What Happened:

President Barack Obama came out swinging against Republican’s “Just Say No” logo and questioned their ability to lead America out of the economic recession which they engineered.

Sadly, it may be too little too late as the minds of voters have already been tainted by Tea Party rhetoric.

What Should’ve Happened:

Young People: President Barack Obama should’ve gone on a multi-college tour after the passage of his overhaul of the student loan program.  His bill increased Pell grants, gave two billion dollars to community colleges to provide training for workers who’d been dislocated, capped loan repayments at 10 percent of income, and took a bite out of loan shark Sallie Mae.  His college tour would’ve shored up what had been one of his most enthusiastic constituencies back in 2008, young people.

Black People: Optics is just as important as policy.  Obama lost many black voters with his middle of the road and mostly white cabinet picks. It also doesn’t bode well that Obama’s White House is really white. Meaning there are low numbers of African –Americans serving as high level staffers. Lastly, his learned habit of throwing Negros under the bus ( Shirley Sherrod, Charles Rangel, Van Jones..the list goes on) was a bit of a turn off.

Inspiration: Obama should’ve added a major railway project to his initial stimulus.  Such an initiative is necessary, long term, and inspiring. Thus, it creates the image that we’re forging ahead into 21^st century America, and not just throwing good money after bad, saving jobs that shouldn’t be saved.

I’m a firm believer that people shouldn’t ask questions to which they already know the answer.

Queue MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell asking James Zogby why President Obama has yet to visit Israel. Mitchell firmly (as firm as is possible given her peckish disposition) questioned whether President Obama, given the resumed Israeli / Palestinian negotiations, needed to step foot in Israel as he had in Cairo, and other Muslim nations. Wink, meet nod.

Amnesiatic reporters annoy me.

In the exchange between Zogby and Mitchell, there was no mention of the lengths to which Israel went to embarrass Vice President Biden during his jaunt to Israel. Is there any doubt, especially after the heated exchanges between Obama and Netanyahu, that a visit by Obama would only result in a grander humiliation? I’m sure this isn’t the optics desired by the White House during the lead up to the 2010 Midterms, a.k.a. “Apocalypse How”.

When Glenn Beck made his debut on CNN’s Headline News, I quickly dismissed him as the rodeo clown of talk television; a loud and wrong swindler who impishly welled up with an eyeful of tears at the mention of any and all things American.  He was, at least in my mind, an annoying but benign media fabrication.

Now though, Beck has managed to encroach upon the sacred ground of African-American history with his inane ramblings and for that, he should garner the contempt of every African American who still holds dear the struggles of ancestors whose blood, sweat, and genius are the foundation upon which this country is built. READ FULL POST HERE

The truth is that liberals are not radicals, President Obama is not a Muslim (nor is he a liberal), and repeating the word “freedom” doesn’t imbue you with some super uber potent form of patriotism.

But as we all know, one lie begets another.  Small lies grow into whoppers. Once you begin moving and shaping the truth to fit your opinion, well, it’s downhill from there.

As of late, I’ve observed conservatives mocking liberals who aptly point out that the Islamic Center is not actually “on” Ground Zero, but two blocks away.  The usual retort from conservatives is as follows, “umm, yeah, it’s TWO blocks away, big deal.”  Actually, the truth is always a big deal. The fact the the Islamic center is scheduled to be built on what was once a Burlington Coat Factory, and not Ground Zero, is the truth and a big deal.  In fact, the location of the planned Islamic center actually undermines the “Not Here , Not Now, Not Ever” mantra.  Now where? At the Burlington Coat Factory? Is this sacred ground?

Thoughts of 9/11 conjure up images of planes being used as weapons to kill innocent Americans, while  Burlington Coat Factory conjures up images of discount coats.  So, I understand why the lie is being heaped upon us, and served as truth.

Henceforth, I will be referring to the Ground Zero Mosque as the BCF Islamic Center (Burlington Coat Factory). Why? Because it’s the truth. One ought not require more reason than that.

Dr Laura’s not a racist.  She does, however, have a rigid set of ideas which she believes are applicable to all African-Americans. Her rabid attack of caller “Jade” highlighted Dr. Laura’s belief that African-Americans are oversensitive troublemakers with no legitimate grievances which, directly or indirectly, relate to racial disparities or sensitivities.

If Dr. Laura had believed that Jade was a serious caller, then she would’ve approached Jade’s conundrum with serious suggestions. Instead, Dr. Laura attacked the caller with all the pent up rage of a woman who’s bought into the prevailing propaganda about African Americans hook, line, and sinker.

Dr. Laura launched into her “N” word tirade because, in her mind, Jade was an unserious person with an entitled perspective.  The truth about Jade- that she is a modest, hard-working, well-spoken fan of the “Dr. Laura Show” with a legitimate desire for advice on dealing with her interracial marriage – never occurred to Dr. Laura.

Dr. Laura didn’t ask Jade the necessary questions because she thought she knew Jade, and those like her.  She would rather hold fast to ideas about African Americans than get to know African-Americans.  Dr. Laura doesn’t hate us. She just doesn’t know us.

Right here, right now.

Stop struggling to get out of the moment you’re in by forcing yourself into what you believe would be a more beneficial space.  Be who you are, where you are, right now so that you may totally experience the spectrum of emotions which are racing through your head and heart.

You can’t wish it away, and I’m sorry to tell you that everything you’ve been told about sadness in terms of how to react to it is 100% false.  It’s not about exercising, or getting a hobby to change your focus.  It’s about fully relaxing into the sadness (which is true for any degree of pain) and know that regardless of how you feel now, the sadness exists to teach you and it too is transient.

In any situation, always remember that change is the only constant.

Now that Democrats are discussing using the reconciliation process OR “deem” and “pass” to pass health care legislation, Republicans are hysterical. The truth, though, is that both parties have used reconciliation to pass policy changes. This is exactly why the hyperbolic hyperventilation by Republicans is all politics…. my thoughts?…CLICK HERE

Nike only had it half right.  About 80% of life is about just showing up (or Just Do It), the other 20% is about changing destinations once you realize that you’ve arrived at the wrong location.

Those people who thrive in our society aren’t those who meet life head on, but those who flow with life and shift with the changing landscape.

So in order for you not to be  just o.k. with your life , but successful, you must change your life analogy.  It’s no longer o.k. to view life as a fight, or a battle.  This only hardens your mindset, causing rigidity.  Life, though, is not a dance either.  Dancing, although fluid, is almost always jocular and carefree. Life, on the other hand, is not always any one thing.

Life must, instead, be viewed as a swim.  Sometimes slow, sometimes rough, with the one constant being that those who wish to thrive must go with the flow.

Change your life’s analogy and change your life.