The Official Election Sign Off

By Rogue Tantrums

This morning, I woke up at 4:50 a.m. to vote. I didn’t want to be at the whipping tail end of a monstrous line. My boyfriend called at 4:52 to make sure I had gotten up like I said I would, and that I hadn’t accidentally slept through my alarm as I have a tendency to do on certain occasions. This time, I was awake… listening in the dark to the downpour outside my window, wishing in vain that I had voted early to forego this madness.

But I got up, and dressed; kissed my little sugar who wanted to sleep in my bed instead of hers while I was out, and headed off with a book, an umbrella and a flashlight in the darkness of early morning. Oh I was warned. My doctor yesterday asked me if I had voted already or if I would wait until Tuesday. I told her that I hadn’t yet, and she said, “Oh I voted early…I know tomorrow is going to be crazy and I don’t want to be in it.” That was the moment I thought, hmm, how crazy is it actually going to get? My plan was to simply wake up early, vote early and go on with my day, but with all these warnings of atrocious lines, I was beginning to think that 6:30 just wasn’t going to cut it. That’s when I decided on being up before 5. I didn’t have all day… my daughter had school…I had work…

So when I drove the wet streets to my polling place at a quarter to 6 (I had to put on my make-up), you could imagine my surprise when the polling workers weren’t even there yet. HA! Look at that…I knew I would be okay! It wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought here…

“You’re so early!” One of the pollers told me when they finally did start showing up, one by one. “Here, come in and sit in here and have a seat. Let’s get you in out of the rain.” I was allowed to sit in a pew bench in the fellowship hall of a church while the they continued to set up and swear in.

Thirty minutes later a couple walked in. “Darn it! I’m not the first one!” the woman says to her husband. They sat on the pew next to me and slowly the voters began to trickle in. By the time the polls opened (which, at 7 a.m. I had to remind the workers that they should be open by now) there was a winding line of 40 plus people. Okay, maybe they were right… and maybe it was a good idea to get up before 5, because I got to officially sign off that there had been no ballots cast yet. What a prize. I felt so official as I headed home. As the sun came out later in the morning, I briefly thought about how this is a historical time for the country and for me… and I officially signed off on it.

Hold Up Wait A Minute Let Me Put Some Truth In It

Earlier this week, Rachel Maddow brought on one of George W. Bush’s former speechwriters, David Frum. She asks him about his take on Republicans not taking politics seriously and not addressing the pressing issues of the people, and he in turn attacks her for the same. Hunh? So let’s back up for a second.

Earlier in the show, Maddow revisits, Palin’s attempt at hypnosis by repeatedly stating how happy she is to be cleared of all legal and ethical wrong doing. So Maddow, pulling a quote from a Black cheer squad, says, “Hold up, wait a minute, let me put some TRUTH in it.” And goes on to explain that the Troopergate Report clearly states (along with several headlines in newspapers) that Palin has been found GUILTY of abusing her power – i.e. being unethical. And despite the fact that reporters are pointing this little factoid out in Palin’s face and in front of camera and microphone, Palin smiles her mystic smile and states that she is happy that the report has cleared her of any wrongdoing. Then Maddow calls her a flat out LIAR – even though such a thing is impolite in politics.

Fast forward. What David Frum has accused Maddow of, is not taking politics with a heavy dose of starch, and quotes Mahatma Ghandi by telling her, “We must be the change we say we want to see.” The way Maddow reports the news is full of cynicism and humor, which was apparently not grown up enough for Frum, who sounded like he was waiting to pick a fight with her. But does Maddow back down and apologize for ruffling his feathers like a polite show host? Heck naw! She, instead, asks him if he is doing what she think he’s doing (which he never denies) and then points out the various tastes and methods of absorption for politics for American people.

He insists that she is being hypocritical and continues to accuse her of blaspheming politics…I guess…, and she smiles her pearly Maddow smile and says, “I couldn’t disagree with you more.” Then she graciously thanks him for being on the show sends him on his bitter way.

That’s just one example.

Oprah Winfrey Begs You to Push The PROTECT Our Children Act to Save Children From Sexual Abuse Which She, I and Possibly YOU Suffered as Kids

I'm sick of all the nasty-ass pluckers in this country and on this planet! Are YOU?

All pedophiles should be castrated and banished to life on Death Row ! Harsh? I think not. They should be chained forever to cement slabs in black holes. Even if they were sexually abused, they should still be imprisoned—for life. I’m sorry, but they simply cannot be allowed to keep hurting our babies. Lock their demented asses the pluck up! The torture, murder and sexual exploitation of children is as a cancerous growth upon humanity. It MUST be utterly wiped out.
It was bad when I was a child, but now with the Internet it has become hideously easy for monsters to gain access to our children. It's time for a CHANGE all right!

Oprah says it best:




I was first touched in a sexual way was when I was three. The individual who first molested my younger sister and me was our aunt. She was a big, fat- funky-moo-moo-wearing misfit. Her house always smelled of reused cooking grease and pork. She got her kicks from sitting on her bathroom floor in front of me while I used the bathroom. She liked to ask me strange questions about my anatomy and poke her greasy sausage of an index finger into my tiny vagina. It hurt, burned kind of.


“What’s that,” she asked tapping just below my chin.

“That’s my neck,” the 3-year old me replied.

“What’s that?” She pinched a tiny baby-nipple.

“Chesss,” I answered.

“What’s that?” The tip of her index finger entered my navel.

“That’s my bell-wee button,” I answered. Her piggishly plump hand moved lower.

“And looky here. What’s that?” She smiled.

“That’s the hole Doctor gave me,” I reported, wincing a bit.


If parents truly want to honor the responsibility to protect their children they must realize that the threat of molestation to their children is ever present. Molestation is potentially body, mind and soul crushing to children. Single mothers need to be exceptionally vigilant about this. Many pedophiles forge relationships with single mothers in order to gain easy access to children.


Sexual abuse as a child potentially affects a person throughout life, diminishing the ability to build positive relationships with friends, family members, spouses and children. When sexual abuse is continual /episodic, the physical, psychological and spiritual damage can be exponentially worse. My sister and I were molested later in our childhoods by one of my mother’s boyfriends. He liked to leave my mother’s bed at night and slither into our room to finger 9 and 11 year old girls who protested through their sleep. Pig!


Girls molested, as children often become victims in their teen-aged years and as young adults. I was a 15-year-old virgin when a 24-year-old man raped me. I begged him to stop, but the dog pressed on saying, “Come on Baby. Don’t you want to learn?”


I did learn a lot from him though...


I learned never to trust anyone to put his or her hands on me and never to feel safe or secure in my own skin. I learned how to grapple with unending, heart pulverizing hurt, anger and fear that often erupted into tumultuous tantrums and self-destruction as a teenager. I learned to use sex and alcohol to anesthetize my pain. I learned what truly vile wickedness lurks in the hearts, hands and minds of many dirty men—and filthy women. I learned to allow myself to endure friendships with people who lied, used, manipulated me and used my need for connection, worth and affection as a weapon against me. I learned how to take it on the chin and in the ass while smiling---I learned how to live a dying-life that drove me to attempt suicide at 17.


My life as an adult has had to be a successions of “un-learning” in order to grow and live a life free from some of the pain. I’ve had to choose healing, empowerment and validation over the pain of my past. Still, I will likely need to manage the effects of sexual trauma for the rest of my life. What pains me most now is that so many children are suffering, being molested, raped and tortured in our country which has GREAT ability to do something to stop this!


Today the government website used to communicate with Congress regarding the financial mess that our country is in was shut down to keep the system from crashing under the weight and volume of messages sent by Americans regarding the Dow Jones. Well, how about sending just as many messages to save little Johnny and/or Jenny Jones, children that need our help to protect and save them from TORTURE in America. Let’s bail our kids out people!


Oprah recently sent out the following message urging us all to do SOMETHING to stop the sexual molestation of children. Please read it and take the few moments needed to save our babies. Oprah sent the following:

The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

· Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
· Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
· Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

Act Now!

U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon. It is crucial you contact them immediately.Visit www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senators in your state. Please call, write or e-mail your senators ASAP!


Hallelujah Harris!

Focus on the Effort the Results Will Come

People will tell you all day long that you have to always pursue your dreams. Not the haters. Not the ones who have dastardly crushed their own dreams to unrecognizable debris. You can’t count on them to support you with in a dinner party, least known the very event that may define, or partially define, who you are. As a matter of fact, just steer clear of them altogether. They are poisonous, dream killers.

The people I’m talking about are the ones who toss around clichés like they are confetti. You know, “Keep your head up.” And, “Shoot for the moon, if you miss you’ll at least be among the stars.” Oh, and then there’s my daughters favorite, “Dance like no one’s watching.”

Of course these little proverbs are clever and at times inspiring (at least in the moment), but have you ever thought about those people who pursue their dreams doggedly, but who never seem to get a break? I’m sure you know at least one. We all know one. Like your 37 year old cousin who is still trying to be a rapper. So many people have told him to knock it off, go get a real job so he can support his three kids… well actually…I’m not talking about him either, but I think you get my point.

I wanted to find out about those people. Have you ever seen one actually get what they seemed to have been denied of for years, and after working so very hard to get it, do they still have the stamina to enjoy it and maintain it? I can’t possibly see how a person who gets the sudden break they’ve been after, can’t keep it together enough to enjoy the “fruit of their labor” (ha ha – another cliché for you), since every step they’ve taken before the break was supposed to prepare them for the opportunity.

I’ve pondered this recently for fear of my own ambition being swallowed by the energy I’ve put out and all of the doors that slam into my face. It hurts, I recover, and I keep knocking on others. Thinking this over, I can see how dreams might get strangled to death and how the effects could lull a dream to eternal rest.

Perhaps it was the YouTube video I saw of Phyllis Hyman speaking candidly about the music business that brought me to this train of thought. I heard her speak with a sadness I hadn’t expected for an interview. I also saw her ball her big eyes out at a performance in Japan while singing a song a friend of hers, who had then recently passed away, wrote for her.

I brought up Phyllis only as an idea of the origin of this rabbit hole I’ve just scampered down, not as a way to justify abandoned pursuits or explain the end results of hard sought after results.

Someone once told me a few years ago, that in my pursuit of happiness, I needed to, “focus on the effort and not the results…because eventually, the results will come.” I guess then I can bend over, put my hands on my knees and catch my breath.

By Rogue Tantrums

All Black African American Citizens Are to Be Banned From Voting in 2008 Presidential Election; Those Attempting to Vote Will Be Jailed and/or Shot

(READ the entire message before reacting...THANX)

ATTENTION:

Effective IMMEDIATELY: In the United States of America, individuals guilty of having African American heritage are to be completely stripped of their civil and voting rights, regardless of any previous mandates, acts or constitutional amendments. No, African American citizen may protest this new and orderly law. Loss of civil rights takes away not only the right to vote, but also the right to hold public office, serve on a jury, and qualify for certain types of state licenses necessary for many jobs, such as those in the construction and medical fields. Any African American citizen found attempting to vote will be arrested, jailed, fined and taken out back ...

Yes, this means YOU!

###

Calm down. That "bulletin" was just to get your attention BEFORE you allow your voting rights to be "purged"! (Follow me GOOSE!) If the above "bulletin" was in fact true, millions upon millions of Blacks would be all up in arms, marching and chanting through the streets. There would be riots, boycotts and protests en masse (I guess). It often seems that people only care about their rights when someone denies them their rights.

What is sad today is that no one has to deny Black people their right to vote. 32% of African Americans are willingly denying themselves the right to vote. They feel powerless, but the only reason that they are powerless is because they believe that they are. In this historic time when we have an African American man running for President of the United States and a white woman running for Vice President, every American woman and man of every race in this country must vote. It's time to wake up!


In 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. Black people saw it as a major win in the fight to be recognized as full citizens of this country. The next challenge was to get folks registered and voting. Back in the day Blacks were righteously defensive and proud to have gained the right to vote. They knew that many of us had sacrificed our lives for that right and we would be literally damned if we were not going to exercise that right. Countless Black men, women and even people of other races fought and died for us to win the right to vote. Black churches in the south and across America spearheaded major voter registration drives on a regular basis. They recognized the power of the vote. Can we say that this is true today?

"In 2004, African Americans made up

approximately 11 percent of the overall vote nationwide. If the percentage of African Americans was a mere two-and-a-half percent higher at 13-and-a-half percent, Democrats would currently be running for re-election at this time," he said. "For example in the state of Ohio in 2004, we lost by two percent or 100,000 votes. There were 270,000 unregistered African Americans. I use that as an illustration to show how the African American vote can make the difference in a state and across this country. So the African American vote can absolutely make the difference in this election.''

All right, so anyone conscious enough to be reading this blog hopefully has enough sense to where (s)he does not need to be convinced of the imperative significance of exercising her or his right and RESPONSIBILITY to vote. That's right! Voting is your responsibility---as much as many of us grimace and whine at the mere sound of that word.

Again, brave people died so that you and I could participate in our own political system. The very least we can all do is get up off of our entitled (yeah!) asses and vote. Surely the past 7 years of ill-fated-unwinnable WAR have taught our generation that we can afford no apathy in regards to the United States presidency. Almost 4,000 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqi's--including children have died--SCRATCH!--have been KILLED since 'he' was selected--not elected as President of the United States of America.

Amazingly 8 million Blacks are still not registered to vote! What's even more shocking and not well known among the masses is that quite a few people who 'think' they are registered to vote, are not. Do you think that you are registered? You may be surprised to find out that you are not. It would be better for you to check and make sure that you are registered now than to wait until election day and be turned away.

You see, the elections of 2000, 2002, and 2004 were STOLEN through dozens of dirty tricks - before, during, and after Election Day - to make sure that our votes did not count. MyDem.org was created to give voters the tools we need to make sure our votes count - so 'they' never steal another election! In 2000, Florida illegally purged 57,000 voters - mostly Democrats and Blacks. Please visit the site to find out if you are REALLY registered to vote and have not been canceled, purged or otherwise robbed of your right to vote in the next election.

It is also a good idea to make a copy of your completed, filed registration--just in case you need it a the polls. Over cautious? Maybe, but if you speak to individuals who were denied their right to vote in the Bush - Gore fiasco you will view our "democratic" process a bit more closely and guard your right to vote with a bit more diligence. Dirty tricks and strategies were used before and with the stakes as high as they are this time, you can be sure the snakes are slithering under foot and under every poll.

We must vote if there is to be any hope for the future. I am not telling anyone who or what to vote for. I'm just urging you to take the time to familiarize yourself with the process and your place in it. I am asking you to weigh the issues and realize that neither candidate is all right or all wrong. It is a complex, multi-faceted decision you are being called to make, but that's why only grown ups get to vote. Everyone must participate including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Italian Americans, Irish Americans, and Jewish Americans--ALL AMERICANS.

Did you know that one of the first things they strip from an American citizen when (s)he is imprisoned for a felony is his/her right to vote? In order to restore those rights, a person with a past felony conviction must apply for Restoration of Civil Rights (RCR). If your rights have been stripped, take them back NOW! (Unless you live in Florida where nearly one in three African-American men cannot vote because of a racist ban that Floridians placed within their state constitution to restrict the voting rights of newly freed slaves.). Can you believe that? Talk about the disempowerment and disenfranchisement of our people! Maybe we should be out protesting after all, huh?


Your right to vote is precious. It is POWERFUL! In fact, "they" did not want to give it to women and Blacks in the first place and they cannot wait for an excuse to take it back. They know what we could do if we fully exercised that power. And 'they' love the fact that so many minorities and women fail to vote during so many elections. When everyone gets up, gets out and starts voting as eagerly as they get out to see the next box office draw, new video game or gadget, that is when things in this country will begin to change. Am I just spittin in the damned wind here?

If you refuse to register to vote and VOTE on election day--shut up when the new president takes office, steals your hard earned money to fund bogus wars while shoveling your children into the war machine like oily meat for blood-burger. Shut up about abortion and life. Shut up about gay marriage. Shut up about the ERA and women being paid equal pay for equal work. Shut up about stem cell research. Shut up about Affirmative Action. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

And you know who you are, sitting there reading this blog with that smug look on your sorry unregistered face as if this is not directed at you. I am talking to YOU! Now go and get registered--then VOTE!

Are you still here reading while unregistered?!

What are you afraid of? It is easier than you imagine registering to vote and the feeling that you get from within yourself when you register and ultimately vote is so flippin hott--sexy even. Here are some other resources that might help if you have any questions about how you can register to vote:

Registering to Vote and Voting: USA.gov

Rock the Vote
Declare Yourself!

Unfortunately, far too many African Americans do not seem to realize the power of voting rights in a democracy. As a result, millions of African Americans still do not participate in the political process. And we wonder why we are met with such apathy and maltreatment after something such as Hurricane Katrina. The powers that be ignore us because so many of us ignore and neglect to use one of the greatest powers granted to members of a democracy.

Voting is an essential right of humanity that our fathers and mothers laid down their lives to win for us. You see, they realized that voting is about having a voice in the society in which one lives. It's about having the power to effect change. It's about respecting yourself and gaining the respect of those who are or aspire to be public servants. It says, "Serve me...Serve me and I'll vote for you. Desert me and I'll cut you loose."

Voting is the first very vital step in gaining equal opportunity to have life, liberty and to pursue happiness in these Unites States. It empowers us to have the best schools for our children. It brings jobs and justice to our communities. It brings swift aid to our communities in a disaster. It delivers unto us law enforcement and judges who will treat us with respect, dignity and fairness. Voting makes a man or woman stand tall. If you want to really get in touch with your sense of personal and global importance, register and vote in the next election. That’s power--more POWER to the people!

--Hallelujah Harris!

On Election Night, join a

BlueRevolution.us candlelight vigil

at your County Election Office to make sure they Count Every Vote - and wear blue!

PollworkersForDemocracy

puts you to work on Election Day as an official volunteer or paid worker

at a polling place near you.

VideoTheVote.org

needs video volunteers to visit polling places on Election Day

to film voter disenfranchisement - and upload it to the Internet immediately

so citizens can demand action.

Widespread Rape and Death vs. 2008 Olympics

By Rogue Tantrums

I received an email last week reminding me that in Darfur, when men leave the refugee camps to collect firewood, they are either killed or captured, so it is up to the women to go out instead who often become victims of a targeted campaign of rape – a weapon of genocide, encouraged by the Sudanese government.

When someone asks me if I’ve been watching the Olympics, I usually just say no. Or state that it bores me. Which it really has from the tiny bit that I have seen. But the reality is, it is very VERY hard for me to become consumed as a meaningless spectator to competitions that are taking place on the very soil that sponsors a brutal government I’m an activist against.

This is what I have come to learn, China, is a very self absorbed country. Not it’s people, but it’s government. When it comes to ethics, the only thing that China is looking out for is it’s production and invariably it’s wallet. The country does not even look out for the well being of it’s own people, least known, the people of Sudan… the men who are killed, the children who lose their parents, the women who are raped and tortured by means of China’s support and financing.

Will China ever care about the people of Darfur? Never. So all of this begging I see from different organizations for the Chinese government to see the error of their ways will be for naught! The only way to effect China is to grab China by the balls – it’s money.

I’m only one person…. I can’t do much, but I’m boycotting all things made in China – which it seems is almost everything. And I’m also boycotting all Olympic sponsors, which includes, Coca-Cola; Johnson & Johnson; Kodak; Mc Donald’s, Visa; Samsung; Omega; Adidas; UPS; Snickers; and Staples.

Feel free to join me. Somebody’s gotta do something!

People Just LOVE to Judge!

It's TRUE! People just LOVE to judge and the main ones are the ones who really have no business parting their crusty lips from glass houses to toss words and sticks and stones at any-dang-body. Those are theee worst, aren't they?

Recently I came across a very engaging discourse on a topic, which invariably has and always will cause people to contribute a myriad of thoughts, opinions, insights and perspectives; a.k.a. JUDGEMENTS. The topic is Unwed Motherhood. People really like to chime in on that one, don’t they? Few are easier to pick on than she is. If we add Black African America unwed motherhood, that’s even HOTTER. And Lord please do NOT let her be a Black African American unwed TEENAGED mother. Oh the stake really gets piled high then. Don’t it y’all?

Well, before the saints strike their matches and get to marchin in, I would like to offer that I have been a Black African American unwed teen-aged mother of one, a married mother of three and ultimately have been the divorced single parent of three for the past 15 years. Yes, my arse is hot! But not like some think. I have most assuredly been burned in the bed I made and I’ve paid and paid, but never quite got to play.

There are definitely hard Life Lessons to learn for a female faced with the experience of having a child out of wedlock and/or marrying a man, but ultimately ending up as a single parent. It is a hard Lesson, but it must be learned if women are to grow from the experience and teach our daughters and other young women following behind us so that they will not have to repeat our mistakes. Some learn. Some do not. I hope my words will help some sista somewhere learn something that will help her have just a lil less mess to bear.

What have I learned?

Life is not fair and if you want to make the odds at all better for yourself and any children you bring into this world think with your mind and not with your heart or your hot & bothered "woman-part".

Males will pledge to love you one day--and maybe they do, but like the wind, that "love" can change, rearrange and even dissipate altogether. It happens all the time. What then do you do if you do not already love yourself? You suffer. Your children suffer…everyone around you suffers until you finally GET IT!

Sadly, some poor sistas die never having ever quite learned the Lesson of this experience. They wait and wait, thinking that somehow the tables will turn. They fail to realize that life is NOT fair. People could walk all over you and misuse you all of your life…then you could just die. That would be that. Lessons:

* Do not count on people.

* Love yourself!

* All else falls into place behind SELF-LOVE.

* Look to God to “save” you—not human beings.

Never depend on a man or any other human being to be your savior as you shall be surely LOST if you do. Do you really think that every other woman on the planet did not feel that her love and her man was "different" and would last for-proverbial-ever? The Bible tells us that a man (human being) will fail us EVERY TIME! I do believe that is true.

* People will never fail to fail you.

There’s no need to be bitter or angry about the fact that people will fail you. Just except it and move on. The most important thing is that you are true to yourself and that you never let yourself down. To thine own self be true...and then the failure of others will not undo YOU.

I met my ex in high school. He was, I thought, my best friend. He was dirt poor, skinny, not at all sexy, argumentative and quite homely. But I did love him and he professed to love me. He promised that he would love me forever and love my daughter like she was his own. After many proposals, promises and professions I finally married him.

* Never marry an immature, unattractive, insecure person with inner demons and issues.

You know the history, right? If not go back and read, “Aw, Baby--Every Man Gotta Get Him a lil Somethin-Somethin!”

Revelation: People lie. Or they think they can be better and do better than they actually have the capacity to do. Perhaps they try, but they just cannot be the ideal that in their heart they want to be or at least know that they should be. I sincerely believe that my ex wanted to be a good husband and a good father, but he just did not have the character, the strength, the maturity or the decency and morals to pull it off. I, like many young women believed what I wanted to believe though. I paid for that--what's worse is that my daughter and my sons paid for that too. Still, up from the dust I rise. We rise. YOU rise!

* People will never fail to fail you.

So what’s a girl to do? You must sit with yourself and God. See yourself as the unique, precious reflection of God’s Divinity expressed on earth. Know that you are more than the sum of all your parts. Seek support, good counsel and a friendly shoulder when needed. Know that no man or woman can detract from your essential GREATNESS. This is the only way you can fulfill God, the Creator’s Purpose for your life. This is the only way to truly be a BLESSING to others.

* YOU and GOD are ALL You Ever Really Need

Still, if people are not letting you down one way or kicking you down another, they are judging you. People LOVE to judge and it starts from the moment we are conceived.
Children are innocent. They are not “legitimate” or “illegitimate”. They are our Legacy and we must sow seeds of GREATNESS into each and every one of them regardless of how they came to be. We let them down before they are ever born if we label them and cast aspersions upon their worth before they are ever born. We fail them. We miss the mark. That's a sin and a shame but...I guess it's well we learn early-

* People will never fail to fail you!


---Hallelujah Harris