Never Invest Your Money In Anything That Eats Or Needs Painting.

Never Invest Your Money In Anything That Eats Or Needs Painting.

The California Chamber of Commerce has produced a white paper cataloging the top 10 mistakes most likely to get a company sued. While a few of the laws cited apply specifically to California, some of them are federal and may apply in your state.

The report observes: "Employers may unintentionally violate employment laws simply by trying to provide some flexibility for an employee, save money for the company or just be nice."

Here are the top 10 mistakes

1. Classifying all employees as exempt, whether they are or not

It may be easier to pay someone a salary rather than figure out overtime, meal breaks, rest breaks and the like. The time (and money) you save on bookkeeping is a false economy, however, since you could pay big time in penalties or a lawsuit. (See the report for more specifics.)

2. Letting employees work through lunch so they can take off early

A non-exempt employee is required to be given a 30-minute meal break, plus a 10-minute break for every four hours worked. If you deny one or the other, you owe the person an extra hour's wages; if you deny both in the same day, you owe an additional two hours. The wages must be paid during the pay period in which it's missed. The employee cannot waive his or her right to the breaks. This isn't just a California issue; here is a recent example in which an employee at a family-owned bakery in Washington allegedly was denied 10-minute breaks.

3. Making everyone an “independent contractor” because having employees is too much trouble

The report notes that contractors are happy until one of the following comes up: workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, state disability insurance or paid family leave benefits. Avoid these legal spiderwebs by determining who is and who isn't a contractor.

4. Not providing training about harassment and discrimination to managers and supervisors

Don't assume your employees won't need the information. Avoid lawsuits by providing the basic sexual harassment training required by law.

5. Letting employees decide which, and how many, hours they want to work each day

Most employees are restricted by law regarding the number of hours they can work without needing to be paid overtime. If you are allowing longer workdays for four-day workweeks, there are rules that need to be followed. Check with your state laws for specifics.

6. Terminating any employee who takes a leave of absence

From the report: "Employees have legal protection when they are away from work for various reasons, including workers’ compensation, disability, pregnancy, family and medical leave, military leave, jury duty and many more."

7. Withholding an employee's final check if they fail to return company property

You may think you can withhold money while you wait for an employee to return a computer or a cellphone, but think again. Some states have laws that require you hand over the check the minute the words "you're fired" come out of your mouth. And if an employee quits and gives more than 72 hours notice, the check must be ready on his or her last day. The penalties start accruing from the moment the check is late–one day of wages for every calendar day of delay.

8. Providing loans to employees and deducting the money from their paycheck each pay period

This seems perfectly fine, doesn't it? Except most state labor codes permit only paycheck deductions authorized by law and those authorized by the employee for health insurance or other benefits. No other deductions are permitted. If you're making a loan, you should have the employee sign a promissory note and a lawyer review it.

9. Using noncompete agreements to protect confidential information

Many employers force employees to sign these agreements to protect business secrets, customer lists and pricing information and to prevent employees from working for the competition. Essentially, you can't force your employee to stay with you, nor can you prevent him or her from making a living.

10. Implementing a “use it or lose it” vacation policy and avoid paying out all the money at termination

Accrued vacation is a form of wages and cannot be denied. You can stop an employee from accruing vacation beyond a "reasonable" amount, but you cannot take away what he or she has already earned. What is considered a "reasonable" cap? Generally 1.5 to two times the annual accrual, says the report.

Qui Pro Innocente Dicit, Satis Est Eloquens.

He/She Who Speaks For The Innocent Is Eloquent Enough.

Democalypse 2012 - Cockblock the Vote

A Pennsylvania court upholds a controversial voter I.D. law that affects 9% of the entire state electorate, but that's the price you pay to prevent something that doesn't happen or make sense.

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For those of you who continue to doubt whether the voter ID laws being passed around the country are a political tactic by Republicans to steal the vote in the 2012 election.

Share Our Similarities, Celebrate Our Differences ...

Unnecessary Lines: Under Certain Circumstances, Profanity Provides A Relief Denied Even To Prayer.

Whether you’re first or last, you will be in the seat that is assigned to you. So why is it that everyone has to get up and start huddling towards the gate entrance like its the day after Thanksgiving? This is specifically towards the “senior citizens”. They are usually cane-walking their way to form a line at the gate 15 minutes before the airline even announces they are ready to board. And if I make even the slightest movement in their direction I get a death stare through tinted glasses telling me to back off or die. All I can think about is how easy it would be to give one swift kick to the knee and the old man would collapse. I would never actually do this, but I’m just pointing out the fact that the possibility is there.

So now I’m waiting to board behind a giant huddle of old people and I begin to do a scan of the passengers I will be riding with. I first look for potential disaster passengers such as crying babies or sick people. Then it goes to uncomfortable passengers such as someone with obvious bad hygiene. And lastly is the most important scan: are there any hot chicks? Not that it actually matters because the chances of her sitting by me are slim, but there’s nothing else to do while waiting so I might as well make it interesting.

First the lady with the crying baby walks by. Thankfully she isn’t sitting by me but if she was, I don’t think it would be a problem for long. I don’t know this from experience, but I heard if you shake a baby long enough it stops crying. Don’t know if its true but it seems logical. Next the sick patient walks by. Once again I am grateful this passenger moves along. In these situations your best bet is to mention something about how you worship Satan or let something about a herpes outbreak slip under your breath. They’re essentially guaranteed to not interact with you the entire flight. And then the hot chick starts approaching. Its almost like she is holding up a sign that I can’t quite read until she gets to my row and the words “DENIED” are written on it. I mean come on, is it that much to ask to sit next to someone appealing for once? Maybe its a hot chick. Maybe she has a low cut shirt on. Maybe she laughs at my jokes. I don’t ask for much. But no, the hot chick moves on and who should sit down next to me but a “senior citizen”. I should have gone for the knee, after all...

At this point you are probably wondering why I don’t just read a book or listen to my iPod on the plane. Believe me, I do listen to my iPod, or read a book, or even watch a movie. I’m just saying if I’m going to be stuck in the same seat for 3 hours sitting next to someone else who is stuck in their seat for 3 hours, why not make the trip go by a little faster by having a decent conversation. And by “decent” I don’t mean listening to someone else’s problems or learning about their life story.
Just something simple and interesting like sports or a good movie. Who knows, maybe no one wants to talk about sports or good movies or maybe I’m just the asshole that no one wants to talk to on the plane. But if that’s the case then they can piss off.

The plane takes off, I read my book and eventually the stress relieving voice of the pilot comes on and announces we are beginning our descent. This is great news in knowing that the ride is almost over, but also bad news because I know what is about to come next. Sure enough the plane lands and who would have thought the day after Thanksgiving rush could come twice in the same day. Seriously, sit the fuck down. We are all going to get off the plane and I’m guessing it will happen even quicker if we don’t herd ourselves into the aisle. I mean obviously we all need to rush off and get to baggage claim so we can wait there for 15 minutes instead of in the plane. But in a situation like this, who has the time to be rational?

In the end I’m still going to have to fly more no matter what. I guess the best I can do is be prepared with fresh reading material and the latest podcasts. And maybe I’m making a bigger deal out of this than it really is. But I’m not going to admit that because that would mean that I am wrong. And I am never wrong.

Hated Now: “Dictators Are Rulers Who Always Look Good Until The Last Ten Minutes”

First a friend, then an enemy of the United States, Manuel Noriega, the strongman of Panama, was finally taken down by a U.S. military operation, captured, and brought to Miami for trial on drug charges in 1989.

Early life

Manuel Antonio Noriega was born the son of an accountant and his maid in a poor section of Panama City, Panama, in 1934. At the age of five he was given up for adoption to a schoolteacher. He attended the National Institute, a well-regarded high school, with the intention of becoming a doctor, but his family could not afford to send him to medical school. Instead, Noriega accepted a scholarship to attend the Chorrios Military Academy in Peru. He graduated in 1962 with a degree in engineering. Returning to Panama, he became a sublieutenant in the National Guard.

Military career

Colonel Omar Torrijos (1929–1981) liked Noriega and obtained for him the command of Chiriqui, the country's westernmost province. In October 1968, they led a military takeover of the government of President Arnulfo Arias. Noriega's troops seized radio and telephone stations in the city of David, cutting off communications with Panama City. Torrijos emerged as the major figure in the new government. In December 1969, when Torrijos was out of the country, a trio of officers tried to seize power. Torrijos flew his plane into an airport in David that had no lights for night landing. Noriega lined up cars along the runway with their lights on to help Torrijos make it down safely. With Noriega's troops at his service, Torrijos reclaimed the capital.

From that moment, Noriega's career blossomed. He became involved with U.S. intelligence activities. In 1971 he went to Havana, Cuba, at the request of U.S. president Richard Nixon (1911–1994) to obtain the release of crewmen of two American ships seized by Fidel Castro's (1927–) government. At this time Noriega was already involved in drug deals. A high-ranking drug enforcement officer recommended that President Nixon order Noriega's assassination, but Nixon did not follow through. As head of G-2, Panama's military intelligence command, Noriega was the second most powerful man in Panama. In 1975 G-2 agents rounded up businessmen who criticized Torrijos, took away their property, and sent them into exile in Ecuador. Torrijos once said of Noriega, "This is my gangster."

Increase in power

Torrijos died in 1981 in an unexplained plane crash. In the following two-year contest for power between politicians and military officers, Noriega emerged as the winner. In late 1983, following his promotion to general and commander of the National Guard, the guard was combined with the navy and air force into the Panama Defense Forces (which also included the national police). The following year Noriega's choice for president, Nicolás Ardito Barletta, won a narrow victory over Arnulfo Arias. But Barletta failed to improve the country's weak economy (system of production, distribution, and use of goods and services), and Noriega forced him out. Noriega at this time began to be suspected of gun trafficking (smuggling), money laundering, torture, murder, and selling U.S. information and technology to Cuba and Eastern European governments. Noriega denied wrongdoing and said U.S. politicians were looking for a way to undo the Panama Canal treaties before the canal became Panamanian property on December 31, 1999.

In June 1987 Noriega's former chief of staff, Colonel Roberto Diaz Herrera, stated that Noriega had fixed the 1984 election and ordered the killing of Hugo Spadafora, who had publicly accused Noriega of drug trafficking. Herrera also said Noriega had been involved in Torrijos's death. Panamanians organized protests demanding the removal of Noriega. He responded by declaring a national emergency. He suspended constitutional rights, closed newspapers and radio stations, and drove his political enemies into exile. Herrera was captured and ordered to recant (take back) his statements. Church leaders, businessmen, and students organized into the National Civil Crusade, dressed in white, and went into the streets banging pots and pans. The riot squads drove them away.

United States steps in

By now Americans were outraged, and in June 1987 the U.S. Senate called for Noriega's removal. The administration of President Ronald Reagan (1911–) began looking for a way to bring Noriega down. The U.S. economic and military assistance ended, Panamanian bankers began withdrawing their support, and Noriega quickly lost favor everywhere except for the Panama Defense Forces (PDF). Secret talks were held between U.S. officials and Noriega's representatives calling for him to resign and leave the country before the 1988 U.S. presidential election, saving George Bush (1924–), who as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had dealt with Noriega, from embarrassment. The Justice Department filed charges against Noriega in federal court in early 1988 as a warning. Assistant Secretary of State Eliot Abrams went to Panama to get President Eric Del Valle to fire Noriega. Instead, Noriega forced out Del Valle and named a new president.

After taking over as president, Bush increased the pressure. In May 1989 Noriega decided not to run in the election but backed another candidate, Carlos Duque. The opposition Panameñista Party nominated Guillermo Endara, who was immediately provided with $10 million by the Bush administration. Even though the election was being watched by former President Jimmy Carter (1924–) and other foreign officials, as soon as Noriega realized that Duque was losing, he ordered the PDF to seize ballot boxes. When the opposition took to the streets in protest, Noriega's squads beat them. Endara and a vice presidential candidate, Guillermo Ford, lost the election.

Last straw

Noriega declared the election void (having no legal force or effect), installed another president, and, in October 1989, survived a takeover attempt supported by U.S. forces. To improve the nation's international image and to prevent Noriega from naming one of his people as administrator of the Panama Canal, Bush took stronger action. Using as an excuse the firing on U.S. soldiers passing the PDF headquarters and Noriega's statement that U.S. actions had created a state of war, the United States launched a full-scale attack (Operation Just Cause) with twenty-four thousand troops on December 20, 1989.

Fighting continued for four days, with the United States losing hundreds of troops and the Panamanians losing thousands. Noriega escaped capture for a few days but was found hiding in the Papal Nunciature, a religious office. Under pressure from Vatican officials, Noriega surrendered to the Vatican Embassy in Panama City on January 3, 1990. In a deal worked out with the U.S.-created government headed by Guillermo Endara, U.S. authorities brought Noriega to Miami for trial, which was delayed into the early 1990s. He was convicted of several crimes including cocaine smuggling. He was sentenced to forty years in a Miami prison and ordered to pay $44 million to the Panamanian government. In 1999 a French court sentenced Noriega and his wife to ten years in jail along with a $33 million fine. Also in 1999 the Panamanian high court announced that it would seek to have Noriega returned to that country to make sure he served time there for murder.

In 2002 a parole hearing took place in Miami, which resulted in Noriega's denial for early release from his U.S. prison sentence. He would remain in prison in the United States for at least five more years.


Panama also has an outstanding request for the former dictator's extradition. He was convicted in Panama in absentia and sentenced to 54 years in prison on charges of embezzlement, corruption and ordering the murder of opponents.

Explain This: Usman Ahmed

It's hard to have more swagger than Usman Ahmed. After getting introduced in his fight against Ashley Sexton in January of 2010, the British boxer showed off some of his incredible dance moves on his way to the ring. The fans got a kick out of the entrance, but the atmosphere changed once the match started. Less than two minutes into the fight, Sexton knocked Ahmed out with a brutal right hook. Ahmed's entrance turned out to be longer than the actual match.
Scroll down to watch the video. (Get's really good At 2min 13 sec's for you impatient ones)

Who Delivers The Mailman's Mail?

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Seven U.S. Postal Service workers in Puerto Rico have been indicted on charges they shipped thousands of parcels of heroin, cocaine and marijuana through the mail, the Drug Enforcement Administration said Wednesday.
The mail carriers, who are among 20 people charged in the case, took advantage of their jobs to ship drugs between Puerto Rico, Texas, California and Arizona, according to a DEA statement.

As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is a favored transit point for drugs from South America because once they arrive in this Caribbean island, they do not have to clear customs to reach the American mainland.
Agents from the DEA and the postal service's Office of Inspector General were executing arrest warrants for the defendants in pre-dawn raids around the San Juan metropolitan area.

The DEA investigation, named Operation Dirty Eagles, involved undercover agents who hired the mail carriers to ship parcels purportedly containing cocaine and heroin, according to the statement. The trafficking ring allegedly smuggled at least 100,000 pounds (45,000 kilograms) of marijuana worth more than $150 million into Puerto Rico over the last three years.

The mail carriers also are accused of facilitating the shipment of guns from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico.

25 Signs You Have Grown Up ... ... Old!

1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can’t smoke any of them.

2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.

3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

4. 6:00 a.m is when you get up, not when you go to bed.

5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.

6. You watch the Weather Channel.

7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of hook up and breakup.

8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.

9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as dressed up.

10. You’re the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won’t turn down the stereo.

11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.

12. You don’t know what time Wendy’s closes anymore.

13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

14. You feed your dog Science Diets… Instead of McDonald’s leftovers.

15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

16. You take naps.

17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.

18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at three in the morning would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.

19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.

20. A four dollar bottle of wine is no longer pretty good shit.

21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.

22. “I just can’t drink the way I used to” replaces “I’m never going to drink that much again”

23. Ninety percent of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking , ”Oh shit what the hell happened??”

Bonus:

26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that it doesn’t apply to you and can’t find one to save your sorry old ass.

Eish! A New African Language

Bad - you sleep on it in the badroom Beds -,eagles, doves, sea-gulls etc Beg - container, as in shopping beg, hend-beg, tog-beg Ben - to set alight Chealdren - our future is in their hands Chetz - where worshippers go on Sundays Cuds - you can play poker or rummy with them Cut - a small donkey-drawn vehicle Debben - city in KwaZulu Natal Deekshunry - where you find weds Detty - opposite of clean Driva - holds the steering wheel of a teksi Duck - very duck at night when the lights are all off Ebben - you get ebben erriors and rural erriors Effrican - from the continent of Africa Erriors - districts, e.g. ebben erriors Ewways - eg. SAA, Comair, Lufthansa etc Fems - companies, e.g., Anglo-American Fest - the one before second and third Fok - used with nifes Fok ass - focus Fum - you can fum with ship or kettle Fumma - he owns the fum and grows bins Guddin - where you grow kebbijees and rep Geave - you MUST geave, I WILL take Get - a hinged device in a fence, may be used instead of door Hair - as opposed to heem/hairs (gender) Heppi - state of elatement, e.g. I'm so heppi - I just voted Hiss - masculine form of hairs Hubba - where sheeps dock amd boats sell Jems - little bugs that give you the flu Kah - what you drive around in Kebbijees - vegetable Keptown - some think parliament doesn't belong there Kettegry - in a system of classification Kipper - one who kips, as in goal kipper Kleenix - where nesses wek Kot - where the judges sit and you pay fines Len - to acquire knowledge Leeda - as in Arwa Leeda, Obama the president Lungwich - weds that are spokkin Nesses - they wek in kleenix and hospitals Pee pull - powa to da pee pull Peppa - one way to get the news Pesson - one of pee pull Pees - symbolised by white dove Pees-Tox - between IRA and Tony Blair Reeva - e.g. Limpopo, Vaal, Mississippi Ree kwest - replaced by dee mands Sheep - big boat Shex - houses in squatter camps Ship - provider of wool Shuck-attak - if the shuck-net is brokkin Shuck-nets - at Debben, for safety of sweemas Spitch - what politicians make at a relly Sweemas - compete in a sweeming pul Teksi - kah for hire - sometimes parrot teksi Thest - ice cold Coke will relieve it on a hot day Tipic ally - characteristically Tox - negotiations Ummy - military force Wee men - ladies We pon - a gun Wean-dow - with glus for throwing bricks through Weaner - the one with the most votes Weds - what the dictionary is made up of Wekkas - do the wek Weld - the whole eth Wems - small crawly creatures

2 In The Morning

I smoke two joints in the morning,
I smoke two joints at night.
I smoke two joints in the afternoon,
And it makes me feel alright.
Smoke two joints in time of peace,
Into the time of war.
Smoke two joints before I smoke two joints,
And then I smoke some more.....

Republicans Are Sipping Tea: Democratic Infighting Gives GOP Rare Victory In Hawaii

Republican Charles Djou took advantage of an intra-party fight among Democrats to snatch a House seat that Democrats had held for 20 years in Hawaii.

Djou, a Honolulu city councilman, won 67,274 votes or 39.5 percent of those cast.

The special election was for the state's 1st congressional district, which opened up after 10-term Democratic lawmaker Rep. Neil Abercrombie stepped down earlier this year to concentrate full-time on his bid for Hawaii governor.

The seat includes Honolulu and some surrounding suburbs. President Obama, who spent parts of his childhood in the district, won 70 percent of the vote in the 2008 presidential election.

But there were two Democratic candidates on the ballot in this election and recent polls indicate they were splitting the vote.

The results, posted on the state's Office of Elections website late Saturday, proved likewise:

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, considered the more liberal candidate, received 52,445 votes or 30.8 percent. She had been in third place in recent polls, but she refused to step aside.

Former Rep. Ed Case, considered the more moderate candidate, garnered 47,012 votes or 27.6 percent.

The special election was a winner-take-all contest, with only a plurality needed for victory.

National Democratic Party organizations favored Case but did not formally endorse either of their party's candidates.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran ads that criticized Djou. But earlier this month, after it was clear neither candidate would drop out, the DCCC stopped spending any more money or time on the race.

Djou will have to defend the seat come November, and national Democrats are saving their firepower for that contest, when only one Democrat will be on the ballot.

"We're looking at November in Hawaii," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the DCCC chairman, told reporters Thursday. "I think you all know the situation, and it's important that people do understand the unique circumstances of a special election in Hawaii - you don't have a primary. You have, in this case, three candidates - two Democrats and one Republican. I can confidently predict that the Democrats together will get a majority of the vote. Just like the Democratic candidate in November will get a majority of the vote."

But a win for Djou in the special election was seen as a symbolic victory for the GOP.

"The fact that we have an opportunity to win in President Obama's childhood district where he received 70 percent of the vote in '08, speaks to the quality of Charles Djou's candidacy and the level of Republican voter intensity across the country," Ken Spain, NRCC communications director, said last week.

John Arthur ("Jack") Johnson

The “Galveston Giant."

Arthur John (Jack) Johnson was the first black and first Texan, to win the heavyweight boxing championship of the world.

Born in Galveston Texas on March 31, 1878, he was the second of six children of Henry and Tiny Johnson. Henry was a former slave and his family was poor. After leaving school in the fifth grade, Johnson worked odd jobs around South Texas. He started boxing as a sparring partner and fought in the "battles royal," matches in which young blacks entertained white spectators who threw money to the winner.

Johnson turned professional in 1897 following a period with private clubs in Galveston. His family's home was destroyed by the great hurricane of 1900. A year later he was arrested and jailed because boxing was a criminal profession in Texas. He soon left Galveston for good.

Johnson first became the heavyweight champion of Negro boxing. Jim Jeffries, the white champ at the time, refused to fight Johnson because he was black. Then, in 1908, Johnson knocked out Tommy Burns in Australia to become world champion, although he was not officially given the title until 1910 when he finally fought and beat Jeffries in Reno. Jeffries had come out of retirement to become the first of many so-called "great white hopes."

Race rioting was sparked after the Johnson-Jeffries fight. A number of leading American film companies joined forces to shoot footage of the Jeffries-Johnson fight and turn it into a feature-length documentary film, at the cost of $100,000. The film was distributed widely in the U.S. and was exhibited internationally as well. As a result, Congress banned prize fight films from 1912 until 1940. In 2005, the film of the Jeffries-Johnson "Fight of the Century" was entered into the United States National Film Registry as being worthy of preservation. The Texas Legislature banned films of his victories over whites for fear of more riots.

Johnson didn't merely offend the whites through his physical prowess, but also through his flaunting of wealth, racing cars, and most egregiously, associating with white women, often several at a time. This was also a great offense to many blacks.

Johnson was charged with violating the Mann Act in November 1912 for traveling across state lines with his white mistress, prior to the enactment of the Act. The Mann Act was designed to stop the interstate prostitution trade. It was not intended, and could not reasonably interpreted to apply to consensual adults. In 1913, Johnson fled because of the trumped up charges of violating the “Mann Act's” stipulations against transporting white women across state lines for prostitution.

During his exile from the U.S., Johnson lost his championship to a white man, Jess Willard, in Cuba in 1915. He returned to the U.S. on July 20, 1920 and was arrested.

Sentenced to Leavenworth in Kansas, Johnson was appointed athletic director of the prison. Upon his release, he returned to boxing, but only participated in exhibition fights after 1928.

Although married three times, Johnson never had children. He died in a car crash June 10, 1946, near Raleigh, North Carolina.

"Fighting Shirley Chisholm. Unbought and Unbossed."

Shirley Chisholm was born as Shirley Anita St. Hill on Nov. 30, 1924, in New York City to Barbadian parents.

At age three, Chisholm was sent to Barbados to live with her maternal grandmother, Emaline Seale, in Christ Church Barbados. She did not return until roughly seven years later when she arrived in New York City on May 19, 1934 aboard the S.S. Narissa. In her 1970 autobiography Unbought and Unbossed, she wrote: "Years later I would know what an important gift my parents had given me by seeing to it that I had my early education in the strict, traditional, British -style schools of Barbados. If I speak and write easily now, that early education is the main reason.”

Chisholm earned her BA from Brooklyn College in 1946 and later earned her MA from Columbia University in elementary education in 1952. She was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

In 1949, she married Conrad Chisholm, a Jamaican who worked as a private investigator. Shirley and her husband participated in local politics, helping form the Bedford-Stuyvesant political League. In addition to participating in politics, Chisholm worked in the field of day care until 1959. In 1960, she started the Unity Democratic Club. The Unity Club was instrumental in mobilizing black and Hispanic voters.

In 1964 Chisholm ran for a state assembly seat. She won and served in the New York General Assembly from 1964 to 1968. During her tenure in the legislature, she proposed a bill to provide state aid to day-care centers and voted to increase funding for schools on a per-pupil basis. In 1968, after finishing her term in the legislature, Chisholm campaigned to represent New York's Twelfth Congressional District. Her campaign slogan was "Fighting Shirley Chisholm--Unbought and Unbossed." She won the election and became the first African American woman elected to Congress.

During her first term in Congress, Chisholm hired an all-female staff and spoke out for civil rights, women's rights, the poor and against the Vietnam War. In 1970, she was elected to a second term. She was a sought-after public speaker and cofounder of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She remarked that, "Women in this country must become revolutionaries. We must refuse to accept the old, the traditional roles and stereotypes."

On January 25, 1972, Chisholm announced her candidacy for president. She stood before the cameras and in the beginning of her speech she said,

"I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people."

The 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami was the first major convention in which any woman was considered for the presidential nomination. Although she did not win the nomination, she received 151 of the delegates' votes. She continued to serve in the House of Representatives until 1982. She retired from politics after her last term in office. She has received many honorary degrees, and her awards include Alumna of the Year, Brooklyn College; Key Woman of the Year; Outstanding Work in the Field of Child Welfare; and Woman of Achievement.

Shirley Chisholm passed away on January 1, 2005.

Thought U Wanted Change.

Hell froze over in Massachusetts Tuesday.

In a dramatic upset that will end Democrats' super majority in the Senate, Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley to claim the seat held by the late Ted Kennedy for more than 46 years. After Brown's victory was announced, the throng of supporters at his campaign headquarters chanted "John Kerry's next."

Defeated Democrats immediately launched their typical game blaming the loss of eat held for so long by Sen. Ted Kennedy on everyone and everything except themselves.

Most of the fingers are pointed at Martha Coakley, the lackluster candidate who ran a lackluster campaign.

As candidates go, Coakley ranks high on any grading curve based on ineptitude. She took the race for granted, went on vacation rather than campaign and considered simple things like shaking hands with voters a boring waste of time.

But this was Massachusetts for God's sake -- land of the liberal and home of the Democratic party: A place where a half-wit in a clown suit could be elected to office as long as he or she ran as a Democrat.

Yes, but that was before Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, et. al took control of the party. That was before Democrats swept into control on Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008 on promises of change and a better way and delivered the same old corruption, the same old lobbyist-dominated way of doing things and the same old "screw the voters, we're in this for ourselves" form of government.

Democrats did it to themselves and they deserved the ass-kicking they received. Voters have buyer's remorse. They're mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.

Voters want change but change cannot be delivered by politicians who put their party's agenda ahead of the best interests of a nation. Democrats and Republicans may represent different philosophies but they are the same when it comes to governing. They cater to different special interests but it is still those special interests that control each political party and special interests are controlled by money and greed, not public need or a common good.

Democrats lost a valuable Senate seat in Massachusetts Tuesday.

That was their failure.

Voters turned to the only option they had -- a Republican.

That, sadly, is the failure of a political system that can no longer effectively govern America.

Bull$hit!

Definition of Bullshit:
Bullshit is a bogus statement deliberately presented as being true. Bullshit is something meant to deceive and to give a wrong misleading impression. Bullshit is an act, or attempt to mislead and deceive others by making a lie highly believable as fact. Exactly as it is done in show business, where a professional Bullshit Artist fools us into believing what he or she wants us to believe. The so-called movie stars / actors are good examples of whom and what Bullshit Artists are and do. To make it crystal-clear and better understand how high quality bullshit is manufactured, watch TV advertisements and programs, or see movie, or watch and listen to any religious mullah, or government, or business official speak.

We are equipped with a biological immune system, which fights off infection by foreign pathogens and defends our physical being against any foreign invader. We are also armed with a common sense immune system, which protects us against the invaders of the mind and soul. One may refer to it as, - Common Sense Wisdom, - or - Intuition, - or - Sixth Sense, - or - Gut Feeling, - but I like to call it, - Bullshit Detection System - or BDS for short.

On a daily basis we are bombarded with so much bullshit at every level and at every second of every waking moment of our lives. So I thought it would be a jolly good idea to recognize the intricate functionality of our BDS and to learn how to use, enhance and strengthen our - Bullshit Detection System - BDS. Whenever you are reading, listening or watching any piece of information presented to you as fact or truth, but deep down inside you are feeling an uneasy sensation about it, that is your BDS at work, which means one of the following two conditions is true:

1 - The subject matter could be true but since you do not know enough about it, your BDS kicks in, and alerts you that you need to educate yourself about the suspect subject matter. When you are investigating and educating yourself always read the pros and cons, and you shall come to your own healthy conclusions, not of the very well paid preacher, historians, authors or reporters of the misleading text, or the very well paid deceptive talking heads and opinion makers of the nation-less corporate media. Discovering the truth for yourself is wise, everlasting, tremendously rewarding, satisfying and priceless. Discovering the truth for yourself is a powerful guiding light, which will enhance and brighten your future and the future of the community in which you live.

2 - The presenters of that piece of information, the well paid preacher, historians, authors or reporters of the misleading text or the deceptive talking heads and opinion makers of the nation-less corporate media are full of shit and they are after your citizen power, money, vote, or all of what you own.

We should never lose sight of the fact that lack of trust for our built-in BDS, or any efforts to suppress our BDS will lead us into the path of ethical and social degradation; a society full of stupid brain-dead people under complete domination of a few bullshit-artist, who themselves are under the spell of higher bullshit curse: greed.

Reflective Mind - Reflective minds are those who suppress their BDS, essentially training and forcing their minds to function as a reflective mind. This means only reflecting, just like a mirror, the thoughts and findings of others, however wrong and stupid they maybe, as viable ideas and even sometimes believing them as their own.

Analytical Mind - Analytical minds are those who value their mind’s cognitive abilities and sense of self-definition and tend to do what needs to be done. They study the pros and cons, then sit back, analyze their findings, and come to their own healthy conclusion.

We must always think critically of all authorities, issues and personalities all the time. But the bullshit dispensers of our time, such as; nation-less corporations, religious mullahs of the 3 Adam and Eve based religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam, easily controlled academia talking heads, politicians and Hollywood high quality bullshit production machine want us not to think at all, or at best, just think passively.

Incidentally, the finer and better fabricated the bullshit, the more difficult it would be to detect it. Speaking of the father and grand prizewinner of best bullshit; next to history, are the 3 Adam and Eve based religions; Judaism, and its 2 derivatives; Christianity and Islam, which happen to be the 3 top ranking of the long lasting and deadly bullshit of all-time, ever manufactured by the patriarchal criminal bastards.

Caution, NOT THINKING CRITICALLY is extremely hazardous to your health, health of your family and well being of your community, therefore do your own reading, thinking and decision making, thus never permit anyone to manipulate your thoughts, emotions and behavior. We must continue and never stop Self-Exploration and Self-Education, until the last day of our lives.

Definition of Thinking:

To think is to analyze, examine and sort out information and form in the mind ideas or opinions, to perform any mental operation, to reason, to bring to mind or recollect, to determine, resolve and to work things out.

Thinking is to conceive thoughts and ideas by reasoning, to form an opinion, to judge, to consider, to employ and to bring one’s intellectual faculties to work, to concentrate one's thoughts on any given subject.

Thinking is the act of reasoning from factual knowledge and or evidence. Thinking is to use the mind for processing imagination and information, to arrive at logical conclusions, from premises known and or assumed to be true for making imaginative decisions.

To think is to reason about or reflect on, to ponder. Think how complex is our Milky Way Galaxy. Think the matter through creatively. To decide by reasoning, reflection or pondering, thinking what to believe, what to say or what to do.

To think is to judge or regard, look upon. To think is to learn of, or from, by analyzing what one could learn by thinking about the newly acquired knowledge, thought, suggestion and or idea, in order to learn and accept as truth.

Thinking is to call to mind, to remember, to visualize and recall the images of what was once known to the mind. To think is to have creative thoughts, to bring a thought to mind by imagination or invention to devise or evolve to invent by imaginative thinking.

Thinking is to bring one’s mind into a given condition by mental preoccupation, to exercise the power of one’s mind by reasoning and by conceiving ideas, drawing inferences, and using or arriving to a judgment.

Common sense should be the guide, based on which one could lead a fruitful, thoughtful and exciting life journey. One should never make decisions nor implement one’s decisions under extreme euphoria, sadness, resentment or anger. The best condition conducive for rational thinking is a calm relaxing environment.

- - I am, and I can think, therefore I can change who I am - -

To think is to care and have consideration. What do you think?

Green Ramblings

We all need each other to survive, regardless of one’s political affiliation, nationality, religion, race and creed. There are common bonding issues which connect all of us together. Before taking a position and joining any political group, Democrats, Republicans or any other political affiliation, we must realize what is the higher order.

The higher order of things is to preserve life-supporting and life-sustaining elements and the environment by not following or allowing any political party and or special interest group who have self-preserving and financial interests to dominate and deceive the public.

List of Common Concerns and Causes To All:
No one in their right mind would disagree with the need for discussion and implementation of new methodologies that address the common concerns and causes listed below.

1 - Clean, Healthy Air to Breathe
2 - Clean, Healthy Water to Drink
3 - Healthy, Clean Land to Live on and Grow Food
4 - Un-radiated, Nuclear and Pesticide-Free Organic Food & Produce
5 - Utilizing the Abundant and Inexhaustible Sun's Energy
6 - Development and Use of Hydrogen-Based Energy Production
7 - Establishing Fair & Dignified Living Wages
8 - Establishing Universal Healthcare System
9 - Establishing Universal Educational System

We urgently need to get over our trivial differences so that we can begin cooperating with one another on the important issues such as Environment, Global Warming, Healthcare, Education, Etc.

- - The French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, in that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon. - -