Political newcomer Rick Scott has upset the Florida Republican Party with his victory over veteran politician Bill McCollum. Scott spent $30 million of his own money in this race and it’s likely the pattern will continue as he meets Democrat Alex Sink in November.
Scott flooded the media with negative campaign ads against McCollum and made no secret of his anti-Obama sentiments. There is still something very wrong with spending obscene amounts of money on political campaigns but that is what our election system has become with the roll back of campaign finance restrictions.
In another hotly contested race, Kendrick Meek easily won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate over billionaire Jeff Greene who like Rick Scott spent millions in personal funds for his campaign. Meek will face Republican Marco Rubio and Independent Charlie Crist.
The weeks leading up to the General Election will be more than interesting. Keep an eye on Florida.
This is a wild and crazy year in politics throughout the United States and I have jumped in the frying pan with several folks on a local level here in Miami but I am not the subject of this post. You must and I mean must check out one of the hottest races around which is the Florida U.S. Senate race.
Scrappy rivals surprised Gov. Charlie Crist, an early sure winner as the Republican nominee and Congressman Kendrick Meek, the early Democrat nominee. Former Florida Speaker of the House Marco Rubio gained so much momentum in the GOP race that Crist is now running as an Independent. Meek, poised to become the first black U.S. Senator from Florida, now faces strong competition from wealthy businessman Jeff Greene.
Meek and Greene recently sat down for a debate in Palm Beach County. If that debate is any indication of how the rest of this race will be run; get ready for fireworks. As a side note, political newcomer, Rick Scott has shocked the Republican power base by moving ahead of political veteran Bill McCollum in the GOP race for Florida Governor.
To add to the mayhem, Democrat Alex Sink finds herself in a race with the namesake of a very popular former Florida governor, Lawton Chiles. Insert deep sigh here.
The ascendency of Scott and Greene beg at least two questions: Are voters so dissatisfied with career politicians that they will elect newcomers? Are political seats being “bought” by wealthy newcomers? Think on that.
The story of the loose lips of Gen. Stanley McChrystal has dominated much of the news today. Even as the United States soccer team advanced to Round 2 in the FIFA World Cup and more oil spews into the Gulf of Mexico, the bad judgment and disrespect of President Obama, Vice President Biden and other leaders was the last straw in the brilliant military career of McChrystal.
Michael Hastings's coverage of the General in Rolling Stone, sparked tremendous controversy leading to his demise. Wow. Did he and his staff really NOT think their antics would be published? Did they really believe their own hype? The article reads like another bad move of speaking casually in front of an open mic ---only worse.
I think the reality of the McChrystal debacle is that it takes a rare person to ascend to the rank of General and then to command such an important military operation. Knowing that is what makes the article surprising in some parts. The sophomoric comments of Gen. McChrystal and his team merely prove that some folks never really grow up.
President Obama had few choices but to can McChrystal or accept his resignation. McChrystal walks away, embarrassed and perhaps a little relieved. He probably develops a following, writes a book about the incident and perhaps ends up on television as a commentator.
Of more concern is how Michael Hastings, a reporter, was allowed that much access to Gen. McChrystal in the first place.
Here's a video from the TED site. I love visiting that site. The videos and talks are so thought-provoking and informative; I highly recommend it.
This particular video is about educating the poor in India. It would seem that many of the principles mentioned in the video could be incorporated in our public education curriculum. I'm not an educator but I highly suspect that effective teachers are already putting these principles into practice.
The word "Parikrma" implies a full revolution, a complete path around -- and Shukla Bose's Parikrma Humanity Foundation offers literally that to kids in poor urban areas around Bangalore. Parikrma's four Schools of Hope teach the full, standard Indian curriculum to children who might not otherwise see the inside of a classroom, with impressive results. Equally important, the schools build an "end-to-end" environment that supports learning -- offering lunch every day, health-care and family support. Beyond these schools, Parikrma has inaugurated several afterschool programs and has plans for setting up a central teacher-training hub.
Bose left behind a corporate career in 1992 to found Parikrma with a small group of friends. The nonprofit holds itself to formal business goals and strict accountability, and has developed some clever fundraising and marketing campaigns. As Bose puts it, the goal of Parikrma is to help build a better India by tapping its greatest strength: the vitality and potential of its people.
"Education of children is at the core of our aim to transform poor communities into self-sustaining, contributing communities. " ~ Shukla Bose
When I was small child, thought too young to pay attention to grown folks' conversation, I recall older folks talking about the sins of buying things on credit. Yeah, neither a borrower nor a lender be. Who knew a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet would be so profound?
Lenders have tightened the rules on loaning money thus forcing Americans to live within their means. The years of greed are gone for most of us and the bloodletting hasn't ceased.
As employers continue layoffs and families continue to tighten their belts, more fiscal challenges await.
When all is said and done, we must and will overcome this fiscal challenge the same way we've done in the past. No time for whining. We just have to do what we have to do. Changing our lifestyle won't be easy but it is necessary.
n the heels of the lightly attended over-hyped "Tea Party Convention" in Nashville, progressives are preparing to respond with a movement of their own. The "Brownbaggers" will be showing up in front of Congressional offices to demand "healthcare not warfare."
According to a press release from AfterDowningStreet.org: "On February 17th, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) will be joined by CODEPINK, AfterDowningStreet, Democrats.com, the California Nurses Assn./National Nurses United, and United for Peace and Justice in holding brownbag vigils outside (or inside) at least 36 Congress members' offices.
Brownbaggers are demanding commitments to vote against more money for war. Slogans on their posters include: "Healthcare NOT Warfare," "Corporations out of Politics," "Bailout Main Street not Wall Street" and "Brownbaggers not Teabaggers."
PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter said, "We have to choose between jobs and wars. The American people are on one side, but our so-called representatives in Congress are on the other. The Supreme Court is busy increasing corporate control of our elected officials. We need to be busy enforcing the people's control before it is too late."
Carpenter was, of course, referring to the recent Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to pour unlimited resources into elections. The decision has caused a firestorm in political circles. For the first time corporations are getting constitutional protections previously reserved for individuals. The result further solidifies corporate control of the political process.
While many on the right, including Teabaggers, are alarmed by the decision, the Supreme Court's right-wing justices made the move following pressure from conservatives who have always represented corporate interests. While many on the left are calling for action to reverse the decision, the Brownbaggers may be the first step towards building a movement that counters the right-wing's successful campaign to change the political dialogue in the country.
Following the election of Barack Obama, many progressives were driven into a false sense of security. They felt that the country had moved left of center, and they could sit back and watch the Obama administration deliver on their agenda.
The problem was they miscalculated how strong the backlash against Obama would be. Last August the Teabaggers surfaced and changed the debate around health care. The Teabaggers, emboldened by their success in garnering national attention, expanded their efforts and increased their focus. Many would say they have not had the impact that the media has given them credit for, but the fact remains that they have impacted the political dialogue.
With every movement there is always a counter-movement. It remains to be seen whether the Brownbaggers can push the pendulum back in the other direction, but clearly the time for a response is long overdue.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is under fire big time for saying that Barack Obama could be president because he is light-skinned and doesn't speak with a Negro dialect unless he has to. Those comments were made in either 2006 or 2007; the timeline is in dispute and that's not really important in this situation. What is clear is that Reid unwisely voiced points that were thought by many. Except for that antiquated 'Negro' terminology, Senator Reid made the same assessment a lot of whites probably made and some blacks also; let's not kid ourselves.
To be politically attractive, candidates are advised to look and speak a certain way. Candidate Barack Obama fit that mold and his Ivy League education sealed the deal. Am I a Harry Reid fan? No but I'm not hating on him either. I also don't think his comments were nearly as racially-charged as Trent Lott's 'Dixiecrat' comment, that 'Barack the Magic Negro' song and controversial comments by others.
The GOP is attempting to keep this topic in the media by claiming 'double standard' in the treatment of Republicans who have made racial comments compared to Democrats who do the same. Should Harry Reid resign? No. Is Harry Reid a racist? I don't know. Is he out-of-touch? Absolutely --- as are the folks over at the Census Bureau.
Remarks of President Barack Obama -- As Prepared for Delivery United States Military Academy at West Point December 1, 2009
Good evening. To the United States Corps of Cadets, to the men and women of our armed services, and to my fellow Americans: I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan – the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my Administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion. It is an honor for me to do so here – at West Point – where so many men and women have prepared to stand up for our security, and to represent what is finest about our country.
To address these issues, it is important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war in Afghanistan in the first place. We did not ask for this fight. On September 11, 2001, nineteen men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3,000 people. They struck at our military and economic nerve centers. They took the lives of innocent men, women, and children without regard to their faith or race or station. Were it not for the heroic actions of the passengers on board one of those flights, they could have also struck at one of the great symbols of our democracy in Washington, and killed many more.
Today is December1, World AIDS Day. It's estimated that 33 million people are living with AIDS. Some have not been tested and don't know know they are infected while others, especially in developing countries, don't have access to life-saving treatment.
Far too many people around the world are still dying from HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS can be treated and prevented. Know your HIV/AIDS status. Get tested.
HIV is a virus that damages human immune cells. It weakens the immune system and, without treatment, leads most infected people to develop AIDS.
Like all viruses, HIV infects the cells of a living organism in order to make new copies of itself. HIV can only be transmitted in certain ways and the purpose of this page is to explain how you can and can’t become infected.
HIV is found in blood and other body fluids such as semen and vaginal fluids. It cannot live for long outside the body, so to be infected with HIV you need to allow some body fluid from an infected person to get inside your body. The virus can enter the body via contact with the bloodstream or by passing through delicate mucous membranes, such as inside the vagina, rectum or urethra.
The most common ways that people become infected with HIV are:
having sexual intercourse with an infected partner.
injecting drugs using a needle or syringe that has been used by someone who is infected.
as a baby of an infected mother, during pregnancy, labour or delivery, or through breastfeeding.
Treatment costs around 40 cents a day.
The results are nothing short of miraculous.
Someone on death's door can be brought back to life. In as little as 90 days.
This transformation is called the Lazarus Effect.
A new documentary called The Lazarus Effect, will be coming this Spring to HBO. Click here to find out more.
WORLD AIDS DAY
Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 million children. During 2008 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.
The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
You Are a Delight
You are easy to get along with and easy to be with, but you're definitely not a doormat.
You'll cheerfully ask for what you want, and you're almost always ready to compromise.
You are comfortable speaking your mind, and you're also willing to admit you may not be right.
You know how to work well with others. You can bend in the wind, but you don't break.
n the heels of the lightly attended over-hyped "Tea Party Convention" in Nashville, progressives are preparing to respond with a movement of their own. The "Brownbaggers" will be showing up in front of Congressional offices to demand "healthcare not warfare."
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