A Nurse's Journey » politics

Burn baby burn

Lillie — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 04:03:52 +0000

Nero fiddled while Rome burned but a rural Tennessee fire department let a family’s home burn while they watched because a 75 dollar fee had not been paid.

Gene Cranick’s grandson was burning trash when the fire got out of hand. He dialed 911 and was told he was on THE LIST to not get service. The fire department responded but watched to make sure the fire did not spread to others properties. Lost in the fire was the entire home and all its contents but the worst was the lost of four dogs and three cats.

The fire chief and other city officials are feeling the heat, pun intended, with the nationwide news coverage and are crying “we are not monsters.” Well my question is why not?

Oh yes big mouth Glen Beck put in his two cents in and seemed to uphold their decision to let this family’s home burn. This is a man who makes 32 million dollars a year so if his home burns he can rebuild. Is this what our country is coming to? Each man for himself?

While the home burned, and the fire fighters watched, neighbors came out and offered to pay fee as did the owner who states he had forgotten to pay the fee. He had paid his other taxes for the year.

I am shaking in my boots because in small towns like this will Black people’s homes be allowed to burn down because they ”may not have paid their fees?” Public servants should not have the right to pick and choose who they service.

This type of inhumanity to others is taking this country down a path that can only make us a weaker country. We can’t destroy our neighbors without destroying ourselves. And that should never be forgotten

My look Back at 2009

Lillie — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:11:47 +0000

I am going to take a last look at some of the events of 2009 that have affected me. As an African American, I have to first and foremost mention the election of a Black man, Barack Obama, to the world’s most prestiges position, as president of these United States of America. I, like most people in my age group, would have thought it would not have happened in our lifetime.

I don’t think that ten years ago I would have thought that we would see our country during my lifetime go into such a state of economic depression. I had read that there were hard times in the 80’s. But having a husband in the military and me being employed in nursing, where the work was steady plus overtime was easy to come by, I never felt it. I had self insulated myself by throwing myself into caring for my kids and work. I knew little of what was going on that did not involve my family. Now that I am retired an on a fixed income, and with other hits in our money belts, my family has for the first time had to look at what money buys for survival. Nursing never made me rich but it did provide nicely for my family.

Then there were loss of people who I had looked at from the world of entertainment. It makes me sad to think I will not see anything new and fresh from them again!

Michael Jackson, who danced and sang his way into our lives, left us too soon and sadly needlessly. Then there Patrick Swayze who I adored. His grace when dancing was beyond belief. And he fought such a brave fight against cancer while in front of the public. Then there was the sudden death of Naomi Sims. What little Black girl didn’t remember seeing her in magazines? We had never seen such grace and felt such pride. Even when she retired she proved she was not just a pretty face she was a savvy businesswoman as well.

Ted Kennedy death made me feel sad. Because besides his many achievements in politics, he was on of the last vanguards of the Kennedy core.

The year 2009 has made great changes in my core families health. My son has had to deal with kidney failure. As a nurse I had some idea what was involved in the care of the patient. But living with it brought home the full force of the changes it would make in the family. The positive side has been learning what a brave man my son is.

My daughter has been such a blessing to both my son and myself. She is showing what a caring person she is. She is so observant. Without her we would both be in world of trouble.

A pleasant surprise has been going to my orthopedic doctor. I gave him my list of complaints and having him take me serious. He gave me medication that has really helped. YIPPEE, I really feel good better than I have felt in twenty years. Right now I have my life back!!!

These are just a few things that as I look back on 2009, I can ponder about and hope that 2010 will be bigger and better for us all.

Happy New Years everyone!

Player haters at it again

Lillie — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:47:21 +0000

With all the e-mail I get, I have figured out that you can tell a lot by what people send you. An acquaintance that I once had high regards for has made it her job to send me negative things about President Obama. The latest being the cost of his date night with his wife.

This e-mail outlined the cost of his security force, before during and after the date. It also detailed the cost of everything else. Yes it was high priced but I have this question. Don’t we have to pay for protecting the President and the first lady whether their name is Ford, Regan, Bush, or yes Obama? If its date night or a speech with leaders of other countries, they still need to be protected. Think something can’t happen. President Lincoln just wanted a night out at the theater with his wife and was assassinated!

These people who have so much time to count the money needed to keep the president safe should take time to join some groups that work toward making the country safe from people who make the need for all this security necessary.

Player haters take a break. Your noise is getting sickening!

You are under arrest

Lillie — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:54:30 +0000

I have written about the wrongdoing of those people in uniform that are supposed to protect and serve us, the citizens that pay their salaries. Lately they have not looked like people of character or people with professional ethics.

The latest case is beyond stupid. World Renowned African American Professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr. or Harvard, had, like we all have done at one time or another, locked himself out of his house. So he jimmied his locks to get in. An observant neighbor called the police. No problem there. The police came and found Gates was already in his house. Gates showed them his identification and that this was indeed his home. He was arrested for disorderly conduct. WHAT??

The charges were later dropped. DUH! But what does this say about the fools that arrested this man? The kicker is the cop said there will be “No apology coming from me.” Someone should have told him before he spoke that Professor Gates is a personal friend of Who? The top man in the country, President Obama!

The president called this incident “stupid” when he heard about it and also brought up the fact that there might have been a little racial profiling going on.

I’ll wait to see if there might be a turn around in this cops attitude. I think some of these people need to come to San Diego and ride along with my friend Dlyn, a female San Diego Police Officer and get some sensitivity lesson on how to treat people of all skin hues!

Thanks again Officer Dlynn for your great service.

A Storm is Brewing

Lillie — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:46:53 +0000

I never thought in a million years that I would be defending an employer who had treated me poorly but in this case I must speak out loudly. Some bleeding hearts are crying foul because forensic patients at Alvarado Parkway Institute are being shackled to the bed and the poor darlings can’t watch television, have visitors, or get mail. Doesn’t the fact that they are prisoners tell those of us with common sense something?

These are not boy or girl scouts. These are people who have broken the law and don’t want to be there. Most have been caught trying to cross the border. Now they are in this country and only moments away from freedom. The fact that they are there to detox from easily obtained drugs in Mexico would not deter them from trying to escape. This could cause nurses and other medical personnel to be harmed. The fact that most speak Spanish which most of the staff unfortunately doesn’t, would make their planning an escape impossible to detect. These patients are never told when they are going to court because of possible escape attempts. Patients are smart and they often watch staff and recognize a change in routines. Thus they sometimes know when they are going to court. This could be relayed to help on the outside. No visitor and no mail is for a good reason! Visitors often bring in contraband items on the regular mental health floors. Can you imagine what a jonesing patient will ask their visitors to bring them?

If these people wanted all these amenities they should have stayed home and not broken the law. Their comfort should not be placed above the safety of the staff caring for them. Alvarado Parkway Institute stand your ground. These prisoners’ rights should not supersede the safety of the unit or the public at large!

The ACLU Sucks

Lillie — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:28:08 +0000

I received an email that showed a large group of Marines heads bowed in prayer. Boy did that bring out that group of religion hating people at the ACLU. Federal employees are going to war, leaving their families, jobs, and losing their lives, so this scourge of the earth can say what they want have the nerve to say when and where they can pray.

This country was built by people who have a strong belief in God and now we have to bow down to those that think it is all right to take God out of our country. No prayer in school. And God help us if you have a Christmas pageant on school grounds! There is no end to the way the ACLU will go to protect less acceptable things. But when it come to religion they come out like a pack of starved pit bulls.

Here in San Diego they have been fighting the community to have a cross taken down because it is a religious symbol even though the voter’s have voted to keep it more than once.

We need to take back our country. When does the minority rule? We need to put the ACLU on notice we can not allow them to cause this country to go down into the depths of hell.

Oh no he didn’t!

Lillie — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:34:53 +0000

The good ole boys of the GOP party have not learned anything since being beaten in the last election.

Case in point:

South Carolina’s Republican activist Rusty DePass made the statement that a gorilla that had escaped from the zoo was probably an ancestor of first lady Michelle Obama!

He only made a puny apology when called on it

Whites have long thought it was OK to make these remarks about Blacks with little thought that if not for the color of skin, eyes, and hair, Blacks and Whites are cut from the same cloth!

When will these blatant attacks on our first family stop? I feel that the people making these remarks are showing just how afraid they are of Blacks who prove they can rise up from an oppressed society and make it to the top!

Listen good ole boys. There are still Whites who share your view but the last election proved that there are many people who look beyond the color of a person’s skin and are willing to give them a chance to achieve whatever they are willing to work hard for.

Keep making these statements and Obama or what ever person that does not think along the old GOP party line ways will be a shoe in.

Get over it!! The TIMES are changing! And your sad, tired remarks are not going to make it come to an end!

What Can Happen In America

Lillie — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:46:10 +0000

On January 20, 2009, the cold and the wind failed to damper the spirits of BILLIONS of people all over the world, as our forty-fourth President was sworn into office.

The city of Washington D.C., and the world, had a feeling of hope and promises to be met, as this man of vision came into power. A position that could not have been imagined just a few short decades ago.

President Barack Hussein Obama stood before us and asked for our help in bringing our country back to its former glory. American citizens have seen their homes vanish and their paychecks go up in a puff of smoke as their jobs were outsourced, or lost altogether as companies failed. President Obama has promised that if we work together we will come out of this dilemma. It will not be easy and we will all have to make sacrifices and pull together but it will be done.

The American people have been spoiled in our land of plenty. But deep in our fiber is strength forged from the struggles of many cultures that came to this great country and this is what President Obama called on to help him raise us up to the Super Power we once were.

He also let it be known that he is a man of peace and would not take the road of the last president. But nevertheless, he stated he would protect this country. Anyone looking into that kind man’s face only had to look a little deeper to know that these were not threats or beating of the chest. They were but a promise as stated years ago, “Don’t tread on us.”

The old, the young, Black, White, Asian, and Native American, Gay and Straight, all came and saw the leader who for the first time in many years, brings us a promise of hope for the future.

Only time will tell what the outcome will be. But give the American people hope and we will turn it into a reality! We always have.

He Had A Dream

Lillie — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:09:59 +0000

January 15, 2009 will be the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. This was a man of vision and fighter for the civil rights for a race of people who had long been denied the basic freedom because of the color of their skin. His struggle was won through civil disobedience and other non violent methods, including boycotts. He led the march in Selma, Alabama, and throughout the south. Every Black Person and most Whites, remember, read, or have heard of his great “I Have a Dream” speech. (You can see the video of the speech here). These words have become a mantra for people in many nations, who have long been denied the right to become first class citizens in a land that promises with open arms freedom to all.

As we celebrate his birthday, could he have envisioned what will happen on January 19, 2009? A Black man in the White house? Barrack Obama will be sworn into office and will lead this great country. People all over the world will watch with great interest as this country will at last fulfill its promise of equal rights to all.

Martin as you look down on us your dream has been realized a millions of times over!