You Can Vote However You Like

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

5th and 6th graders from the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, GA. During their civics and government lessons the students were first taught the Republican and Democrat ideals and the policies that each is presenting as their platform without out being told which candidate was actually a Democrat and which candidate was a Republican -- they were then asked to make a decision based on the policies alone (something that we all should have been doing from the beginning). Were they ever surprised who fell to the left and who fell to the right!

After studying the parties and making the decision their next class project was to make this song showcase what they had learned in their class to the tune of "You Can Have Whatever You Like".

This is the kind of education that more and more of our students have been attaining due to the topics that have been surrounding this elections. Even if Obama does not win (heaven forbid), this has turned the nation in the right direction -- more people need to be involved in the goings on of this country!

Is Your Right to Vote Being Called to Question?

Monday, October 27, 2008

It's almost 8 days until the history making elections day when Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain go head to head in the final leg of the race for the White House. The country is on edge and divided between the two candidates -- never in my lifetime have I witnessed such a national interest in politics nor such low down schemes to hold the other party back. But just when I think that I have seen and heard it all, people manage to find new ways to surprise.

Earlier today, the Associated Press released an article detailing the voter 'purging' of more than 50,000 registered voters in the state of Georgia alone. These are citizens who have been "flagged" due to a so called computer mismatch in their personal identification information ... "At least 4,500 of those people are having their citizenship questioned and the burden is on them to prove their eligibility to vote." The article highlighted this specific story of an Atlanta resident and United States citizen:

College Senior Kyla Berry was looking forward to voting in her first presidential election, even carrying her voter registration card.

But about two weeks ago, Berry got disturbing news from local election officials.

"This office has received notification from the state of Geargia indicating that you are not a citizen of the United States and therefore, not eligible to vote," a letter from the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections said.

But Berry is a U.S. citizen, born in Boston, Massachusetts. She has a passport and birth certificate to prove it.

The letter, which was dated October 2, gave her a week from the time it was dated to prove her citizenship. There was a problem, though -- the letter was postmarked October 9.

"It was the most bizarre thing. I immediately called my mother and asked her to send my birth certificate, and then I was like, 'It's too late, apparently,'" Berry said

This is a situation that has been echoed all across the country and has raised fears, for members of both parties, of the possibility of voter suppression. The problem with this situation, though, is the fact that the letters to these citizens were written during the first few days in October and then mailed a few days after that, according to the postmark date on the envelopes (this is a clear violation of two federal laws against voter purging within 90 days of the election). These citizens have been given an almost impossible deadline to follow if they want to get their voting rights back. Politicians and Lawyers all across the country have jumped on the issue in order to protect voter rights and prevent a systematic voter suppression. This is an election that is far too important and a historical landmark to be foreshadowed by such an undemocratic event. The basis of the democratic system is that every person has a voice and, this year, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of new voters (especially new voters that are African American and/ or young first time voters).

If you have not voted already, make sure that your voting credentials are up to date and valid. Although the burden of proof of your eligibility to vote is on you, and you alone, the American government has a responsibility to each and every one of us to correct this issue before election day. Every eligible person (meaning, every US citizen or foreign national over the age of 18 that is not a felon) that wants to cast a vote on November 4 should be able to do so, even if that means that they need to bring their birth certificate and picture ID along with their voter registration card to the election polls. Don't wait until the very last minute!

What is the Role of the Vice President? ... SHOPPING (and some other stuff)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Five days ago it was released that the Republican National Convention allegedly spent $150,000 on Sarah McCain's wardrobe for the GOP convention. $150,000! ... do you all realize that I could pay my rent for 3 years for that much , or the RNC could have sent 3 or 4 kids to a great state college anywhere in the United States for 4 years

As she spoke out about the accusations on "The View" however, she stated that the clothes do not belong to her ... they are on loan and still are the property of the RNC! Yeah, OK Lady ...

The way I see it, it is still $150,000 that is being spent on useless crap. As a woman that boasts about not only knowing the people of the United States, she claims that she IS one of us ... furthermore, that simple fact is the reason why the Republican party believes that she will be such a great candidate for vice presidency -- her connection with the "little" people. So, if that really is the case, why did the RNC feel as though they needed to spend so much money trying to make her look different.

For all of you out there that have donated money to the RNC, you are the one that funding her extravagant shopping trip ... and what's even more disappointing is the fact that a good number of you lipstick republican and McCain fans are pleased with the way your contributions have been spent because a pretty wardrobe is only going to distract people from the ridiculous words that are steadily streaming out of her mouth.

Instead of spending all that money, a more useful venture for the RNC could have been to spend more time preparing their as yet unready candidate for the spotlight ... she can't even articulate what the role of the Vice President is correctly (but I'm sure those 4th graders she gave a shout out to during the debates could have schooled her on that).

This is just another move that has made me disappointed in the Republican candidate and his entire campaign. I have had enough with the hypocrisy, the name-calling, the dirty politics, the unqualified candidates, the pretention, and the pending policies that will only break an already breaking country. If this isn't enough to make people see them for who they really are and what they really represent then I don't know what is. My biggest fear for the future of this country is that McCain and Palin will be elected into office ... but that's OK I guess. I'll just move back to Africa! I'm sure the racism and genocide will be a much easier pill to swallow than the impending McCain/Palin administration.

Murder in a Small Town: A 75 Pound Bear Cub Becomes Latest Victim of the Presidental Election

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

After the last Presidential Debate I asked myself if people's behavior surrounding this election could get any worse -- and what you know, it did! On Monday morning it was reported that a dead bear cub was found at the entrance the campus of Western Carolina University covered in Obama campaign posters. The 75 pound bear cub had been shot in the head and two Obama posters had been stapled together and draped over its head.

Campus Police are still investigating the matter and the secret service has been informed. The Ashville Citizen Times reports:

"But this is certainly unacceptable," Tom Johnson, Chief of University Police, said. "Someone evidently was wanting to draw attention to the election. If we find out who they are, we'll make sure they get some attention themselves."

The university issued a statement calling what happened deplorable and troubling.

"We cannot speculate on the motives of the people involved nor who those people might be," said Leila Tvedt, Associate Vice Chancellor. "Campus police are cooperating with authorities to investigate this matter."

Although officials don't want to speculate on the perpetrator of this atrocious act, let's look at the facts and let you decide for yourself. Ashville is a city that is predominantly white, but the campus itself is home to the majority of the cities black students. This isn't to say definitively that the incident was racially motivated (although it is very likely that it was) but one thing that is clear is that the culprit is an avid McCain Supporter. What hasn't been reported by newspapers and officials is the fact that the bear cub found was not just a grizzly bear or a brown bear but a BLACK BEAR, do you all see any correlation between the signs and the dead bear because I do! Such behavior with regards to any candidate, black or white, male or female, is beyond deplorable and tasteless.

Was it a Sarah Palin lovin', moose hunter out to make a statement? Was it a racist taking his Obama rage out on a defenseless black bear cub? Or was it just a random crazy person with an irrational dislike of bears and campaign sings? Hopefully the police will find out.

Would you like a Mail-In Rebate with your Healthcare Plan

Monday, October 20, 2008

After writing my last post about the issues I had been having with my Sickle Cell and having to be in the hospital for a week and then returning to work only to see CNN being played on the lobby television all day long I got to thinking about how John McCain's tax plan would benefit me and this is the conclusion that I came to-- IT WON'T DO SHIT TO HELP ME OUT!

First of all, his tax plan is kind of like a mail-in rebate ... buy now and I'll give you less than a fraction of what you spent later. Please, can someone from the McCain Camp tell me how this is going to help me in the long run? Here's what I see as my healthcare future with the policy that McCain is proposing: without state regulations my insurance carrier will most likely drop me (the state of Tennessee has 3 of the leading research hospitals for sickle cell: Meharry, Vanderbilt, and St. Judes) because of my pre-existing condition; I will then be forced to "shop around" and find a carrier that will take me and my condition which will, more than likely cost a lot more than the $84 a month premium that I am paying with Marriott's comprehensive United Healthcare plan; after shelling out a couple thousand dollars that I know I don't make with my $9.27 an hour job for healthcare that I literally cannot live without, McCain is going to "give" me back $2,500 of that (people, let's be real, coverage for someone like me is going to be a lot more expensive than that!!!)

But wait! There's more! as is usually the case with these schemes where they say they will give you your money back. The money doesn't come to you, it goes to the insurance copany and is put towards the balance on your premium ... secondly, when tax season rolls around again they are going to tax you on what they gave you and you are going to end up giving half of the $2,500 right back to the people that gave it to you along with the other taxes that they take out of your pay checks.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like total bullshit to me!

There is nothing in his plan to regulate the cost of healthcare --- which means that the insurance companies can take serious advantage of the millions of people in this country that find themselves in a situation very similar to mine ... sick and dependant on a good healthcare plan to make sure that they see tomorrow. For most of you reading this post you know at least one person, if not more, who is going to get seriously shafted by this plan or left behind because they can't even afford to get heir foot in the door.

This is clearly a Republican plan -- the only people that are considered are wealthy white people!

I don't know about you, but I want someone in office who is going to be looking out for my welfare as much as they look out for rich people's money -- and John McCain isn't it!

Guess Who's Coming to Nashville

Monday, October 6, 2008

On Tuesday October 7 the Second Presidential Debate will be held in:

Nashville, TN

The city is buzzing and none other than yours truly has got a ticket to be in attendance (much thanks to the gentlemen of Lovenoise Live).

The debate is being held in a town hall style and the university is taking its cue from all of you -- the voters determine the the topics! Click on the title to be redirected to the Belmont University website to submit your questions

This is our opportunity to get the answer to the questions that have been flying across our Blogs and minds!

Voter Registration Deadlines ...

It's crunch time people -- Voter Registration Deadlines are fast approaching in many states. Are you registered?

Here's the breakdown:

October 6

• Arizona


• Arkansas


• Colarodo


• District of Columbia


• Florida


• Georgia


• Hawaii


• Indiana


• Kentucky


• Louisiana


• Michigan


• Mississippi


• Montana


• Ohio


• Pennsylvania


• Tennessee


• Texas


• Utah


• Virginia

October 7

• Illinois


• New Mexico

October 8

• Missouri

Ocober 10

• New York


• North Carolina

October 11

• Delaware

October 14

• Maryland


• New Jersey


• Oregon

October 15

• Massachusetts


• West Virginia


• Wisconsin

October 20

• California


• Kansas

October 21

• Connecticut


• Maine

October 24

• Alabama


• Iowa


• Nebraska

Day of election at the polls

• Idaho


• Iowa


• Maine


• Minnesota


• Montana


• Wisconsin


• Wyoming

Something to think about ...

Congress has officially passed the $700 billion "economic rescue" package and that means something completely different for the impending Presidential Election -- will you still vote for Obama knowing that his Presidency will be overshadowed by this astronomical national debt?

Regardless of who is elected this November, they are going to have one of the toughest 4 years in office that has ever been recorded, with a failing economy, 2 wars being waged, a national deficit, and now a $700 billion debt.

Myself, I am going to have a hard time checking that box for Barack Obama on November 6 knowing that my vote could set him up for failure. In 50 years no one will remember what a phenomenal speaker he was; no one will remember how he advocated for change and was the voice of the average person; no one will remember the good changes that are made for the betterment of this country. No! Instead, what they will remember is that Barack Obama was the first black President of the United States and that he failed tremendously to save the country from its bad decisions!

Biden vs. Palin: 1st 2008 Vice Presidential Debate -- What can we expect to see?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Let's get ready to rumble!

The 2008 Presidential Election has already proven to be an event that will go down in history. But tonight, the showdown between The Democratic V.P. nominee Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware and the Republican V.P. nominee Gov. Sarah Palin from Alaska is going to be fascinating on every level as we watch to see what else the governor doesn't know and how the cutthroat Senator is going to handle having to fight against a woman. The wrong move by either one of them could cripple their campaigns.

When it comes to Gov. Palin, election polls show that more and more of the American public is beginning to believe that she is not qualified to be the next Vice President of the United States, let alone the President. Her lack of knowledge regarding the economy, foreign policy and public policy has been showcased in the last three major interviews that she has held, and her nonresponsiveness to questions she doesn't know is beginning to be a tell-tale sign for the former beauty queen from Alaska. The Vice Presidential debates is not a place for her usual fall back tactics, when she doesn't know what she's talking about, of turning to philosophical mumbo jumbo that don't have much to do with the question that was originally presented to her. How she handles the pressure of the debate and being on the national stage this evening will do one of two things for the McCain/Palin campaign: 1) reinforce the idea that Sen. McCain made a mistake in choosing her as a running mate and that, perhaps, his judgements could be as detrimental to the nation as they have been to his own campaign, or 2) make her the "Wonder Woman" heroine that everyone believed she was when they were first introduced to her at the Republican National Convention. Can she show America that she is ready for the White House or perhaps should she just stick to what we all know she can do well -- wave gracefully and look pretty.

Sen. Biden has a challenge on his hands with the impending debate with Gov. Palin. His mission: support Sen. Obama, take down Gov. Palin, but don't alienate the women that are on the fence after Sen. Hilary Clinton's defeat and the realization that the Republican V.P. nominee is an all around idiot not suited for the White House. In the past, Sen. Biden has been labeled a know-it-all and a Pit Bull. His performance during the Democratic Primary season is evidence enough of the Senator's debating style -- he speaks authoritatively, something that can often be construed as condescending; and his below the belt quips have the potential to be sexist and/or insensitive as they are directed towards the dainty Governor. Call Senator Biden Ethan Hunt and his Mission -- Impossible!

Tune in tonight to watch the Barracuda battle the Pit Bull. However, in my opinion, no more is there a match between these two candidates as there us between a Pit Bull and a bunny rabbit!