Lessons from The Fly

If you watched the Vice Presidential debate Wednesday night between Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence you probably got distracted when a "fly" flew on the side of Pence's brylcream looking hair.  Out of nowhere, the fly just sat there calmly on top of his head for roughly two minutes.  As a result, social media blew up last night with all kinds of meme's and comments like:  

The #FLY was the big winner not Pence. He can smell $#&T from a mile away. #TrumpFailedAmerica #VicePresidentialDebate2020 #pencefly

The truth of the matter, from my perspective, is that little fly was the most compelling part of Pence's presence on the debate stage.  If you listened carefully, he avoided answering the moderator's questions directly and tried to use the same bullying tactics Trump demonstrated when debating Biden the week before.  What woman in America (or perhaps the world) hasn't been subjected to a man trying to "outtalk her" or "put her in her place" or make her feel like she's "less than" he is.  It's a never-ending cycle but it's gotten old and Pence showed a lot of women what a lack of compassion and disregard for a woman's intellect and opinion looks like.

But let's talk about that fly and some little know facts about flies in general.  Why did the fly choose to land on Pence's hair and not Kamala's?  Why did the fly seemed to be unmoved by Pence while he was talking?

Well, did you know:

1)  Oil is an important food for flies.  Oily hair is an attraction (remember how Pence's hair looked).  Also, some body odors are more attractive to flies than others.

2)  House flies defecate A LOT! It is speculated that house flies defecate every time they land on something or someone.  Do you think Pence washed his hair when he went home or did he become a nest for future flies?

3)  They can spread a wide range of diseases.  Due to their feeding and breeding habits, house files come in contact with a range of harmful bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli.  These flies often spread the bacteria onto us by contaminating our food, cooking utensils and glassware. 

4)  They have unhygienic breeding habits.  House flies will lay their eggs on feces, rotting carcasses and decaying fruit.

So based on this information, one might conclude that Pence had a lot of oil in his hair and a body odor that was attractive to the fly.  Perhaps if he had been wearing a cinnamon, lemongrass or lavender fragrance, the fly would've left him alone because, according to experts, they hate those smells.

But this wasn't the first time a fly took center stage at a political debate.  Maybe you recall a fly landed on Hillary Clinton's eyebrow during the second round of the Presidential debates in 2016.  Just like Pence, she was unfazed by it and we all know the outcome of that election. 

Does the fly know something we don't? Hmmmmm............ 

What My Grandson Has Learned from Number 45

This post was inspired by a conversation I saw on Facebook between a white woman I knew and one I didn't know.  The woman I knew issued a warning to parents about the state of the world and how our children were being influenced by all of the negativity they're seeing around them. The woman I didn't know responded this way: 

  

Bullshit!.....children learn from what they are shown in their homes.  I can't ever learning from politics any of my lifes lessons. (I intentionally didn't clean up her grammar.  That in itself makes a statement).

Of course, I took issue with her post and responded.  Here's what I said:

All I can say is IGNORANCE is bliss.  It's a fact children do learn from home, however, there is a lot of influence from peers and social media so if one thinks children are not paying attention to what's going on in the world, they are truly ignorant.

My grandson is 14---just started his first year of high school.  Sadly, he's learned more from the presidency of Donald Trump than he's learned in the classroom.  Here's what the Corrupter-in-Chief has taught him:

1)  Never apologize to anyone EVER

2)  Science is stupid

3) Don't serve in the military.  Protecting this country from foreign adversaries is for losers 

4) Anyone different is bad

5)  Cheaters CAN win!

6)  America is the only country in the world

7)  Women are less important that men

8) Be afraid of anyone who is not white

9) Facts and truth are not important

10) Low paid people are not important

11) Lying is fine, people are gullible

12) It's okay if your father cheats on your mother

13) Never take responsibility.  Blame others

14) You can hurt others badly, if it benefits you

15) You can lie, cheat and steal and be considered a hero

16)  The police can shoot you just because.....

17) BLACK LIVES DON'T MATTER

But here's some other things my grandson has learned:  

1)  Having morals and values goes a LONG way in your life

2)  Racism is alive and well

3)  Life isn't FAIR but you play the hand you're dealt to the BEST of your ability

4)  He has a strong support system to help get him through

5)  Trouble don't last always

6)  Women are to be respected and appreciated

7)  Gold diggers really do exist so be mindful ALWAYS

8)  Take nothing for granted

9)  Be RESPECTFUL to everyone

10)  Knowing how to communicate effectively and with clarity is important

11) You can have a lot of money and still be ignorant

12) Mama and Grandma don't play that when it comes to bad behavior so he better recognize!

The sad truth is many white people want to play blind, deaf, or dumb when it comes to the stupidity and outright mean-spirited behavior of  Trump. In their ignorance, they see this man as demonstrating strength and power and the only one who can keep all things unequal under the law. What's worst is the media is going out of its way to make sure we ALL know how corrupt and inept he is to be President.  The only way a child isn't exposed to this is if they don't have access to any type of media  and they have no friends.  

The Trump Effect and White America

Little did Hillary Clinton know that when she called some Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables" during the 2016 presidential campaign she would be opening up a Pandora's box that has now emboldened those people to embrace themselves as Trump's adorable deplorables. Now if you look up the word deplorable, it means:  shockingly bad in quality...along with disgraceful, shameful, wretched, atrocious.  I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind would want to think of themselves in that manner but perhaps it's because they don't really understand what the word means or they simply don't care because they see Donald Trump as their champion, their savior, so to speak.  These are the people who live in FEAR.

There's a new study out that says white people who fear democracy may benefit marginalized people (like Blacks, Hispanics and other immigrants) would rather give up democracy to keep their white privilege.  This study connects white American intolerance and support for authoritarianism.  Whites, according to the World Values Survey, say they would rather have a military style rule of government than to have people of color or immigrants living next to them or socializing with them in any way. 

The irony of this is the fact that the white population is continuing to decrease as more and more of the races continue to mix.  Meanwhile, the GOP has pigeon-holed itself into being the Party of the angry white male and his "submissive, I do as I'm told" wife.

 George Washington said in his farewell address in 1796 that political parties could allow cunning, ambitious, unprincipled men rise to power and subvert democracy.

Can you say DONALD TRUMP, STEVE BANNON, STEPHEN MILLER?

As Thomas Paine said it back in 1776, "These are the times that try men's souls'"

Survey Says More Black Men Favor Donald Trump

To be perfectly honest, I had to read this survey over a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly.  You see, I truly have a hard time believing any black man, other than Ben Carson and  Pastors Mark Burns and Darrell Scott, would come out and give a favorable reaction to Donald Trump's first year in the White House.

One simple question was asked in the survey conducted by SurveyMonkey:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as President?

• Strongly approve
• Somewhat approve
• Somewhat disapprove
• Strongly disapprove

Then you were asked to support your answer with a comment.

According to an article written in The Atlantic, the survey involved more than 600,000 people--although there is no actual breakdown of how many of those interviewed were black.  That is probably part of the problem.  Without knowing the number of black participants, there is no way to get accurate insight.  For example, if only 100 blacks participated and 20 of them said they somewhat approve, that can be interpreted as favorable.

Among African Americans and Hispanics, reactions to Trump depend more on gender than age or education. In every age group, and at every level of education, about twice as many African American men as women gave Trump positive marks. In all, 23 percent of black men approved of Trump’s performance versus 11 percent of black women....black men are one of the few groups for which Trump’s 2017 average approval rating significantly exceeds his 2016 vote share.  From The Atlantic article.

The point is 23 percent of black men who gave Trump a favorable rating for SurveyMonkey OUTNUMBERS the 8 percent support he received from ALL blacks during the November 2016 election.  But once again, it's 23 percent of what????????

Personally, I think this survey is misleading and serves no real purpose in determining how Black America feels about a man who has publicly humiliated them at every turn.  If there are black men out here  (other than the ones mentioned above) who really believe Trump has done a decent job in representing ALL Americans, I invite them to leave a comment on this blog post to state your case.  I always welcome different points of view because, after all, I am a journalist.

Here's another telling statistic from the survey:

In the 2016 election, exit polls indicated Trump's strongest base were non-college educated whites at 66 percent.  In 2017, their support, according to SurveyMonkey, has dropped to 56 percent. And among white Millennials, his disapproval rating is a whopping 76 percent!

The Democratic Party Has Become Obsolete

I am a baby boomer who was raised by parents who identified themselves as members of the Democratic Party political base.  They were faithful to the democratic candidates.  The ONLY Republican they ever voted for was Representative Ralph Regula because, as I came to discover, he was a genuinely good person who did his best to represent the interests of EVERYBODY.  He didn't play party politics.  That was more than 40 years ago.

I, too, jumped on the democratic bandwagon as soon as I was eligible to vote and was led blindly down their path of broken campaign promises, deceit and lies.  But unlike my parents I started doing research on ALL of the candidates to understand them better and what they really stood for.  As a a (card-carrying, degree-earned) Journalist, I conducted my own investigations into their backgrounds and "followed the money."  That's when I decided it was in my best interest to become an "Independent."

This past election is proof positive that the Democratic Party, as we know it, has become obsolete. While I was not a Trump supporter, he did speak one truth during one of the presidential debates.  He reminded us how democratic candidates court Blacks and other minorities during election season and then seem to have another agenda once they are elected.  #Facts

Now it would appear that the Democratic Party is, once again, trying its best to capitalize on those of us who feel we've been disenfranchised.  They are expressing outrage over possible voter fraud and trying to regain our confidence in their ability to do a better job because they are the so-called "inclusive" party with a so-called "inclusive" agenda.  BUT THEY ARE NOT!

It is time for a new party to rise up from the Millennial generation--similar to what the Tea Party did a few years ago.  We need a change of direction---a progressive movement that is not driven by money and power.  The "old way" doesn't work anymore.  Candidates over the age of 50 either need to sit down and shut up or listen to the new voices---much like former President Barack Obama did during his campaign.  

There's an old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  But it IS broken and it's time to shake things up and fix it.

A Baby Boomer's Witness to History Part I

Over the next couple of days I will be blogging about my experience in Washington, DC as I witnessed history in the making with the swearing in of President Barack Hussein Obama. I hope you’ll be a frequent visitor to this blog and even share your own thoughts to the various posts or just offer a comment on your reaction to it all.

My daughter and I arrived in Garrisonville, VA on early Monday afternoon. My husband had made arrangements for us to stay with some of his friends. There was a house full of people upon our arrival. Some of the host’s family members decided to make the road trip from Atlanta, Louisiana and Texas.

It was obvious everyone wanted to be a part of this historic occasion.

After unloading the car, we got right back on the road and headed to DC for a day of sight-seeing. Initially, we thought we could park the car at the Metro Station in Springfield, VA and travel into the city but everybody else was obviously thinking the SAME thing. So my husband, being the smart man that he is, figured out a better Metro Station for us to go to and, sure enough, there was hardly anybody there. We joked about the scarcity of people due to the fact that it was in the “hood” and some tourists couldn’t begin to find it and probably wouldn’t dare go there if they did.

Our first stop was the National Mall where all of the festivities were going to be held. There were people EVERYWHERE and plenty of vendors selling all kinds of items. People were eager to buy anything that had Barack’s name on it. One vendor told me he sold 3000 shirts at $10 a piece in 48 hours. Not a bad hustle. Some people don’t make that in a year.

I decided I wanted to take pictures of people wearing Obama hats so I just stopped people at random and asked if I could take their pictures. I met folks from California, Jamaica, Ohio, Louisiana and even right in my own back yard of North Carolina.

Then we took pictures of the grandstand where all the big whigs would be gathered as well as.

Tomorrow, I’ll share the emotion of Inauguration Day from a baby boomer's perspective. Meanwhile, Enjoy the slide show.

Where do people like Jesse Helms go when they die?

I'm a baby boomer woman who believes in God. I believe in Heaven and hell. I believe in the Ten Commandments---one being “Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” Now I’ll be the first to admit that’s not always easy to do because there are some people who do everything in their power to get on my last nerve. But then I think they probably don’t know any better so I just forgive them and move on.

So here we have former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms who died on July 4 at the ripe old age of 86. He spent his entire political career as a hate monger and he was never ashamed or apologetic about it. He was a master at creating fear in the hearts and minds of white, rural North Carolinians by pointing out the fact that if he weren’t in Congress to fight for their “white rights” black people would take over and take away everything they rightfully owned.

Many of the people he catered to were white baby boomers and seniors.

Today, as I watched a portion of his funeral on TV, I heard the minister called him a good, decent man who loved God and loved the people he served for thirty years. But what about the people he didn’t love?

Does loving God—but hating minorities—give him a free pass into Heaven? My pastor always says “How can you love a God whom you never see and despise your fellow man here on earth?” That’s what Jesse did all of his life.

And no, he didn’t have a come to Jesus moment right before his death---where he apologized for any past sins he may have committed. He didn’t come out and issue a statement saying he loved everybody and was just playing the political game of the times.

So tell me, where do people like Jesse go when they die? Does he think he’ll enter a segregated Heaven? Oh, and wouldn’t it be something if God didn’t look anything like some churches paint Him out to be?

The Legacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton

When the Democratic Presidential Primary campaign began more than a year ago, I was excited over the idea that America had a chance to make history. In spite of the number of candidates in the race, I was certain Hillary Clinton would be in the running. In spite of the rumors that circulated about her as First Lady, I was still rooting for her as a fellow baby boomer woman. I have shown her no ill will.

BUT---

With the help of the media, Senator Clinton has turned into a ruthless, vindictive, politician. Riding on her husband’s coat tails, she attempted to pimp the Black vote. When that didn’t work, she turned her backs on them and went for the whites with no education. (That’s how she referred to the reason why she won in West Virginia and Kentucky)

She has been a chameleon throughout this campaign---changing her campaign strategy to whatever will win her votes. And what is alarming even more so is the way some fellow baby boomer women are behaving about this campaign. I have read nasty posts from women who threaten to vote for the Republican or not vote at all if Hillary doesn’t win the nomination.

Yes, I do believe she has been unfairly depicted on occasion. There have been some awful things said about her by the male press but when she turns around and gives them more ammunition to work with, what is one to think? To bring up the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy as a reason to stay in the race is ludicrous and suspicious.

So what will be the legacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton after this campaign is over. I’m sure her supporters will say she was a fighter right down until the very end. That may be true but that fighting spirit has done more in the past several months to destroy the image of women and the Democratic Party than the Republicans could ever do. I’m sure Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson and the good old boys are thanking her for her tenacity.

But the bigger picture here is: What does this really say about the baby boomer generation? You don’t see young people (under 35) running around acting as hate mongers over a presidential primary. Yes, baby boomers are the generation who took a stand on many causes like civil and women’s rights, and the war in Vietnam----but what are we now?

Take a look in the mirror and you might see YOUR PARENTS.

Michelle Obama--A True Baby Boomer Diva

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Michelle Obama. Now for those of you who have been living in a cave over the past 15 months, Michelle is the wife of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Michelle came to Durham, NC to campaign for her husband. She was supposed to speak at 12:30pm but due to bad weather in the Midwest, she arrived and spoke more than two hours later. But her tardiness didn't seem to matter to the standing room only crowd. While waiting, we actually sat around and talked to each other---black, white, hispanic, young and old. It was a refreshing site to see. Not one hate monger in the crowd.

Michelle is even more impressive in person than she is on television. She is poised and assertive. She has a sense of humor and she can deliver a speech without NOTES. It's so obvious she and Barack have a REAL relationship and not something they have to make up for the cameras. She is also a beautiful example of what it's like to grow up in humble beginnings---unlike the way she and Barack have been depicted by some media as "elitists." She reminds me a lot of myself.

Following her speech I had a chance to actually meet her and gave her an autographed copy of my book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age, along with a T-shirt donning the face of my grandson wearing an OBAMA hat.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome this dynamic baby boomer diva into the Baby Boomer Diva Web of Fame.

Can an African American Baby Boomer be President?

I have to admit that I haven’t been paying too much attention to the Presidential campaign. After spending more than 25 years in the news business, I'm just sick and tired of hearing how the media tries to sways public opinion. The “white shirts” will deny it but it is so evident by the way they choose to cover the candidates.

Prior to the Iowa Caucasus, Obama wasn’t given a chance to win. Why? Because the media said he wouldn’t. How did they know that? They claimed they took sample polls and everyone they talked to chose another candidate over the African-American baby boomer.

Well, once again the media got it wrong. In a state that's more than 95 percent caucasian, the African-American baby boomer presidential candidate proved that some people can see beyond race and listen to a message of change. The media wants to tell us what's important.

That's why I’m so glad I’m no longer a part of the so-called “establishment.”

Let the Baby Boomer Without Sin Cast the First Stone

Will somebody please tell me what’s the big deal about Barack Obama using drugs when he was a teenager? Wasn’t that like 25-30 years ago?

The latest political news has a Clinton advisor resigning because of the controversial remarks he made about Obama and his drug use. William Shaheen reportedly suggested that Democrats give more thought to Sen. Barack Obama's admissions of illegal drug use before they pick a presidential candidate.

OK...so somebody help me here.

Obama has been free about discussing his drug use as a young man. In his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father, written shortly after he graduated from Harvard Law School, he wrote that during his difficult late teens "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though."

I could understand it if the Democratic presidential candidate was still a pothead or doing it on the down low but Obama saw the light; he came to realize the error of his ways and decided to straighten up and fly right. Fortunately, he was given a chance to do so because many young black men aren’t given that second chance. They either wind up behind bars or six feet under.

For those baby boomers who can’t handle the truth or want to claim they are holier than thou, go ahead and throw your stones. I just hope you don’t live in a glass house.

One more thing: This is NOT a political endorsement for Obama---