Mr. Trump...You're Fired

I don't usually post video but Donald Trump doesn't know when to leave well enough alone.  The "issue" of President Obama's birth certificate has been beaten to the ground.  If you are on this "birther" bandwagon, you may need to see a doctor and get some help.  If Mr. Trump does not like the President's politics why doesn't he discuss his dissatisfaction on the issues.  Barrack Obama is the President of the United States, he's Black, he was born in Hawaii, and had done some good things for our nation.  Get over it...and Mr. Trump...you're fired!

For the benefit for those who have not seen this here is the entire interview with Wolf Blitzer.  Credit goes to CNN which was the network that aired this interview.

If We Really Want to Honor the Troops...

Today is Memorial Day, a day when our country honors the men and women who give their lives so we can have liberty and enjoy various freedoms.  Today, the American flag waves proudly in countless American homes and on top of various buildings.  Tomorrow we will all go back to work and continue with our normal lives.  For two days a year, we pretend that we care and appreciate about our military and on this one we have parades, fireworks, have barbecues, and we eat tons of apple pie.  Lately we have taken our basic freedoms for granted that our troops defend and die for willingly.  We bicker, we argue, and our politics are so dirty the military is now just another political football.  I say this because this is the sad truth of the state of our military, the one we say that we cherish and appreciate so much:

1. The unemployment rate for our discharged military is estimated to be as high as 28%
2. The suicide rate in the Army is up 80% in the last four years.
3. 1,985 U.S. troops (and counting) have died in Afganistan, and 4486 U.S. troops have died in Iraq with countless others returning with brain damage and lost limbs.
4. The rate for PTSD is estimated to be at 11-20% among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, 10% for the first Iraq war in 1990 and 30% of Vietnam vets.
5. The military homeless rate is as high as 1 in 3 (33%) of homeless men
6. There were 19,000 estimated violent sexual assaults by the Department of Defense in 2010 alone.  20% of women in the military are or have been sexually assaulted and are more likely to be raped by their fellow soldiers than be killed by enemy fire.

This like many issues doesn't often prompt significant attention until an election is on the horizon.  More is being done to reduce the suicide rate among the troops and there has been a recognition by the Department of Defense that violent sex assaults on women (and men) need to be addressed.  One topic that should be most relevant on this day is why are we still in Afghanistan?  Wasn't the mission to hunt and bring Bin Laden to justice?  Mission Accomplished, right?  Why can't we pull the troops.  These troops that have obeyed commands and risked their lives, and for what purpose now?  Are we attempting to install democracy in a place that may not be ready for it?  Speaking of that, why do we want to clone our country else where because we only recently cleaned our act 50 years ago and for a democracy we are still far from those "socialist" European countries.  We are one court ruling away from not having universal health care before it started, our crime rate is horrendous, speaking of which our criminals have better healthcare than our citizen, and maybe our military.

If we really want to honor the troops we would give them the best opportunities to succeed: a home, health care, therapy from illnesses like PTSD, and an economy that supports their exit from the military and entry into the workforce.  We would bring them home so we can begin to "nation build" here and allow Afghanistan to rebuild itself, find its own identity, and form their own government.  

With that said, thank you military men and women for all you do to defend us (and corporations and oil) and for all that you sacrifice.  I just wish that we as a country treated and appreciate you better.

A Year Wiser...

To My Readers,

I have been away for a very long time and if you have checked this blog for the past year yearning for new thoughts and opinions, I appreciate your loyalty and your hunger for real, true conversation and discourse.

For the past year, I have been rebuilding my life in the real world, defining my career, and discovering or I should say rediscovering many lessons not only in life but also in general human behavior.  I recently had a birthday and I have also had some great conversations that have brought some exciting breakthroughs.

I have thought about these lessons and at the urging of many including one of my mentors and friend, BlackWomanBlogging (a great blog if you haven't read her) to post some of these thoughts that are listed below.

The 2012 Practical and Common Sense Lessons Learned:

1. People lie, and lie often even when they think that they are not.  
2. OK does not mean ok, OK means be quiet, my thoughts are on something else.
3. Ownership means that when something is YOUR fault and YOUR responsibility you fall on your sword and admit it.
4. A distinctive "NO" is always better that a bullshit YES!
5. Reality Television is an addiction and does not depict positive thought.  It rots your brain and can make someone fall for anything.  It boggles my minds that the Kardashians, the Basketball Wives, The "Real Housewives" and other can make that much money acting so dumb.  In fact most of these shows don't even feature wives. They are ex-wives, baby mamas and the formerly engaged.  
6. Take the time to live your life critically.  Before you argue about what a woman can do with her body or who can marry, make sure that your own house is in order.  Which leads to....
7. People in general are hypocrites!!!  Many persecute too quickly and spend to much time in judgement and not enough time reflecting on their own thoughts and actions.  It's time to look into the mirror folks because we all have skeletons in the closet.
8. If you form your opinions solely by watching CNN or Fox News or MSNBC or listening to one viewpoint on radio then you are drinking the kool aid.  These interviews aren't even interviews anymore, they are gotcha questions.  People don't even answer questions anymore, they just pull talking point after talking point.  Which leads to...
9. WE must take action to help ourselves because the government is like the police in the movies.  They arrive in force way too late.  We blame government for much of what has happened in the past few years which I fully agree with.  After years of deadlock, we must realize that the solutions must come from Main Street which means that we must grow a pair and vote out the imbeciles who are playing politics and sound bytes and get to some solutions.  And finally...
10. If any of these hit home for you and you find yourself upset, frustrated, or you think that I am full of it, GOOD, because the truth hurts and denial is weakness.  It is very easy to blame others for our own circumstances.  It is always someone else's fault when you should instead look into the mirror.  We are offended when someone says something controversial that we don't agree with.  I would prefer someone tell me to my face what they think about me than the politically-correct banter we tolerate today.
11. And a postscript: One that I couldn't resist putting up:  Life really begins when one stops caring about what people think of you.  No matter who you are or what great things you may have done, certain people may never like you for some unreasonable reason and guess what that's fine.  There is a word for people like that: haters!!  Ignore them and live the best life that you can. Better yet channel their negative energy to drive you because the best revenge is success. 

There is plenty more to talk about so I will be around.  Thanks for reading.