Friday, November 21, 2008

The Obamas are sending their children to a Quaker school--aren't they absolutely fabulous people!;-) I only wish to someday be like Barack and Michelle!

What I Know For Sure-Oprah

O Magazine November 08

From Oprah Magazine November 08

What I Know for Sure - by Oprah Winfrey

Since the day the late Gene Siskel asked me, “What do you know for sure?” and I got all flustered and started stuttering and couldn’t come up with an answer, I’ve never stopped asking myself that question. I’ve never stopped asking myself that question. And every month I must find yet another answer. I looked back and came up with my all-time top 20.

1. What you put out comes back all the time, no matter what. (This is my creed.)

2. You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.

3. Whatever someone did to you in the past has no power over the present. Only you give it power.

4. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.

5. Worrying is wasted time. Use the same energy for doing something about whatever worries you.

6. What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you belive.

7. If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough. (From the German theologian and humanist Meister Eckhart.)

8. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.

9. Failure is a signpost to turn you in the other direction.

10. If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.

11. Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn’t lie.

12. Love yourself and then learn to extend that love to others in every encounter.
13. Let passion drive your profession.

14. Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every paycheck will be a bonus.

15. Love doesn’t hurt. It feels really good.

16. Every day brings a chance to start over.

17. Being a mother is the hardest job on earth. Women everywhere must declare it so.

18. Doubt means don’t. Don’t move. Don’t answer. Don’t rush forward.

19. When you don’t know what to do, get still. The answer will come.

20. “Trouble don’t last always.” (A line from a Negro spiritual, which calls to mind another favorite: This, too, shall pass.)

I find truth and wisdom in these words from Oprah’s column. Here are a few others that I try to remember and live by:

- Treat others the way you would like to be treated. (Do unto others....)

- Treat everyone with respect, until they prove they don’t deserve it.

- Be gentle (with others).

When I was working at Dallastown, I reminded myself (and my colleagues when they felt stressed) of the following:

- We can only do our best.

- We are all in this together.

Wow

Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales have been indicted for prisoner abuse in federal prisons. God is not dead.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Interesting Article on the Future of the U.S.

Read About the Mandaens

My Favorite New Show

is The Starter Wife.

Teenage Katrina Survivor Wins Yet Another Essay Contest

November 20, 2008

WASHINGTON—At an awards ceremony held yesterday for the 2008 Profiles in Courage Essay Contest, 17-year-old Hurricane Katrina survivor Audrey Tempelsman collected yet another first-place trophy, her sixth in as many months. "It was so great to fly out to D.C. again and accept my award," said the displaced New Orleans resident, whose recent essays "Reflections In The Flood," "Flooded With Memories," and "Katrina Song" have all won her first-prize honors. "Hopefully I can come back soon. Maybe next week, if things work out." Tempelsman is expected to return tomorrow to her family's FEMA-issued trailer, where her latest trophy will once again be pawned in order to help pay the bills.

Read This Very Funny and Helpful Article by Donna Brazile

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Alicia Keys-Superwoman



Everywhere I'm turning
Nothing seems complete
I stand up and I'm searching
For the better part of me
I hang my head from sorrow
State of humility
I wear it on my shoulders
Gotta find the strength in me

Cause I am a Superwoman
Yes I am
Yes she is
Even when I'm a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I'm a Superwoman

For all the mothers fighting
For better days to come
And all my women, all my women sitting here trying
To come home before the sun
And all my sisters
Coming together
Say yes I will
Yes I can

Cause I am a Superwoman
Yes I am
Yes she is
Even when I'm a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I'm a Superwoman

When I'm breaking down
And I can't be found
And I start,start to get weak
Cause no one knows
Me underneath these clothes
But I can fly
We can fly, Oooohh

Cause I am a Superwoman
Yes I am
Yes she is
Even when I'm a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I'm a Superwoman

OO Let me tell ya
I AM superwoman,
yes i am,
yes she is (Oh yes)
See even when Im a mess
I still put on a vest
with an S on my chest
O yes im a superwoman

yes i am
See Im a superwoman
yes you are
OOO yeah O yeah
Come one
III im tellin u
Im supa
so supa
im supa
so supa

yes i am
yes we are
yes i am
yes you are
I noticed something about myself today. I treat things that others would treat like status symbols like crayons in a crayola box. Leather coat? Sleep in it? Sure...Wallow around in it? Yes...electronica...what is that for?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Sunday, November 16, 2008

An Open Letter to President Cordova of Purdue University Regarding a Recent Racist Incident

Dear President Cordova,

I was very estatic to see you arrive at Purdue. I thought it was a great change for the Purdue Community,one which would ignite the process of turning Purdue into a progressive entity--and begin a series of correctives to problems that have festered at Purdue for a very long time. As you are quite well aware, racism--and particularly racism towards African Americans is prevalent in this community. There is a need for a cleansing of attitudes at Purdue. Rooted in the culture and environment of Indiana, especially in the vicinity of Purdue, there is a deep hatred and disdain for Blacks.

The original whites who populated this region of Indiana were poor whites who came from the south looking for work. They resented Blacks for eliminating possible employment in the agricultural industry. They hated the institution of slavery for the same reason. It is this foundation that poisons the climate towards Blacks at Purdue and that gives Purdue such a negative reputation where race and racism is concerned. I would hope that you, as a woman of color, would take an active role in combating the intolerable forces of bigotry and racism that are at play in the Purdue Community. It must end if Purdue is to continue to thrive.

Thanks for your time. I look forward to your long and brilliant career as President of Purdue University.

Who Should Take Barack Obama's Senate Seat?

I think Obama's seat in the senate should go to Tammy Duckworth. She was treated so horribly in the media during her campaign. I think she deserves it.

Interesting Similarities Between Whiteness and Jewishness

There are some(actually there are many) who would like to reduce Jewish identity down to an idea of "choice of religion" and eliminate all ethnic and blood ties there within. Alas, this approach to Jewish identity, as I am just now thinking of it, is quite similar to the reality of what whiteness is. While some would like to have one think that you can point back to "whiteland" and find more and more "great white fathers," alas, whiteness is a concept that in its truthful existence allows for nothing more than a claim to legitimacy in the western culture that we live in. As more and more groups of people have moved into this "whiteness," this should become clearer, however the effort to obfuscate has only become more clever in its machinations. Think about this seriously and see how it affects the way you view the world.