the legalization period passes, you are choosing to be illegal if you didn’t apply, and you must pay the price.

Such a plan will cost taxpayer money, but in effect will create jobs as well. Create jobs in enforcing the deportations, but also allow many positions to open up for American citizens, who will have to be paid minimum wage. I know this has the potential to turn into violence because a lot of people have animosity towards immigrants of certain ethnicities, and we all know law enforcement aren’t always the highest on the IQ totem pole. It just so happens that our media chooses to focus on those of Hispanic origin as the troublemakers; but in my opinion, if you’re here illegally, no matter where you’re from, you need to BOUNCE, son.

Most immigrants regardless of their legal or illegal status are upstanding people. People like them deserve to become American citizens. If you don’t wish to become citizens, go back to your country; or get a visa, work here, then when your visa’s up, go back to your country. This is the land of opportunity, not a free pad to crash at.

I MAY BE WRONG, BUT I DOUBT IT

Back in February, I predicted a recession or depression for the United States in 2008. Not on the blog of course, but to my NIH (National Institutes of Health) coworkers. I remember exactly why I predicted it too. I had read on WashingtonPost.com I believe, that CitiGroup had posted 10 billion in losses. I was like O SHIT. When’s the last time credit companies were posting billions in losses?…um the GREAT DEPRESSION. Then I looked at why they lost so much and a lot of it had to do with the defaulting mortgage crisi which began in the summer of 2007. I was like, they aren’t going to be able to regain those losses ever because if the people cant pay their mortgages now, they damn sure cant pay them later. Everyone who I told was like, “oh no, things will get better.” Or “dayum, why are you so pessimistic, its just a bump in the road”. But then what happened?…Gas reached $4 and $5 in some places, hundreds of thousands of jobs lost every month, GDP (gross domestic product) went down, and as of December 1, 2008; the USA is officially in a recession.

So here’s another prediction, but I REEEAAAALLY hope I’m wrong. Okay, so the Big Three automakers didn’t get their precious bailout. GM and Chrysler supposedly don’t have enough cash on hand to get them to Dec 31 (Ford is allegedly okai for a few more months, but still wants some taxpayer moolah). The only way they stay afloat is if Bush/Paulson allows some of the $700 billion financial industry bailout fund go to them for an emergency loan. * By the way, there is no oversight board for the bailout funds in DECEMBER when the conditions of allowing the bailout stated there would be an oversight board when it was authorized in OCTOBER.* So I really don’t know if GM and Chrysler are gonna get bailed out but I do hope so, just because our economy cant afford for them to go bankrupt right now. Maybe we could’ve withstood it as recently as May or June, but not now.

So if the Big 3 go under, we can pretty much count on another Great Depression. And you know how we’re going to get out of it?….World War 3. Yes, as of December 12, 2008; I’m officially predicting it within the next 2 years. Damn, I hope I’m wrong. But you know FDR did not fix the Great Depression. World War 2 did. I’m afraid history might repeat itself and the only way we’re going to get out of the impending Depression is going to be a global war. Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t going to get us out of it because we don’t supply anything to anyone to fight those wars. We fight them, pay for what we do over there with American dollars, yet get no revenue, much less profit from those wars…unless you count “safety of the American People” which isn’t exactly tangible and quite questionable; and can be more closely attributed to the work of the Department of Homeland Security than to the military’s efforts.

You know where the next world war will probably start?…my bets are on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here’s the 2 reasons why: First, not many people know that Pakistan was on the brink of nuclear war with India about 3 years ago. They really don’t fux with each other. Now you had the Mumbai attacks around Thanksgiving and Indians are PISSED with Pakistan because the terror group that committed the attacks was allegedy based in Pakistan. Pakistan is also the new hideout of the Taliban. Now with Obama’s pledge to put more resources in Afghanistan and do whatever necessary to find Bin Laden, including crossing the border into Pakistan, we have an impending shitstorm. The new powder keg is in the Middle East. Expect things to get worse when our presence in Iraq diminishes and Iran infiltrates and subsequently takes over.

Now you can say that Obama wont take us to war over there but guess what, if something pops off in the United States again (Pearl Harbor sent us to WWII; 9/11 sent us to Afghanistan in the first place) we will be all up in the Middle East mix; or Obama will have his picture in the dictionary next to BITCHASSNESS. I truly hope I’m wrong only because I do not want to see a World War in my lifetime. Especially since everyone and their cousins have nuclear weapons now. Let’s hope the world leaders realize how dangerous those weapons are and choose to fight fairly (if there is such a thing these days). Honestly I just see it coming, and as of right now, I don’t see a way to get out of this mess without war =(

Stay tuned for my next entry, which will further explain why history is repeating itself, with Bush’s Herbert Hoover-esque handling of the credit crisis. Its pretty crazy, this fool is almost exactly repeating Hoovers actions...What a dumbass.
JANUARY 20TH CANT COME FAST ENOUGH!!