Where is the birth certificate, Obama? Or who let the birthers out of the insane asylum?

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 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 to be on the ballot. You do not have to be a political mastermind to know this is about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, and his right to be president. Tea Party nitwits, fruitcake politicians and copycat pundits are encouraging these legislators to conduct themselves like ill-informed yokels. They refuse to accept the President's birth certificate that's posted online.

I never saw or read about this kind of brouhaha regarding the birth places of other presidents. No White man running for president has ever showed his birth certificate or proof of his citizenship. If it happened I must have been in a Rip Van Winkle type sleep.

If presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did not uncover evidence that Barack Obama is not an American born citizens–then there is no campaign scandal waiting to be discovered. Clinton and her campaign looked under every rock, every bed, opened every closet. 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 have to look 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, 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 copy. If I had the original, and misplaced it, how would I make a copy? Life as I know it would complicated. When a state agency asks to see proof of my age, place of birth, 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. I was born  . . ."

Before states were required to record births no official records were kept prior to 1914. If you have researched your family genealogy, you will likely discover that many of your ancestors' birth dates were not officially recorded. Where your ancestors were born, dates of their births and their ages becomes a guessing game. Not having this vital information complicates your search. So it makes sense that original birth certificates are not issued to individuals but remain in the files of state registrars.

To state it simply--the original birth certificate is the only tangible proof of where you were born, the hospital, the doctor, your parents, the time, family address, occupation of parents, their ages, mother’s maiden name (if married) and the state seal affixed on the certificate. Years ago in Austin a baby's birth was announced in the daily newspaper if the couple was married; the same as President Obama’s birth announcement. Parents cannot stage these 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, marriage license, etc. 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 has ever been given an original birth certificate.

All this birthers trash talking is about an African American holding the highest office in the  United States. His victory was not supposed to happen. Only White males win the presidency in America. That is this country’s history, the reason Southern birthers are going insane. Needless to say, their propagandizing, hate talk and 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 due the birth question, that will assure the ankle kickers that their suspicions are justified. The next step will be to erase 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 antagonist want an excuse to delete the election and his presidency. That is what they are aiming for with blessings from the media. If this were to occur--the deletion of Obama's presidency--the unfolding event would be a hallelujah moment for the Kool-Aid drinkers. Alas, they will find their lost freedom (that was never left). A battered, disregarded Constitution will find new life.

Citizens who are not getting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or VA checks can hang onto their right not to purchase big government medical insurance. No more socialistic "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. White presidential candidates won’t have to produce birth certificates. America will be true America again with the socialist black guy run out of office. Everything 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!

From wearing a swin suit in Hawaii to a dressed up president in Washington

Dressed up in his swimsuit, a smile on his face, here stands the future 

president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.

 

Born August 4, 1961, in Hawaii, presidential candidate Barack Obama won the 2008 election over his Republican opponent John McCain. He is the first African American to be elected president in the history of the United States. 

The announcement of Obama’s victory awakened a mountainside of emotions all over the world. His inauguration and swearing in  ceremony occurred January 20, 2009, on the steps of the Capital, at 12 noon. He is the 44^th president. Thousands upon thousands of spectators watched the historical event in chilling cold weather in Washington, DC. Millions watched while sitting in the warmth of their homes.

Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts administered the oath to Obama. Judge Roberts was either asleep at the wheel, or had a sudden brain freeze when he instructed Barack Obama to repeat the ceremonial words after him. Judge Roberts stumbled. Obama did as he was instructed. Criticism was immediate.

Taking oath a second time in White House

I watched the same swearing in ceremony as the rest of the world, but the media and the know-all gum bumpers (pundit) put their own spin on what happened. It was Obama who stumbled not Roberts they tooted.  

Roberts prompted: " . . . That I will execute the Office of President to the United States faithfully." Obama stopped at "execute" and waited for Roberts to correct himself. Roberts, after a false start, then followed Obama's "execute" with "faithfully", which resulted in "execute faithfully", also incorrect. Obama then repeated Roberts' initial, incorrect prompt, with the word "faithfully" after "United States."

Pres. Barack Obama

Obama, who taught Constitutional Law for 12 years at the University of Chicago Law School, had a puzzled look on his face as he repeated Robert’s confused words. The next day the newly minted president repeated the oath in a private ceremony January 21 in the White House. 

Once again, Roberts administered the oath. Correctly.  Good thing he did. The media hurriedly declared that Obama was “unofficial" as president because he flubbed the swearing in. The media could not accept that Judge Robert bungled the swearing in. Obama’s presidency began with Roberts screwing up, and a media seriously trying to create controversy.

Below is legislation the President signed into law immediately.

• January 29, 2009 President Barack Obama, signed his first piece of legislation: "The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act" of 2009. The bill eased the statue of limitation for equal pay lawsuits.

• February 3 President Obama signed the "Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP)", increasing the number of children on CHIP from seven million to 11 million.

• February 17, 2009, in Denver, Colorado, the President signed into law the $787 billion "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" (ARRA). The bill was passed by the House and Senate, but mostly passed along party lines. No Republicans in the House voted for it. However, many House Republicans took credit when their states received funds. They took photos at groundbreaking ceremonies, displaying large checks with the amount their states received.  On TV they continually downgraded the financial helpfulness of ARRA.

• March 2009 President Obama reversed a Bush-era policy which limited funding of embryonic stem cell research. He pledged to develop strict guidelines on the research. Bush’s religion was instrumental in his decision.

• May 26, 2009, President Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court in the first two years of his Presidency. Sonia Sotomayor, nominated by Obama to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter. She was confirmed on August 6, 2009, becoming the first Hispanic to as a Supreme Court Justice.

• 2009 President Obama turned around U.S. Auto Industry. His advisers didn’t have the faith and confidence he had that industry could rebound. Obama went with his intuition and invested $62 billion in federal money, in addition to the $13.4 billion the Bush administration had previously invested in GM and Chrysler, in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring.  Whereas Bush placed no other conditions on the funds, Barack Obama put strict guidelines and demands on the borrowers. Pop goes the weasel, the auto industry created a workable plan, and followed through on it. The auto industry added more than 100,000 jobs. By 2011 the industry gained their market share for the first time in two decades.

• March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the "Affordable Care Act" into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices. The law allows all Americans to make health insurance choices that work for them while guaranteeing access to care for our most vulnerable and provides new ways to bring down costs and improve quality of care.

• May 10, 2010 Elena Kagan was nominated by the President to replace retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. She was confirmed on August 5, bringing the number of women sitting simultaneously on the Court to three, for the first time in American history.

• 2010 the President signed the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act". It is designed to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The legislation tightens the screws on capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions. Derivatives are required to be sold on clearinghouses and exchanges, mandates that large banks provide living wills to avoid chaotic bankruptcies, limit their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit, and creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to put a choke hold on abusive lending products and companies. The Chase Bank scandal is good reason for the reform.

• 2010 President Obama tightened the noose around the neck of Iran, locking done on sanctions. The idea is to deter Iran’s goal to engage in the construction a nuclear weapon. He, along with a number of other countries, signed "The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act" of 2010. This act punishes firms and individual businesspeople willing to aid Iran via purchasing petroleum from the country.

• March 2011 was the year Muammar Gaddafi was sniffed out by angry Libyan rebels with a cause. The U.S. joined a coalition of European and Arab governments to execute military action, that included air strikes and naval blockade. Gaddafi was on the run, but he was finally cornered and shot to death by Libyans. That ended Gaddafi’s 42-year reign of terror and dictatorship. After eight months of bombing and on the ground fighting by Libyan rebels and citizens, Gaddafi was killed October 20, 2011. Not one American died.

• May 1, 2011, terrorist Osama bin Laden met his waterloo on this date due to a successful plan to take him out. Skilled Navy SEALS executed the plan without incidence. The SEALS raided bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the architect of 9/11 was shot to death. A treasure trove of documents was found and taken by the SEALS. The night before the killing of bin Laden, President Obama was telling jokes and being funny at the annual Correspondent Dinner. He told the world the next day that the #1 terrorist had been taken out. Though his advisers wanted the President to go the easier route–bombing the compound–he went the riskier route. He didn’t want bin Laden blown to smithereens, making it impossible to identify his body. The President’s hunch was correct. It was a brave call. Had it gone wrong the media would have destroyed his political career. As it stands, they are trying to destroy him anyway.

• June 2011 the President issued the order to initiate troop withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan, bringing home 101,000 troops. That reduced U.S. troops to 91,000, with 23,000 scheduled to head back to the U.S. by the end of summer in 2012. The mission is expected to end by 2014.  

• 2011, because President Obama understands the importance of a complete education in order to compete on a global scale, he initiated "Race to the Top". It is a federal program that provides grant money to improve and encourage interests in math and science. Schools had to follow three guidelines to apply for a share of allocated $4.35 billion.

All of the accomplishments that President Obama and his administration have achieved in three-in-a-half years are too numerous to list. That is why I am puzzled when presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Republicans, and Obama haters say he has no record to run on.  They claim he has achieved nothing since he became president. They refuse to acknowledge that he  out achieved Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and George Bush during this time period in their presidency.

Barack Obama (r), half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, mother Ann Durham, grandfather Stanley Durham. Photo taken in Hawaii.

Words of wisdom comes easily for those who have lived and learned their meanings

1. I am obliged to confess that I do not regard the abolition of slavery as a means of warding off the struggle of the two races in the Southern states. The Negroes may long remain slaves without complaining; but if they are once raised to the level of freemen, they will soon revolt at being deprived of almost all their civil rights; and as they cannot become the equals of the whites, they will speedily show themselves as enemies.    
      
      Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political scientist. 1805-1859

1.  My mother, Southern to the bone, once told me, "All Southern literature can be summed up in these words: 'On the night the hogs ate Willie, Mama died when she heard what Daddy did to sister.  
      
      Pat Conroy,  American Novelist, b.1945
 

1. Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”   
     
       John Jakes
 

1. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.  
       Epicurus, Greek philosopher, BC 341-270
 

1. Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. 
      
      Comedian Bill Cosby

1. All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.   
      
      Dalai Lama
 
1. Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure. 
 

2. America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

3. Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

4. How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.    
       
      President Abraham Lincoln

1. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

2. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

3. Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.   
      
      Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.

2. A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.

3. Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.   
        
      Author and humorist Mark Twain

1. In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. 

2.It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get. 
3. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. 
      
      Confucius

1. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

2. All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.

3. Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. 
       
      Genius Albert Einstein 

1. And we love to dance, especially that new one called the Civil War Twist. The Northern part of you stands still, while the Southern part tries to secede.  
     
      Comedian and activist Dick Gregory

Dog shot to death by police officer in East Austin causes angry uproar from public

On Saturday, April 14, Austin Police Officer Thomas Griffin answered a domestic violence call in East Austin, deemed a “high crime” area by the media and Austin Police Department.

What happened next is in dispute by the responding officer, and the owner of a Blue Heeler  named Cisco. The officer told Michael Paxton--Cisco’s owner--the dog should have been on a leash, despite it being in Paxton’s back yard. There was no mention in the media if Griffin entered a locked gate, after which he was confronted by the dog.

I am not a dog owner, but I know they (dogs) are territorial and protective of their space and their owners, especially when a stranger encroaches on their space. They tend to bark, growl and bare their teeth in a threatening manner. I think this is a dog’s way of telling a stranger to “back off.”

Whatever happened, Officer Griffin thought his life was in danger. According the police manual an officer can justifiably shoot and kill a dog (or human) if there is a perceived threat to an officer or any one else. Cisco was shot to death in its owner’s back yard.

Initially, Griffin pulled his gun on Paxton when he arrived at the resident.

Dog owners and lovers have bombarded the Austin Police Department since the shooting. Some have made threats, and writing emails, both of which are full of profanity and anger,  Police Chief Art Acevedo said during a press conference. People are writing angry responses on Facebook, causing the incident to go international. He says complainers have a developed a “mob mentality” about the shooting.

I was listening to a couple local radio jocks this morning and they were very upset. They said people were calling the show expressing extreme anger at the police officer. Some callers said the officer could have maced the dog instead of killing it.

The conservative radio jocks justified the shooting, saying the officer was responding to a call in East Austin, a “high crime” area, where “those people” live. To them, both of whom are White, whoever is killed by the police in East Austin, it's justified. No questions need be asked.

Griffin said he had his patrol car video on, but shooting of the dog was out of  camera range. What has to be heartbreaking for Paxton is that Cisco did not have to die at the hands of Griffin, who answered a disturbance call at the wrong address. He was not supposed to be at Paxton’s house.

The Chief Acevedo said the shooting is under investigation. A local TV station investigated the “criminal history” of Cisco. Neither human nor pet misses media scrutiny in East Austin.

According to the Austin American Statesman, “Paxton has denied that Cisco behaved aggressively. KXAN  TV reported Wednesday that Animal Control records indicate that a man, who was not bitten, reported that Cisco was overly aggressive, and had charged him as he walked down the sidewalk. In another instance, the news station reported, a woman claimed that Cisco had bitten her as she tried to pet him in a parking lot."

Extremely low sales tag attached to the lives of young African American males

Trayvon Martin parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin

Family of Marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain

Sometimes you have to exploit a high profile case to get justice for cases that are largely ignored by the media. It's common knowledge the media are not interested in the shooting deaths of Black males; the kidnappings, rapes and murders of Black children; the murders and rapes of Black women. The same "we are not interested" rule applies to Hispanics and others. Only White women are important and newsworthy to the major media. The prettier the White female victim, the more aggressive the coverage. Nonetheless, White children and men receive more attention than minorities.

The media, politicians and pundits, especially Fox mouthpieces, are stepping all over each other, rushing to voice their opinions about the sudden awakening in Black communities in the aftermath of  the shooting death of an unarmed 17-year-old African American male. The media are suggesting that Black people should stop protesting and let justice take its course in the shooting death of  17-year-old Travon Benjamin Martin, who was shot killed by an adult named George Zimmerman, 29, in Sanford, Florida, February 216, 2012.

The media and pundits are accusing Rev. Al Sharpton,  the NAACP and other Black leaders of stirring up racial animosity, putting innocent people in danger. They have sided with Zimmerman. They say Trayvon was apparently behaving  "suspiciously", drawing Zimmerman's attention. The media and pundits have readily accepted and believe the shooter's version of  what happened the night Trayvon was shot to death. He must have done something wrong, otherwise, he would be alive today, some of them say. Regrettably, Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman are the only witnesses to that February night of tragedy. One is dead and the other is. . . 

The next step in this calamity is to dehumanize Martin,  a common ruse employed by the media and police departments. The media complex desperately want Martin to be a high school dropout, a gang banger, a two-bit hoodlum with an arm-length record of arrests and convictions. They want his death to be irrelevant and counted as a Black male statistic. 

The media and pundits want Trayvon Martin to come from a single parent home, an absent father who is in prison, jobless or on drugs, rendering him incapable supporting his son financially and emotionally. They want Martin's mother to have several  children out of wedlock by different men, totally negligent in her parental duties, and a long time welfare recipient on crack, the media's drug of preference for African Americans.

Trayvon Martin did not fit the stereotype. He has two loving parents, neither of whom talks in slang or Ebonics. They are middle class, dress nicely and can talk intelligently in complete sentences! The media are unhappy with that. Knowing that Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton are divorced is not sensational enough to bother with. No scandal there. So the media scoured Trayvon's social accounts on Facebok and Twitter in search of reportable news. Scandalous news. They learned nothing that set him aside from other teenagers who post all kinds of photos, brag and tell all of their personal business on these sites.

As we all now know the head of  Madam Justice was twisted backwards in Stanford, Florida the late evening Martin was killed. The person who took Trayvon Martin’s life that rainy night was set free. The police chief saw no evil, heard no evil in George Zimmerman's actions. Zimmerman, the "White Hispanic" is free to make choices.  The dead teenager, Trayvon Martin, an African American, can no longer make choices. He is only free to lay silent and lifeless in a cold grave. His parents can no longer caress him. See his smile. Listen to him talk. Watch him be a silly teenager. However, Trayvon's thousands upon thousands of supporters of all hues, along with his grieving parents, are speaking for him. They are demanding that real justice be done.

Zimmerman was not been arrested after killing Trayvon due to Florida's free-to-kill law officially called Stand Your Ground. Gun lovers and the NRA applauded Zimmerman for standing his ground. The unarmed teenager did not get a chance to stand his ground. The mortician who prepared his body for burial said there were no tale-tale injuries or scars on Trayvon's body or hands to indicate that he had been in a life-and-death struggle with Zimmerman. He had a single shot to the heart.

Al Sharpton, MSNBC host of Politics Nation, and civil right activists, understands that drawing attention to a case like this can lead to judicial re-examination, and reopening of similar shootings that have gone unnoticed by the media. There are hundreds of these files stored in cold case files all across America. The number is increasing every day. 

One example is the police shooting death of former Marine Kenneth Chamberlain, November 19, 2011. The story's headline reads: Racially Motivated Killing the Media Missed? NY Police Called Out on Medical Alert Shooting Dead of 68 Year Old Black Veteran.

Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now writes in AlterNet, March 29: “As the shooting death of Trayvon Martin continues to draw national attention, today we look at another controversial shooting of an African-American male that has received far less scrutiny. On the morning of November 19th, a 68-year-old former Marine named Kenneth Chamberlain, with a heart condition, accidentally pressed the button on his medical alert system while sleeping. Responding to the alert, police officers from the city of White Plains, New York arrived at Chamberlain’s apartment in a public housing complex shortly after 5 a.m. By the time the police left the apartment Kenneth Chamberlain was dead, shot twice in the chest by a police officer inside his home. 

"Police gained entry to Chamberlain’s apartment only after they took his front door off its hinges. Officers first shot him with a taser, then a beanbag shotgun, and then with live ammunition. Several months after his death, the name of the officer who killed Kenneth Chamberlain has yet to be released. The DA has vowed to convene a grand jury to determine if any of the officers should face charges,” writes Gonzalez and Goodman.

Another example among the many that I found is an article by Earl Ofari Hutchinson in The Grio, March 30. He wrote about the shooting death of 19-year-old Kendrec McDade in Pasadena, CA. 

“The two Pasadena police officers who shot and killed 19-year-old Kendrec McDade Saturday night did not have their patrol car lights or sirens on when they approached the unarmed teenager. Police were responding to an armed robbery call that turned out to be false. The 911 caller, 26-year-old Oscar Felipe Carrillo, admitted to police that he lied about two suspects having a gun. He has been arrested and is awaiting potential charges of involuntary manslaughter.

“Pasadena police spokesperson Phlanté Riddle said the department does not allow officers to turn on patrol car lights or sirens if the emergency has no imminent danger. Carrillo told the dispatcher two African-American men pointed a gun at him and stole his backpack," writes Hutchinson.

Another related story in Pasadena Star News, March 27, written by Brian Charles, revealed that, “The lawyer for slain teenager Kendrec McDade's family on Tuesday described the shooting of the former Azusa High School football standout as a drive-by conducted by a member of the Pasadena Police Department.

"Attorney Caree Harper said an unidentified officer rolled down the window of his patrol car and fired at least one shot at the 19-year-old, while a second officer chasing on foot opened fire as well. The volley of as many as 10 shots killed McDade. Both officers said McDade was grabbing at his waistband, which led them to believe he was reaching for a weapon. The officers believed McDade to be a suspect in an armed robbery.”

McDade was unarmed. He was innocent. He was black.

Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman quickly resorted to the excuses made by police when they shot and kill black males:

(a) I feared for my life.

(b) I thought he was reaching for a weapon.

(c) He reached for something in his waistband. 

(d) I saw something in his hand.

These hackneyed excuses have worked well  for police officers for decades. Zimmerman reached into the same old grab bag and pulled them out to justify his murderous rage against Trayvon Martin.

Martin was talking on his cell phone to a female friend at the time Zimmerman began stalking him. You know. . . the cloak and dagger stuff  you see in the movies and on TV. Martin had gone to a nearby 7-Eleven during an NBA halftime to buy a package of  Skittles and a can of Arizona Ice Tea. He did not return to the complex running, looking over his  shoulders, searching for a hiding place. No police was chasing him. He had not committed a crime. He had not robbed the 7-Eleven. Notwithstanding, armed with these dangerous items on his person: Skittles, a can of tea, a cell phone, and wearing a hoodie made this youngster look like a threat to society, a gang banger, who was out on a rainy night scouting apartments and cars to burglarize.

Without evidence or a personal knowledge of Martin's history, Zimmerman knew immediately that this Black teenage male "looks like he's on drugs", and “up to no good.” By God, the wannabe cop was going to eradicate this gated neighborhood of these Black thugs and criminals! After all, he said in his call to 9-1-1-, "These assholes always get away!" 

According to local news stories Zimmerman cooperated with the police on the night of the shooting.He told them his side of the story. It was decided there was no probable cause to arrest him. As noted in a recent video of him getting out of a police patrol car, Zimmerman was clearly handcuffed.  Everyone assumed that he had been arrested, as the lead investigator suggested. 

The Miami Herald reported: "On at least two prior occasions, the Stanford Police Department was accused of turning their heads when  officers  are involved in violent encounters with blacks. In 2010 police waited seven weeks to arrest a lieutenant's son who was caught on video sucker-punching a homeless black man."

As we all have heard, the police dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow Martin. "We don't need you to do that" he was told. The dispatcher said she was sending an officer. Zimmerman disregarded her suggestion. He was the cop on the beat, and he was not going to let his Black criminal to get away!

Police volunteer program coordinator Wendy Dorival said she met Zimmerman in September at a community neighborhood watch presentation.

 Miami Herald reported Dorival as saying, "If it’s someone you don’t recognize, call us. We’ll figure it out."

She told those in attendance to “Observe from a safe location. There’s even a slide about not being a vigilante police. I don’t know how many more times I can repeat it.”

"Police Chief Bill Lee said that although police do not encourage watch program volunteers to carry weapons, he recognizes a citizen’s constitutional right to do so."

For the critics who are asking where was Rev. Sharpton in the police shootings, I think they should ask themselves: "Where was I?" It is easy to quarterback and criticize while sitting in the safety of  one's living rooms, watching these horrific events dramatized in living color on national TV. Sharpton cannot be everywhere. Communities, relatives of the victims have to help draw attention to deaths of their sons by cops.

The Grio also wrote a piece on McDade. “. . .the other is Kendrec McDade. He was also a Black teen, a former high school football star at Azusa High School in a suburb of Los Angeles, and had no criminal record. When the dust settled, McDade also lay dead.

“In his case, he was slain by Pasadena, California police officers. McDade, like Martin, was unarmed. Police, acting on a bogus tip about a robbery, allegedly confronted McDade and a friend on March 24th, and then opened fire when they claimed they saw him reach for something in his pants.

“The shooting happened at night. Police claimed a surveillance videotape showed McDade as a 'lookout' in a petty theft attempt, but refused demands to produce the tape. Police and city officials, the NAACP and the California Legislative Black Caucus branded the shooting a tragedy, and official's promised an independent investigation. However, as with Trayvon Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, Pasadena police did not say what action, if any, they took against the officers that killed McDade."
 

"Am I next?" A simple but profound question.

George Zimmerman

Trayvon Martin

Kendrec McDade

Leora Fowler Hill: 1951-2012, Los Angeles

Family Genealogy

Leora Fowler Hill

Death is an equalizer. For the deceased all debts, both physical and emotional, are paid in full.  Death does not discriminate. It does not care if you are famous, old, rich, poor, young, sick or healthy. And to no one's surprise, death has a way of appearing at the most inconvenient times.  But the Bible warns us. It tells us that our days are few and numbered. None of us know when that number will be called.

Contrary to what some people say, I do not believe anyone is totally prepared to go with death when they look at its face. In moments of severe illness I believe a death notice makes us realize just how much we want to live. We discover there are goals we want to achieve, adventures we want to experience, roads we want to travel. Death does not give us time to mend broken relationships or, time to say "I’m sorry" to someone we might have hurt with harsh words and accusations.
 

Death lets us know that we are privileged to live for a very short time. Compared to eternity, a mere century plus is short. Life lets us know that we are all tiny grains of sand passing through this life without much notice. If you are famous your grain of sand evolves into a small rock that leaves ripples when thrown into a pool of water. But even those small rocks dissolve, becoming grains of sand again.

On January 31, 2012 another death occurred in this family: Leora Fowler Hill, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, where she lived. Leora, her brothers and sister came to live in Austin, Texas after the untimely death of their mother, Priscilla Fowler. They were all small children, and Freddie was still a baby.

I still remember Leora as a little girl. She had her own personality, and she was on the stubborn side. She had a way of rolling her eyes, letting you know that she was angry or that she did not like you.

After leaving Austin they returned to Texas to visit periodically. Over the years we lost contact with each other. It was quite by accident that Freddie discovered my blog. I started the blog as a tool relatives could use if they decided to search our family genealogy, beginning with relatives in Texas.  

Freddie said he was looking for a friend, keying in that person's name when he accidentally found my blog. For an unexplained reason, the name Charles H. Rector, a distant cousin in Texas, popped up. Freddie said he recognized the name, and after reading his profile, he recognized the names of relatives that Charles left behind after his death. I couldn't believe it! I had been searching for them for years, and had given up the search when Freddie left a comment on my blog, July 10, 2011. I was overjoyed to hear from them. I talked to him, Leora, Wayne and Sandra for hours at separate times.  Life works in mysterious ways. We made contact with each other again after more than 30 years. I'm glad I got a chance to talk to Leora before she passed on. Our re-acquaintance was short lived.

Leora, 61, named after her Texas grandmother, was laid to rest Saturday, January 14, 2912. Service was held at Simpson Family Mortuary; Dr. Lovely Haynes, officiated. Below is a portion of the funeral program.

Leora Fowler Hill--1951-2012

 Obituary

Leora Hill was was born on August 7, 1951 in Lorain, Ohio to Raymond Edward Fowler, Sr. and Priscella Jane Douthit. Leora was the fourth of six children. Her parents, Raymond and Priscilla Jane Douthit Fowler, her older brother Raymond Fowler, preceded her in death. 

Leora received her early education in Lorain, Ohio. After high school she had two children, Tonii Fowler and Troy Fowler (who preceded her in death).

Leora began her career at the Ford Motor Plant and loved her job, but moved to California in 1981 to make a better life for herself and her daughter in  In 1982  she met the man that she would spend her remaining days with, her best friend, Wayne Hill. They joined in union on March 29, 1985.
 

Leora worked 23 years as a state employee with the State of California, Board of Equalization. She was a dedicated and hard worker. She was an activist in her union, SEIU Local 1000. She also served as chair of the Committee on Political Education (COPE) for Southern California. Although she earned many accolades for her union contributions, her biggest accomplishment was being honored to serve as president of local 1000's District Labor Council 723. She was a great leader for state employees in Los Angeles County. Being president was one of her proudest moments, and she was elated each time she met a politician.

Leora was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. She leaves to cherish her husband of 26 years, Wayne Hill,  her daughter Tonii Brady (Deon) of Los Angeles; stepson Wayne Hill of Baltimore, MD; six grandchildren: Adia Nichole Brady, Mia Leann Brady, Deon Lamount Brady, Jr. of Los Angeles; Daemir Hill, Fairen Hill and Wayne Hill of Baltmore, MD; one great grandchild (Daemir); siblings: Sandra E. Fowler, Wayne Fowler, Freddie Fowler, Jerome Fowler, Bruce Fowler and Lynette Pryor; special nieces Carla, Tracie, Charlena, Tanasha, Priscella; and a host of nieces, nephews, loving cousins and a countless number of friends.

Below is a tribute to Leora from her sister Sandra and her daughter Nikki.

Sister

In my heart you'll live on.

I wish you sweet rest, my sister dear.

You'll live on in my heart.

Unspoken words we all left behind;

Undone things we'll never do,

No sharing thoughts we will never kn ow.

You'll live on in my heart.

The Bible says that God will open their eyes.

No suffering, sickness. Yes, not even pain. 

In Jesus we have eternal life.

You'll live on in my heart.

I love you.

Your sis, Sandra.  

My Mommy 

A tribute written by Nicki

Either you loved her or disliked her
She didn't care which one you chose
She'd handle you accordingly as all her friends know

Not a fake or a phony, she loved the ones she loved
 And you always knew where she was coming 
From because she believed in tough love
 

Never a more passionate person you'd ever see on these streets 
She was short and petite but a "Bad" piece of meat!
 

A real mover and shaker she couldn't keep her still
 Ready to unionize  the world to help workers get the best deal

She fought so many causes and touched so many lives 
Earning the respect of many even those once despised
 

Say what they want, say what they will 
One thing's for sure, your shoes will never be filled
 I love your passion, I love your drive
 I love your commitment and the sparkle in your eyes

You, my dear mommy, I will never forget
 I love you now, always and forever
On that you can bet.

Nicki

DD Syndrome: Medical condition or inflated ego below the belt?

They're at it again. Old White male politicians are making decisions about a woman’s body.  They have decided that a woman does not have the right to seek a legal abortion. These old White males concur that aborting a fetus is tantamount killing a defenseless child.  These politicians, none of whom can bear a child, also agree that women should be denied contraceptives. They say woman should have the child they conceived, use the rhythm method of contraception as practiced by Catholics, or keep their skirts down and legs closed. Protesting clergy, also making decisions for women, did not get the memo that stated 98 percent of Catholic women are on some form of birth control.

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a male obsessed with womens' wombs and their right to govern their own bodies, said if a woman is impregnated by a rapist she should accept the consequences as an “indirect gift from God.” In other words, bear your rapist's baby and thank God for the kid. Santorum, a Catholic, is  adamantly against women having access to contraceptives.

Republicans have always declared war on women reproductive rights. In 2011 with so many of them wining governorships and seats in Congress, they went knee jerk crazy! These White male politicians (a few Democrats included) tend to get silly in the opposite direction when the question is about Viagra. Yet they expect insurers to pay for this “medication” that was  created to temporarily relieve flaccid penises of the dreaded Dead Dick Syndrome (DDS).

Various states want to assure that any woman seeking an abortion is humiliated, discouraged and made to feel guilty before the abortion is performed. A congressman in Georgia proposed legislation that would declare abortions a crime. He wants doctors who perform abortions prosecuted for murder. If a woman has a miscarriage, she, too, would be subject to prosecution if the miscarriage is “suspicious”, implying she might have self- aborted.  The proposed legislation will make a woman's medical records open to the pubic. 

No such legislation is proposed for legislators wanting prescriptions for prick enhancers. There are no “suspicions” of internal foul play if a dead dick fails to rise above cold, useless scrotums. No male is humiliated before he is given a prescription for a bottle of blue pills. Unlike the woman seeking a legitimate abortion, male politicians are not shamed and humiliated because their lethargic dicks cannot come out to play. Their Viagra records of purchase will not be exposed for public scrutiny.  

Between me, you and the bedpost, I think there should be a required test for Viagra hunting politicians suffering from Dead Dick Syndrome.

To compliment the GOP's war on women rights, I think male politicians should answer specific questions when they go for a doctor visit. The visit should include an examination of the politician's penis. They should be required to list or verbally state the number of sexual partners they've had, listing a history all STDs  they have contracted. As an extra side note to their medical histories, the physician should ask the politicians if they've ever impregnated a woman, and subsequently demanded that she get an abortion. 

Doctors should ask politicians when they realized they were walking around with a dead dick in their pants. They should be asked what stimulates them the most: nude men, oral sex, naked women, animals,  pornography, children, self-pleasuring, or some other kinky stimulation.

If the physicians are not satisfied with the responses, and have reason to believe the politicians are lying, they should tell the impotent patients that as a condition for getting a Viagra prescription they has to go to a strip club three or four times, get a few lap dances, and record their reactions. If this does not work the impotent patients should be required to watch two or three porno movies, writing their reactions.

Doctors should then focus on these questions during the follow-up visits: Were you aroused?, Was it a mental or physical arousal?, What caused the arousal?

If the impotent politicians says the experiences did not stimulate them, the doctors should inform the politicians that they are suffering from Dead Dick Syndrome, of which there is no cure. Of course physicians will write prescriptions anyway. Politicians have a right to purchase bottles of the penis puffers. It's legal. On the other hand, these pill seeking politicians do not want women to have the right to legally abort an unwanted pregnancy, or to get prescriptions for birth control pills.

The 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision gave a woman the right to seek a legal abortion without interference from impotent politicians. If politicians want to ban legal abortions and contraceptives, Viagra and other dead dick remedies should also be banned. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If a penis cannot stand on its own the male has no business demanding, or wanting to have sex with anyone but his hands.