Good Advice from Queen Latifah and a Fictional President

Embed from Getty Images

So I have been catching bits and pieces of the Republication National Convention. In truth, I am already really over election season even though things are just getting interesting. And now that the Trump camp has admitted they need better speech writers (I mean could you have been any more obvious?!) and since I am not interested in hearing yet another one of Trump's children take the stage to try and convince us that he really does like women and minorities, I am so ready to change the conversation.

I mean, there just HAS to be something else going on in the world that's worth talking about? But I don't seem to be able to escape it. And maybe I shouldn't. This election season will be like no other. There is so much division in our country - worse than I think I have ever seen. And as this election cycle unfolds, you see just how divided we are right down racial lines. And I have to admit, it is rather interesting to see how convention organizers subtly and sometimes blatantly, try to use those divides to score political points.

Take opening day - after completely offending members of the disabled/special needs community by mocking a reporter with a disability (and the running of SEVERAL ads pointing it out) the convention opens with a young girl who is completely blind and has mild cerebral palsy, singing the National Anthem. She did an awesome job. But I just can't help but wonder how that all came about. As the mother of a child with special needs, I was offended by Trump's mockery of that reporter and while the young lady sang wonderfully, it didn't change how I felt about his earlier actions.

Or we get an African American police officer to shout how Blue Lives Matter to the roar of the crowd, as if the Black Lives Matter movement somehow implied they don't. Yes, those with the right intentions do believe that all lives matter, black, white, blue... But when African-American males are being killed at almost three times the rate of any other race by law enforcement, it is disturbing. The purpose of the movement is just to point out that there needs to be a real conversation about race in this country. I think Queen Latifah summed it up best - there are issues that must be dealt with on both sides. The senseless killing of police officers HAS to stop, no question about that - but be real, not every killing of the African-American males by police over the past several months has been justified. It isn't realistic to pretend that there aren't people with prejudice carrying guns and badges.

So I wish that we could just stop the posturing, the name calling, and get down to business. What do we need to do as a nation of people to make life better for us all? How will we help the poor, regardless of their skin color? How can we make sure we all really understand the laws of money so we don't have to work until we drop dead? What can we do to really confront racism and eradicate it? How can we make sure our young people are prepared to compete in this digital, global world? Do you really think kids in Japan or China are advancing because they are taking the EOC? Not hardly! To quote a line from a fictional President (Andrew Shepherd in American President) "We have serious problems to solve and we need serious people to solve them," (see attribution is key - just give credit to the people you got the line from and you're good).

After all of the speeches and examination of the speeches, I hope we can get it all behind us and deal with the problems at hand - but trust me, I won't hold my breath.

Leveling the Playing Field in Education

Embed from Getty Images

Last week, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill into law that expanded school choice for families. Now, parents can send their child to any school in the State as long as there is room and they can provide transportation.

While many may think this sounds like a great idea, I have to disagree. I know that there may be schools in our state that aren't performing as well as we might like. But do you think any school really wants to be a failing school? Giving money to schools that perform well while punishing those that don't seems counter productive. Giving more and more options that allow schools to lose students because they "seem" to be unwilling to do better isn't always a fair assessment.

Ever been a classroom teacher? I have, and it isn't an easy job. Some students want to do better, but they don't have the support at home that they need.  Sometimes it's because the parent doesn't care. It may not be popular to say, but it's the truth. Sometimes, it's because the parents can't afford to miss work for parent teacher conferences, or the child is bussed so far from home and the parents don't have transportation and can't get to the school. They want to support their child, but we don't always make it easy for them.

In some cases, children learn differently and need a few extra days to get a concept, but with the new rules, teachers have to stick to the schedule even when they know their students need an extra day to really grasp it. How is that helpful? Teachers don't get to do what they know is best for their students.

And let's be honest. When you send your child to a charter or private school, if he or she doesn't perform on whatever level the school is looking for, or they are a serious behavior problem, the school simply says they can no longer attend. Public schools don't get that choice. Public schools must provide an education for ALL, even the students no other learning institution will assist. Now how is that fair?

I think lawmakers need to spend a few days in some of these so called failing schools, and really find out what the issues are and how they can provide help. Are there sometimes teachers who need to choose another profession? Absolutely. But more often than naught, there is a lot more going on at a school facing some challenges than what we see on the surface.

Not every parent can afford food, much less transportation to drive their child to a different school. Their child must attend the school assigned to them, where they can walk or take the bus. So what choice does that parent have? How does this bill help that student? I wish that school choice also included parents, the community, and our government choosing to work together to better every public school, instead of just choosing to leave many of them to figure it our on their own. We owe that to EVERY child.

I Voted, But I Sure Am Worried

Embed from Getty Images

Election Day in my State is today, March 15 and if the polls are to be believed, I have to say I am bit ashamed. Let me start by saying I am no fan of any of the Republican candidates, but the fact that Donald Trump is leading in the polls here in Florida really makes me sick.

After 8 years of class and grace in the White House, the thought that we would elect a man that drops the F-bomb and thinks the way to handle illegal immigration is by building a wall, makes us look like a nation with absolutely no decorum.

My sister said that two young men recently attended a Trump rally thinking they could get some really funny footage. But after listening to the hate spewed by many in the crowd, they went from finding humor in the whole thing to feeling sad about the hate and terrible things many said in the crowd. They said a Trump rally seems to bring out every hate group our country has and gives them a platform for their hate speech.

When Bill Clinton was in office, people felt he didn’t represent our nation well, not because of his politics but because of his personal life. But you’d rather be represented by a man who lies, makes his money by starting projects, getting investors to give hard earn money, then… walking away. He files for bankruptcy and moves on to the next project. Anybody remember the Trump Towers that were to be built in Tampa? The project never broke ground, but people invested, excited about the project. Then, Trump changed his mind, filed bankruptcy to cover his loss and left local investors with nothing. He never even broke ground on the project.

Can you actually see Trump at a state dinner? And when someone criticizes him, will he stoop to personal attacks as he has in his campaign. I mean really, he spends more time picking at the appearance of his candidates than talking about issues. How many real issues has Trump given his plan for – other than building a wall, which is totally unrealistic!

When reporters ask him for specifics, he says he doesn’t want to give the other candidates an edge by laying out his plan that they could then borrow from. Are you for real? This isn’t some school exam where you don’t want your classmate to copy from your test. And when a reporter calls him on the carpet for his past failures, he pouts and says he isn’t being treated fairly. 

So if he becomes President and another world leader criticizes him what is he going to do – talk about their appearance and refuse to meet with them?

In general, I think politics has become an absolute joke. Many bills are only passed when addendums are added that only further the agenda of others but was the only way support for the bill in question would ever happen.

There are more deals, shake downs, and back scratching that goes on than any of us will ever know about. But right now, this system is all we have and we don’t need any more help messing it up. With all of the issues we are facing as a nation, electing someone who will clearly only serve to divide us more than we are already sure does seem counter productive, don’t you think?

Potholes on the Road to Success

IEmbed from Getty Images

The death of Justice Antonnin Scalia has sparked several stories about his life, his beliefs, and the way he voted as a member of the high court. I hadn’t been paying attention, but as the stories began to pour in, one in particular caught my eye.

In December, the court heard the case of a student from the University of Texas, a Caucasian student, who believed she was denied admission to the school in favor of an African American student with grades that weren’t as stellar as her own.

School officials said that while about 75% of their student admissions are based on grades and how well a student did in school, they use a holistic approach, including looking at race,

(among other factors) in the admission of the remaining 25% so that they can achieve diversity and give students who may have the drive and desire but need a little boost.

During discussions, Justice Scalia indicated that perhaps Black students needed to attend less rigorous schools and even pointed out that most African American scientists don’t come from schools like the University of Texas (gee maybe that’s cuz we aren’t allowed in).  He and Chief Justice John Roberts questioned if diversity was really necessary and if they were really getting much benefit from the practice.

I know that Justice Scalia has passed away and my condolences go out to his family. His death however, has brought a pivitol issue to the forefront and the belief of some, not just Scalia, who don’t seem to see the benefit of diversity.

You know it’s interesting. My parents still remember segregation in their childhood and the Civil Rights Act was only passed in 1964 about 50 years ago. Until that time, for WAY longer than 50 years, Blacks were oppressed in every way you can imagine.  It was much more than just slavery. It was against the law to teach a Black person to read.  And even after that, during the time of segregation, the textbooks were outdated and full of incorrect information.

So how is it that so many expect that in record time an entire race should be able to recover from generations of systematic discrimination? There are still many who are the first to graduate from high school and/or college from their families.

It will take years for us to be able to achieve a level playing field. Slavery was the law of the land for hundreds of years, and after that, segregation was king. Why not at least give us the same amount of time we spent in oppression to achieve ultimate success? And don’t even get me started on the fact that racism is still very real in this country.  I applaud the University of Texas for at least attempting to recognize that we still have a long way to go.

I know that as a race, we have a lot that we can do to make things better. But for real? Give us a break. The road to success for us, is full of more pot holes and pitfalls than you could ever imagine.

From Stacey Dash to Cam Newton

Embed from Getty Images

So I can’t believe it’s been so long! But this time I have a really good excuse. I had a small surgical procedure just before Christmas. I have had a few setbacks since the surgery and needed to concentrate on getting my body together. I am still not 100% but hey, I am working with it.

There has been a boat load of action since my last post right?! I don’t know where in the world to begin but there are a few things I just can’t pass up. First, what is up with Stacey Dash? I think she’s totally lost her mind. Yes, she is a commentator for Fox News, a station I hate. And she is a Republican – completely her choice. I won’t say I’ve never voted for a Republican when I thought they better represented issues important to me. I proudly voted for Charlie Christ when he was a Republican and would do it again. My problem is her radical views about what it means to be Black in America. 

The latest bout of ridiculous – she thinks we should do away with Black History Month. Anthony Anderson recently took her to task on that idiotic idea during his hosting duties for the NAACP Image Awards. How anyone can think that African Americans are represented well enough in the past or the present that we no longer need Black History Month is beyond my ability to comprehend. Just look around – for the second year in a row, Hollywood has thumbed its nose at the great accomplishments of Black actors, groups are targeting Black churches and it seems many are killing Black males for sport.  And if you think they are teaching our youth about the achievements and contributions of people of color in school you are delusional. Take for example the years that we were told Columbus discovered America. I know my history class wasn’t the only one teaching that when we were younger. How do you “discover” land that was already inhabited when you got there?

The fact is for all of the movement we’ve made in the attempt to eradicate racism, it is still a strong thread in the fabric of this country. People of color aren’t always given the credit due for the things they’ve done to benefit ALL Americans. Until that happens, and until we teach an American History that recognizes the achievements of EVERYONE, we still need Black History Month.

That’s just my two sense on silly Stacey. And then there was Cam. That game last night was brutal, and there has been much talk about Cam’s post game interview. A few moments ago, a sports program actually analyzed how many questions he was asked and how many words he used to answer each question. Really? I think that’s a bit overkill. I think more time has been spent analyzing and criticizing Cam’s post game behavior than on condemning and reporting on Johnny Manziel and the fact that he hit his girlfriend so hard he may have ruptured her ear drum. Let’s take the time to chastise THAT behavior, and why his ex seems to be reluctant to press charges – let’s pick that a part and ask people to weigh in on it, condemn it, and criticize it.

P.S. You may not be a Lady Gaga fan (I know I am not into her music) but she SANG that National Anthem!!!