The great state of Ohio got smacked this week with a great big Karma Kiss. After helping deliver the presidency to Dubya in 2000 under highly questionable circumstances, US Census reports that Ohio is now one of the poorest states in the union.
Cincinnati ranks as the eighth poorest city in the USA....Cleveland tops the list at number one. It wasn’t like that before local politicians sold their soul to the GOP. You’d think Dubya would have sent some of those billions back to the buckeye state as a reward, or some jobs or something.
Nahh! The GOP delights in disproving it’s own theory of trickle down economics...money never trickles down with republicans..only up...defies gravity....
Remember what Shrub’s dad called it when he ran against Reagan....Voodoo Economics....Wonder what the elder Bush thinks about his son’s foreign affairs policies?
On another front...governor wannabe Ken Blackwell, acting as Secretary of State, has agreed to store the official ballots from the 2000 presidential election a little longer. The controversial ballots were scheduled to be destroyed in the next couple of days. That is legal, by the way.
But a couple of independent groups are suing and are presently going over them again looking for evidence of election fraud. They’re still trying to officially figure out how the GOP stole the election, I guess. Anyway, Blackwell can’t destroy the evidence just yet.
8.29.2006
Politics of Name Calling
So now I’m a fascist according to Donald Rumsfeld’s latest version of the facts. Call me anything you like, fascist, unpatriotic, unchristian, feminist, feminazi, Nazi, whatever. It still doesn’t change the facts that this administration lies and continues to try and hide its total incompetence behind verbosity and prevarication. See, I can use big words, too.
How about this word..Mendacity...a favorite word of Tennessee Williams. He put it to good use in his play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” This administration has been totally mendacious in its dealings with the American people.
I’m beginning to believe that for the past six years America’s been caught up in an episode of the twilight zone and we can’t get out. This has all been an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Rod Serling.
Rumsfeld would have us believe that we’re in a political period similar to the time just before World War II when most world leaders preferred to look the other way while Hitler and Mussolini rose to power. And although he won’t name them says that certain democrats have said we should pull out of Iraq and that very act will make the terrorists leave us alone.
In my grandmother’s parlance, that is a bald face lie. No one with a brain believes that or has even said that. It is just another Rumsfeld smear attempt, and to cloud the issue at hand, which is how this administration has bungled everything it’s touched since 9/11.
No matter what Rumsfeld, or Cheney or any of their mini-mes say, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 until we invaded that country turning it into a training ground for terrorists with our troops as living targets.
They both need to be fired and their boss impeached.
How about this word..Mendacity...a favorite word of Tennessee Williams. He put it to good use in his play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” This administration has been totally mendacious in its dealings with the American people.
I’m beginning to believe that for the past six years America’s been caught up in an episode of the twilight zone and we can’t get out. This has all been an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Rod Serling.
Rumsfeld would have us believe that we’re in a political period similar to the time just before World War II when most world leaders preferred to look the other way while Hitler and Mussolini rose to power. And although he won’t name them says that certain democrats have said we should pull out of Iraq and that very act will make the terrorists leave us alone.
In my grandmother’s parlance, that is a bald face lie. No one with a brain believes that or has even said that. It is just another Rumsfeld smear attempt, and to cloud the issue at hand, which is how this administration has bungled everything it’s touched since 9/11.
No matter what Rumsfeld, or Cheney or any of their mini-mes say, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 until we invaded that country turning it into a training ground for terrorists with our troops as living targets.
They both need to be fired and their boss impeached.
Hiding Behind God
The game of who’s more Christian is being played out again in the race for governor, here in Ohio.
GOP wannabe Ken Blackwell has once again played the Christ card, trotting out a group of black ministers who back him and his divisive form of politics. These deluded individuals are quick to say they are simply voting their conscious and are not speaking for their congregations.
The news conference yesterday, held by the ministers to endorse Blackwell was a sign that the ultra conservative religious right is alive and well in Ohio and using the GOP talking points for manipulating Black people to vote against their own self interests.
Blackwell and his minions launched an attack on Democrat Ted Strickland, casting aspersions that he is not Christian enough to lead this state, despite the fact that Strickland is an ordained minister. Blackwell successfully used this tactic against Jim Petro, his challenger in the GOP primary earlier this year.
There was no talk of the real issues and problems that need to be addressed, such as the lack of jobs in Ohio, the loss of industry, outsourcing, the shrinking tax base, the vanishing population, the failure of public education, the drop out rate, poverty, crime in the big cities.
I have trouble writing about these people without stooping to their level of name calling so I will cut to the chase and not tell you what I really think of these.......people.
If you don’t agree with them then you’re not Christian or have moral standards or are not a patriot or don’t love this country. I have a problem with that thinking.
We are a democracy, not a theocracy. Religious conviction is one thing. Religion in politics is another.
We need people in office who understand the difference. Ken Blackwell is not one of those people. He refuses to address the real issues preferring to hide behind God.
That is not only not right...it’s not even Christian.
GOP wannabe Ken Blackwell has once again played the Christ card, trotting out a group of black ministers who back him and his divisive form of politics. These deluded individuals are quick to say they are simply voting their conscious and are not speaking for their congregations.
The news conference yesterday, held by the ministers to endorse Blackwell was a sign that the ultra conservative religious right is alive and well in Ohio and using the GOP talking points for manipulating Black people to vote against their own self interests.
Blackwell and his minions launched an attack on Democrat Ted Strickland, casting aspersions that he is not Christian enough to lead this state, despite the fact that Strickland is an ordained minister. Blackwell successfully used this tactic against Jim Petro, his challenger in the GOP primary earlier this year.
There was no talk of the real issues and problems that need to be addressed, such as the lack of jobs in Ohio, the loss of industry, outsourcing, the shrinking tax base, the vanishing population, the failure of public education, the drop out rate, poverty, crime in the big cities.
I have trouble writing about these people without stooping to their level of name calling so I will cut to the chase and not tell you what I really think of these.......people.
If you don’t agree with them then you’re not Christian or have moral standards or are not a patriot or don’t love this country. I have a problem with that thinking.
We are a democracy, not a theocracy. Religious conviction is one thing. Religion in politics is another.
We need people in office who understand the difference. Ken Blackwell is not one of those people. He refuses to address the real issues preferring to hide behind God.
That is not only not right...it’s not even Christian.
8.28.2006
Monday Musings.......
Check out Senator Mike DeWine’s campaign ad...It’s him talking lovingly to the camera about all he’s done for us Ohioans as a concerned elected official. But pay attention to the banner across the screen....Where normally it would scream “REPUBLICAN” it says “INDEPENDENT”
The whole phrase is “independent fighter for Ohio families”..Talk about distance...
Is he running scared from Dubya or What? Talk about hypocritical, trying to make us think he’s an independent...he voted with Bush 90% of the time...
Time to call him home...
***********
New report out says wages and salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation. In fact our paychecks are at their lowest level compared to inflation since the government began collecting data in 1947. That same report says that profitability for corporations as well as the salaries of corporate big wigs is at an all time high.
The fat cats get richer...we get poorer...why am I not surprised....
*******
All the news is tied up with “Katrina” one year later....another hurricane bearing down and still no escape plan in place....
And Nagin has apparently offended the PC police again. Seems he talked disparagingly about NY’s “hole in the ground”......instead of using the term Ground Zero, I guess....Until they put something there, it is a hole in the ground. We should’ve rebuilt the towers a long time ago...just my own personal opinion..
**********
Nike drops Gatlin from it’s star roster, this after the speedster was banned from competition for eight years because of doping....
Is Nike still using Marion Jones?
The whole phrase is “independent fighter for Ohio families”..Talk about distance...
Is he running scared from Dubya or What? Talk about hypocritical, trying to make us think he’s an independent...he voted with Bush 90% of the time...
Time to call him home...
***********
New report out says wages and salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation. In fact our paychecks are at their lowest level compared to inflation since the government began collecting data in 1947. That same report says that profitability for corporations as well as the salaries of corporate big wigs is at an all time high.
The fat cats get richer...we get poorer...why am I not surprised....
*******
All the news is tied up with “Katrina” one year later....another hurricane bearing down and still no escape plan in place....
And Nagin has apparently offended the PC police again. Seems he talked disparagingly about NY’s “hole in the ground”......instead of using the term Ground Zero, I guess....Until they put something there, it is a hole in the ground. We should’ve rebuilt the towers a long time ago...just my own personal opinion..
**********
Nike drops Gatlin from it’s star roster, this after the speedster was banned from competition for eight years because of doping....
Is Nike still using Marion Jones?
8.25.2006
Destined to Repeat?
Are they fucking crazy? The neocons...all of them are calling for yet another preemptive strike, this time against Iran.
They haven’t cleaned up Afghanistan which is the last place Osama was seen. Iraq has slid into civil war and is costing us billions. Israel and Hezbollah are still in a face off and the peacekeeping troops aren’t even in place yet. The entire world hates us for the stupidity coming out of the White House. Congress continues to rubberstamp this B.S. and we, the American people sit back and do nothing.
And they want to go into Iran? These people are out of their minds. Hell, they don’t have a functioning mind among them.
Why aren’t we protesting this stuff. Why haven’t the people taken to the streets.
Why is no one calling for Bush’s impeachment? How many laws does this former frat boy have to violate, or pervert, before someone spanks him down?
It’s not about spreading democracy to the region. Both Hezbollah and Hamas came to power because of the democratic election process. Their people voted them into power. Just because they like our material stuff doesn’t mean they want to live in our system. Those that do simply come here.
We can’t hit people with bombs just because we don’t like the outcome of their democratic process.
The money we’re wasting on these quagmires could have rebuilt New Orleans ten times over.
Instead we’re into another hurricane season just waiting for the formation of another massive wave.
Man, the arrogance of this administration.....scare tactics and lies and more scare tactics...all to win the next election and keep the power.
Public Enemy said it right...We’ve got to Fight the Power! .
They haven’t cleaned up Afghanistan which is the last place Osama was seen. Iraq has slid into civil war and is costing us billions. Israel and Hezbollah are still in a face off and the peacekeeping troops aren’t even in place yet. The entire world hates us for the stupidity coming out of the White House. Congress continues to rubberstamp this B.S. and we, the American people sit back and do nothing.
And they want to go into Iran? These people are out of their minds. Hell, they don’t have a functioning mind among them.
Why aren’t we protesting this stuff. Why haven’t the people taken to the streets.
Why is no one calling for Bush’s impeachment? How many laws does this former frat boy have to violate, or pervert, before someone spanks him down?
It’s not about spreading democracy to the region. Both Hezbollah and Hamas came to power because of the democratic election process. Their people voted them into power. Just because they like our material stuff doesn’t mean they want to live in our system. Those that do simply come here.
We can’t hit people with bombs just because we don’t like the outcome of their democratic process.
The money we’re wasting on these quagmires could have rebuilt New Orleans ten times over.
Instead we’re into another hurricane season just waiting for the formation of another massive wave.
Man, the arrogance of this administration.....scare tactics and lies and more scare tactics...all to win the next election and keep the power.
Public Enemy said it right...We’ve got to Fight the Power! .
8.24.2006
An Open Letter to the Black Community
What is it going to take to wake us up? Does everyone have to die? Does someone in your family have to die? Do we all have to watch a family member before we wake up?
When will we come to the understanding that AIDS is killing our people. Not just in Africa, but right here in the United States. We make up thirteen percent of this 300-million people population. Yet fully 50-percent of the new cases of this disease are Blacks. Black women are 23 times more likely to become infected than white women. Further, women are usually infected by their husbands, boyfriends, lovers, or one night stands. Yes, women who use drugs are also being infected after sharing needles. But that kind of infection pales next to what is going on between men and women.
It has long been proven that the germ transmits more easily from male to male or male to female rather than the other way around.
My sisters, you are dying because your men are sleeping with other men and bringing the disease home to you. The simple use of a condom would cut into these devastating numbers. You must protect yourself, period. It is a matter of life and death for you. No jimmy, no love. It’s as simple as that.
Men, you need to get real about your sexuality and protect the women you say you love.
I’ve lost several friends and two relatives to AIDS. Indeed, I watched as my uncle withered before my eyes as I tried to take care of him. He was gorgeous in life. Six foot four and elegant. He wasted away to nothing, so small I could lift him in my arms.
I watched as other family members and straight friends, women who knew he was gay and used him as an escort to social affairs stayed away, refusing to visit him or to come to the funeral. I took the phone call from his son saying he wasn’t coming to the funeral using his dad’s sexuality as the reason. I cried in anger, helpless, because I knew his mother had sent a plane ticket.
He was estranged from his drug using older son for the same reasons.
Even in his final days my uncle refused to accept the fact that he was stricken with AIDS. He died ashamed. His doctor, treated him with the latest cocktail, while also refusing to accept that AIDS was his killer. He was infected from his last boyfriend, a cocaine addict. My uncle went to his grave denying himself and protecting this man.
I watched him die. It was excruciating and exceedingly painful. As I said earlier, I lost friends, but I was not prepared to lose my uncle.
Are you prepared to lose someone you love?
Why do you let the church dictate your feelings? These are your children, your brothers, your sisters, your cousins, your lovers. Why is your head still buried in the sand?
The greater sin is turning your back on your people, your family. When will you wake up?
They need you now.
When will we come to the understanding that AIDS is killing our people. Not just in Africa, but right here in the United States. We make up thirteen percent of this 300-million people population. Yet fully 50-percent of the new cases of this disease are Blacks. Black women are 23 times more likely to become infected than white women. Further, women are usually infected by their husbands, boyfriends, lovers, or one night stands. Yes, women who use drugs are also being infected after sharing needles. But that kind of infection pales next to what is going on between men and women.
It has long been proven that the germ transmits more easily from male to male or male to female rather than the other way around.
My sisters, you are dying because your men are sleeping with other men and bringing the disease home to you. The simple use of a condom would cut into these devastating numbers. You must protect yourself, period. It is a matter of life and death for you. No jimmy, no love. It’s as simple as that.
Men, you need to get real about your sexuality and protect the women you say you love.
I’ve lost several friends and two relatives to AIDS. Indeed, I watched as my uncle withered before my eyes as I tried to take care of him. He was gorgeous in life. Six foot four and elegant. He wasted away to nothing, so small I could lift him in my arms.
I watched as other family members and straight friends, women who knew he was gay and used him as an escort to social affairs stayed away, refusing to visit him or to come to the funeral. I took the phone call from his son saying he wasn’t coming to the funeral using his dad’s sexuality as the reason. I cried in anger, helpless, because I knew his mother had sent a plane ticket.
He was estranged from his drug using older son for the same reasons.
Even in his final days my uncle refused to accept the fact that he was stricken with AIDS. He died ashamed. His doctor, treated him with the latest cocktail, while also refusing to accept that AIDS was his killer. He was infected from his last boyfriend, a cocaine addict. My uncle went to his grave denying himself and protecting this man.
I watched him die. It was excruciating and exceedingly painful. As I said earlier, I lost friends, but I was not prepared to lose my uncle.
Are you prepared to lose someone you love?
Why do you let the church dictate your feelings? These are your children, your brothers, your sisters, your cousins, your lovers. Why is your head still buried in the sand?
The greater sin is turning your back on your people, your family. When will you wake up?
They need you now.
8.21.2006
Monday Musings....
Finally!
Dubya admits Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Three years after the fact, he uttered the admission during a news conference at the White House. But he still says pulling out would be a huge mistake.
Unfortunately, I am inclined to agree with him on that. I don’t see the US accomplishing anything there, but I still have vivid memories of our ill fated pull out of Vietnam back in the day.
I honestly don’t know what we can do, but tucking our tail between our legs and getting out, gripes my ass. We should never have been there in the first place.
Dubya also was willing to concede that maybe Iraq is sliding into civil war..Gee...what was his first clue..
************
Is it just me or does this dude arrested in connection with the killing of Jonbenet come off as a publicity hound who has chosen a very morbid way of getting his 15 minutes in the spotlight?
Creepy is a nice way to describe this loser.
*************
Iran says it’s going ahead with it’s nuke testing program. Is anyone surprised?
Wonder where Korean bad boy Kim Jong II is these days...awful quiet.
Dubya admits Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Three years after the fact, he uttered the admission during a news conference at the White House. But he still says pulling out would be a huge mistake.
Unfortunately, I am inclined to agree with him on that. I don’t see the US accomplishing anything there, but I still have vivid memories of our ill fated pull out of Vietnam back in the day.
I honestly don’t know what we can do, but tucking our tail between our legs and getting out, gripes my ass. We should never have been there in the first place.
Dubya also was willing to concede that maybe Iraq is sliding into civil war..Gee...what was his first clue..
************
Is it just me or does this dude arrested in connection with the killing of Jonbenet come off as a publicity hound who has chosen a very morbid way of getting his 15 minutes in the spotlight?
Creepy is a nice way to describe this loser.
*************
Iran says it’s going ahead with it’s nuke testing program. Is anyone surprised?
Wonder where Korean bad boy Kim Jong II is these days...awful quiet.
8.19.2006
Minions Marching
Cincinnati’s Black Family Reunion happens this weekend. It was kicked off by a parade through the city’s west end. It was very well attended. I was there to shoot up the ends of some rolls of film and to people watch, which is one of my favorite past times.
Kids carried the day. Drill teams and bands interspersed with politicians running for office. I guess I should say the minions of the politicians, all decked out in “vote for whomever” tee shirts. The actual politicians, with few exceptions weren’t there. In Cincinnati, they march until they’re elected, then they send someone else to burn up shoe leather.
David Pepper was there and John Cranley was too. But then they must like marching because they always show up no matter what. They even march in the Gay Pride Parade. That’s why I vote for them. They go after everyone’s vote.
Mr. Eric Kearney was there too. He’s another one I support. Owns the local black newspaper in town.
There were some anomalies like Steve Chabot and Ken Blackwell. No they didn’t appear personally. But they had supporters. Chabot had two little white boys on top of his float complete with PA system, doing an a capella rendition of the battle hymn of the republic. It was kind of a twilight zone moment. Everyone was nice to the little boys, but it just goes to prove that Chabot is simply not in touch with reality.
Blackwell had a big contingent of deluded Negroes passing out his literature. At least, unlike Chabot, he knew what parade was taking place. But I saw one thing happening with Blackwell...very few people took his literature or handouts. Many politely refused to take it or to make eye contact with the marching minions.
I can only hope that the controlled animosity that I saw beamed toward Chabot and Blackwell in particular plays out in November and we get rid of these fools.
Kids carried the day. Drill teams and bands interspersed with politicians running for office. I guess I should say the minions of the politicians, all decked out in “vote for whomever” tee shirts. The actual politicians, with few exceptions weren’t there. In Cincinnati, they march until they’re elected, then they send someone else to burn up shoe leather.
David Pepper was there and John Cranley was too. But then they must like marching because they always show up no matter what. They even march in the Gay Pride Parade. That’s why I vote for them. They go after everyone’s vote.
Mr. Eric Kearney was there too. He’s another one I support. Owns the local black newspaper in town.
There were some anomalies like Steve Chabot and Ken Blackwell. No they didn’t appear personally. But they had supporters. Chabot had two little white boys on top of his float complete with PA system, doing an a capella rendition of the battle hymn of the republic. It was kind of a twilight zone moment. Everyone was nice to the little boys, but it just goes to prove that Chabot is simply not in touch with reality.
Blackwell had a big contingent of deluded Negroes passing out his literature. At least, unlike Chabot, he knew what parade was taking place. But I saw one thing happening with Blackwell...very few people took his literature or handouts. Many politely refused to take it or to make eye contact with the marching minions.
I can only hope that the controlled animosity that I saw beamed toward Chabot and Blackwell in particular plays out in November and we get rid of these fools.
8.18.2006
SNAKES ON A PLANE
FIVE STARS...
Don't go there alone....looking for a movie that will make you think...
Think Rocky Horror, take your friends and have a good time!
I loved it!
Don't go there alone....looking for a movie that will make you think...
Think Rocky Horror, take your friends and have a good time!
I loved it!
Andrew Young
He didn’t lie. He spoke the truth and paid for it by losing his latest job as Black spokesperson for Walmart.
Young said, and I’m paraphrasing....that Jews, Asians, Koreans and Arabs who own mom and pop stores in the ghettos of America were driven out of business by Walmart. Further, Young said that was a good thing because these foreign people routinely sold stale bread, spoiled meat and substandard product to the people who live in those neighborhoods. He also said that very few if any of the mom and pop stores are owned by Blacks.
I don’t have a problem with what he said, because it is true.
From my own experiences growing up in Walnut Hills in Cincinnati, Ohio. The stores were owned by white people to my child-eyes. They may have been Jews, I don’t know. I do know that my mother wouldn’t let me shop for anything edible at Mel’s, which was the closest store to my house. Edible as in lunch meat. We could buy penny candy. She allowed that. It came packaged and wrapped. Not much you can do to candy.
When she wanted bologna or bread, I had to walk to a store a half mile further away from my house. He was also white and his stuff wasn’t already spoiled. It was the grocery store in Washington Terrace.
I’ve grown up and the stores are still there, but they’re owned by Arabs, now. I’ve seen the Asians, and Koreans come and go, too. Same deal. They make money off of us, selling second tier product, but we’re supposed to put up with it, quietly.
I’m sorry the thought and language police are offended, but Young didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.
And let me take it one step further. Integration has contributed to the death of the Black Community. While we were segregated, we had stores, we had schools, we had police, we had libraries, we had businesses in our community because we couldn’t go anywhere else. Now we can go everywhere and we have nothing.
Go chew on that for awhile...PC people.
Young said, and I’m paraphrasing....that Jews, Asians, Koreans and Arabs who own mom and pop stores in the ghettos of America were driven out of business by Walmart. Further, Young said that was a good thing because these foreign people routinely sold stale bread, spoiled meat and substandard product to the people who live in those neighborhoods. He also said that very few if any of the mom and pop stores are owned by Blacks.
I don’t have a problem with what he said, because it is true.
From my own experiences growing up in Walnut Hills in Cincinnati, Ohio. The stores were owned by white people to my child-eyes. They may have been Jews, I don’t know. I do know that my mother wouldn’t let me shop for anything edible at Mel’s, which was the closest store to my house. Edible as in lunch meat. We could buy penny candy. She allowed that. It came packaged and wrapped. Not much you can do to candy.
When she wanted bologna or bread, I had to walk to a store a half mile further away from my house. He was also white and his stuff wasn’t already spoiled. It was the grocery store in Washington Terrace.
I’ve grown up and the stores are still there, but they’re owned by Arabs, now. I’ve seen the Asians, and Koreans come and go, too. Same deal. They make money off of us, selling second tier product, but we’re supposed to put up with it, quietly.
I’m sorry the thought and language police are offended, but Young didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.
And let me take it one step further. Integration has contributed to the death of the Black Community. While we were segregated, we had stores, we had schools, we had police, we had libraries, we had businesses in our community because we couldn’t go anywhere else. Now we can go everywhere and we have nothing.
Go chew on that for awhile...PC people.
Dubya Slap down
Finally, someone has stood up to this rogue administration and it’s blatant disregard for the freedom of US citizens.
Federal Judge Anna Diggs Taylor issued a 45 page opinion Thursday saying that the Bush Administration’s wireless surveillance program is unconstitutional.
Dubya and company didn’t waste any time attacking the Judge stating she was an appointee of former President Jimmy Carter. As if that matters.
The White House says it will appeal. I guess they think bringing it to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, here in Cincinnati will make a difference.
It might. After all this Cincinnati, Ohio, home to crooked election laws put into play by Dubya’s lapdog Ken Blackwell. Maybe the fix is in, in the courts too, and we just haven’t seen it yet.
Round two coming up..
Federal Judge Anna Diggs Taylor issued a 45 page opinion Thursday saying that the Bush Administration’s wireless surveillance program is unconstitutional.
Dubya and company didn’t waste any time attacking the Judge stating she was an appointee of former President Jimmy Carter. As if that matters.
The White House says it will appeal. I guess they think bringing it to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, here in Cincinnati will make a difference.
It might. After all this Cincinnati, Ohio, home to crooked election laws put into play by Dubya’s lapdog Ken Blackwell. Maybe the fix is in, in the courts too, and we just haven’t seen it yet.
Round two coming up..
8.16.2006
IKEA to the Queen City
See what happens when the electorate gets smart and dumps antiquated homophobic discriminatory laws...
Good things happen that’s what.
IKEA, the gay Mecca is coming to Cincinnati. The official announcement coming yesterday. It will be built in West Chester which is a suburb, but that’s fine, my ride just eats up highway and as I’ve said before it is big enough to carry A LOT OF STUFF. It’s scheduled to open by the end of 2007.
Now for those of you who have never heard of IKEA, it is a store which is home based in Sweden. It has everything you can imagine when it comes to furnishing your home. And you know what else...the prices are very reasonable.
Going to an IKEA store is like going to a grown up Disneyland. There is so much stuff that you suffer sensory overload. You need to go there a couple of times just to get your barrings.
I’ve been going to the one in Schaumburg, Illinois, that’s the one outside Chicago. It’s marvelous. My niece took me. People just walk around and look, not necessarily to buy, just to look. I carry a list with me when I travel to Chicago, just so I can pick up stuff to bring home from IKEA.
Man, can’t wait. Think I’ll have a yard sale to get rid of my old stuff, so I can fill my house with IKEA stuff.
Good things happen that’s what.
IKEA, the gay Mecca is coming to Cincinnati. The official announcement coming yesterday. It will be built in West Chester which is a suburb, but that’s fine, my ride just eats up highway and as I’ve said before it is big enough to carry A LOT OF STUFF. It’s scheduled to open by the end of 2007.
Now for those of you who have never heard of IKEA, it is a store which is home based in Sweden. It has everything you can imagine when it comes to furnishing your home. And you know what else...the prices are very reasonable.
Going to an IKEA store is like going to a grown up Disneyland. There is so much stuff that you suffer sensory overload. You need to go there a couple of times just to get your barrings.
I’ve been going to the one in Schaumburg, Illinois, that’s the one outside Chicago. It’s marvelous. My niece took me. People just walk around and look, not necessarily to buy, just to look. I carry a list with me when I travel to Chicago, just so I can pick up stuff to bring home from IKEA.
Man, can’t wait. Think I’ll have a yard sale to get rid of my old stuff, so I can fill my house with IKEA stuff.
8.14.2006
From Behind the Veil
I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to hear it in my lifetime. A Black man of note, with a national reputation for activism, calling for action in the fight against AIDS.
Julian Bond, currently chairman of the NAACP is calling on the Black Community to wake up to fight this thing that is literally killing our people. His column is in the Washington Post today.
He stated what a lot of us have known for years, that AIDS is not a gay white disease. In America it is killing Blacks, primarily Black women. Women who are drug users or who sleep with drug users and share needles. Women who are straight and sleep with men who sleep with other men.
60% of new AIDS cases in this country are straight Black women. And while people are living longer, contracting the virus is still a death sentence.
Bond also called on Black Clergy to step past the rampant and vicious homophobia that is being preached in many black churches. A stance that has long hindered our community driving away some of our brightest people.
One can only wonder what woke him up and what it will take to wake up all of the others...Black Congressional Caucus, Urban League, Council of Black Churches, Black Ministers, Movie Stars, Hip Hop Stars, Sports Celebrities to name a few.
White stars have found their latest cause, of saving African children. Where are the Black celebrities willing to step forward to save our own in this country.
I wonder if someone in Bond’s family has contracted the disease. I know from experience how hard it is to watch a relative die from this disease. I’ve lost eleven friends, one uncle, and one cousin...all of them Black.
That is usually what it takes to bring understanding and an end to intolerance.
Julian Bond, currently chairman of the NAACP is calling on the Black Community to wake up to fight this thing that is literally killing our people. His column is in the Washington Post today.
He stated what a lot of us have known for years, that AIDS is not a gay white disease. In America it is killing Blacks, primarily Black women. Women who are drug users or who sleep with drug users and share needles. Women who are straight and sleep with men who sleep with other men.
60% of new AIDS cases in this country are straight Black women. And while people are living longer, contracting the virus is still a death sentence.
Bond also called on Black Clergy to step past the rampant and vicious homophobia that is being preached in many black churches. A stance that has long hindered our community driving away some of our brightest people.
One can only wonder what woke him up and what it will take to wake up all of the others...Black Congressional Caucus, Urban League, Council of Black Churches, Black Ministers, Movie Stars, Hip Hop Stars, Sports Celebrities to name a few.
White stars have found their latest cause, of saving African children. Where are the Black celebrities willing to step forward to save our own in this country.
I wonder if someone in Bond’s family has contracted the disease. I know from experience how hard it is to watch a relative die from this disease. I’ve lost eleven friends, one uncle, and one cousin...all of them Black.
That is usually what it takes to bring understanding and an end to intolerance.
8.11.2006
I Want My IPOD
Okay, now it’s on. I CAN’T TAKE MY IPOD? Give me a break. I’ve been a good camper. I put up with the invasive searches when I go to the airport. I love to fly and you will have to literally blow me out of the air to keep me off a plane.
I take off my shoes and my baseball cap when asked. I don’t really mind. I’ve been wearing sandals on planes for a while now. My baseball cap is all about attitude anyway. I wear it crunched low on my head to shield my eyes like Janet Jackson and to prevent being recognized, like I’m some kind of celebrity. But I take it off in the name of security.
I try to look and act conspicuous because I feel homeland security and the airport rent a cops are looking for those folks who are really really trying to blend in. I’m an American, I’m always conspicuous, so that’s no problem where ever I go. I just won’t go hip hop, that’s racial profiling on another level.
I’m not missing my other now absent freedoms. My library card is crumbling in my wallet because I can afford to buy my books rather than borrow them from the library. So homeland security will never know what I read unless they check my store receipts.
I’m still driving a big assed gas guzzling SUV and not complaining about bogus gas price raises every time this government decides to try to scare us into acceptance of it’s Orwellian version of this world.
And, no, I don’t travel with over priced, way too expensive cosmetics. I don’t drink gatorade or ten dollar starbuck’s lattes at the check in counter. I don’t miss that stuff. Nothing to complain about here.
But, NO IPOD? NO LAPTOP? HELL TO THE CAPITAL L NO!
I’m a writer. I’ve been typing so long, I get writer’s cramp when I write out a check. Besides, I’m of that age when arthritis has begun to set into my fingers, Curling my digits around a pencil won’t work.
My IPOD contains my music collection...ALL OF IT. I walk around with 55 years of musical memories in my pocket. I can put my baby on shuffle and up pops the first album I ever stole from my Dad’s album collection. I can sort through and find the first song I heard play on the first AM radio with a head phone that I bought myself. I can relive all over again the background music that was playing when I lost my virginity.
C’mon! No IPOD? Now I will get ugly.
Give me a gun. I’ll go to Afghanistan and find that six foot four, dialysis machine toting MF and personally blow him off the face of this earth. Him and every other wannabe terrorist who tries to keep me from my portable pacifier.
You may need your MTV.
Me, I NEED MY IPOD.
I take off my shoes and my baseball cap when asked. I don’t really mind. I’ve been wearing sandals on planes for a while now. My baseball cap is all about attitude anyway. I wear it crunched low on my head to shield my eyes like Janet Jackson and to prevent being recognized, like I’m some kind of celebrity. But I take it off in the name of security.
I try to look and act conspicuous because I feel homeland security and the airport rent a cops are looking for those folks who are really really trying to blend in. I’m an American, I’m always conspicuous, so that’s no problem where ever I go. I just won’t go hip hop, that’s racial profiling on another level.
I’m not missing my other now absent freedoms. My library card is crumbling in my wallet because I can afford to buy my books rather than borrow them from the library. So homeland security will never know what I read unless they check my store receipts.
I’m still driving a big assed gas guzzling SUV and not complaining about bogus gas price raises every time this government decides to try to scare us into acceptance of it’s Orwellian version of this world.
And, no, I don’t travel with over priced, way too expensive cosmetics. I don’t drink gatorade or ten dollar starbuck’s lattes at the check in counter. I don’t miss that stuff. Nothing to complain about here.
But, NO IPOD? NO LAPTOP? HELL TO THE CAPITAL L NO!
I’m a writer. I’ve been typing so long, I get writer’s cramp when I write out a check. Besides, I’m of that age when arthritis has begun to set into my fingers, Curling my digits around a pencil won’t work.
My IPOD contains my music collection...ALL OF IT. I walk around with 55 years of musical memories in my pocket. I can put my baby on shuffle and up pops the first album I ever stole from my Dad’s album collection. I can sort through and find the first song I heard play on the first AM radio with a head phone that I bought myself. I can relive all over again the background music that was playing when I lost my virginity.
C’mon! No IPOD? Now I will get ugly.
Give me a gun. I’ll go to Afghanistan and find that six foot four, dialysis machine toting MF and personally blow him off the face of this earth. Him and every other wannabe terrorist who tries to keep me from my portable pacifier.
You may need your MTV.
Me, I NEED MY IPOD.
8.08.2006
Catfish,Chicken Salad and the Wildflower Café
Fishing was and is a family activity for us. I've been catching catfish since before I could walk. My dad loves to fish. He caught the bug from his mom, my grandmother, who loved to fish. My grandmother always wore long skirts in the old fashioned way and carried a stool and a big can so she could be comfortable and not have to move around very much if the fish were biting. The only other thing she needed was a cold Pepsi in a glass bottle. But back then, soda pop only came in glass bottles.
Yet, even though catfish have been in my life since birth, I never ate catfish until I moved to Chicago when I was 34 years old. That's a few years ago now. Catfish have skin not scales, so they are a pain to clean. And while we enjoyed catching them. We threw them back or kept them and gave them away to the neighbors.
Once I started eating catfish, however, I was hooked. I like nuggets or even the whole fish laid out on a plate, fried, with mustard, salt pepper and maybe a green salad or some fried potatoes on the side.
If you like catfish and travel to Mentone, you need to stop at Dessies. It's right on the main drag through town, state route 117. There is a sign on the front window that announces that God is Dessie's security guard so walk right in cause he's always watching. That woman truly knows how to cook catfish. It is fried right and juicy, seasoned to perfection either whole as a dinner or as a sandwich.
Take your choice on sides, including turnips and collards. Dessie, a tall dignified snow white haired woman who may be approaching her 7th decade, was written up in the local papers, she's not famous for the catfish, but for her cobblers and pies. All of it is good and Dessie even comes out of the kitchen to chat you up and to make sure you're satisfied. She quietly hovers over you and I loved it.
Before you get to Dessies you have to pass the Wildflower Cafe. It sits on the corner next to the Gourdie Shop. It immediately caught our eye, but we didn't make it there until the weekend and it was worth the wait.
Temperature was approaching 100-degrees so my sister and I sat outside, in the shade of the back porch, which was sparingly decorated with ceramic tile covered wooden tables and chairs. Someone hand painted wild flowers or the porch columns and hung hummingbird feeders. We watched the tiny little birds come and go while we dined on a turkey club and chicken salad made with shredded chicken breast, not chunks, basil mayonnaise with green grapes and almonds, served with bread, romaine lettuce and soup if you want, and all the southern sweet iced tea you can drink.
I don't remember hearing the owner's name, but she was there too. A been around the world kind of woman, tired and slow moving with a cigarette hanging out of the side of her mouth. Talky, her life started somewhere in California and I never connected how she got to Mentone, but listening to this part of her life was fascinating. She was on the porch to smoke and to hang magic marker signs about the night's specials. We talked about the heat, learned that our waitress was a native of Gadsden, Alabama and just up in Mentone for the weekend. Her mom was there too, I guess making extra money.
We learned how to order pizza and when to pick it up, since there was no delivery. We confirmed what we already knew and that was that there is no grocery store in Mentone. I mean big ones like Kroger or Food Lion. You have to drive to Fort Payne, about 30 minutes away.
We traded information about our origins, why we were there. It was an easy way to spend an afternoon in between our heavy duty shopping runs.
Yet, even though catfish have been in my life since birth, I never ate catfish until I moved to Chicago when I was 34 years old. That's a few years ago now. Catfish have skin not scales, so they are a pain to clean. And while we enjoyed catching them. We threw them back or kept them and gave them away to the neighbors.
Once I started eating catfish, however, I was hooked. I like nuggets or even the whole fish laid out on a plate, fried, with mustard, salt pepper and maybe a green salad or some fried potatoes on the side.
If you like catfish and travel to Mentone, you need to stop at Dessies. It's right on the main drag through town, state route 117. There is a sign on the front window that announces that God is Dessie's security guard so walk right in cause he's always watching. That woman truly knows how to cook catfish. It is fried right and juicy, seasoned to perfection either whole as a dinner or as a sandwich.
Take your choice on sides, including turnips and collards. Dessie, a tall dignified snow white haired woman who may be approaching her 7th decade, was written up in the local papers, she's not famous for the catfish, but for her cobblers and pies. All of it is good and Dessie even comes out of the kitchen to chat you up and to make sure you're satisfied. She quietly hovers over you and I loved it.
Before you get to Dessies you have to pass the Wildflower Cafe. It sits on the corner next to the Gourdie Shop. It immediately caught our eye, but we didn't make it there until the weekend and it was worth the wait.
Temperature was approaching 100-degrees so my sister and I sat outside, in the shade of the back porch, which was sparingly decorated with ceramic tile covered wooden tables and chairs. Someone hand painted wild flowers or the porch columns and hung hummingbird feeders. We watched the tiny little birds come and go while we dined on a turkey club and chicken salad made with shredded chicken breast, not chunks, basil mayonnaise with green grapes and almonds, served with bread, romaine lettuce and soup if you want, and all the southern sweet iced tea you can drink.
I don't remember hearing the owner's name, but she was there too. A been around the world kind of woman, tired and slow moving with a cigarette hanging out of the side of her mouth. Talky, her life started somewhere in California and I never connected how she got to Mentone, but listening to this part of her life was fascinating. She was on the porch to smoke and to hang magic marker signs about the night's specials. We talked about the heat, learned that our waitress was a native of Gadsden, Alabama and just up in Mentone for the weekend. Her mom was there too, I guess making extra money.
We learned how to order pizza and when to pick it up, since there was no delivery. We confirmed what we already knew and that was that there is no grocery store in Mentone. I mean big ones like Kroger or Food Lion. You have to drive to Fort Payne, about 30 minutes away.
We traded information about our origins, why we were there. It was an easy way to spend an afternoon in between our heavy duty shopping runs.
The Kindness of Strangers
When you're growing up, your mom always tells you to never talk to strangers.It's a survival tactic passed on from parent to child and it is good practice. But I guess I have some of Blanche DuBois in me when it comes to meeting people.
One of my favorite things to do in the whole world is exactly that- talk to strangers when I travel. It is the best way to get to know the places where you are and to remember them when you return. Time passes, but the conversations and memories will always be with you.
Which brings me back to Mentone, Alabama, home to some really nice people and good places to chow down on real home cooking in between shopping for bargains at the world's longest yard sale.
I got lost wandering around the top of the mountain while searching for our cabin and I was alone since the rest of my party was driving in from South Carolina. I'm a buckeye girl, born and raised in Ohio and presently living in the Queen City, Cincinnati. So I had to ask for help and that meant driving onto private property and interrupting people I saw and asking them to guide me to where I needed to be.
I met a short round woman who reflected my similar build and who was famous in the area for making jewelry and a man who had moved to the area less than a year ago. They lived pretty far apart and may not have known each other although they were neighbors, sort of. They lived off the same state route 89.
The tall thin man with no local accent, was grilling steaks on his deck. I interrupted him, but he was very cool, scratched his head after reading the directions I was attempting to decipher, apologized for never having heard of the place I was looking for and sent me back the way I'd come. He didn't offer up any steak. I wasn't hungry and wouldn't have said so anyway. I was hearing my mother in my head with that other parental admonition-"don't take candy/food from anyone who isn't family."
I finally found the cabin with the help of a couple on a harley davidson motorcycle who stopped for the stop sign near where I parked attempting to read the directions again. They would've been my neighbors having rented a nearby cabin, but their vacation was over so they were headed home to Huntsville.
Bikers sometimes look intimidating because of what they wear, but past experience has taught me, they usually give great directions. So I asked her on the back of the bike and he answered from the front. All the time I was trying not to ogle the dragon tattoo that started at his throat and disappeared down the front of his vest. They got me where I needed to be.
Success!
Now to find my sister and some sustenance. Tiring work being lost and temporarily homeless.
One of my favorite things to do in the whole world is exactly that- talk to strangers when I travel. It is the best way to get to know the places where you are and to remember them when you return. Time passes, but the conversations and memories will always be with you.
Which brings me back to Mentone, Alabama, home to some really nice people and good places to chow down on real home cooking in between shopping for bargains at the world's longest yard sale.
I got lost wandering around the top of the mountain while searching for our cabin and I was alone since the rest of my party was driving in from South Carolina. I'm a buckeye girl, born and raised in Ohio and presently living in the Queen City, Cincinnati. So I had to ask for help and that meant driving onto private property and interrupting people I saw and asking them to guide me to where I needed to be.
I met a short round woman who reflected my similar build and who was famous in the area for making jewelry and a man who had moved to the area less than a year ago. They lived pretty far apart and may not have known each other although they were neighbors, sort of. They lived off the same state route 89.
The tall thin man with no local accent, was grilling steaks on his deck. I interrupted him, but he was very cool, scratched his head after reading the directions I was attempting to decipher, apologized for never having heard of the place I was looking for and sent me back the way I'd come. He didn't offer up any steak. I wasn't hungry and wouldn't have said so anyway. I was hearing my mother in my head with that other parental admonition-"don't take candy/food from anyone who isn't family."
I finally found the cabin with the help of a couple on a harley davidson motorcycle who stopped for the stop sign near where I parked attempting to read the directions again. They would've been my neighbors having rented a nearby cabin, but their vacation was over so they were headed home to Huntsville.
Bikers sometimes look intimidating because of what they wear, but past experience has taught me, they usually give great directions. So I asked her on the back of the bike and he answered from the front. All the time I was trying not to ogle the dragon tattoo that started at his throat and disappeared down the front of his vest. They got me where I needed to be.
Success!
Now to find my sister and some sustenance. Tiring work being lost and temporarily homeless.
8.06.2006
Waking up in the Wilderness
I must admit that I had a deliverance moment while trying to find this cabin. I need to tell my sister that the next time she plans to get away make sure she gets better directions, because the person who wrote out these directions has obviously never talked to city folk. And when I approached the locals (I talked to several) they'd never heard of the place. But I later found out I wasn't describing it right. I was just reading these nonsensical directions.
Our location, Mentone, Alabama, 1868 feet up the side of Lookout Mountain in the northern part of the state near the Georgia and Tennessee borders. . Our cabin was 3 miles above that in DeSoto State Park. We city folk are literally 3 miles up the mountain off a blacktop two lane road called Tutweiler Gap, that turns into gravel and chert, whatever the hell, chert is. Our cabin was aptly named Serenity.
I'm really, really glad that I have one of those gas guzzling high assed SUVs. Cause a gas saving economical four cylinder, something or other couldn't make it over the ruts in the road, where we are.
We both made it...me in my Ascender and my sister in her big assed Expedition. No problem, except there is not enough road and the locals drive like they're on a four lane highway. Just imagine yourself driving a top heavy SUV on a road that tilts nearly 30 degrees from level. Talk about precipitous. I was creeping too because I didn't want to take a deer home as a hood ornament.
The cabin itself is wonderful. It has all the conveniences of home and then some. It has a hot tub on the back porch with a gas grill and a Jacuzzi in the bathroom which is the size of my bedroom back home. Man, I love this place. And it is very very economical, even if there aren't four of us sharing the cost..
Two sets of sisters. Me and mine and Peggy and hers. We are two nurses, a teacher who teaches history to eighth graders and me, the writer and sometimes mail machine operator. They, including my sister are from South Carolina. They are ocean people. I'm the only one landlocked in Ohio, unless you consider the Ohio River a big body of water. The Ohio is only a little less muddy than the mighty Mississippi. On any given day it looks like you could walk across it with all the dirt and silt and not get wet.
Having the straight shot route from Ohio, I got here first and found the campsite, by talking with the locals. I then guided them to our location using what little cell power we had. Make no mistake, we are in the back woods and Verizon hasn't discovered this place yet.
While waiting for them, I spotted what I thought was a lonely little fawn who hadn't yet learned to camouflage effectively. Yet when a Harley Davidson soft tail drove by, the whole herd spooked. I was actually watching at least 8 or 9 deer that I counted before they leapt away up the side of the hill.
Once we got settled, we trekked out to quaint Mentone city or town for something to eat. It was only 7:30 but the sidewalks had been rolled up. We settled on the bbq grill for some ribs, pulled pork and chicken and a grilled cheese.
The food was delicious, the hospitality wonderful. We were exhausted and trekked back up the mountain top to get into the hot tub and or Jacuzzi. A little TV and were ready for bed.
Shopping begins tomorrow....
Our location, Mentone, Alabama, 1868 feet up the side of Lookout Mountain in the northern part of the state near the Georgia and Tennessee borders. . Our cabin was 3 miles above that in DeSoto State Park. We city folk are literally 3 miles up the mountain off a blacktop two lane road called Tutweiler Gap, that turns into gravel and chert, whatever the hell, chert is. Our cabin was aptly named Serenity.
I'm really, really glad that I have one of those gas guzzling high assed SUVs. Cause a gas saving economical four cylinder, something or other couldn't make it over the ruts in the road, where we are.
We both made it...me in my Ascender and my sister in her big assed Expedition. No problem, except there is not enough road and the locals drive like they're on a four lane highway. Just imagine yourself driving a top heavy SUV on a road that tilts nearly 30 degrees from level. Talk about precipitous. I was creeping too because I didn't want to take a deer home as a hood ornament.
The cabin itself is wonderful. It has all the conveniences of home and then some. It has a hot tub on the back porch with a gas grill and a Jacuzzi in the bathroom which is the size of my bedroom back home. Man, I love this place. And it is very very economical, even if there aren't four of us sharing the cost..
Two sets of sisters. Me and mine and Peggy and hers. We are two nurses, a teacher who teaches history to eighth graders and me, the writer and sometimes mail machine operator. They, including my sister are from South Carolina. They are ocean people. I'm the only one landlocked in Ohio, unless you consider the Ohio River a big body of water. The Ohio is only a little less muddy than the mighty Mississippi. On any given day it looks like you could walk across it with all the dirt and silt and not get wet.
Having the straight shot route from Ohio, I got here first and found the campsite, by talking with the locals. I then guided them to our location using what little cell power we had. Make no mistake, we are in the back woods and Verizon hasn't discovered this place yet.
While waiting for them, I spotted what I thought was a lonely little fawn who hadn't yet learned to camouflage effectively. Yet when a Harley Davidson soft tail drove by, the whole herd spooked. I was actually watching at least 8 or 9 deer that I counted before they leapt away up the side of the hill.
Once we got settled, we trekked out to quaint Mentone city or town for something to eat. It was only 7:30 but the sidewalks had been rolled up. We settled on the bbq grill for some ribs, pulled pork and chicken and a grilled cheese.
The food was delicious, the hospitality wonderful. We were exhausted and trekked back up the mountain top to get into the hot tub and or Jacuzzi. A little TV and were ready for bed.
Shopping begins tomorrow....
8.01.2006
Time off.........
This is my birthday month...yes I celebrate the whole month...I've earned it...so my posts will be a bit sporadic.
My first celebration stop is a cabin in the mountains close enough to the Worlds longest yard sale for some heavy duty antique shopping. I'm redoing my kitchen...
Happy birthday to me....happy birthday to me.......................
My first celebration stop is a cabin in the mountains close enough to the Worlds longest yard sale for some heavy duty antique shopping. I'm redoing my kitchen...
Happy birthday to me....happy birthday to me.......................
Why are We Surprised
By the anti semitic antics of Mel Gibson?
His Daddy raised him to not believe the holocaust happened.
It's not the first time he has shown himself to be a bigot. Just ask anyone in the LGBT community about Mel and his homophobic ways.
And please, please, enough with the "mea culpa" as he disappears into rehab.
Stars screwing up and checking into rehab is like criminals getting busted and finding jesus after they get locked up for life.
So hypocritical.
His Daddy raised him to not believe the holocaust happened.
It's not the first time he has shown himself to be a bigot. Just ask anyone in the LGBT community about Mel and his homophobic ways.
And please, please, enough with the "mea culpa" as he disappears into rehab.
Stars screwing up and checking into rehab is like criminals getting busted and finding jesus after they get locked up for life.
So hypocritical.
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