This past summer passed almost in a flash. Stories like this one on Frontline deserved more attention than the MSM's wall to wall coverage of Sarah Palin. This is one of those stories that will bookmark the beginning or end of an era.

What is it with Republicans in California? Do they think it is below them to touch a ballot during an election cycle? California makes it so easy to cast a ballot that I can't believe that they were "to busy" to mark a ballot in the comfort of them home.

Damon Dunn is running for Sec. of State yet he hasn't bothered to vote in a few elections. According to the S.F. Chronicle, he has something in common with Meg Whitman, running for governor and Carly Fiorina for U.S. Senate. It was beneath them to vote; I forgot giving money is the same as casting a ballot. They have so many ballots.

If reports are true that Michael Steele wants to "purge" the Republican party of moderates like Crist and Snowe, does this mean he is going to kick out Colin Powell?

If so, I would love a front row seat to see Michael Steele kick Colin Powell out the Republican Party for being too moderate.

Open for comment 'til 13 Nov, 2009

Almost without notice the White House has been holding town hall meetings around the country that focus on the issue of AIDS. According to the Office of  National AIDS Policy there are a few more cities scheduled for town hall meetings in the coming days and next month. If you know someone who has knowledge about the needs of persons with AIDS please forward the link and if they aren't able to attend a town hall, the website is excepting comments from the public at large until 13 November, 2009.

The third time is the charm. I posted this information 15 May, 2009 and 7 July, 2009 . Pelosi has been vindicated in her assertion that the C.I.A. lied. I don't know why it is such a stretch for some to believe the C.I.A. lies. Duplicity is their mission.  

What I like about language is the fluidity of words and phrases. A few years ago was having a conversation with a friend--a graduate from U.C. Berkeley in English-- who happens to be to an African American librarian wherein I explained that language is dynamic and it changes as we change as human beings. He looked at me like I said something revolutionary. I told him  a few years ago it was very common among African American teenagers to say 24/7 and What's the 411? After I gave him these examples he understood what I was talking about. These words and or phrases now can be found leaping off the tongues of a people delivering the news in the United States. I have seen CNN use 24/7 in advertisements for several of their news broadcast.

Language is as alive as sure as we breathe. This is why I think it is incredibly asinine to insist on English only in the United States. If this was a national policy, the world will surely leave us behind. Just ask those parents who insist their children learn Mandarin, Farsi or Arabic.

Besides, I am still learning how to get my American tongue around quite a few Mexican influenced Spanish words.

 It seems like the more we become connected as a diverse group of rational beings on this Earth we influence--sometimes for the better-- each others languages and lives.  Just look at Japan. It seems the Japanese have come up with a word Obamu which is one letter short of Obama. Obama is of course a city in Japan and yet it is the name of his father born in Kenya. I don't know which came first but it is interesting. I think the President of our United States has inspired a new Japanese word.

Maybe the Japanese can see something about Obama from afar better than most of us can hardly recognize up close?

Trust busters! Who would thunk it? The Health Insurance Industry like Major League Baseball finds itself protected from Anti-trust laws. Anti-trust protection might be taken away because the Health Industrial Complex decided to play hardball with people's lives hanging in the balance. It looks Congress might force them toward the stick instead the nibbling on the carrot.

This is a collaboration between Color of Change and MoveON.org. This is a story that mostly goes unnoticed by the (older) MSM. It is organizations like Color of Change and MoveON.org who help make telling Dawn's story important to the cause and effort of reform.

The evidence is clear -- America's health care system is failing folks
like Dawn Smith.

Dawn was diagnosed with a brain tumor that causes crippling pain and
keeps her from working. The tumor was treatable -- but Dawn's
insurance company, CIGNA, denied her treatment for two years. CIGNA
finally changed their tune, but not until our friends at MoveOn.org
brought Dawn's story to light.1

But CIGNA still won't promise to cover all the treatment Dawn needs.
And they still won't explain why they denied her care for two years,
let alone whether they'll change their policies. So Dawn is fighting
back -- she's going to drive up to CIGNA's headquarters in
Philadelphia to confront the CEO in person.

Fundamentally, Dawn isn't fighting just for herself. She's fighting
for everyone who has struggled with irresponsible, unaccountable
insurance companies who are fighting tooth and nail against the very
reform that could level the playing field for Black folks, and improve
health care for all Americans.

That's why we've joined MoveOn.org in supporting Dawn as she confronts
CIGNA. Will you sign a statement of support for Dawn Smith? Your
message will be delivered directly to CIGNA CEO H. Edward Hanway in
person.

By highlighting Dawn's struggle in the media and with members of
Congress, we can make clear why health care reform -- including real
accountability for insurance companies -- is such an urgent priority
right now.

And as we all know, the need really is urgent -- especially for Black
folks, who suffer from a wide range of health care disparities:

    * Black folks are twice as likely to be uninsured as white folks.2
    * 22% of Black women say cost keeps them away from the doctor's
office, compared to 15% of White women3
    * Black women have the highest rates of new AIDS cases, cancer
mortality, obesity and low-weight infants of any ethnic or racial
group4
    * There are 13.6 Black infant deaths per 1,000 live births,
compared to 5.7 White infant deaths per 1,000 live births5

The insurance companies are doing nothing to address these
disparities, and in fact are doing what they can to block reform. In
Dawn's case, all CIGNA has done so far is offer vague gestures aimed
at doing the bare minimum to keep Dawn quiet -- chalking up their
outrageous behavior to "mix ups" and assuring her they're "in the
business of caring." They're putting Band-Aids on problems that are
more like bullet holes. But, unfortunately for CIGNA, Dawn's not
planning to quiet down so easily -- not until she gets the answers she
needs.

That's why she's taking her campaign to the next level by taking her
story on the road.

She'll confront CIGNA at their headquarters in Philadelphia. She'll
try to meet with members of Congress in Washington and ask for their
help. And she'll stop in cities and towns along the way to collect
stories from the countless other Americans who are suffering at the
hands of their insurance companies. You can help Dawn by lending your
voice to her struggle. You can speak out here:

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org
team
   October 17th, 2009

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU -- your
energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large
corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures
your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

References

1. "Dawn Smith, Brain Tumor Victim: How Her Story Became Rallying Cry
For Health Care Reform Supporters," The Huffington Post, 10-5-2009
 

2. "Key Health and Health Care Indicators by Race/Ethnicity and
State," Kaiser Family Foundation, 2009

3. "Putting Women's Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining
Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level," Kaiser Family
Foundation, 6-10-09
 

4. Ibid.

5. See #2

It is probably a bit more complicated than the GOP would have us believe. But according to this article, he turned his back on them when the Southern Strategy was politically fashionable. The Republicans just should own up to the Southern Strategy instead of being apologist for it. When the GOP renounces the Southern Strategy once and for all and stop acting like the [Don't wanna] "Know-Nothing Party", they might--might is the key word--have an audience. They were on the wrong side of history on many issues in the 1960's 'til the present.

The 1960's GOP and today's GOP isn't my great great grandfather's GOP by far.

This is American history. This is the history that gets left in the dusty and dingy rooms of courthouses all around the country. I learned more--or at least I learned to ask more-- about this country because I've seen the U.S. Census schedules, deeds, wills, order books, chancery orders and a sundry of other records. I learned more--and still have much much more to learn--than I did in text books or sitting in classrooms. I learned the unofficial history of this country through its people and the records that their lives and deaths created.

A couple days ago, I posted a link to Juan Cole's brief blog over at Salon.com about the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran and the need to silence the beat of war drums. A commentator posted this from the New York Times. Today Huffington Post highlights an article written by Fareed Zakaria which outlines three options we have as a country. As I stated in my original post, I think there are some who have taken the war drum out of storage and are beating it extremely and excessively loud. It reminds me of the sounds that lead us to the illegal war in Iraq. I just wanna know what lessons--if any-- did we are learn as consumers of news in this country?

Someone has taken the big war drums out of storage. They continually play and pound out the same beat. It is a rhythm of noises--a cacophony if you will-- which are familiar to anyone who paid attention to the prior eight years in this country.  The loudness is bellicose. It hurts the ear and a sense of decency because it is foul. We, as a country, were lied to and told that Iraq had mobile biological weapons. We were told that once the smoke cleared---we were warned about a mushroom cloud during the run up to the war-- we would find a stash of weapons.

When the smoked cleared what we found is our government printing billions of--if not trillions of-- greenbacks to pay for the war and to pay off the people who had every right to be mad as hell with our government for destroying their country. Dear Iraqis, please forgive the stupidity of our government.  Our government had no problem funding an illegal war but it is hard pressed to find money to pay for the care of its citizens. Maybe the war was ultimately waged against us? Look at what we have to show for it: Nada!

Dear Iraqis, a fairly large number of Americans are mad as hell with our government too for lying and trying to make the war against you palatable. It left a bad taste in our mouth too.

Dear reader,  Mr. Cole has given us ten reasons why we shouldn't even be thinking about a war with Iran. Mr. Cole really doesn't have give us ten reason because it seems like we can't afford health care.

The pipes in my kitchen are busted. My bills are due. Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic games failed. Someone fired off a few rounds outside my window. The train isn't on time. It is starting to getting cooler. When it warms up for a couple weeks---high fire danger--it will all be Obama's fault. He is damned if he does and damn if  he doesn't.

The list of Republican complaints against President Obama is, by now, fairly long. He's leading the country into socialism. He's doing too many things at once. He's not bipartisan enough. He's an enemy of humanity. And, of course, he bailed out Wall Street and the auto manufacturers late last year.

Oh Buffalo Soldiers, where have you gone? Do they not remember that you fought in the War for America? Do they not know that you sacrificed for something that was not your own? Freedom. Not your freedom but the freedom of a country, a nation that might become one. You where taken from Africa for the War in America.

Fightin' for survival, fightin' on arrival.
Buffalo Soldier in the heart of America.

These are my two newest and best digital friends. They are absolutely funny!

The biggest problem facing America today isn't the war, the economy, healthcare or even racism.  The biggest threat to America is the lack of news coverage in our newscasts.  Honestly I don't give a damn what LaToya Jackson thinks, what Paris Hilton ate, what Hillary Clinton is wearing or who Brad Pitt is dating.  And I especially don't give a rat's ass what 78,000 peckerwoods with too much time on their hands think about something as complicated as Universal Healthcare.