Boris and Ayana

Harmony Sweetwater

Giving thanks

Healthcare Reform or Repression

Healthcare reform or repression, that is my question to the adoring crowds that are for this healthcare bill. What is in the bill that makes them so happy? Already, abortions are threatened by it but what other hidden agendas are cloaked inside of this bill? I am always in favor of less government because they can not be trusted and I am always expecting the shit to hit the fan, and the idea of the government making it mandatory that everyone have insurance or else be fined is crazy. One thing I know for sure is that having insurance does not guarantee you quality healthcare, and forcing everybody to buy insurance is not healthcare reform. How about getting rid of the HMO's and going back to how it use to be when you could take your insurance and go to the doctor or hospital of your choice. Or, how about getting some real healers into those , what are now death centers where all they seem to be able to do is cut and drug you, and they don't even do that well because they kill thousands of patients each year through their negligence. I just think that once you start giving the government this type of power, next they will be making certain treatments mandatory in order to keep your insurance so that you won't have to be fined or go to jail.

chillaxing

Runoko Rashidi

The so called scholar, Runoko Rashidi dropped me from his facebook page this week because I had the nerve to, one, question his intention concerning a fire starting topics that he initiated, and two,because I informed him that as a Black woman in America, I am not damaged. Well, me telling him that I was not damaged seemed to ignite anger in him and another male fan on his page. Rashidi kicked me off his page with the parting words of, "by your email it seems that you have it all together and I wish you nothing but the best." Whoa so let me get this right, I am not allowed to have it all together without offending him? He gets to make the statement that as African people, we are very damaged and, I am not allowed to question this statement without drawing his disapproval. One of his fans told me that I was delusional and needed to do some self-assessment because any Black person living in a country that is under the yoke of white supremacy can not state that, they are not damaged. I battled him through emails for a couple of days before he asked me to pardon any of his statements that I found offensive. Look, the bottom line is that you can be as damaged as you choose to be, but do not attempt to put me in that damaged boat with you. I believe that the doctrine and practice of white supremacy is out of my control so I will not allow other people's illnesses to drag my life down, I go around it, under, over or push my way through it and I keep right on stepping.

A precious bundle of Joy

Healthcare Reform

I really hope that the senate will not pass the so called healthcare bill which is a bill that will take away more of our freedoms. It is a round about way of making it difficult for women to get abortions and who knows what else is hidden in it. Obama compared it to car insurance, which for the most part is you giving your money away for protection, but, I don't need the government trying to force me to do anything when it comes to my health. So everyone in the U.S. would be forced under threat of fine, into purchasing health insurance. The insurance companies win and will probably help fund his campaign for reelection. I try not to listen to Obama's speeches or interviews because frankly, they creep me out and are very reminiscent of listening to Bush. Of course he is a brilliant speaker unlike Bush but like Bush, I hear a hidden agenda behind all of his words, so I turn it off.

I do not trust or want the government to run the so called healthcare system in this country because I fear what type of new world order hidden agenda is behind their drive to take over and manage our health. Already, they are using propaganda to try and frighten us into taking the very dangerous swine flu shot and if the fear mongering fails, they have talked about the possibility of making it mandatory. Obama is a constitutional lawyer but like Bush, he is stomping all over the document.

Voting

For me, voting is a powerless and meaningless act, and mind you, I am only talking about myself. Luckily, you can do what you want to in this country, vote or do not vote, it is your choice. I only voted once in my life and I saw the flaw in the plan. Most people do not have the same values as me , so voting for me would be a lose, lose situation and I do not waste my time when those types of odds are present. Recently in a heated discussion, I was informed that since I do not vote in this country, I don't have a voice, and that people like me always want to speak out when things are going wrong. Well the way I see it is that, the people that vote and participant in this system have voted to give their voices to a representative who will decide what they should have. I on the other hand, am free to say anything I want to about this system because I am not sanctioning it by voting to sustain it.

Garden fairy

Berkeley, Calif.

There is nothing more annoying than, shopping for groceries at wholefoods or Berkeley bowl in Berkeley, California. Berkeley seems to be the land of the pretentious jackass. When I enter either of these two stores, I could swear that I am in zombieland. These places are swarming with very dry skinned and a lot of gray haired people, which isn't a bad thing at all, the hair that is, but you rarely see gray in the rest of the state. You are hard pressed to find anyone wearing bright colors since the color palette seems to be brown and beige, anything dark, wrinkled and unappealing. The next thing to notice is that they avoid eye contact, and they rarely use the phrases, excuse me, or , I am sorry as they wheel their carts in a freeway rush hour type of way down the aisles. I have come close to slapping a few of them and, I find myself, talking to myself about the disturbing images before my eyes. What the hell is wrong with these people, where are their smiles and normal human interactions? Are they just too hungry and emaciated to raise their heads and to try and make some kind of facial gesture other than the zombie like stares. Sometimes I want to stop looking for them to respond to my smiles or my human facial gestures but then, I realize that this is how it starts , you slowly become one of the walking zombies, dried up due to the lack of moisturizer, wearing wrinkled browns and beige clothing made from natural fibers and losing your ability to speak while shopping. So I continue to say excuse me, and I wear my bright colors, paint my toenails, moisturize everyday and I smile and show many other human emotions while shopping in Berkeley! Don't let them get you!