Betty Chambers Has Spoken

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Random Thoughts on Father's Day
Sunday, June 15, 2008

My father introduced me to politics.

He even wanted me to become a lawyer, but alas that was not to be. He's still around, and lives with my mother of course.

My folks are immigrants, two times. They left their island home for the United Kingdom. My mother foresaw that opportunities in Great Britain might be limited. She decided that America would be the better choice for us. She was right.

This country has always fascinated me - the good and the bad.

Many many years ago my Dad came to the USA, before he married my mother. He was in the deep south having to contend with segregation and the color line. I don't know if he knew about it before he arrived. He did speak about what a tough adjustment it was. The work alone was rough and very very hard.

Now, my two brothers live in the deep south. To say that their lives today are a world apart from what my father went through would be an understatement. Along with visiting my older brother, I go visit an old friend of mine in the deep south.

The only way things can change in America is based on the people, not the government.

The first time I voted was when my Dad took me to the polls. I was quite proud. I vote because so many others died so that I have this right. It is my voice in this representational democracy. I don't take it for granted.

I don't believe that the government can re-create a majority of stable two-parent Afro-American families. I do believe it did a lot of damage to it, resulting in the small number of these families today.

I don't believe the government is capable of efficient, capable, and positive social policy for its citizens. It is too late for that. The only thing it can do is poorly manage money and wage wars.

I sometimes fear that with its profligate spending and wasting of resources this government will collapse under its own weight. I hope it doesn't happen.

Labels: america, father's day, immigrants, politics, segregation, vote

posted by GoldenAh

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Politics: Black Women Voters
Saturday, January 26, 2008

Political Junkie

I'm a political junkie, to the extent that I know who:

are the people running for President of the US,
the US President is,
the Vice President is,
the Speaker of the House is,
my Senators are,
my House Representative is,
all the Supreme Court justices are,
and is currently the majority party in both houses,
etc.

I follow the news on political events, but overall I am party affiliation neutral. I'm not loyal to any political party. I never was since I've been able to vote.

Black Women's Vote

I wish there were millions more, of black women, who voted like me. I'd love to see us make the following happen:

Sway close elections, which most contests are.
Develop a 10 point plan with issues specific to black women.
Make sure that a certain political party, and their candidates would not, dare not, ever take our vote for granted.
Ensure we are treated with respect, and not with the attitude of: "Yeah, well, of course you'll vote for us. You people have nowhere to go."
Not regard or discuss issues that affect black men as in part, or whole, a black woman's problem.
Not regard or discuss issues that affect the "black community" as in part, or whole, a black woman's problem.
Make the media think twice about evaluating our voting options as solely based on gender or race. Does the media do the white male voter dance as well? Of course not. These guys are not going to be portrayed as simpleminded dimwits.
Ensure that both political parties come to black women voters as aggressively as any other group they pander to in this country. As opposed to seeing this voter as an undesirable, best used and discarded as soon as it is gained.

Do we even see this as possible?

It is frustrating to me to see the black women's vote squandered. It is used to prop up people who cannot even do the basics of their elected office: uphold the U.S. Constitution, protect and serve, and tell the truth.

I'm amused at people who act as though there is substantial differences between the two national parties in America. People switch sides, based on the issues, all the time.

I always start to laugh when people utter beliefs that political parties or candidates can offer solutions. I honestly believe most of the problems that afflict the poor, middle and lower class Americans were created by the politicians. They don't study the law of unintended consequences. So each time they fix something, they make it worse, and write another law to make it fix the prior fix.

I understand that no law is perfect and they are written to reflect the issue of the time.

Random Thoughts

The issues that disturb me are whether parts of this nation is devolving: morally, socially, economically and civilly.
I don't care who is going to be President, as long as it's not the Billary.
I'd like to know where are all our tax dollars going?
Why are there tolls on the roads? Isn't a gas tax a more efficient solution and causes less pollution?
Why are blacks close to 50% of the homicide victims when we make up 12% of the population?
Why have government programs - meant to assist the poor buy homes with modest interest rates - failed to prevent the sub-prime mortgage mess and subsequent foreclosures across the country?
Why have government programs failed to keep black students from dropping out - as much as 65% in some schools - across the country?
Why do politicians keep offering "new" domestic programs when the US government has so many no one seems to know about them?
Why are our veterans coming back and living homeless on the streets?
Why isn't the US (mostly) energy independent yet?
Why are our schools no longer number 1 in the world? And why is that acceptable?
Is the Federal government broken? Why are politicians offering services, programs and solutions that the government is unable to competently deliver? And why do we keep voting for it year after year?
Do folks even realize that whatever the need, a government program for it already exists?

America is in a situation of borrow more to spent, spend more to borrow, and spend more to keep the world economy going. And that's the problem with politics today, all the needs are being ignored, for the wants. I don't think the country can afford it anymore.

Labels: black women, politics, vote

posted by GoldenAh

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