Ernest lived life his way by his own rules

Ernest Smith, Jr

Family Genealogy

Because our mother, Gertrude Fowler-Smith, hadn't gotten pregnant in 12 years, she was shocked when the doctor told her she was pregnant. She was about 31 years old; not an old woman. That did not stop her from arguing with the doctor. He had to be mistaken! There was no way in the world she could be four months pregnant! She was still getting visits from her “monthly” friend. She had completely overlooked her strange cravings for fresh black dirt and lumpy corn starch.

The doctor with the medical degree was right. The married woman in denial was wrong. Five months later Earnest Smith, Jr. was born. He was a breech baby, and the doctors had to work hard to turn him around so that he would come into the world head first, not butt or feet first.

Marie and I, his oldest sisters, treated Jr. like he was a doll. He was our baby. We all pampered him and doted on his every move. We spoiled him. My sister and I practically raised him.

The spoiling began long before Ernest was born. When Gertrude started getting bigger, we would sit around her beside each night, watching her stomach to see if Jr. would move. We couldn't afford a TV, so the unborn baby was our entertainment. Some nights he was active, sometimes he was lazy and would not stir at all, no matter how much we rubbed her stomach. We all tried to image what he would look like.

Ernest was born December 23, 1951. He was almost a Christmas present for us all. When “Jr.”

 --the preferred family name for him–began to crawl, he scooted around on his butt more than he crawled. Our father nicknamed him “Scooter.”

Jr. was a healthy, happy baby. He was breast fed until he was about three years old. When he started walking, he would crawl onto Gertrude's lap and take out one of her breasts when he was hungry. He would get his fill and scamper off to play. It did not matter if she was awake or asleep when he was hungry. He called her breasts his “den-den.” No one knows where that word combination came from.

Some days Jr. was mischievous when breast feeding. He would clamp down on Gertrude's breasts and look up at her face to watch for a reaction. He would laugh and laugh. She eventually weaned him when she became pregnant again.

Jr. was not a troublesome child. He was always pleasant. If he had temper tantrums, they were not memorable. I cannot recall him having behavioral problems in school. Our father and mother believed in ass whipping. Perhaps the threat of a whipping was the tool that kept him in place.

I do not recall any girlfriends that he bought home. That's not to say he did not have one. But I know whoever she might have been, she wouldn't have met with my mother’s approval. Ernest Smith Jr. was her only son and she intended to be the only woman in his life until he met someone she approved of.

 Jr. met Tracy Ann Murray when she was 16. He was 17, a time he had signed with the draft "to get it over with." Our parents signed for him to join the U. S. Army. He and Tracy got married. Tracy had a young son when they got married.

Tracy and Ernest were the parents of four sons: Ernest Smith, lll, Peter C. Murray, Michael Anthony Smith, and Terrance Jermaine Smith, who died September 30, 1976 at age two. Tracy and Ernest were married for 26 years before they separated and divorced. They never lost friendship because they have adult children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Ernest met Terrie McCollum October 2008. She said they clicked instantly. They got married in a simple court-house ceremony September 25, 2009. "Ernest" as she preferred to call him, became stepfather to her children Te'Amber McCollum and Ervin Lemuel. In February 2009, Jr. joined Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, the first church I can recall him joining. By then his health was on a downward spiral. He never complained publicly, a personality trait inherited from his father, Ernest Smith, Sr.

Off to Vietnam

In 1972 Jr. was in Vietnam for 11 months. Unfortunately, he was hit with shrapnel and sent back to the states, where he completed his tour of duty. He re-enlisted in 1976, and was stationed in Germany for three years. From Germany he was stationed at Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas. He got out of service in 1982.

Awards:

A. National Defense Service Medal-- a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

B. Good Conduct Medal--is awarded to any active-duty enlisted member of the United States military who completes three consecutive years of honorable and faithful service.”

C. Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal --is a military recognition awarded by the Republic of Vietnam to any member of the United States, Australian, New Zealand and allied military forces.

D. Vietnam Service Medal-- is a military award which was created in 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is issued to recognize military service during the Vietnam War and is authorized to service members in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, provided they meet the qualification criteria in United States Department of Defense regulation DoD 1348.

E. 2 Bronze Service Stars-- the Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. When awarded for bravery, it is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces and the ninth highest military award (including both combat and non-combat awards) in the order of precedence of U.S. military decorations. The awards were presented in Republic of South Vietnam.

F. Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm– is an individual award of military decoration of South Vietnam, which was established in August 1950. Also known as the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Gallantry Cross is awarded to any military personnel who have accomplished deeds of valor or displayed heroic conduct while fighting an enemy force.

Stricken with cancer: The end is near

Ernest and his second wife Terrie

Ernest and his sister Rose Ann. He died a week after this photo was taken.

Ernest Smith Jr. was diagnosed with kidney cancer in the late 1990s. One kidney was so cancerous it had to be removed. Luckily the cancer did not spread immediately after the operation. It went into remission, and Jr. started looking healthy again. He felt healthy. However, the remission was short. 

Upon its return the cancer quickly spread over his body. He was in and out of the VA hospital. But then the luck of the draw ran out, and Ernest began making his peace with God and himself. He admitted that he had made many mistakes, but if given a second chance, he would not relive his life any other way. He readily acknowledged the good, the bad and the ugly parts of his life.

"I've done some good things in life," he said one week before his death. Luckily, I videoed him on Saturday, May 29, 2010. Before his passing, he longed to go fishing. Like his father Ernest, Sr., Jr. loved to fish. He wanted to see his youngest son, who was in prison. Terrie, his second wife, attempted to get Michael home to see his father before it was too late. Ernest was happy about the possibility of seeing Michael, but it did not happen. He died thinking Michael was on his way. He tried to fight off death until Michael walked into the room.

On Saturday, June 5, 2010 during the early morning hours, Ernest Smith, Jr., died. Watching him taking his last breaths of life reminded me of our father. He is survived by his present wife, Terrie McCollum Smith, stepchildren Te'Amer McCollum and Ervin Lemuel; his former wife Tracy Murray Smith, their children, Ernest Smith, lll, Peter Smith and Michael Smith; his sisters Kaffey Smith Nunn, Rose Ann Smith Daniels, Dorothy Charles Banks, Marie Ockletree, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends.

Ernest Smith, Jr., was preceded in death by his baby son Terrance, his mother Gertrude Fowler Smith, his father Ernest Smith, Sr., his grandmother Leora Fowler Sterling, his grandfather Mose Fowler, great-grandmother Pearl Powell Brown of Bastrop, his favorite cousin Charles Henry Rector, and his mother Lola Mae Edwards Chism, four uncles: Isiah Fowler of Washington, D.C., Raymond Fowler, Sr., of Lorain, Ohio, Johnny Mose Fowler of Austin, Mike Fowler of Los Angeles, one aunt Imogene Fowler Gray of Austin. He was uncle to Horace E. Banks, Jr., who died December 18, 2007.

Ernest Smith Jr. was funeralized Saturday, June 12, 2010, 2:30pm, at Mt. Sinai Baptist Missionary Baptist Church; Rev. A. W. A Mays, officiated. Internment was at Cook-Walden Capital Parks. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Replica of funeral program 

A Celebration of the life of

Ernest Smith, Jr.

"T-Bass"

"I lived my life. I have no regrets. I made my peace with God." 

God's Creation Began On           God's Grace Crossed Me Over

 December 23, 1951                                    June 5, 2010

2:30 PM, Saturday, June 12, 2010

Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church

5900 Cameron Road, Austin, Texas 78723

Rev. A. W.  A. Mays, pastor

Officiating

Military Graveside Services to follow

at Cook Walden Memorial Hill Cemetery

Order of Service 

 

Processional                                                                                     

Clergy, Pallbearers and Family

Musical Selection                                                                                 

Mt. Sinai Baptist Church Choir

Scripture Reading                                                                      

Old Testament, Minister Ray Hicks  

New Testament, Pastor Archie Kelly

Prayer                                                                                                               

Minister Kevin Wallace

Musical Selection                                                                 

I Won't Complain, Pastor A.W.A. Mays

Resolutions                                                                                                                       

Sister Alice M.

Special Tribute to Ernest                                                                                                                            

Family

Solo                                                                                                             

Minister Ronnie Hardeman

Remarks

Musical Selection                                                                                 

Mt. Sinai Baptist Church Choir
 

Eulogy                                                                                                                       

Rev. A.W. A. Mays

Recessional                                                                            

Soft Music by Mt. Sinai Baptist Church

Obituary

Before his passing Ernest Smith, Jr. had only one regret. An independent man, he regretted that his illness took away his independence during the last few weeks of his life. He lived life not the way others wanted him to live, but governed his life by his own rules. He was the third child, and only son born to Ernest and Gertrude Smith, on December 23, 1951 in Austin.

He attended Austin public schools, and the old L.C. Anderson High School in East Austin. With the consent of his parents he joined the U.S. Army when he was 17. He was in search of a better life, and the start of a new career. After basic training at Ft. Bragg, he was deployed to Vietnam. Eleven months later he returned to the states after being wounded by strapnel. 

His began with four sons: Terrance Jermaine Smith, Michael Anthony Smith, Peter Cornell Murray and Ernest Smith, lll. He re-enlisted 1976, spending years in Germany before being honorably discharged in 1982.  After his military service, he began a new career with the City of Austin, where he worked from 1983 to 1989; he also worked as supervisor at the Austin State Hospital for six years. During his early years he worked with his father at Alamo Steel. An electrician by trade, Ernest worked at a variety of companies until his health began to fail.

He was diagnosed with prostrate cancer, and later, cancer of the kidney. Ernest met Terrie McCollum of Austin in October 2008. They were married September 25, 2009, and with this union became the stepfather of Te'Amber McCollum and Ervin Lemuel. 

in February 2009 he joined the Mt.Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, under the leadership of A.W. A. Mays, pastor. When he passed early Saturday morning--June 5, 2010--after along battle with cancer, he was surrounded by his family and friends.

Ernest is survived by his loving wife Terrie; children Michael, Peter, Ernest, lll, Te'Amber, and Ervin; sisters Marie Ockletree, Dorothy Charles Banks, Rose Ann Smith Daniels and Kaffey Smith Nunn; mother-in-law Ma'Rea; brothers-in-law Dedric and Kevin Wallace; and sister-in-law LeAnn Wallace and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He is preceded in death by his two-year old son Terrance Jermaine Smith, his parents. Ernest and Gertrude Smith, his grandmother Leora Fowler and several uncles and cousins.

Pallbearers

Dedric Wallace           Michael Simmons           Kevin Wallace

Eric Timone               Lettrice Moore                Reginald Calvert

Honorary Pallbearers

Labron Billingsley        Travis Shepherd             Ervin Lemuel

Vermon Goode              Brandon Maxwell           Don Wallace

Acknowledgements

The family of Ernest Smith, Jr., wishes to extend their sincerest gratitude for all acts of condolences shown during their bereavement. Special thanks to Hospice and staff, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, and the staff of Cook Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home and Cemetery.

Special Acknowledgements

To my mother Marion Fowler, LeAnn Wallace, Sabrina Nichols. Hannah's Place staff, my sisters-in-law Dorothy Charles Banks, Rose Ann Smith Daniels, Kaffey Smith Nunn and Marie Ockletree.

Ernest Smith, Sr.

Gertrude Fowler-Smith

Repeated second guessing of President Obama

Former President Bush lied to America to start wars Afghanistan and Iraq. The media sucked up the lies without question or investigation. Bush talked tough using sound bite language.  He was always good for a bumper sticker slogan. The media thought he was a Texas cowboy who carried a big stick. The media absolutely loved him!

But Bush and VP Dick Cheney hated the media. They used it for their own purpose, and only did interviews with Fox news and hate talk radio, mainly Rush Limbaugh. The media and pundits did not complain for fear of losing the limited access they had to the president and vice president.

Bush neglected the economy. He did not add the cost of the wars into the annual budget. Americans thought the economy was solid as a rock. Bush blindsided them with a smile. He vacationed more than another media darling, Ronald Reagan. 

Republicans, the media and hot shot pundits did not complain out loud. Long vacations, state dinners, traveling on Air Force One were not questioned. The presidential perks were all a part of running the country.

Not so with President Barack Obama. When he hosted his first state dinner and the menu was published, hate radio talker Laura Ingram had a Texas size hissy fit! She felt the president should have had a less expensive cut of meat, given the economy was in such bad shape. People were jobless and being evicted from their homes. She said when she youngster, at home, she and her mother, who was a waitress, ate chopped beef.

Mark Levine, another hate talker who loathes the President, went stock raving mad on radio; yelling and screaming about President Obama travels on Air Force One. He calculated how much gas Air Force One required in state travel and out of the country. He felt that President Obama and his staff should fly commercial. He said people were suffering, and the president was living too high off the hog. He said the President and his family are living better now than they ever lived in their lives. He said the President should stop having state dinners and parties until the economy is back on track.

Pray tell why all the second guessing, analyzing and investigating the President’s every word and decision? These are the same media and pundits that acted like water boys for Bush and Cheney. If Bush and Cheney pissed in their faces and told them it was raining, they would pull out their umbrellas and continue standing in the "rain."

The media are upset because President Obama does not get angry and blow up. His coolness, which is his personality, is disconcerting. He appears not to care, copy cat media and pundits say. He's weak and indecisive, they decided.  They are practically demanding that President Obama paint his face black and perform a minstrel show. They say he is an angry black man, who cannot control his temper.  The proof? There is none. Does not matter. The media and pundits want him to be average like them.

President Obama is constantly compared to dead presidents, and what they would do about the economic crisis. Solutions of yesterday are not workable solutions to fix today’s problems. But that does not matter. The media and pundits think he should channel dead presidents anyhow. When Obama was running for president he campaigned on what he thought was wrong with the country and the economy. He offered solutions. Like all the candidates, he had no inside information regarding the economy, the two wars and the approaching economic disaster that he was about to inherit from George Bush. The media and pundits thought he should have known the economic disaster was coming.

I recall the media  and pundits getting very angry at  the president-elect. They strongly proposed he overthrow Bush, and take control of the White House before January 20. They forget that Obama was a Constitutional professor. They did not want him to wait until inauguration day. Suddenly the media  and pundits were concerned about the economyand wanted candidate Obama to fix it. How quickly the media forgot that in this country, we have one president at a time. That did not stop their ranting at the president-elect.

Since he as been president, no legislation that Obama signed into law is acceptable. Supposedly the general public hates the legislation, especially health care reform. Teabaggers and Republicans say the President does not understand their “values." In searching for a definition of values as touted by Republicans, I found they believe Democrats are sinful, do not believe in God, are not religious, are Satan worshipers, haters of unborn life, America and the Constitution.

Republicans, on the other hand, are the bearers of all that is good: God, guns, religious, love of family and country and the Constitution. None of what I read about Republican values  explained why so many “family values” spouting Republicans cheat on their wives and willfully indulge in homosexual acts with young men, or have affairs with an assortment of women, married and single.

President Barack Obama is faithful to his wife, who he loves and admires. He does not hide that love from the public. After 16 years they still have a date night. The president lights up when she walks into a room. Sometimes she blushes, acting like a high school girl on her first date. The president listens to her. He loves his daughters and his mother-in-law, who he respects. He has faith in God and attends church whenever he can. Since leaving the church he belonged to for 20 years, he explained that he does not want to put another church through the hassle his attendance will cause. He stands on what he believes, whether it’s popular or not. Are these the character traits of a man who has no “values?”

And now right wing pundits, hate talk radio and the media are second guessing Michele Obama’s motives for the White House garden, and wanting to find a solution to obesity in children. Right wings nuts say it’s a government take over! Hate talkers say Michele Obama has no right to tell parents what to feed their children. In other words, if children suffer high blood pressure and diabetes at young ages, so be it.

Laura Ingram bragged on her show about the fatty foods she eats. The reason? She’s showing First Lady Michelle Obama that she cannot tell her what to eat! That is so silly and childish. Ingram is also jealous of Michele Obama. She has compared herself to the First Lady. She's even toned up her arms so she could go sleeveless on TV. One night when she was on Bill O'Reilly she pulled off her jacket. O'Reilly asked if she was stripping. She pulled off her jacket to show off her arms. He did not notice.

The second guessers are trying to rewrite the President’s agenda. When he does not follow their suggestions, they attack him. As I watched Keith Olberman’s Countdown on MSNBC s tonight, he and his guest complained that the President does understand the enormity of the BP oil spill crisis. He left all the power in the hands BP, Olbermann said. He feels that in allowing BP to clean up its own mess, the President is letting the fox guard the hen house.

Last week Chris Matthews suggested the president rent a submarine, gather some divers, go 5,000 leagues under the sea and plug the oil spill! He says the President's coolness scares him.  Matthews wants to see anger from this President. Chris Matthews looks at too many movies. He is always comparing life issues to movies. This spill is not an instant fixer-upper. Who is the wiser: Matthews and the media, or President Obama who first analyzes, holds discussions with experts, and then reaches a sensible conclusion?

I go with the "cool" guy. He is the wisest of them all.

To post or not to post your thoughts, that is the question

Everyday I read lots of news stories, various columnists and editorials in a variety of online newspapers and magazines. On "news" blog sites I love posting comments after reading the writers. I stay away from profanity. I can express myself without getting vulgar, missing the point of the story or editorial. If someone responds to what I post, I do not get into an online-argument with them.

When you post an opinion online that makes you fair game. There is no reason to get angry when you are responded to negatively. I have read posts that were totally disconnected to the news story or editorial. I find myself saying: “Where did that come from? It's not in this story!” If the writer is talking about green eggs, some posters delve into a jaw-jacking rant about liberals, socialism, the president, 2012, Democrats and Republicans.

I think commenters show their true personalities because they can hide behind screen names. If the angry posters had to write using their real names, I doubt their words would be so critical and acrimonious. On the other hand, some posts are quite pleasant and funny to read.

It amazes me when posters complain about civility, particularly in politics. The same posters then express themselves in the vilest, partisan language permissible. On some sights there does not appear to be restrictions on profanity. If what these posters write is true, especially in regard to President Obama, I find the writing extremely troubling.

A rash of responses I recently read in a Texas newspaper ranted about President Obama's religion. I wish I could say I did not know this much hate existed in the United Stated. Alas! I cannot tell that lie with a straight face. I hear it and read it every day from people who preface their statements with: “I am not a racist.” And then they go on to write comments transparently vile, racist and derogatory.

They take pride in calling President Obama names. I was not a big fan of President Bush, but I never questioned his religion. I got a chance to participate in an interview with him when George Bush was governor of Texas. I shook his hand, but I could not look into his eyes and see what was in his heart like he with Vladmir Putin. I find it odd that people can write--without an ounce of proof--that President Obama is not a Christian. They must be psychic. I'm not.

I'm just saying.

In-school corporal punishment is an extremely bad idea

Wait a holy crap filled minute! You mean there are parents who want their children paddled at school? I do not keep up with the corporal punishment trends, so I plead stupidity. I assumed that all public schools in the U.S. had banned paddling. Suffice it to say I was somewhat surprised when I read that “nostalgic” parents in Temple, Texas wants the return of paddling. They believe a couple of whacks on a student’s backside will force them to act respectfully in the classroom.

When I attended elementary school, I witnessed several of my classmates getting whipped with a strap. Fortunately, none of us girls fell victim to the strap. One afternoon we watched in horror as our homeroom teacher whipped a male student so long, we were scared for him. I ran home and told my mother what happened. The next day she went to the school to talk to the teacher, warning her to never whip me. She told my teacher if there was a problem with me in the classroom, she should send home a note. She would do the punishing. The boy’s mother never came to the school. We felt so sorry for him.

The teacher and her sister, who taught at the near-by high school, was also known for punishing students by whipping them with a strap. Their favorite statement to misbehaving students was: “I will knock you into the middle of another week.” Both of the sisters were top heavy and unattractive.

Maybe my young eyes were fooling me, but I saw anger in the whacks landing on my classmate's behind. He did not always complete his homework; many times he was the class clown. But the punishment we witnessed was uncalled for. We did not call it paddling. We called it whipping, a half notch away from a beating. We did not know the technical term was “corporal punishment.”

The US Supreme Court declared in 1977 that paddling was lawful in schools. Thirty states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico were included in that number. Ohio outlawed the practice in 2009. In 2002, almost 1.4 of all corporal punishment took place in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. It should be noted that Black males were most likely to get paddled as opposed to females and White males.

Today when parents spank or hit their own children they are asking for trouble. The law labels them child abusers, and they are hauled off to jail and fined. The time they spend in jail depends on the kids’ story of alleged abuse. Kids have been told to call 9-1-1 if they are hit, whipped or beat by their parents. I have heard kids threaten to call the police if they cannot have their way. This kiddy style blackmail has consequences for parents and children, many of whom are teenagers. They do not want to be disciplined or told what to do. Children can curse and hit parents with no consequences to suffer. The law is more on the kids' side than upholding the parents right to discipline their youngsters.

Temple, Texas parents are asking for a huge problem they may not be prepared to accept. They want schools to take over the responsibility of raising and disciplining their children and educating them at the same time. Paddling a student in 2010 can present a dangerous situation for the person who does the paddling. Students do not take kindly to getting hit by their parents, let a teacher. They may associate paddling with disrespect. Of course, incessant teasing will follow the paddling. This can cause anger in the student to swell, manifesting itself in a dangerous, deadly way. This is especially true if the student seeks revenge against the teacher. Angry students do not think in terms of cause and effect and consequences.

Problems that I have with a teacher or principal 

administering corporal punishment are:

(A) Who trained this person to paddle a student?

(B) What will cause the paddler to increase, or decrease the paddling?

(C) What if the paddler is angry, taking the anger out on a student?

(D) Will someone be in the room with the paddler and the student? Or will it be done in the privacy of the principal's office?

(E) How quickly will the students' parents be notified of the paddling?

(F) What behavior will require corporal punishment?

(G) Will a female paddle a female student?

(H) Will a male paddle a male student?

(I) What about psychologists claiming that hitting makes a child violent? Does that assessment only apply to parents hitting their kid?

And lastly, the most dreaded subject no one wants to discuss: Race.

(A) Will White parents be unhappy if their kid is paddled by a Black teacher or principal?

(B) Will Black parents be equally unhappy if a White teacher or principal paddles their child?

(C) Will corporal punishment be administered evenly, with neither Black, White, Hispanic or other students getting paddled the most?

The same parents who requested that the school paddle their kid will be the first parents to file a lawsuit if their child complains about getting hit too hard. Paddling is a bad idea. It should be completely outlawed in the school system. Respect should be taught in the home. Discipline should be practiced in the home. Schools are for teaching. Teachers cannot teach and be parents to unruly children who refuse to control their behavior.

The minority vs the majority in National Day of Prayer

I agree with President Barack Obama’s statement when he said: "I invite all people of faith to join me in asking for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection as we meet the challenges before us."

Amen.

I am not a scripture spewing hypocrite, who sees wrong in everyone except myself. I have flaws. I am not a regular churchgoer, nor do I tolerate anyone telling me that I disappoint God, because I do not give 10 percent of my income to the church. It's that flaw thing, again.

God knows my heart and mind better than I do; therefore, I trust him to know that I do not approve of preacher’s living the high life with the help of 10 percent offerings. Preachers with mega-churches declare that God wants them to build these huge houses of worship in his name.

There are times I have walked, talked and prayed to God. My spirit let me know that he listened. He did not need my help in solving my problem. I let it go. That’s my personal relationship with God. No preacher or Constitution can interfere with that relationship. My faith is such that nothing has replaced it.

I am sure everyone has heard a preacher say (especially true of TV evangelists): “God put this message on my heart to tell you.” The message is always related to monetary donations; how large they should be. Apparently God does not worshipers to be stingy. My attitude is: I have that same hot line to God and or Jesus. I can pick up the phone at any hour, any day and make the call.

God also gave me the precious gifts of discernment and choice. I try to use these gifts everyday. Slick talking preachers force me to use these gifts every time I listen to them. I will not try to spend that wooden nickel these preachers offer as an admittance fee into heaven.

When I attended elementary school I lead students in the Lord’s Prayer each morning. It never occurred to me, the teacher and my fellow classmates that our praying would some day be called into questions by the courts. It never occurred to us that we could not start the day with a prayer.

People pray all the time. We pray when there is no light in the tunnel of sorrow, grief, pain. For some of us prayer is the medicine we need to get through a day, especially when we feel hopeless and broken. So what is wrong with a National Day of Prayer? Who is so threatened that he or she cannot stand next to someone who prays to a different God? If I am a Christian and you are of the Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish faith ... will the spirit we pray to weaken our faith? Weaken our belief?

And now a judge says the Constitution does not have a law calling for a day of prayer. A National Day of Prayer is not calling for a mandated, nationalized religion. No one is going to prison or be sentenced to death if he or she refuses to participate. This is America. Nonbelievers say that a government sanctioned national prayer day violates the First Amendment. In this particular instance, when the day concludes, so ends the national event until next year.

The First Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Screaming fire in a crowded theater is not freedom of speech. I guess a National Day of Prayer has become the fire in the crowed theater. The minority doused the flames, leaving the majority with smoke filled throats, unable to speak or pray freely.

It's a bully world

When I learned of the First Lady and President Obama were holding a discussion about bullying, I thought of this editorial that I wrote last year. Adults have been debating the bully dilemma for years. The recent suicide of a 15-year old girl has gotten lots of attention. The guilty culprits were girls attending the same high school. A popular boy and jealousy turned into a toxic mixture for the pretty victim. She was the new kid on the block, and a popular football player was attracted to her. That's the tragic summary to this story.

As everyone knows a bully does not govern his or her behavior according to politically correct rules. Bullies have this mode of operation in common: intimidating and tormenting a targeted victim who is vulnerable and helpless against their harassment. 

Ruffians do not select just any person to target. They tend to stay away from strong personality types. Attempting to intimidate a strong “victim” requires too much time and energy. They might bully back. With the help of the Internet, bullies successfully utilize this electronic tool to further damage the lives of bullied girls and boys. The cyber attacks are far more vicious and violent than a real physical attack.

If a student confronts the bully, he or she might have to fight a group of stand-by bullies. True bullies will not to be ignored. Like a shark in water, bullies smell fear and they want their pound of flesh. The targeted victim cannot sit and talk with a bully. They have a tough guy/ bad girl reputation to protect.

Whereas students can complain about bullying to teachers and principals, it is not likely they will get the results they are seeking. School administrators are afraid of being sued by parents, who will say their off-spring is being defamed by the school. Parents do not believe their children are bullies. Denying the allegations, parents angrily proclaim that administrators and teachers have their child confused with another student.

During my three years as a substitute teacher I witnessed parents bullying school staff if their child was sent to the principal’s office, or suspended due to inappropriate behavior. Not only did parents threaten to sue the school system, students made the same threats. Students felt free to taunt, tease, curse and strike, even kill staff. This attitude was prevalent in elementary, middle and high schools.

Because I subbed at different schools, I slowly realized that principals did not want to wet their hands with student bullying, and bad behavior. It was easier to avoid and ignore bullies. Without the principal’s support, teachers turned their heads. Principals feared losing their jobs if the superintendent received too many complaints.

During my second year of subbing I was quizzed like a criminal when I reported seeing a screw driver in a student’s backpack. I had read a news story about a student getting stabbed to death with a screw driver at a high school in Houston. The assistant principal took me to an empty classroom, and demanded to know how I knew the student had a screw driver in his backpack.

I told her that he left the backpack open, sitting next to me. She wanted to know why I looked in the backpack! She told me what students have in their backpacks is their business. I attempted to explain the deadly stabbing. She did not want to hear it. I was told in polite language to mind my business, and keep my eyes out of students’ backpacks. The student in question was never called to the principal’s office, or questioned. I saw him later that day showing the screw driver to another student.

Discussing this with another teacher, I was told that substitutes were less listened to than certified teachers. Her advice to me was to hear no evil; see no evil. It was difficult for me to see a student taunted or bullied in the classroom or in the hallways, and not interfere. I could not turn my head, pretending I did not see or hear. Eventually my complaining, plus complaints against me from teachers I had subbed for, parents and students--led to my termination.

The bully problem in public schools is difficult to resolve. Students, parents, principals, superintendents and teachers have to work together as a unit. School rules and guidelines have to be strictly adhered to. But even if bullying is curtailed at school, can it stopped on the Internet? Therein lies the hardest question to answer.

Texas becomes main underground railroad for New Orleans’ citizens in search of a new home

A boat load of victims seeking dry ground and safety.

Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans levees ripped open the underbelly of poverty in the Big Easy, exposing its insides to the world. It was a rawness that politicians fail talk about when they are making pretty speeches to get elected or reelected. 

The world was watching days after the hurricane hit, observing the treatment of African Americans in dire stress, many of them just minutes away from death, homelessness, depression and despair.

Naked, raw poverty has a way of marring pretty pictures, empty words, and a president that observed the mean spirited disaster while flying over the watery ruins in Air Force One a few days later. President George Bush cut short his vacation at his Crawford, Texas ranch after an aide produced a video of the disaster, showing it to Bush.

Bush's pretend concern was too late. Hurricane Katrina revealed in an unapologetic way that something is terribly amiss in the United States of America, the land of plenty. But the questions have to be asked: How can this kind of poverty exist in a country as rich as America? How can Americans be treated like refugees standing on roofs, signaling and screaming for help after such a full scale disaster?

America is standing naked. Where can she hide her shame and hypocrisy?

From the beginning I watched Mother Nature at work, uncaring about who had the misfortune of getting in her way. I watched destruction unfold in disbelief. I had to ask myself repeatedly: Am I watching a Third World catastrophe, where lifeless, face down bodies are floating freely among the living in streets that have turned into small rivers in New Orleans? 

No one, as they watched bodies floating by, had time to add more panic to their already traumatized minds. They had to think straight ahead or run the risk of not surviving. In the 1994 Rwanda genocide, a fight for control between the Tutsi and Hutu, bodies floated down rivers and lay scattered on land. There was no slow responding FEMA coming to their rescue. The Rwandans were on their own. I watched that violent, man-made act of genocide on the evening news, just as I watched the New Orleans hurricane acting like it was at war with that state.

Here in America, FEMA failed the Gulf Coast states because of bureaucratic incompetence, leaving everybody to wonder: Who's in charge? Who's on first base? Who's on second base? I can answer those questions with confidence: No one. The in-charge people are still lost in left field; befuddled and unable to tell which way is up, one month later.

WHY POOR FOLK, KATRINA?

Intellectually, I know that Hurricane Katrina did not selectively discriminate, choosing to skip over wealthy neighborhoods just to attack communities where less salaried people lived. But Mother Nature, in her anger, is noted for going into a tirade resembling a scorned woman, paving a new road to purgatory for anyone who gets in her way.

New Orleans, unlike the other destroyed states, was all about levees that everyone knew were going to crumble, subsequently releasing flood waters that the Big Easy could not swallow. Death and destruction rode piggyback wherever the raging waters rushed. I heard the media liken the watery destruction to the flood in the Bible, but I did not hear the media say that God was sending Noah to man an Ark to safety.

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN TEXAS and OTHER STATES

As I watched African Americans treading the flood waters in New Orleans, my mind shot back to the past; to a time that I have often read about, and have seen brutally depicted in movies and documentaries. In true reality, the media brought the nonstop scenes into our living rooms. Some of them did a great job.

The flood victims resembled hundreds of slaves attempting to escape to the North, heading to freedom and a better life. This time around there was no secret Underground Railroad, and each head of household had to take on the role of Harriet Tubman in order to save their own lives, and the lives of their loved ones.

The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad operating underground. It was a secret network of safe houses, where escaping slaves were warmly greeted, given shelter, food and clothing before making their way North. In the instance of Hurricane Katrina, Texas found itself a North stand-in, becoming a temporary safe haven for those running away from the deadly flood.

Ironically, when the media talked to African Americans who had “escaped” to Texas and other states, many of them said they had lost everything they owned, and they had no plans to return to New Orleans. Many of them said they had fallen in love with Texas, and the generosity of Texans, who readily showed concern for their well-being and recovery.

President Bush in Air Force One, observing Katrina

Perhaps their reluctance to return hinges on the fact that New Orleans, where the population is (was) 67 percent African American, is one of the poorest states in the U.S. Almost 30 percent of its citizens live below the poverty line. Ten other states in the U.S. are also sitting on the porch of extreme poverty. The majority populations in these states are White.

THAT WAS THEN, 

THIS IS NOW

I know there are African Americans who say they cannot relate to the plight of former slaves in America. They are living in a different time, where there is a different mind-set, different opportunities and the sweet feel of freedom. If African Americans, strapped to the bottom rung of the economic ladder, would seriously commit to reading their history, coupling that discovery with critical thinking, analyzing where the slaves were, and where they are as the 21st century descendants of slaves, they would be shocked at the comparing results.

I think they will either make serious changes in their lives, or they will continue to live in a fool’s paradise, unable to understand that when one door closes, another door opens, as did the Big Easy flood victims. There is a reason many of the evacuees are saying they are not returning to New Orleans. Texas is their new home. Is this their chance to escape extreme poverty? Yes.

When the rebuilding commences in New Orleans, big questions will have to be answered: How much will it cost to live in the new Big Easy? Will the haves buy out the have-nots? Will the returning poor be scattered throughout the city, or will they be thrown back into the same poverty stacked neighborhoods? We will have to wait and see.

That’s the difference between then and now. African Americans out of New Orleans will have to decide for themselves if the glass of opportunity is completely empty or half full. Will they pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or by flimsy shoe strings that are subject to breaking? We will have to wait and see.

Whose sin is the greatest?

Triple Tsk. And shame on the catholic bishop in Providence, Rhode Island recently removed two hospitals from its membership roll. The blasphemous hospitals had the unmitigated gall to supported health care reform! The hospitals favored the Affordable Health Care Act,  as I’m sure Jesus would have done. I'm not trying to speak for Jesus. I'm just saying.

The bishop’s crystal ball warned him that the hospitals would perform abortions with public funding, sneaking through the back door, using health care reform to pay for an abortion. The bishop is not letting the truth stand in the way of his misinformed truth. God forgot to tell him to take notes on this issue.

The bishop is concentrating on the unborn fetus. He says God is against abortions.  That ain't news! One of the Ten Commandments says: "Thou shall not kill." It does not state abortion specifically. There should have been another longer commandment: "Catholic priests shall not molest and rape children. Any head of church caught protecting pedophiles and child rapists shall be punished."

Every raped and molested girl and boy is forced to live with the death of their spirit. Their spirit and sense of self was bloodlessly aborted by pedophile priests. Even though the priests did not murder them physically, they successfully murdered everything the victims might have become. The young victims have to live with the guilt and shame that came to them uninvited.

Catholic churches need to sanitize their places of worship, ridding them of lustful priests who dare touch a child in a sexual way. The churches should stop telling pregnant women, young girls and doctors what constitutes murder in God's eyes. If abortion is murder, then the doctor, the woman or young girl are the ones who will have to answer to God for their transgressions.

God is watching the molestation and raping of helpless children who depend on men (and women) of the cloth for spiritual guidance. The Catholic church forgot that God said: "Suffer not the little children. . . ." No one in his or her right mind can argue that molestation and raping causes these children to suffer greatly.

How will the child rapists, pedophiles and protective church heads explain their murdering and hurtful sins on judgment day? I'd love to be in the welcoming line to hear their explanations. I would love to hear God ask: "Who did you remove from your church?"

$650 billion is big government any calendar year

The tea party bug was planted February 19, 2009 by CNBC’s Rick Santelli. In one of his rants against President Obama’s plan for a tax-payers funded mortgage bailout. He announced loudly that there ought to be a tea party revolt against the government.

In November 2009, the newly formed tea party held a protest in Harrisburg, PA to protest the stimulus package. On February 7, 2009 and March 9, 2010, PA received $1, 878, 240. 00 (billion) out of a promised $7,443, 950. 00. Allocation of the funds is set for a two year period, providing each state adheres to the guidelines. President Obama made it clear early on that the money would not be issued in one lump sum. The media and pundits forget to throw in that one important fact when looking for reasons to fault the stimulus package.

The tea partiers should have known this when they commenced their protests.

They had plans to reorganize the government by blocking the President’s economic and environmental agenda, and proposed health care reform. They plan to replace any politician who does not agree with their stance on the stimulus package, bailouts (government loans), the size of government, how it should be run, higher taxes.

At some of their protests they have called for the impeachment of President Obama. Asked to cite the basis for impeachment, the response was they do not know. They will find a reason later, some said. Some protesters suggested that the President be charged with treason, all the while proclaiming he is not an American.

That’s what talking points will do for information challenged protesters who are not on top of the issues. They have no idea what impeachment entails.

Originally, the tea partiers named themselves after the Boston Tea Party protest of 1773. Of course they are nowhere close to the 1773 Tea Revolution, nor have they researched the meaning of “teabagger.” From what I have read, “teabagger” has a sexual connotation that does not lend itself to much imagination.

Definition: A man who dips his testicles into the mouth of another man (as if dipping a tea bag into hot water.)

The word has became a joke for comedians, and somewhere along the way, someone informed the 'teabaggers' what they are really saying about themselves, as opposed to what they thought  they were calling themselves. Some comedians, bloggers, pundits and journalists still refer to the groups as 'teabaggers', even though they are now calling themselves the Tea Party.

It is common to see tea parteirs protesters carrying provocative signs: They are losing their First Amendment rights as Americans. This is not the American they remember or know. They claim President Obama–a year and four months into his presidency--has systemically destroyed America. Tea partiers say they want the government to listen to them. They want to pay less taxes (which they are) and cut "unnecessary" programs from the budget. They want Social Security and Medicare left as is. Both sacred cows are hanging out in their back yards and fed by "the big government."

In 2009 almost 51 million Americans received $650 billion in benefits. Just think of the money that would add to the federal coffer if the acid tongued protesters returned their monthly checks, along with a letter stating they no longer need the big government benefits. 

Don't count on that happening! It is easier to be hate mongrels and hypocrites.

Mathematically, no matter what the Tea Party folks paid into FICA during their work history, after two or three years they become wards of the state, receiving welfare in the form of Social Security and Medicare. Their monetary add-in and take-out do not break even.

Glenn Beck, the Tea Party's educator-in-chief, got these folk riled about those Russian “czars” in the Obama administration. Neither Professor Beck, nor conservative hate talk radio and TV have opened their mouths about the number of czars the Bush administration employed, way outnumbering those in Obama’s administration. Having czars in presidential administrations dates back to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Comedian Jeannie Garofulo, on Keith Olberman’s show, got it right when she said: “When Tea Partiers scream ‘I want my country back’ it’s code for ‘I want my White guy back.’”

Tea Part folk are not angry about the government. Their hate for a Black president is making them angry. They should read the 1773 Boston Tea Party history to learn the real reason for the revolt. The colonies felt they had a right to refuse paying the taxes required by the Townsend Act. They felt they had no obligation to pay the taxes imposed on them by the parliament, because they had no representation. It seems the crown’s attempt to tax tea catapulted the colonists into action. It laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.

The protesters should rename themselves The Frauds. Their feigned anger is nothing short of fraud. The media are trying to legitimize them as creditable "grassroots" organizations. American revolutionists? Naw. Too much of a stretch.

Show us the birth certificate!

Yesterday I called the Texas Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics in Austin, Texas to ask if an individual is given his/her original birth certificate upon request. My curiosity was peeked when I read that Republican Rep. Judy Burges, of Arizona is trying to get a birthers bill passed. The preliminary vote count was 31-22. The bill will have to undergo a formal vote before it goes to the Senate. Florida and Oklahoma pulled this prank and met with complete failure.

Arizona legislatures want all future presidential candidates to produce birth certificates if they want on the ballot. You do not have to be a mastermind to know this is about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, and his right to be president. The tea party nitwits, the fruitcake politicians and copycat pundits are encouraging these people to act like ill-informed fools. They refuse to accept the president's birth certificate as posted online.

I never saw this kind of brouhaha about the birth place of any other president. No white man running for president has ever had to show his birth certificate, or show proof of his citizenship. If it happened, I must have been in a Rip Van Winkle type sleep, or in a self-induced coma.

If presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did not uncover evidence that Barack Obama is not an American born citizens–then there is no campaign Obama scandal waiting to be discovered. Clinton and her campaign looked under every rock, every bed, every closet, every closed door. They did a more than thorough job. I am sure John McCain conducted the same kind of search.

I think this pending Arizona Birthers Bill is silly. It is a waste of valuable time. But then, Republicans are good at wasting time. I keep looking at my calendar to remind myself that this is 2010, not 1810. In 1946 the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics designed a form for all states to utilize when recording a birth; however, the states were not obligated to use it. Each state was free to design its own form.

Birth certificates are titled (a) Certificate of Birth; (b) Certificate of Live Birth or (c) Certificate of Birth Registration. I have my Certificate of Birth. Not the original, a copy. I could not get the original even if I went to court, demanding that Texas not deny me the original certificate. Is it not my right to have the original certificate if I want it? Allow me to answer my own question: A resounding No! I do not have a right to the original. If I lose my photocopied copy, I can always get another one. If I had the original, lost it, how would I make a copy? Life as I know it would complicated. When a state agency ask to see proof of my age, place of birth, and if I am a citizen of the U.S., where is my proof? Word of mouth from friends and relatives won't cut it. I couldn't say: "Trust me. I am an American born citizen."

Before states were required to record births there were no official records prior to 1914. If you have researched your genealogy, you probably discovered that many of your ancestors’ birth dates were not officially recorded. Where your ancestors were born and their ages becomes a guessing game. Not having this vital information complicates your search. So it makes sense that original birth certificates not be issued to individuals, but remain with state registrars.

To state it simply–at least in my mind–the original birth certificate is the only tangible proof of where you were born, the hospital, the doctor, the parents, the time, family address, occupation of parents, their ages, mother’s maiden name (if married) and a state seal. Years ago in Austin a baby's birth was announced in the local newspapers if the couple was married; the same as President Obama’s birth announcement. Parents cannot stage these newspaper announcements decades in advance, foreseeing their adult son or daughter might run president of the U.S.

An employee at Vital Statics told me that no one gets original records of any kind. The State of Texas is in charge of those records, but upon request the individual, or an authorized individual can obtain a copy of a birth certificate. She explained the kinds of paper the copy is printed on, which has the Texas seal. She said she could not speak for other states, but she was sure no one was granted an original birth certificate.

All this birthers trash talking is about an African American holding the highest office in the history of the United States. His victory was not supposed to happen. Only white men win the presidency in America. That is this country’s history. Southern birthers are going insane. Needless to say, their propagandizing, hate talk and the shrill punditry began long before the 2008 election. Baseless accusations against candidate Obama has always been wildly out of control. As of 2010, the lies have gotten bigger.

But, and that is a big hypothetical but-- if muckrakers can prove Obama’s presidency is illegitimate because of the birth question, that will assure the ankle kickers that their suspicions, racism and hatred is justified. The next step will be to protest against everything President Obama has done since he has been in office. That proof will be reason to dismantle all legislation with his signature on it. No repeal. Just nullify.

Obama haters want an excuse to delete the election and his presidency. That is what they are aiming for with a blessing from the media. If this were to occur-- the deletion of Obama's presidency-- the unfolding event would be a magic victory for tea party Kool-Aid drinkers. Alas, they will find their lost freedom (that was never left). A battered, disregarded Constitution will find new life.

Those senior citizens who are not getting Medicare, Medicaid and VA checks can hang onto their right not to purchase big government run medical insurance. No more socialism, "Obamacare" and apologizing for America’s sins. Older citizens will be safe from government death panels and fatal pills. Health care law suits will vanish like a Houdini illusion. Presidential candidates won’t have to produce birth certificates. America will be true America again with the socialist black guy gone. Every thing will return to "normal" when the next white guy is elected president. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be in America? You betcha!

Sometimes complication is required

President Barack Obama

President George Bush

During George Bush’s administration he made pundits, and the media feel they were intellectuals worth reading and listening to. With a chuckle in their throats they made excuses for Bush’s slaughtering the English language and mangling of foreign leaders' names. It did not matter to the media. Bush was the man! He was the Decider! He was The Uniter!

President Obama, a former Constitutional professor who tends to explain his answers in adult language rather than perky bumper sticker, is ridiculed. The media hate the fact that President Obama intelligent and speak perfect English. He has an extensive vocabulary with which to express himself. I am not surprised when lazy pundits, and a lackluster media chose to make fun of his responses to questions.

As a former substitute teacher, I believe in thoroughly explaining answers to questions for the sake of clarity. I learned in the classroom that short answers do not work for all students. When this situation happened several students repeated the same question, at which time I would delve into more details. I would then ask if they understood. Students who initially said they understood the short response got a better understanding of the problem. Detailed answers are sometimes necessary.

But it does not matter what President Barack Obama say or how he says it. If he recited the Lord’s Prayer he would be accused using too many words, forcing religion on Americans, taking away their right to deny that God even insists!

Intelligence has taken a back seat to stupidity, screaming talk shows on television and bitchfest reality shows. That's where intelligence is today. Low information individuals do not recognize intelligence when they hear it. The media are pushing the notion that intelligence does not matter. Sound bites and misinformation is the norm of the day. That's why the media complex industry loves Sarah Palin.

'Now It's Personal!' What does this really mean?

'Now It's Personal!' More billboard stupidity
on display for the world to see.

So what else is new?

The day Barack Obama announced that he was running for president of the United States, it became "personal" with White folk who insist on living in the past. They want 2010 America to return to the “good old days”; back in the 1950s and 1960s. They still operate from the Jim Crow days when Black people "had a place" and they should the good sense stay in it.

At the onset of Obama’s campaign an elderly White male was so angry he could not hide his disgust. Interviewed by a blogger at a Tea Party rally, the man said without hesitation, "A nigger ain’t got no business running for president. Ain't no White man gonna listen to a nigger."  He said a "nigger" cannot run a country like America. He was taking “it personal” long before the  billboard popped up.

Fox news, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, the print media and pundits told White folks why they should be angry. They had a right to be angry about Obama's candidacy for a variety of reasons, one being he will "take our freedom" if he is elected.  White people were warned that America would never be the same if Obama becomes president.

I learned long ago: If you repeat a lie enough times the audience you are speaking to will accept the lie as truth. It is mob violence that verbally kicked into action by rabid perpetrators.

When protesters are asked why they are so angry at President Obama they say they do not like his policies. 

"He is taking away our freedom." 

"He is trying to get rid of the Constitution." 

"We want our country back." 

"He’s a dictator." 

"He’s not a real American." 

"He’s a socialist." 

"We don’t want Obamacare."

Asked to explain themselves or give an example of how all these accusations are occurring, the dumb struck protesters have no answers. It appears they did not bother to form their own opinions or educate themselves about the issues. They like standing in the low information line, waiting to get their saucer of talking points from Republicans, who get their talking points from Rush Limbaugh and his ilk.

Former Texas Republican Rep. Dick Armey of Freedonmworks is using these protesting nitwits to catapult himself back into the political arena of power. Sarah Palin is playing them like a dime store fiddle to enhance her banking account. She has a ready-made market where she can sell her books, and  practice her presidential speechifying.

I find it funny the protesters are not willing to send back the monthly Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and Veteran Administration checks, with a note saying: Dear Big Government,  I do not want you in my business! Stop sending the government checks immediately. Keep your food stamps. I do not agree with that socialist Obama! So far there have been no reports of the government getting flooded with returned checks.

The bill board buyers are the ones with the money. They do not have to depend on monthly SS checks to survive. Dick Armey is a millionaire. The buyers of the bill board have not come forward. I say to them if you believe in what you say on the bill board, why not come forward and let us see your faces. Tells us the reason for the billboard. Explain your actions. Do not hide behind a spokesman's coattails. Hiding your face is cowardly. If the lot of you do not come forward for the world to see who you are, then you do not believe in your own "Now It's Personal" cause. As a group you are as fake as the politicians who encourage you to make absolute fools yourselves.