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WHAT IS ALL THE HYPE ABOUT??? WHO IS EDWARD SNOWDEN…

Concerning that guy held up in Russia. The 1 who supposedly spilled all the beans on the U.S. eavesdropping on its citizens.

I really don’t get it. Didn’t George Orwell spill the beans on that years ago, when he wrote that book that Big Brother was watching us… or would be. Since the book was futuristic.

So, the future has arrived and we find that the United States and probably every other country on this planet, with any kind of good sense is listening in on its citizens. Lets face it in the world that we live in today… it probably is a good thing that somebody other than thieves, murders… spies… rapists and espionage people etc. may or may not be listening in.

Oftentimes it appears that the wrong parties have the upper hand. In watching some of these television shows a lot more contracts would be put out for somebody to kill his or her husband or wife over the phone… or some other kinds of craziness… if they didn’t believe somebody might be listening in.

We live in a time of great peril. Hadn’t you heard, ‘Evil is everywhere?’

When George Orwell wrote ‘1984’ few people would have believed that 1 person would have be able to predict so much in our changing times that would someday come to pass. But Orwell did.

Was he a prophet?

Or was he just a person with a keen sense of being able to look at things as they were, and then be able to assess how they would be some time in the distant future?

When Orwell wrote ‘1984’ it was just 1949. What had been going on in the world then?

Had the first man walked in space by then?

No.

Had Kennedy been elected?

No.

So, what was happening in 1949 that Orwell could sit down somewhere and write a book called, 1984, that predicted events and changes in the world which did eventually come about?

One major thing was television. Electronic gadgets were starting to come into the market. The first commercial computer was introduced… didn’t do well and wasn’t well received. But it was there.

Color came into the homes when RCA developed the first colorized television set. China became a communist country and Russia unleashed the making of its first atomic bomb. Family incomes were growing, consumer purchases were sky rocketing, and the U.S. had emerged out of the Great Depression… and the 2nd World War had come to an end, 4 years earlier in 1945.

Undoubtedly, the U.S. at this point had emerged as a great World power. The Cold War between Russia and America was fully under way, and America’s Allies and its strength was growing. The C.I.A. was becoming active in aiding in setting up governments, and placing men of soon-to-be-power into power around the world. And Orwell was a journalist working for the BBC… the British Broadcasting Company.

When Orwell, a British Subject, as they say… and working for the BBC… wrote ‘1984’ he depicted a world run by a government that was omnipresent… observing all its people at all times… an existence totally politically directed by those in control…and where Big Brother’s eyes and ears were everywhere… an ever present force.

When you go outside today… out to the street and look up you see cameras on the street lights… hanging off of roof tops. They even tiny little cameras and mics that can be placed into very unsuspecting places… even in public places all about. Places like hotels… lobbies… even bathrooms… school rooms… commuter rails… even on someone’s person… etc. Therefore, it should not surprise you that you are being recorded… or your actions watched. We all have watched enough TV to see how detectives can go and acquire video footage from surveillance cameras in lobbies… parking lots etc… in order to aid them in tracking down criminals. Cabs have them… police cars have them… and sometimes full camera crews.

If they can use such equipment to observe and track criminals… what made you think it could not be used to observe you too?

I was surprised when someone told me that all I had to do was Google my address… and see what came up. What came up was not just a picture… but a whole satellite viewing of where I live… up and down my street… all around my house.

Then take for instance GPS systems… they can tell your whereabouts at any given time. You use them as directional devices, but that directional device can be used to track you. Such devices are embedded inside vehicles too by manufacturers. So, if you fail to make your monthly payment they no longer have to search or try to figure out where you are… if you are trying to avoid repossession. No, not any more. They can push it up on a computer and come right to where you are… wherever that it . And no matter where that is they will take possession of their property, depriving you of a vehicle until payment and fees are paid in full.

Rental cars too have embedded in them the same thing. So that if a car is not returned timely the rental agency can go and get their property, as well.

When I read things on the social network it amazes me just how much information people share over such public outlets as the internet. They list their jobs… home address… phone numbers… email addresses… schools they went to… towns they live in… had lived in… show pictures of their children… list the names of their relatives… and show their pictures etc…

When Edward Snowden decided that he could no longer work for whatever governmental agency that had hired him here in the U.S.A… because his conscious bothered him concerning how this government is secretly listening in on conversations of American citizens… my only question that came to mind was this…

http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Leaker-Edward-Snowden-remains-held-up-in-Russian/QfJi0z6lE0GP4PqiP6cuvw.cspx

Out of all the countries Snowden could have ran away to… why Russia?

I have heard people speak of Russia… ex-citizens of that country. And that government routinely indulges in practices that cannot even begin to come close to just listening in on its citizens conversations.

http://fox43.com/2013/07/24/snowden-still-being-held-up-in-moscow-airport/#axzz2aZnKWl4L

I was sitting in one of my college classes once… which wasn’t so very long ago contrary to popular belief… and this Russian woman came into our class to visit and speak about her country. She was a guest of our Professor. She spoke of how in Russia you could not just go into business unless the government allowed you. She talked about how the Russian government controlled the newspapers and television… all the media outlets in Russia. And how everyone there… in Russia was under the restraint and control of the Russian government.

So, isn’t it ironic to anyone outside of myself… did you not think it strange that Edward Snowden would have ran from Japan to go to Russia trying to seek asylum there?

It is very contradictory at the very least.

We are living in the turmoils of the many diverse problems in this world today, which include bombing of public places to kill and/or hurt as many people as possible.

I am one who believes that if the crooks and hackers can assess our systems, read our emails, go into our accounts… listen in on our conversations, go up over the internet to case our exact location and homes… apartments… where we eat… what we buy… then why would Snowden’s disclosure that our government is doing it… be of any great surprise or shock to me or any one of us?

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/nsa-tool-tracks-all-internet-conversations-says-guardian-6C10808165

It wasn’t… least ways not to me. I was never upset when after 911 they started stopping subway trains in New York City to do random bomb searches. And neither were any of the other passengers on the subways I rode with… we all understood the times we had just stepped into when the Twin Towers came tumbling down after being flown into by those 2 airplanes.

Why should I be?

Being held up for those searches we all understood… as we knew they were trying to protect us. Save more people from being killed senselessly. So, if the government has taken to listening in on phone calls and watching people… whose fault is that?

Whose fault?

The perpetrators. Clearly, they would love our government to sit back and do nothing… but wait until the next strike comes… like helpless children.

Did not some kind of plan have to go into effect in defense of people possibly flooding into America to destroy her, and those of us who live here.

Yes, I do believe that Snowden should be prosecuted. Because he chose that job. I am sure that he was not brought into that job without the U.S. government informing him that he was going to come in contact with highly classified information. And based upon that… and I would have to believe that any oath he may have taken in order to obtain that job… which I assume paid Ed Snowden royally… he had a duty and responsibility to live up to. Up to the secrecy and security that that position called for him to maintain.

Information that has to do with the security of our country, and the means by which that information is extracted should be left to those who are the safe-keepers. However, should methods and techniques such as using undue force, harassment and intimidation etc. to acquire that information… those things I am totally and 100 per-cent against. And these are things that I hope anyone being party do bring forward… but I cannot put listening-in-on… upon that same level.

Now, had Snowden’s information been of something along the nature that may have caused mass harm or life threatening… like say the government was doing something that was detrimental to us… our health and/or welfare then I would weigh in on Snowden’s right of consciousness to do the right thing by disclosing that info to us. But to merely tell us that we are being listening in on by the government… No, that information played more to divulging our country’s security practices, more than any personal life threatening issues that we all needed to be made aware of.

I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I called the New York Telephone company to complain about other people being on my phone line. I could hear whole 2-way conversations. And I was sure that they could do the same when it came to my calls.

There was a time in this country and most countries, I suspect… when telephones first got started that there were nothing but what they then called ‘party-lines.’ Telephone lines where you could pick up the phone and if someone was on that line talking to someone else, you just hung up and waited until you could get a clear line. So, the ability to listen in on phone lines… and phone calls has a very long history, which dates back to the beginning of telephone service.

Lets face it, we are all aware that most of the phone lines and/or computer internet lines that we work on and/or talk over, and text over are not secure. In fact, when the portable phones came into being… you remember those cordless phones with the long antennas. Everybody knew that you could be listened in on at any given time, due to the lines crossing, by anybody in your neighborhood.

I frankly do not know anyone who talks about anything really important over a telephone… or in an email… or in a text.

We all of us… Or should I say most of us remember that it was text messages that brought down the Mayor of Detroit in his escapades with his Office Administrator, Kwame Kilpatrick.

So, then how important was Snowden’s disclosure?

Not very. It just let out of the bag… and made public to all the world something that most people already understood to be happening or could possibly be happening anytime they picked up a telephone or cell phone to use it.

I would imagine that you would be very hard press at these times to find any country that is not using some type of surveillance system and/or listening devices in order to stem the tide of bombings, country take overs, aid in fighting against drugs and/or corruptness on ever level everywhere.

George Orwell when he wrote his book, 1984, saw many things. But he did not see the changes that would become necessary in a world that man would turn against man, for no unknown reason… or a just cause. Outside of shear hatred of a culture… and the freedoms of 1 country over another. Or a right to practice a different religion.

Snowden a 30 year old ex-C.I.A and National Security Agency employee leaked details on several top secret United States and British surveillance intelligence. A proclaimed Buddhist and whistle blower, Snowden grew up primary in North Carolina. And when all of this broken… this story on U.S.A secret surveillance programs… and about Snowden turning over these highly confidential government secrets, he had been assigned to a U.S. post in Japan, where which he later fled to Russia seeking asylum from the United States as a spy… espionage and theft of government information.

Well, God bless… Well, I’ve got to run. I’ve noticed that the campuses are starting to come alive again. Saw a few school buses drive pass me today… a clear signal that school is just about in again. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week. The weather here is beautiful. Such a relief from all the tremendous heat we had been going through.

UPDATE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2013… Russia has now given asylum to Snowden. Supposedly it is for a year. But some South American country had offered Snowden asylum prior… but Snowden did not accept it.

It all strikes me as being a bit too odd. Why would this guy want to defect to Russia… of all places?

If he is so big on human right… the right of the public citizens… our right to not have government listening in on our conversations… then why choose Russia, of all places?

I am beginning to believe that Snowden was… and is a Russian spy. From the very beginning this guy was a little to shady, as they say in ‘the hood.’ First he was ‘anonymous.‘ Then he ran away getting as quickly as he could to Russia?

This whole supposed whistle-blowing thing… I believe it will be proven to have been some kind of a scheme, cooked up as a well thought out plan for Snowden to have released American Intelligence claiming it was due to his conscience bothering him over what the American Government was doing. When it was nothing more than sheer just fabrication on his part and those working with him, to cover-up who Snowden really is… and just who he was really working for in the first place.

Truthfully speaking if they found out today that this whole thing was just 1 big fat lie… I would not be surprised.

Who in their right mind defects to Russia… a country with a history of routinely victimizing its citizens and invading their privacy?

Something is way out of whack here. And it just does not smell right.

Add a comment July 31, 2013

Mind games…

After meeting up with the religious nut in the back of my parent’s yard… I strongly believe that people today are looking for some ray of hope… some divine saviour to remove all their woes and care away.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/645182.stm

The man spoken about in the above news LINK… looks very much like the image we have all come to recognize as Jesus Christ. He walks around barefooted and in a robe. His hair is about the length of the hair we have all seen in those pictures and statues of the supposed Jesus. And he leads people to believe that he is Jesus… but he never discloses his true name.

They call him “What’s his name.”

They marvel at him and look upon with reverence… as if they truly believe that this man walking around trying to pretend in the most obvious ways that he is Jesus re-born or something.

Well, going back to our neighbor in the house behind us. This man believes that he is Jesus too. Truly.

And not only does he believe it… but he tries to force the thought down my throat.

There is but 1 God. And clearly whether most people believe it or not only 1 Jesus Christ… who will eventually return. But he is not here yet.

I am not foolish enough to believe that the guy behind our house is the second coming. Who often tells me that God spoke to him and told me that he should come and rake or otherwise clean our yard. All this… while asking me to kiss him.

What kind of God would have me to do that?

Not the 1 that I know.

So, I do not entertain the man. Because I recognize that something clearly is wrong with him. And something is wrong with the guy in Hazelton, PA… who believes he can walk around in a robe, wear his hair down to his shoulder, while walking around barefooted , speaking in a soft voice while all the while pretending in some less than subtle kind of way that he is Jesus Christ.

It is a con job. And it comes at a time when many people are unsure about a lot of things… such as whether or not their house will be foreclosed on… how they will get the money to heat bill… or will their children be able to stay another semester in college… or whether or not they will be able to find another job.

In times of hardship, distress and unrest we all look for something. But it is not the time to reach out to people pretending to be something which they clearly are not. And could never be.

Perpetrators come in all sizes, shapes and forms. And 1 of the biggest type of perpetrators… even since

Biblical times have been those who wanted to pretend like they were and are holy… while seeking to do evil.

In the Appalachian Mountains of this country live some of the countries most tested people. People who have been used, abused and exploited for more than just capital gain. Made to drink and bathe in dirty contaminated water, while sucking in air full of cancerous and poisonous pollutants… in places that used to be so pristine, so pure and so clean.

Now, in walks this man… “What his name.”

On the political front I received a call from a friend of mine last night saying-

“What do you think about your President?”

I really didn’t at first know what she meant. But as she went on she expressed her disapproval of Obama caving in to the Republicans concerning the Bush tax cuts.

It seems she had been watching a lot of TV lately… following closely those debates where everybody sits around debating every turn or statement and action that Barack Obama does.

I told her that it seemed to me that there were a lot news shows lately that seemed totally dedicated to critiquing any and everything Obama did or said… especially every policy and word he utters. Yet, as dumb as George Bush was nobody sat around dissecting every little thing he did. And clearly somebody should have.

If we voted Obama in…then we should be willing enough to allow him to do his job without all of us standing over him with a whip. Or by allowing others to get us to try and second guess him… on everything.

Who can work like that?

Who wants to work like that?

Oh, ye of little faith. Politics is about making concessions. It is all about give and take. It is the first rule of lawyering and anything else where there are 2 opposing sides.

Without subcoming to part of what the Republicans wanted millions of poor people and out of work people would suffered otherwise while Republicans having a majority vote would still be able to push through whatever they want to.

I believe Obama to be shrewd and a strategic man. A man who makes no moves or plans without thoughtfully weighting them out fully and all their possible ramifications. With all of that being said…

“Let us all please let him do his job without all of us falling prey to what news media and so-called would-be experts would have us believe.”

As dumb as George W. Bush was… and as much of a liar he proved himself to be… he never suffered this much scrutiny and lack of confidence as is being levied against Obama. Or disrespect either. Far be it that a black man should succeed or prove to be successful in the office of the President of this country.

I am very sick of hearing… that Obama does not know what he is doing. It is very very easy to sit in a seat over in a corner or somewhere and say that.

Don’t fall for the lies… and fake analyses. They are only meant to belittle and berate him. And to make Obama appear ineffective and unknowing… and worst of all ill-informed. He’s bigger than that.

I’m looking forward to great things from what history will prove to be a great man… and perhaps our greatest President.

It has started snowing here. And it has been soooooo cold.

Today I stayed mostly in bed. But finally I started feeling guilty. So, I got up and started stirring about.

I have got a ton of boxes laying about. I am trying to clear up the house a bit. I figure if I do a little a day I might just get it all done. So, I am working on it.

Forgot to mention that last Saturday… are you ready for this?

Last Saturday I got my first royalty check for my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE. Can’t believe it. Wasn’t much… but it is just the idea that somebody read… or is reading my book. I really hope to get some feedback on it if you are 1 of them. Thanks so much.

And I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was great… filled with lots of family, friends and food.

And I do note the passing of Elizabeth Edwards who loss her battle against cancer just a couple of days ago. There is 1 thing about strong women they never let anything take them down. Not heartache or disappointment… or even sickness.

Well, God bless…

Add a comment December 11, 2010

Eva Longoria headed for divorce… North Korea milliary strike… Palin’s reality…

It never fails to amaze me just how stupid some men can sometimes be.

What was wrong with Tony Parker that he just could not be true to one of most beautiful women in Hollywood?

Clearly, Eva Longoria loved him. And he appeared to be happy with her.

http://www.popeater.com/2010/11/23/eva-longoria-tony-parker-cheated/

I recall that when the rumors surfaced regarding his bachelor party and some ‘woman of the night.’ Eva quickly dismissed it. She totally declared it to be false and denounced anyone who dared to even claim such a thing about her then husband to be.

And why not?

Aren’t you suppose to trust the person who your are going to partner yourself to for the rest of your life?

But it would seem that Tony has proven those rumors …and all tho stories to be true.

And he looked so innocent. Perhaps, too innocent.

What is it about men that when they have a good woman… a loving and caring mate… that they fail to be able to be true to her.

You often hear men… and many women as well… often belly aching about how they cannot seem to find the right person… a good person… a decent person… a hard working man… or a loving and caring woman. Yet, when presentedd with 1 they fail to be able to appreciate him… or her.

I remember Donald Trump and his parting from Ivana. Just about everybody on this planet thought he was crazy. Even Marla probably had to laugh about that… as she took the Donald to the bank.

Then there was Rick somebody or other… Oh, yeah… Rick Fox and Vanessa Williams. What a jerk he must have been. Who in his right mind would ever want to be kicked to the curb by Vanessa.

But some of these guys are just to pretty. But then when they lose out on what they had… and find themselves out in the cold reflecting on their errors… it is always too late.

Grow up gentlemen and ladies… learn to appreciate and respect what you have already while you yet have it.

I have had at least 2 men cry in my presence while telling me about their wives. The wife they cheated on… took for granted… could have cared less about… until she was no more. She passed.

As I listen to 1 of them tell me how his wife had been his best friend… his childhood sweetheart… and how he cheated on her so many times… I could not help but think as tears rolled down his face-

“Why is it that you can always see a good thing when it is gone?”

All chances of showing her… or rectifying the situation had been removed. She was dead. Gone forever…and now he didn’t want anybody else. He had stopped with all the other women. All when it didn’t matter… because she was gone.

How sad can that be?

But it happens day in and day out. Some people have everything that anybody could ever want… and they just do not appreciate it.

Truly sad.

Today North Korea launched deadly rockets into South Korea killing both soldiers and civilians.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/obama-pledges-us-would-defend-south-korea/19731500

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-attack-unforgiveable-2141389.html

In my Just War’s class this would be called an act of ‘aggression.’

In Political Science there are a couple of ways that ‘aggression’ can be allowed and/or tolerated by the national community. One is for the reason of an ‘assumed threat’ by another nation-state. Or 2 for a reason where 1 country believes that there is real and eminent threat of being struck first.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/11/23/16279961.html

Because of nuclear weapons small Nation States no longer fear hegemon states… large powerful nations such as the United States or Great Britain… or Russia any more. The power that hegemon states once wheeled has long fallen by the wayside. The ability to create and use nuclear weapons has become the great equalizer. And now small nation states such as North Korea, Iran, Pakistan etc… now feel their muscles beginning to bulge beneath their shirts. And are anxious to have their voices heard around the world on the world stage.

What action can the United States taken against North Korea for shelling a small South Korea island with deadly mortar?

Why do we have to do anything?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/23/obama-south-korea-commitment_n_787864.html?flv=1

Yes, we have to side with our allies. And it is in our best interest to do so.

But when acts of aggression occur do not our allies likewise have an obligation to stand with us?

Today there is only 1 real super power left in this world… and that is the United States. But with soaring illegal immigration around the world… drug wars… rogue states… religious fanatics… and even some very unstable people running some foreign governments… it would seem that other like-minded nations have no choice but to stand with us. There is just too much going on in the world today… for any nation which is an allie of the United States to just sit back.

The ills that face this world take an united effort to quail and try to lay to rest. And that is the force that will overcome rogue nations… religious fanatics and zealots from destroying the world… unity.

Palin’s real world reality is…is that nobody really wants to watch her or her family on television. She is just not that exciting … or intriguing. And the show may hit the dust before its 8 week contract is up.

When the idea for this show was pitched… every thumb in the room should have been turned down towards the table. That is what TV exec’s should have done… tabled it before it got out of the box. But now after the dim ratings i just 2 episodes… they soon will.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/23/sarah-palins-alaska-ratings_n_787454.html

Well, we are now almost just 1 day away from Thanksgiving. This afternoon I made 8 apple pies. I have to make at least 2 more tomorrow…and then put a few sweet potato pies into the oven too.

I had bought the peaches for peach cobbler but decided to hold off on that until Christmas.

I do not know about you… but I can’t get to the table quick enough or to that turkey.

Tomorrow, I have to pick up the video camera equipment because I have decided that I wanted to video tape us all together. This year we came awfully close to having lost 1 of my sisters. She suffered a heart attack.

She is doing just fine now… but during the course of the week she was in the hospital all I wanted to do was pray. And is all I did really.

God heard our prayers.

Hope that He has heard yours too. Through the course of a year many situations come up. It is good to be able to depend upon the Lord.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving… I know we shall enjoy ours.

Well, God bless…

2 comments November 24, 2010

Gary Coleman passing… Parenting and those who claim to know…

I have long held that most of the supposed authorities giving out information on how to treat, displine and handle your children…are really a bunch of people who do not know what they are talking about.

Now, today I happen to come across this article…which…

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/05/24/opinion-im-in-favor-of-my-daughter-dropping-out-of-high-school/?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parentdish.com%2F2010%2F05%2F24%2Fopinion-im-in-favor-of-my-daughter-dropping-out-of-high-school%2F

Well, it proves my point.

The above LINK to the article is written by a mother who states that she is a Professor at some big time university…where she and her husband taught. And I say ‘taught’…because he is now deceased, but she still teaches there…wherever it is.

Probably in New York…or at Yale…or some place. Some place like NYU…or Harvard…M.I.T. Or Georgetown…or Princeton. But I bet you it is somewhere on the East Coast. Somewhere near Greenwich… or out in the Hamptons.

And I tell you why.

In this woman’s article…this Professor… she states that she told her daughter that it was okay for her to drop out of school.

Yes, I did say that. This she plainly states in her article where she says that she told her daughter, who wanted to drop out of high school…that it was okay to do so. In fact in the article the woman states this….”school wasn’t working for her. So, I even encouraged her to drop out.”

The so-called ‘parenting expert’ also states in her article that she is the author of numerous books on parenting.

Now, do you get my point?

For some years now these so-called ‘parenting experts’ have been telling this country how to care, chastize, woo and cuddle their child. Most of them mind you have never even had a child yet they sit around articulating on various talk shows, radio programs and in new articles how ‘we’…real parents should care for our children, and their discipline.

They are the ones responsible for why laws were written about what types of discipline are and are not allowable or acceptable. Laws which have given way to some of the most unruly children to walk the face of this earth. Many have no matters…and some even lack basic unbringing.

I am not, however, critiquing or criticizing all children or teens…or anyone outside of this mother who happens to claim that she is an expert in this matter. Clearly something is wrong with the picture of ‘child/parent relationships’ today. And this corrupted picture basically has stemmed from a lot of very bad advice from a bunch of people running around who nothing about children. And neither do most of them had any children of their own…or like this woman who wrote the above article…they failed to be able to control their own children.

So, they give in to them…and up on them.

What parent in their right mind is going tell their child in these days and times…or in past times that its okay to drop out of high school?

No one. None of them did. Though in past times many children did not have the leisure of pursuing a full education based upon family demands. But these days have changed and so has the criteria to be capable and compedent to be a part of today’s work force. It has grown and gotten much higher. You need more education today…more than ever before. And particularly if you want what is called a good job…and higher pay.

Evidently, this woman is either very rich… or she has heavily insured her daughter and plans for some type of accident. Because either that or she must be planning on taking care of her daughter some how for the rest of her life. Because without a college education…and many times above… her daughter’s life is going to become very hard.

Anyone who does not have an appropriate education today is as good as doomed. There is no about it…or buts about it. Everybody can’t go to Hollywood and become the next $20 million movie star…or make mega making music song deals.

I am sure that that this woman’s daughter is never going to be the next Whitney Houston or Barbara Streisand. Her daughter doesn’t stand a chance unless her mother has some money. It is highly unlikely that this woman’s daughter will succeed at much of anything if her mother’s attitude has always been-

“Oh, well if you can’t do it that’s okay. Just quit.”

What parent tells their child that?

What do these so-called experts know?

People who want their child or children to succeed in life push them. They push them to get up in morning…to make their beds… to clean their rooms… to brush their teeth… to comb their hair… to take a bath…etc. Parent’s push their children…and after a while the hope is our children will start pushing themselves. They must learn to get up…and make their way in life. They have to learn to clean their rooms on occasions… and how to take a bath and brush their teeth…and comb their hair without anyone having to push them.

And I do not mean by being mean and cruel to your children…or be overbearing in your desires for your children. No, not in that way…where the children come to dispise you because all you care about is that “A” or the winning of the ball game. No, not at all like that. But the kind of pushing that parents must do in order to get their children up and going…and to engage them in life.

It is called ‘growth and development.’

We grow…and develop over time. I am sure that over time even I have grown in the writing of these blogs. My first blogs are nothing like they are now…be it in their overall appearance…content…the amount of time I spend on creating them…and my total effort in doing them. I have grown…and so have they.

But I learned how to grow through my parents pressuring me to always do my best…and to never give up. Needless to say…I didn’t always like it…but it worked. Speaking of which…when my son spent 4 years in 9th grade…

Yes, I did say 4 years in 9th grade. I told him this-

“I don’t care how long it takes you to finish high school. You can sit there until you get old and grey if you want to. But you are going to stay there until you finish or until somebody walks up to you and taps you on the shoulders to tell you to get out. But you are going to stay there until then.”

And I meant every word of it.

It was not that my son was a bad child. But he was a social butterfly. I sat in on many of his classes just to ensure that he was doing his doing what he was suppose to be doing in school. And I often travelled in from New York… getting off the inter-state bus to catch a city bus to the whatever school he was at.

If you want your children to succeed you have got to commit yourself to their success. And you have to do it without surrendering. I never surrendered. Today my son is very successful. He successfully finished high school and then went on from there. Today he makes lots of money doing what he loves. But it did not come with me giving up on him or giving in to him.

It takes education to end up in life doing what you love. Must people work doing what they have to…and oftentimes doing something that hate (and that is many times regardless of their education if they chose to study something just for the money). But those who are educated can pick and choose what it is that they want to do…and at what price. That is the beauty and difference that education can make.

This is not to say, however, that only people with good education succeed. Because there are many examples today and yesterday that prove that point as well. But, however, that road is not an easy one… and it becomes complicated with a lot of ‘no’s’…and plently of road blocks.

During the last year of my son’s 4th year in 9th grade whenever he asked me for anything I would just merely say-

“Four years-9th grade.”

That ended any further discussion about whatever it was that he was asking me for. Oh, how I loved that time…I did not buy one single thing for him that was not a need. He asked me for new pair of $100 sneakers…he asked me for a beeper…he asked me for all kinds of things. But he got none of them… no Christmas gifts…birthday gifts…nothing. Nothing…not that I would have bought him a beeper or spent $100 on a pair of sneakers anyways. But I still remember his face when I would say that to him…4 years-9th grade. But he made it out of 9th grade. And from that point on he began making the honor roll.

It took some time but it got there. It hit home… my saying that to him. It must have given him pause to sit back and think about the time he was wasting. He had thought of school as a fun place not a learning place. It is alright to have fun in school, but not whern it disrupts others…or hinders your learning…or that of those around you. My son did not hinder others…he just was busy not doing his work.

But after that first time of making it onto honor roll there was such a shift in my son’s attitude towards his school work. He started taking pride in himself and his school work. He even began to brag that he was the smartest boy in his class. And from that first moment on the honor roll he just kept on out performing all of them…because it felt better than sitting in school doing nothing…and everybody now looking up to him, and asking him to help them.

At the end of the day no child wants to do anything. I know I didn’t. We would have all rathered to have sat before the TV all day watching cartoons or drawing and coloring on paper…where as today’s kids play all kinds of computer games…game boy and things like that. And if they could they would never set it down… or go to school if their parents let them.

So, enter this woman…who I guess is proud… Well, she states that she is proud. She feels that she has done some great thing by telling to her daughter to quit school. I would beg to differ.

And just like I said when I started this blog. It just goes to prove all along what I have always believed about these so-called ‘child experts.’ They do not have a clue. And nobody should be listening to them.

And before I forget…the reason I said that the woman (the mother) was probably some Professor from NYU or some other North Eastern college, was because her view seemed to be quite East Coast liberal. It was…or is quite liberal, which I think is how a lot of former flower children/hippy…or should I say ex-hippy…or ex-flower children liberal Eastern Professors think. And particularly if they have money…or come from families with money.

If you have money then it really doesn’t matter. You can say something dumb like tell your child to go ahead and just drop out. Because you have the finances to provide and care for that child for the rest of his or her life. And being that this woman has a daughter… Then she can do it right up until the time her daughter gets married.

Well, I was wrong…the woman who wrote the article teaches at some school in California.

But the point that made the whole article ridiculous for me was the fact that the woman…this ‘child/parenting expert’ was proud of herself for telling her daughter she should just drop out of high school. This she told her daughter because her daughter wasn’t doing well, and she didn’t like school.

Boy, if ever parent thought like this woman more than 3/4 of the school population would no longer be attending school.

What child doesn’t think that they hate school?

I didn’t…but that is beside the point. I guess I would be part of 1/4 attending school. But I don’t think I would really count. Because I only liked school because it got me out of the house and away from my sisters and brothers. When you are the oldest of 8 siblings…you fall in love with school real quick.

Now, back to this woman who wrote the article…this supposedly well educated woman…a woman of letters… having a doctorate in her field…which in turn gave way to her the claim to proclaim herself an expert in the first place. And this woman also writes books telling parents what to do concerning their children.

Real parents stand up. You better take those books by these so-called experts and throw them into your incinerator. Because clearly this woman doesn’t know what she is talking about. She doesn’t even have a clue. Her head must be stuck in the ground. And her hand is definitely not on the pulse of what is important in the real world.

And she teaches college students?????

If your child is going to succeed…they will need to be educated. And I hope that whoever your child is…I hope they are not in any of this woman’s classes.

Throughout history the levels of man’s success has always been measured and linked to his hard work and level of education. And education has always set the standard for the classes…separating those who have juxtapose to those who have not.

Now, on to Gary Coleman.

While listening to Bev Smith last night on her late-night radio talk show over the internet, I heard that Gary had been emitted into the hospital and was in intensive care.

If ever you have considered getting your child involved in the entertainment business Gary Coleman’s life is definitely one which should give you pause and is worthy of another consideration.

If ever there was a group of child stars who did not fare well it was the group of child stars that appeared on the show with Gary Coleman. We all remember “Diff’ rent Strokes.” It ran all the way up until Arnold began to turn old before our very eyes…and therein laid his delima.

Size-wise he never grew much but his feature stopped ceasing to be as cute and lovable…I guess you could say. Which I have no doubt had a lot to do with his medication and kidney problem. But then too there were those storylines. They got to where they were just plain dumb. And so the show over time lost its appeal and audience.

But there was something going on in the background. Drugs came into their midst. Then drinking added to the drugging. But we never could tell…least ways I couldn’t. But it affected the lives of the 2 other child stars on the show…more so than it did Gary.

Todd Bridges who was always good-looking, along with Dana plato all became sister and brothers. Willis…the character that Todd played on the show, was supposedly Arnold’s real brother, who both end up being adopted into the rich Drummon family. Where Dana, Kimberly Drummond on the show, becomes their sister. Todd later reported that he and Dana experimented with drugs together while working on the show.

Dana later becomes pregnant by some boyfriend and got fired from the show. Like Gary Coleman, she too was adopted. And from articles that I have read…the woman who adopted her was hungry for money and really never cared much for the child otherwise.

Dana’s life like Willis’ and Gary’s was sad following the end of their years as stars on Diff’rent Strokes. Down and out Dana moved to Vegas with her baby. She found herself in a beat-up trailer park…and one day steped into a video store to rob it with a gun…got jail time…and she later died of an overdose.

Like Willis, Dana was probably the product of child abuse. She had the typical scars of a sexually abused child. Following her departure from Diff’rent Strokes she posed nude in a layout in Playboy…and later turned to staring in pronography.

Willis’ inner demons began to plague him following a friend of his father taking advantage of him sexually as a very young kid. Years later he found himself suffering from anger management, drinking and problems with drugs…and doing time in jail on weapons charges.

Dana at the age of 14 was already drinking and drugging long before she hit the set of Diff’rent Strokes. It is amazing that watching them you would have never guessed any of the inner turmoils in any of their lives.

No one can ever tell me about the demons which chase children long after the abuse stops. What a different life and end she might have had.

Arnold…or Gary suffered with kidney problems…a problem which attributed to the lack of his growth in stature. And he also became a very angry man as the years went by. Often he was dragged into court stemming from incidents where he hit or punched a fan.

He was no longer that cute or funny little child star…but a little short man…out of work and turned against his then family. His adoptive parents he took to court claiming that they had robbed him.

Though he tried at different ventures…everything failed. And for a very brief time he even tried to pursue a college education…but that too failed.

Whenever his name came up in the news you always wondered who he had hit next?

It seemed that the whole world had turned against him…and he against it.

I think the one shinning moment through those years was when he and Willis teamed up on a movie showcasing their lives and the turmoil that followed after Diff’rent Strokes was ended. I have no doubt that that movie will pop up somewhere now that at the age of 42 Gary Coleman is gone.

http://www.popeater.com/2010/05/28/gary-coleman-dead/?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl1|link1|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popeater.com%2F2010%2F05%2F28%2Fgary-coleman-dead%2F

http://news.puggal.com/dana-plato-playboy-june-1989-39038/

Willis…or Todd which is his real name… has since gotten his life back on track. And often I have heard him talking about God in his life. I hear that he has a re-occuring role on a soap opera. I certainly wish the continued best for him…along with his continued growth in the Lord.

Yesterday I spent most of my morning resting for my afternoon studio shoot. About 1 o’clock I was up and rushing. But by the end of the night I was tired… but quite satisfied. I had gotten most of what I wanted… and everybody who said that they would… Well, they showed up.

Now, I am on my way with that. And I feel good.

And in case you are wondering why I have not said anything about my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE, lately. Well, for one thing I was hoping to be in New York promoting my book at the Book Expo America this week. And since you know I was in the studio shooting footage last night… So, you know that that didn’t happen…no me and New York City this week.

The other thing that happened…and perhaps you have experienced this. My flash drive died. It CRASHED…and I had all most all of website files on it. And I do mean it crashed…and I had failed to back-up those files anywhere else.

So, for the past 2 weeks I have been praying over my flash drive…and continuously sticking into this computer and that computer hoping for just anything to happen. But it has not. So, I have been trying not to think about.

What good would it do for me to get all upset over it?

None.

Because like you may have…I have learned this lesson more than once. And yet I continue to do it.

I never save anything on a back-up. And dealing with computers…which are very tempermental…you are taking a large risk if you don’t back-up everything someplace else.

And so…I have learned that lesson again. But I think that this time is the last time.

Enjoy your night and have a beautiful day tomorrow…and Monday, Memorial Day. I am going to try and get some sleep now.

Tempertures here are climbing again. And it has been real hot here. Better pull out the sprinkler if you don’t have a pool…get yourself some Italian ice. I love them…and popsickles too.

Oh, yes…

Today while waiting on bus. I was joined by some high school seniors in their caps and gowns. And they looked beautiful…and their was an air of excitement and happiness in each of their eyes, as well as, upon their faces.

And I just had to compliment them on their achievements, and tell them how well and beautiful they all looked.

It was beautiful.

The weekend before last we were in Jersey at Drew University cheering for my brother as he walked across the stage accepting his doctorate degree. This past weekend a niece and cousin graduated from college. And this coming coming Wednesday another niece will be graduating from college.

My parent’s children are all growing up…and our family is expanding in many different ways. In our growth and knowledge of the Lord…in our family size…and in our educational knowledge. My partents time and efforts were vested well.

So, it has been busy around here with all the graduations. All of the graduation receptions…and all of the tears of pride and joy…and happiness for them. Hope you have had the opportunity to do the same. And if not this year maybe next. But it does not come with people giving up…or parents telling their children its okay you can just quit and drop out of school.