It's Inauguration Day!

On this momentous occasion, that is Barack Obama's inauguration, I immediately think about my grandparents. They are African-Americans who were born in a time when blacks were considered second class citizens, not even human. My father, who was born in segregated America, was not allowed to share facilities and not allowed to enter through the front doors that whites used. He was beaten in the 60's during the Detroit riots and protested for equal rights for his people and all people. My mother was chased by dogs and called horrible names on her way to school, while her white neighbors through rocks at her. And even me as a child was told As a that I needed to be twice as good as my white counterparts to be successful and I have to strive to be twice as good to be considered equal.

These are stories of my family and of several African-American families across this country. And only 40 years ago, a day like today would not even be possible.

I look to my ancestors and my family and say thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice and thank you for your courage. Thank you for the steps you took and the foundation that you established that allowed today to be possible. I am so happy that my grandparents, who are in their nineties, lived to see the day when a black man would occupy the white house. I am happy that I will not have to tell my son, that he has to prove himself twice as hard to be an equal participant in society. It has been said over and over that when we now tell our children that they can be anything, it won't just be a cliched statement but an attainable reality.

This is much more than a new President and an ushering in of new policies- It is also a change in the page of history and a momentous day for this country, one a long time coming. So, I congratulate our new President and I wish him the greatest success. You have made a lot of people more hopeful and extremely proud.

Question/Poll...Are you Born Gay?

After sharing with my husband an article I read about Gov. Palin supporting a group who desires to change gays into heterosexuals, called the Love Won Out conference, he and I had a heated debate about the prevalence of homosexual culture in today's society and the root of it all. **Now before anyone gets their boxers/panties in a bunch, there was no malice within the conversation- we just debated the topic. We've had this conversation before and know that we both share different views on the subject. **

My husband believes that homosexuality is something that a person chooses for themselves and is a phenomenon that we (as a society) are teaching to be acceptable. Through acceptance and tolerance, our society has sent the message that it is OK to be gay, and you have the right to choose to do so. In his mind homosexuality is unnatural and something that should be urged against. He's not a proponent for discrimination or ill treatment, but he believes that homes should be teaching their children that homosexuality is not right. He does believe that there are a small percentage of individuals that have a biological predisposition to being gay, but that the majority are choosing the lifestyle out of pure curiosity, frustration with the opposite sex, or lust. As a result he is against gay marriage and adoption because he feels it is a lifestyle that is taught and not all practicing homosexuals can be blamed on biological mistakes from GOD.

I, on the other hand, believe that most homosexual people were born being attracted to the same sex and if given the choice would not opt such a difficult road in life . I pointed out that I never pondered whether or not I was straight, it wasn't a choice, I just was, and I believe the same to be true for most homosexuals. And if that is the case, it can't be turned off and you can't be taught not be gay. It also shouldn't be discriminated against and those individuals should have the same rights and privileges as everyone else. I don't believe that being gay is being taught as an alternative lifestyle, I just think our society has acknowledged a part of our culture and made it OK for those who are gay to feel more comfortable. And since I don't think being gay is taught, I don't think that gay couples should be stopped from adopting or having children, and of course I believe they should be able to marry.

So, as a result of this debate I am curious to know what others think. Do you believe as I do that you are born gay? Or do you believe as my husband does, that it's a choice?
You can vote in the poll conducted at the top of the page.
- Thanks for offering you thoughts and helping satisfy my curiosity.

Don't you think

With an obesity epidemic raging through this country that grocery stores would be inclined to charge less for fresh produce. I went to the grocery store last night and I spent 4.99 for a pack of romaine lettuce- almost $5.00 for three stalks of lettuce hearts. I was crushed. The tomatoes were no better, $1.69 per pound for tomatoes. Something my parents grew in the backyard in the summer time. And don't get me going on the price of a bell peppers- and I tend to like red, orange and yellow peppers which really required a loan application at checkout. I can't believe it. Fresh produce can bring you to the poor house, but you can get a hungry man dinner, complete with mashed potatoes, a whole chicken, corn and bread for about $3.00. NO wonder people can't eat healthy, they can't afford it.

Now if I chose to sacrifice the quality of my lettuce and other vegetables, I could go to Wal-mart and get them cheaper, but my Wal-mart has AWFUL produce and there are always flies and such buzzing around that it makes the whole produce section look the back alley of a restaurant. So, I refuse to buy wilted lettuce leaves which will inevitably ruin my entire salad experience, so I am forced to be robbed without a gun at the local "designer" grocery store. It's just a real; shame.

Corporations and the Environment

OK. , I'm not one of those super obsessed environmental folks that won't buy anything unless its recycled, has a compost pile in my backyard (mainly because I don't have a backyard) or clogs the rear bumper of my car with environmental dooms day stickers about how our children will need to wear gas masks to go out and play, and save the Polar Bears. It's not that I don't care about the environment, it's not that at all, but for one thing, I can't afford to just go out a buy a hybrid because its energy efficient, I can't swap out all my appliances for new energy savers no matter how much I would like, and frankly I can't always remember to carry in the cloth bags into the grocery store in addition to the diaper bag, car seat, oh! and the baby of course. But I do try to be conscious of my environmental footprints and monitor my energy consumption. My husband and I carpool, I try not to get plastic bags when it can be avoided- like when I'm shopping by myself and I just can't manage the monkey, his diaper bag and a paper bag I need carry. I stopped buying bottled water, which isn't really that big a deal since I hate water, and I recycle the plethora of aluminum pop cans (I'm from the mid-west and you will never hear me say SODA) I consume during the day.

Now, to the reason I explain all of this. My job uses an inordinate amount of paper, and I mean massive, extraordinary, mind blowing amounts of paper. My boss alone kills about a rains forest a day due to her compulsive need to print every single email she receives and attachments everyday, which amount to the hundreds. She prints so much she needs a printer in her office and still sends about 3 massive print jobs for me to print out per hour *yes she has made me an accomplice to this carnage.* The rest of the corporation is no better. Every month there is a board meeting, which consists of 9 members and everyone of them receives this large Webster dictionary sized booklet on the corporations action and consent items. The people don't even read the thing- every month. What really baffles me is the information is published on our website and can easily be viewed from a laptop. I mean people will copy large sets of papers and find an error in them, chuck them in the recycling bin and copy them all over again. It's good that they recycle but, I'm willing to bet that we are adding to the air pollution with the massive amounts of energy required to breakdown all that paper. Last time I checked, recycling took place in a large factory with most likely large amounts of coal emissions. I've tried to speak up and mention that maybe instead of copying all this paper, each board member be asked to view the docs on their corporate laptop decide what they want to print out, if anything. Then it wouldn't be the fault of the corporation, but I was quickly dismissed and hailed an environmental nut bag, which we have already determined is so not true.

If all corporations are as wasteful as mine, we are never going to make the kinds of environmental leaps that are needed to help this planet, without some serious legislative and legal requirements. Just my opinion.

Stop petitioning the Supreme Court

I wish that everyone would just get over it and accept that Barack Obama will be their President for the next four years (and maybe eight) and stop petitioning the Supreme Court to challenge Barack's eligibility to be President. Apparently the argument is because he was born to a British subject (his father) he is therefore a British citizen, and not eligible for the Presidency.

* A second petition was presented to the Supreme Court and subsequently denied- following the one ruled on last week*

Once and for all, Hawaii is a part of the United States, and as a result anyone born there is a United States Citizen, regardless of the parents origin. And if you don't take my word for it, why don't you take a glimpse at the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, it reads:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

This should deaden the issue for good, geesh!

Books I wish I had time to read...

“Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student,” by Martha Kimes.

"The Audacity of Hope," by Barack Obama...Again

"Dreams From My Father," by Barack Obama...Again

"Cross Country," by James Patterson

"The Private Patient," by P. D. James

"Dashing through the Snow," by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

"A Mercy," by Toni Morrison

"The Rise of Barack Obama," by Pete Souza

"Midnight," by Sister Souljah

"Outliers," by Malcolm Gladwell

"Why We Suck," by Dennis Leary

"The American Journey of Barack Obama," by The Editors at Life Magazine

"The Pagan Stone," by Nora Roberts

"The Appeal," by John Grisham

"The 6th Target," by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

"Deadly Gift," by Heather Graham

And many, many, more.

In love with Bookworm

If anyone is not familiar with the internet game Bookworm, you should get familiar and fast. I am so addicted to this little game.

*Just a small description*
You are given 3 minutes to find as many three letter or more words that are located within a block of scrambled letters. you gets points for the amount of words you can form and bonus points for words that contain more than 5 letters.

I know it sounds elementary, but it is sooooo addictive and a blast to play. Much better than solitaire. You can find it here. Worldwinner.com is a pay to play site, that I have joined but you can probably find it free somewhere- the internet is very plentiful.

Not enough hours in the day

Wow, I could literally read and evaluate other people's blogs all day. There is so much information out there and so many interesting people in the world with interesting takes on what's going on in the world. Even the mundane everyday blogs about a dad cleanng up his daughters puck in the middle of the night has me captivated. If only I didn't have an actual job to do, or a child to take care of, or dinner to make- I could read this stuff all day. It's so addicting.

Maybe it's because I was so anti- social networking sites and blogging that now that I have finally been converted to a participator, I am just purely addicted-like a kid with a new toy on Christmas. And just like that kid, I could possibly be burned out on the whole thing in about a month, and really never mess with again. If that is the case, I am having fun now and enjoying my new cyber toy. On the off chance that the bug has bitten me for life, then I look forward to indulging my verbal voyeurism for many years to come.

Happy Blogging.

Good News

The national student loan data system finally corrected my student loan information which decreased my debt service by about $10,000. Hooray! I have been asking them to do this for months now. I told my school repeatedly that I was not responsible for funds that I did not get disbursed or ask for so could they please send an updated report to NSLDS to reflect how much I actually owe- and three months later they finally did it.

This eases a bit of my anxiety- I owe less money somewhere! And it's frees up more money towards my student loan cap, which will be needed when I start law school- all good news!

I'm so Excited...

to see what this new administration is going to bring to our society. I hope that we can finally close the book on this G.W Bush era and officially turn the page and get back on the right track. I am astonished when I hear our current president (for only 40 + more days) talk about how in the future when he is looked upon through the eyes of historians, he will be seen as a successful President, are you kidding me? Even if you can count the current reduction in violence in Iraq, due to the surge, a success- which I don't (because we are still there, we have won nothing, we have accomplished nothing, and we left the country worse off then when we found it. The only reason there is even a reduction in violence is because we paid the extreme factions off, we bribed them to stop killing each other) you cannot discount the hundreds of other blunders that occurred over the past 8 years on his watch
To name a few:
- Continuing to read a book, when he was just told "The Country is Under ATTACK"
- Katrina (good job Brownie!)
- The complete abuse and disregard for the Constitution
- The allowance of Torture
- The complete abuse of the Patriot Act, and the obliteration of personal privacy
- The attorney general scandal
- Trying to slip in another unqualified person to the Supreme Court (Harriet Meyers)
- The first 41/2 years of the Iraq war
- Invading Iraq in the first place
- Ignoring Afghanistan completely
- His refusal to use diplomacy ( can't leave Chaney and Rumsfeld out of that one)
- and his constant arrogant addresses to the public (complete with butchering the English language) where we were left feeling even more uneasy while he walked off like he just hit a home run.
How can any of that be looked upon as successful?

I know Obama is not perfect but you can't sink any further than the floor, and that's where we are right now, in relation to leadership.
Here's to 2009- and a replenished and restored America.

Concerns for my aspirations

For anyone who cares to know, I am intently interested in social service fields, like policy reform or juvenile justice, or community action and civil rights. Those areas are the reasons why I decided to become an attorney and what I feel I would be most good at. The only problem I have is that those fields typically pay the least. Everyone knows that working for the government is not going to leave you rich- Hell, in this current economy, working for the government might just barely leave you at middle class status. Couple that fact with the massive amounts of student debt I will be faced with and I will be lucky if I will be taking home much more than I am now- which ain't much at all. Plus who knows what this economies financial and economic status will be four years from now when I finally am looking for a job as a practicing attorney? Will there be any jobs available? Let's hope so!

What pains me the most and has me the most conflicted is that I have entertained the idea of working for a corporate firm and putting in the time to get the money for a short time, so that I could at least see my way out of the financial hole I will be in and then moving on to what I'd really like to do. I just fear that once I walked that road for money it will be really hard to walk away from and my call for service will eventually become a distant memory.

Just something that was floating around in my head...