Posted Note

Featuring Addison from Grey’s Anatomy, John Legend, Gabrielle Union, Will I Am from the Black Eyed Peas, Scarlet Johansen, Common and many more that I don’t know their names. Who are those guys playing guitar?

It’s pretty cool.

Here he is on Ellen…

Campain Ad for Barack

A not so cool video about Hillary… I am not sure what she has going for her really, but I am only just now really starting to keep up with what is going on. I like to see who is going to drop out and see who we are left with and then I do my research.

More negative press for Hillary Clinton…

But, there are two sides to every story… and with people, aren’t there multiple sides? Don’t we all wish we could turn back the hands of time and undo some things we have done?

The question is, is Hillary doing what is in the best interest of our country or what is in the best interest for herself?

Hillary on Ellen

When it comes down to it, talk is cheap. Becoming POTUS is a big deal and I think people will say whatever they think the American’s population wants to hear in order to get in that seat. It’s like any job, you really don’t know what you are in for until you get hired and then sometimes you can’t make the changes you thought you were going to make. The economy is this huge monster and globalization and the World Trade Organization and the MFA and OPEC and the United Nations are all these organizations that you have to answer to. Running a country is a lot different than running a business or a state.

When it comes to voting don’t just follow the crowd or vote for who is popular. Actually do your homeworl because what is happening today will affect the future of our country tomorrow.

In 1992 President Bush enacted some laws on trade to protect US Steelworkers. He limited the importation of steel and that made American steel workers happy and that was a large number of votes that he wanted. Sometimes tariffs and trade barriers appear to be protecting America, but limiting free trade actually caused prices to go up for American consumers and limiting free trade causes companies to become lax and ineffecient. Competition forces us to do things better. Now American steel production is owned by a foreign company.

So before you start making a decision, understand that the almighty dollar still makes the world go round and politicians will often say or do whatever it takes to get a vote. They’ll hurt the nation as a whole in an effort to get the votes of a few.

For a fascinating and short briefing on what Jena 6 is and who they are, read “The Elephan that is Never Leaving the Room” by Janine Beach.

I personally am a little out of touch with our world and what is happening in it, however, that does not mean that I am not taking strides to change that.  I heard about this huge protest that was going on in Jena, Louisiana on Kidd Kraddick in the morning. Kidd recounted some of what the article tells above, but not all of it.  All it took to get me fired up was the word “noose”.

Infuriated I turned up the radio and listened. I had already arrived at work but instead of getting out and dismissing the story I listened. I listened to something that I thought had stopped happening for the most part – hate crimes.  High school students, which should by now have learned from their parents and grandparents mistakes, are still committing atrocities that are unforgiveable. 

I used to think that people who were prejudice were prejudice because of ignorance, but there is so much more to it than that. The problem lies not within the fact that the other person is just different, it normally stems from an internal issue within oneself.  It seems to be part of our human nature to feel like we have to be better than someone else. We aren’t happy unless we have nicer shoes, a better car, or a more complicated no whip, no foam, sugar free, half-caf latte – but that is only part of it as well.

The root of the problem is with parents and the fact that stereotypes and prejudices are most often learned and reinforced by our parents. My parents are Republicans and my dad used to say “queer” in such a deragatory way that there was no question as to the fact that he thought they were sick sexual deviants.  However, my parents did teach us to treat people with love and respect no matter what their race or nationality.

Now days there seems to be more people in this country of varying races. Indian, Muslim’s, Hindu’s, Asians, Koreans – the list goes on and on and as we become more diverse and tolerant we seem to take one step forward and 3 steps back. America has lost site of who she is and what she stood for. Now we don’t allow prayer in schools and we don’t say Merry Christmas. We don’t take our children to church and instead of telling them to say “no” to sex and drugs, we give them condoms and prescription medications.

If you ask some, they will say that we are making progress, and I agree that on some levels we are, but at what price? We have no moral compass, there are no clear lines of right and wrong just murky shades of gray.

A news story from www.newsday.com had this to say,

Neither Obama nor Clinton attended the rally, which ended at the local high school, where racial confrontations began last September. That month, three white students hung nooses from a “whites only” tree after black students expressed a desire to sit under it.

Obama’s campaign released a statement Thursday saying: “The thousands of Americans from every race and region who have descended on this small Louisiana town carry forth the legacy of all those who sat at lunch counters and took freedom rides to strike a blow against injustice wherever it may exist.”

Clinton, who has said she is “very worried about what is happening in Jena,” did not comment on the rally. Her campaign issued a statement last night saying that “she has been very clear about her views on the Jena 6 matter.”

Despite their responses, both heavyweights have not adequately addressed the case, some observers say.

Republicans have also taken a low profile. President George W. Bush addressed the tensions for the first time Thursday, saying, “The events in Louisiana have saddened me. All of us in America want there to be, you know, fairness when it comes to justice.”

The Jena 6 case has drawn criticism because even though there were a series of confrontations between whites and blacks after the tree incident — including one in which a white youth menaced blacks with a shotgun — no whites were charged. In June, a black teen was tried as an adult in the beating of the white youth and convicted by an all-white jury. The Jena case, observers say, illustrates the need for political response.

“I feel they [Clinton and Obama] are intimidated and don’t want to wade into the racial swamp of how you characterize this issue with respect to race relations,” said Ron Walters, a University of Maryland political scientist.

Michael Fauntroy, an assistant professor of public policy at Virginia’s George Mason University, said while other issues are more readily discussed, race remains “uncomfortable.”

I normally support George W. Bush, but I have to say his response to this situation, from what is quoted above, is inadequate.  For too long we’ve pushed other agendas, Abortion, Homosexuality, Aids, all the while the unpoplular issue – race - lays on a shelf dusty and untouched.  

So who are the Jena 6? They are all of us. Each one of us should feel the affects of injustice because if we allow it to happen to one person, then we are as guilty as the offending party. There really is no middle ground, sure there are two sides to every issue, but eventually you have to pick one.