An Influential Week

So Time Magazine released it's 100 World Most Influential People. Ok some folks on the list I get but Zach Efron? Come on! He's influential in the world of my 6-year old Goddaughter who will hijack my better TV so she doesn't miss something from Disney.


Anyhoo, there are some I concur with the Poll. Of course, the Obamas. Sarah Palin - not so much. Now Tina Fey, hooray! She just showed us what we were all thinking of Palin. I'm just saying. . .


Oprah - you gotta give it to the Big "O" - did you see the fiasco she caused with KFC grilled chicken this week?

The ladies of the View - here, here! The elections would not have been the same without them and yes, that includes Hasselbeck.


George Clooney - Whoa! A few folks in my family know I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON CLOONEY! Even though he's old enough to be one of my Uncles (and I don't date beyond a certain age group, I'm not trying to replace them - my Uncles that is). I must say the twice "sexiest man alive" dubbed man deserved the honor not because he's easy on the eyes but gosh he's smart. He had me when he came on Oprah some years ago and Oprah asked him that for him to be so handsome, how did he work on being smart. And Clooney's classic response: "I've always been smart, I think I work on being handsome." Oprah couldn't contain herself with laughter and a certain twenty-something girl fell in love with him again after first laying eyes on him as Dr. Doug on ER as a teenager.

Ok, focus, focus. Who else is on the list? Hmn, Sen. Ted Kennedy (Roar for the Lion of the Senate). Secretary Hillary Clinton (a woman who came this close for President with 18 million votes deserve a tip of the hat), Suze Orman (you have got to catch the hilarious take of Kristin Wiig on SNL paroding her money-pinching ways). That's it . . . there's a lot more but you could pick up the magazine to browse yourself.


Tags: Time Magazine, 100 Most Influential

Thanks GrandPa!

I don't mean to start this week's postings with "remembrances" but hey, in my young life after losing two close friends in their prime; I've come (and still try) to understand death is a part of life and sometimes reminds us to put things in perspective. So it is last week when I lost my last surviving GrandParent - my Dad's father.

To tell you the truth, I really didn't want to blog about anything this week not just because of my time-consuming work, but I was also fighting a virus (which might spell flu), and I just wanted to be with my family or alone with my thoughts.

Then I thought to myself, part of what makes life with all its winding road worth living is to just keep moving because it definitely goes on. So after getting the news late one evening (at the office), I had a ten-minute diversion to gather my thoughts. Found a way to still work another two hours and drove home. I've got on a few loved ones nerves about my keen sense of focus. Do I grieve? Yes! I know how to literally shut down and UNPLUG when I need to. I know what it means to have the wind knocked out of you and I know what it means to have my faith shaken and perhaps, stirred.

But one thing I know how to do better than most is to rise up again. I've never taken anti-depressants, don't drink to numb my pain or to gain any pleasure. I just choose to be even-keeled. So it is with this man I just lost. I hope I live long and vibrant as he did. The last time I saw him, he was as fit as men 20 years his junior, standing upright as he walked from the farm and a day of hunting.

The word in my family and apparent to the eye: my siblings and I definitely got our height and built from him. I'm one of the shortest (according to inches) in the group. But I'm taller than the average American woman. It shows with the amount of time I spend finding pants to fit my legs - let's just say I always look for "long" version. He never tried to impress anyone (sounds like a girl I know very well) but just lived by the value of hardwork for its own sake and being content with whatever possession he has. That alone is worth leaving as a legacy.

I Remember Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp came into my consciousness a few years ago while watching him as a guest on Tavis Smiley show on PBS. He definitely made an impression on me in less than 15 minutes of what he was talking about the then 2006 fate of the Republican party.

I was too young of a kid playing with my toys and watching Sesame Street to know what he did during Reagan era but after watching him that night, I read a few articles featuring Jack Kemp not because I cared about the party he represented but because of the person he was.

This was a man with a tremendous civil rights record. He has openly apologized for not doing enough while he was an NFL Quarterback for the Buffalo Bills in the 60s - at the height of the civil rights unrest. But he made sure he spent the rest of his life making up for it by shining the spotlight in the inner cities and working with civil rights greats like Andrew Young and John Lewis. Did I mention Jack Kemp was a Republican?

After then Sen. Barack Obama won the election for President, Kemp wrote an Op-ed as a letter to his grandchildren and an admonition to his party. Here's part of the letter: "As president, I believe Barack Obama can help lift us out of a narrow view of America into the ultimate vision of an America where, if you’re born to be a mezzo-soprano or a master carpenter, nothing stands in your way of realizing your God-given potential . . . My advice for you all is to understand that unity for our nation doesn’t require uniformity or unanimity; it does require putting the good of our people ahead of what’s good for mere political or personal advantage."

His party will remember him well and perhaps get back to its winning ways if it takes heed to what Kemp said. RIP Kemp!


Tag: Jack Kemp

Is It Ok To Stash Some Cash?

I caught this story early this morning about the dentist who stashed some cash ($800K) from hubby only for the bank to reveal her personal account to the hubby and now the dentist is suing the bank. I've been wondering why that is such a tricky subject when it comes to women.

Now granted, I'm not married yet but a few years ago I was hanging out with some friends (single) and they were talking about going "joint," "separate," or joint and separate when it came to the money between couples. I discretely kept quiet (which was already a sign to these friends), "so what about you Mo?" Me: "What?" as if I didn't hear it the first time. One of the friends repeated the question. I gave a long (to them) pause. Me: Mmm.

They laughed because I normally have an opinion on most things. You'll know where I stand on black and white (figuratively speaking) issues. There are very minimal shades of grey when it comes to how I see things but I was left stumped. "I don't know . . . it will really have to depend on the guy." I didn't fool most of my friends on that response - one noted my gift of dance just came into play by me "dancing" on that issue. I just laughed it off.

I think money is a very touchy subject. You can tell a lot about a person by how he or she handles their dough. As one person once said: Money just exaggerates what you already are. If you're stingy when you're poor or broke, you'll be stingy when you get's some dough. And the reverse is true.

In this situation, I don't blame the woman (the dentist) all the way (she deserves some blame), there's something going on in that marriage that she felt she couldn't trust her husband to such info. And after the bank revealed her secret, she had to give the husband $155K to "save her marriage and restore order into her marital home." Huh? Ok, that tells me all I needed to know.

So ladies (and gentlemen), the floor is up to you: Do you feel it's ok to stash some cash? Or to reveal everything to your hubby or significant other? Spill . . . enquiring minds want to know.

Mo's Week In Review

Happy Friday everyone and let's go for the rundown for all things buzzing in my mind and our world:

Plane Photo Flop: This is one of those situations that make you scratch your head and ask "what the heck were they thinking?" I mean seriously, in a post 9-11 world, in New York close to Ground Zero, some members of our government thought it was a freaking good idea to fly a 747 low without clearing it first, with I don't know THE MAYOR OF THE CITY!

And the reason was even more mind-buggling - A PHOTO-OP EVENT. And can I just say this also cost tax-payers over $300K for this nonsense that caused panic in the hearts of New Yorkers all over again.


Sen Arlen Specter switches parties: I gotta admit, I've always liked Specter. I like his independent streak and because he was in the GOP (until a few days ago), a party I, like many others is struggling to understand made no difference.

But to see him switch parties during the President's 100 days tally was genius! Talk about a gift to him and the Democratic party. It wasn't a shock because word on the street was that Specter was getting too moderate for the far right party these days. And what bugs me is that this party (GOP) still call themselves the party of Ronald Reagan. Are they serious?

And let's be honest, Specter didn't switch as a matter of principle but a pragmatic and political one. I love that he admitted such seeing that the conservative base was mad at him for being one of three Republican senators who voted for the Stimulus bill and declining by 20 points if he ran as a Republican for the Primaries. But he used to be a Democrat until forty years ago and for that I say to Specter, welcome home.

The President's 100 Days (Who Cares): Obviously, the Media cares about these 100 days by shoving it down our TV screens. Hel-lo the man still has about 1000 days to go. That's like grading him for 10 percent of the work when the rest is yet to be looked upon and with a man coming in at a time not seen since the Great Depression. To show the RIDUN-CU-LOUS of all these 100 days stuff, take it away Jon from the Daily Show . . .

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Obama 101
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

The VP's Swine Flu Gaffe (and counting): You guys know I love Joe Biden. I proposed that he be picked as then Sen. Obama's running mate way before he was announced. And I know he has a gift of gab; something he's been trying to make for his struttering time as a youth. But come on! Sometimes, I feel the real Whitehouse dog is not "Bo" but "Joe" and I want to put a leash on him to tame him just a little bit.

No other times than yesterday's Swine Flu gaffe when Biden scared the Transportation industry (they are struggling already as is) when he said on Today show he'll advice for folks not to travel cuz they'll be in confined spaces. Oops . . . no no no Joe

The Clutch In Chief: Ok it's old news I'm a basketball fanatic but check out our President schooling the Lady Huskies Championship team at the White House. Granted, I'll give the girls a break; they were in dresses and high heels.

Stop The Bullying

There is a disturbing trend going on in our schools and that is bullying students for looking, acting or being gay which has caused death in the hands of the perpertrators or the victims themselves by committing suicides.

I just don't get it, in both cases shown here the parents sought help but nothing was done. It seems the schools even with their "anti-bullying laws" don't have a strict way of dealing with bullies. Think about it, if a victim was been bullied for his race, there will be a serious "hate" outcry against the bullies but what about for those of a different sexual orientation.

Or they are not even gays, but these bullies just terrorize their victims for being "different" like the African-American kid Carl Walker was a boy scout, helped out at his church and dreamt of being President some day. All that snuffed out when the 11-year old boy couldn't take the bullying anymore.

The story was no different for Jaheem Herrara - a U.S. Virgin Islands native in school in Tennesse who was tormented daily with anti-gay slurs even though he wasn't gay (but so what if he was). His Mom complained to CNN's Anderson Cooper last night that the school did nothing. Now the mother has pulled her other children from U.S. Schools to relocate to her native home in St. Croix.

Something needs to be done. There's a great website dedicated to this issue called "Stop The Bulling Now." But all of us share a responsibility to break this silence because that could be our nephew, cousin, brother, or son. Let's kick these bullies out - lives are dependent on it.

Tags: Bullying

So We DO Torture; What a Surprise (NOT!)

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. Why are folks acting all shocked when the "torture memos" were released or how the Bush admistration concorted stories of keeping us safe.

Oh sorry, they didn't use the word "torture" as Dubya infamously said "we don't torture," no they use "enhanced interrogation techniques."

That euphemistic term really gets my blood boiled up as initial readers of this blog have found out. It is wrong, wrong, wrong to use torture. Don't call it enhanced interrogation techniques when there is waterboarding, walling, stripping with shock plugs to some private parts, sleep deprivation among other deplorable acts - that is TORTURE!

You know during the Democratic Convention in August, former President Bill Clinton (don't you love him) made this profound statement about how we deal with our National Security: that we are not to show the world the example of our power, but the power of our example. I doubt Darth Vader (I mean Dick Cheney) knows what that means when he's had some secretive stuff while in office like how in the world he could be the only one to remove his place of residence out of Google Earth. I'm just saying . . . and can he just disappear already instead of doing the undignified thing of criticizing the current administration left and right to anyone who will put a microphone in front of him.

So like I previously said, many Americans are so shocked and expressing their various "outrage" over these memos - whether for or against the release. And who better than to show these views than two of my fave guys on TV - Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Shepard Smith Swears
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Gay Marriage Commercial

Don't you just love Shephard Smith (a former South Florida News Anchor)? Smith and Chris Matthews are the glimmer of hope for Fox News (I actually watch that network just to laugh, like after Pres. Obama clinched the win for Presidency - I know I need help)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
We Don't Torture
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Tags: Torture Memos