Breaking Political Update- News August 27,2010 

Dianes Intuit Blog

Hurricane Katrina 5 Years Later

Hurricane Katrina, the one that caused Americans to sincerely doubt the competencies of our government leadership, caused the deaths of over 1800 people in August 2005.

Because I am a writer I closely watched the growth, strength and width of hurricane on the NOAA web site. Overwrought is a good description of my own feelings as I watched the intense storms activity and wondered why no one had issued evacuations sooner for the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines.

My feelings became real fears as I watched the television coverage moment by moment the telecast s of Brian William's, with the wind and the rain beating down on him, the coverage of people being rescued from the rooftops of their homes, and the dead bodies floating in the rancid waters of the storm.

The tragedy of people in the Super Dome was just that, a national tragedy of which all leaders involved should even today be more ashamed of their inaction at any other time in last hundred years. The mere facts that people died in the streets, inside the superdome, and elderly people died in their wheelchairs is a mortal sin in my opinion, and leaders should have those nightmares every night until they do something extra to help those who are still not able to live in a normal atmosphere. Their desperation was shown on every face that we saw on our televisions.

A total of 80% of homes in New Orleans was totally demolished by the storm. Then 90% of Mississippi's’ beach homes were destroyed by the storm as well.

Today is has been reported that since the devastation from hurricane Katrina, more than 300 restaurants have opened in the famous city of New Orleans. The Army Corp of Engineers had been charged in a lawsuit that ended in 2008 which went against them because they let people build in the low lying areas in the first place. And secondly, the construction was faulty which resulted in the levees failing when the were needed the most.

The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.Benjamin Franklin

7-21-2010 Let us see here, Lindsey is in jail, whispers have it she will only spend two weeks there. What a shame, she might learn about real life and real consequences if she stays put for a while. Her life history is very short because she just passed her 24th birthday. Seems like she has made some relly bad choices in her young years. Maybe time will help her retain some real lifetime values for her future.Who really cares enough about her to make things right for her to be able to move forward? Who should have been there for her, her mother, father? Or is she one of those young people who will just not listen to anyone?

The man named Tom Vilsack is now a fool and not at all fit to lead an entire agency because he makes snap judgments, before he thinks. The facts mam, just the facts. So now who has the eggs all over their faces I ask you? Probably Vilsack and the President as well have egg slowly dribbling down their chins? Don’t you think Shirley Sherrod should have Tom Vilsacks job? And, of course the blogger who made hay of all of the real facts Andrew Breibart should be fired.

Oh, yes, we must remember that President O’bama stood by and watched Tom Vilsack make his charges and fire Shirley Sherrod. Someone from Vilsacks’ office was calling her on the phone while she was driving, and demanding she resign.

Is the O’bama White House still going to stand by and see Shirley being bullied more or make this problem right by firing Vilsack and rehiring Shirley Sherrod?

Right is right, and both of these entire situations should never have seen the light of day if someone had done the right thing ahead of time for either of these women.

Helping Disaster Emergency Personnel Get Through the Disasters

Remember all of the people who responded during the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Gulf Coast? Well , many of those people are at it again only for different reasons and such as a higher stakes game due to the extreme damages to the sensitive marshes and sea life from which they may not recover from the oil entrenched into their environment.

This time around there is an organization that can help those rescuers who get despondent over the situation that they find themselves in. Lets do a scenario where you are there and you see the damage that has been done to your backyard marsh water and the oil damage has consumed your partner who works in the seafood industry. Neither one of you can work, your bills are due, you are worried that you can never recover from the disaster this time around, you have oily nightmares that keep you awake most nights.

So what is a body to do, you worry and get nowhere, the situation gets worse with each week, now there is a major hurricane headed your way.

Who can help you in this situation,or who can you turn to for help? Look no further than http://EDRS-Support.com. A man by the name of David Ebel started this site to help responders because there is such a need for them to de stress and be able to get on with their lives after a response to disaster situations. David was the man responsible for getting the first supplies to the stranded victims of hurricane Katrina and Rita at the Super dome in New Orleans. The sites motto is “When the event is over...We help each other/Outer circle is helping others ... inner circle is helping each other after that. David is a Certified Disaster Emergency Response Team Person. He has many certifications to his credit. This is a seriously worthwhile group of people and they deserve all of the support we can give them.

World Crisis/Personal Crisis

Many countries are focusing on what is being done in our Gulf of Mexico in the fouling of our ecosystem during the flow of oil into the sensitive seafood and wildlife arenas of the waters. This is a world crisis as this has never happened before and because the world depends on oil as an energy source to solve many other problems on a daily basis. Other countries may face this type of crisis if their oil rigs and personnel do not follow better safety procedures than BP has.

We must not forget that there are many parts to this problem and that this is still a process, nightmare that it really is, this will take time to correct if that is even possible. We just don’t know that for sure yet. BP is supposedly working on a solution.

Personal Crisis

Even though this is a major problem we must not let this overshadow our own lives as individuals. We are people of great resilience. We must pay attention to our personal well being by making our doctors appointments, and keep them. We as individuals only live once and we need to take that into account in our daily lives and actions. We are responsible for ourselves, not other people. Personally we must be good parents, good neighbors, good listeners, good at our jobs and effective in our neighborhoods. We need to show our compassion, use our natural instincts, be kind to others when we can and show appreciation in the proper context. Those are the things that highly evolved people do and that is who we are.

Lets Kick Some Ass

6-10-10 Earlier this week President O’bama wanted to “Kick Some Ass” over the terrible oil spill situation. Can’t say as I blame him a bit. When I talk to my family about this we all want to “kick some ass” as well. It is hard for forty year olds to figure out why the government can’t “do anything about what is going on, they seem incompetent, and executives are making the same type of time delay mistakes that they did during hurricane Katrina is what I hear.”

Latest estimates from the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill has members of the Plume Modeling Team of The Flow Rate Technical Group calculating updates that 1,100,000 to 1,300,000 US gallons; 4,000,000 to 4,800,000 litres of oil) per day is flowing from the pipes 5,000 feet below the surface of the water. We need to remember this oil platform was drilling to find out if there was oil so they could put it in the marketplace. If they could they would be wealthier than they ever thought because according to experts there is enough oil being blown out that the amount is equal to that of the Exxon Valdez pumped into the ocean every 8 to 10 days. And furthermore, BP is providing the videos of the oil coming out of the pipes, so we don’t know what the real story is and how true the current facts really are.

This environmental disaster really worries me, because there are so many facets to the problems that continue to screw up expectations and reality of what can reasonably be done to contain the oil. At this point the oil may never be able to be really cleaned up. There are things like summer hurricanes that can disperse a lot of the oil in many directions. For instance, Gulf stream sea currents could spread the oil into the Atlantic Ocean. The Eastern Loop Current around Florida is a deep chasm and if bad weather puts the oil there it could spread thousands of miles and do untold damage.

These facts are not pretty, nor is the amount of dead oiled animals (2,000) found so far a pretty picture. This is truly a complex matter and many more facets will certainly surface in the coming months. The professional fisherman who decided to work for BP to help clean up effort have been ordered back to land. Admiral Allen has said that he plans to move in ships from around the fleet to help. According to Allen, there are currently 25,000 people are working on the gusher in the Gulf using 400 skimming vessels, 500 barges, 2,500 government and contract vessels and 66 aircraft.

Because this has never happened before, we don’t know what to expect as far as solutions go. However, we do hear spats of news that people are coming up with solutions but authorities are too nervous to approve any of them.Let us have some real solutions guys, or at least let us know what new or improved soutions you are going to try from Americans who are trying to help.

Nightmare of 11 Lives, Livelihoods, and a Fragile Ecosystem Lost

This is truly a nightmare of unimaginable magnitude to lose eleven peoples lives, a way of life, and an ecosystem for millions of people in the Gulf of Mexico region. This nightmare explosion by an oil leak caused by BP and Transocean employees and possible mismanagement is a major tragedy of as yet unknown proportions. Safety procedures may not have been followed and mechanical safety apparently failed to work properly.

6-1-2010 Attorney General Eric Holder Advances a Criminal Investigation into the largest oil spill in American history. He Says”I was briefed by Coast Guard officers involved in the massive response effort and also surveyed the famed Louisiana Delta, where the early signs of oil intruding into the ecosystem are all too evident.”

The Justice Department posted the following response on their web site:

This afternoon, our team from Washington met with Attorneys General and U.S. Attorneys for the states and districts whose coast lines and citizens have been impacted by this disaster to discuss how we can work together to respond to this tragic spill.

As you all know, the President on Friday reiterated that the first and foremost goal of the entire government is stopping the leak, containing and cleaning up the oil, and helping the people in this region get back on their feet and return to their normal lives.

But as we have said all along, we must also ensure that anyone found responsible for this spill is held accountable. That means enforcing the appropriate civil – and if warranted, criminal – authorities to the full extent of the law.

What we saw this morning was oil for miles and miles. Oil that we know has already affected plant and animal life along the coast, and has impacted the lives and livelihoods of all too many in this region. This disaster is nothing less than a tragedy.

There is one thing I will not let be forgotten in this incident: In addition to the extensive costs being borne by our environment and by communities along the Gulf Coast, the initial explosion and fire also took the lives of 11 rig workers. Eleven innocent lives lost. As we examine the causes of the explosion and subsequent spill, I want to assure the American people that we will not forget the price those workers paid.

During the early stages of the response efforts, I sent a team of attorneys including the head of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Ignacia Moreno, and the head of our Civil Division, Tony West, to New Orleans to lead our efforts to protect not only the people who work and reside near the Gulf, but also the American taxpayers, the environment and the abundant wildlife in the region. They have been working diligently ever since to gather facts and coordinate the government’s legal response.

As we move forward, we will be guided by simple principles: We will ensure that every cent of taxpayer money will be repaid and damages to the environment and wildlife will be reimbursed. We will make certain that those responsible clean up the mess they have made and restore or replace the natural resources lost or injured in this tragedy. And we will prosecute to the full extent any violations of the law.

Among the many statutes Department attorneys are reviewing are:

• The Clean Water Act, which carries civil penalties and fines as well as criminal penalties;

• The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which can be used to hold parties liable for cleanup costs and reimbursement for government efforts;

• The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Acts, which provide penalties for injury and death to wildlife and bird species; and,

• Other traditional criminal statutes.

There are a wide range of possible violations under these statutes, and we will closely examine the actions of those involved in this spill. If we find evidence of illegal behavior, we will be forceful in our response. We have already instructed all relevant parties to preserve any documents that may shed light on the facts surrounding this disaster. As our review expands in the days ahead we will be meticulous, we will be comprehensive, and we will be aggressive. We will not rest until justice is done.

While the federal government continues to focus on stopping the leak and responding to the environmental disaster, the Department of Justice will ensure the American people do not foot the bill for this disaster and that our laws are enforced to the full extent. That is our responsibility, and we will do nothing less. 

Stock Market Players Buyer Beware of So Called Experts

For those of you out there who still are active in the stock market, buyer beware! Today in my e-mail I received the following message.

From the richest Gold-Producing region in America comes - MY NEXT POTENTIAL 10-BAGGER+

Urgent Investor Update

My #1 Stock-Pick for 2010, Amarok

Resources (AMOK), is off and running!

The last two companies I reported on, AENY and JYHW, became Huge winners on Wall Street -

AENY (America's Energy Company) - Up over 1,400% in 4 mo.

JYHW (Jayhawk Energy) - Up almost 1,100% in 7 mo. ...and my third pick, Amarok Resources, could be my "Triple Crown!"

MARKET WIRE (4/14/10) - Amarok Resources announces they have selected a drilling contractor for the Rodeo Creek property on Nevada's Carlin Trend. Drilling is anticipated to begin early May 2010 on three of its prime gold targets - Thus escalating its buyout potential by neighbors, Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining!

Stock experts????

Buyer beware these stocks have not become huge winners on Wall Street, or any other street. Their claims are absolutely bogus. As of today April 21, 2010 AENY is down over 60% since January sales of $5.59, and now to $2.02 a share. AMOK is down over 60% from $2.75 on April 4 to $1.45 on April 21,2010, JYHW January price was $2.16 stock is now at $.72 cents. So who is it that is crazy and can’t read their own numbers. Our motto at 911 info is, "don’t believe the so called experts, do your own research before investing in any stocks or investments.", especially in todays markets and so called bail outs of any kind. The informationI received was put out by Top Stocks Analyists as a Paid Advertisement from the Intelligent Investor Report. Nothing in the report is a fact, it is all lies in my opinion.Top Stock Analyists must be in real bad shape to take money for an advertisement that is so bogus and truley not based on facts at all.

Burning Coal is the Dirtiest Form of Pollution We Have

Gov. Joe Manchin has ordered all mines be inspected since last weeks’ explosion at the Massey mine at Upper Big Branch in West Virginia where 29 miners lost their lives. The West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training is responsible for the enforcement of the West Virginia Mine Safety Laws and Regulations. However, President Obama has said that the West Virginia accident was "a failure, first and foremost, of management, but also a failure of oversight and a failure of laws so riddled with loopholes that they allow unsafe conditions to continue." He continued and said the federal government's mine inspectors will be fanning out to mines with "troubling" safety records to make sure that none have the same violations found at Massey before the accident.

Mining is fraught with safety issues and each miner knows all about them, as do their families. It is ultimately the companies and their directors who run the mines and know exactly what the safety issues really are in each individual mine location. They also know what their financial bottom line is and run their business's along those lines rather than safety issues.

If the management was really smart they would do everything they could to make sure the workers are safe because that extra detail would keep the men secure and if they thought that they were safer, production would improve as would their overall work habits. Hence the companies would prosper beyond what they ever thought they could.

Unfortunately, mining coal is not really safe for the miners because of health hazards from the normal work there in the first place. Federal regulators also have a portion of the blame in this instance because there are safety procedures in place. For the Feds to look the other way and not put stops in place when they see the need is almost criminal.Secondly, coal burning to heat factories and homes and business is still the dirtiest and unhealthiest form of pollution we have.

West Virginias' Coal Miners Deserve Better

Coal miners have a harsh way of life. Talk about being down and dirty, theses men get it and usually have nothing to show for their labors except dirty safety glasses,soot covered overhauls and shoes and a severe looking woman as a wife and thin children. There is no such thing as clean coal, nor does it ever burn clean. There are hundreds of country songs about the harshness of the plight of their lives. This latest blast at Upper Big Branch coal mine cost the lives of 29 men.

That the U.S. has not made more progress in mining is a testament to the old boy network. You know the men who rake in the profits and smoke their big fat cigars while their men toil down in the old coal mines. These cigar smokers are the ones who continue to file extensions to keep their companies from paying huge fines to the government, and make the miners live such a hard life. They know the numbers and keep a log of how many peoples lives it takes to make a ton of coal profitable.

Don Blankenship the chief executive of Massey Energy had paid a fine of more than 4 million dollars in 2008 because of the crminal fines and civil penalties imposed in another subsidy company of Massey Energy not being safe. The time has come to stop this folly. President Obama has done much to change the scenario for the auto industries, why not the coal miners lives and industry as well. He even forced out the head of General Motors., maybe he can force out Blankenship as he is the mines operator and ultimately the safety officer who chose not to enforce regular safety rules.

I bet the miners could have used much of the 4 million dollars toward safety and better wages and they would have appreicated it. Americans need to wake up and either put decent schools that will teach the miners children there is a better way of life, and encourage them to find it. You can’t exactly close the mines and pack the people off to other places where labor is better rewarded. A major change needs to take place. These miners would most likely want to stay, as their lives are invested in the areas. To move is a hard solution, but right there where the mines are if possible.

There are no winners in a coal mine except the ole boys who run the show. The mountains are cleared, and stripped, the ash gets into the waterways and fouls the water, and the men get black ash in their lungs.

We need better sources of energy, like windmills. Why not use these mountains to put up windmills? Why not use these acres of wasted land to build solar manufacturing plants? Those two items could create much better jobs and a better way of life for everyone.

The EPA says “Mountaintop removal is a form of surface coal mining in which explosives are used to access coal seams, generating large volumes of waste that bury adjacent streams. The resulting waste that then fills valleys and streams can significantly compromise water quality, often causing permanent damage to ecosystems and rendering streams unfit for swimming, fishing and drinking. It is estimated that almost 2,000 miles of Appalachian headwater streams have been buried by mountaintop coal mining.

Also, according to the EPA "The people of Appalachia shouldn't have to choose between a clean, healthy environment in which to raise their families and the jobs they need to support them. That’s why EPA is providing even greater clarity on the direction the agency is taking to confront pollution from mountain top removal,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We will continue to work with all stake holders to find a way forward that follows the science and the law. Getting this right is important to Americans who rely on affordable coal to power homes and businesses, as well as coal communities that count on jobs and a livable environment, both during mining and after coal companies move to other sites.”

So what is the EPA really going to do to get a real change in Appalachia, we are all waiting to see what actually happens in this situation.

The Holy One, Pope or not Should be Held Accountable

Children do not understand what a sin is unless an adult tells them what that is. Imagine a ten year old child being told that they have just sinned? They will look at you and ask “What?” Children who have been brought into this life as catholics will understand that. Guilt is the main manner of control. Imagine those of you who are not catholic and then tell your ten year old that they have sinned. You as an adult will have to explain what that sin is. Proceed to tell them they have to go to confession and tell that sin to a man in a dark closet. That child will think you have lost your mind, and rightly so.

Get my drift? An abusive priest will give some lame excuse that the child is not sure of and try to abuse the child who is then told that they will hurt their younger brothers or sisters or even tell their parents that it is their fault, not the abusers. Priests have always had free access to children, way too much access in my opinion.

Much depends on the child's circle of trust in their home life as to how they handle others who try to abuse them. Many children suffer in silence, or scream out in bad dreams at night, but they never forget the abuse. It does not go away. Priests in the catholic church should be held to account no matter how many or who they are. The holy one Pope or not should be held accountable for what he knew or had covered up. No man is above the crimes against children or nature.

Why shouldn’t a priest be charged for their crimes against humanity and children? A priests actions should be charged doubly because of their intimate knowledge about human behavior, childrens vulnerabillty and frailties.

In the United States we probably don’t have enough prisons to hold all of the priests who have sexually harmed our children. But, that should not be an excuse to do nothing. Their are consequences to peoples actions. Priests should know that better then anyone else. Because children never forget abuse, and always have a hard time to get through such abuse I really believe that those who prey on children should be held accountable, no matter who they are or what their position in life. No matter what they knew or when they knew it, those who have any actions in the harm of a child or cover that up need to be held accountable. Who really knows how much the lack of prosecution costs us as a country in terms of lost human potential and lost caring for one another?

According to Wiki- Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. Murder; extermination; torture; rape and political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, war crimes, but may fall short of falling into the category of crimes under discussion."

Pedophilia within the catholic church certainly can be dedscribed as a widespread or systematic practice, especially since it encompasses so many countries and their children,in my opinion.

Actions have consequences, and I think that America is far too lenient against pedophiles. Shouldn’t the punishment fit the crime? Lets get real and get serious as to the harm that is done to our innocent children. Why not castrate those who commit crimes against children? Do you think castration is too much of an extreme to go to when your own children are at risk? You must realize that that kind of punishment is the only thing that may stop a person who has the abuser mentality tendancies! No one is above the laws of decent humanity, no one!

Open Letter to Golds' Gym Officials

Open letter to Gold's Gym International

125 E. John Carpenter FWY, Suite 1300

Irving, TX 75062

Gold's gym

After a work out, 3-18-2010 9:00 pm

During my workout this evening I saw two videos on your screens that depicted women who were being beaten, not once but twice in one evening. I have to tell you I do not like this at all. When I leave my home to come and exercise I am getting away from family, and daily problems in a safe and supposedly encouraging atmosphere. This is not encouraging at all. In fact is is downright discouraging, and personally insulting to think I am paying for the privilege and I for one find it furthering violence against women. Here you are building up people usually men, and putting that stuff on your video programs on a regular daily basis. I certainly don’t see men being beaten by anyone in your clubs or videos.

Give me one good reason why I should even consider coming back to your gym when you let that kind of garbage be shown. With your corporation being as large as it is I would think you would want to encourage women, not show videos of them being beaten to music. This is not the first time I have been disgusted in this manner at your club, but I have had enough, enough, enough. By the way, I also own a web site where I'll be posting this tomorrow morning. http://www.911info.net

Your company supposedly values peoples inner strength, how can you show this kind of video and consider it building a woman's inner strength while she is exercising, or even a mans because he watches it also. You are not being true to your companies core values when you let this trash be shown in your clubs. You have a moral responsibility to live up to your corporate values like your "Most importantly, you'll find an energetic, supportive environment full of all kinds of people who are committed to achieving their goals", statement. I ask you again, how does showing violent videos accomplish a supportive environment for anyone?

Isn't it enough that women get paid less, and are treated like second class citizens on a regular basis, why should we be subjected to watching violent videos while we are exercising? If this is true “we leverage over 40 years of fitness experience to create personalized fitness programs that help our members realize their potential,” then how do you rationalize these violent videos in your clubs? I have never seen a man being beaten in a video in your clubs to music. How does this type of supposedly entertainment help anyone to realize their potential?

Sincerely,

Diane Knaus

What we Can and Have Done for Our Neighbors in the Past Year

Many of us gave to our local food banks in the past year when jobs were getting cut from large business'. We are still going to donate this year because even though things are somewhat better, some jobs may get worse. Our winter has been really a bad winter soaking the grounds with more than average snowfall in the Northeast, and now spring rains are hitting us hard. In a report from the Farm Bureau of the U.S. they say:

The farm and ranch families of Farm Bureau last year raised more than $213,000 and donated more than 4.8 million pounds of food to hungry Americans as part of Farm Bureau’s “Harvest for All” program. Combined, the monetary and food donations provided the equivalent of nearly 5.3 million meals through Feeding America-affiliated food banks. The money raised last year was a record and broke the prior record of $160,000 in 2008. Farm Bureau’s Harvest for All program began in 2004, and the program has continued to build momentum since then.

Members of Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers program spearhead the Harvest for All program across the nation, but all facets of Farm Bureau contribute to the effort. The joint effort between Farm Bureau and Feeding America is a national community-action program through which farmers can help ensure that every American can enjoy the bounty produced by the nation’s farm and ranch families.

“In these difficult economic times, Harvest for All is all the more important,” said Will Gilmer, AFBF YF&R chairman and a dairy producer from Lamar County, Ala. “As farmers and ranchers, we are blessed to work every day, feeding America and the world. Harvest for All is a great way to share our many blessings with those less fortunate than we are.”

Aside from raising food and funds for the initiative, farmers and ranchers tallied 5,449 volunteer hours assisting hunger groups through the Harvest for All program.

“We are so grateful to Farm Bureau for the dedication to fighting domestic hunger with Feeding America and our network of more than 200 food banks across the nation,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. “The Harvest for All program makes a tremendous difference in our efforts to provide food to millions of people struggling with hunger year after year. We thank the Farm Bureau for its ongoing dedication and generosity.”

The Illinois Farm Bureau took top honors for raising the most funds in 2009 at $92,112. The New York Farm Bureau was number one in food donated at 3.65 million pounds. The top honor for volunteer time went to Michigan Farm Bureau at 2,754 volunteer hours. Each YF&R Committee from the three winning states received a $1,500 grant from the American Farm Bureau Federation to donate to the food bank of their choice.

Second place winners were Indiana for funds donated at $46,894; Pennsylvania for food donated at 631,748 pounds of food; and Illinois for volunteer time at 1,854 volunteer hours. Second place winners received a $1,000 grant from AFBF to donate to the food bank of their choice.

In addition, five state YF&R committees received $500 grants for “most innovative” programs. The winners are Indiana for “Piggy Bank Promotion;” Michigan for “Chicken Project;” New York for “Feed the Hungry;” Pennsylvania for “Lady Moon Farm Project;” and South Dakota for “Great PETA-Inspired Milk Donation.”

The awards were presented during AFBF’s YF&R Conference in Tulsa, Okla.

Since Harvest for All was launched seven years ago, Farm Bureau families have gathered more than 20 million pounds of food, logged more than 35,000 volunteer hours and raised nearly $1 million in donations. Combined, the food and monetary donations amount to nearly 24 million meals.

AFBF President Bob Stallman said support for Feeding America through Harvest for All will remain a priority for Farm Bureau.

“We are proud to partner with Feeding America in their hunger relief efforts,” Stallman said. “During this economic downturn, more Americans are relying on food banks to help feed themselves and their families. Farm Bureau’s farm and ranch families are strongly committed to helping those in need.”

About Feeding America

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org.

About the Academy Awards This Year

In my opinion Michael Jackson knew what he was doing, he was in serious debt and knew it could be repaid if he died suddenly before the concert. Remember he was the master of the set, and the stage, and he knew business. Unfortunately his children will suffer the most because of his death. It will always be a cloud over their hearts because they knew how much of a musical genius and a good father he was to them.

Farrah Faucett, was an American Actress icon in America, not only did men love her, but so did the women. They loved her hair, her attraction to the bad boy, her television shows, and her movies as well, and her individual courage. Foreigners did not know these things about Farrah, but the members of the Academy certainly did know all of these things and more. Many Americans had a love affair with her public figure and fashion sense, they worshipped her. She should have been recognized as a lost talent, because she was a lost talent, after all, they recognized a journalist whom many people did not know, never even heard of.

Fashion at the Awards show was marred by fufu boy Fashion Guy ET's fashion guru Steven "Cojo" Cojocaru. He needs a designer hair cut himself, how can he dare criticize anyone else when he looks so plain and unpolished.

In my book Meryl Streeps simply smashing looks and white couture was daring and elite just like her. Demi Moore was elegant in her blue gown, Jennifer Lopez, just tooo much white dress material.

Unfortunately director-producer winner Roger Ross Williams had a Kayne West moment when Elinor Burkett, almost incoherrent grabbed the microphone away from him during the acceptance speech and babbled about a music group.

I loved the movie Up, took my grandaughter to see it and we both laughed and cried. Am glad they won an oscar. Unfortunately did not get to see the others.We are planning to see Avatar soon.I am sure the Hurt Locker was a good movie, but war movies are not my cup of tea.

Family Game Box

Your Discovery of the Families Games Box

A practical solution to your long time to be spent indoors during the current snow storm can be found in your families games box. Although it may be a challenge to discover it in the first place, many benefits can surely follow in the time spent together using the games to take time out and enjoy togetherness during the storm.

You will not have to hurry at all, just take your time and relax into the happiness and harmony of your life while having fun with the family, or your partner of choice.

This is free time you have to spend while enriching your family experience with kindness you forgot you had, honesty you forgot about, and the creativity that can enhance your energy, and confidence. When you announce that you are looking for the family game box, you can enlist the rest of the clan to find it. You can rediscover the fun you had when some of them were younger. You can remember their miracles of birth, their individual challenges and exclusive attachments to your heart strings.

Getting reattached to someone's heart strings can mean cooking something that smells scrumptious. You can use your freedom of thought to guide someone to grace they didn’t know they owned. All of this can lead to inspiration of purpose and resourcefulness,a renewal of spirit which can transform into serenity, personal strength, a new vitality and wisdom. Get out the games, find your music CD’s put your chefs hat on and enjoy yourselves it has been a long winter in some communities, and may be a little longer. 

The Earths' Change and Our Free Challenges To Discover A Better More Improved You

As the country settles in for a second major February freeze and crippling snow storm in two weeks I contemplate the spring and the wonderful blooms of life that it offers through the fertile earth. My spring wish is that the earth become more fertile and that many people stop using bad fertilizers and use lime instead so they don’t kill natural plants that like to grow and enrich the soils.

Here in the Northeast many tractor trailers have jackknifed and of course other drivers have caused their share of accidents snarling up traffic for many hours at a time. I am so thankful I don’t have to deal with those kind of time wasting hassles and mind blowing tensions. Is anyone hurt, can we get help to them, do they need a medical helicopter? Have they spilled toxic waste all over the area? You now little worries like that. People don’t think about those types of things when they try to drive on an interstate highway in a blowing snow storm. I don’t know why they don’t, guess they never heard of I’d rather be safe than sorry. Oh well, can’t solve all of the problems of the world I guess in one night. It was supposed to have taken God seven days to make it in the first place huh! LOL.

If it is one lesson I have learned in life, it is to never take yourself too seriously, because someone will surely come along and make fun of you when you least expect it and just get you all upset. Sometimes I have to tell myself, self relax, theree is only one you and you can’t keep spreading you around so much or you’ll get thinner just being awake each day. LOL Don’t I wish! Seems like most of us are rushing everyday here and there. So maybe this 2nd major snow storm will make us sit back, and take a few deeply inhaled breaths to regroup after Christmas holidays and the New Year and President Obama being in office for a year now. I don’t know abut you but just reading that makes me sit back to realize the things that have happened in our lives. There is so much more that you all have gone through as well and I won’t begin to even touch on your own happenings because everyone is different and your realities are also. We all have our own needs and wants and desires. So many that I couldn’t even count them if I tried.

We all know where we have come from. Sometimes it is hard to pick a new path, I understand that as I have also had to do that. Just like trying to decide which road to drive on or which interstate, we need to make decisions.

Your bluebells maybe be different than mine because your normal climate is not like what is here on the East coast. And we all know that the climate is changing. By the way speaking of climate I am really wondering if these snows aren’t being caused by global climate warming and the warmng of the ocean waters!

In the past few weeks I have read two books by former Vice President Al Gore. I always thought he was smarter than people gave him credit for and after reading his books I am now sure of it. The two books were “An Inconvenient Truth” and the newest “Our Choice”. My mind raced through the first one and I went back to reread a couple of chapters, before going on to the second one. Do you relate what happens to your brain after you have attended an enlightening seminar or conference? It takes a couple of weeks for the information to really settle into my brain for me. Have to tell you, my mind is enlightened, my energy got turned up a few notches, and my mind changed on several fronts as to what direction to take next in my own writings.

Funny how opening your mind to a really smart person can effect your mind and make change from writing their own books on items that interest you as well. This is free and we all just need to be more challenged and open minded. What is that going to hurt? I never really doubted global warming, but now I am convinced it is real. There are too many scientific facts to not become a believer after reading them. The latest book “Our Choice” makes that clecar as a newly cleaned window pane. So what you are going to see here on these web pages will be a shift of my consciousness toward helping our earths healing in the ways that we can all work together better.

Jobs, the Environment, Equality on several fronts was what he Emphasized

I have to say, this was one of the best speeches given by a President since President Bill Clirton was at the top of his speaking that I have heard. Yes, I know not everyone agreed with him and that is true of many presidents in history. However, even if you did not agree, you could generally agree with what he was saying made sense. So too do President Barack Obamas' words make sense. He touched on jobs,equality in lif and jobs as well as banking, the automobile industry,healthcare and he is doing what he can to make positive changes.

My question to you John and Susan Q Public is, "How much have you looked into what he has proposed? Who are you listening to, the people who tell doom and gloom stories, or the person with the facts next to him?" Good journalism is always about the facts and who really did what and who really said what? If you really want to change this nation for the better, we need those facts and to know how they were gotten and who is really lying to save their own teeth! President Obama is allready in office, has been for a year now. He is trying to tackle the problems with the facts made available to him. What more can you ask?

Blacks and Whites on Martin Luther King Day

The challenges are what makes the day for me. When I was in my first year of junior high school in 1953, we had integration forced upon us by the powers that be. Although I grew up around black people I had not had any problems. There was a lot of fear from parents placed upon their kids because none of us knew what to expect. Would people scream horrible words at each other, fist fights, nasty names called, would someone get knifed? None of us really knew and that fear was evident during the first semester that year.

As I look back I cannot remember any real fights, maybe fits and starts, but no real fights. I have always believed that the black children were as afraid of what might happen as we white children were.

Jumping ahead, during the integration of southern schools in the 60s’ when grown white men turned hoses on children who wanted nothing more than to go to school I remember distinctly my sadness when the grown men turned the water hoses on the children. I was appalled, but there was nothing I could do as I was in Maryland at the time. But I got angry, and I cried right then and there. I have always been ashamed of what those white men did to the children with those hoses. Bullies from a White Pulpit you could say, got away with it for a time. Those incidents made equality important for me.

When Martin Luther King was in Atlanta and was shot, the television carried the story. Me real fear was that we were going to have riots in the entire country, and some of that fear was well founded. On April 8,1968 they happened in Washington, D.C. According to WIKI riots happened in 110 cities with Washington D.C. and Baltimore and chicago taking the most damage. I could understand the peoples fears and anger at Dr. King being shot and killed in the street. But, none of us really knew the man as he really was. We didn’t know about his womanizing, about his study habits in school, how he got his grades. He was not scrutinized as many high profile people are today. But, of course he was not running for political office either. His dream was good to have everyone be equal and able to get good jobs, and be able to get a good education's as well, etc. What we did not know about were his leanings to the Communist Party. While communism seems like a good idea at times, there are many pitfalls such as rationing and not enough to go around even with that rationing. We have realized his dream of sharing things and an equal education. President Barack Obamas’ election proved that, as the first black leader of the country of the entire free world. So today we will celebrate the good things about equality that Dr. King spoke about.

85% of Haitians Lived in Poverty Before the Earthquake, Says Former Vice President Al Gore

Dear diane,

The earthquake in Haiti has been catastrophic. More than three million people have been affected, and estimates are that over 50,000 have died. The human suffering is unimaginable.

That's why I'd like to pause from our usual conversation and ask for your help.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 85% of Haitians already living in desperate poverty. Now, with hospitals in ruin, dire shortages of even basic necessities like fresh water, and no way to find out whether family members are alive, the Haitian people urgently need our help.

A number of organizations are already engaged in critical relief efforts, and I urge you to support as many of them as you can. One of them, Oxfam America, has an emergency response team of more than 200 people already on the ground. The need for clean water and critical public health services is massive and immediate -- and our donations can help save lives.

Make a donation to Oxfam's earthquake relief effort in Haiti:

http://acp.climateprotect.org/oxfam

Or, for a list of other organizations to donate to and ways to make a difference, see http://www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake_embed.

There are moments when we, as human beings, must come together as a global community and as stewards of each others' health and welfare. It is that sense of interconnectedness that brought each of us to the climate movement, and it is moments like this that bring out the best in us -- as individuals, as a nation, and as a movement.

Let's make sure the people of Haiti do not face this disaster alone. Thank you for taking action in the face of this tragedy.

Al Gore

Chairman

Alliance for Climate Protection

Are Americans Becoming Apathetic

1-6-2010 Are Americans becoming apathetic? A friend of mine sent me an email about apathy and her email contained a web site address for me to check out. Well, I did check it out and I watched the video as well. Hmmm, interesting, but the problem I have with that information is the writer is blaming Obama and some of his friends who he has put into offices of trust for much of what is wrong with America today. After all, he has only been in the office for a year. How can anyone blame the countries situation specifically on him at all?

Obama and Acorn did not create the economic collapse of the country. Radical business men sent their products off to be produced in other countries to fatten their wallets, creating less jobs in America a few years ago and having nothing to do with Obama or Acorn. Greed from men like the leaders of banks, Wall Street, Madoff, greed from men at the top of GM and those business' who would not pay attention to their own competition are the real culprits. Facts which I have been writing about for a couple of years can back that up.

If it had not been for Bernie Madoff and men like him, bankers, lenders, this economic crisis would not have been nearly as bad.

Then the writer turns around and blames the media for spreading lies. Excuse me, here here, excuse me, a professional writers creed is to tell the truth, search out the facts to report them without bias. Hope the writer in this case changes that remark to Republicans who continually screw up our country like Sarah Palin who can’t complete a sentence and make sense in my opinion, and Dick Cheney who shot his friend in the face for pity sake, and stupid George Bush who told all of us I’m the decider. Well, the decider let the preople in New Orleans suffer for days if not weeks after hurricane Katrina and Ike. And Homeland Security and FEMA were a joke at that time, and people leading those organizations were suffering from mold of the brain in my opinion.

Chaney and Bush perpetrated the economic downturn by lying to Obama about the bad situation and mandating that U.S. citizens give Wall street a bailout. That was one bad call that created more panic and helped their pals get more money and screw the American public.

I'll never forget the look on Chaneys' face as they all stood at the White House addressing the press conference and the public. He was gloating that his package was bought hook line and sinker.  And by the way, where are all of the missing e-mails from the White House during George Bushs’ presidency? Did we ever get ahold of them and how many are still missing? What else were they trying to hide from the public?

What we really need is someone else who will look out for the American public like a stern mother who emanates tough love. Yes some of Obamas friends are questionable I have to agree with that, but he does seem to be doing the right things by taking more tough stances with bankers, and business people. Remember the Congress makes the laws, not the president. Also take note: that in the last election the American people were fed up with politics as usual, so they elected Barack Obama as President of the United States who is still making changes.

Often Congress makes laws that have no teeth and don’t go far enough to effect real change and make the people be by the people for the people. We really need to elect more people to the Congress who are forward thinking about doing right by the people for the people. In my opinion that will take two more elections until 2015 for the old boys network to keep failing until they are out and new blood can get in. And by the way, more women should take up the reigns. It is a known fact they are better communicators.

Decide for yourselves if the writer on apathy is off base, or not up on the facts, or not in their web site. http://apathetic-usa.com/

Power Pieces of the Great Puzzle

Missing are the inquisitive minds need to know and weekly purge of roundtable clue pieces on terrorist information gathering. Why can’t they seem to get it together? Where and who is the power broker of the American challenger to compare solving terrorist puzzle pieces hiding? It is extremely important to have an intelligent strategy analyst to put together practical practices enabling the puzzles of intelligence for discovery.

One of the corner posts of the new administration is transparency. Well, hey fellas, you also need an abundance of clarity on information as well. In America, we value our freedoms, they build confidence in our choices, put energy and creativity in our actions to build peace of mind for the multitudes. That is something we all need.

Americans have purpose, we practice persistence and resourcefulness on a daily basis especially in this type of vital economic downturn we are experiencing. We are trying to find the pieces to solve our own economic puzzle to at the moment, while you in Washington, D.C. are out trapping terrorists or trying to.

Success and finding pieces of the terrorist puzzle is a major job for a resourceful strategy analyst that takes persistence on a daily basis. You have to hurry up the pace on intelligence strategy meetings to comb the hills and mountains of terrorist puzzle pieces. To rout out the exclusive terrorists scurrying the hills of Yemen and Afghanistan is a mighty task and will be a great achievement for the group of men and women who are actively seeking to end these current terrorist threats against U.S. and local residents.

Teddy Roosevelt once said “No one of us can make the world move on very far, but it moves at all only when each … of [us] does his duty.” There is a duty in Washington, D.C. for an exclusive group of intelligent people to rout out terrorist plots and to fit the pieces of these puzzle clues together to eradicate the perpetrators, even if they need to listen to fathers who say their sons are acting in an extremist manner. Listening is an extremely important skill that can sometimes solve problems if one listens carefully enough.

That intuitive listening skill alone can save families, sons and daughters, cities, and possibly the world.

The Spirit of Christmas

12-26-09 Merry Christmas 2009

A Christmas message from the heart:

I have to say it has been a strange year for many of us. Changing jobs, living arrangements and goals. Thank goodness there are cell phones and older people like parents to help when needed. Doesn’t matter whether the help is for a car, advice, or emotional support it is still there and freely given. Many people don’t have that kind of support.

Independence is about many things like making your own decisions and having the right to make a mistake. We all have made them and some of us more than others, but the important thing is to remember that we learn from those mistakes and not repeat them. Helping each other for those of us who do have brothers and sisters or a family of choice to accomplish those goals whether it is learning a new skill like painting, or laying tile can be extremely important. But so is laughing at yourself, as we all make mistakes, we need to not take ourselves too seriously and remember that there are some things that can be funny, if you let them.

Life is not a game like one upmanship, our families all have each other and some of us partners who you have decided to spend the majority of your lives with. So you do not have to compete with each other for anything, nor do your partners.

Life is about sharing your love with each other and family and friends, and helping others when you can, or just because you want to. Hopefully you won’t get wrapped up in what each other has or doesn’t have because love can overcome that, but only if you let it. You can be sensible enough to be compassionate with each other even when it is hard to do, But, never let go of that compassion and never let it go no matter what. Compassion and love are what makes the world go around and makes a difference in peoples lives. Enjoy your lives and the emotional support you have this Christmas, but don’t forget others who are not as fortunate as you are. Even if it is only $10.00 or $20.00 donate to a local food bank, or shelter the things you cannot use anymore, like clothes, old tvs or help a friend in need.

This is the Spirit of Christmas love, compassion,and giving to others while respecting yourself in what you do on a regular basis. May the Spirit of Christmas engulf you, your heart, your life, your friends, families and your compassion for each other and the family of humanity. Hug each other lots.

Love to all my family,friends and readers,

Diane

Transparency Granted as well as Nobel Peace Prize

12-24-09 America elected Barack Obama for change and more transparency because everyone was yelling they wanted to know more. While the election ride was electric and full of charged energy from staffers and the public, we never expected his efforts would bring the fruition that it has. Last week there was a news item that announced his being a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. He has proven to be one of the most pro active politicians ever.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced two major steps in their efforts to implement reforms to enhance information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and safeguard sensitive information used by the government—designed to expand joint capabilities to protect the United States from terrorist activity, violent crime and other threats to the homeland.

The impetus to create dual Program Management Offices (PMOs) to coordinate support for state and local Fusion Centers and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI), housed within DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ), respectively, to work in partnership to enhance information sharing between federal, state, local and tribal agencies and the private sector, came from President Obama. From Your lips to his ears some would say. Coupled with the CUI framework, these new offices represent a significant milestone toward fully implementing information sharing reforms called for following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

According to Napolitano and Holder "Our review of policies and procedures for access to and sharing of sensitive but unclassified information across the U.S. Government revealed a need for a more open, standardized approach," said Secretary Napolitano. “The task force recommendations, coupled with newly-dedicated federal-wide resources to support Fusion Centers, will improve information sharing, transparency and engagement with our partners in state and local law enforcement as we work together to combat terrorism, violent crime and other dangerous threats to the homeland."

"Our recommendations will allow the federal government to be more open and transparent while still meeting our first priority of keeping the American people safe," said Attorney General Holder. "By streamlining and modernizing the system for designating, marking and handling sensitive information, we can achieve the appropriate balance between the public’s right to access information and the government's imperative to maintain the security and privacy of all Americans."

Of course it does not hurt that the Congress is with him in Democratic numbers. Many people are still yelling about the changes he is attempting to make. We need these changes, we have been needithem for a long time. The people who are still yelling should look at what they are yelling about. We need to make this country work better so we can prosper again. I for one do not ever want to go through another political vaccum like the past eight years. Remember I am the decider? Well, how about we are helping to decide our futures together by electing someone who actually listens to us,remembers what we say and takes action with integrity.

Do I Feel Sorry for Tiger Woods?

Hell no! His story gets even worse as time goes on. The Fox Network has reported that there have been ten women he has been cavorting with. Three of the ten women have remained annonymous to this date. The person I feel sorry for is his wife Elin Nordengren. Of course I feel some problems will most certainly come up in with the rest of his family.

My real concern is what his new reputation as a real womanizer will now do to all of the young generation who went gaga over Woods golf talent. What kind of disillusionment will his actions set up for aspiring teen golfers? No one knows for sure. Cheating husbands should take heade and realize that they can be sued and lose everything. Because of their poor choices in the company kept, and actions practiced, they will certainly reap what they sow.

Isn't it bad enough that black men have the bad reputations that they already have as far as infidelity goes. Why do major league sportsmen black or white, just throw caution to the wind? Then they lose everything especially when they have already seen so many sexual escapades played out in the newspapers and the media? Where is their common sense? Where is their fidelity, their personal pride? What do they truly value? Tiger should really take some time to figure out the answers to those questions? The rest of the men in America should stop to figure out what they truly value in life as well. Good husbands and fathers should really take note and be sure to teach your children better.

Another 30,000 Troops Needed in Afghanistan to Do The Job

12-3-2009 I can hear the right and left wing politicians in my sleep screaming at each other. Well, nobody has done it correctly before you, why do you think you can do it now Mr. President? Maybe just because he has studied the problem and has seen the mistakes those before him have made. This time around the military generals have seen first hand what others have not. We really don't know what privileged information the President has in his repetoire either.

Lets talk probabilities, everything the U.S. and General Gates does with our military troops will depend on what parts of Afghanistan are stable before a decision will be made to take troops out of the area. The Afghan people will have to have developed a sense of security about their abilities to handle their own problems and build up their forces. This is all a process, no declaration by anyone will be immediate. Life has its ups and downs and wars do the same. What did not work before may indeed not work now, so a newer plan that takes into account the entire situation is needed to suceed in any endeaver.

There is no sense in getting all worked up about any of this because we as the general public are not privy to all of the facts, not now or at any time unless we are in the White House or a general in the military or on staff, CIA or whatever. Remember, we elected President Obama because we wanted a change in the White House. We wanted someone who was not an insider, we have that person and he thinks differently than all of the politicians before him and he considers what they have done before him. So to all of you who have your knickers in a twist loosen them mate, and take a deep breath. It is going to be a long process and you have to let the process work.

In the meantime, find something productive to do. Put your thinking cap on and figure out a way to help your buddy down the street to keep his business open. Volunteer at your local food bank, or hospital, gather groceries for your neighbor who is unemployed. Clean out the gutters for an elderly person who cannot do that anymore. Losen those knickers and take a deep breath. Do something nice for someone else other than your own family. You just might like the feeeling you get.

Your Twisting Mammograms

According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force they say that women age 40 to 49 don't need to have routine mammograms anymore and that breast self-exams aren't recommended in general. Tell that to women who have had the mammograms save their lives and the lives of other women in their families. Yes, we all need to know our bodies and we do to a certain extent. And, yes we watch what goes on in our families as well. We do know our risks in most scenarios to start with thank you very much doctor.

To not have to take those awful twisting flattening your breast exams will be a relief to many women. Trust me they hurt, and many practitioners twist the knob down harder to make sure your breast and nipple are in there tight. Been there done that one hope to never have do it again.

What we really need to remember is that many self exams have saved lives as have the mammograms. But the problems don't just begin or lie there. We still don't know what causes breast cancer and we still don't have sure fire answers to curing it either. Women neeed to be vigilent about their health because there are too many things that can be overlooked, however, we musn't become obsessed either. Families know their own health histories, we know about things like cigarettes that do cause cancer so we stay away from smoking. We do need some happiness in our lives and we are responsible for getting that as well. Don't lose sight of the sunshine on a sunny day, or the blooming flowers in your gardens, or the growth of your children and grandchildren they all matter too just like we do. We all need sunshine and love to bloom as well as self care. And if we want to get a Mammogram we shoud be able to do that as well.

A Traitor and his Planned Massacre

U.S. Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan was born in Virginia and is of Palestinian descent. According to Wiki, Hasan graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and went on to medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. After earning his medical degree (M.D.) in 2001, he completed his residency in psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In 2009, he completed a fellowship in Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry at the Center for Traumatic Stress.

Maj. Nadil Malik Hasan went on a traitorist and terrorist rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas the largest American military base in the world based on the number of troops stationed there, on Thursday afternoon. He stands as an accused killer of 13 people in an afternoon massacre and injuring 29 more at the Soldier Readiness Center where he worked. At this time he is confined to a hospital room supposedly on a ventilator because of an officers quick thinking and run when she heard shots being fired nearby. She shot and hit him, several times before he fell to the ground after he had shot her a few times. It has been reported that his pants were filled with extra ammunition a sure sign that he was out to kill as many people as he could.

After attending a nearby Mosque for approximately six months one of the clerics there had recently not accepted him as a community leader because of statements he had made about the war in Afghanistan. Hasan had been in front of military leaders eyes for months because of his attitudes and statements made. Unfortunately, they did not pay close enough attention to his rants because they waited too long and did not get him any help, or out of the service as he had asked. He recently offered to pay back all of his training, and he had hired a lawyer to help him get released from the service. The Major did not want to go to Afghanistan where he was to be deployed in late November. It also has been reported that he had given away all of his furniture to a neighbor and paid her to clean his apartment before he went on to do the massacre later that day.

People who turn against those who bring them up and that they go to school with and train with who turn against those same people are traitors. Hasan committed a terrorist attack against his own people who he was responsible for as a medical and mental health professional, which brands him as a traitor to those same people who had trained him.

Such a shame when a man snaps and make weird deliberate decisions to take so many lives of those who are innocent and have nothing to do with things that had directly affected him. He has waisted his own life and those of others who made valuable contributions to families and communties at large. Too bad he made his deliberate choices the way he did, he could have chosen to live and spare others and humanity more suffering. He took the cowards way out,he became a terrorist and a traitor at the same time. All of the victims and their families need our prayers. And I pray that the military gets the wake up call to be more proactive when troubled service people raise concerns.

What We Can Do for Each Other During These Trying Economic Times

Let us help one person or group one at a time. Because that is how things and people make real change one at a time with focus.

With the American economy going the way it is (down the tube), employee hours being cut in retail stores, and offices all across the country, Experts who tell us that it is going to take another 24 months before we see a real difference in the amount of jobs available and an improved economy, I want to find more of what we can do here at home in the U.S. to change those numbers and facts?

That has been swirling around in my mind for months now. A tremendously popular idea that has been being utilized for international poor people in third world countries is called micro finance. Because they do not have the basic living necessities, they are being subsidized for micro loans to help the get on their feet economically and it seems to be working in many countries. Some companies will for a mere few dollars, help you to buy a cow for a family. Others will help buy goats. Both of which will produce milk that they can then sell.

Yes, I know most of us here in the U.S. have the basic necessities. We really don't need cows. or goats unless we are farmers. However, there are many of us who are ready to lose thosebasic necessities in one or two rent/mortgage payments. There is a web site located in San Francisco, California that now provides such loans, it is called Kiva, The web address is http://www.kiva.org. Similar to Facebook and twitter, there are groups of people who donate to certain countries, ethnicity's, etc. Go ahead, try it you might like it and help someone less fortunate than yourself.You can be a doner, or ask for a loan.

Mother Nature is Pissed and The World is Charging and Changing in Front of Our Disbelieving Eyes

It is doing so in front of us and in spite of us at the same time. Mother Nature is Pissed at Something. Maybe she is upset over our climate change or our throw away attitudes. What ever it is, she means it.

Let's take a look around the world.In Indonesia there have been major earthquakes and a tsunami that has killed thousands of people and left countless more devastated with no where to live and nothing to eat except what they can find in the nerby forests. Waters have been contaminated so it cannot be drunk safely .This water must be disinfected which is usually done by the International Red Cross. But, we don't know when they will be able to be in the effected area. According to the governor's office in Padang, around 3,000 people have been injured in the quake, some seriously, while 83,000 homes were badly damaged. People beg in the streets as no relief has come into the area as yet.

New Typhoon Parma has hit the Philippines after the typhoon Ondoy last week devastated Manilla. Many areas in the north remained blacked out and cut off from communication on Sunday. Roads have been torn apar,t submerged, littered with fallen trees and tangeled power lines. It has been reported landslides buried homes in the province of Benguet.

All the while in the United States where we have good plumbing and electrical and clean water services many of the utiity companies in states and counties are facing major repairs or entire replacements of aging pipelines. Pipelines are beginning to burst on a weekly basis in some communitties. As budgets are cut from the economic fuzziness and fuzzy logic of some politicians I wonder if some places are not facing major crisis if original pipes and valves are damaged or shut off in any manner.

This is not to take away from the disasters in foreign countries but we are in the U.S. are in the opposite position of having to improve and repair what we have in order to maintain what we have. Just bringing home what we need to do to fix our aging utilities. Last year I personally went to New Orleans where there is still work needing to be done to fix homes there from the hurricane. Spent a week there and felt like I wanted to stay and help more. I am sure that Galveston Texans could use help as well with their major repairs that need to be finished from the hurricane that left their city in a tortured twisted shambles. So who wants to help plan a relief effort.

9/11 The event that changed the free world forever and genuine world peace

In his address at American University in 1963, President Kennedy said, “Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts.  It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation.”

It has also been suggested that President George Bush was not told of the severity of the intelligence, and that Secretary of State Condelezza Rice had the confidence information on her desk. Relationships between our U.S. politicians immediately went south. and the Democrats then decided to confront President George Bush. They wanted a public inquiry. Of course vice president Dick Chaney then proceeded to say that the people who wanted to make the public inquiry were not patriotic at all, rather rebel rousers, which he continues to say today. However, his words are not taken to heart so quickly now.

None the less, 911 happened on President George Bushs watch, as well as Hurricane Katrina and we saw what officials did for that disaster when they created another human disaster. Then we saw his response which was nothing as he read to preschoolers. By the way, there was three days notice about the hurricane. Because of this web site I watched the warnings myself. I was appalled at the governments no response, bad response. I am still ashamed of their inaction.

At any rate, my heart felt sympathies go out to those families who lost anyone, or were hurt during the 911 tragedy. I pray that we never have to go through an incident like that ever again. And prayers are dedicated to all of our service members who are here in America or on foreign soil. My thought at this moment is my gratefulness that we now have a Homeland Security Agency and that President Obama wants the facts, just the facts mamm.

Labor Day September 7, 2009

Today being Labor Day during such a down economy (the worst unmployment in three decades) should bring all Americans to their feet to figure out how to better themselves and the economy. Of course we all want there to be no more bonus' for Bank CEO's whose banks have profited milions of our hard earned dollars into their personal bank accounts. We want no more jobs to be sold to offshore industries. That may be a bit too much to ask in hindsight because there are many millions of people wo do benefit from out loss of jobs. However, having said that we need to take advantage of the new training available at community colleges and their free programs to learn better job skills.

Then there is the feeling that you really want to do somehting to help the environment at the same time so you take your old computer to a community landfill, or a prefessional recycler. Beware the professional recycler. If you have seen the most recent 60 Minutes TV program about recycling your old computers, you also saw them end up in a foreign country contributing to the pollution of their land, now called toxic waste dumps. You may be amazed to find out that many U.S. states have laws that are supposed to control these very same issues. You need to know there are some refuse companies who sometimes do the right things and there are also some others who ship out in large contaianers of your old electric and computer goods to foreign countries where they are just tossed aside in and near rivers which then polutes their rivers and drinking water. So the problem is just shifted somewhere else. Not a good outcome.How about coursework in environmental law as a new direction for your concerns?

Take Maryland as a sample, here we have laws that make manufacturers pay a $5,000.00 fee for selling their computers in the state. Many environmentalists suggest that then they pay an additional $5,000.00 as the annual fee. There are locations where you can take your old computers and televisions. Indeed there is a location at Dover Road in Glen Burnie, Maryland. You pay no fee and the county has to dispose of it for you. According to www.newtechrecycling.com The new law also authorizes Maryland counties to develop their own computer recycling programs. In addition, the law requires the Maryland Department of the Environment to study and compare the impact of cathode-ray tube disposal and to review the effectiveness of the computer recycling pilot program by December 2008. This law will expire in 2010.

You need to know there is lead and mercury and many other toxins in each of these electronic machines that do so much work for you. In your living rooms the TV is far enough away so as to not cause you physical harm. However, what if you have your new computer in your bedroom and sleep with it on in the sleep mode. That could be a dangerous health habit for you. Come on, take classes in computing to get further ahead in your life.How about becoming an environmental engineer or something along those lines. Just get your A.A. degree and take things one day at a time to make your decisions, but at least chart a course for yourself.

There are many factors to take into account when deciding to recycle your old computer. Number one what do you do with all of the old files and personal data that is on the hard drives? Anyone could steal the old computer and get all of your information if they really wanted to, maybe even before you get rid of it. How likely that is, is another story altogether. There are companies who can take your info off of the hard drives and secure it for you so that no one else gets it.That is one major good reason to take classes in computer data processing.

Senator Edward (Teddy) M. Kennedy of Massachusetts Dies of Brain Cancer

8-26-2009 

Family Statement - “Edward M. Kennedy—the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply—died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port. We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”

A man of the people, a peoples politician, magnanimous brother, uncle, friend, son. He has truly exemplified all of those identities. A humorous man who was not afraid to laugh at himself, he also liked to make a joke when he could. As the quintessential master speaker, he always got his point across to those he was teaching the ropes of life and politics. Edward Kennedy was the peacemaker and the man crossing the last mile marker in almost everything He was known affectionately as The Lion of the Senate. He was able to speak for hours about the rights and wrongs in our health care system but most especially for good quality health care for the citizens of the usa. Senator Edward (Teddy) Kennedy was a person, a human being first, a politician second, never perfect like we are not perfect but human.Because Ex Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit made some kind of personal contact with Sheryl Robinson Wood, a court approved monitor to Kilpatrick she resigned Thursday, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News reported. Citing unproved conversations between the two about the ongoing case, she has resigned and the judge has accepted her resignation.

Kwame Kilpatrick Influence From Jail

According to a report in crainsdetroit.com, U.S. District Judge Julian Cook said Wood had "meetings of a personal nature" with Kilpatrick. He continued "Wood had engaged in conduct which was totally inconsistent with the terms and conditions of the two consent judgments in this litigation."

So the notorious Kwame Kilpatrick is trying to influence police and officers of the court in his favor once again. It is beyond me that he thinks he can still get away with whatever he wants and not be further punished for his deeds.

The department is now under federal investigation, and all monitoring is suspended until further notice. According to other reports, the city has not met more than 39% of the required consent decrees and has made “grossly inadequate” progress in correcting abuses against the police department as it now faces more scrutiny by the federal investigators.

Detroit deserves much better as the automobile capitol of the country. Yes I know that is debatable at the moment as well. Kwame Kilpatrick did not create all of the corruption that has taken place in Detroit, but he sure did contribute to it in his own way by trying to unduly influence people to do his will.

That Big Monster

According to Wikipedia Today, Monster.com is the largest job search engine in the world, with over a million job postings at any time and over 150 million resumes in the database (2008) and over 63 million job seekers per month.

But, does all of that make them relevant to getting a real job in today's market? Does that sound like a dumb question? Well, it isn’t. How many people do you know who have received a job offer and been hired from a Monster.com advertisement?

Maybe their sheer size prevents many people from even finding a relevant job. After visiting their site, opportunities seem to be everywhere. However, having said that, many jobs require a bachelors degree or higher education. Three are still many people who fall between the cracks and just do not have their degrees for many life altering reasons. As we all know sometimes life gets in the way of getting ahead.

Maybe employers who really want to hire could take a more aggressive approach and pay for educational needs. Some national employers like Home Depot already do that on a regular basis.

With the U.S. unemployment rate as high as it is the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that unemployment rates were higher in June than a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan areas.

A random selection of current statistics are as follows:

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area is 6.6%.

Baltimore-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area rate is 8.0%.

Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.4%

Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 17.1%.

Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.2%.

Danville, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.8%.

Morristown, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.2%.

Mansfield, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.1%.

Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.6%.

Flint, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 17.6%.

Kokomo, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 19.2%.

Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 23.1%.

El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 27.5

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (14.7 million) and the unemployment rate (9.5 percent) were little changed in June. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.2 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 4.6 percentage points., according to the Labor site.

All in all the many jobs listed on Monster.com could be scooped up in no time. But, monster has lots more to do because of the high numbers of people who need jobs who do have computer skills and have been unemployed for longer periods of time. In an article from Fortune Magazine April 13, 2009: "You have to take a long-term view and expect that it may take you a full year to land the job you want," says Nancy Keene director of the Dallas office of executive recruiters Stanton Chase.

Monster.com has taken note of the older workers still out of work, hardest hit by layoffs and encourages them to get into classes, to take on job retraining management skills and an update on their expectations for the current marketplace.

Sonia Sotomayor,a Woman of Considerable Noteworthyness

Sonia Sotomayor who is President Obamas’ pick as the newest U.S. Supreme court judge, has over 17 years on the bench.: The woman effectively speaks her mind with the best of judges and boys on the Hill.

The Senate judiciary committee members have kept asking her the same questions over and over again. How boring that must have been. Being known for her cautious handling of events and practicality are honor badges for her in my opinion. She is also known for being mainstream on many issues by the political leaders of the day.

She would not answer questions on abortion, or gun control. In fact she hardly answered any real questions at all. Rather I think she wants to be voted on by her previous actions and rulings. Supreme Court Judges are judged on what they do after they have been on the Court . As the incumbent Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, she was nominated in 1992 by George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton in 1998 as Circuit Judge, to the office of Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Raised as a Catholic, she was brought up in the Bronx a borough of New York City. I hope she is confirmed, shes got my vote wether it counts or not.

Episcopalians,Gay Bishops,Bless Gay Unions

Episcopalians are now allowed to have Gay Bishops who are in an active relationship, and they can bless Gay Unions as of this week closing of their triennial General Convention.

Is this an abomination or the reality of life in the 21st century? Some right wing pundits will surely consider the new permissions from the church as an abomination. Bishops who favor right wing politics and conservative views are fraught with fear and driven to think that their church will flush more people out from its pews. “I am a lifelong Episcopalian, a lifelong Anglican, It is breaking my heart to see the church destroy itself” said Bishop William Love of Albany, “Rather than being a blessing for the church, I believe ultimately it will be a curse. Rather than bringing more people into the church, I believe it will drive more people away.”

It really is too bad that he feels including other people to know the love of God and have positive bonds of marriage will put a curse on the church. What backwoods hut is he from I ask you? There are many smaller minded people in this world just like him who have for years held positions of power. There is goodness in everyone, too bad some people who claim to love God can’t see the forest for the trees or huts, rather, now the empty pews of their own intolerance and inequality.

However, being gay is a part of the realities of life in an increasingly known area of peoples private lives that they now freely play out in public. Sometimes it is done in bars, and on the streets during pride celebrations. People put their private information on the Internet, and publish it in chat rooms. There are others who prefer to keep a low profile, be sophisticated about their private lives, and honor their long term partners at the same time.

There have been many artists and musicians who have kept their partners secret, but who would have if they could, married each other. If marriage is a bond between two people, who is to say it is wrong as long as no one gets hurt physically or emotionally, and does not become an abused statistic by their partner. That alone should be a law for all married people. Because some traditionally married people do not adhere to that is now why we have private safe houses for women and children who are being abused by their husbands/fathers, because abuse is wrong. Reality does not change what is right or wrong, peoples actions do. Intolerance begets inequality, and hatred which blackens a person heart. Pastors, Bishops and Priests need to praise those who live a life of love, not intolerance, inequality or abuse.

"The Greatest Entertainer That Ever Lived" According to Motown Record President Berry Gordy

I have been reading some of the web blogs about Michael Jacksons death. Newsvine.com had readers expressing their feelings and stating much vitriol and anger at Joe Jackson, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton. These guys deserve whatever they get in the future.

The soup now begins to boil over and affect others.

It is my understanding that Joe and Katherine Jackson are not living in the same house. That protects Michael’s children from his reportedly abusive father by not being in the same household, as the court temporarily awarded the children to Katherine, Michael's mother.

It has been reported that Joe Jackson spoke about his new record label in the same breath as his sons passing. How can he say that in the moments following his death is beyond me. Maybe Joe Jackson really is an unfeeling money grubber in the end.

Michael Jackson professionally fled past his father many years ago in his creative work. Berry Gordy president of Motown said of Michael "I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived”. He also said he was like son to him. Brooke Shields and his daughter really made him more human as they spoke about their direct experiences with Michael.

The tribute to him is surely a celebration of his life in line with what Michael's mother wanted a respectful memorial.

Although there are many detractors about Michaels personal life and choices, who was he really? Was he a pedophile or merely sexually curious? After all we don’t know if any of the children were taken to hospitals to be attended to. We will never know all of the details. Just like anyone elses death there will be unanswered questions. Was his family broke because of his control of his own music business? Did he really stiff some of his brothers and their musical efforts? Did he orchestrate his own death prior to his comeback tour to make sure his children would always have money? If you listen to the people closest to him he was in good health, in rehearsals and doing well for the newest tour. That by itself sends up red flags.

If California doctors gave him prescriptions that were illegal, or over-per-scribed they should be prosecuted for their actions, period. End of sentence.

Michael Jackson the Perverbial Peter Pan Hampered in Life and Death by the Loss of His Youth and the Charges of Abuse Against His Own Father

The first King of Pop Elvis Presley died of a drug overdose. The second King of Pop Michael Jackson has died of a possible drug overdose, or a possible heart attack. Either, could have killed him.

Michael was a proverbial Peter Pan he loved being able to behave like a child because he never got to do that. He cited his own father as an abuser who kept him from being a child in his youth, ever pushed him to do more in music. In a twist he has succeeded way beyond his fathers sight, where many have feared to go and pushed himself to more with his creative insights. It is really too bad he could not focus more on more positive activities to keep himself busy rather than young children. His chink was his loss of his own childhood. His undoing was his loss of his own childhood that he tried to give to other children.

There were three instances when mothers of young boys supported their sons in charges against MJ in allegations of child abuse. Whether or how they happened or not we will never know, but three are hard to debate.

There are many mysteries in this particular situation. How will the court rule on MJ’s children, will they consider the abuse allegations made by MJ against his own father in the custody hearing? Did drugs influence his death? Did he overuse his prescriptions? Did he have a will?

Too many questions and not enough answers. Will the doctors in Hollywood who were purported to have given him prescriptions be held accountable? Dr. Deepak Chopra has said he was alarmed at the drugs he knew Michael had access to, and that he had tried to help Michael get a handle on their use.

Money and fame and too much time can turn many a creative individual on a downward path. Michael wanted it all, he even married Lisa Marie Presley to try to top Elvis. This death will be discussed for generations. I just hope other creative people will take a lesson and remember it.

This is a Response to a Writers Group Poster Who Referenced How Awful and Upsetting the Killing of a Young Woman in the Streets of Iran Was

Tom, even though you don't see the woman getting shot it is still the same thing, a young woman was shot to death for no reason other than she was standing on the street. By the way, she was philosophy student, and her name is Neda Salehi Agha Soltan. She was a bright young woman with lots of potential. I know this type of thing happens here in the US, although not in the public view most of the time. That fact does not make it less disturbing, nor less wrong.

Women everywhere are at risk of being killed for no reason. Babies everywhere are at risk of being snatched for sex slavery and God knows what else. Look at the Casey Anthony case, I believe that there are still facts not known about the entire family. Women need to be on constant guard for their safety and their children in the US as well.

In foreign countries women are even less valued than they are here in the US. I know that also depends on the family unit and how careful they train their young women to just plain be cautious as to who they are with and the circumstances of the situation.

What really fries me is the fact of so many tv stories that the basis is violence against women in the US. I mean how many tv cop shows and murder shows are on your local stations? Maybe some of us should focus on writing for tv where the man is the victim, show the blood in these shows, bruises, etc. Get my drift?

Schools are doing better with our youngsters by utilizing new programs to combat violent situations by providing conflict resolution groups. That seems to be working to sensitize our young men and women.

I challenge writers to take a good look at all of the murders and violence against women in your home towns where you live and make notes. Also about the tv crimes shown on your networks. Get back to us in a weeks time and report your findings. Warning, your taxes will go up just to build the prisons to hold the newly convicted murderers.

Tthis is the reality of a woman's life there are many people who would do you harm, and if you are a gay woman the threat is worse from rednecks/family members who will never understand or even want to. Ignorance is certainly not bliss.

All of this does not mean the world is dark all of the time, the sun will shine in the mornings, but as women we need to not take life for granted. As fathers, brothers, uncles, sons, aunts, sisters, mothers we need to take care of our families and pay attention to who hangs around our women on a regular basis. Just pay attention and not be afraid to take action when you need to. Else our streets will be like those in Iran where the men run roughshod over any woman they please, then kill them. We do have men here who curse their women, beat them, and threaten their lives and children's on daily basis, but that does not make their actions right. Don't let that happen in your family. Crime happens here, only behind closed doors, it is reported in our newspapers everyday. Don't let crime into your family. But, don't forget to praise the families who do take care of their women . I don't equate the killing of a young woman in Iran with the sensless killings here in the United States rather a comparison to youth and senselessness of this random act by a lone shooter, who knows what his motivations were. We only know that she was a young beautiful woman who was also smart and she got killed by random violence. That happens daily in the United States as well.

Iran Implodes

The current election process implodes and divisions of its peoples expressions explode into the streets in opposition of the current dictator who masquerades as an elected official. Protesters are demonstrating in the streets their displeasure of the election and unfair treatment of the opposition candidate as their police turn tear gas and water canons to get them to disperse. Police are not letting people gather at the main demonstration in the public square by running the people with their motorcycles in the streets.

Mossavi, the opposition leader has had his wife involved in his political run for office by providing her with a platform in which to express her concerns. If he wins, or when he wins, she will be the new face of the 34 million women in Iran who want females to be able to hold political office which would be a monumental change for their cultural status quo. This election is the first time a woman has been publicly seen beside her husband in Iran.

One of the major problems is that clerics are running the show behind closed doors in their mosques. These men are much older and come from a time when women were not that important on a daly basis, rather only to make children and tend to household duties, and subjected to 2nd class citizenship. Many of them believe that women must stay in their place.

For the future of Iran it must be noted that 25% of the 70 million people there are under the age of 15. Translation, in five more years their ideas of equality will revolutionize the country again hopefully in a more positive manner for all citizens of the country.

True women of the world are about making change for the betterment of women and children everywhere. I wish we could take the women from Darfur, Afghanistan, Myanamar, the Amazon, and crime victims and show them the possibilities of a free world. Of course we would have to make a whole state/country for women somewhere, and be able to insure equal treatment in life and business so they won’t get ripped off for their work or personal freedoms. How about Dianaville after Lady Di of England, hmm but where can we locate that state/country? Has to be near a train line so goods could get to market I suppose. Should have many houses available, land for farming, maybe an abandoned city somewhere that has access to transportation. I challenge you my readers to come up with a plan, and we will make it happen together.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling -Their Faces are Those of a New Crisis in North Korean Human Relations

These young journalists Euna Lee a Korean American, and Laura Ling a Taiwanese American were working for Al Gore at his “Current TV” organization when taken into custody three months ago. Charged with illegally entering North Korea by way of China they have now been sentenced to 12 years hard labor at a labor camp in North Korea.

of North Korea are not known for their compassion, rather harshness. Indeed many North Koreans are actually starving to death. Starving because there is not enough food being produced. Every so often the leaders create a crisis and then want money from other countries to help them provide for their own people because they are too bullheaded to ask for real, sustainable help.

North Korea has recently staged acts of aggression toward the rest of world and China by their underground nuclear testing. The leaders have received much negative feedback from many nationsfor these tests. So the leaders of North Korea (angry little brats) are having a field day and are in reality using the journalists as bait to get more attention from the rest of the world. However, using a hard labor camp as bait is all the more egotistical for them because usually they back down when they get a concession and help from abroad. Maybe what they really want is help with their energy programs or something of the sort.

The Asian American Journalists Association Calls Out “We call on all parties in a position to work diplomatic channels to free these two journalists,” said Sharon Chan, AAJA National President. “We hope a way will be found to return these two women to their families.”

In my opinion, what we need here is real help, but, not from diplomats. We need that help to come from President Obama himself. He needs to flex his muscles more in international human relations situations.

American Actress Farrah Fawcett's Cancer Documentary and Her Life

Farrah Faucett has been a beautiful classy looking woman for years, inside and out. She created herself and became an icon as to what pretty women in America everywhere wanted to look like.The television show Charlie's Angels sealed and insured her fame. She was also attracted to bad boy/actor Ryan O'Neal for the better part of her adult life. If you can believe the media and the court system in the past twenty or so years he has been an albatross around her neck, but, she cared for him anyway. It is really too bad that Ryan O'Nealis playing political games with her life documentary, trying desperately to gain control of something that she dearly wanted to keep control over for herself.

We all know life is not always fair and emotions are not always clear in love relationships. No matter how hard we wish that someone would just go away from us, it does not happen in some instances. Personal control over our own lives is what our police officers and court dates are for when we need them. We really need to keep those court dates, meetings with lawyers, and enforce the court determinations. Otherwise, we could end up with bad people just waiting to get their hands on our money, and possessions. Many will twist their tongues around our words and gut our real feelings to get what they want. Some people will do anything for the money. My prayers and admiration for Farrah Fawcett will continue for a very long time. Her legacy unfortunately will be fame with a price. Maybe some smart politician will turn her fate into a law to keep away predators who only want the money anyhow, out of womens lives. I wish I could reach out and hug her and she would know that someone who has nothing to gain cares. Tonight I will pray for a really big miracle for Farrah Fawcett and the people who really love her.

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, Pakistan and Afghanistan Leaders

5-13-209 A trilateral truce and consultations to the future with candor has been made with all three of the countries leaders. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted the leaders a recently to bridge differences in cultures and to work forward together in unison. She speaks of the two countries of being conjoined, but yet apart in their most common interests.

According to Clinton “at the formal bilateral that I held with President Zardari at the State Department, I reaffirmed our government's strong support for him as the democratically elected President. Being able to say "democratically elected President of Pakistan" is not a common phrase, and I think it's imperative that we support President Zardari and work with him as he extends the reach of the government not only on security, as essential as that is, but also on the range of needs of the Pakistani people.”

She continued “With President Karzai, it was a very future-oriented conversation. We talked about the necessity to take real, concrete actions to make the kind of progress that Afghanistan desperately needs to see to really deliver for the people of the country. “

At this date the countries are taking pieces of the strategic pie and working on them in order to form a more perfect pie so to speak. According to Clinton:”But what nobody bargained for was foreign fighters and foreign money and a foreign ideology that would in some way link up disparate elements within these regions into a network, a syndicate, if you will, of extremist groups.” One of the paradigm shifts happened when the terrorists broke out of the models that produced a change of attitude, so now the respective governments have to deal with new actions and make different solutions for the problems presented. Attitudes are important everywhere for everyone. It does not matter where you live or what problem you are trying to solve, your attitude can change any really bad situation into a more positive outcome. Having said that we must also pay attention to other peoples actions and what that really says about them as well.

Saving Lives, the Environment and the Economy

Save a life, save the environment, recycle cars and the economy at the same time. Does that sound impossible? Well, it isn’t at all.

How can you save a life? How can you save the environment? Why recycle cars anyhow, and how does that help the economy?

I am so glad you asked that question in your mind. You can save a life by becoming an organ donor. You can be an organ donor at any time whether you are alive or dead. According to the National Kidney Foundation, two thousand people a month are added onto the national kidney transplant list, and 17 people die every day while waiting for one.

So you have decided to donate your body parts to save other peoples lives, why should you then try to save the environment? Well, it is your environment too isn’t it? If you donate your car to the National Kidney Foundation, they can then turn around and salvage the parts to re-cyclers and keep the car parts out of the garbage dumps. Then manufacturers make them into more useful items. In one year the foundation recycles 15,000 cars, a total of 60,000 tires, and a staggering 30,000,000 million pounds of steel. That my friends is saving the environment. Recycling helps heal the economy by not taking up more manufacturing space and provides a use for items that would usually go into the dump. So that recycling project of iron and steel make more automobiles, save land at the same time, and produces newer items to sell and use.

According to the National Kidney Foundation over the last 25 years, more than 650,000 used vehicles have pumped a total of $150 million into their life saving programs. These programs include free kidneys screenings for those at risk, research, public and professional education and camps for children on dialysis. For more information or to donate a vehicle visit www.kidneycars.org or call 1-800-488-2277.

Senator Arlen Specter Makes the Right Choice

In 1991 President George Bush nominated Judge Clarence Thomas with only one years experience on the bench to the U. S. Supreme Court. He filled the seat of Justice Thurgood Marshall who then retired. Arlen Specter did not care for Clarence Thomas, but, he heard him out because there were some basis for things he said.

In Arlen Specters book “Passion for Truth, he wrote “Bush announced that Thomas was the “best qualified” nominee for the high court,...”the fact that he is black and a minority had nothing to so with this.” Immediately I said publicly that Thomas was not the best qualified nominee available and that race was a factor- and properly so.

That action alone speaks volumes about how much of an independent thinker he really is. Further into the book he also wrote “Then Danforth chimed in. “Arlen, we need you to be Clarence’s advocate.” “Jack I’m not going to be anybody’s advocate,” I said. “I don’t represent Clarence Thomas. I represent the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I’m not going to be Clarence Thomas’ advocate.” Arlen Specter has always been known for his credibility and the most liberal Republican. Because of his independent stance I am not sure why so many people are so upset at him switching political parties. To further make my point, he is known to be a woman's supporter on pro-choice issues.

During that hearing to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas, the members of the U.S. Senate was truly on a collision course with unpopularity and on trial themselves. The publics opinion of the Republican party just last year ran its course during the presidential election and the Democrats won, not the Republicans. Increasingly running away from the realities of Americans’ home life and public, opinion they really lost their way.

Senator Arlen Specter knew that, and has readjusted his political course to truly effect change and his heartfelt ambitions to be a fair person. I congratulate him on his decision. 

Overwhelming Economics

German billionaire businessman Adolf Merckle threw himself in front of a train in January after heavy losses on the stock market.Frenchman Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, co-founder of money manager Access International, slit his wrists with boxcutters and was found dead in a New York office building in December, reportedly distraught over losing up to $1.4 billion in client money to Bernard Madoff's fraud. 41 year old David Kellermann the acting CFO of Fannie Mae is reported to have committed suicide at his home just this week on April 22, 2009.

Each week brings new reports of murders of entire families by the father because he was facing economic ruin, the loss of their family home, not having a job being fired or the combination of all of these things.

Citizens in the U.S. are facing horendous times in gut wrenching upheavels of great emotional turmoil, due to the initial shipping out of our jobs to cheaper labor in overseas countries. Now that we are experiencing more immigrants coming from Mexico and south of the border, many good construction jobs are going to their cheaper labor force as companies look to make more money.

It is hard to put the blame on anyone as the blame game encircles so many points of contention which all have merit in one way or another.To put it simply, the blame game does not do anything for any of us except make us pay attention to details. If we use those details to plan our next career, we may make a greater decision than we did with our first one. We are the only ones who can control our ow destiny. Whether we start our own business, or co-op one with others, we can make better decisions because we have more information.

Just don’t give up. There are many solutions to all of our problems, we just have to dig a little further for the facts. Maybe take some retraining classes to prepare for neweer technologies and a better future further down the sunlit road.

Not a Fan of George Bush

Never having been a particular fan of President George Bush, I was surprised to find the following Utube link in my e-mail today. Yes, I do have friends who are Republicans. What really was surprising to me was the fact that Senator John Mc Cain, and Rep Barney Frank were also in the video. My first thought was why in the hell didn't McCain use that footage in his political campaign? That alone might have been his saving grace with lots of face and political power and credibility which he has all but lost today.

I could never get past the presidents cowboy and cavalier attitudes. Trust me, I tried to find things to like about him, I realy did. Maybe I could not find many things because I fundamentally disagree with the conservative right movement in the first place. If you have to shout and try to make people enemies of each other to me that is not the right way to try to accomplish anything positive. You will always lose an argument when you raise your voice because you lose control of yourself. That is why President Obama is known as Mr. Cool.

My biggest surprise of the video was the appearance of Barney Frank appearing very condescending and now when looking back I can see how he clearly had not investigated what he was saying about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. To see the video follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1

Cuba

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in the early 1960s during the Cold War. The poitical actions of the day brought the U.S. as close to a nuclear confrontation as we have ever come. The Soviet Union and Cuba were communist nations. Cuba today is a socialist nation. In 1962 the U.S. President John Kennedy ordered an economic embargo against Cuba.

It must be noted here that economic embargos only hurt the people of the country, not their leaders. Actions against Cuba in those perilous days also effected relations with Russia and the possibility of a war with them as the Russians felt if we invaded Cuba, that was a direct rute to Belgrad. While none of these fears were realized, the fears played very much into actions taken by all three countries.There was much interior turmoil about the decisions of what acion to take.

Article 1 of the Cuban Constitution says “Cuba is an independent and sovereign socialist state of workers, organized with all and for the good of all as a united and democratic republic, for the enjoyment of political freedom, social justice, individual and collective well-being and human solidarity.” (http://www.cubanet.org/ref/dis/const_92_e.htm)

President Obama has this week directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights and to freely determine their country’s future.  The President has directed the Secretaries of State, Treasury and Commerce to carry out the actions necessary to lift all restrictions on the ability of individuals to visit family members in Cuba, and to send them remittances.  He’s further directed that steps be taken to enable the freer flow of information among the Cuban people and between those in Cuba and the rest of the world, as well as to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian items directly to the Cuban people.

I feel we are on the precipice of a greater freedom for Cubans in the United States and their families in cuba. Also because of Castros’ resignation and his brother Rauls appointment by Fidel as the new president. Various new rules have been made by Raul which points to a softer manner of rule for their citizens. Hopefully we can all celebrate a new coexistence

Happy Easter to Everyone 2009

Easter is the Christian celebration of Jesus Christs’ resurrection and his rising from the dead. It is further a time of spring and the earths rebirthing of beautiful plants and flowers in our environment. A time to celebrate the rebirth of Mother Nature as well, and my favorite time of the year. I love to see the baby sprigs of plants and the tree buds because the singing birds can’t be too far away.

This year in particular many people will plant victory vegetable gardens to help save their money on groceries,to provide themselves and their families with fresh food as well. The cost does not always make the difference. If you are doing a garden from scratch, there are one time costs, like tools, manure, landscape timbers if you use them. Probably the best thing that comes from the garden initially is the fresh produce, the personal satisfaction and the convenience. A rooftop garden can save lots of money in the city because of the expenses of fresh food in that type of location.

Gardening can help a family get closer together when they work it together. This promotes a healthy sharing of the earth and or times of being together doing something as a family. Life is too short to bicker between ourselves.

So lets take this time to build things together, to share in each others success and to support each other during the rough times. We all will eventually have some. There will always be another corner to turn, another door to open, another walkway to take. Never give up, do not listen to negative people, it may be hard, but don’t give up. Do not yell at each other it solves no problems. You may have to open another different door to find what you need, but be sure to open it because you won’t know what is behind the door till it is open.

Just keep on believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ he has changed millions of peoples lives by believing that they can do things they thought they never could accomplish as they respected themselves and others, and the rebirth of spring for Mother nature to replenish the earth. Don’t forget to love and appreciate one another each day. Tell the person closest to you what you like about them. Don’t forget to say I love you.

The boys and their pants. Pull em up guys!Oh by the Way, That Goes for the Big Boys Too! And keep them zipped around minors.

We really don’t want to see your underpants no matter what designer they were purchased from. Hopefully you do your own laundry and keep them clean as well. You may think that they are cool, well, maybe they are for 11-13 year old girls, but they are only a portion of the big world you are growing into. Most likely the girls are laughing because you look silly walking down the street pulling up your pants all the time. That is cute for a two year old, but most of you are well past that age. If you really had to run, you would surely trip and fall flat on your face.

This past week a school in Florida, Plantation High School made a fun day out of it.Calling it "Pull Your Pants up Day." they got Wall Mart to help by providing belts for the boys. I understand the event was fun. When you start to look for a job, a hiring manager will pay attention to everything and baggy pants won’t get you a JOB when the time comes, no matter how much of a nice smile you show.Wait, maybe I should slow down, you are not at that point yet.

When President Obama was running for election he said “brothers should pull up their pants.” I believe the comment was meant for black boys but the white boys have copied the antics too. Oh well I guess the boys could be doing something worse than wearing baggy pants while showing their underwear. It does look silly. But then the boys always want to do something to get the girls attention, no matter how old the girls are. Remember guys, the girls mother, father and grandparents will not necessarily like to see you in baggy pants when you ask them for the girls hand in marriage either. But, hey maybe I am getting ahead of myself again. Sometimes women like guys that are not all made of the same cloth. LOL

March International Womens Month

'I saw my mother put herself through school to follow her passion' he said as President Obama Created the White House Council on Women and Girls panel white house , he said "I sign this order not just as president, but also as a son, a grandson, a husband and a father, because growing up, I saw my mother put herself through school to follow her passion for helping others," Obama said. "But I also saw how she struggled to raise me and my sister on her own, worrying about how she would pay the bills, educate herself and provide for us." He named Valerie Jarrett to head the new organization which also includes Cabinet secretaries and administration officials. "The purpose of this Council is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy," said President Obama.

To further show his determination to equality, he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fir Play Act on January 29, 2009. “It's about justice. It's about who we are. And on this "wonderful day," we're getting a step closer to both of those things.Lilly knows that this story isn't just about her. It's the story of women across this country still earning just 78 cents for every dollar men earn -- women of color even less -- which means that today, in the year 2009, countless women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime. That was President Obama's message as he signed his first piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which will make it easier for people to get the pay they deserve -- regardless of their gender, race, or age.

"Ultimately, equal pay isn't just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it's a question of who we are -- and whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals," President Obama said. "Whether we'll do our part, as generations before us, to ensure those words put on paper some 200 years ago really mean something -- to breathe new life into them with a more enlightened understanding that is appropriate for our time.

Equal pay is by no means just a women's issue -- it's a family issue. It's about parents who find themselves with less money for tuition and child care; couples who wind up with less to retire on; households where one breadwinner is paid less than she deserves; that's the difference between affording the mortgage -- or not; between keeping the heat on, or paying the doctor bills -- or not. And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple and plain discrimination.

March being International women's month should bring us to our feet in triumph The election this year in America saw new barriers broken by women. Many thousands of those thanks should go to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is now the new Secretary of the State Department of the United States. And others like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Barbara McKulski, Diane Fenstein, and Barbara Boxer. But the process has only just begun, the rest is up to us to keep the path open and well lite as we ask others to join us.

Brain Injury Awareness Month/Natasha Richardsons' Death

March has been designated as Brain Injury Awareness Month. This is a precursor of spring injuries, a critical time when the Brain Injury Association of America and its partners strive to build public awareness and education. Only by raising public awareness of the “silent epidemic” of brain injury will we begin to see a decrease in the alarming number of injuries sustained every year, an increase in the number of individuals practicing preventative behaviors while at work or play, and a change in the public’s attitude toward individuals with brain injury.

Parents and caregivers need to know the real facts. This week Natasha Richardson (actress, wife and mother) fell during a ski event while on a holiday. She had a neck injury which lead to her death. Unfortunately Mrs. Richardson turned down medical help at the scene, but later went to a hospital. If she had gone to see the physician immediately, it is still unknown if she could have lived. Doctors describe her brain inury as a rarity, but alert us to the real facts millions of people face each year.

When the neck is injured you should always see a doctor. If you lose consciousness, become sick in the stomach and vomit, have trouble seeing, or have headaches it is imperative to seek immediate medical help.

According to the CDC: Each year in the United States: At least 1.4 million people sustain a Traumatic Brain Injury. Of these, about 50,000 die, 235,000 are hospitalized, and 1.1 million are treated and released from an Emergency Department. Approximately 475,000 TBIs occur among children ages 0 to 14 years; Emergency Room Department visits account for more than 90% of the TBIs in this age group. Falls are the leading cause of TBI; rates are highest for children ages 0 to 4 years and for adults age 75 years or older.

Our 911info recommendations include: Everyone should war a helmet when engaged in:

bicycle riding

skiing

horseback riding

motorcycle riding

playing football

playing soccer

boxing

car racing

AIDS and Washington D.C.

Our AIDS rates are higher than West Africa," said Shannon L. Hader, director of the District's HIV/AIDS Administration, "They're on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya."Now in 2009 I would have thought AIDs would have subsided somewhat. I mean we know how to prevent it, and our youth are literate, they can read, they can see what happens to people around them who are involved in risky behavior, so who or what is to blame for so many youth having AIDS? Youth today are smarter than they have ever been. We have better teachers, better schools, or could the problem just be testosterone levels reaching their highest levels and the boys brains just numbing out?

People say that the black communities ministers ignore and shun their male homosexuals. That preachers won’t talk about them, or to them or their families when the young men are of a curious age about the problems of being gay in their specific community. It has been said that the ministers and families are in deep denial. At a time when their community believes in being saved by their savior, they are not spreading the word that the families believe in their own youth in many instances. People are not taking the time to talk with, not at their sons. If real meaningful steps are not taken, the reckless youth will effectively wipe out their own race. I do not say that lightly. Many black men are sleeping with their younger women and giving them AIDS because they do not want to admit their own humanity and face their own immortality. That has to change if there is a serious commitment to taking back their lives. Adults and ministers alike must take back their own responsibilities of raising their youth

In Washington D.C. the Congress has ignored for far too long the individuality of the district and their residents. If the feelings of being lost in the biggest and supposedly best country in the world has reached the youth, D.C. may never recover their own responsibility and respectability. Youth lose hope much faster than an adult. They must be shown a ray of light, of hope and a future. Many youth are upset in the light of our economic turmoil, not just those in Washington D.C. The Congress must take action to make large companies responsible for their actions to our public because we all need hope. Its just that the young need it more than the adults. Adults can weather many hardships, but the youth are much more vulnerable. When the people in the highest leadership roles in the country don't act in a responsible manner, it goes all the way to the youngest who are supposed to look up to them. That is the way American families raise their youngsters to look up to leaders of the country. Yes we can, should also mean" yes we are", and I think we are at the moment waking up the lazy giants of a virulant commerce.

In 2006, nearly 15,000 or more than a quarter of new HIV cases in the United States were among women and girls ages 13 years and older. Women of color are especially impacted by the disease.

HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25 to 34. The estimated rate of new HIV cases for black women was nearly 15 times that of white women and nearly four times that of Hispanic women.

According to the CDC:Of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, HIV and AIDS have hit African Americans the hardest. The reasons are not directly related to race or ethnicity, but rather to some of the barriers faced by many African Americans. These barriers can include poverty (being poor), sexually transmitted diseases, and stigma (negative attitudes, beliefs, and actions directed at people living with HIV/AIDS or directed at people who do things that might put them at risk for HIV).

More illness. Even though blacks (including African Americans) account for about 13% of the US population, they account for about half (49%) of the people who get HIV and AIDS. Shorter survival times. Blacks with AIDS often don’t live as long as people of other races and ethnic groups with AIDS

More deaths. For African Americans and other blacks, HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death

CDC currently estimates that approximately one in five people living with HIV in the United States is unaware of his or her HIV infection. This can lead to unknowingly transmitting the virus to others. So the first step to protecting yourself and others is to get tested for HIV. Prompt and early diagnosis of HIV is critical to protecting your health and that of others. If you are a pregnant woman, it is especially important that you get tested early to help ensure, that if you are HIV positive, you do not transmit the virus to your unborn child. If you are a man and having many sexual partners, you should get tested immediately.

Limbaugh Jester or Real Fool

A court jester is laughed at when he bellows or screams foul, for surely he sits at the court only to entertain the current king. Rush Limbaugh, is no longer at the court of his King, for George Bush is gone. While George Bush was never really a king, and Rush Limbaugh never an appointed or elected official in the United States, they both behaved as though they were just that. They played the game well. Rush Limbaugh played his hand so well, he and the general public in America have come to believe that he is a jester. A jester is a kings fool is known to utter wild musings that have no basis in fact or semblance of truth because they never belonged to a region or had loyalties in one estate or church which was a requirement to belong. The fool never had a fixed place in the kingdom of England like a hierarchy, knave or knight.

King James of England employed a jester named Archibald Armstrong who was thrown out of court because he “over reached himself, and insulted too many influential people. Rush Limbaugh takes to himself the practice to mock politicians and revile with political satire the general public. He has also gone too far, and taken himself far too seriously. In my opinion his real name should be divide and conquer, except all he has done is divide. Maybe his real name should just be “divided” because he surely divided the general public,screamed, and yelled his political party almost into oblivionville. Rush Limbaugh has conquered no one. He has only brought shame to this country by his self appointed egotistical tainting of the truth and twisted reasoning in his radio programs. I don’t understand how he can sleep at night. It is truly a wonder he hasn’t had a stroke right in the middle of his program because of his outrageous loud mouth half truth shenanigans.

The real truth in any argument or loud discussion is that “the person who shouts the loudest is wrong” because they lack the common sense or intelligence to explain themselves and their thoughts in a logical forthright and truthful manner. In other words they have lost control of themselves and can’t explain their thoughts clearly so they resort to screaming and putting the other person down in order to put themselves up. That type of behavior is often called abusive. He is abusive to his listeners and the American public with his loud histrionics. Why is he on the radio airwaves? Beats me.

In my opinion he is a prime example of a male abuser. While on he air he is teaching men to abuse everyone they disagree with, or who disagrees with them. This man is dangerous to young impressionable men and women. Our country has enough abusers who abuse women violently and with their personal bullying attitudes. We do not need someone who abuses everyone while on the radiowaves.

Rush Limbaugh appears to be a fool in jesters clothing, claiming to be an entertainer. What is entertaining about abusing ones countrymen and equal rights? His party lost the election, he actually said he hopes Obama fails if he is bringing in socialism. You could say that getting mail in your mailbox everyday is socialism. You could say that everyone having a bus system in their town is a form of socialism.You culd also say that everyone having access to the internet is socialism. But what about those people who don’t have a $35,000.00 American made car? They need transportation, does that equal socialism? Well, if Obama fails so does the country. In essence what Rush Limbaugh said in my opinion is that he wants the country to fail if we have any forms of socialism.

Socialism isn’t all bad folks. Number one because we already have so much independence total socialism isn’t realistic in the first place. So there goes R.L., frothing off at the mouth and abusing the intelligence of the American public, which is what he does best.

The Big Three Wiggly and Wobbly Men and the Stimulis Bill

The stimulus bills are a wiggly beginning, just like a childs young wobbly legs when they are starting to walk. Americans are arriving at this juncture of reality because of actions taken in the past by politicians and businessmen's greedy actions. I don’t think you can really say they were mistakes because there were so many of them made by so many people in different and various business entities.Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and CEO Bill Ford of Ford Motor Company are all grown men, but they were young and small at one time.

Because Congress for many years believed that regulations were not a good thing they did not impose too many directives, merely handed others the reins to do their will. That I believe was one major mistake made across many entities, business and government.

Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and CEO Bill Ford of Ford Motor Company would not have made that type of mistake. While they have tried different things, they also controlled them. Note; last week the Chief Executive of Ford, Alan Mulally has agreed to take a 30 percent salary cut for this year. Bill Ford already took a 30% pay cut. One thing all of these men have in common is the ability to ask lots of questions, listen to other people, and respect their opinions when given. They also have an insatiable appetite for information,an independent open mind at the same time while looking for new ways to make things better.

Bill Gates is currently heavily involved in health car across the globe, Warren Buffet has been donating millions of his money to The Gates Foundation and Bill Ford wants to make Ford Motor company more environmentally clean than Toyota. Lets see how all three men walk or wobble in the next year in this wobbily economy.

Obama says "Yes We Can" and "Get out of the Way of Stuff"

Obama said “Yes we can”, and he does. As an energetic charismatic leader he is proving himself to be real in more ways than any other president in history. He has said “get out of the way of stuff”. He is ready to lead and has effectively done so since he got into office in January 2009.

Citing our economic system and comprehensive health care as a priorities, he is beginning to work on changing what is wrong with America with the help of congressional leaders who are ready for change themselves. Challenging those who disagree with him he asks that they put aside their differences and become a part of the process and get to work with some answers as well, and not become obstructionists.

Wanting to restore accountability and honesty to government is a tall order as we stop the free fall of our economy in midstream with hope. You could call his attitude an "Audacity to Hope".

Muslim Men Are They All Terrorists, and The Death Penalty 2-17-2009

One of the things that horrifies Americans is the degree of personal terror that Muslim men inflict on their women and children. One of the most hideous crimes a person can commit is decapitation of another human being. One man who wanted to address these things a leader of Muslims in America he called himself, has indeed done the terrible deed himself. Citing a desire to break down Muslim stereotypes, he founded a TV station in New York state to do just that.

So, now how are we to trust Muslim men at all if that's truly what has happened? It is my understanding that he has confessed to police of beheading his wife who is the mother of his two small children ages 4 and 6.

What a pity, he could not contain himself and his emotional rage after his wife wanted a divorce. Men are usually upset when a wife wants a divorce. But, here in western society most of the men don’t kill their wives. If they attemt to they will go to jail.

What a sorry state he leaves his family in. How can he explain his actions to his children and what will become of them. I just hope he didn’t do it in front of them. That would be the ultimate sin. Muslim men, yeah! I know, all of them are not like that, just him and the extremists. So how do we find them, and what do we do about it?

Some men will always be violent, they will rape children and rape and kill women on any given day. Yet, there are states in the USA that want to get rid of the death penalty. What do you tell children who now have no mother because their father killed her? What is the lesson here? What kind of punshment is real to the killers? At some point turning the other cheek is not a valid response, nor is I forgive you. Legislators have to get their ducks in order, get the chains to put these men into, or the death penalty, one or the other, not just kept in prison for the rest of their lives. That is not enough, and we all need to stand up for that no matter what man takes a life or rapes a woman or child. Those actions have cost this country and our children too high of a price already.

Tell Them How You Feel- You Know the CEO's of the Bailout Banks

Banks That Have Received Bailout Money
Tell Them How You Really Feel

Bank of America Corporate Affairs
CEO Kenneth Lewis
100 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28255
www.BankofAmerica.com

Wells Fargo
CEO John Stumpf - 800 292-9932
Richard Kovacevich, Chairman
420 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94163

http://www.wellsfargo.com/

Goldman Sachs
CEO Llyod Blankfein - 212-902-1000
President, Co-COO, and Director: Gary D. Cohn
President, Co-COO, and Director: Jon Winkelried
Goldman Sachs
85 Broad St.
New York, NY 10004
http://www2.goldmansachs.com/

Morgan Stanley
CEO John Mack - 212-761-4000
1585 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
www.morganstanley.com

Citigroup
CEO Vikram Pandit - 212- 559-1000
Sanford Weill, Chairman
399 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10043
(212) 559-1000
http://www.citigroup.com/

Give Me Solutions 2-5-09

Give me a solution if you don’t like what is going on. Work Together to help your family and ours. “But, don’t come to the table with the same old arguments that have not worked for the past eight years, “ said President Obama to the Democrtaic Caucus in Virginia this evenng.
The United States is in an economic crisis no one could have imagined. Indeed as the president said “ This deficit mess was waiting for me tied up in a big red bow when I got here.” This is the moment for great leadership to change things, we’ll have no more petty politics, no more phony arguments. We need to put gamesmanship aside and get something done. If we do not move swiftly our economy will fall.

During his speech, the president also mentioned that many people are working on the spending package right now and many more will have to work together to pass a reasonable semblance of workable legislation to get us onto a level economic playing ground.

Spending on government buildings will enhance their efficiency, spending on green projects, highways and schools will help with training, and new jobs. Emphasizing that “no legislation is ever perfect,” he added, “we must get this passed to get started. “

Yes, we need solutions and far reaching ones. Not just ordering corporations to cap salaries of CEOs, but to make the new laws retroactive to the past six months. We need teeth into any new legislation. Some of these corporations and their leaders are like bullies in the family. You know the loudest kid who shouts all the time and the family gives into them to keep peace. Well, peace needs to come from direct parenting rules and ramifications for their youngsters immature actions.

The lack of direction and checks and balances have been major reasons that we are in such bad shape in so many economic areas. Just like the Bernie Madoffs of the world, where were the checks and balances for his actions? Where were the checks and balances for the banking mortgage industry? Where are the checks for the FDA and the salmonella crisis?

One of the problems I have noticed is that when congress makes laws they don’t go far enough, and many loopholes are left unchallenged. I think we need a Loopy Lawyer to keep track of what gets swept under the desks, or at least a new independent congressional watch dog group that keeps congress on their toes. New legislators need guidance just like the immature kids in the family who continue to raise a ruckus. Of course the older bullies need to get cracking with a new attitude to help the whole family succeed.
How about 911 Congress Watch? For replies click here

Lilly Ledbetters Struggle Finally Triumphs for All Women

Lilly Ledbetter was with President Obama during the signing of a new law (Lilly Ledbetter Fair Play Act) to prohibit wage discrimination. The new law is based on her experiences in business as a manager at the Alabama Goodyear Tire and Rubber company manufacturing plant.

This new bill changes the Civil Rights Act so that workers can sue up to 180 days after receiving any discriminatory paycheck.

This legislation will ensure that our little girls, and big girls as well, will always have an option when faced with either wage or sexual harassment actions and can legally do something about it and win in court.

Companies will now be on the alert and must not just make noise when harassment or unequal wages are used against their workers.

This kind of law has been way too long in the making. At least we now know that we have responsible people in our newly elected representatives. Amen.

PS

I don't know why we couldn't as a general public send her donations to make up for the lack of money she never received because of the Supreme Court ruling against her cause. Of course we could also boycott the Goodyear Plant or products if we really wanted to make a point.

Letter to the Editor

Miracle on the Hudson River, New York

It was a lucky day on both sides of the Hudson River (and in it too!) - All of the NJ state Emergency Services Directors (along with state and higher level disaster officials) were meeting in Tinton Falls, NJ at our Southern Regional Headquarters, when the plane ditched. We were able to establish a multi-chapter / multi-regional emergency operations center to help assist with the clients who were transported to Weehawken and other locations in New Jersey, as well as coordinate our effort with the Greater NY chapter and our Red Cross National Operations Center. In addition to blankets and clothing, the Red Cross provided canteen services for disaster victims as well as first responders. We also provided disaster health and disaster mental health support staff to family assistance centers, such as the one set up in NJ where families could meet up with passengers from either the pier or the hospital. There are lots of volunteer opportunities for people throughout our region. Please visit www.redcross.org and enter your zip code on the right, to locate a chapter near you.

By Michael Prasad Director of Emergency Services - Tri-County Chapter of the American Red Cross

President Obama Shows the Love

No President I have ever read about nor seen has shown such exemplary leadership abilities and love and respect to his wife and family in public, and his fellow politicians as has President Barack Obama in the past few days. I only hope that he can continue his genuineness into all of his years in public office.

He and his wife Michelle have shown the public that they genuinely care for each other by holding hands while walking down the parade route in Washington D.C. in his inauguration celebration. They held hands more and even kissed each other during the rest of the day, as they danced, and ate. To his credit it is reported he leapt to Senator Teddy Kennedy's side as he was having a seizure, and repeatedly asked about his condition as the evening wore on.

His adoration of his children is ever present as he holds their hands, and affectionally kisses them. He is certainly a man of the moment and a man of the people as he is not afraid to show his love and attention in the right places and at the most important times.

He will be a man for everyone to look up to for many years to come. Presdient Obama has accomplished more than many men his age in his lifetime allready. If he can continue to hold steady the crew he has assembled for the next four years he may run into some stormy weather, but they can ride it out. He will just repeat Yes We Can.

President-Elect Barack Obama's Victory Train Ride

Robert Kennedy’s Quote “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” In the 60’s this was the thought of some of us even though we were not actively doing anything about it, we applauded those who were.
Barack Obama acted on this throughout during his lifetime of searching for who he is. This quote is extremely important today as Senator Barack Obama President-Elect of the United States takes his train ride to the Capitol for his inauguration. Today Robert Kennedy’s quote is more revelent than most other days.