Americans Need To Get Out More

We Americans have to really get out and see the world. The number of college students studying foreign languages has gone down, and fewer Americans travel overseas than do citizens in other developed countries. News coverage of foreign affairs has also decreased. Since the early 1970s, Americans have paid less and less attention to foreign events. Gallup polls from presidential election years 1948 through 1972 show that Americans used to rank foreign affairs as the most important issue facing the nation. Since then, with the exception of the 2004 elections, the economy has been ranked first.… Continue reading Americans Need To Get Out More

Politics As Usual

How can we believe in a system of government when all we see is corruption, and nothing ends up getting done? It seems like every morning you can wake up and get new breaking news on a congressman that is corrupt or obstructing the movement of a bill. What makes it worse is that we also have a mostly uninformed public. For example, the Tea Party people, who I would like to respect, when polled were shown to say that 98 percent of them believe taxes went up or stayed the same under President Obama. A startling statistic for a… Continue reading Politics As Usual

Why Can’t These Children Read?

There is a lot that is going on in America right now, both positive and negative, but what we can’t deny is that people are out here struggling. If that is the case, then why do I keep bumping into these kids that can not read? I mean it is almost amazing to me to see these kids not know their sound blends, or their letter sounds. It makes me wonder what the parents are doing.

I can take this moment to brag that I taught my… Continue reading Why Can't These Children Read?

Nobody’s Perfect

Don’t you think it is getting just a little bit too tough to deal with people these days? I mean, lets look at it. Divorce is over fifty percent, laws can not get passed because of lack of compromise, and professional women are overwhelmingly single. Why is this though? Why is it that we can not seem to find a way to stay close to somebody without some sort of complicated unforeseeable ending?

I think (and this is just my personal non fact based opinion) that we… Continue reading Nobody's Perfect

Lookin’ Like A Fool With Your Pants On The Ground

I am starting to think that in America, if you don’t fit into the little boxes that people mentally check off when they see you, “they” just will not accept you. We have become stuck up as a nation. Racism and classism, where everybody feels like they know what it means to be "classy" is on the rise. This goes for men, women, black, red, white, rich, poor, discrimination doesn’t discriminate.

Let’s look at how foolish we are in how we think of ourselves. If you are old enough… Continue reading Lookin' Like A Fool With Your Pants On The Ground

Black History Month – Say It Loud!

People fear what they don’t know. That is just a fact, but what is also a fact is that it is easy to break down the barriers of prejudices and misconceptions by spreading knowledge about who you are. That is the principle behind Black History Month. A month set aside to increase the understanding of a people, by the people.

Many of us African Americans grow up with no sense of what our culture really is. It is often glanced over in history books in school, and reduced to… Continue reading Black History Month - Say It Loud!

Power To The People

The foundation of America has been built on the backs of those willing to sacrifice and make hard choices personally, for the good of the people as a whole. This has never been more on display then during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s. This movement happened in a time of Black Codes, better known as “Jim Crow” laws. These laws were meant to separate a whole race of people from the other, and later it was found that separate was not equal.

The Black Panther Party for… Continue reading Power To The People

The State Of The Union – Democracy Is Hard

The President said a lot last night, and while many people will focus on the politics of it, I sort of looked at the human element. I am on my movie kick right now, so when he said that “democracy of over 300 million people is not easy,” I immediately called it his ‘The American President” moment. Who remembers the movie where President Andrew Shepard was being attacked the whole movie, then holds a surprise press conference in front of the White House press corps?

“America isn't easy” President… Continue reading The State Of The Union - Democracy Is Hard

Money, Money, Money! More Populism!

Who remembers the first Batman movie with Michael Keaton, where Jack Niclaus played the Joker? Do you remember when the Joker took to the streets and wanted the people to like him, so he threw all of that money into the streets? He kept yelling “hubba hubba hubba…money money money!” Well, that is what the politicians in Washington would call Populism, and it is now what you are seeing from your government, and you will likely see more.

The Brookings Institution has a new study that says that the… Continue reading Money, Money, Money! More Populism!

Massachusetts Was Not About Health Care

The Democrats just had a scathing loss in the state of Massachusetts, a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one. The Democrat candidate was a very popular Attorney General in the state, maybe so popular that she thought she didn’t have to show up and could go on vacation in the middle of the race. So what does it mean for the country, and what was the political message to Washington?

First of all now Senator Elect Scott Brown, while running as a Republican, never mentioned that… Continue reading Massachusetts Was Not About Health Care

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