29 March 2009

Peter Sallis Gets Married, 1957

Sallis Marries Usher

English television actor Peter Sallis with his wife Elaine Usher after their wedding at St. John's Wood Church, London, 9th February 1957. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

23 March 2009

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

This principle really hits on one of my personal pet peeves. The government has interfered in every aspect of the family life from raising the kids to what temperature we should set our thermostats to. Enough is enough!

I don’t want anybody telling me how to run my household and most American’s feel the same way. Al Gore and his band of merry idiots are screaming about about global warming. The fact that reputed scientists have debunked the global warming myth and proved we’re moving into an ice age has completely escaped them. Based on this misinformation, the government has set about “suggesting” to us how to  heat and cool our homes, what types of automobiles to purchase, and what types of bulbs we should use to light our houses. If we don’t conform, we’re crucified for destroying the earth. Some of those are ideas worth considering to save money, but again, that’s MY decision to make. I don’t want to be guilted or bribed into it.

Then we have the touchy subject of parenting. Back in the dark ages (circa 1950 something), schools were a surrogate parent while students were there. In other words, they could discipline you child at school much the way you would when you were home. If you did something wrong, you got it from the teacher at school, then you got it again from you parents when you got home. Now a days, teachers by and large don’t say BOO to students and the ones that do are often the targets of lawsuits or discipline. The result? Modern schools crank out class after class of intellectual and social idiots. The standard of learning has dropped considerably in ten years, so the valedictorians of today are only about as smart as the B students ten years ago. Naturally there are exceptions and I’m sure there are students who are SMARTER then the valedictorians ten or more years ago. But for the most part they are not.

While years ago schools and the parents worked together to prepare the children for life, now you will find the schools working AGAINST parents. There are no longer harsh punishments for acting out in class. Parents are no longer notified about what goes on in their children’s lives outside of grades. Students can get condoms, birth control, and information on abortion clinics that will perform procedures, all without the parents ever knowing. While years ago there was usually one parent at home, now usually both parents are working. It’s hard enough for parents to juggle running the house, working outside the house, raising children, and working on their relationship with each other without schools interfering and making it that much harder to keep on top of the kids.

A lot of public schools, especially in the south, are deciding to go with “uniforms”. Either an actual uniform or set outfit that is to be worn daily (ie red polo top and tan pants). They would rather incur more expense on the parents then enforce their own dress code rules. Parents who may have relied on hand-me-downs from other relatives or siblings now have to go out and buy special clothes from school.

Most of these problems stem from the government interfering. Corporal punishment should never had been taken out of school. The Dr. Spocks of the world think they can solve all the behavioural problems with words and time outs. That is not true. Every once in a while a problem student just needs a good slap in the mouth when they curse out a teacher or a smack with the ruler or paddle when start a fight in the hallway. That’s not going to kill them. The killings started when punishment went out the window and bullying ran rampant because THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES. Detention and suspension do not work. Ignoring the problem doesn’t work. Telling the victims to get a tougher skin doesn’t work.

What works is when the school disciplines the students there and then informs the parents so THEY can make the ultimate decision on how to correct the behaviour. Got a problem with a student constantly breaking dress code? Send them home until the parents make sure they dress right. In cases where the parents refuse to or are unable to handle the child, THEN a school or government agency can step in. Schools need to give the power back to the parents by keeping them informed. Don’t be lazy and change the policy to punish the students who do obey the rules. Don’t send home or mail a note and never follow up on it. Too many parents have gotten lazy because they either assume everything is ok because they haven’t heard anything or they assume if it gets too bad somebody else will handle it.

I’m also tired of all the politically correct nonsense and attempts at censoring what gets shown on the telly or played on the radio. Again, it’s up to the parents to be responsible parents. There are plenty of single parents who work long hours or multiple jobs who manage to keep their kids in check, are aware of what’s going on and control what they watching on telly or doing on the internet. If they can manage, then 98% of households should be able to manage. (Again, 2% for legitimate exceptions.)

I don’t need the government taking stuff off the air because a child might see it. If children see it, too bad. That’s their parent’s problem, not mine. There are warnings and ratings on the shows. that’s enough. When you have 11 year olds having sex in the alcoves of classrooms, that sounds more like a lack of supervision and bad parenting then the influence of a bare boobie or bottom on some sitcom. Like it or not, we still have freedom of speech and the arts. You have the freedom to turn the channel or station.

There are boucous of parents who complain about how marketing campaigns target their children with their free sex, unrealistic appearances, and trampy outfits. Last time I checked, you were still the parent(s). Try exercising that right instead of caving into your kids or doing nothing but complain. There are a LOT of parents who stand their ground and forbid their kids to do, watch, or wear what the media is peddling. And you know what? It WORKS. If more parents tried it, the campaigns would fade out because they would no longer be effective.

American families for the most part are self sufficient and responsible. Unfortunately in recent years there has been an increase of irresponsibility and government dependence. It’s easier to let someone else handle your problem then to have your kids be mad at you. You know, the age old being a parent vs. being a friend argument.

Hillary Clinton once made the infamous statement, “it take a village to raise a child.” That statement is an absolute perversion of tradition. In the old days, even in NYC which is notorious for people keeping to themselves, people in the neighbourhood knew what was going on. If you did something stupid or wrong, your parents often knew about it before you got home. If there was a death or illness in the family, the neighbours often brought over casseroles and offered to help with chores or to watch the kids. That’s normal. What Hillary meant but would probably never admit to is a welfare system of sorts. Unfortunately there are very few people who do it right—get on while their down then get off again. More often then not, once they get on, they stay on. And that suits the government fine because they can use that to manipulate politics to their favour.

The bottom line is clear. Parents need to be parents. I don’t want to raise your kids and I don’t want you raising mine. What goes on between the spouses is nobodies business.

Barring instances of child or domestic abuse, THE FAMILY IS SACRED. THE SPOUSES ARE THE ULTIMATE ATHORITY, NOT THE GOVERNMENT.

REMEMBER that before you sign any more of your rights away.

20 March 2009

A Few Words From Thomas Paine…

 

Thomas Paine is STILL right on the money when it comes to the role of Government.... sort of. Meet Bob Basso, the modern day personification of Thomas Paine. And remember, only WE have the power to change the path our country is on.

The Second American Revolution

 

We The People Stimulus Package

Wendy Richard dies at age 65

Wendy Richard, who died on February 26 aged 65, became one of the best-known faces on British television during more than 20 years as the long-suffering matriarch Pauline Fowler in the BBC soap EastEnders; as a younger woman she had been cast in more glamorous roles, notably as the buxom Miss Brahms in the 1970s situation comedy Are You Being Served?

Last Updated: 5:16PM GMT 26 Feb 2009

Former Eastenders actress Wendy Richard, who played Pauline Fowler, has died of cancer age 65. ; http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1488655367/bctid14168476001 http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1139053637

For years she endured a bumpy relationship with the tabloid press, which constantly feasted on EastEnders and regarded her as a soap diva; when an ex-boyfriend sold lurid stories about her to the News of the World, Wendy Richard was forced to take out a court injunction against the paper.

In 1994 her third husband, Paul Glorney, sold further information to the same newspaper for a reported £15,000, generating the front page headline “Wendy’s Boozing Sank Our Marriage”. On the studio set, too, life was seldom straightforward for her, and she survived more than one attempt to have Pauline written out.

Wendy Richard’s character had been in EastEnders since the opening episode was broadcast early in 1985; she rejected criticism that Pauline Fowler, manageress of the Albert Square launderette, was miserable, never smiled and dressed like a drab.

A convivial trouper who hugely enjoyed the trappings of soap stardom, Wendy Richard also believed that she was entitled to the same privacy as non-celebrities: in 1995, when she appeared on BBC Radio’s Desert Island Discs, she stopped an inquisitive Sue Lawley four times in the course of the recording after the presenter strayed from the pre-agreed, anodyne agenda; she was annoyed still further when she was not allowed to take her pet Cairn terrier to the mythical island as a luxury.

In February the following year she discovered a lump in her left breast and was diagnosed with cancer. After surgery and a course of radiotherapy, she was given the all-clear. But in July 2006 she announced that she would be leaving EastEnders at Christmas after nearly 22 years in the show.

Although she was to make her name as an actress, Wendy Richard first came to national attention, in 1962, on a novelty pop song, Come Outside, in which she had an attenuated speaking part (“Get lost... Give over”) duetting with the singer Mike Sarne in the role of an importunate young man on pleasure bent. To everyone’s amazement, including her own, the record shot to the top of the charts, where it remained for 19 weeks, selling well over half a million copies. It was her first real brush with fame, if not with fortune — she was paid a flat fee of just £15, and received not a penny in royalties.

Her first television break came in 1965 in The Newcomers, one of the BBC’s earliest soaps, designed to rival ITV’s Coronation Street for social realism. Wendy Richard played Joyce Harker, the teenage daughter of a London family relocated to a fictitious dormitory town in Suffolk.

After several cameo spots in Dad’s Army, Wendy Richard finally achieved stardom in 1973 when she was cast as the Cockney shop assistant Shirley Brahms in Are You Being Served?, set in an antiquated department store, and initially launched as a 30-minute pilot in the BBC’s Comedy Playhouse series. She soon made her mark as the love interest for the infatuated Mr Lucas (played by Trevor Bannister) and the daughter figure for the monstrous pussy-fancier Mrs Slocombe (Mollie Sugden).

Wendy Richard reappeared as Shirley Brahms in a follow-up series to Are You Being Served?, called Grace and Favour, which ran for two series in 1992 and 1993. The original Are You Being Served? episodes are still shown on television in America, where they have become cult viewing; her Shirley Brahms character is recognised as a gay icon worldwide.

Wendy Richard was born Wendy Emerton on July 20 1943 at Middlesbrough, where her parents were publicans and kept the Corporation Hotel. She was still an infant when they moved from the north-east, first to Bournemouth and then the Isle of Wight, before settling in the West End of London at the Shepherds Tavern in Shepherd Market, then a notorious resort of prostitutes. Among the raffish clientèle were Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Michael Wilding, and the photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones (now the Earl of Snowdon) .

With her parents preoccupied with the business, Wendy was raised by nannies and attended St George’s primary school in Mount Street. But her education was interrupted when the family moved again, to the Valentine Hotel at Gants Hill in Essex. Behind the hotel was a large restaurant where a local drama group staged amateur plays, and it was there that Wendy was bitten by the acting bug. Within a matter of months, however, her parents moved yet again, this time to the Streatham Park Hotel, south London, where, in December 1954, her father committed suicide: it was Wendy, then aged 11, who found him dead on the floor in front of a gas fire.

Because her father had been a Freemason, Wendy was enrolled at the Royal Masonic School for Girls at Rickmansworth, all fees paid, while her mother took a series of jobs as housekeeper to various bachelor publicans. When Wendy left school at 16 in 1959 she took a job as a junior in the fashion department at Fortnum & Mason, where the fashion buyer, a Miss Whiteside, later became the inspiration for the brassy, rainbow-coiffed Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?

After only a few months her retail career was sidetracked when her mother bought a small bed-and-breakfast business opposite St Pancras station, and she went to help run it. The enterprise thrived to the extent that her mother was able to scrape together the money to send her to the Italia Conti stage school, where Wendy learned to act, dance and sing; she supplemented her mother’s income by returning to work part-time at various London department stores, including Selfridges, DH Evans, Dickins & Jones and Fenwick (whence she was fired on her second day after telling a woman customer that a coat she was trying on did not suit her).

She was not yet 17 when, on the strength of a glamour portfolio shot by the fashion photographer Michael Barrington-Martin, she landed her first modelling jobs for women’s magazines.

Her first television engagement dates from 1960, when she appeared with Sammy Davis Jr in Sammy Meets The Girls for ATV; speaking parts quickly followed in Dixon of Dock Green and No Hiding Place, the two top police dramas of the time.

A change of agent led to Wendy Richard’s first television series, Harpers West One (1961-63) for ATV, in which she played the receptionist at a department store — “God, I was dreadful,” she recalled; this was followed by spots in various comedy shows. After a chance meeting in the ATV canteen with the scriptwriter Johnny Speight and the actor Michael Caine, she was cast in The Arthur Haynes Show as Haynes’s daughter; when Haynes himself died not long into the run, Speight shelved the scripts, resurrecting them later (and morphing the socialist father into a Right-wing bigot) as Till Death Us Do Part for the BBC.

A turning point for Wendy Richard came when she appeared in a long-running BBC suburban sitcom, Hugh And I, starring Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott: a few years later, in 1970, the producer, David Croft, would cast her in Dad’s Army, which he co-created with Jimmy Perry, and, three years later, in Are You Being Served? It was Croft who urged her to change her name from Emerton to Richard “because it was short and neat”.

Her film credits included On The Buses and Gumshoe, the latter starring Albert Finney (both 1971); Bless This House and Carry On Matron (both 1972); and Carry On Girls (1973). Her scene with Frankie Howerd in the Beatles’ film Help! (1965) was omitted from the final cut.

She was appointed MBE in the Millennium honours list of 2000. Among the few revelations contained in her memoirs, published in the same year, were her Conservative political sympathies and her daily habit of relaxing with The Daily Telegraph crossword.

Wendy Richard’s marriage, in 1972, to Len Black, a music publisher, ended in divorce; in 1980 she married Will Thorpe, an advertising director, but that marriage also failed. Her third marriage, in 1990, to Paul Glorney, a carpet fitter, ended in 1994.

Since 1996 she had lived with John Burns, a painter and decorator 20 years her junior. They married last October after her cancer had been diagnosed as terminal.

19 March 2009

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

Now this is one that the powers that be would choke on if they ever had to prove that they lived by it. Being honest isn’t just telling the truth. It’s all about your actions too. At my last job, I often found myself faced with situations where I had to decide whether or not to be honest. I did customer service, scheduling, and was a driver liaison.  There were many times when drivers were only a half hour or forty five minutes out from the warehouse when they chirped my Nextel to ask if I’d gone for the day. Especially on pay day Fridays. They often needed to get their checks, retrieve an item that was in the building, or sometimes empty returns/trash from their trucks because they had to load quickly in the morning to get an early start on a long trip the next day. I could have said, no, that I had already left and then been gone before they got back, but unless I had something I needed to do, I waited for them.

It seems really simple, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. It would be easy to “forget” to sign out for lunch or to “forget” to sign out then add an extra hour on to the time card the next day. After all, nobody’s gonna know, right? Wrong. YOU’LL know. That’s what matters. You shouldn’t strive to be an honest person because you want to look good for others. You should do it because it makes YOU feel good.

How easy would it be to start telling people the truth instead of white lies that “won’t hurt their feelings”. You don’t have to be vicious to be honest. If you don’t want to talk to your friend that is ringing you up for the fourth time today and it’s only 10 in the morning, be honest and tell that you can’t/won’t/don’t want to talk to them right now and you’ll call them at a set time later. Then make sure you do it.

Have you ever been in a store and checked out only to get away from the line or to your car and find you didn’t pay for something because it was under your coat? What did you do? Or did you ever order something at a restaurant and find that they didn’t charge your for a drink or dessert? Did you bring it to the wait person’s attention? What about if you saw someone drop a five dollar note out of their purse or pocket and walk away. Do you keep it or call to them and give it back? You’re probably thinking that a lot of these things are good deeds and you’re right. They are good deeds. Often doing good deeds goes hand and hand with being an honest person.

I know a lot of states have passed “good Samaritan laws” which REQUIRE you to report a crime if you see one being committed. A lot of religions call for it’s believers to be their brother’s keeper or make sure that other followers of the faith are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. That too is part of being honest. West Point Military Academy is FAMOUS for it’s honour code. It’s sometimes HARD to be honest about yourself or someone who’s close to you. Sometimes you’re faced between being loyal to your loved one or being honest about what they’re doing or not doing.

I strive to be more honest today then I was the day before. This forces me to be aware of what’s going on around me. I was brought up to be aware of what was going on around me as far as watching for shadows coming up behind me or listening for signs that I was somehow in danger. Now I try to be aware of the conditions around me. If I see a shoplifter, I’m going to report him/her. If I find a toy or watch in the parking lot or entry ways, I’ll turn it into the store. I recycle regularly. Sometimes it’s tempting to just toss that half used tub of icing in the trash because I don’t want to be bothered emptying it out. I have to work to make sure I do the things I don’t want to do if I know it’s something I gave my word I would do.

If we set small goals for ourselves daily or weekly, we’ll soon see how much we’ve improved as individuals. On the plus side, we’re also bound to be honest about our politicians. If we see them doing something that’s dangerous to our country, or just a plain stupid bad idea, we need to speak out against it. We need to write letters and if need be, stage peaceful protests to get their attention. If we set our minds to it, we can all be more honest today then we were yesterday.

18 March 2009

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

Nearly everyone believes in God in some form or another. Whether we are Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Satanist, Wiccan, Muslim, or even atheist, we still believe in a “God” that is the center of our life. Even if that God is ourself.

Most American's follow the Judeo-Christian path, but are tolerant of other paths and beliefs. Our founding fathers may have derived our principles and laws from their religious beliefs, but they mirror other beliefs as well.

I far as I’m concerned, God is the center of my life. Not because I obsess over him and waste time justifying all my actions and decisions with what’s in the bible, but because my parents raised me by the 10 commandments and taught me there are consequences for my actions. The Bible, The Koran, the sacred Hindu and Buddha texts, even the 11 Satanic laws are a good guide to live by. I have faith that God will take care of me if I am open to him try to use my God given gifts and talents to their fullest.

There are a lot of people, especially extreme liberal atheists who are trying to get me to adopt their views. They say there is no God and we have to “look out for number one”. They deem anything that teaches responsibility and morality to the younger generations “religious” and proceed to remove it from all of society.

Take a good look at the younger generations. While there are a few that still excel, the majority don’t know American history, barely made it through general math and science, can’t find Afghanistan on a map, have no clue what the laws of the land are quite frankly don’t care. They either have no idea what grammar is or consciously choose to ignore it and have subsequently destroyed verbal and written English as it once was. But ask them who tops the pop charts or who got eliminated from American Idol last week and they’re up to date on that news.

I look at the generations after me and am disgusted. They have no sense of self worth. They choose to be dumb because they don’t like school. They’re smoking and drinking by the time they reach middle school. They have sex freely and often don’t bother with contraception because they honestly think it won’t happen to them. And if it does, who cares? They can get an abortion and go on to their next partner.

Unfortunately, even the ones who do well really aren’t because the standards have dropped so much even in the 11 years since I graduated school. Rather then improve the quality of education, they lower the over all standards so it LOOKS like more students are doing better. God needs to be welcomed back into the schools again. His laws, which our criminal justice system is based on, need to be taught again. You don’t have to believe in God if you don’t want to. But you still need to obey the law.  We’ve tried taking God out of school and look where it got us? We can’t even have a moment of silence where atheist children can plan their evenings or do something else while the religious children say a prayer to themselves. Where God is the center of my life, too often they are the centers of their own lives. At the expense of all those around them.

The atheists and the ACLU forget that is a democracy and the majority of Americans believe a God. They may call him God, Yahweh, Buddha, Vishnu, Satan, Jehovah, or the God and Goddess but their faith if firm and we’re tired of being attacked because we want to raise the standards of morality and responsibility.

People of ALL faiths need to unite in a solid front and show them that there are more of us then them. We need to let them know:

We still believe in God and he is still the center of our lives.

17 March 2009

1. America is good.

Despite the drama, corruption, and increase in criminal activity that seems to be unfolding before us on the news each and every day, America is still by and large the best place in the world to be. We’re extremely generous, even when we don’t have a lot to spare. We always stick up for the “under dogs” of the world and have taken flack for it.

2007.05.15USMC

Unfortunately, the media likes to harp on the negative parts of our society rather then the positive. It’s easy to peddle crime, destruction, violence, and deviousness because that’s what sells. Thankfully, I think the majority of Americans are getting fed up with it and are looking for stories of hope, good deeds, and heroes. It’s tragic that such horrendous crimes occur, especially those concerning children, but there are far more good deeds that occur daily.

All over the country, children, teens, and young adults are banding together to support a myriad of different causes. Here’s just a few:

http://www.soldiersangels.org/ – As a volunteer-based nonprofit, we have over 30 different teams supporting all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Through special projects, dedicated teams and individuals supporting our troops, we make a visible difference in the lives of our service members and their families.

http://www.beccascloset.org/ -  "Little things can make a big difference..." This was the phrase that served as the driving force behind the beautiful life and caring actions of 16-year-old Rebecca Kirtman. Becca, a cheerleader, honor student, and caring young woman, passed away in a tragic automobile accident on August 20, 2003. Today, her family and friends not only remember Becca for her great love and friendship, but also for her contributions to the community.

http://sadd.org/ - For 27 years, SADD has been committed to empowering young people to lead education and prevention initiatives in their schools and communities. SADD was founded by Robert Anastas and a group of 15 students at Wayland High School in Massachusetts as Students Against Driving Drunk in 1981 in Wayland, Massachusetts. SADD has grown to become the nation’s dominant peer-to-peer youth education and prevention organization with thousands of chapters in middle schools, high schools and colleges. In 1997, in response to requests from SADD students themselves, SADD expanded its mission and name and now sponsors chapters called Students Against Destructive Decisions. SADD continues to endorse a firm "No Use" message related to use of alcohol and other drugs. With its expanded focus, SADD now highlights prevention of all destructive behaviors and attitudes that are harmful to young people, including underage drinking, substance abuse, impaired driving, violence, and suicide.

Those are just three examples of the countless organizations that are out there because American’s cared enough about other people to DO something about it. So when the media wants to beat up the country’s morale, just remember that there are countless, anonymous people out there doing good deed for for the sake of doing good deeds.

When the media wants to accuse out military of being a bunch of bullies, interfering where they don’t belong, just remember that countless people that are alive and free thanks to our soldiers putting their lives on the line.

Americans soldiers and citizens have been helping people around the country and around the world since the birth of our nation. Here is a small representation of how AMERICA IS GOOD:

American soldiers liberating children at Buchenwald:

children at Buchenwald concentration camp liberated

American soldiers being greeted by a grateful couple in war torn France:

couple greets soldiers

American and South Vietnamese soldiers watching over Vietnamese children:

american and s vietnamese soldiers watching children

Soldiers evacuating children from a Vietnamese village under attack:

ROK soldiers evacuating children

US Marine protecting women and children liberated from a Vietcong strong hold:

US Marine protecting women children in Vietnamese villagers Lap Thuan

Bringing freedom and peace to the Middle East:

Iraqis_Celebrate_The_Fall_of_Saddam Iraqis_Greet_Liberators 

Iraqi children shake U.S. soldier's hand  Iraqis_Celebrate2

Soldiers_Helping_Children_1 soldier and children soldiers helping family soldier with children

solders children iraq playground

 

9/11/2001:

working together 9 1 1 answering the call on 9 11 world_trade_center_workers

Volunteers assisting Katrina survivors:

Katrina Volunteers - Baptists

brothers unload food after katrina

katrina volunteers

01nw.volunteers1

Red Cross, Tsunami Volunteers, Peace Corps:

red cross volunteer tunami volunteer peace corps volunteer

13 March 2009

“You Are Not Alone”, a 9 part series

I’ve been watching Glenn Beck since he was on CNN and listening to him on the radio. He is trying to restore confidence in America by promoting the 12 values and 9 principles this country was founded on. And he’s not alone. He’s taken his “You are not alone” campaign to anyone who will listen. And judging by the response he’s gotten, there are a lot of people who hold the same values and principles out there.

I am going to write a nine part series where I will break down each principle and apply it to our lives…. I hope you enjoy. And remember,

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!





Unite or Die



..As seen on Glenn Beck's show.... ..
12 Values
* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Friendship


..The Nine Principles..
1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

05 March 2009

Six Songs of the Times

Since the music came about, people have been using it as a vehicle to spread their thoughts, feelings, and political agenda. Sometimes the public find meanings in the songs and it becomes an anthem on its own, such as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

I’ve picked five songs I feel reflect our world today. Song five, well… you’ll see when you get there. Feel free to share the songs you feel reflect our society in the comments below. I’d love to hear what yous think.


1. “From Yesterday” - :30 to Mars

It seems that the people in power today feel like they have the power to do it all. They judge us, punish us, make decisions for us. But all of them have something they fear from their pasts. Lately, everyone’s fears are coming…..from yesterday.

From Yesterday 30 Seconds From Mars


2. "What You Own” – Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascale, RENT

This song comes from RENT, a VERY realistic snap shot of a year in the life of eight friends. It is a down to earth, honest look at life as many people are living it. “What You Own” mirrors the shift of America to being a country that thrives on materialism. It’s not about who you are anymore. It’s about who you know and what you own. Everybody wants a big house, two cars, and a lot of STUFF to show that they are successful and to reach a higher status in the community. It seems that being a good person isn’t enough anymore…

What You Own - RENT the Musical


3. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” – Twisted Sister

Okay, if you’ve watched the news lately, then you’ve seen the “Tea Parties” that have been taking place nationwide in protest to the excessive spending of our government. They’re sick and tired of being abused, mistreated, and ignored by people who were elected to serve and represent them. Quite frankly, we’ve reached the point where we’re just not gonna take it anymore!

We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister


4. “Over There” George M. Cohen”

George M. Cohen wrote this song in the forties, but it’s still very much true today. America is the lead peace keeper in the world. Anywhere there is a problem, we’re right there to lend a hand and eradicate the bad guys. In WWII we were in France, England, Germany, and Japan. We were in Korea. We were in Vietnam. We are in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wherever there is a problem, the last super power will stand up and lead the charge.

Of course, we’re grateful to all of our allies such as England, Australia, and Israel for standing by us.

Over There - George M. Cohen


5. "Shout 2000" - Disturbed

This song is prefaced by the words, "Now gather yourselves. All your hate. All your anger. Everything that is black and loathsome that dwells inside of you. I want you to pour that shit into me. I want you to pour that shit into me! Gather yourselves and your strength from me my brothers my sisters my blood and shout..."

Now a days, there's PLENTY of hate and anger going on due to the state of things. The song is an anthem that tell us that despite the chaos around us we DON'T have to sell our soul. We DON'T have be anybody's whore (figuratively or literally). We can rebel against what we don't believe in and live to tell about it. We don't like the way things are? We want them to hear us? We need to stand up and SHOUT!


6. “Eve of Destruction” – Barry McGuire

I saved this one for last because I believe it holds the most truth. Barry McGuire wrote this song during the Vietnam Era, but it accurately describes the state of the world today. We’re in the Middle East fighting against people who are hell bent on destroying all goodness in the world and perpetuating their unholy, perverted beliefs. They’ve taken something good and sacred and twisted it into something evil and destructive.

The situation here at home isn’t much better. Politicians and radicals are undermining the foundations our country was built on. We have government sponsored discrimination, a war on illegal immigration, a war to keep our basic rights from revoked and the ongoing war on drugs and poverty. Not much has changed since the sixties except the problems just keep getting worse. We’re on a dangerous path and quickly closing in on the eve of destruction, as democracy and capitalism are being chipped away into socialism and communism.

Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire

The Double Standard For Fathers

As a woman, I get a lot of flack for my view on fatherhood and abortion issues. As a woman, I’m expected to go along with the heard philosophy of “it’s a woman’s body so it’s her choice alone.” No, sorry. I can’t go along with that one.

Women DO have a choice. They have a choice whether or not to have sex with someone KNOWING there is a chance they can become pregnant, with out without contraception. For the record, rape, incest, and a direct threat to the mother’s health are obvious exceptions to my views. Many women in today’s society believe that abortion is merely another birth control option. Why? Because sex ed in public schools teaches them that. They give girls condoms and if they end up pregnant anyway, abortion is always discussed as an option. After all, why should she inconvenience herself with something as trivial as a new life. Ignore the thousands of childless families who would give anything on earth to raise that child she doesn’t want. Biologically, when a sperm and an egg combine and start to divide, you have a life form. A HUMAN life form. It’s not an amoeba and it’s not a chimpanzee. It’s a human child whether you admit to that or not.

This is the point where the double standard kicks in. A woman has an unconditional right to have an abortion, whether she’s being vain, wants to get even with the father or is trying to hide the fact that she is irresponsible. So, off she goes to the clinic and the poor father has zero say in the matter. It’s her body and she can do with it what she wants. No, sorry. I don’t agree with that. Whether you see it as a baby or a sack of cells, it is not hers exclusively. It took two people to create that life, it should take two people to destroy it. If a father is willing to take complete control of the child and raise it on his own, he should have the legal recourse to take her to court and stop her from getting an abortion.  There of course needs to be the legal binding contract that he will pay for the child and after it’s born assume all responsibility for it.

I have seen time and time again the following scenario. A woman gets pregnant and decides she wants to have the baby. The father decides otherwise and makes his feelings known. She has the child, sues him for child support AND WINS. Where is HIS right not to be a parent? Why can the woman number one get an abortion over the father’s objections yet the woman in number two can force the father to pay support for a child he never wanted?

The fathers in the country need unite and take a stand against this unfair double standard. Either fathers get a say in the decision to have an abortion or they’re not responsible for child support. No more having it both ways. For that matter, more women should take a stand. How would you like to face your brother or cousin or nephew who is heartbroken because a few days after the woman in his life told him she was pregnant she told him she was having an abortion and there was nothing he could do to stop it. How would you feel if you’re a man in your family didn’t want children but was thrown in jail for not paying support on a child he never wanted?

The system needs to change to accommodate BOTH parents. Procedures need  be implemented to protect the rights of men who want to be fathers as well as protecting women from men who merely are trying to make their lives miserable by taking advantage of the situation. Legal procedures can establish the future of the child, and make sure that the fathers keep their words. The current system can not go on unchecked. It might be a woman’s body, but when she willingly has sex with a man, she already made her choice.

04 March 2009

Should Race Be Considered For College Admissions?

There was a time when “minorities” were discriminated against based on their colour, sex, religion, or anything else the majority didn't like about them. There was a time when they had separate schools for black and white people. By and large, that time has passed. At this stage in history, discrimination is largely a thing of the past. Everywhere you look, people of different races are working, socializing, and even marrying. We've come a long way, baby!

While racisim will never be completely gone, the measures that were put in place to stop discrimination, such as Affirmative Action, and the “voluntary statistical questions” on applications now create discrimination. If there is one spot left in a college program, the decision makers will likely look to see if their quota of minorities has been met. If it hasn't be met, a minority will more likely be chosen whether they are the best candidate or not. This creates a breeding ground for resentment because more often then not the truth eventually comes out. College admissions need to look at the quality of the applicant, not the appearance of the applicant.

The past couple of years, I have decided to exercise my right not to answer the “optional” questions and have found that I do not get called for interviews on jobs and the local college “encouraged” me to answer them. I do not like being pressured to label myself so I can be judged with out ever having a chance to represent myself. To my knowledge, no other country has such questions. I have never heard someone refer to themselves as an "African Englishman". These questions do not allow for white people who come from South Africa. After all, they're families are "African American" too. What about the black families who originated in Hati and have no ties to Africa? What do they call themselves?

This is the time when we need to join together as AMERICANS and put racism in ALL it’s forms to bed once and for all. We shouldn't be divided into groups of African American, White, Hispanic, Asian, Samoan, Native American, etc. Multi race individuals often have to chose one race over another because a lot of applications don't All they need to know is whether we were born here, have a visa, or a green card and THAT’S IT. The existing system is obsolete and needs to be retired.

College is the place where we should start a new movement. A lot of great movements came from college campuses and we have a chance to make a difference starting with the college application. No more “optional questions”. They are discriminatory and nobody's business.

Let’s stop being “ethnic groups” and start being AMERICAN.