A Tale of Two Cities

 It was the best of times. It was the worst of times . That is what this election brings to mind. We have less than 24 hours before we go to the polls to elect a president. We are coming to the end
of one of the most intense elections in the history of our nation an election that is filled with both passion and resentment. Some who want to maintain the white male status quo , some who want to go against the system and many others who do not know what they want they are angry and do not know where to direct their anger.
I think this election has come down to a tale of two cities where one city is a city of hope and the
other city is a city of nope. The city of hope is an offshoot of the eight years of the hope of the Obama administration. The city of hope is concerned with health care, justice, expanding the middle class and providing quality education to all who desire it . The city of nope is against everything the city of hope is in favor of. They seem to think that their world was destroyed in 2008 and their American dream is being taken away. For some reason they feel they have been living in another country that was run by someone other than who they are used to have them running it and they literally can't stand it . Mr. Trump's slogan : Make America great almost sounds like make make America white again.
The city of hope has a diverse population with an abundance of people of color, immigrants and women. The same people who have been attacked repeatably by the city of nope with threats like building a wall around Mexico, Banning Muslims, calling black people dirty and lazy and calling women, fat stupid bitches. Donald lost any credibility as a candidate when he started making these statement.
Working class white people who Donald Trump has done more to hurt that help follow him like the Pied Piper, listen to his racist and sexist attacks and treat him like the great white hope. Great white hopes don't usually fair well in these types of contests. First of all in order for this great white hope to achieve success he would have to have the backing of all white people and majority of them are disgusted by him and can't wait to vote against him.
In the city of hope Hillary Clinton a lifelong activist who began working with the poor and downtrodden before she was old enough to drive went directly from Yale law to helping poor women and children in the Children's Defense Fund by-passing the big corporate law firms . She does not only believe in hope, she is hope . As first lady of Arkansas she worked with her husband to improve education and the quality of life for the people of the state. They took this state activism and spread it national when she and Bill moved into the White House taking on health care and increasing the quality of life for the middle and lower classes. She set the tone for all first ladies.
Mrs. Clinton may live in the city of hope but she is also willing to visit the city of nope to improve the quality for all American whether  they agree or disagree with her . There are people who don't trust but to my knowledge she has never sold out the American people and has sacrificed her good name and private life to keep the dream alive. The difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are so clear that no one in their right mind could could ever compare apples and oranges with them . Mr. Trump sees the American People as another mark waiting to to be taken .
Hillary Clinton sees us as the hope of the future who will help us continue the dream started by President Obama in 2008 . The only other thing that I can say is that a vote for Hillary is not just a vote for hope it is a vote for our future and many generations to come. Get out there with all your friends who believe in hope and put Hillary Clinton in the White House not just to put a woman in the office but to keep hope where it belongs, at the forefront of American life

Where have all the Brain Cells Gone

With less than one week left until election day, I am wondering where have all the brain cells gone and how can we get them back . This came to mind when I was watching CBS news and a group of young people were being interviewed by a reporter who wanted their opinion of the election and candidates Clinton and Trump.
They had a variety of opinions, some I agreed with and some I did not . That was okay but what I did not agree with was the unfocused  viciousness of these people who did not seem as if any of them had known hard times or much resistance from anyone. One called Hilliary Clinton a liar another called Donald Trump a fake and President Obama a failure who had done nothing for the country.
I do not mind people with strong opinions but I do mind people who express baseless mindless opinions base solely on campaign rhetoric and very few facts. For some reasons, you may not like President Obama as a person you may even disagree with his politics, but when you say he has done nothing for the country, has a failing economy and is a liar . That is not a fact but double talk straight of the Donald Trump playbook. When you attack his race and are not even smart enough to know that you have done is more insulting than it is informing . The Google generation who can look up the fact on Google seems to be lacking them all of the time.
I hope this is not a good example of the younger twenty something generation who puts a buffon like Donald Trump on a pedestal and calls on of the most intelligent presidents this country has ever had a failure there is something seriously wrong with our education system and how children are parented. I have seen it in my teaching as well as everyday life . From the time these young people were small children, they have been told that they have the right to their opinion and they can blurt out any stupid unsupported statement and no one is supposed to question them .
If you don't like Hilliary Clinton and what she stands for fine, tell me why you feel this way. If you do not like the affordable care act fine, but support it with real thinking and idea design not just I don't like it . What I saw on that television screen was what I used to see in my classroom from some of my students. Any attempt at accomplishment no matter how lame was acceptable and I was supposed to love it without any criticism. not only is that crazy but it goes against every that that I was against my entire teaching career. Looking up a fact on Google then regurgitating it to a TV reporter is not intelligence it is just a low brow, low intellect scrapbook.
I don't care who these people vote for, but if they are going to be the leaders of our nation 20 years from freeze me and thaw me when it's over.

It's my Party and I'll Lie if I want Too

The election is rigged, the election is rigged. these are the latest words to come out of the Donald's mouth when discussing the election. This latest rhetoric is probably used for the purpose of denial if he loses the election . " The election is rigged, I tell you. "Hillary has rigged the election." If he loses he can use yet another and not claim failure.
This has been his M.O. throughout this election year
between that and throwing false accusations of corruption and incompetence . I think that Mr. Trump is from the if I tell a lie long enough, someone is bound to believe it or instead of actually debating Mrs. Clinton he'll just try to out-talk her and talk over her something he has been doing all of his life.
Donald Trump seems to be committing  political suicide and loving it. Someone with as much business acumen as he says he has should also have political the political savvy to handle a crisis and not stomp out like a 4 year-old who did not get desert . Sorry is not in his vocabulary and he does not seem to take rejection well. His psychiatrist, if he has one, has probably paid for a home and a summer home with his counseling sessions.
The only thing that Mr. Trump has managed to do is to Make Hillary Clinton look a whole lot better.
He given her the opportunity to learn how to reject ignorant comments and repel hecklers and nay-Sayers. If there is a Clinton victory, she owes it all to Donald Trump who has truly shown her as the lessor of two evils. With accusations coming left and right, he has managed to trump himself and secure a poll increase for Mrs. Clinton in the polls. His legions of women who have accused him of groping and sexually harassing them have also aided in this endeavor.
Again, this is Hillary's election to lose and one that she has gotten better campaigning  and has managed to get better and focus more on the issues while bringing more allies and supporters.
I think that she could secure the election if she would more of two things. A. focus more on the issues at hand like student loans, bring up the middle class through minimum wage and wage increases over all and less focus on Donald Trump . B. make health care more affordable so that the poor don't become poorer because they cannot pay their premiums and use more technology on national defense using fewer boots on the ground and more drones in the air.
If she does these things and more and stop looking over her shoulder for Trump, victory is hers.

You can sue some of the people some of the time

Less than two weeks out and the raw is rough and the comments are as harsh as they can be . Donald Trump is increasing both the sleaze factor and the obnoxious factor at the same time. Donald Trump, no apologies, no remorse and no excuses this year . Mr. Trump did two things this week, outlined the first 100 days of his administration and threatened to sue all the women who have brought charges against him.
He has made no apologies to any of these charges ans continues to campaign like a 13 year-old running for president of the eight grade. Everything in this campaign is more the movie election than an actual election. Hillary Clinton is still bringing out the issues  and and acting quite presidential even she is accused of outrageous things by the worst candidate ever to run for public office calling her everything but a child of god but she manages to persevere against pointless accusations of corruptions and treats of incarceration Mrs. Clinton manages to keep her head held high and keep her campaign focused on the real issues and not the WWF manner in which Donald keeps going into the fray.
I used to become angry at the sound of his voice but now I just waiting to see the look on his and his redneck cadre on election night when the final call comes from Lester Holt that the election has gone to Mrs. C. He can hem and haw all he wants and demand a re-count but the election will and shall so to Mrs Clinton and excuse my language, but there isn't a damn thing he can do about it. He will skulk away to his New York penthouse and emerge a few weeks with another rant about the election and fade like his party into eternal oblivion .

Two Weeks Out

Hunter S. Thompson said it best. "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." We are over 3 weeks out and the heat is up on the election. Ten women have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault with graphic and disgusting details and Mr. Trump continues to go on the attack instead of the defense. Hillary Clinton is still assailed by Wikileaks emails accusing her of everything from finding good recipes to using her influence to the number state department personal.
What is funny about this whole thing is that Wikileaks never has any leaked emails from the Trump campaign. Julian Assange should should try to figure out how not to go to jail for rape after he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy.
Seriously folks, we are a little over 3 weeks until the next election and the only issues we can deal with is how many women Mr. Trump has grouped and Mrs. Clinton's emails. I'm with Bernie Sanders when he said " I'm sick of hearing about your damned emails."
This election has degenerated from  a legitimate election to an after school brawl not dealing with issues like improving an already good economy into a great economy.  Investing in public education and putting it into the 21st century and not a 21st century version of the 1950s.
Creating jobs for the new green economy and standing up to the unions and creating light industry jobs that will benefit their children and grandchildren  instead creating this vicious cycle that is not preparing America for the future but keeping us squirming in the 20th century without any hope of training for better paying high tech high skilled jobs. Construction work is good hard that build both character and income but it is not a lifetime profession and can easily be replace by unskilled and undocumented workers as Mr. trump has used on many of his building projects. Even his Make America Great Again baseball caps are made in China.
Back to the issues, we live in a country that in my opinion is a great nation where people have spent time effort and lives to make it safe, economically strong and a beacon to all who love freedom and justice. I think the one thing that makes Mrs Clinton better than Mr. Trump is that she believes this .
I think that Hillary Clinton does not campaign on making America great again but keeping it great.
She also has ideas that will keep America great again like spending more money on vocational education, increasing the minimum wage and building up the middle class so that we can create a future for our children and the world . During the last 2 and a half weeks before the election, Mr. Trump is still campaigning for president of the 8th grade instead of the United States. The film flam is still there and he is still not giving concrete reasons for anything.
With a little over 2 weeks left, I do not see much hope that this election will go the way Mr. Trump wants it to go but maybe some of us will stay at home. I hope not

3 Weeks Out and What's New

Well two weeks ago I endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and I am still true to that decision. Given the events of the last week I think there is more foundation to the Clinton campaign than the Trump campaign . Mr. Trump has given me no reason to switch my support from Mrs. Clinton to Mr. Trump.
At this point it seems that this is Mrs. Clinton's election to lose. It reminds me of the two guys being chased by a bear. The one guy says to the other guy " do you think you can outrun that bear?" The other guy says. " I don't have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you."
Mr. Trump has thrown everything at Mrs. Clinton but the kitchen sink ( that's for next week) and she has managed to overcome his accusations. Honestly every time I see Mr. Trump speaking on television, I get no meat out of anything that he is saying. He says that he is going to make America great again but has no plan to make it great. In my opinion, America has been great since 1776. I think his slogan should be make America greater but is is easier for him to complain that to actually have concrete solution to some of the nation's problems.
Based on what has happened in the last two weeks and the poll numbers, it is Donald Trump that should be worried. From the audio tape that surfaced of his demeaning comments about women to accusations of sexual assault, Mr. Trump is not having a good week. According to news polls if the election were held today Mrs. Clinton would win with 10-15 electoral votes to spare so it is truly her election to lose.
I think that the reason her poll numbers are rising is not just the accusations and actions that have come about it is also how he responds to them. Instead of responding like a future presidents he responds like an eight grade adolescent where he is reactive instead of proactive. Accused of filthy demeaning  talk against women, he responds by saying, that's how guys talk or it's just locker room talk instead of saying the best two to six words in the English language; I'm sorry or I made a mistake. He counteracts mud slinging with more mud slinging like a third graders ( If I'm one than what are you?) If someone throws mud at you throw snow back and get own with the issues of this election. His response is always baseless accusations against Mrs. Clinton.
Mr. Trump says Mrs. Clinton is one of the most corrupt candidates ever but gives no concrete examples. He does this so much that I am now calling them "Trumpisms". I would love to see Hillary Clinton in the White House this January but Donald Trump is making it too easy. It is a sad state of affairs in this country when this guy is the best the Republicans have to offer it is a very sad state of affairs.

Election 35 Days Out

Election 35 Days Out

It's four years later and a new election is upon us. President Obama is feeling a little relief because his term is almost up and it's time for someone else to do the job and many have claimed that they could do one better than him regardless of his successes. Health Care, Bin Laden and troop deescalation from Iraq. Candidates on both sides of the aisle questioned his ability to lead at one time or another  one even questioned his citizenship and religion. But Mr. Obama with all of his character persevered  coming out of one of the best presidencies in history.
His detractors how ever are now at each others throats trying to prove who is the lessor of two evils and not doing a very good job at this point . Hillary Clinton the first woman to make it this far and is at the threshold of the White House door is doing the better job to convince the public that she is the better candidate to take up the touch from President Obama. Donald Trump seems to be attempting to see how many people he can annoy in the next 30 days and still make it to the finish line . He has ratcheted down  some of his most controversial statements like building a wall at the Mexican border, questioning the president's citizenship and as Will Rogers never met a man he didn't like Mr. Trump seems to have never met a woman he didn't insult in some way or another. A little more than a month before the election and Mr. Trump is trying to win friends and influence people unfortunately he is influencing them to vote for Hillary Clinton.
For her part Mrs. C is playing it close to the vest and trying to play up her experience, integrity and fitness for the job while playing down the exploits of her husband during his administration and rightly so because Bill Clinton did all of that not Hillary and it was 19 years ago. Since that time, Mrs. Clinton has been a US Senator, Secretary of State and has proven herself to be an astute diplomat as well a lawmaker. She and her husband set the groundwork for health care reform and developed executive policies that created both strong domestic and foreign policies.
The Trump campaign in an effort to discredit Secretary Clinton can only come up with two things emails and Benghazi . If that's all he's got he should pack it up and take his whipping like a man.
Mrs. C. on the other hand has a great more on Mr. Trump . Now lets see, Trump university, Filing bankruptcy
on multiple cases land leaving investors holding the bag and lets not even talk about his phantom income tax return and his Crypto Fascist  speeches . Based on this information alone, I do not see how anyone in his or her right mind could vote for Donald Trump . A who has filed bankruptcy multiple times has no business handling the business affairs of the United States. A man who alienates foreign governments and people of color should be not be given Carte' Blanche to handle the diplomatic affairs of our nation either.
Donald Trump is a shoddy film flam man in statesman clothes.
The only thing that Hillary's detractors can truly say is that she is no Bernie Saunders and I do not think she wants to be Mr. Saunders . Mrs. C has made no apologies to being a moderate to conservative on some issues but progressive on many others. We are not just voting for Hilary in this election we are voting for the Democratic Party and who is coming to the table . Mrs. C will bring Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Saunders and scores of other progressives.
Donald Trump on the other hand will bring ultra conservatives like Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani and David Duke a virtual murderers row of conservative backwardness . I don't know about you but I like  living in the 21st century and would not like having to return to a 1950s America where women have no reproductive rights, minorities have no civil rights and immigrants are persona non-Grata .
A vote for Hilary Rodham Clinton is not just a vote for the first woman president. It is a vote for progressive policies, an economy that will build the middle class, progressive health care policies and a chance for our children to live in an America that loves them as much as they love America. We have a chance to take our country soaring into the next part of this great century soaring, not kicking and screaming. 

The Teacher Gulag

Teacher Gulag

In a country where we have freedom of speech, are innocent until proven guilty and have the right of self-determination everyone seems to have this right except school teachers.
This really came home to me a few years back when I was penalized for speaking out against an injustice at the school I worked at. I filed a grievance against the principal of the school that I worked at and she retaliated against me by putting me on an improvement and eventually forcing me from my job. I had no protection or support from my union and I have for the last 5 years been out of work. This principal black-balled me and made sure that I could never find work as a teacher wherever she knew I was applying for a position.
I am not the only person in my district that this has happened to. Just the other day a teacher at Como high school was put on administrative leave because of a statement he made on Facebook about conditions at Como high school. This teacher spoke his mind and the organization Black Lives Matter went to the school district and demanded that he be fired. First of all there are or should be rules and guidelines for why a teacher is terminated from their position and expressing one's opinion should and is not one of them .
Rashad Turner the spokesperson for Black Lives Matter said that his organization demanded the firing of a teacher for remarks he made on Facebook . just to reverse the situation a bit and ad a what if. What is Mr. Turner were fired from his job (if he had one) for his involvement in Black Lives Matter. Mr. Turner would probably turn the whole thing into a media event and demand justice for the loss of his job because apparently not only do Black Lives Matter but only black opinions matter. This teacher has as much of a right to his job and opinion ad Mr. Turner does.
I hope that the district does thee right thing and allows this teacher to retain his position but knowing SPPS as I do, I don't think that his will be the case. Superintendent Silva will probably apply district shadow rules and force the teacher out by threatening to fire him or jeopardize the status of his teaching license. Either scenario played out will probably lead to this teacher either resigning or moved to another district or school with a guarantee of employment. The shadow allow the district to do whatever it wants knowing that SPFT local 28 will do nothing to stop it .
Teachers through the district and the state whether majority or minority should stand up for this teacher and make sure that all the written rules apply and that teachers are afforded the same bill of rights that all citizens are afforded that included students and Mr. Rashad Turner .
I do not think that racism has a place in public schools but it will not end by penalizing teachers who make observation about the problems in their schools. The actions by SPPS and Black Lives matter will lead to a slippery slope that none of us want to go down because it leads to the worse censorship makes us all afraid to point out issues that need to be changed in our schools

Boycott the Oscars: Boycott the World it Dosen't Work

In light of yesterday being the Martin Luther King holiday, a few African-American celebrities have called for the boycott of the Oscars by African-American celebrities. I think this would be a bad idea on so many levels.
First off when you refuse to go somewhere because somehow things didn't go your way and you're going to sit in a corner like a child and stomp your feet because you did not get your way this year. African-Americans are not the only group who was excluded from Oscar nominations this year. When for instance is the last time that an Asian, Latino or Native American actor has been nominated for an Oscar or even been involved in Hollywood as more than scenery in a movie and I don't see any of these groups asking for more screen time or threatening not to attend the ceremony and they have been far more slighted than we have. If you want to talk about justice start with these groups first. African-Americans as a group are no more entitled to Oscar nods than any of these groups . We as a group have a tendency to wear entitlement on our sleeves and expect the world to bend over backwards for us irregardless of the quality of the product.
This brings me to my second point and that is there are a number of white actors, directors, writers and producers who have not been nominated or won Oscars Leonardo DiCaprio and David Russell immediately come to mind and I don't see either one of them threatening not to come to the ceremony. Granted, they have both been nominated for awards but they have never won. There have been countless other white people in the film industry who have also been slighted and they have not threatened absence. Jada Pinkett-Smith and Spike Lee need to get over themselves and do what everyone else does who wants to either win ore be nominated for an Oscar campaign and make the contacts necessary to get them into the winner's circle. We also have to consider the quality of the work we put out there. As popular a movie as it was and as well as it did at the box office "Straight Outta Compton " was no Citizen Cane nor was it meant to be . Most of the people that went to see it went out of curiosity and a devotion and interest to the hip-hop community it was an entertainment vehicle that made a considerable amount of money for it's producers but did not go beyond that. The movies that received nominations were for the most part, more in-depth and three dimensional. Even Ice Cube one of the producers as much as admitted this.
I have had lots of set-backs in my life and have never walked away from my goals because in the long run who is that going to benefit not me, and certainly not the people who believe in me, family, true friends etc. It would benefit those who do not want me to succeed and give them the victory they do not deserve. I have set goals for myself and cannot and will not be hindered by how others see me or marginalized by them. I am the only one who has the right to do that to me and I refuse to do so.
It should not be a given that every year African-Americans should be included in the Oscars. A nomination is something that one earns for themselves and should be considered a given. The years that we are nominated are the years that those actors and directors have earned the nomination.
Again, we must also remember that the Oscars are as much a political game as it is a accomplishment game . I rarely see African-American actors, directors or producers lobby for these nominations most just take for granted that they should be included.
A big push in that direction would be to make the talk show circuit and other venues including taking out ads in the trades and actually talking to members of the academy instead of alienating them ( Spike Lee) Also as I mentioned earlier, we are not the only group that have been excluded but I rarely see the African-American entertainment community stand up for any of these groups. I would love to see more movies that concentrate on other minority communities and I would love to see if deserved those movies nominated for Oscars.
The Academy has given the African-American community more opportunities that any other. The president of the Academy is African-American as well as the producer and the host of the Academy Awards is Chris Rock. It is unfair to tell these people that their accomplishments do not matter and they should walk away or that we as a community should not join the academy of motion picture artists and refuse to participate in the Oscars this year that is unfair and unrealistic. For Spike Lee and
Jada Pinkett-Smith to even suggest this is naive and lacking understanding of the real problem. That problem is maybe that academy members did not see any vehicles produced by African-Americans as being quality enough for an Oscar nod and they will never as long as we whine like children instead of addressing the issue like adult professionals .

I have been trying for years to break into the media industry and have never received any assistance from the African-American community but I am still out there swinging and that is what we have to do as a community is never put down the bat .