Random Wisdom

Perhaps if death is kind, and there can be returning,
We will come back to earth some fragrant night,
And take these lanes to find the sea, and bending
Breathe the same honeysuckle, low and white.

We will come down at night to these resounding beaches
And the long gentle thunder of the sea,
Here for a single hour in the wide starlight
We shall be happy, for the dead are free.


* If Death is Kind, by Sara Teasdale

Mr. President

For more than 200 years of America’s history, the office of the President had always passed from white hands to white hands, until this moment that not many people thought would see. Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America, and that in itself is a story which will take a little while to sink in.
Rightfully, he acknowledged that he is “humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.” Every word in his speech carefully crafted to resonate across racial, religious and international lines. He spoke to more than just the rest of us overwhelmingly humbled by the entire image, but the millions more that will see this day as a turning point in American and world history.

In his own words, “our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred,” he said. “Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”
This is America, and a rebirth of hope in a country which promised a pursuit of our own happiness, if only we are committed to making the right choices and doing the work necessary. He was somber, optimistic and definitely no-nonsense (my personal favorite); so now the journey begins.

God Bless President Barack Obama, God Bless America and God Bless us All.

Dreaming with the King

For everyone one of us fortunate to witness a historic turn in American history and truly global event, many more never thought January 20, 2009 will be what is has become. Forty-five years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. idea was a dream. It was a hope, laden with promise and optimism that just in case America decided to embrace the genuine meaning of “all men were created equal”, all of us will get a fair shot at out dreams.
In 24 hours, a fraction of the dream would have come to fruition and as the rest of us stand back in awe, humbled by one man’s journey. The world will watch a moment most of us never imagined to see in our lifetime, and the doubt and uncertainty etched into the minds of many of us gave us good reasons to.

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, and with Barack Obama’s meteoric rise to lead a generation, it is only fitting to reevaluate our own dreams and impact our world from wherever we are. The next 24 hours will be a solemn reflection on an "impossible journey" and a celebration of the remarkable page in American history.
A new day is born, filled with new hopes for a country and a world, and in Barack’s own words “this is our time, and this is our moment.”

Flight 1549

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the passengers on the US Airways flight are not the only people with a sigh of relief. Me too, and 155 families across America.
For an event straight out of any of Tom Cruise’s movie, someone ought to give Mr. Sullenberger a raise. I know about the recession freezes and all the corporate reductions in variable costs, but for the sake of the families who would have wailing today, and the rest of is whose Inauguration weekend would have been messed up, give the guy some cash.

Of course pilots are trained for emergency landings and to prepare for the unexpected. It is no different from a quarterback who has trained all his life for a football game, but even Tom Brady throws an interception. My analogy may be off the mark, but you get my point. Don’t take exploits for granted. He was forced to make an emergency landing after geese were sucked into one or both of the jet's engines. Where the heck did the geese come from?
Ever since the crash-landed into the Hudson River yesterday afternoon, everyone is praising the actions and courage of the pilot; that is to be expected. I say give the man a cut of the $350 billion bailout money. Sounds unreasonable? He saved 155 lives, perhaps not as much as Ford and GM saved.
He restored my faith in US Airways, and for that we all owe him. Welcome to the Heroes Club Mr. Sullenberger.

The Final Goodbye

Let me be first to admit that I will miss President George W. Bush. One thing is certain that for the next seven days, a majority of Americans will be bashing Bush for the last time and counting the seconds to his final exit.
Trust me George Bush can’t wait for January 21 to wake up and don’t have to listen to all the reporters and having to deal with real issues about Americas failed market system. I watched him last night on Larry King Live, in what could probably be his last interview, and it was a mixture of semi ‘quasi-remorse’, honest evaluations and the quintessential clueless guy who occasionally don’t seem to get it. But all that is what makes President Bush the guy some of us will miss, for different reasons anyway.

If anything stained the Bush years, the September 11 attacks, the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the tumultuous economic recession will be top of the list. All that said, he is adamant that he swore to do his best for the country and he did just that. How do you blame him? He gave his best, who am I to question what his “best” is? The logical conflict occurs when most Americans (and the Iraqi shoe thrower) hold President Bush to an individual ‘ideal’ standard.
Give the man a little credit, the job is not exactly the easiest gig, and all of us will have to swallow our dissatisfaction, disappointment or even disdain, and let history be the judge. You can bash Bush all you want but in seven days, he will only be in your rear view mirror. I am not in the legacy business, so I won’t be too quick to defining George Bush’s legacy as the president, but he was a very funny guy, and that I will miss.

I am often a pretty good image consultant, but I still haven’t figured out a way for President Bush to begin his damage control. I particularly don’t assume that fading away will be the best exit strategy. Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein will live in history books alongside an image of a grinning George Bush, and that is an obvious cause for concern for anyone. The Bush legacy will be tarnished on many sides, and the laundry list of problems he leaves behind will make Obama look like a genius regardless of how dreary the next four years get.

Just when his interview with Larry King was going well, the tricky question popped up. ‘Will we ever find Bin Laden?” Bush said “yes, and we have a lot of people looking for him.” That is where I changed channels to watch my favorite body-shaper infomercial. I still think George Bush is neither a bad guy nor necessarily dishonest, experts will argue that his problem is often caused by overconfidence, bad information or a certain brand of arrogance. That is the part of George w. Bush I probably won’t miss much.

Just a random thought.

Chilling like a Villain

I promised myself I won’t be wasting precious time and energy blogging about Bernie Madoff, but the more I try to ignore it, the more appalling the story gets. A man steals $50-billion from investors and sits in his castle chilling and worried about the loss of his rich privileges. Wait a minute, what part of Mexico do we live in? (The use of Mexico here is a metaphor, no pun intended).

What is a corrupt world coming to? Madoff will be allowed to remain free on bail for now at least, and the only reason for this is some loophole in the justice system. In the same city that Madoff screwed his clients for million of dollars, a 21year old is serving 5 to 10 years in jail for stealing $58 from a convenience store. Rich Bernie of the other hand is chilling under house arrest in his $7-million Manhattan Penthouse apartment “awaiting trial”. Now that is what I call ‘living the American dream’ even in a crime.
The muddy part of the story is that Bernie Madoff confessed to masterminding the $50-billion Ponzi scheme a month ago. What is there to figure out? Of course I don’t have any idea how it feels like to lose billion of dollars, but thanks for Madoff I know how to protect my billions in the very near future. Some of his victims have committed suicide, mostly out of the shock of loss. I hate to be insensitive, but if I lost 500million (hypothetically speaking) and left with 200million, I wont be “cashing my life in” anytime soon.

The problem is most of the super-wealthy’s lives are not based on the money itself, but rather that reassurance that the money will never run out. When a gangster like Madoff shows up, their security bubbles burst with the thought that all it takes is two Madoff’s and they would be just like the rest of us. That is a scary thought, but that’s still besides the point.
In the interest of sanity of our human species and the sanctity of our justice system, please lock this guy up and throw drop the keys in Bin Laden’s cave somewhere.

Not Easily Broken ****

A film about something that actually matters in life. I am pleasantly surprised and impressed that the past few years of ‘African-American’ movies are leaving indelible marks on moviegoers with a lot more than funny jokes, but real life pertinent issues delivered through excellent casting, directing and performances. Morris Chestnut gets another chance to resurrect his career but the star of the show was Taraji P. Henson.

In case you haven’t seen followed her lately, Taraji delivered a show stopping performance in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ along side Brad Pitt, and she was splendid yet again. I’ll give you snapshot, without any spoilers. Dave and Clarice Johnson are stuck in their monotony of marriage. Dreams of major league baseball success were dashed by an injury in college, leading him to a steady but unfulfilling career as the head of a small construction firm. Clarice is basking in the glow of real estate stardom, creating a life that revolves around her rise to the top.
This is not a Tyler Perry movie, but it is laden with life lessons and substance. I have to admit to several occasions of my own emotional upswings as I watched another man’s dignity trampled upon in the face of his own adversity. Making a relationship work is hard work, and it will take a horrific accident, kind-hearted physical therapist and a series of unfortunate events to make sense of the value of love.

When I first heard of this film, all it said was that a couple's strength and faith are tested after the wife is injured in a car crash and husband becomes attracted to another woman. That description does the movie grave injustice, because there is certainly a lot more to it than just that.
Director Bill Duke pulled an excellent stunt with TD Jakes’ cameo appearance, thus sending a spiritual message without the typical overly preachy effect. Our individual definitions of faith, love and true happiness are put to the test in ‘Not Easily Broken’ and for that reason alone, it was a well spent $10. If you ever wanted to see a common sense movie that actually says something to our everyday life struggles as individuals, this is definitely a good one. I am not easily impressed at the movies but I am on a good-movie streak in 2009 with 7 Pounds, Valkyrie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and now Not Easily Broken.

PS: I am not a PR agent for the film; I give credit where one is due.

Only in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is the South African country with Robert Mugabe as its president. In this country, inflation is so horrible, the United Nations and the World Bank may have to soon step in to save the country from itself. Zimbabwe's central bank will introduce a $50 billion note, and all that cash is just good enough for two loaves of bread. I know Americans are in no position to dictate another country’s economic strategy but Zimbabwe’s is bad beyond words, and even the caveman can suggest better alternatives.

This latest fiscal policy is a move to rectify a spiraling inflation. Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe is officially estimated at 231 million percent, and its currency is a joke. To put this in perspective, one U.S. dollar is trading at around ZW$25 billion (Zimbabwe dollars). The funny side of all this is the audacity to name of the currency ‘dollar’; how about a nice word like ‘garbage’?
If you ever wondered how bad an economy can get, Zimbabwe is good example of the facts that economic teachers tell us could never happen. In business economics classes most of us wondered if the tedious inflation and depreciation calculations were indeed possible in real life. The currency loses value at an astonishing rate of 100% daily, to such an extent that only foreign currencies are accepted as legal tender in the country.

Let President Robert Mugabe tell the story, he will tell you that America and the rest of the advanced nations are sabotaging his efforts to rebuild the country. How do you rebuild a country you have been in charge of for almost three decades?
Only in Zimbabwe.

A woman who won’t go away

Ever since America’s overwhelming choice for Obama, John McCain found a way to retreat into oblivion. His counterpart Sarah Palin on the other hand is going nowhere. I assumed that she loved the spotlight too much, irrespective of her minimal exposure to real life issues that affect people outside Wasilla. We were right, she is back to set the ‘records straight’, whatever that means.

I am one of the few people who gave Sarah Palin a fair shot at stating her case, and time and again she proved she had none. After weeks of consideration however, she has realized that Katie Couric and Tina Fey had misrepresented her, and gave Americans a dismal picture of a beautiful governor with a heart to serve.
I can see someone arguing media bias and lopsided coverage against a larger-than-life Obama, but how do you set the records straight on not knowing that Africa is a continent and not a country? How do you set the records straight when a CBS interview gave you a world of opportunities to state your case? This is where I say Sarah Palin is bugging, but that is just my own observation.
Katie Couric once asked, "What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this?" Palin’s answer, all of them, different kinds, something of that nature. It wasn’t just a vague response, rather a bad image of a woman who was either uninformed or just didn’t care. Trust me, most of us care less about how much a public official knows (we know most of them don’t know much), but don’t pull that BS smart-talk wise-guy answers over our eyes. That was Sarah Palin’s problem and that is why people assumed that she was functionally illiterate.
I see Palin’s point about how the mainstream media is staying off Caroline Kennedy’s personal life, but maybe the fact that she is not shoving some empty ideas down anyone’s throat has something to do with it. After all Caroline Kennedy is New York state’s problem, but Sarah Palin could have been America’s and the entire world’ nightmare.
Palin took a lot of heat, from the rumors that she is not the mother of her infant son and the pregnancy of a 17 year old Bristol. Well to think of it, anyone who names their children Trig, Tripp, Trap, or anything along those lines, better be sure they don’t have any semi-dirty laundry because Americans are always on starving for media buzz. I sincerely agree with her on one thing however, leave her family and children out of the media slams. That I honestly think is a low blow.

If Sarah Palin was my buddy, I’ll shoot her an email and the subject will read, ‘let it go, girl.’ Sometimes the smartest thing to do is to let sleeping dogs lie, hit the library and come out with a more perceptive idea on anything including fundamentals of American economy.
Most of us are still haunted by Palin’s Russia view from her backyard, and forever thankful that we didn’t have to hear her ideas on the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Yes there was double standard in the media, but it was just the same standards that allowed any knucklehead blogger and pseudo-news agency to scrutinize Barack Obama’s personal life. If you don’t like the intrusion, do what most of us do, live a regular life and don’t try to lead a nation. Most of us will want Sarah Palin to get her fair share of the limelight, and she may even be earning a spot on FOX News, but in politics, there are no do-overs.

No one cares how she sets the records straight, especially weeks after an election in which even Pat Robertson and hard-line anti-Obama Americans have had a change of heart that he is the best guy for the job. Let it go Sarah. No one cares if Levi marries Bristol, we are worried about jobs and recessions, issues that really matter. I bet John McCain is still wondering quietly somewhere, ‘what have I done?’ That’s alright John, I fell in love with Sarah Palin the moment I met her too, except that she didn’t give me too much to work with on November 4th.
I know this will go down as the longest 12weeks of Sarah Palin’s life, but there is not much to set straight. I don’t mind a reintroduction of Sarah Palin in a few years (for any gig far away as possible from the White House), but I think it is fair to assume that no one is dying to hear the ‘smarter’ side of Sarah Palin. That is precisely ther reason why people just wish she would go away. I certainly don’t mind her floating around; I like to spice my blog occasionally with pictures of a hot politician and Sarah Palin happens to be my number one choice.

Just my random thought.

In search of a Hero

I know the Brits are starving for the next sensation worthy to be crowned king in Wimbledon. In fact the situation is so dire that the British tennis fans will give anything to see a native son hoist the trophy at a U.S Open, Australian or French Open. Anywhere will do, even in Qatar and Dubai.

Enter Andy Murray, the shining star and a national hero. I vividly recall names like Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman crushing my hopes over the past decade and I had personally come to terms with the fact that England (and the United Kingdom) may never hear ‘God save the Queen’ in the finals of any major tournament any time soon, not in this lifetime at least.
The rising star of British tennis Andy Murray is carrying the weight of a country and with every stroke, he hears the ‘desperado’ tune playing from Westminster Abbey. The United States have since the days of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi have issues of their own, but no one expects James Blake and Andy Roddick to save American tennis.

He is no Oliver Cromwell or Winston Churchill, but beating two of the world’s top players Roger Federer and Rafel Nadal is turning Andy Murray into a savior. That is a big deal, something Andy Roddick will kill for, but in all fairness a win in Abu Dhabi is nowhere near the drama in Wimbledon or Paris. That is probably the reason why until Murray can pull off upsets on the grand stage, I advise my British optimists (my brother Fred leading the list) to wait a minute. That day will come, but in due time.

Australian Open starts on January 19, but I will still have my money on Roger Federer. Someday the likes of Blake, Tsonga, Monfils, and Djokovic will dethrone the double threat of Federer and Nadal. Until then, any coronation of Andy Murray is premature and overly optimistic.

Oakland is Burning

To serve and to protect is usually the signs of order, not the thought of horror. Welcome the great state of California, where life is all about fairy tales, where dreams can come true, and unfortunately can be taken away too. Here in California, there is no telling who the bad guy is, especially when cops do some of the craziest things. Maybe there is an overdose of the Hollywood films on the mental makeup of California cops. I know my assertion is almost preposterous but I contend that I have a valid point nonetheless.

The New Years day shooting of Oscar Grant is sparked nationwide protests and riots, and I would hate to see any society revisit the Rodney King fiasco. The actions on the streets in Oakland last night was much more hostile than it was in the Bay Area Rapid Transit board room where people were fuming over the police officers involved.
Of course the City of Oakland will argue that this was an accident, a fatal accident for that matter. That is where it gets a little dicey. California is burning today with outraged citizens expressing their dissatisfaction with senseless violence from uniformed officers who are charged with our safety and security.

Demonstrators rampage through the streets of Oakland, and so far 105 arrests, with charges ranging from inciting a riot, vandalism, assault on a police officer and unlawful assembly. So what about the officer(s) who caused all this drama? Oscar Grant is gone forever, and maybe that should be the rude awakening that police departments across America had been waiting for. Maybe reaching for guns and gun-look-alikes is not the smartest course of action at the first sight of trouble. I won’t dare assume that Oakland cops are trigger happy, but when you live near Hollywood, you think of the wildest stunts.

The state of California has over the years become one of the most explosive,(outside Baltimore in MD) as it relates to police relations with citizens, and no one can resist the long list of police brutality cases headlined by Rodney King’s beating. I would hate to insinuate that we have come full circle, but this alleged ‘accident’ is too appalling for words. Pardon my wit, accidents do happen but I would hate for my doctor to slit my throat and call it an ‘accident’.

Just a random thought.

Porn Industry heads to Washington

'Economic stimulus' just took on a entirely new meaning, this time a very low one. Hustler Magazine’s Larry Flint and Joe Francis of the all-so-famous Girl Gone Wild production have a serious agenda; something crucial for their version of ‘economic health’ of America. They are asking the Congress to dish out $5bilion of federal money to the porn industry to support creative entrepreneurship.
Of course, irrespective of your biased standpoint on the porn industry, no one can deny them of their constitutional rights. Certainly that is the premise of their argument, in spite of how appalling.

Appalling is a subjective description, please feel free to substitute the word if you so desire. The porn industry’s ingenious idea is to ‘rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America’, and according to one insider, American’s are too depressed to watch porn. I am being presumptuous here but the bailout money supposedly will help flood our neighborhood stores with more useless magazines of naked women next to the Doritos.
Even more disgusting is the increased recruitment of college girls for the late night Girls Gone Wild infomercials. Sorry dudes, I don’t see how that proposition is beneficial to the economic downturn (or anything for that matter).
You know the recession economy is hit a new desperation low when the Larry Flint is driving a hybrid car from California to Washington for a publicity stunt. The auto industry and the banking industry are walking away with billions of taxpayers’ money; I am not too surprised the porn industry is getting in on the action. If 20% of Americans visit porn sites on the job, maybe the Larry Flint’s bailout request should be invested in spyware and firewalls.

The good side of this ridiculous proposition is that the porn industry has saved all of us a new string of pointless bailout disbursements. If they hadn’t pulled this stunt, most of us would never step back to reexamine the bailout circus which had no end in sight. For now, as ridiculous as their intentions are, they have saved us from all the other mismanaged companies who had their eyes set on the ‘free money’, when small businesses across America are fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat.

This is the low point of free market capitalism, but in the interest of common sense, I speak on behalf of all Americans when I say, there are enough Girls already Gone Wild in America.
Federal bailout was intended for industries that are core to a country’s Gross Domestic Product, and my best guess is that the porn industry is the farthest away from the core as anything can be.
Nice try.

Blago's 'checkmate' on Senate politics

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is under federal investigation over very shrewd senate appointments. For that simple reason, Illinois Democratic Party had asked him to politely refrain from making a Senate appointment; else they would be forced to refuse the legitimacy of such a person, regardless of experience, credibility and race. BUT Blago is no idiot.

Blagojevich knows he is going down in flames, and the smart thing to do will be to find a parachute anywhere he can, even if he can manage one favorable voice in Illinois politics. What many people fail to acknowledge is the fact that Blago didn’t just stumble onto the job as mayor, so he knows how to 'work' the system.
He didn’t just appoint ‘any’ worthy politician. Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed straight-up highly respected Roland Burris to fill Barack Obama’s vacated seat. None of the above credentials beat the fact that Roland Burris is ‘African-American’. The smartest thing for any shiesty politician to resort to when the rest of the country is on his heels for a corruption scandal, is to change the topic of the conversation. Now that is pure genius.

Congressman Bobby Rush jumped on the podium last week to chip in his two cents (literally). In his own words, the focus of the conversation should not be on the ‘appointor’, but rather the ‘appointee’. He further expressed the fact that outside Carolyn Mosley Braun and Barack Obama, the senate has not seen any black candidate and stopping the appointment of Roland Burris would ignite the issue of racism in the highest places.
This line of reasoning is almost too amusing for words. I like Roland Burris (just like many Democratic leaders). It is the antics of Gov. Rod Blagojevich that is appalling.

This is circus show in the making. A meeting with top dogs Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Majority Whip Dick Durbin would begin the process of making sense of this marginally explosive conversation. Trust me, African Americans are very aware of the color makeup in the Senate, but Barack Obama just because the first African American president. Isn’t that a big sign that the racial card is not what it used to be?
I have no idea of how many Hispanics are in line to fill top positions in either political parties , let alone become President of America, but I don’t see them fuming. I contend that the Bobby Rush injection of racism is extremely premature and unreasonable, but this is exactly what Rod Blagojevich was counting on.
If this was a chess game, this is where Blago yells 'checkmate' and the rest of the Senate members look completely baffled. Now you tell me if that has the markings of an idiot.

A Battle for Gaza Diplomacy

Israel believes it ought to increase the pressure on Hamas’ military engine. The Israeli ground attack has also increased the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and no wonder the rest of the world is growing critical of Israeli force. All this chaos is not exactly what I hoped to mark the start of the all-so-promising 2009, but here we are. The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting t this very moment, as it seeks to find a viable resolve to the chaos.
Compliance to international laws will be a very interesting proposition in the absence of support from the United States holding back its position. Events on the ground are squashing the hopes of diplomacy and while the big dogs protect their domain, the helpless innocent Palestinians are caught in the crossfire. Gaza leaders are embedded within the civilian population so I am not too sure how the bombs distinguish between terrorist cells and innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. That is the core of the problem tonight.

Israel says it is acting to protect its people and defend its sovereignty. Palestinians are also living in the same fear for their lives, and all fingers are pointing to Hamas throwing out the cease fire agreement about 12days ago. Is there really a way for people living in southern Israel and Gaza to coexist peacefully? That is not a trick question but I don’t hope for any concrete answers any time soon (good reasons for pessimism).

If Hamas forced Israel to respond, the unfortunate fact is that it is not only the Hamas leaders who suffers the Israeli ‘aggression’. The weeklong campaign of airstrikes, heavy machine-gun fire and explosions has all been Israel’s response to halt rocket attacks from Hamas militants in Gaza. Where we go from here is the issue at the UN emergency meeting tonight, as the world searches for a pragmatic endgame.

Happy New Year