American: what does it mean?

When you hear the word American, what images does it invoke? For many it is patriotism, freedom, baseball games, etc…There are so many different ways to interpret the meaning of American.  But what about made in America or names that include American like America Girl dolls or American Joe clothing.  One automatically assumes that those products are Made in America.  Unfortunately one is not, and with the message it brings to little girls around the U.S. it should be a disappointment to all who find out that those pretty babies are Made in CHINA.  No fault of our own for assuming because it says American that it is made here.

In this world of mass consumption and CHEAP products, we must wonder what does it really cost us to have things Made in China, and sold at Walmart.  In my parents and my grandparents generations, items were made in America and cost a pretty penny to purchase, but you know, they still own those items or have passed them on to younger generations.  In this day, items are made cheap and so are our mentalities around them.  The products are made cheap and sold cheap so that we can say “Oh, it only costs X $, to replace, I’ll just get a new one.”  So what do you do, you give that store more business, and so goes the vicious cycle.  There is a wonderful video out there describing this awful cycle called Garbage Revolution…You can join their community online at www.garbagerevolution.com and I encourage the purchase of the film.  Or you can host a viewing party like I did in your neighborhood.

I will be the first to profess I am cheap and I love a sale and getting discounts, but I would like to think I do it the right way majority of the time.  Thanks to www.freecycle.org and my apartment dumpster, I have gathered some very nice items for my home over the last 6 yrs.  I love the idea of saving items from the landfill that can be cleaned and reused.  I urge all reading this to go to check out freecycle and even if you don’t need anything, there is bound to be something in your home you don’t want and can Offer to someone else.   I think American means so much more than freedom or patriotism.  I think we have the right to know and decide where our products are made and demand more quality items and less consumption.  So the rich men have to step down off their alters and let middle America build and consume AMERICAN made.  What does American mean to you?

Update:

After reading up on lesions and truely understanding what I must be going through…My hubby has become more supportive and has been really cool for like a week now… I just want to say thanks HOOT, my best friend in the whole world, I hope we can work on our communication about $ now.  Love you!

What is knowledge? Who has it?

One must wonder in today’s internet society, what is knowledge? Who has it? In decades and centuries passed our forefathers and so on attended formal education to obtain knowledge of the world around them.  It was the elite that could afford to attend such education that benefitted.  Now, with the internet, constant streaming media and news updates, anyone can have knowledge that someone with formal education has.  Many times as it turns out those internet sources are not as reliable as the scholarly journals and books available, but with education being pushed on every individual it’s not a wonder that so many thirst for it.

However, just as the elite looked down upon the people without that education, in the past so do people today do the same.  Why not give people the benefit of the doubt and allow them to learn from you?  I have a 4 yr. Bachelor degree , will be attending graduate school soon, and yet I was one of the uneducated not so long ago.  I vowed as part of my education I would learn to be tolerant of all people and share my knowledge with those less fortunate instead of sticking my nose at them.  When I sit among the less educated than me I speak as if I would with anyone else and if they ask what am I speaking of or say they do not understand I take the time to explain to them.  Some in my same situation would instead choose to thumb their nose at them and even perhaps walk away or worse yet not associate with those less fortunate.  But this isn’t about me…it’s about all of you…I think part of wisdom and growing to be fully human requires one to be more patient and tolerant of all people. After all that is what Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi, Mohammed, etc were trying to teach us right?

I challenge you all to all to do the same.  For the next few weeks try being more tolerant and just see what you may learn from someone less fortunate.  After all the saying is we learn something new everyday, and someone had to teach you the knowledge you obtained.

Scared

So, here I sit at the computer again…I am looking over at my beautiful son and thinking this very well could be the last time I see him until he is 18.  I am scared.  But this is not my only fear.  I am the very first to profess that a little self pity never hurt, but damn I am feeling very sorry for myself tonight, but not in the sense one may think.  I am thinking Why me of course, then a little of is this it?, and then some of that very infamous It’s not fair.  I am more worried about my kids than myself though.  To me, I don’t really matter, but to those kids I mean the world.

I suppose if you read this far you are probably curious so I will inform.  I have a brain lesion, and despite several tests the doctor cannot find a reason for it.  So, in September I will be sent to the Mayo Clinic, but I am also supposed to start my graduate studies.  In my mind Mayo is the place people go that are really sick…and I am scared.  My mother is causing all kinds of drama despite knowing this information and threatening to sue her own daughter.  My hubby is not being supportive at all and in fact is causing so much stress lately as he grows more and more lazy every day.  Then he expects the world of me clean house, clean kids, laundry, dinner, everything….and I CAN’T DO IT! I don’t feel good.  I have included some links on brain lesions so everyone reading is not confused … I am not INVINCIBLE.  I am SCARED!

http://www.webmd.com/brain/brain-lesions-causes-symptoms-treatments?page=1

http://www.webmd.com/brain/brain-lesions-causes-symptoms-treatments?page=2

MY FIRST POST IS UP

I am soooo excited! Everyone follow this link to get to my newst PAID postition of writer.  Don’t forget to come back here for the typical B.S.

Here’s the LINK:

http://www.examiner.com/x-14004-Las-Vegas-Civil-Rights-Examiner

GO READ MY FIRST POST! and subscribe please that’s partially how I get paid!

I feel so lucky!

I have been chosen as a writer/examiner for an online news source for my city, Las Vegas.   I will be covering civil rights issues as that is the position I have been hired on as.  So, if you want to read my manure that I post here come on back ya’ll!  Now, while I have not exactly shown my wonderful writing skills on my blog I assure you I am a great writer.  My blog for me has been a place where I can just blow off steam and not have to think to deeply, sort of a place for feelings and emotions more than scholarly reports.  So, I will be providing a link as soon as they have my page up and running and I look forward to all of you visiting.

A poem for my children

A Mother’s Love:

To: Tyler and Elizabeth

If only I could measure how much that I love you

It would be deeper than the ocean

 And brighter than the moon

 I would shower you with flowers

 But for you that just won’t do

 I would give you everything I own

 But for you that just won’t do

 I would buy you all the things I could

 But for you it just wouldn’t do

 For you are worth more to me than anything I own,

 Could buy, or give.

 For you are worth more to me than that

 For as long as I shall live.

Prison, Personality, and Persistence

The prison system seems to be a wide debate these days from the newest documentaries including “Prison Nation” to the minds of senators, and us bloggers.  Why is it that we can’t seem to rehabilitate the mass populations in the system?

I could go on and on about how I believe for a long while, but to get to the point really quickly I will save you my opinion.

Recently I invited over some friends of my daughter for her beautiful 7th birthday.  With the children came two of the most ghetto queens I have ever seen or listened to.  However, these two queens made some very valid points about the prison system that could not be ignored, and so I was forced to put aside my judgements for two hours so I could really listen.

When I tried to argue that the recidivism rate was high due to lack of programs, housing, and jobs for the recovering criminals I was told “Put that shit away right now, GURL! Let me tell you something.  I was in prison and I had all 6 of my kids about to be taken away from me, and the judge gave me 60 days to enter a rehab center.  I waited till the 59th day to do shit about it, and you know what I learned.  Ain’t no one out there gonna just hand it to you.  You have to work for it, get your record sponged (her words) and ask people for help.  There is shit out there for you, but no one gonna come lookin for your ass you gotta go out and get em, help yourself.”

So, now while I do still think there could be more funding for those “go get em” programs, I cannot argue with someone who has been in the system and try to place my theories on her circumstance.  Perhaps it is the prison system that is wrong, perhaps her personality strong, or perhaps her persistence that led her along.  Whatever it was this is a story of a woman, a mother, a prisoner, a survivor, and now a grandmother.

#2- George Knapp and the I- Team

Today George Knapp, of Channel 8 news, was recognized with the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in journalism and investigation. He once again stood up to the local politicians and hit them where it hurt. George has a history of exposing the truth to us by showing us it is not hard to find. All we need do is a little digging.
In this recent documentary he exposed how water, power and politics effect the future of Las Vegas. Some of the proposed plans to bring water to the Las Vegas valley are bringing much debate. After three decades of growth it is the idea of civic leaders to tap water from rural counties in Nevada, potentially altering the natural flow of water forever, threatening the existence of plants as well as mammals. Some of these leaders would have you believe it is the best interest of our existence as we know it and that we have no choice. However, what is the best interest? Money? That’s certainly not what they would have us believe yet millions of homes built to expand this city sit empty due to the financial downturn.
George helps us see what is really behind all these proposals and how is will affect you. You can view his series by clicking on the link below.
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=8035228&nav=menu102_2

Civil Union Bill passes 12-9

VICTORY in Nevada for Civil Unions!! YEAH NEVADA!… However, Governor Gibbons has promised to veto, so Carson City has seen a rise in activists for this cause.  If more people knew what it meant for them and knew enough about it I would assume they would also want to fight for it.  It is not a gay or straight thing it is an Equality issue.

No woman or man should feel like they HAVE to get married to have the same rights as another woman or man who decides to sign a piece of paper. Some  have strong objections to marriage.  It can be a political issue, a religious issue, even a personal beliefs issue as to why one would choose to not be married in the traditional sense.  If  someone is in love and wants to spend their life with someone, who am I or the government to tell them something they believe strongly against is their only option.  This issue goes deeper than some would have you believe yet as simple as EQUAL RIGHTS!!

Whether or not gay couples benefit from this or not should not be anyone’s main focus.  The focus should simply be on equality.  If you support homosexual rights fantastic, we love you too….If not, great we love you too  Just make it about Nevada being a catalyst state as in our history.  Marriage, divorce, and now an equality rights state.   This state could use a measure like that considering its racial discrimination in the past.