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.