Jakadrien Turner leaves Dallas and Lands in Colombia??
04 Jan 2012 7 Comments
in Black In America, Faith, Family, Jakadrien Turner, Life, News, Texas, Youth Tags: African American, Black In America, News, Texas, Youth
I hope you saw the news article about the Dallas teenager who has been missing since 2010 but was actually deported to Colombia. It has been all over the internet today, so I decided to post about it after the crowd died down! If not 
you can read it HERE and HERE. Now you may be thinking, “OK, this is Texas, they have an abundance of illegal residents, so what, one of them got sent back”! BUT, this was a 14-year-old AFRICAN-AMERICAN teenager, who DOES NOT EVEN SPEAK SPANISH! So you may be scratching your head (Much like I was doing when I first heard this mess!) and wondering how the heck does something like this happen??
Well it starts with a teenager who is distraught over the loss of a grandfather. Then you add the tragedy of divorcing parents. And on top of all of that you add a dash of obvious discontent (since she was running away I assume the discontent part). You can also add that she obviously had no adult she thought she could talk to about her issues and mental state. The story goes like this….
Jakadrien Turner ran away from her home in Oak Cliff in Dallas, Texas in November, 2010. The reason she ran away is being indirectly attributed to the loss of her grandfather and the divorce of her parents. (But I of course believe there is something missing from this portion of the story). Jakadrien ran as far as Houston, Texas. In Houston, Texas in April 2011, Jakadrien Turner was caught shoplifting. Jakadrien gave the police a phony name and when that name was run it came back as belonging to a 22-year-old, illegal immigrant from Colombia. Here is where the story gets asinine…. evidently her finger prints were taken but there was no follow through. Despite the physical differences between a 14-year-old and a 22-year-old, despite the fact that this African-American girl spoke no Spanish (Uh, coming from Colombia, yes I expect that you should be able to speak spanish!), and despite the fact that no follow through on the fingerprints or paper work was completed, Jakadrien was deported to Colombia (Yes, SOUTH AMERICA!) by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This young lady even had her information posted on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website, See posting HERE. But no one bothered to check for that.
So after all of that, I wonder who will be demoted behind this fiasco. Yes I said demoted because since this is a young African-American girl I do not think anyone will loose his or her job over this but someone will likely be demoted. (Sad, but true, This IS America…). Jakadrien’s grandmother found her through Facebook. Jakadrien is now being detained in a Colombian “facility” by Colombian officials despite American authorities from the U.S. Embassy trying to retrieve her. (Maybe someone should call Tom Cruise and his Mission Impossible crew, they seem to get results!).
So as a parent and a grandparent I have some questions/concerns about this story… (Yea, besides the obvious question about the OBVIOUS INCOMPETENCE of the U.S. Immigration officials…)
- Where are Jakadrien Turner’s parents?
- Why is the grandmother the only one looking for her?
- Why did she REALLY run away?
- Did she have a mentor, teacher, confidant, or ANYONE that she could have talked to?
- Why is this 15-year-old girl now pregnant?
- Who was Jakadrien living with in Houston?
- Is she hurt? Was she damaged in ANY way?
- And lastly, we need to address her running away and her lying about her identity which helped land her behind in Colombia, South America in the first place.
But all the madness and questions aside… I pray that baby girl is returned home safely. I pray that she receives the counseling, healing, and restoration that she needs. I pray that her and her family are restored and mended to wholeness.
Smooches!
Regina
2011 in Review
01 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in Black In America, Blogging, Faith, Life, Marketing, News Tags: African American, Democratic, Life, News, W.T.H.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,500 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 42 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
Join me in 2012!
Blessings, Regina
Casualties of War – Cathy Hughes vs Mathew Knowles
21 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Black In America, Faith, Marketing, Music Tags: African American, Black In America, Faith, Music, News
News about Matthew Knowles (Beyonce’s father) is in my Twitter and Facebook news feed again. I wish this man would go sit down someplace or something! Evidently, Cathy Hughes, founder of Radio One has filed a law suit against Matthew Knowles’ Music World Music. The base of the problem here appears to be that Mathew Knowles & Music World Music gave exclusive rights to the Essence Music Festival to Cathy Hughes’ cable channel TVone. But according to EUR WEB.com, “His company is being accused of re-issuing the content BET, MTV and BET’s Centric Network despite TV One’s four-year exclusivity agreement” (EUR WEB.com).
So, TVone’s sister company, Radio One has pulled ALL Music World artists out of rotation! On the surface I think given the circumstances it was a good move. HOWEVER, beneath the surface are the Casualties Of War! These casualties are the artists caught in the middle who have nothing at all to do with the deal that Mathew Knowles made with Cathy Hughes and TV One. I mean gospel artists like, Trin-I-Tee 5:7, Brian Courtney Wilson, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Micah Stampley, who are among the talent on the Music World Gospel roster. Radio One has gospel stations across the country and removing these and other gospel artists from play rotation is a massive blow to these artists. Gospel artist are already in a market struggling to be valid. They often lack the funding, marketing, and exposure that secular artists receive. Which ultimately means they are not selling. I know that Brian Courtney Wilson and Micah Stampley both had songs in the top 10 on the Billboard Gospel Charts a few months ago. I imagine that constant rotation on Radio one stations had a great deal to do with that.
It is a shame that good gospel artists are caught in this nasty crossfire between Cathy Hughes and Mathew Knowles. They are now casualties of war!
Read about the Cathy Hughes ban on Music World Artists HERE.
Read about Mathew Knowles response to the ban HERE.
Smooches!
Regina
Angel Food Ministries Founders, Pastors Joe and Linda Wingo Indicted
02 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Faith, Holidays, Life, Marketing, Money, News Tags: Angel Food Ministries, Faith, Life, News, Recession
More and more signs that point to the inevitable conclusion that we are indeed in the LAST DAYS. Organizations which were designed and purposed to do good are wavering and falling. Case in point, the ANGEL FOOD Ministries Organization is out of business and key personnel are being indited on criminal charges. If you have never heard of the ANGEL FOOD Ministries Organization let me explain. Angel Food Ministries was a 501 c 3
, non-profit, non-denominational, Christian organization, which was dedicated to providing food relief to communities throughout the United States. The program offered food at extremely low prices to elderly, disadvantaged, or anyone who need bulk food for low prices. The program operated largely out of warehouses (due to the nature of the bulk food items and the space needed to serve hundreds of people) and churches and serviced thousands of church communities. The program began in 1994 with 34 families in Georgia and grew to serve over 500,000 families across the United States monthly. The program was extremely useful to elderly individuals who live on a fixed income and to those struggling to make ends meet. Angel Food provided a supplement to the ever shrinking dollar.
Unfortunately in September the organization announced that it would not be able to fulfill the September orders and was going out of business. Soon there after the company closed it’s doors for good. In September 2011, Rob Kerby, Senior Editor at Belief Net published this post about the Angel Food debacle,
“Angel Food Ministries cancels September deliveries, suspends refunds“
The posting was VERY enlightening! The post talked about the shady past and financial dealings of Pastor Joe Wingo, his wife Linda Wingo and several of their family members. Pastor Joe Wingo was also the pastor of Emmanuel Praise Church.
While surfing the internet today I read articles that said an indictment for multiple federal charges against the founders of the now defunct Angel Food Ministries were handed down. Pastors Joe Wingo, his wife Linda, son Andy and business associate Harry Michaels reportedly were charged in the indictment. According to the Washington Post, “Authorities say a federal indictment charges three officials associated with Angel Food Ministries and an employee with dozens of counts including fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and others.” The 71 page indictment outlines 49 criminal counts. The Wingos are to appear in a Macon County court today to answer charges which include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, witness tampering and transporting stolen property across state lines.
Bottom line hundreds of people lost jobs who faithfully worked with the organization across the country and HUNDREDS of people who actually utilized the service may go hungry or be forced to find other way to supplement their grocery bills.
Walking on the backs of the Elderly, the Poor, the Downtrodden, and the Disenfranchised, I would not want to be them on Judgement day (and I DO NOT mean in the court of THIS world) It appears that the Wingos have a lot of explaining to do.
When Will Folks Stop Pissing On The Little Guy?
Be Blessed All!
Regina
Interracials Can Attend, But You Cannot Join
01 Dec 2011 4 Comments
in Black In America, Faith, News, Regina's Family Seasons Tags: African American, Black In America, Faith, Freedom, Martin Luther King Jr., Racism, W.T.H.
Hmmm, so I was surfing the web, like I do every day and I came across this article about church membership or …non-membership. Evidently there is a Baptist church, Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Kentucky that is denying membership to an interracial couple. Stella Harville and her African fiance, Ticha Chikuni are being denied membership AND are no longer allowed to sing for the church??? This is more 
disturbing than surprising. I am not surprised because racism is a part of life that we live with daily. If you do not think that racism is alive and well in America, well than you must not live in America!
But I find a number of things disturbing about this story…
- Melvin Thompson, the person who crafted the resolution and called for the vote is the FORMER PASTOR of this church.
- 35-40 people attended, some left and some declined to vote, But no one spoke out about this being wrong.
- The vote was 9-6 in favor of this ban on interracial couples not joining the church.
- The church’s current Pastor is Stacy Stepp, who was against the resolution.
- Why does the former Pastor have so much power to craft a resolution, But the current Pastor appears powerless to stop it?
- Interracial couples are free to attend (AND GIVE THEIR MONEY) but they cannot join??
- If you look around and see that there are no other blacks IN THE BUILDING why would you WANT to join?
According to CBSNEWS, Melvin Thompson had this to say, “I am not racist. I will tell you that. I am not prejudiced against any race of people, have never in my lifetime spoke evil” about a race, said Thompson, the church’s former pastor who stepped down earlier this year. “That’s what this is being portrayed as, but it is not.”
Hmmmm, not racist???? Anyone can attend but interracial couples cannot join??? Yes, that is what the resolution developed by FORMER PASTOR Melvin Thompson says. According to CBSNEWS, “The resolution says anyone is welcome to attend services, but interracial couples could not become members or be “used in worship services or other church functions.”
You can read the story for yourself in its entirety HERE! Please post your thoughts on this, I would be interested to get your opinion on this!
Blessings,
Regina
Check me out HERE as well!
Seagrams Gin Shows Love For Ethnic Communities
17 Nov 2011 2 Comments
in Advertisements, Black In America, Life, Marketing, Money, Politics Tags: African American, Black In America, Life, News, W.T.H.
I was on the internet this morning and saw a posting about Seagram’s Gin selling DU-RAGS with special edition bottles of Seagram’s Gin. Yes, you read it correctly… DU-RAGS! Buy a bottle of special edition Seagram’s Gin and get a free DU-RAG! So here is the link to where I read it 
and here is the link to the Detroit, Michigan post where it was first seen!
I am sure that the super Intelligent, Fashion Forward, man about town will be rushing to the nearest liquor store to grab his gin and du-rag! I am not suggesting that intelligent , fashion forward men do not wear du-rags, I am simply trying to get the public to focus on the marketing techniques of Seagram’s Gin.
I went to the Seagram’s Gin website in efforts to prove, disprove, corroborate or shoot down this possible Facebook hoax. Interestingly enough I first found the 2011 Seagram’s Calendar models. You might be interested to know that 11 of the models are African-American and 1 is Asian, all are female. I guess Seagram’s strongly believes that only men (and lesbians) look at calendars. I guess they also believe that African-American females are the best choice for the Seagram’s Gin Calendar! The Seagram’s Gin website had no mention of the infamous Gin and Du-Rag collaboration (Of Course they would not put such inflammatory and racist nonsense on their very reputable website….) so I will just have to leave this one up to the people to prove or disprove!
What do YOU think about this???
I will close with this, If you are tired of being targeted, STOP making yourself a Mark! ... Think about it…
Peace & Love All
Regina
President Obama, Student Loans and Me…
26 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Black In America, Faith, Family, Life, Money, News, Politics, Regina's Family Seasons, Texas, Youth Tags: African American, Black In America, Democratic, Faith, Life, News, Obama, Politics, Recession, Republican, W.T.H., Women, Youth
WOW! It has been 6 months since I posted here. I would love to tell you about all the FABULOUS things I have been doing and why I have not been posting on this blog but frankly the reason I have not posted in 6 months is….. I forgot my password. Yep, that is it, I simply could not remember my password or user name. It has taken me a while but things are back in order now!
However I have been slowly but surely closing in on that Bachelor Degree of Human Services Management that I have been working towards. July 2012 is when I will be done and my degree will be official. My youngest daughter is a high school senior and is set to graduate in June 2012. Of course this means student loans. So not only will I be liable for my student loans but I will also be entering the realm of her student loans. Yaayyy.
I pray that the news article I read on MSNBC.com helps me when I need it.
According to MSNBC.com, “Obama said it’s never been more important to get a college education, but it’s also never been more expensive. Obama said his plan will help not just individuals, but the nation, because graduates will have more money to spend on things like buying homes” (MSNBC.com). Read the article in its entirety HERE.
Let Us Pray…
Regina
Baby Accidentally Drinks Alcohol
11 Apr 2011 3 Comments
in Black In America, Family, Life, Money, News, Youth Tags: African American, Black In America, CNN, Life, News, W.T.H., Youth
My son was asking me if I heard about this story this morning and I had not, but then when I logged on to the computer it was one of the top stories on CNN.com. Read the story HERE.
As seen on CNN.com,
(CNN) — A 15-month-old was hospitalized after a behind-the-bar mix-up at a Michigan Applebee’s restaurant that left the toddler sipping alcohol instead of apple juice.
Police were called to the Madison Heights restaurant on Friday evening after the parents of Dominic Wilson Jr. noticed their son acting strange during a family dinner.
“He was saying ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to the walls,” said Wilson’s mother, Taylor Dill-Reese, 18. “He laid his head down like he was sleepy, then woke up and got really hyper.”
At first, Dill-Reese blamed his odd behavior on lack of sleep. But at the end of the meal, she said Wilson’s father was stunned by what he tasted after taking a sip of his son’s juice.
The juice was an alcoholic concoction that was stored in a mislabeled container, according to a Madison Heights Police Department news release.
“The container was apple juice but it had margarita mix in it,” Dill-Reese said.
Wilson was immediately rushed to the hospital, where his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.10, Dill-Reese said.
“They said if he had drank that whole cup he would have died,” she said, adding that she and her family will never return to the eatery.
“It was unreal,” she said. “You don’t expect to go to a family restaurant, and your 15-month-old gets served alcohol.”
Dill-Reese said the child is doing OK but they are taking him to see a doctor because he’s “not eating like he used to.”
Dill-Reese said she and her boyfriend — both of whom are under 21 and not legally allowed to drink — were both drinking smoothies during the meal.
“Obviously any situation like this is unacceptable,” Applebee’s officials said in a statement. “We are working with local authorities and conducting our own investigation to assess exactly what happened.”
Police have deemed the incident an accident.
Now I understand that both parents are young, but if it were me I think I would be sitting in a lawyer’s office right about now. I understand it was an accident but, accidents do not just happen they are caused!
WHAT WOULD YOU DO??
Cleveland Texas, How I Loathe Thee
16 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in Black In America, Domestic Violence, Faith, Family, Life, News, Texas, Violence, Youth Tags: Activism, African American, Black In America, CNN, Death, Domestic Violence, News, Sex, Texas, W.T.H., Women, Youth
I have not been on this blog in about 5 months. I generally uses this blog as a place to voice my take on the news. However I think I got to a place where the news was utterly depressing me and so I just left this spot alone for a while. But I am back now and the news still sucks but we cannot hide from it, so we may as well dialogue about it.
So since I live in the second largest state in the United States of America, which is TEXAS, the news here just NEVER STOPS! I hope 
you have already heard about the fire in the Houston daycare home, run by 22 year old Jessica Tata. Read about the story HERE, HERE, and HERE. This woman left 7 children in a her home UNATTENDED while she ran to the store! WTH! These 7 children were all under the age of 4 years old AND this chick had something on the stove cooking! Tragedy is that 4 children have died and 3 were critically injured. What happened to Jessica Tata?? Well, TWO DAYS AFTER this devastating fire and tragedy, she fled the country back to her native Nigeria and is currently on the FBI top 100 Wanted List.
I am still amazed at the fallacy that we call a justice system in America. This woman was not IMMEDIATELY taken into custody, even though HER HOUSE had the fire, FOUR CHILDREN in HER CARE died, THREE CHILDREN in HER CARE were injured, and SHE CLEARLY WAS NOT HOME AT THE TIME! A policeman can go to a home on a domestic abuse case and arrest one or both parties involved right then and there! HOWEVER, this woman was allowed TWO DAYS, enough time to PACK, MAKE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS, and FLEE the country?? Why did they NOT see her as a FLIGHT RISK???????
But speaking of domestic abuse and Texas, I’m sure that by now you have heard about the current case in Cleveland Texas, right? This case involves the alleged rape of an 11 year old girl by 18, YES, I SAID 18 men and boys! I am a God-fearing woman and I know that vengeance is the Lord’s BUT these men (and I use that term very, very loosely) better be glad that I am NOT GOD or their JUDGE because they would be piles of CASTRATED and BURNED ash right now! You can read the story HERE, HERE and HERE. These 18 males, ranging in age from 14-27 allegedly had sex with the 11 year old 6th-grader at a home of one of the suspects. However, they moved to an abandoned trailer when a family member came home unexpectedly.
Okay, here is my issue with Cleveland, Texas…
Instead of the focus being on the emotional, physical, and mental care of an 11 year old victimized girl. The focus has been made into a racial problem! According to the DailyMail.com Community Activist Quanell X reportedly said,
Quanell X, leader of the Black Panther movement in Houston – a mere 45 miles away – told ABC News: ‘Every adult male that had sex with this child should go to prison, I don’t care what the colour is.
‘But I do not believe black males are the only ones that had contact with this young child. It appears to me there’s only been the selective prosecution of one community, which is African-American.’
Thursday’s meeting was led by Quanell X, an activist prominent in Houston’s black community. He told the audience of more than 130 people who had packed a small community center that the gathering’s goal was not to criticize the girl but to question the investigation by police, although he did question why she didn’t report the attack to authorities herself.
“I did not come here this evening to jump on an 11-year-old girl,” he said.
The activist, who was invited to speak by a local pastor, said he was concerned that only young black men had been arrested. He said he believed some of those arrested were guilty but that others were not. He told those in attendance that if they were questioned by police about the case that they should only talk to police with a lawyer present.
During the meeting, Quanell X also asked people to donate money to the defense funds for two of those arrested in the case.
After the meeting, many in attendance told reporters that the girl had consented to the sex.
“She lied about her age. Them boys didn’t rape her. She wanted this to happen. I’m not taking nobody’s side, but if she hadn’t put herself in that predicament, this would have never happened,” said Angie Woods, who lives in Houston but grew up in Cleveland.
Snakes On A Plane …
27 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in News Tags: Movies, News, W.T.H.
… Well they did not actually make it on to the plane. However, 52- year old Anson Wong was arrested at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport for trying to smuggle 95 LIVE Boa-constrictors and two vipers onto a plane in a carry-on bag.
The bag burst on the conveyor belt before Wong got to the plane. The Associated Press reported that the August 26, 2010 arrest was not the first time that Wong was arrested for trying to smuggle wildlife. Wong is reportedly a notorious smuggler who goes by the name of the Lizard King.
Wong has already served time in prison in the United States for wildlife trafficking back in 2001. For this arrest Wong was given a sentence of six months in jail and a fine of about $50,000.
According to USA Today, “In 2001, a U.S. court sentenced him to almost six years in prison for running an animal-smuggling ring that prosecutors said imported and sold more than 300 protected reptiles native to Asia and Africa.
Maybe Samuel L. Jackson should play Anson Wong in a made for TV adaption of this story…
And The People Say...