The Travesty That Is The Trayvon Martin Case

**Deep Sigh**

I have come back to this blog spot to report some news that is tragic or stupid and in most cases, tragically stupid.  But the news for the past few weeks has been a tragic travesty.  I am referring to the Trayvon Martin case.  Unless you have been under a rock or in a bomb shelter someplace you must have already heard about this case.

17-year-old African-American, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed inside a gated community by a Hispanic man named George Zimmerman who was part of a neighborhood watch.  Trayvon was on his way from the store and had a pack of skittles, a can of iced tea and was talking on the cellphone at the time.  Trayvon was on the phone with his girlfriend and told her that some guy was watching him.  I will not review the entire story because I am sure that you have heard much of it already.  But I will say that the shooter STILL HAS NOT BEEN ARRESTED!  Trayvon was wearing a hoodie HOWEVER please be advised that he put the hoodie up after he realized he was being watched.

The shooter, Zimmerman has said that Trayvon looked suspicious… really???  This story has inspired the Million Hoodie March for justice.

This story is sad, disturbing, and disgusting on so many levels.  Is this the POST-RACIAL America we live in?

Please take a moment to review the links.  The links review the Trayvon Martin case, The Million Hoodie March, and The Stand Your Ground Law.

1. ABC News : Trayvon Martin Case: Timeline of Events
2. CBS News : Twin Investigations Open in Trayvon Martin Case
3. US News/MSNBC : Trayvon Martin’s Final Phone Call…
4. FOX News : Trayvon Martin’s Alleged Attacker Not Covered Under Law…
5. LA Tines : Self Defense? Trayvon Martin Was Using A Cellphone…
6. CNN : Lawyer: Girl On Phone With Trayvon Martin…
7. NY Daily News : Million Hoodie March Takes Union Square In Protest…
8. NBC New York : Trayvon Martin’s Parents Attend NYC Million Hoodie March
9. CBS New York : Million Hoodie March Held In Union Square…
10. Chicago Tribune : An Invitation To Murder?
    

Be informed, be educated.  Trayvon Martin’s family deserves justice.  Trayvon did not have to die…

Skittles and Tea is NOT a weapon…

Regina

Jakadrien Turner leaves Dallas and Lands in Colombia??

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…)

1. Where are Jakadrien Turner’s parents?
2. Why is the grandmother the only one looking for her?
3. Why did she REALLY run away?
4. Did she have a mentor, teacher, confidant, or ANYONE that she could have talked to?
5. Why is this 15-year-old girl now pregnant?
6. Who was Jakadrien living with in Houston?
7. Is she hurt? Was she damaged in ANY way?
8. 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

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

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

Interracials Can Attend, But You Cannot Join

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…

1. Melvin Thompson, the person who crafted the resolution and called for the vote is the FORMER PASTOR of this church.
2. 35-40 people attended, some left and some declined to vote, But no one spoke out about this being wrong.
3. The vote was 9-6 in favor of this ban on interracial couples not joining the church.
4. The church’s current Pastor is Stacy Stepp, who was against the resolution.
5. Why does the former Pastor have so much power to craft a resolution, But the current Pastor appears powerless to stop it?
6. Interracial couples are free to attend (AND GIVE THEIR MONEY) but they cannot join??
7. 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

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…

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

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

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.’

Why is this a racial issue?  Because the 11 year old rape victim was HISPANIC and the 18 alleged perpetrators were AFRICAN-AMERICAN, DUH!  So of course the focus is on the race and NOT on the victim BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THE BURNING QUESTION HERE IS WHY ARE THEY ONLY ARRESTING BLACK BOYS? How assinine of me to think that the point here should be THE ACTUAL 11 YEAR OLD RAPE VICTIM!

Yea, word to the wise, Be CAREFUL who you call your LEADERS! Quanell X is SOOO RIGHT on this one… Yea (I hope you see the obviously dripping SARCASM I used).  You may be wondering where were her parents and why didn’t she tell them?  Well, I don’t know and frankly that is not my concern at this point.  It happened and this little girl will need to learn how to deal with the stolen youth and innocence of her broken life.  I pray that my children and ALL children have someone they can trust to tell things of this magnitude to.  If you do not have that kind of open relationship with your parents for whatever reason, then PLEASE build a relationship with some other adult who you can confide in.

Awww, but it gets worse!  Some in this Cleveland, Texas community are hinting to, insinuating that, and alluding to this RAPE being the little 11 year old girls fault!!  How dare people show their IGNORANCE by saying that because of the way a person walks, talks, acts, or dresses means they are agreeing to rape sex!! As a matter of fact according to Fox 4 news …

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.

My, my, my!  Thank you so much ANGIE WOODS of HOUSTON TEXAS for explaining to the world how an 11 year old girl can avoid a gang rape by 18 (or more) grown men by not lying about her age and by not putting ones self in such predicaments!  Because ANGIE WOODS as YOU STATED this 11 year old girl CLEARLY “wanted this to happen”… (How ASININE can one person REALLY BE?).

My head hurts, my stomach is in knots and I want to vomit… I cannot even think about this anymore…

Time Moves On & The News Is Dreary…

Wow, it has been so long since I have updated this blog that it took me about 30 minutes to remember the user name and password!  I have not been here since June, that is about 3 months.

But the news has certainly not slowed down any. There is still death, destruction, crime, lies, and brutality.  I was watching the news with my daughter the other night and she shook her head and said, “How can you watch this all the time, it is so depressing.”.  She is absolutely correct the news is very depressing, but we do not live in a bubble and we can not be ignorant to what goes on around us.

Ignorance is NOT bliss in today’s society. WE NEED TO STAY INFORMED!

Some recent News stories:

Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Facebook will donate $100 Million to Newark New Jersey public schools. Folks are complaining and wondering about his motives. Really?? Who cares! The schools are getting much needed money!

Similac  powdered baby formula removed from store shelves because of tainted formula. Hmmm, so that’s why God made Breasts…

Prominent Atlanta Pastor, Bishop Eddie Long accused of coercion and sexual misconduct by 3 young men. Well, it is what it is, keep praying and let God handle the rest.

Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN General Assembly that the U.S. Government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.  Hmmm, I wouldn’t want to be this dude on a dark NYC street…

11 Year old babysitter kills 2-year-old girl. Lots of questions here, starting with, Why the hell is an 11-year-old babysitting a 2-year-old???

Reggie Garret, a Texas high school quarterback collapses and dies after throwing touchdown pass.  Many prayers go out to the family of this young man. Life is short and NO ONE is promised tomorrow.

Denver Broncos wide receiver, Kenny McKinley was found dead in his Colorado home. The investigation is on-going but the reports are saying that a self-inflicted gunshot wound killed him. What could be so bad with your life that at the ripe old age of 23 you want to kill yourself … besides being bored to death in Colorado?

Well, there you have it the news you have been missing!

The one thing I HATE to hear is, “The devil made me do it”.  WOW! OK, Let me be very clear about this folks, THE DEVIL CANNOT MAKE YOU DO A DARN THING!! Any and everything you do is because YOU CHOSE TO DO IT! Even if someone holds a gun to your head YOU make the choice to get shot or not. EVERYTHING WE DO IS A CHOICE!

Another thing… BEFORE you start accusing, judging, agreeing or disagreeing, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, get ALL of the FACTS!

God sits high and looks low, Let GOD judge, NOT YOU!

You don’t have to be Ms Cleo to see troubling times ahead…

Peace & Love