Friday, July 30, 2010

What Were You Thinking?


This is basically a rant and vent entry. The names have been concealed to avoid embarrassment and implication.

If you have a significant other whose full or part time job is "street corner pharmaceutical sales", when do you say to yourself, "I have got to make a change or do better?" I guess because I have a CRAZY fear of drugs (and I think a whole lot about myself) that it has never been an appeal or escape for me. I don't want to be around them [drugs] or jeopardize anyone that is close to me of being associated with them.

I am not ragging on women because they are some of the most wonderful creatures on God's Earth but when they think they are "in love", some seem to lose their f$#king mind and look completely past every fault that their "love" has and seem to be willing to take the blame for something that their "love" has done. I have quite a few cop friends and some of the stories that I hear about the woman taking the fall for their gun running, dope dealing, burglarizing, sex predator, robber, murdering boyfriends/husbands/significant others make me sick.

Now comes the really f#@ked part for me - you put yourself (and possibly your children) in the situation and get busted and expect everyone to do drop everything and inconvenience themselves to get you out of the trouble you have put yourself into. Family is supposed to assume more debt to deal with another family member's issue that COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED? To me, that is selfish. I can understand if you are helping a family member defend against something that was not entirely their fault but knowingly being in a bad situation - why should my life change?

I am no angel and do not claim to be "pure as the driven snow" but I guess my "consideration of others" would not allow me to even ask for help if I put myself in a bad situation. Some things come to mind that would not allow me to ask for help IF I PUT MYSELF OUT THERE AND ACTUALLY DONE IT: manufacturing drugs; domestic violence; drug trafficking; murder or manslaughter; solicitation of a prostitute; robbery; burglary; indecent exposure; or crimes against a child.

It may sound cold and heartless but if you have been the "go to" person for help, when do you have to say - this is the end of the rope, there is no more rope to give to pull you out?

Why in the world does "love" make some women (or men) do something that is criminal or put up with something that is criminal? Please explain this to me. Let's reformulate that line from Boomerang by Hallie Berry that "Love should have brought your a$$ home last night" to "Love should never require you to do 5 to 10 for your a$$".

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Digging Up Underneath the Family Tree


For the last few years, I have been working on my Family Tree. This would include the Williams', which is my mother's side and the Toney's, which is my father's side of the family. I have been reaching out to other family members in cyberspace to get the 411 on who is living, who has gone, who is married, who had kids, what is everyone's REAL name, and the locations of all these significant events.

I have been using Ancestry.com to keep all my information. Their website is the easiest to use and also can back up the information I am getting with documentation (i.e., census records, Social Security Death Index, obituaries, and other family trees). Another source that I have found so useful are funeral announcements. It is almost comical but when someone passes, EVERYBODY has got to be put on the funeral announcement.

The other resource that truly is amazing and definitely a joy to listen to are the elder members of the family. Hearing some of the stories of "how things were" gives you a vivid perspective of who we are and how we got here. But a stumbling block I have run into every now again with the "older crowd" is that they do not want to talk about the past.

Everyone has secrets and skeletons. I have relatives that have had children outside of the marriage or that they had a child when they were 13 or 14 years old. It happens today just like it happened back in the day - just now, it is harder to hide. I do not understand the need for secrets when it comes to knowing who you are and where you came from. I have a cluster of family members in a single geographic area and it would be nice to know if that one of my cousins is not hollerin' at a girl who is closely related.

Speaking from the point of viewpoint of a lover of History, documenting your heritage is something that everyone should do to help you understand what makes you you. Who knows, you may find out that you are related to someone famous (or infamous).

Monday, June 28, 2010

Am I Losing My "Blackness"?


A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in my office talking to a guy servicing some electronic equipment for me. Some of my staff got to talking about some events occurring around the the downtown area that weekend, which included a hip-hop/rap concert featuring Yo Gotti, 8Ball & MJG, Young Dro, and a couple of other artists.

I proceeded to joke around with the service guy, who was white, that he needed to come back to Montgomery on Sunday to go to the concert and see 8Ball & MJG. Expecting him to look at me crazy, he says "they are really going to be here on Sunday". My mouth popped open and I was told the look on my face was priceless. I am a black man and never listened to 8Ball & MJG (knowingly). He said that he had their latest CD in the service van which had my jaw hitting the floor. However, another reason that he knew who they were was because he was from Memphis, Tennessee - the same as 8Ball & MJG.


Of course, I got a ribbing from my co-workers that I was not familiar of the lyrical stylings of 8Ball & MJG. I like my old school hip-hop-rap from the 80's and 90's. I am going to sound like my parents, but most of the new stuff today sounds the same and is not that entertaining. Every now there is a gem in the middle of a lot of noise.

It made me feel a little like I am losing my "blackness". I have been told that I was an "Oreo" or they said that "one of the whitest black guys" they knew. I do not talk with a lot of "urban" slag; I do not wear clothing fron South Pole, Ecko, Coogi, or Rocawear; I don't watch "The Game", "Tiny & Toya", or "College Hill" on BET." So with all of that being said - am I lacking "blackness".

I realize that I am still surrounded by a lot of young black men and women in my interaction with staff and the public who are still living their young "black" lives. I am older and more conservative nowadays so I cannot always relate. I have been blessed to see things outside of a stereotypical urban black environment. I have interacted with, made friends with, and dated people who may have also "lost their identity" like myself and you cannot truly label.

All of this reminded me of some unflattering contact I had with a woman earlier this year in "Basically She Called Me an Uncle Tom". I cannot say she was acting like "some typical black woman" because she was truly just a stupid woman who didn't have any sense and thought someone owed her something but even then she made me wonder.

So I guess the question is do we, as we grow older and more mature, conform more to some non-racial sense of self? I think the only ones who can answer that question might be those who follow the adage of "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things" (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Jaw Dropping Racism - In Your Face Beotch!

I really have got to find more time to write but I guess when you grow up, your life gets so much more packed with stuff that you cannot find enough time in the day.



I was watching television yesterday morning and caught the latest episode of "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel". They did a story of racism in soccer called "Fields of Hate". My jaw hit the table when I saw the blatant racism being displayed by the fans of European soccer games.

There were fans who would make sounds like a monkey or would throw bananas on the field when a player of color would get the ball. There are instances when the fans have spit on players to the point where they jersey was soaked. There are parts of the stadium that are "controlled" by organized neo-fascists or neo-Nazi groups that would display the Nazi swastika openly. In this semi-politically correct world, you would think that racism such as that would not be present at an organized sporting event with a television audience. There are still pockets of racism in the US but you would never see anything such as that at an organized sporting event here.

Seeing this has partially changed my outlook on Europe. I have had the opportunity to live there twice - once as a adolescent and once as a young adult. I also got to travel a little bit while I was there and never experienced anything that would make me think that someone didn't like me for the color of my skin. I used to believe Europe practiced a more liberal society. How can such hatred go unchecked?



Why do those who scream hate so loudly truly believe that they are right? What makes one believe that the removal, extinction, or separation of a race other than theirs is what God intended? In a world were MOST people believe in racial harmony, why does this "minority" of people think they can change the minds of so many who do not believe in their rhetoric?

An example of this line of thinking was made by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840), a German physician, physiologist and anthropologist, who made the statement "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." REALLY?

Everyone has a right to their opinion but the purpose of sport, in my opinion, has always been camaraderie, sportsmanship, and community pride. Why would someone let a bunch of idiots represent their community? Maybe there need to be some diversity on the governing body of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations. Maybe they need to walk in the shoes of soccer (football) players of color to see the effect that their "inaction" is taking on them.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

And the Verdict Is.....

Well after 5 days of "you need to get that checked" by doctors, I finally found out that the pulmonary nodule in my right lung is not cancerous. Some sort of benign mass as the doctor called it. It was probably scarring that was discovered by my ER doctor after the accident.

Now for the rant.... My primary care doctor is affiliated with Jackson Hospital here in town. My hospital of choice is Baptist East which is where I went for treatment after the accident. There lies my dilemma. The ER referred me to get my PET Scan at a Baptist-affiliated imaging center in which my doctor's office had no clue even existed.

I got my PET scan last Thursday and was told by my doctor's office to come in on Friday (after they called the imaging center to confirm when the results would be ready) to get the results. First of all, I had to wait for an hour in the lobby waiting room. Then I was moved to the "secondary" waiting room where I had to wait for another 30 minutes. (For those who know me, I did manage a nap in the secondary room before work.) I get into the exam room to be greeted by a nurse practitioner (NP). There is nothing wrong with an NP but with the potential for a cancer diagnosis, I would have thought that I would see my doctor.

To top it all off, the staff had no clue why I was at the doctor's office at all. I was asked by the intake clerk, the accounting clerk, the triage nurse, and the nurse practitioner on why I was there. It wasn't them asking me to make sure they had the right patient - they truly did not know why I was there. The NP who say me on Friday was the same one that gave me the referral on Monday and had no idea who I was. I had to remind her that she was the one that gave me the referral form in the first place.

To top it all off, my results were not even there. Nobody called to have them faxed over. That was the last straw to me. Yeah, the doctor and the imaging center do not have a "relationship" but goodness, does anyone take notes around there at all?

This doctor has been my primary care physician since 2005 but only since him once at my initial appointment and fast lab follow-up. Every time I tried to make an appointment in the past when I needed to see the doctor, I couldn't get scheduled within 3 days so I would go to Pri-Med (an urgent care medical center).

After this experience with my "cancer scare" and the lack of communication and professionalism with this doctor, I am seeking a new one. I was under so much stress from the wait that I had a migraine for the rest of the day. It was almost like I actually did have cancer and nobody wanted to tell me. I understand that medical care is a volume business but this is my only bad experience with any doctor and it has soured me on the profession. If I didn't need it, I would kick them all to the curb.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The Great Crash of 2010 (and the Fall Out)


Well fellow bloggers and readers, it has been determined by me that people cannot drive. This past Sunday, I have had my fourth accident in my Mazda 6. None of the accidents in this car have been my fault and now with a few payments left on this car, it might be totalled out. Jasmine, my 16 year old daughter, is a bit distraught because this was supposed to be her car possibly this fall in case I got something new.

I am fine and will live but I have learned some lessons with this accident that I am not going to go into at this point. I got checked out at the ER and the doctor has certified me okay, in regards of the accident. I have a knot and a cut on my head from hitting the windshield (now is the time I wish I had hair up there to cover it) and my knee hurts a little so I got a cool ass limp.


I thought I was going to walk out of the ER with nothing on my mind but wondering if they are going to total out my car or fix it but it couldn't be that simple. After the CT Scan of my head and chest, I was advised of something going on that was unrelated to the accident.

It seems that I have some sort of pulmonary nodule in my right lung. The same lung that I had pneumonia in which could be the cause of it but of course the doctor has to give you the worse case scenario and dropped the Big C Word on me too. The good thing going for me is that I recently had pneumonia so that connection is there. I don't smoke (unless you want to count the 2 or 3 cigars I have a year). I do not usually tend to hang around smokers when they are smoking. So I think my luck will hold.

Never thought that someone would throw the C word at me. Just one of those things you would think happens to someone else (not that you want it to). When he said it, I just figured it was nothing serious and the remote possibility of it being cancer (yeah I said it) was slim to none. But of course as you have time to think about it and the doctors keep saying "you need to see your primary doctor and make an appointment for a PET CT Scan." I didn't really think about what a PET CT Scan was until yesterday when a friend of mine said it is what they use to look at cancer in the body. Well DAMN!

I think I will be okay. I am going to stay positive that it isn't anything serious. Just needed to vent it out a little bit. So is the journey of life- let's see where this turn takes me.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

40 years and still kicking...



Well last Wednesday was my 40th birthday. After a few days of trying it on, it fits me well. I don't really feel any different. Some people made it out to be a milestone but I still kind of feel it just another notch in life - somewhat.

I look back at the 40 years of my life and I ponder if I did some things different, where would I be today. I think everyone takes a moment to do a "Retrospective of the History of Their Life" at some point and I guess mine was at 40 years of age. By no means I hope that this is a halfway point for me. I still believe I will live forever. Some of the older memories are a little blurry but they have been some great ones (and some not so much). No one wants to remember the negative or bad things but if you had the power to change the past, you might wipe out all the truly positive moments of your life.

Everyone has done things that they are very proud of and other stuff that you hope never saw the light of day; met people that made a profound change in their lives and those that you wish would fall off the face of the Earth; and hopefully made a positive mark for society or on people that have run across your path. You hope that you are an individual and not just like everyone else.



Not to be vain, but many people I have run across are surprised that I am 40 years old like that is something ancient. Last night at work I ran into several acquaintances that I hadn't seen in some months and they made it a point to compliment me how good I looked and how sharp I was looking and kept driving it home. I try not get a big head about it but it is nice for people to say things like that since I am getting "old and decrepit." Even got a very loud "Wow" from a female friend who found out how old I had just turned on my birthday. Talk about an ego booster.

We take a break for a reference from "Ego" by Beyonce' -

It's too big, it's too wide
It's too strong, it won't fit
It's too much, it's too tough
He talk like this 'cause he can back it up

He got a big ego, such a huge ego
I love his big ego, it's too much
He walk like this 'cause he can back it up.

Now back our regularly scheduled blog.

There are still some things I want in life and hopefully I will be able to make those dreams come true. I hope that perhaps I touch for a few more lives in a positive way. I hope to still learn something new everyday (and hopefully not forget it). I hope that I continue to march to the beat of my own drum. I have been truly blessed with a lot of things and continue to be grateful for anything put my way. To put it in a nutshell, I just hope....

I want to thank all of those who took the time out of their busy lives and schedules to wish me a Happy 40th Birthday. In this time where it seems like life is running 100 mile per hour with really bad brakes, it was nice that I ran across people's minds even for a few minutes. I hope to enjoy many, many more.

Friday, April 2, 2010

And the Father Is?


I am going to tell you a little story and see what you think about it?

I have a friend who has a kid. He married the child's mother so it is really his stepchild and has been for quite some time. Even years before he married the child's mother, he was there for the mother and the child. He has clothed this child, fed this child, taken the child to doctor's appointments and school functions, and all the other things a "real" parent is supposed to do. He remembers when the child was much younger and the "biological" father would make plans to pick the child up to spend time and would never show up. The child would be upset for days and my friend could not understand why because he (for all intensive purposes) has been the "father" and the child was crying for someone that she didn't even know. It upset him probably just as much as it upset the child.

Now, the child's "biological" father does not live in the area and hasn't for years. He has a "new family". He almost never calls to check up on the child. He doesn't pay ANY child support at this time. He doesn't have shared custody. The "biological" has family where my friend lives and when he is in town, he doesn't come and visit his child and when he does, it is for minutes. All communication with the "biological" seems to be initiated by the child. My friend and the child's mother has NEVER hindered this child to talk to or visit the "biological." My friend has tolerated the "biological" when he decides to be a "father" when it is convenient to him. - his M.O. for years.

Now, let's up skip to yesterday evening. My friend tells me that he and the child's mother are disciplining his stepchild because the child is on restriction. The child just so happens to be on the phone, which was actually breaking one of the terms of the restriction, with the "biological" father and the "biological" must have heard it over the phone. The stepchild gets off the phone and the phone is taken away. A voicemail alert comes up and my friend decides to listen to the message. Can you guess who it was? It was the "biological" telling him how he should not be talking to his child like that and if he has a problem with that to contact him and talk to him like that. What the fuck?

This man has decided now to TRY to flex his long lost parental power. My friend could not believe it. The nerve of him telling him how to run his household. The "biological" didn't even hear that the child's mother was talking too but just because my friend's voice was louder, that is all he heard through the phone. It sounded like the "biological" is calling out the man that stepped up to be "the man" for the child that he basically "abandoned".

My friend is not wanting to get into a bullshit contest with this man even though he is right. (Or at least I believe he is.) He is trying not to become a wedge in between this man and his "abandoned" child. The biological's actions was so disturbing and upsetting that it took everything for the child's mother to keep from telling this child the "real deal and truth" about their father which is some harsh stuff. There has never been any baby mama/baby daddy drama in this blended family before.

Why do some men do this? They don't do anything for a child they fathered but want to lash out at the man that stepped up to be the man they can't seem to be for that child.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

I Fought the Oink and I Won.....


I fought the H1N1 and I came out victorious but I came to grips to the fact that I am a "fragile" being.

After a follow-up with the doctor today, I am H1N1 free. My lungs look good so the pneumonia didn't get worse. I am still sporting a bacterial bronchial infection which is a medical way of saying I still got some phlegm to get rid of to be at my peak performance. They gave me another damn shot in my ass. Personally I think that the nurses wanted to check out my butt. LOL.

Through all of this, I am slowly figuring out that my body is changing and I am not the young guy I see myself to be. I have lived a life of relatively good health. I may not eat right all the time but I try not to over-indulge in the "bad" stuff. I am holding a few extra "L B's" so I think I am going to have to make some changes in that as well. Mom is harping that I am not as young as I used to be. Blah! Blah! Blah!

I wasn't extremely concerned with the fact that I had the H1N1 virus, even though everyone made it seem like the Second Plague. I have had bronchitis before so that wasn't a big deal. It was the pneumonia that I truly feared. I feared it so much that the first two nights after my diagnosis I didn't sleep well at all. I know nothing about pneumonia and the fact that people die from this as a complication from something else put a real scarein me. I think I stressed about it so much that the medicine I was taking wasn't even doing any real good because I couldn't truly relax. Thankfully I was able to overcome it all.

I will be 40 years old in about two weeks (YEAH!) and didn't plan on looking at this day as anything special or some sort of benchmark. But with this "health scare", I am having to re-evaluate my path in regards to my health. Changes are forthcoming.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Oh I Will Never Get It....Well I Guess I am Oinking Now


Well what I thought was my bi-annual cold (winter to spring and fall to winter) turns out to be the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu). Of course when I get sick, which is rare n itself, I do it big time. I have also got two added complications - lower right lung lobe pneumonia and a severe case of bronchitis.

Being the trooper that I am and knowing that the "show" has to go on, I was trying to tough it out until my "normal" off days of Sunday and Monday where I would be able to relax and recoup. Well I guess my body finally had enough me trying to be some sort of Superman when I couldn't breathe yesterday.

I was talking to my father last night and we are both cut from the same mold in some aspects in the thinking that "oh I will never get it". We both do not get sick often but when we do - we get sick and THEN some. I never get a flu shot because I felt it was a waste of time and money because I had the mentality that "oh I will never get it".

On Day Two of my diagnosis, I am feeling better with the aid of prescription drugs and some needed rest. Last night's sleep was a little rough with a fever but I am feeling good at the writing of this entry. My doctor's orders to rest and relax are going to "kill" me since I try to keep myself occupied most of the time but I do not plan on aggravating this illness and end up in the hospital for an extended period of time. (Should have taken that short term disability this year - LOL).

Thanks for the well wishes from friends and family. Will keep ya posted on my progress. I got my meds, remote. phone, and laptop so I am good to go for now.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Basically She Called Me an Uncle Tom...


I knew that there would be something that would fire me up to write something and something last night did it. I consider myself a people person. I love to talk to others and hear their stories and see what they have experienced in life. Sometimes I even take their life lessons and apply them to myself.

My job puts me in contact with ALL types of people - young and old; rich, financially stable, or living paycheck to paycheck; black, white, yellow, red, tan, olive (hope nobody takes offense, just trying to prove a point); male or female or someone that is "has a little of both". Nevertheless, I mostly enjoy the contact. Regardless of your ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, we are all connected and have encountered the SAME problems and adversities on a common level.

Last night, I had to deal with an issue at the job that required several different interactions with my team and myself. The point was not being driven home enough that it required the ejection of some people from the property. I do not expect anyone to take news like that happily but for the greater good it had to be done. To break it down - if you have 30 people and only 1 person is the problem, you don't cater to the 1 person that is a problem and inconvenience the other 29. Upon their ejection, one female in the group, who also happened to be black (and due to her attitude - a little ghetto fabulous), had a lot to say regarding her "treatment".

She basically said that we were not treating her group fairly. For those who truly know me, I have got to be one of the most fair minded people around. Race has never been thrown into most decisions that I make especially work. She said that I was picking on the black man and wasn't doing it to "the other man". Well for her information, "the other man" was not the problem. When "the other man" has been the cause of the exact same problem, "the other man" was dealt in the same fashion as she was last night. She also said in so many words that they had to send the "the black face" of the organization to deal with her and her party. Whoa! Hold up! Wait a minute! I am not any one's "token black". Everything I achieved is due to hard work and integrity. That is what broke the camel's back with me. And to correct her, I WAS IN CHARGE of the property, nobody had to send me anywhere.

Then the "N" word got dropped several times describing me. She was talking to other members of her party and NOT directly to me when she said it which showed me how much of a cowardly individual she was. She hates dealing with "niggas". Really!?! Do you now? Gave you three chances to straighten up and you can't comply - that all of a sudden makes me a "nigga"? I felt bad for my white team members who were witness to her rantings. I am sure it is the same across the board but when one person in your race does something stupid, then all the other people in the race are embarrassed by it.

Well, I put on my best "token black" face and even thanked them for choosing us when they were walking out of the door. I am no better than anyone else and don't claim to be. But I find myself thinking of how she was "raised" to label me, a black man that wears a suit to work everyday and has quite of bit of responsibility (and authority) at work, an Uncle Tom type. What is sad is that until she opened her mouth, she WAS an visually attractive woman. What do you think?

Oh, did I mention that the gentlemen were saggin' (which I don't do) and drinking alcohol at a children's function? Maybe that will give you more insight into her thought process.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Gamble or Not to Gamble? That is the Question.


I was working on another entry regarding this issue but just couldn't get my thoughts together on it. I stepped back to think about it and maybe I can get my point across on it this time.

I am not a gambler. I have been to a casino five times in my life. Twice on a casino cruise off the coast of Georgia; once in Montgomery County at the Poarch Creek Indian casino; once in Las Vegas; and once in New Orleans. I got better things to do with my money than throw them into a machine, but I wanted to say that I tried it once. The times I won, which is twice, I walked away with more than I put in and the three times I lost, I lost a total of $60 - total.

The legality of "electronic bingo" is the debate here in Alabama. Several destination points here in the state have legalized charity bingo but some of these places have thrown in the "electronic" version into it which in my opinion is a slot machine. No matter how much you argue it - it looks and acts like a slot machine. Do I really care? NO! It doesn't affect me directly so I really don't care.

There are bills going through the State Legislature to allow this type of gambling in the state and possibly higher classes of gaming which would include card games, roulette, etc. The bill is not meaty enough myself and leave too much wide open. It is so vauge that I do not know if it will recoup the taxes owed to the state and if it will give special considerations the gaming facilities already open. Personally, I think we have plenty at this point.

My proposal - if were to be legalized - tax the heck out of the profits of the gaming facilities - at least 50%. Take that money and put it in an Education Trust Fund and a Public Safety Trust Fund - 75% and 25% respectfully. Current budgets for both will still submitted to the legislature and Governor and will be increased based on inflation on the cost of "doing business". The two trust funds are strictly "extra" money out there NOT a replacement. There should be no relying on the spending habits of gamblers. The money cannot be used for anything else EVER. Two other provisions is that facilities owners must give at least 10% to charities that benefit Alabamians and last but not least, the facility owners would have to dump money into programs to deal with people who might have a "problem" with gambling.

Everyone talks about the "moral" question of gaming. I guess you can call me a liberal, anti-family, anti-religion on this or hoping for the Apocalypse but maybe I just cant see how my losing of $60 over the last 6 years makes me immoral. I have lost more money on other crap.

Years ago, there was a former Governor of Alabama trying to institute a "education lottery" much like Florida and Georgia. It failed miserably but when a county needs to up the property taxes in a vote the answer is HELL NO! If an extra $50 a YEAR is going to keep my kid from being in a classroom with 50 kids, have a teacher overworked, and have to possibly buy $200 of classroom supplies every year, I will pay it. Every time I got across the state line into those states, I always buy lottery tickets. Does that make me a gambler as well? Heck, I call it a donation to keep that kid in school in the hopes that it keeps them from coming to my house and making me have to put two in them for breaking and entering.

According to the US Census in 2006, there were 4.6 million persons living in Alabama. Nobody likes taxes but lets say that half of Alabama's resident purchased a lottery ticket once a week. That would $119,600,000.00 a year. Now of course, that is just so I can get a big number figure in your head. Not money people buy one lottery ticket a week and throw in people visiting or passing through the state that might was to "donate" to the education of Alabama kids than so be it, it could be a windfall.

My thought on it is to take advantage of the people (gaming owners) who in a sense take advantage of people who work hard for their money. If they have no problem taking it, let's fix some things with the money we collect from them in taxes and programs. Sometimes the simpler the solution is better.

Friday, February 19, 2010

The Age of Ignorance Continues

An entry two days in a row, I must actually have time on my hands. LOL. I guess I am a little more inspired to write lately.

Well today's entry is about the ignorance of SOME people on a side of Montgomery that does see more than its fair share of the criminal element that makes up the population in this city. Montgomery's West Side does unfortunately carry the distinction of being the "bad" side of town. It is predominately black.

The Montgomery Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Art Baylor, a personal friend of mine, has helped changed the face of the Montgomery Police Department. Forget the old days of the Civil Rights Movement; the arrest of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.; or the allowing of a white mob to beat Freedom Riders at the Greyhound bust station - this is a modern department that is doing what they can to make my and family and I safe. Chief Baylor has tried to make the department more proactive instead of reactive; been an outspoken critic of the court system that puts criminals back on the streets with slaps on the wrists or bail to commit more crimes; and give the department more respectability that it has had under previous leadership.

Yesterday, in an attempt to curb the crime in the west side area, the police has put up a "Taking Back Our Neighborhoods" operation and command post (as they have done in two other parts of town) to get a handle on the criminal element. This is the third such operation. The first day - let me repeat that FIRST DAY - there were 27 arrests (including 6 felony arrests); about 300 citations written; confiscated marijuana and cocaine; and recovered a stolen car. I call that a pretty good damn day.

The last operation, last year in another part of town (Ridgecrest) which sort of "borders" the east and west side of the city, yielded the following results: 153 felony arrests; 509 misdemeanor arrests; 2502 bench warrants; 5771 citations; 3098 field interviews; and implemented 3 apartment watch and 1 neighborhood watch programs.

Now the real reason I am writing this is due to the ignorance of some people that feel that this operation is unfair targeting of a race of people. Where on my side of town, you tend to have more residential burglaries (which are bad); on the West side, you tend have more murders, shootings, out in the open drug issues, prostitution, and assaults. On the interview below, a lady feels that she was targeted due to her vehicle because it was a Crown Victoria. If she truly believed that, then I would think she would drive something else. That is just plain IGNORANT! I would venture to guess that she has that vehicle because EVERYONE else has one. Which goes to my belief of not trying to be like everyone else - be an original. I admit that I could be way off base with that statement about her though.

It speaks of the mentality that has been ingrained in people's mind of the police being the bad guy. No matter how much you want to "f$%# the police", who is the first person you call when something bad is or has happened to you? THE DAMN POLICE!



I have run through many a checkpoint here in Montgomery and everyone I have encountered has been professional but then I have my $hit in order - license, insurance, registration, pistol permit, etc. Maybe the ones that complain the most are the ones that don't take care of business to prevent "harassment" by the police. If you have no license, don't get behind the wheel of a car; if you do not have insurance or registration, leave the car in the driveway; if you carry a concealed weapon, get a damn permit and if you are a felony, don't freakin' have a weapon at all.

All I can say is don't allow the rhetoric of some who "poison" the minds about how things have not changed or being left behind into your life. You make your own path, don't rely on someone clearing the way for you.

A little bit of irony, one of the streets involved in this police operation is Rosa L. Parks Avenue here in Montgomery. Imagine that!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Senator Richard Shelby - Hostage Taker? I am Not Paying!

You know I have to poke fun at politicians whenever I can because they seem to forget that they represent the people sometimes. Another United States Senator has put Alabama on the map - Richard Shelby, Republican from Alabama. Of course, I go to my favorite news source, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, to get the info. Senator Richard Shelby had earlier blocked about 80nominations including the undersecretary of defense for military readiness and top officials at the Departments of State and Homeland Security

Just like Senator Evan Bayh from Indiana, I am getting fed up with the bickering in Washington D.C. Republicans blame the Democrats; Democrats blame the Republicans; Independents blame Republicans and Democrats; Tea Party blames everyone. I am getting so tired of the damn blame game. I guess that is the goal of Washington - blame someone else so you can hide that you are not doing anything but getting a paycheck. Everyone in Congress is acting like a bunch of children on a playground fighting over a swing.

It seems that the Senator that is supposed to represent me has blocked nominees of President Obama for key posts over "pork spending" for the State of Alabama. For those that know me as a person, I am proud and glad when the state prospers and moves forward. Even though, he has since lifted the blanket block but is still holding onto three Pentagon slots. Why are grown ass folks playing the quid pro quo game? You say Obama is soft on National Security and maybe these three appointments will not lean either way but do not be a part of the problem. You can't blame anyone for a problem when you do not give them the proper tools (or the ones they request) to do the job.

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I am not party bashing because I consider myself a Conservative Democrat and a Liberal Republican (yeah I think it is funny too). Please correct me if I am wrong but isn't the Republicans bitching about programs that are putting us further in debt HOWEVER this Republican wants to spend more money on more programs. Depending on who you talk to, it differs on whether they are "front burner" issues or things that can wait.

I am disgusted with everybody in Congress at this point. Here is another "waste" of my tax money below that I saw on the NBC Nightly News a couple of weeks ago.

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Maybe we need to take a page from the rhetoric of retiring Senator Evan Bayh and vote all incumbents out and start fresh with people that want to get stuff accomplished in Washington. This is my rant for today!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Retarded - Aren't We All A Little Bit?

This world is getting a little too politically correct and sensitive. This thing with the word retarded is getting a little out of hand. Now it is the "R-word" (to be made in comparison with the use of the "N-word".)

I will admit growing up that when you saw a person with Down's Syndrome or some other sort of developmental problem, you would refer to them as retarded. As a kid, there was nothing hurtful meaning behind the use of the word. I guess you can say it was the "way I was raised" (the same excuse that some individuals use who call black people nigger). [Just in case you missed it, that was a joke]. Don't want someone to write something on their Facebook page about me like Palin did regardng Rahm.

As a child, I didn't shy away from someone who had mental deficiencies. I think that was truly due my parents having some close friends that had a son who had cerebral palsy and in a wheelchair. So I got to see this first hand - not from a distance. Does that make me some sort of saint? Hell no.

Now Rahm Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff, uses the term "fucking retard". I will admit that the context, on first look, does not shine a positive light on those with developmental disabilities. Rush Limbaugh, who has no sense of respectability in my book, is droning on and on and on and on and on (get the picture) about this. Yeah, it might have been inappropriate for Emanuel to say but it was in a "closed" strategy meeting and not a public forum. How many people have said things about other people behind closed doors and kept it to themselves in public? Not trying to excuse Rahm's tirade, just making a point. And if I am hearing right, this happened in August of 2009. Damn Rush, let it go like you did your prescription drug habit.



The rash of apologies have started. Rush wants to bash Rahm for using the word and now he is using it to describe Rahm's attempts to make it right with mental disability advocates by calling it a "retard summit at the White House". The fact that I am not mentally handicap (99% of the time) makes it hard for me to understand any kind of derogatory effect that the use of the term evokes so I can only speak for myself.

But since the apologies are making the circuit, I guess we are going to have to demand an apology from KJ and Da' Fellas (if they are still around). According to the Urban Dictionary, to get retarded is "to consume intoxicating alcohol or drugs to the point where you are incapable of verbally communicating past incoherent mumbles. Motor skills are also severely hampered thereby giving the overall impression of severe retardation."



According to the Webster's Dictionary, retarded (as an adjective) means "slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress." Come on! Haven't we all been there? Retard as a verb is "to slow up especially by preventing or hindering advance or accomplishment [impede]" or "to delay academic progress by failure to promote".

Perhaps the idea Rahm was trying to get across regarding the strategy of liberal activists regarding the passage of a health care bill was "lost" in our overly sensitive being to make sure we don't hurt a class or section of people. But just think about the definition of the words, apply them to yourself or someone you know fairly well and ask yourself "aren't we all just a little retarded sometimes?"