What A Week

TGIF!!! Here we go for a rundown of things I've been itching to get to this week:

Lance Armstrong Comes Out of Retirement: I've said it over and over again; I'm not surprised when any of these male athletes come out of retirement. A couple of months ago, we were subjected to the Brett Favre fiasco after three months of a tearful "goodbye." The latest culprit is the guy in the yellow uniform, Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong's excuse for coming out of retirement after three years to "raise global awareness for cancer." Yeah right and I was born yesterday! So what was all the gazellion "livestrong" bracelets all about? He went on to give examples of Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres who made a mind-boggling comeback at the age of 41 to win silvers when asked about the concern for his age. Well there lies the answer among others.

There are reports out there that Armstrong wants to win his eight Tour De France after seeing all the hoopla surrounding Michael Phelps with his eight golds. Here's what I don't understand: With all the notoriety Armstrong got from the bike, his work with cancer research not to talk of being a hot shot among Hollywood it ladies, he's still got something to prove because nothing feels like the high of crowd's adulation like "winning."

Yes I put "winning" in quotation because there is more to such feat than sports. This is the guy who beat cancer and went on to win multiple races afterwards but it's STILL not enough. This is a favor I ask of all these male athletes who call for retirements and non-retirements,I chanel my inner Bill Maher and call for "new rules." New Rules Male Athletes: When you want a retirement, just say you're tired and taking some time off. And when you decide to come back, we won't call it a "comeback!"

Pigsty Politics: Did you catch the trainwreck of TV about "lipstick on a pig?" OMG! I can't believe politics have resorted to this pigsty. The weirdest thing about the John McCain camp is McCain has used such phrase a number of times especially when he was criticizing Hillary Clinton's health care plan. Nobody from her camp said anything about McCain calling her a pig.

Even there's a book entitled "lipstick on a pig" by Torie Clarke, a Republican strategist and did I mention "Torie" is a woman. So how in the world can Barack Obama while talking about McCain's economic policy (or lack thereof) and say just because you put lipstick on a pig, doesn't make it any different; it's still a pig to twist it that he was talking about Sarah Palin?

You know my Dad once told me as a kid when I got into a few heated disputes with some knuckleheads that "it's not what someone calls you, it's what you answer to." Now as an adult, I don't agree with all the premise of such riddle but I get the point. So to the McCain camp: If Palin isn't a pig, don't "oink."

Party of Animals: Sticking with animals, I want to set some new rules: I'm tired of all the animal references in this election season. So can we refrain or just cut back on the pigs, pork (for excessive spending), pitbull (for someone who's tenacious), moose (I really don't care how you hunt them), fish (mostly for corruption references), etc. I think the English language is expansive enough to describe your point.

Sarah Palin Finally Talks With The Media: So the "hockey mom" from Alaska finally did her first sit down interview with the Mainstream Media (MSM) and Charlie Gibson scored the honors. I like Charlie but watching that interview last night, I've got to say gosh I REALLY MISS TIM RUSSERT! Even one of my Aunts called me last night about the interview and lamented why "a gift was taken from us."

I.N.N (Ignorant Negro News): It's been a while since I covered some I.N.N. This week's honor goes to the NFL's Chad Johnson and Kanye West. Let's start with Chad Johnson. I'm sorry, Chad Ocho Cinco since he legally changed his lastname to "Ocho Cinco." Football fans know this was Johnson's self-given "nickname" in ode to his jersey number 85. It was cute at first and he definitely got more hype (if that was possible) out of referring himself as "Ocho Cinco."

So for the start of this football season, he legally changed the name because he wanted the new name to be at the back of his jersey. Well, that's the problem. He didn't read the terms of his contract. Now for his new name to be changed on his jersey, he will have to pay Reebok and/or the NFL over $4 million to reprint all the jersies with his former name "Chad Johnson."

Next I.N.N goes to Kanye West for causing an altercation with paparazzi yesterday at the airport on of all days, September 11th. Yes those paps could be a nuisance but on 9/11? When security is more heightened? Ignorant!

In rememberance of 9/11: We will never forget! And prayers to the families of the victims.

Hurricane Ike: Ok folks in Galveston, Houston, this is a PSA. GET OUT OF THERE! If you don't know much about history. You should know this week marks the 108th anniversary of the deadliest hurricane (worse than Katrina) that befell Galveston. You do well to take heed of your officials and evacuate.

Tags: Sarah Palin, Lance Armstrong, Lipstick on a pig, Kanye West, Chad Johnson, Ocho Cinco, Hurricane Ike

Leave Oprah Alone

Ok one quick thing that's been on my mind and it's about the Big "O," Oprah Winfrey to others. You know I wonder what it feels like as a fifty-something having a show for over 20 years and never voicing out your political preference then you catch, Obamarama and you have to shout it to the rooftops.

But in so doing, you think many will be happy for you for using your so-called freedom of speech and endorse a candidate but then you get Hillarites (Hillary Clinton supporters) bombard your message boards early this year calling you a traitor to women, yada, yada, yah for not supporting a woman candidate since that particular gender is your core audience.

Then when the race was down to two from both parties, there was this "Hail-Sarah" pass from the McCain camp that through many for a loop (present company included) and the nagging starts all over again on your Message boards and on the news complaining why you didn't have the Sarah-sensation on your show though you said nobody will use your platform for politics this election season even your chosen candidate.

I wonder! What's up with these women I don't understand. The last I checked, the name of the show is "The Oprah Winfrey Show" not your Mama's (yeah I went there). Oprah has released a statement over the weekend that she would love to have Sarah Palin on the show - after the election. What part of that don't you understand?

Then you have this Florida (gotta be them) GOP women telling anyone who will listen to boycott the show and her magazine. To those ladies, I say take a deep breath and get off the Palin cool-aid for a minute. If you support your candidate that much, take the time to call folks and campaign for your candidate and not become a pest to another woman who's doing so much good already and doggone it, it is HER SHOW! So to all those ladies, I say: leave Oprah alone!

Tags: Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey Show

I Didn't Forget About Blogging

Here's the deal Readers: When I don't post much on this blog and others I like, it's not that I don't have enough to write about - far from it, but that life gets in the way.

As I've said before, I'm doing more of a career transition. Well, more like career elevation. And with that comes a lot of this unique thing called studying, burning the midnight oil, etc. I'm involved with classes all this week and the Professor gave me the wonderful (psych)news yesterday that the next license I'm studying for will require at least 120 hours study time (besides 40 hours of class) to pass the next level of exam.

Take for example yesterday, I finished a class at 5pm yesterday from the morning time only to rush to the other side of town to another two-hour class for a company starting at 6pm. I hate drinking coffee after a certain time, but I needed what some friends called "crack coffee" from Starbucks before busting into the Monday night class last night.

So as much as I love to write (still do so privately) and post my thoughts publicly on how I see our muddled world, I'm wise to know that though I would love to do it all, I can't do it all at the same time.

I thank you all for your support and I ask that you be patient with me in the next few weeks as I navigate the next phase of my life. And oh, there will be time I need a break from all the industry lingos and tap into my creative side with blogging, and you know where to reach me to get some of my musings . . .

Sexism Debate Back In the Election Season

You know one of the things that drive me nuts? People who see hidden racism and/or sexism in everything. But for today's post, let's focus on the sexism part. And to all those pundits and surrogates, I want to ask the question: Aren't I a woman too?

Well, the sexism debate came back in the national spotlight after seven months because of the Republican VP Nominee pick, Sarah Palin. So folks especially in the McCain camp have been crying foul for sexism because the Media, Blogosphere (that drew my ire) have been asking too many questions or calling Palin to task about how many children she has.

Time-out! On this blog, I made no mention about how many children she has and if that will affect the tasks entrusted upon her if she was elected. The way I see it, you don't ask men that particular brand of question and I even defended her case to one of my family members during a discussion on that subject.

What I have a problem with is her record of policies and the recklessness of John McCain's decision. And I would find it sexist to think I should just accept a woman for the second highest office in the land just because she's a woman as if God didn't give me a brain to ask critical questions.

Also, for Palin in her sarcasm-laden speech on Wednesday night to go after the Media and Commentators about coming after her. I say "Girl Please!" to her. Wasn't she the one on July 31st still asking what the VP does exactly? Check it out here:


Hmm Sarah, let me brief you right quick about duties of the VP: He/she inquires to the health of the President (you may have to do that a lot with McCain if you get elected), you break ties in the Senate or you take an example from Dick Cheney and be the "real" President while another serves as the figurehead (Bush) for the position. As your interviewer said in the clip: "It's a pretty big job." But I digress.

I wonder is it because the pressure is on her to defend her record and a pending lawsuit for abusing her position as Governor (allegedly) why the folks in the Media and the Blogoshere are the new enemy. This sounds like "whining," a term Palin used on Hillary Clinton during the Primaries.

Is there sexism? Yes! Folks should not question her judgment as a mother and how she chooses to balance both work and life. In the words of Gloria Steinem: "I'm yet to see a man asked how he balances work and children."

But what is being overshadowed in this hoopla is the American people she is accepting a nomination to represent. They are entitled to answers on her policies and they get most of those answers from the Media your camp has been trying to dodge.
So Sarah, I say to you if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Tags: Sarah Palin, Sexism, Work-life Balance

Eighty and Driving

Ok, here is my gripe with the chronologically gifted: A fierce need for independence without considering those lives they put in danger with their driving skills or lack there of.

I know since I live in the premier destination for the retirement age, I would have to just deal with it or move. But I believe sometimes one need to sound off and maybe in the interim the subjects or the officials in the land could make better laws or restrictions to those impaired by the inevitable signs of aging.

I had a dentist appointment yesterday afternoon and though I arrived for my appointment fifteen minutes early, I couldn't find a parking spot. So I kept driving around the building hoping someone would leave and park in front of the office.

When my hope of scoring my prime parking space was getting delayed, I decided to park some feet at the back of the building; this will be a first on my part. After I parked and was trying to get my handbag, cell phone, I got bumped, more like rear-ended to my shock.

As I came out of my car infuriated about who could do such a thing, here lies the hunchback of Notre Dame old enough to be my Grandpa apologetic. The words ceased at first while the "Grandpa" with his Uckel-like glasses driving the big and long Cadillac said he couldn't see my car. My answer was "in this broad daylight."

Mind you, not only was this Grandpa trying to defy the law of physics by driving the wrong way (it was a one-way in and out), thus the reason for rear-ending me, this man had a partner or wife some years his junior who couldn't have said something to him that there is a car on the other side (I even left a parking space) and he was driving too close. So there it was, two blind mice driving on the streets of South Florida.

Also, for him driving the wrong way out of the parking lot, he could have caused another accident with someone trying to get into the driveway. So to all the "elders" of the land approaching and over the age of 80, in the great words of Apostle Paul: I beseech you by the mercies of God . . . to please get your vision checked and drive a compact car you can navigate. Let's be honest, your reflex is not as sharp as 20 years ago. A diminishing vision plus a big Cadillac (why is that a car of choice for Seniors?) don't a good driver make.

Tags: Seniors and Driving

RNC Is Boring

I was stuck in a twilight zone last night. I couldn't relate to any of the spectacle I saw on what was supposed to be the RNC. Here I was looking at a sea of white people with a few crumbs of chocolate in the midst with "country first" signs all in the arena. My thought was ok, are there various shades of people in this country. Could it be "people first" too.

That is not the America I live in. I live in a place with various ethnicities and the DNC represented that. I guess the RNC didn't get that memo.

And the entertainment? PUH-LEAZE! You go from seeing Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald, Sheryl Crow and for my generation, Will.i.am and John Legend to a Rachel Lampa at the RNC. Who is she?

Don't even get me started on the speeches . . . BORING!

Who exactly is Sarah Palin?

"Who?" "Who is she?" Those were a few of the questions that went through my head when I heard of John McCain's "Hail Mary" shot of a pick in Sarah Palin. To say I was confounded was an understatement.

I remember telling a family relative over a week ago that Joe Biden's pick as VP for Barack Obama would necessitate a check-mate move from the Republican party. But I was still shocked because this pick left me with a slew of questions:

Is this pick to get Hillary Clinton's supporters, especially women? By Palin acknowledging the said Clinton and the "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" made me think she was straight up pandering. Isn't this the same Palin who said Clinton was "whining" during the Primaries? Hmmm. And how stupid does John McCain think women are to think one woman replaces another? Does he know that Palin is the anthesis of Clinton when it comes to this unique word we throw around during election season: ISSUES.

Let's talk about those issues for a moment. She's an absolute pro-lifer, even in the case of incest or rape. She wants to teach creationism in schools, she supports home schooling, and wants to take sex-education out of schools in support for abstinence only. Huh! How did that work out with her 17-year old five months pregnant daughter? So that is a private matter but let's talk about her freaking policies.

Alaska leads the nation in sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers and even though teenage pregnancies is down in her state (save for her daughter), something is to be said of how kids are getting STDs while avoiding pregnancies. I have an image in my head of what they are doing but I like to keep a mantra of decency on my blog.

What foreign policy experience does she have? According to reports, Palin just got a passport a couple of years ago for her first trip out of the country. OMG! If that is the case, then I have a better foreign policy experience than she does since I'm on my fourth passport which all have been used to a decent capacity.

Then you have folks saying she has the experience of Barack Obama. Are you kidding me? This lady was a mayor of a city in Alaska with a $12 million annual budget with 50 employees. Obama's campaign spends three times that in a month and runs a campaign with 2,500 employees. Hint to the Republican pundits, Clinton used that same argument and who was left standing with a better and more efficient campaign?

Also, for McCain to pick Palin with zero national scene experience, at 44 years old make his age of 72 more pronounced to people's perception. A VP is supposed to be a "heartbeat" away from being President. McCain at 72 with four bouts of cancer during his lifetime makes this pick a reckless choice to say the least.

But I have to give it to McCain: It was also a smart pick because everyone is talking about his selection than if he picked the same ole boring white dudes. And word on the street is, after seeing Obama's speech on Thursday night, he had to do something that signified change. If not, how do you explain a pick of someone he just met once in February and the second time overnight before the VP announcement? So it was a gutsy move; time will tell if it was a brilliant one.

Tags: Sarah Palin