Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Uncle Tom was Misread!

Uncle Tom’s Cabin might make you a little nostalgic for the old United States. A place where the masters of commerce and the workers were right there together, each keeping an eye on the other, over the shoulders of middle management. A time when the ruling class was within grasping space of the oppressed. Stowe might make you wonder what happened to a people that could create communities in the slave quarters. Places where horror reigned absolute. How these devastated people were able to birth such a person as Uncle Tom. A character who refuses to harm another black person no matter how much the evil slaver tries to force him. This is a work of fiction, but these types did exist. To be called an Uncle Tom is negative in the black communities, but if we had Uncle Toms in the institutions of the U. S. today, black people would not suffer so. Reading Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin may make you long for another time. Of course books are supposed to make you feel.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes is one of the great poets of the United States of America. Hughes is one of the few African-American poets included in anthologies used by major colleges and universities. He is famous for the bluesy rhyme scheme in many of his poems. Though the surface of these texts are innocent, some of the subtexts can be prophetic. Hughes’ “Dreams” is a prophetic warning to the power structure of the U. S. of what would happen if all were not allowed to share in the “American Dream.”


Hughes identifies the U. S. by referencing a bird. “For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird.” The symbol of the United States is the eagle. He warns that if those in power continue to oppress its citizenry, it would remain broken and be unable to soar to the grand heights of the vision in the constitution.

In the second stanza Hughes tell the power structure of the punishment that would come if they retard the dreams of the masses like an old testament Prophet. “For when dream go / Life is a barren field. Hughes is telling rulers that an U. S. with restrictions on the “American Dream” will not produce anything. He alludes to the Bible’s Moses warnings to the Pharaohs.

Langston Hughes speaks with a smooth sound on the surface along with a heavy prophetic message just beneath. Hughes advises the great “America” to allow all of its people to share in the dream of life or else be stunted as far as protection goes. Or else become barren causing all to suffer.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Hole in Healthcare

Let us shine a light on the new health care bill. It is difficult to praise or criticize the new health care bill because most of it does not go into affect until the year 2014. Some parts of the bill will not apply until 2018. A few pieces of the legislation begin in 2010. One is that children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied insurance by insurance companies. This is great. The companies can only deny insurance for lack of ability to pay. Oh! Oh! The insurance companies can charge customers more money. Insurance companies will have to raise premiums on everyone as not to be perceived as unfair. This means that everyone who could afford insurance before will no longer be able to afford it. So if you have a lot of money you will get. The best or worse part about this health care bill is that we do not know who to blame for it. Is it the president’s bill? Yes and no. Does it belong to Congress? Yes and no. One thing we can be sure of is that a lot of politicians will be unemployed November of 2010.


Personal Statement


We all have our demons to slay. Mine is not alcohol, drugs, or food. No, my demon is hate. Hate lurks like a rabid beast, pacing around my house, waiting for me to open a window or door. I win the battle each day by doing one of the loneliest acts, leading with love.

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District 9

Alien science fiction movies are good because the aliens can act as proxies for some group without offending too many people. District 9 is a great film. The aliens in District 9 can stand in for any citizen in the world that does not have direct connections to those in power.


District 9 is so well shot and acted that you may forget that you are watching a fictional piece of art. Especially if you paid any attention to the victims of Hurricane Katrina or the Haitian Earthquake. The movie gives us the mode of operations of the power structure any time there are refugees from some disaster. First the military confronts those in need. The sufferers are then isolated into camps. After all of that ordinary people are recruited to manage the refugee camps. The more ordinary the person, the more responsibilities they are given.

District 9 also brings to light, with subtlety, a crucial point. That is that corporations lead politicians, not the people who vote for them. No matter how unpopular the alien camps become to the human beings they remain in tact. The poor aliens are stuck in this strange place where life is the opposite of what the people living believe it is.

District 9 will entertain you with action and may teach you something with an intelligent screen play well presented. Watch this film. You never know when you will become a victim of disaster and find yourself in a relief camp.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Our Seeds

The Poet T. S.

Referred to us as
Flowers in the concrete.
Not Eliot, Pac.
And he was right too
When bricks fell from abandoned buildings,
We used them to draw Skelly and hop-scotch
Courts in the street.
When the stores dumped old crates in the lot,
We cut the bottoms, nailed them to trees,
And played basketball all night long.
We were true to our heritage,
Making something out of nothing.
We grew up and had children.
And what did we give them?
Electronic, virtual fun
On 42 inch television sets.
Shame on us for not giving our seeds
The stuff to become larger flowers
Than us.

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Friday, March 12, 2010

The Art of Compromise

We all like President Obama because he is smart, a broad thinker. He tries to bring people of opposing sides together. The compromiser is what so many people call Obama. The problem is that Obama does not compromise correctly. He is just a little off of center. Obama needs an artist of compromise in the White House.


Obama seems to believe that if you have opposing sides, that you must take ideas from both sides, bundle the ideas together, and solve the problem. This way sounds good on the surface. However, this approach may not always work. One side may not have as many good ideas as the other side, so you cannot always take equally from both sides. Sometimes one side may not have any good ideas. You should not embrace ideas just to make someone feel better.

When compromising, you have to hear all parties involved. Once everyone has presented their ideas or sides of the story, you should take the best ideas given. If each side gives 6 ideas, you take the best of the 12 ideas and implement them. One party may have 1 good idea while the other has 4 good ideas. It is completely fair to use those 5 good ideas in a way that makes sense. That is the art of compromise.

If we had skilled artists of compromise in high places, oh what a society this would be. We would have real health care, good schools, an energy plan, and a humane foreign policy.

Jc Computers Inc. (718)360-5618


Computer Repair & Website Design Services



Dr. Oliver Psy. D (718)771-8314

Counseling for Individuals, Families, Groups



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http://mtypencenter.com/ (718)986-0774

Monday, March 8, 2010

The World As It Is

Neither men nor women care

Satisfy me, no do me
Carnal acts are what they share

Children fear those who made them
Parents wear children like blocks
The future looks fairly grim

Wooden planks guard empty homes
Citizens wander here – there
Your tent city’s not alone

We start out like exposed nerves
No longer sure to awake
Nature’s fed up with our words

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The Back End of Life

It is all behind me now

Most of what we call a life
To slay the beasts is allowed

I fought battles from the womb
A drunk and cheat brought me through
I feel good about the tomb

Battle after battle waged
I won many of those fights
Now great powers are enraged

My back is straight, chin is strong
My weapons are few, but sharp
I have brought some friends along

Jc Computers Inc. (718)360-5618


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Dr. Oliver Psy. D (718)771-8314

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FW & Rose Decorations (718)318-0536

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Don’t Stop

March on children of the north

Prisons no longer make us shake
We know what our lives are worth

March you children of the south
The heat favors the first beings
Our foes can’t stand to stay out

March you children of the east
You were here long before them
Their land leases have now ceased

March you children of the west
Mild weathered days are past tense
Shove blades into hallow breasts

Saturday, March 6, 2010

SIBLINGS

Here we are,
On the way to the shelter,
My siblings and I.
Different fathers,
But that same mama.
We are on the train
With bags in hand.
Guarding our hand-me-downs.
Given to us by mama’s bosses.
You know, clothes to good
To turn into cleaning rags.
We quietly eye each other
With extreme caution.
We will only give enough
To receive at some later date.
Such is life with a family
That lives hand to mouth

Jc. Computers Inc. (718)360-5618
Computer Repair & Website Design Services

Dr. Oliver Psy. D (718)771-8314
Counseling for Individuals, Families, Groups

FW & Rose Decorations (718)318-0536
 www.fwroz@aol.com
Flower Arrangements & Gift baskets
for all
Occasions

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