So Glad to be Broke

So I am watching the news anxiously awaiting the results of the $700 Billion bail out vote. The headline says it did not pass 185-197. As a result, the Dow Jones dropped 600 points. Now I am not “financial market”-ly literate so if you need me to explain to you this situation, I can’t. But what I can tell you is the sh*t has hit the fan. Credit is frozen, money is so tight, and people, blue collar and white collar alike are panicking. I am worried about the state of this country but also a bit relieved. I am relieved because I am broke. I own no property, no stock, and no real investments. For years I had been kicking myself for not setting up my 401-k, not creating a stock portfolio, not owning real estate. I kept saying, when the time is right I will step my game up. GOD BLESS AMERICA. Its greed has put me and many of my colleagues in a position to take advantage of this market while it is on its knees. Yes a few of my wiser friends have been affected by this mess but we are all young enough and motivated enough to make it out. Now is the time people to learn the system. Get your money together and take advantage. Start working on repairing your credit now while it is unavailable. Start investigating what the real estate market will look like after this mess and see how you can capitalize on it. Buy these stocks while they are low. The market fluctuates. What goes down will eventually go back up. We are at the brink of having a black president. This is the time. Our window of opportunity is available, but be assure it will only be open for a short time. If you were down and depressed about being broke, don’t be. Create a plan of action to capitalize in the future. On Sunday, my pastor spoke of discrimination. He mentioned that discrimination ceases when the playing field is even. If you are hanging off a cliff, you don’t care what color, sexual orientation or religion the person is that is helping you. You accept the help. Well right now, black, brown, white, steel worker, banker, teacher, gay, straight, 20 something's, 50 something’s, all of us alike are struggling together. BROKE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE, UNITE AS ONE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!

“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”
- Jim Rohn

Did you Know??? WGPR-TV of Detroit, MI, the first Black-owned television station in the United States, began brodcasting on September 29th, 1975.

Child Abuse Vs. Department of Child and Family Services

Child Abuse vs. Department of Children and Family Services

In June of 2008, my heart was pulled by a story of a 5 year old black boy who was viciously abused by his mother(http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/15/local/me-abuse15). This innocent little boy was severely malnourished, forced to sit in his urine and feces for days, burned on his hands, chest and genitals, tied around doorknobs and whipped. This happened for over a year. What could this little boy have done? What sparked such an evil side of his mother and her two friends accused of abusing him to do this. And most importantly, how come no one stepped in. There are so many things wrong with this situation. One of the most important is that it is not an isolated situation. All across America, maybe even in your family, there is a child being abused, but the abuse goes unreported. In the case of this 5 year old, friends and family of his mom knew of the abuse, some of them witnessed it, however they did not call the authorities. The reason is because of the assumption that the boy would be worse off being “in the system”. I am guilty of this thinking as well. For years you would hear about abuse and the de-humanizing experiences children faced in orphanages and group homes. It is the assumption, particularly in black communities, that being taken from your parents and entering a group home is the first stage of the “system cycle” which includes welfare and jail. I would also think of which situation I viewed as the lesser of two evils and figure that being with your parents would be the best option. I thought that by reporting child abuse, I would have to be questioned and go to court and become directly involved in something that might jeopardize my family or me and our lives and I could be completely wrong about the situation and had ruin someone else’s life. Unfortunately I have little faith in my government in helping the disadvantaged, particularly for people of color, which feeds into my neglect of doing anything about a situation I find harmful for a child. Just recently I saw a baby boy, maybe around 1 or 2 years old in a stair case with who I assume to be his mom and dad. His parents looked like drug addicts, the boy was filthy, snot nosed, and wailing. His mother made no attempt to comfort him and was holding him in such an awkward position that it looked like that could be one of the many reasons for his tears. I wanted to save him. I wanted to run over and tell her what she was doing wrong. I wanted to call the Department of Social Services and report what I assumed to be child neglect. But I didn’t, and it obviously is something I still think about. I think about his home situation. Did he eat today? Does he have clean diapers? Is he OK?? I didn’t call though because I didn’t know for sure what his situation was and didn’t want to stir the pot if it wasn’t necessary. But as I haunted my mind, and my thought referred back to the 5 year old boy I made a pledge to myself to make a call if I felt it was necessary. I will stay anonymous but I feel a tip wouldn’t hurt. Will I live up to this pledge??? Who knows. I hope I won’t have to be in that situation. What would you do?? Would you call or do you turn your head? What is your logic behind it?? Do you think the system will ever represent itself in a way where you would feel comfortable putting an abused child in it? Which is the lesser of two evils?? What if it was you? Just some food for thought.

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for (good) people to do nothing."

-- Edmund Burke
Did you know??? 4 children die every day as a result of child abuse. 3 out of 4 of these victims are under the age of 4.

This Little Piggie Likes Rose Colored Lipstick

By KYarbrough

Hey y'all,I know I am probably preaching to the choir on two fronts, 1) you're all very smart and 2) you are very likely to be quite familiar with American colloquialisms, but I want to do my part. Below I have links to factual news articles about common and recent uses of "lipstick on a pig" phrase; commentaries on it; and listings of the phrase dated years before this week's headlines. Pass it on... don't, but I urge you to be informed. We cannot base our decisions on scare tactics, propaganda, quips, or great oration. Think and vote.

Article CNN.comhttp://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/10/campaign.lipstick/index.htmlarticle Politico.comhttp://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_Lipstick_on_a_pig.html?showallcommentary “Dallas News”http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/obamas-lipstick-on-a-pig-remar.htmlPhrase origins and references (you’ll notice these are all BEFORE Obama’s use of the phrase on Tuesday)http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lipstick%20on%20a%20pighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipstick#cite_note-6

The Daddy Issue

I have met my father in the flesh. I have had many conversations with him. I can tell you most of his vital information. I could describe him in full detail (at least my last memory of him). And yet, I still have never met my father. The man I met was a shell of the man my mother once adored.This man, once a brilliant, charming, handsome, and educated man, fell victim to the trap and became addicted to drugs.But he was absent before his addiction became apparent. See, he had fooled me into believing that the man that I occasionally saw around the house, this man who resembled my father was indeed him. And when he would disappear and break dates, I believed it was me, not him, who had the problem.There had to be something wrong with me.Why else would he break his promise? So every time he flaked, and every time he gave me a reason, weeks later, as to why he flaked, I planned out my game on how to make sure daddy loved me and would want to be around me. I kept sizing myself up, think something was wrong, and every time forgiving him when he didn’t show, because next time he will get it right.He promised. He is my blood. Blood would never intentionally hurt you. For 22 years I lived by that creed. Allowing this man to walk in my life, get my hopes up, allow me to imagine being daddy’s girls, gave me comfort, and would yank it way as quickly as he came. It wasn't until I graduated college that I could finally let go of the idea of "daddy". However, it wasn’t until a year ago that I realized that I allowed this behavior to effect my relationships with men. #1. I didn’t have relationships for fear of getting too close to someone and being abandoned. There is nothing worse than heartache. #2 the “relationships” I did have were very unhealthy. They lacked any levels of commitment and I allowed myself to be dogged. I allowed the same behavior my father exhibited. I took the bull sh*t and allowed hazardous people in and out and in and out of my life hoping that at some point they would recognize how wonderful I am. I kept waiting and playing myself thinking that by taking this person or these people back in was the right thing because we had a “connection”In the end, I’d be left broken again, feeling like that little girl waiting on her father. I knew I had daddy issues but I didn’t realize they ran so deep. And once I realized that I was able to free myself of the oppressive chains that allowed me to accept the bullsh*t, I was able to see clearer and realize I was the problem because I was undervaluing myself. I'd like to add that I have a wonderful mother who provided for me and was the best mommy and daddy to me. But she was unable to heal the wounds my father left because I didn't tell her they were there. I hid my pain in hopes it would just go away, but it diverted into my sub-conscience and transformed into another beast. I am able to look at the old me now and not be ashamed because I had to be that person in order to grow into who I am now. I am no longer hold the “daddy issue” bag. However, many women in our society do. Single parents are the norm now. What's even more common is the absence of fathers. This absent, especially in the lives of girls, creates a woman with trust issues, with commitment issues, with self-esteem issues, with promiscuity issues… with DADDY ISSUES. They may not have all of them, but they have definitely dealt with a few. And what is even worse is that we, men and women, do not hold those accountable who do not take care of their kids. When CNN did their special, Black in America, there was a panel discussing the black family. Now first let me say that I am tired of these panels because it’s all rhetoric, never any true solutions. But Hill Harper, the author an actor who was on the panel made a good point: Hold these men accountable. If you have a male friend who has a child, ask him: When was the last time you spoke with your child? Saw your child? What type of role do you play in his/her life?If they can’t answer that question,come up with excuses, or say they haven’t, tell them you can’t hang with them until they step up. Yeah it’s not your business what the next man is doing, but the people you hang with are a reflection of you. Their character represents your character and beliefs. Hold your peers accountable. So in a way it IS your business. It takes a village to raise a child, but how can the child benefit if the village turns their back on it. Don’t try and change the cycle. Stop the cycle dead in its tracks. This issue transcends race. This is a universal plea. Don’t allow another child’s heart to break. Don’t allow another tear to be shed. And to the TRUE Fathers out there, whether they are with or not with their child’s mother, I commend you. Serve as an example. Influence those who aren’t as enlightened as you are. It is time for them to wake up!!

“Only the strong go crazy, the weak just go along” –Assata Shakur

Did you know??? Congressman John R Lynch, one of the first blacks elected to the Hpuse of Representatives, presided over the Republican National Convention, September 10th, 1884