17 posts tagged “politics”
"Daddy I don't like to dream anymore..." (My 6yr old daughter's response to my question at bed time)
What a scary thought if she only knew what that meant literally.
'Activists say North Korean woman publicly executed for distributing Bible'
Headlines in the Morning Report July 25, 2009 just above the headline 'Evangelist convicted of sex with girls.'
"If you're going to support it, you should understand it enough to debate for it. It just promotes common sense and competency in the legislature." -Jerrol LeBaron
LeBaron is promoting the "Honor in Office Act" a ballot initiative that requires lawmakers to actually read the laws that they vote for. (They don't read the Laws they pass???)
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"Bay Area Transit riders have been holding their breath for fear of a strike that would cripple the backbone of the area's public transportation system." - Oakland Tribune
As California unemployment rate hits 11.6% with a $26 billion ($26,000,000,000.00) dollar budget deficit and is paying its' workers with State issued IOU's.
"Tell me three things about your significant other two that are true and one that's a lie" - Dr. Ronn Elmore (Psychiatrist, Life Coach, Marriage Therapist)
The first exercise at the "Marriage University" (At a 7- Week Christian Based pre-marital course.)
'Both houses of Congress have now approved a resolution Wednesday urging a presidential pardon for former heavyweight champion boxer Jack Johnson' -NBC NEWS (100 years later)
Jack Johnson, publicly defiant of the Jim Crow-era laws that ruled the day (1908),
was the first person prosecuted under the Mann Act, which banned the
transportation of females across state lines "for immoral purposes."
The official offense cited was for consorting and traveling with a
white prostitute whom he later married.
The Youtube video the circulated over the internet like a firestorm purporting that Russian officials refused to shake the Black American President's hand (he was actually introducing the Russian President to other diplomats)
My thoughts...
I see this place (our social world) we call strange, home, heaven and hell all in the same breath. We are just keepers of what we have been entrusted with (this green earth) we govern ourselves with a complex set of laws, rules, beliefs and lies all in the pursuit of happiness, health, wealth, equality or the promise of everlasting life with the creator. When I hold up the mirror of reality this is the reflection I see however skewed, biased, negative or positive; but most importantly I wonder about the world (society) we will leave for our children.
Bycha Buxton
I have always thought that there were two times in a woman's life that natural beauty radiated from her. An aura, a divine beauty that transcends mere physical attributes like smoothly hued skin, high cheek bones, big beautiful eyes, full lips or a statuesque gait. Those times of divine beauty are (one) on her wedding day, I have never seen a woman glow like on that magical day when she stands before the altar with friends and family in the pews wishing her glad tidings and she gazes into the moment and for a flicker of time, you see the natural beauty that God has so designed and called woman. The second such time in life is that of the rounded belly of a woman with child, so perfect and shaped just for the coming of the greatest gift to preserve mankind, the glow she carries with her, for only she can understand the majesty and humility that comes with the bearing of a new life to this great spinning globe. The natural beauty of a woman as I see it...until there was the First "Black" Lady of the United States.
It's not so much about who; but like the the Office of the Presidency, it is the occupation, the representation, giving a nation something to look up to, an aspiring goal for our young girls. So I must say that not only did the nation get it right with the newly elected President it was a two-for-one deal we (America) got a great representative for the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. It is so refreshing to see a positive image that is not exploitative of a Black Woman in America. It's not the sista' on the reality show acting like we know they can. Nor is it the sista' shown in the tabloids battered and bruised by her man, neither that sista' who feels she has to be a courtesan or sell her self-worth for a ticket to fame and fortune. No, it is a dawning of what the new "Black Woman" will become. What (Black) women can aspire too. Not just First Lady; but the defining of a new generation of role models.
Congratulations Women of America ,
Bycha Buxton
There has been a sea change of late within politics as we begin to conclude the first decade of the 21st century. With the accidental but timely appointment of the first Black Governor of New York. Then the overwhelming victory of the Presidency by a African American and the most recent appointment of a Black U.S. Senator by a now impeached Governor. Leave it to my party the GOP to get on the bandwagon albeit late but on the wagon with the appointment of the first African American RNC Chairman.
The GOP lost the presidency, 21 House seats and at least seven Senate
seats on Nov. 4. The party that emerged was concentrated in the South
and several Mountain West states, and it had little appeal to blacks or
Hispanics and problems attracting better-educated voters. So now Micheal Steele our new RNC Chairman, impervious to the race card sits atop the throne to guide the Grand Ole' Party to at the very least a congressional comeback with increases in representatives in the House and Senate or the coup de gras POTUS (President of the United States). But for now this chairman post is too important to be considered a token appointment but well within reason of status quo for D.C. politics. As a proud black man it would be my pride to assume that we as a people have finally arrived on the political stage as a force to be reckoned with; but as a realist and sometime cynic I see the world through a filtered lens. I cannot believe that all the barriers have come down post January 20, 2009. So with great reservation do I look to our new leader Chairman Steele not because of who he is but what he has become. The leader of a party in disrepair; the party that I chose because it did not have any representation by African Americans. I have been a member of this party for 21 years and just now does the RNC see fit to be lead by a man of color. Is it a fad or is it status quo?
George Bush has been so instrumental in the advancement of African Americans to position's of power and influence.
Sincerely,
Bycha Buxton
I remember a conversation with my dad and I was telling him how I wanted to follow in his "footsteps". I remember a conversation like that with my son too. I told him what my dad had said to me. I said, " Sure son I want you to be like me in someways and follow in my footsteps..." my son, wide-eyed and in awe of the status that I had achieved at that time; "but..." as I began to utter the very words my dad had spoken to me, "...don't follow me too closely son, I might have stepped in some sh** along the way."
Bycha Buxton
The difference in Candidate # 5 and Client # 9 is as clear as Black and White. But the irony is what men are willing to pay for their egos to be stroke and stoked. The "Candidate" seeks power the "Client" sought the pleasure both men paid with a currency of trust.
# 5 exposed like a newborns bottom; naked, tender and helpless to the good doctors swift smack of an open palm.
These men are mere numbers in U.S. Federal Investigations, but moreover stains on the political landscape of the most exciting year in U.S. politics of a generation.
"The measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." (Thomas Babington Macaulay)
But let not me be the one who has a plank in his eye, speak of the speck in the eyes of the Candidate and the Client for I have been both in retrospect. Seeking the power and the pleasure at times in the most unconventional ways. Violating my own "Constitution", under self-imposed moral reflection; as I measure ones own character. Although the Candidate (Jesse Jackson Jr.) has not been charged with any wrong doing only his ambition, guilty by association, led by hope and validated by the election of change. # 5 the weight of your legacy will crush you if don't choose to be plumb with integrity. # 9 (former Governor of New York) just pray that strumpet doesn't write a book about your bedroom manners.
This dysfunctional behavior breeds the disdain that the public has for politicians. The stench of corruption that good tax paying people would consider too egregious for reconciliation and too tendentious for consideration. Let this be a lesson for those seeking power or pleasure it can cost more than you can afford.
Bycha Buxton
The United States Electoral College is a term used to describe the 538 Presidential electors who meet every four years to cast the "official" votes for President and Vice President of the United States. The Constitution gives each state legislature the plenary power to choose the electors who shall represent its state in the Electoral College. The Electors never meet as a national body. At 51 (Fifty states plus the District of Columbia) separate meetings, held on the same day, the electors cast the electoral votes. As such, the collective concept of the 51 groups is the technical definition of the college. It is because of this power structure that the popular vote was overturned in the 1824, 1876, 1888 and the more recent 2000 Presidential election. What scares me about this system is that it is elitist in nature and has a cloak of anonymity that render them (the Electors) unaccountable to the general masses. The Constitution does not require the Electors to vote as pledged, but many (not all) states have enacted laws that do require their Electors to vote as pledged. This system seems to be in place to assure certain citizens that under no circumstance will an "undesired" candidate be allowed to occupy the highest positions in the land. You may wonder why the forefathers choose to wrest the power from the voting public and give it to these 538 mysterious individuals (who are they?).
There are calls to reform this antiquated system. There are those who truly want to put the power in the hands of the people. The argument for an "Electoral College" is that while the Congress is popularly elected by the people, the President and Vice President are elected to be executives of a federation of independent states. The Electoral College ensures that candidates, particularly in recent elections, pay attention to key 'swing-states' (those states that are not firmly rooted in either the Republican or Democratic party). It equally assures that voters in states that are not believed to be competitive will be disregarded.
Supporters of direct election argue that it would give everyone an equally weighted vote, regardless of what state he or she lives in, and oppose giving disproportionately amplified voting power to voters in states with small populations. Under the current system, the vote of an individual living in a state with three electoral votes is proportionally more influential than the vote of an individual living in a state with a large number of electoral votes.
The arguments for and against get bogged down with historic policy and precedence set throughout elections that are skewed by the history of the United States divisions among its political parties, voters and regions (in other words they filibuster the discussion).
Registered Voter,
Bycha Buxton
Should there be a boycott of China? Or should there be a boycott of the Olympic games in Beijing? Mario Vazquez Rana, the president the
Association of National Olympic Committees, and the International
Olympic Committee stated that "Any politician who is pushing for a boycott is
committing a serious error," Vazquez said, "For me a total
boycott, a partial boycott, is totally out of the question."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has not ruled out the possibility he might boycott the opening ceremony if China continues its crackdown in Tibet. In a recent edition of Le Monde, one of his Cabinet ministers outlined changes needed for Sarkozy to take part in the Aug. 8 ceremony. President Bush has received calls to boycott the opening ceremonies, but has not addresses the matter publicly.
The Chinese have not been the model society of humanity nor have they been receptive to international criticism. Will the IOC (International Olympic Committee) give the Chinese the same kind of propaganda boost that the1936 games gave Berlin? A boycott was called for then but largely ignored.
They saw Jesse Owens embarrass Hitler and his team of experiments based on racial superiority. After a New York Times editorial (1933) inferred that Hitlers "race doctrine" had begun. Do we let history repeat itself? Unfortunately America's goodwill, leadership and economic interests are hampered by world events to singularly take on this posture without resounding support from the world community. The world community is too bitter to come together for "human rights" because of "business rights" and personality conflicts. The Games have taken on more than a celebration of cultures and national pride. They have become a symbol of international status for host countries and platforms to propel those countries into industrial powerhouses on the backs of talented athletes and the graves of second class citizens. Do we punish the athletes who only get this world stage once every four years and maybe only once in their lifetime? Is fame, the gold medal and national pride more important than the unalienable rights every "citizen of the world" should be entitled too? Let the tanks roll and the "games" begin the show must go on...and it will be the greatest "show" on earth (all pun's and sarcasm welcome).
A Sports fanatic of Human Rights,
Bycha Buxton
When Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Barak Obama's Pastor) spoke of AIDS being put in the Black community in his much ballyhooed sermon this is why. There is precedence for this kind of action in America. Is this fear mongering? Or is this acknowledging (very real) possibilities? This (Tuskegee) experiment garnered an apology from the President twenty-five years later.
The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens. . . . clearly racist.
Apologies only begin the healing process. It does not cure the hurt. Germany has apologized (for the Holocaust) but the Jews still feel the pain and recognize the significance of never forgetting nor letting the world forget their struggle. Neither shall Black Americans forget; so when you hear the endless loop of Rev. Wright's petition to GOD damning America it stems from this experience along with, slavery, racism, discrimination and injustice that seeks to understand WHY? And how long do we have to suffer this kind of deception? And is their still this kind of government sanctioned racism going on now?
When (non-Black) Americans hear the horror of the Black experience they want to put it in the past, tag it as "what once was", say "it's not like that anymore" until the next event that tears the scab off a wound that will ultimately leave a scar at best. So here is a reminder of why you (America) will from time to time get the vitriolic rhetoric from our gatherings at churches, rallies and demonstrations. Please pardon the anger, hurt and distrust that Black Americans have for some of America's worst offenders, bad actors and racists. It is natural to cry in pain when your healing; to be in discomfort when you've been handicapped. We are in repair.
Your (test) subject,
Bycha Buxton
