It's not news if they say it's not news

Health and health care issues don't make the news, according to a recent study by The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. Can we say duh? You don't need a study to tell you that health care issues was never big news. It's one of the biggest concerns among the public but doesn't get the attention it deserves in the media. So the study said health care made up less than four percent of all news from January 07-June 08 and mostly focused on specific diseases and conditions. News about health policy and the health care system had the least coverage. This study reminds me of my initial purpose for starting a blog was to cover health policy issues and explore why media don't cover certain stories. I might make it a separate blog from this altogether but think this blog is pretty cool even though the stories are sporadic. I'm going to think about it a bit.

Are You F-ing Kidding Me?! This is a Story About the Gas Shortage in Atlanta

I called my sister yesterday to tell her gas in Atlanta was over $4. "That's more then here!" she exclaimed, saying that gas in Palo Alto, California, where she lives, was roughly $3.60. Right now Atlanta’s gas prices are over the national average but that’s not the least of our worries. To quote Atlanta Chevron station manager, Mohammed Hussain, “We Ain’t Got No Gas Here!" And it certainly feels that way as you drive pass station after station with plastic bags over the gas nozzle of every single pump. Every day for the pass two weeks gas shortages in Atlanta have been the big story. Luckily for me there is a free shuttle service I use to get to work so while the stories in the news about hunting for gas seemed awful with the hour long waits, the fist fights that break out and angry drivers blaring there horns, I wasn’t really affected by it. The last time I had to get gas was right before Hurricane Ike hit land earlier this month. I filled my 23 gallon, gas guzzling truck at $3.55. Later that day, the price had gone up to $4.00 and the lines at the pump where 4 and 5 cars deep.

But this isn’t really my story here. My story is that last night I finally felt the pain and it was awful! I figured I’ll try to get gas late at night where I figured the lines would be shorter. Boy was I soooooooo wrong! And I say “sooooooooooo” wrong because it was THAT bad! The lines were no longer 5/6 car deep, the line went out the parking lot and down the street about three blocks and we were stopping and going so frequently that I don’t think we were moving at all-if that makes sense. I was with my friend that night and we sat in line for an hour. I went from, “Wow, this is crazy,” to kicking my shoes off and propping my feet on the dash board to rolling down my window to see if I could catch a glimpse of the gas station to finally yelling out the window every time a car tried to cut the line. We finally moved in sight of the gas station only to determine that it looked like we would be in line for another hour or two because the line didn’t go right into the station but looped around first before you could make it inside. My nerves started to get the best of me after not moving an inch in 15 minute period. As we moved toward an intersection, a car in front of us refused to move. “Look man, I know we aren’t supposed to block intersections but in a time like this, get the hell on!” I yelled. Not budging, my friend starts honking the horn and baring up on the small car. “Push that car into the intersection”, I said encouragingly. I knew I sounded crazy but somehow crazy seemed appropriate in this situation. We saw cars trying to circumvent the line by cutting through a nearby plaza which made us even more furious. “That’s so not fair!" I exclaimed. “That’s so rude if they are really cutting the line like that.” I think I was hoping they just realized they were in the wrong line and were trying to get pass this ridiculously long line to the gas station. I knew my wishful thinking was futile. Another car tries to edge in front of us from the intersection. “Hey, man,” I said with my window rolled down. “You can’t just be trying to cut the line like that, we all are sitting here trying to get gas. You just can’t do that.”

Ten minutes pass 9:00pm and 70 minutes in line, I said screw it let’s go. I can’t wait in this line anymore-my odometer hovering at less than a quarter of a tank. My friend gave me a look as if saying “You know we pull out there’s no turning back?” “Let’s do it,” I said as we pulled out of line probably at the disbelief of the 20-30 cars behind us. This morning I got gas around 5am at a lone gas pump among yellow bagged pumps. Later that morning around 10am I went out and saw a repeat of what I experienced last night and what we in Atlanta have been experiencing for over two weeks now. Things are not expected to get better for another week or two. Oil refineries were shut down for a period of time due to the hurricanes but while gas is still coming in the city masses of people in fear mode are rushing to the stations subsequently depleting a whole gas stations reserve in a couple of hours. When the housing bubble popped last year, we kept hearing that it was going to get worse before it got better. You don’t say.

Palin's Daughter to Marry 'Baby Daddy'

Bristol Palin, 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin will make her out-of-wedlock pregnancy official by marrying her "baby daddy." A self proclaimed "f--kin' redneck," 18-year-old Levi Jonhnston and his fiance are now the poster couple for shotgun weddings.

Democractic Presidential nominee Barack Obama won't be taking advantage of this situation saying "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. But is Bristol's indiscretions really off-limits? Doesn't her situation speak to the larger issue of teenage pregnancy in this country? Family Values? Education? Would she be marrying Levi Johnston, her "baby daddy" if her mother was not McCain's running mate?

The Obama camp may have decided not to press these issues but that doesn't stop the rest of the world from exercising our freedom of speech. It'll be interesting in the coming days to see how this story develops in the media. My guess is that it will not be off limits in the Obama camp for long and certainly not in the media.

Our Next President of the United States of America!

"Yes We Can!" Never before has that phrase meant so much to so many. And never before have I felt a sense of pride for my country. Barack Obama's Democratic National Convention speech proved for me what Obama has been saying all along. Only in America is his story even possible. That an African American man would be standing on a stage in front of tens of thousands of supporters with a 50 percent chance of being this nation's next president. That is unbelievable to me and mostly it is inspiring. Inspiring because African Americans have been proving since they were brought to this country that they are capable of overcoming the most extreme obstacles set before them. That despite the most dire of situations, African Americans can and will thrive! Obama is not a spokesperson for black America, he is a champion of all people who want more for themselves like accessible and affordable health care, equal wages for men and women and educational opportunities for all. Never did I think I could be this proud to be an American. To be from a country that says "One nation under God," but so many times acts as if only a certain skin color or socio-economic status matters. I might be infected with this thing Obama calls HOPE, but never before has the word hope meant so much and never before has it felt so good to say Yes We Can and believe in it.

Biden For Change?

So Joe Biden it is. Barack Obama had planned on announcing to the people via text message of his selection for VP but CNN beat him to the punch forcing him to move his announcement up. The network announced just after midnight on Saturday that Joe Biden was indeed on the ticket. Obama followed shortly after with the official word. I'm not surprised at all by Obama's choice for VP, but wouldn't it have been something if he had selected another minority instead of the" same ole old white guy" with more "experience" to balance himself out with his critics? Maybe I'm asking for too much you say? Will Biden help increase Obama's narrow lead over McCain? We can only wait and see.

Michelle Obama on Ebony

I just had to post this picture of Michelle Obama on the cover of Ebony Magazine because it is simply stunning! Her style and grace is something to be admired. Whenever I see a cover with the Obamas on it I have to buy it. Even if Michelle doesn't admit it I can taste a little bit of patriotism every time I see one of the Obamas grace a magazine cover or a TV screen. Yes We Can!

Awesome Men, Where Are They?

My expectations of black men were developed at a young age. My father was the first man I'd ever known. As a child I thought my father was the most powerful and respected man in the world.  He was tall and walked with self assurance and purpose. When he talked-people listened.  At times living under his roof was difficult, sometimes downright unbearable, but unlike many black men, my father was there.  When 8 in 10 black kids grow up without a father that says something about black men. It also says something about black women, but most importantly that statistic says a lot about black future. The August issue of Ebony Magazine features eight different covers; each with a well known black man representing the title of "Black Cool." Inside, are what Ebony refers to as the 25 coolest brothers of all time.  I don't normally read Ebony nor am I particularly interested in what seems to be a pretty popular edition featuring cool black men.   I read where the Magazine said it was difficult to come to a consensus of who was in fact cool because of the subjective nature of the term.  The word cool by definition means moderately cold, not warm nor hot. The slang cool means highly skilled, but I don't want my definition of a highly skilled man to be subjective.  I want my definition of a highly skilled man to be without a doubt Awesome.   By definition Awesome means to inspire awe or characterize by awe.  Featured on one of Ebony's August covers is presidential nominee Barack Obama. He is Awesome.  He is awesome because never has a black man made it as far as he in the political arena. Obama is awesome because he inspires awe in people who have waited too long without hope.  Obama represents a future for many in this country who never felt like they belonged to this country or could ever be proud of this country until now. Obama is an Awesome man and I believe there are many more black awesome men.  My up coming series called Awesome Men profiles black men who are doing wonders not only for themselves but affecting others in an awesome way. If you know an awesome man that by definition inspires awe or is characterized by awe, please send me some information on this person so that he may be highlighted in my series. It doesn't matter if he's a celebrity or your church pastor, if he is awesome let me know.  Stay tuned for this weekend's first edition of Awesome Men right here on reynalinares. 

Celebrity Journalists at Unity Conference

ReynaLinares and CBS Correspondent Byron Pitts at NABJ Luncheon.

ReynaLinares at NABJ party with CNN anchor Don Lemon.


ReynaLinares with the "Haaardest working man in radio" Tom Joyner.

Jimi Izrael, Writer and Blogger, The Root.com

Rowland Martin, political pundit and ReynaLinares at NABJ party.


Maria Hinojosa, Senior Correspondent, "NOW" on PBS, Jose Antonio Vargas, Reporter, The Washington Post.

Michelle Norris, PBS All Things Considered.


Tom Joyner, Radio Host, The Tom Joyner Morning Show.

Tom Joyner, Radio Host, Eric Deeggans, St. Petersburg Times, Michel Martin, NPR "Tell Me More"

Darkness Everybody Darkness!

Did everyone watch yesterday's CNN special, Black in America? I didn't because I'm on travel at the Unity Journalism conference in Chicago! I'm blogging for the first time from my blackberry so please excuse typos until I have a chance to clean it up later. I'm in my first workshop about activism and blogging. I'm hoping to learn something. I wonder if they will mention the CNN special? Anyway, a lot of you guys called me or texted me about the show last night.Many of you were upset by the content and brought up a lot of questions. The most important one being who is Black in America? I mean who is really Black? Soledad O'Brien, the host of the show is bi-racial. Who was included in the statistics about black people? Is the one drop rule still in effect? I have so much to say. I'm going to try to tune in tonight for part two but right now I'm wondering why I'm over hearing the panelist for this session say they don't know what they are going to talk about and they could wing it if they have to! Oh, you know I'm going to get my registration money's worth. I'm going to ask tons of qustions so if they are winging they are going to have to wing it hard. My thumbs are cramping up so I need a break from the
blackberry. Please send me your comments, let's get the conversation rolling. Stay tuned!

Soledad O'Brien is the Joint.

I watched CNN’s Soledad O’Brien host last night’s panel discussion Black in America: Reclaiming the Dream. The discussion focused on topics of concern in the Black community, such as HIV/AIDS, self-responsibility, education, etc. I must say, Soledad is doing the damn thing. She always has, in my opinion, despite being booted off American Morning, CNN’s morning show (John Roberts and Kiran Chetry are now the hosts). I remember when she was an anchor for NBC’s Weekend Today show back in 1999. I was a senior in high school then. I decided she would be my unofficial mentor as I began my broadcast journalism trek. My freshman year at the University of Missouri I emailed Soledad. (I found her contact number on some unofficial website-back then she wasn't the celebrity she is today) not thinking it was really her address I forgot about it. One day, I was just laying around in my dorm room, my roommate, Kim, was on the phone talking to her mother. I remember her telling her mother to hold on because she had another call. I knew the call was for me the way, Kim was talking. “Yes, she is here…who is this?” “Soledad?” I immediately jumped up shouting in a whisper…you know how that goes…mouthing the words SOLEDAD O’BRIEN??!!! Kim, realizing it was indeed THE Soledad O’Brien from NBC’s Weekend Today, clicked over and screamed, “Mom, some famous person is calling Reyna!" "I’ll have to call you back!!!" She hands me the phone and of course I was all calm, like yeah, Soledad is calling me. She really wasn’t at all what I had expected. A little rough around the edges, cursing in nearly every sentence she spoke. I kind of thought maybe she was trying to act young so I just laughed at everything she said and pretended I was a cool young student. I told her I was a freshman at the University of Missouri majoring in broadcast journalism. She told me how hard it was for her starting off as a reporter and how her news director told her she sucked and would never make it. She said people were obsessed with her hair and the fact that she wore a lot of black but she didn’t give a f*Ck (not sure I want to be cursing on my blog yet!). She invited me to come visit her in New York and she would give a tour of the NBC studio. I remember saying in disbelief, “People can just go tour the studio?” “Only people I know,” she said. I was thrilled! I couldn’t believe it, Soledad O’Brien was inviting me to New York and she said she knew me! After that phone call we stayed in touch through my freshman year. I never made it to New York that summer because I had to take summer courses. I remember sending Soledad an email telling her I wouldn't be able to make it that summer, like my being able to make it or not had a huge affect on her life. She emailed me back and said good luck with Pre-Calculus and that I was probably a lot better in math then she was. We didn’t talk again until 2005 when she was in Atlanta for the NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) conference. Of course she didn’t remember me when I told her the story about how she called me back in 1999, but she laughed and said it was nice to finally meet me. She was exactly how I imagined her from the phone and had that same fiery personality. Although, petite in size, Soledad O’Brien, is one of the most self assured women I’ve ever met. I’m looking forward to seeing her again at the Unity Journalists Conference in Chicago this week.

Be sure to catch CNN’s 4-hour documentary entitled Black in America, also hosted by Soledad O’Brien later this week (July 23rd and 24th)

It's hard being a blogger...

It's hard being a blogger and holding a real job that is.  I've tried to sneak a few moments at work(my 9-5) to come up with topics for new posts or to read comments but it's always tricky because after 10 minutes my guilty conscience forces me back to my real work.  After all I am getting paid to fight terrorism (that's what I do in my real job).  I'll blog on my terrorism fighting job later. I'm still trying to figure out how to go about it without having George Bush and his administration down my back.  Ooops, I think just mentioning terrorism, Bush and fighting may have red flagged by blog...oh well not that the Patriot Act doesn't allow "them" to do what "they" want anyway.  It's late and I'm really just posting to say that I'm serious about this blog and even if it doesn't look like it now my blog is going to be something great...I'm getting there...please continue to support.  Remember you don't have to agree with me just please be aware of what's going on in your world!  

Watch Venus Williams Tonight on Larry King Live

Venus Williams gives her first primetime interview since winning her 5th Wimbledon Championship on tonight's Larry King Live!

Lest We Forgot, David Horsey.

Here’s a satirical cartoon from David Horsey, cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in response to The New Yorker cartoon where Barack and Michelle Obama were depicted as terrorists. This image depicts a wheelchair-bound McCain, slurring “Bomb bomb bomb—bomb bomb Iran,” as his wife Cindy pours pills into her hand saying “Take some of my meds to get through the inaugural parade!)

Horsey, states his purpose for drawing the cartoon clearly, “For all you irony challenged literalists who were upset by The New Yorkers Obama as a Muslim cover, here’s one for you.”

I don’t know about you but I’m no “irony challenged literalist” in fact, Horsey understands my uproar over The New Yorker cartoon quite well. See, back in March Horsey apologized for offending the Jewish community when he originally drew a cartoon depicting two prodigal sons. The first prodigal son’s father accepts his long lost son back while the yarmulke skullcap wearing Jewish father says “Tough luck kid, life is unfair.”

Alan Gardner of the Daily Cartoonist writes:

Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial cartoonist David Horsey found himself in an uncomfortable situation when one of his cartoons unintentionally offended many of the Jewish faith. The cartoon which ran last Thursday depicts two prodigal sons. The first, representing investment firms returning to a receptive father willing to bail him out and a second an individual home owner who lost his house with a “risky loan” and receives a cold shoulder. The point of contention was that the father was originally drawn wearing a yarmulke - “is a thin, slightly-rounded skullcap traditionally worn at all times by Orthodox Jewish men.” Many felt that identifying the father as Jewish continued the stereotype that Jews are money handlers.

Horsey responds to Jewish community with this:

“I am mortified to learn that a number of people in the Jewish community around the United States read into a recent cartoon a meaning I never intended. While there have been times that folks with an axe to grind have purposely misread my work, in this case I can fully appreciate the cause of concern. It was a complete failure on my part to comprehend how the mix of symbols in my cartoon could summon up historical libels against Jews This seemed to help clarify my intent, but I also realized that one little detail in my cartoon — the yarmulke — had clearly identified the characters as Jews, not as mere ancient residents of the Middle East. It was a dumb, thoughtless, unnecessary addition that was easily remedied.”

Ummm, flip flopper or anti-semimtist? Take your pick. Read entire article here. David Horsey apologizes for misinterpretation of his cartoon

Lampooning or Endorsing Stereotypes...Where is the Line?

Ok, I get it. The hype over the Obamas, that is. At first I was distracted by the fact that there is actually a presidential race going on here; gas prices rose again over the weekend to $4.19, we are still at war, soldiers are still dying, and our deficit is getting bigger. But now I get it. Sometimes it takes me a little longer to come up from under my “bubble” of Chai lattes, bookstores and great-paying jobs, where you don’t have to do a whole lot but talk about how you could do a whole lot. Ahem, ok…

By now most of you have seen, or at least heard about, the so called “satirical cartoon” of the Obamas on the cover of The New Yorker. If you haven’t, the image is of a turban-wearing Obama standing in what looks like a room in the White House, with his wife, Michelle, wearing a gun around her neck, militia attire and rocking an Angela Davis hairdo, while fist jabbing her husband as the American flag burns in the background.

Shocking? It’s called satire, according to editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick, who said the purpose was to make fun of the media-spread rumors intended to derail the Obama Campaign.

"The intent of the cover is to satirize the vicious and racist attacks and rumors and misconceptions about the Obamas that have been floating around in the blogosphere and are reflected in public opinion polls," Remnick says. "What we set out to do was to throw all these images together, which are all over the top and to shine a kind of harsh light on them, to satirize them."

Umm, does that include the propaganda endorsed by The New Yorker with this cover?

I get satire. I do. But this does not scream satire to me. Satire is the use of irony to make fun of or show how silly or stupid something can be. In order for this cover to work as satire, I’m going to need David Remnick to write me a caption underneath it or include the media somewhere in the picture, unless the medium in The New Yorker, then well, I get it. I get that The New Yorker in partaking in the latest trend we’ve been seeing in making fun of or picking on the Obamas because it’s good for business. Fox News (aka mindless entertainment) has figured that out with its “Obama’s Baby Mama” reference about Michelle to coining the “terrorist fist jab” Michelle gave her husband. Everyone is talking about The New Yorker. The powers that be knew the cover was going to create a buzz and they knew they could use the excuse that its satire to justify publishing it. They don’t care that the cover is tasteless, perpetuates stereotypes, fails the satire test, not that it would lessen the numerous incendiary stereotypes represented here; it’s partly about selling magazines, but mostly it’s about keeping you away from the truth that the predominately White hierarchal structure is not ready to hand over powers to someone who looks like Barack by belittling and making a mockery of a legitimate candidate. Here you have a qualified, educated; charismatic, good-moral person who wants to lead this country out of this economic, political and social insanity and America still can't get past the fact that he's black. Obama is unequivocally a threat to the white status quo.

The possibility of having a generation grow up in the most powerful country in the world where a black man is in power...if that's not a threat to the white supremacy ideology, I don’t know what is. How is a white child supposed to believe that blacks are good for nothing when his president is black? How are people supposed to believe what they see on TV about blacks if their president is nothing like that? How is a black child supposed to want his first choice of profession when he/she grows up to be an athlete when the chances of him/her becoming a doctor or lawyer are much greater if there is a black president as his/her role model? How are little black kids supposed to drop out of school at a higher rate than whites, engage in risky behaviors, be arrested for crimes they don’t commit if the first family is wholesome and educated?

This man and his family undermine every stereotype perpetuated by the white supremacy ideology about the black race.

Speaking of Journalism...

I'll be in Chicago next weekend covering the Unity Journalists conference. Unity Journalists is an organization for journalists of color. There will be thousands of journalists from students to your big wig talking heads represented at the conference-talk about networking at it's best! I decided it was worth it to pay the $385 registration fee, plus the $239 air fare to attend this conference. I'm using two of my vacation days to attend and I just started my new job a month ago! The conference should provide lots of material for my blog. I'll have pictures as well. I think the theme of the conference is something about journalism changing. I think it will be interesting to hear the different prespectives on the future of journalism. As a blogger, newbie that I am, I believe the blogosphere will significantly influence the types of news the public receives. The blogosphere provides a forum for talented journalists who may not have the leverage (and they never do) at their current news organization to tell the stories that they want to tell. I remember as a general assignment reporter in mid-Missouri I often wanted to add a tag at the end of my minute and 15 second story with, "And for more information about this story, please email me at..." I felt like some stories could be told in a minute and 15 seconds but most stories couldn't! I promise to gather a lot of good information on the different workshops, speakers and of course the parties. No one will be off-limit to ReynaLinares so I hope they bring their A game! Stay tuned!

I Never Met a Stranger...

I am a firm believer that everyone has a story to tell. As a journalist, I am by nature and training, interested in people's stories. However, I have to admit, there are times when I just don't give a dern. Like on the plane, for example, I rather not hear about your family history, your job, kids, or even where your final destination is. All I want to do is close my eyes and pray that wherever I'm going I get there in one piece. The whole idea of being 30,000 feet in the air is unnerving to me. On a recent trip back home to Atlanta, a little, old, white lady sits down next to me. She smiles. I smile back. She says, "I bet you were hoping this seat was going to be empty weren't you?" "I always do," I replied with a smile. Now, I don't think that response was mean at all, kinda funny, but not mean and well she didn't think so either. "I never met a stranger," she said. Oh lord, I was thinking, I might need to break out the IPod for this one. I scrambled to look for my IPod, but grabbed a book instead. I smiled at the lady and said, "Well, that's a good way to look at it," and I opened my book and started reading, hoping she would get the point and she did. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to bother you." "You aren't bothering me," I said. Damnit! I was thinking, I should have just smiled and said ok. She leans in to me and says, "I took a water pill before getting on the plane." I just looked at her then said, "Ok, well, I will have my eyes closed but just tap my shoulder and I'll let you out. I'm a light sleeper so don't worry about waking me up.” "Oh, I wish I were a light sleeper," she said. I go back to my book. A minute goes by and she leans into me again. "She isn't a stewardess, is she?" she asked, pointing her chin to the older looking woman in a stewardess uniform. I replied that she was. She shook her head in disbelief. "She is looks too old to be a stewardess!" I don't say anything. "Oh, that was mean of me," she said. "I shouldn't have said that. I take it back." I resolved to the fact that this lady was not going to stop talking so I put my book away and said, "You can't take it back because you've already said it, you can only make up for what you said." She asked how she could do that. I said she had to think of something really nice to say to the woman and she had to mean what she said. She agreed to say something before the end of the flight. "I'm sure she used to be very attractive," she said. Then continues, "Maybe she just had a rough life!" She burst into laughter. I laughed as well and resolved to talk to or least listen to this lady for the hour and a half flight back to Atlanta. She was from Maryland, on her way to Seattle with members from her church. I'm not sure what her plans were once she got there. She told me that her daughter and husband recently adopted a teenage girl from Uganda. The husband met the girl on a missionary trip. When he met the girl, her hair would not grow because of all the scabs on her scalp from mosquito bites. "Her hair is growing now," she said, "but it's not as pretty as yours." She touched my curls pulling my hair to the front of my shoulders. "Is all that your hair," she asked. "Yes, it is," I said, pulling my hair back behind my shoulders. "It's so pretty, you are so lucky. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yes, her hair started to grow back and we took her to get her hair done. You know how you can go to the store and buy hair, well that’s what we did. It took 7 hours to braid her hair in these little braids. Did you know it takes that long?" she asked in disbelief. I said no. "Well, it took seven hours to do these tiny braids and at the ends the hair curled up. It was so cute!" she said. I nodded. I asked the woman how the girl was adjusting to her new life in the States. She told me she liked it very much but her daughter was concerned about keeping the young girl from hanging out with wrong crowd. "I'm not prejudice, but you know how you can blame an entire race because of something one person does?" she said. I shook my head no. "I don't see how you can do that," I replied. "Well, anyway, she continued, there are some Sudanese women who live across from me. I don't know them very well, but they seem nice. They are the ones who did Eva's hair."(Eva is the name of the girl from Uganda.) The woman said the Sudanese women told her that they realized they were black but they think African American boys can be trouble. “Oh?” I said. “You know how you hear things on TV about people,” she said. “I mean, that’s all you can really go by, right?” she asked. “You can only go by what you hear and see on TV and I think they still don’t tell you the whole story.” I didn’t say anything but thought to myself that it was true that many people will sit in front of a TV and watch the news and not question the validity of a story or look to other sources to validate the information. “I know some black people don’t think white people should adopt black kids,” she whispered to me. I nodded. “I don’t think it matters to the kid though,” I said. “Everyone wants to belong to someone.” I’m not sure how the conversation led to her telling me she was a conservative. Oh, I think it’s when she told me there were also some Mexicans who lived in her neighborhood and she didn’t know if they were illegal or not but if they were it was not like she would report them or anything. “That’s one thing, I don’t like, she said, illegals. They come into this country breaking the law.” “No one wants to be illegal,” I replied. “They aren’t thinking about any laws only that they will do anything to provide a better life for their families. Do you think a superpower like the United States can’t better control its borders?” I asked. She nodded yes. “So, there must be a reason why people are still able to come into this country illegally, what do you think that reason is?” I asked. She said she didn’t know. “It’s because the U.S. is benefiting from their cheap labor,” I said. She agreed saying that she thinks illegal immigrants take jobs that Americans think are beneath them. “They are willing to do the worse jobs, she said. “I know you are a liberal Democrat, aren’t you,” she asked. “There is no way of you knowing that,” I said. “That is an assumption you are making about me.” “Who are you supporting in the Presidential race?” I asked, avoiding her question because I didn’t want to say, yes, I’m a liberal Democrat, you know how black people tend to vote as a bloc. “I don’t like either candidate,” she said. “I don’t like Obama, not because of his color but because I don’t trust him and I don’t like McCain because he has moved to far to the left.” “But you will vote for McCain won’t you?” I asked. “I believe everyone should exercise their right to vote.” “Just like you have a right to vote you have a right not to vote. You shouldn’t vote for someone you don’t like,” I replied. She didn’t respond but appeared to be thinking about what I said. Moments before the plan landed she asked if she could take a picture of me. “Why?” I asked. “Eva, would just flip if she saw how pretty your hair is.” “Uhh, ok,” I hesitantly agreed. A couple of heads turned back to watch this little white lady take a picture of me. I smiled and said, “She thinks I’m a celebrity.” I never got the woman’s name but she asked for my address so she could send me a copy of the picture. I have no doubt I’ll be hearing from her.

Bottles of Water

This morning I put $60 worth of gas in my vehicle and it already had a quarter of a tank in there. As I stared at the huge discrepancy between the top and bottom numbers, as if urging the number of gallons on the bottom to please catch up with the dollar number on the top, I began to think of all the things I would much rather spend my hard earned taxed dollars on. Like ordering out food because it is rare that I get the urge to pull out the pots and pans and whip up something fabulous for dinner. Or maybe I would buy a flat screen TV to replace my obscure 18’ Duraband. I could buy really nice clothes instead of waiting for Benettons to have an additional 50% off sale or I could jet off to Miami South Beach one weekend for a little R&R.

However, in all my fury of high gas prices in this slowing economy I realize that I am in a position where many are not. I do not struggle to pay any of my bills. I don’t worry where my next meal is going to come from, or how I will get to work or put food on the table for my kids, take them to school, etc. I’m a single, educated woman with no dependents. I mark 1 on my W4 because I am only responsible for myself. My inner circle of female friends are young, educated, unmarried, childless and with at least two college degrees. Whether at work or on my own time, I am usually surrounded by people like me.

On July 3rd, before the Independence Day holiday, federal employees as well as government contractors were award 59 minutes of leave time to get a head start on their weekend celebrations. These types of benefits are often made around the holidays and can at times increase to additional time off at the discrepancy of the powers that be.

On my way home that afternoon, I stopped at a red light at a large intersection. To my right stood a woman and her two kids; a boy and a girl. The woman was standing near a cooler filled with bottles of water and holding a sign that read, “Please Help a Needy Family.” The children, I’d say both were definitely under 12 years-of-age, were running up to cars gripping bottles of water in their hands. I rolled down my window and the little girl holds two bottles and says, “Would you like some water?” I asked how much. “They are one dollar each,” she said matter-of-factly. I scrambled for a dollar in my purse and quickly took the bottle as the light changed to green. As I pulled off, I caught the eye on the little boy and smiled, amazed that he and the little girl seemed to be in good spirits. I thought about this family the rest of the way home. I was used to seeing homeless men on the corners of intersections begging for food or money, but never a woman and her kids. This disturbed me and I became angry at myself for taking the girl’s bottle of water when I could have just given her the dollar. I thought about how I could have given her more than a dollar as I had at least 50 dollars on me. I wondered how they ended up out there. What were the events that lead to the mother’s decision to take her two kids out to a busy intersection and hold up a sign for help while the kids ran up to cars with their bottles. Did the kids make the sign? What were they thinking when they wrote the words, “Please Help a Needy Family”? What struck me the most was that this family looked like a normal family, despite their current situation. The mother appeared to be wearing what looked like a nurse’s uniform which made me think she at least had a job. The kids were adequately dressed and looked in good spirits despite their current situation as well.

A recent Kaiser Health Tracking poll revealed as the economy continues to decline, more Americans are facing serious financial challenges such as paying for gas, out-of-pocket spending for healthcare, paying off debt, buying food and finding a well-paying job. Most Americans are in some way scaling back on spending in this economy. For some it’s a matter of deciding not to splurge on clothing, the latest electronics or a trip to the beach. For others, it’s a more drastic decision like not going to the doctor because your family needs food to eat or not paying the electricity bill because you need the money to pay for the high price of gas to get to work on Monday. For some its deciding to put away pride and ask for help. These tradeoffs are becoming more frequent, more creative and unfortunately even more necessary.

Not My Independence

Independence Day is the one national holiday that never fails year after year to leave me in a perplexed state of mind. On July 4, 1776 the United States declared its independence from Britain. Americans celebrate this day with magnificent fireworks, cookouts, parades; displaying their patriotism through red, white and blue clothing. However, for me and many blacks, this pride in one's country and rejoicing for its independence is not shared. Don't you dare call me unpatriotic and don't you dare call me un-American (but then again, I'm not running for political office), because you see I'm proud to be an American. It is the only identity I know. When my ancestors were stolen from their native lands and brought to this country in great ships, chained to each other like animals, they were stripped of their identity, forced to adopt a new way of life as property to be owned and used in anyway desired by their owners. While the United States delcared its freedom from Britain, it was enslaving my ancestors. Blacks were enslaved until 1865. There was no rejoicing and singing for them in 1776. There was no freedom, no independence, no nothing to be had because how can you have anything when you don't even belong to yourself?

So, as I watched whites with their American flag t-shirts, and little white girls with their red, white and blue ribbons in their hair, I couldn't help but feel some disdain. Disdain for the fact that I am an American and this national holiday is not a celebration for all but for some. What's more, it's a reminder of a painful history of back breaking labor, brutality and lost of identity. But, I Am an American. This is My country, built on the backs of My people and so there I stood in a crowd of red, white and blue in my fushia top and my navy blue skirt, clearly not a part of something when the blood that runs through my veins is the same blood that built this nation to its greatness.