Jena 6- Don't Just Stand There, Do Something!

Taken from an email I received:

For most of the past year, residents of Jena, Louisiana have suffered under racial unrest that has manifested in blatant injustices against young black men. We encourage you to join forces with those who oppose the hate crimes and conditions that are being perpetrated in Jena.

BACKGROUND:On the grounds of the Jena, Louisiana high school, there is a single tree. Its shade has been generally reserved for use by white students. In September of last year, a black student asked permission from school authorities to sit under the tree, and did so. By the next morning, three nooses in school colors were hung from its branches. Although the school’s principal found three white students responsible for hanging these nooses and recommended their expulsion, the superintendent overruled the principal and gave them a three day suspension. The students were never charged with a crime.

Since the hanging of the nooses, a number of racial confrontations have ensued:

On November 30, 2006, the main academic building of Jena High was burned down.

On December 1, a black student who attended a white party was beaten (for which a white man was later arrested and charged with simple battery).

On December 2, a young white man threatened a group of young black men with a shotgun at a convenience store (for which the black men who took the shotgun away from the white man were later arrested, but no charges were filed against the white man).

Court testimony documents that the District Attorney, accompanied by law enforcement officers, addressed a Jena school assembly and threatened protesting black students, saying that if they did not stop the fuss over the “innocent prank – I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen.”

On December 4, a white student who allegedly made racial taunts and supported the students who hung the nooses was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students (for which the white student was treated and released, and six black students were charged with felonies and assessed high bail.)

The six young men were charged with attempted second degree murder. They were all expelled from school. The six charged were Robert Bailey, Jr. (17 years old, bail set at $138,000); Theo Shaw (17, bail at $130,000); Bryant Purvis (17, bail at $70,000); Carwin Jones (18, bail at $100,000); Mychal Bell (16 at arrest, charged as an adult, bail at $90,000); and an unidentified minor.

Mychal Bell was the first to be tried. He was convicted this month of two felonies: aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Aggravated battery requires the use of a weapon; in this case, Mr. Bell’s tennis shoe was considered the weapon. He was convicted by an all-white jury; there were no black citizens in the jury pool of 150. He will be sentenced at the end of this month, and faces up to 22 years in prison.

On a historical note, Jena is the location of a Juvenile Correctional Center for Youth that was forced to close in 2000, two years after it opened, because of widespread racism and brutality including guards choking a juvenile after he met with an attorney, guards paying inmates to fight one another, and guards laughing at juveniles who attempted to commit suicide.

Our denomination has long stood for justice and racial equity. We urge you to stand again to address these issues, and to help protect the young men who are being prosecuted in Jena.
Write Governor Blanco to ask that the conviction of Mychal Bell be commuted or that he be pardoned.

Governor Kathleen Babineaux BlancoOffice of the Governor of LouisianaPO Box 94004, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004Phone: 866.366.1121 or 225.342.0991 or 225.342.7015Fax: 225.342.7099http://www.gov.state.la.us (e-mail available through website)

To support the defendants financially, contact:
The Jena 6 Defense Committee, PO Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342jena6defense@gmail.com
Friends of Justice, 507 North Donley Avenue, Tulia, TX 79088www.fojtulia.org
ACLU of Louisiana, PO Box 56157, New Orleans, LA 70156www.laaclu.org417.350.0536

To contact U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, go to these two sites: http://landrieu.senate.gov/louisiana/index.cfmhttp://vitter.senate.gov/?module=louisiana/Louisiana

To contact U.S. Congressman Rodney Alexander, Louisiana 5th District, go to: http://www.house.gov/alexander/

For more detailed information on this case, refer to: - BBC News at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/6677057.stm (accessed July 23, 2007)- Chicago Sun Times at http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/444742,CST-NWS-beat27.article (accessed July 23, 2007)- Human Rights Watch at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/10/05/usdom13924.htm (accessed July 23, 2007)

Reefer Madness

The latest studies indicate that marajuana may provide an increased risk to a case of the crazies.

My ex husband is a pot head, and he lies so much that I don't think he can any longer differentiate his haze-filled ideas from reality.

The one small point I want to make, however, is wisdom from my good friend Autumn. She truly taught me about dating, and my poor selections. She asked me one night if I would consider dating a man that smoked marajuana. I stated that I would consider it, as long as he ONLY smoked pot, and did not use other drugs (I thought at the time that all other illegal drugs were "dangerous". Of course, you are reading the blog of a girl whose brother was a drug addict, but I only smoked a handful of times, and decided it was a poor decision.) She then asked if I believed marajuana use was acceptable, and I stated my beliefs about marajuana and its low risk. She asked if I knew people that smoked on a regular basis. I said yes. These weren't my friends, except for one, but sure....I knew several.

And then she asked how many if these people were dependable people with consistant lives. Did they excel at their careers? Did they have careers? How many of them were over-achievers?

Uhhh.................er.................ummmmm...............................

I never dated another pot-smoker again.

Sandnigger or Savior?

I cannot believe the perfectly good waste of language that pours into my inbox. If it were all rearranged, it might do the world some good.

I hate racism of all sorts. We all make incorrect assumptions, and our minds are not politically correct, but to have a hatred for a person you have never met is obscene and the most "ignorant of all ignorances". Yeah, you heard me!

What I really hate even more are racist "Christians". The hypocrasy mixed with intoloerance, along with the perversion of the "true word of god" is akin to blasphemy in my mind. So, it never ceases to shock me when I get an email to pass on to thirty of my friends with some teary music and Christ on the cross,( so I can receive a miracle at 9:04am, or my fiance will be killed in a tractor-trailer accident), followed by an ebonics joke with some poor child's fucking picture on it.

Check this out:

Using history and technology, this is now our closest guess of Jesus' portrait. I wonder what Jesus would do if you called him a sandnigger. Or a wetback. Or a watermelon-eating porch-monkey. If Jesus moved into my neighborhood, property values would plummet. Until they found out it was really him. And then, I would be seated at the right hand of the father and we would BBQ and drink mojitos.

Vick is Sick

If you haven't heard about the NFL, Michael Vick, and what I suspect is another example of roid-rage and glorification of an illeterate athlete, see CNN's take on it here.

I am not a particular champion for animal rights. I do believe we all have our spot in the food chain, and most African lions staring me down would probably agree with me. However, I am against abuse. Keeping an animal in deplorable conditions and priming them for fighting and death is a horrendous abuse of "power".

Can you imagine keeping a person in a small pen, and breeding them only to turn a profit, for your own glory. If, for example, that person wasn't financially viable or you thought they were dangerous; your options included murder; and a humane death isn't even a question for your sick little mind. Their pain and suffereing is of no consequence. There is no value assigned to these lives because "we are above them". These unwilling participants are simply "savage animals". Oh, yeah, Michael Vick, that was called SLAVERY. I guess he doesn't have a beef with that particular entepreneurship in American history either, huh? Well, it was a long time ago..... Let's just forget about it.

Let the Record Reflect....

...that Amy swears that Michael S. Ferrell is one of the hottest studs she's ever known.

...and my entire readership.

Who Wants Potato Salad?

Well, last night I got my middle child to bed, and then I came down and ate the last two spoonfulls of potato salad. I brushed and primped, getting ready to play bait for my husband who wanted some "time". He took the bait, needless to say.

So, we are really physical, not in a beating sort of way, but in an aerobic sort of way. The special moment comes for us, and so we begin to snuggle. Next thing I know, I am doubled over in pain. It intensifies dramatically and I am pacing the floor now, walking in circles, almost to tears. I bend over, and wrap myself up in a robe. Then I tear off the robe a moment later, I am just burning up. I run into the bathroom and begin to vomit. And then again. I beg to for a bath, which I rush into (with my bra still on). I beg for water, and we are now considering an ambulance. Just as we packed two of the three kids into the van in the middle of the night, I get sicker than I ever had before, and at amazing speeds. Then I am fine. We avoided the trip- it was obvious- I had a nasty case of food poisoning. this whole time, my poor husband thought he had run me through with his mighty sword. It was just the cliche of bad potato salad.

You know what that jackass said to me upon my recovery?

"Gee, I was really scared. I thought I had punctured your trachea or something."

Dream on, sweetie.

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Thought I would pass this on



The provisions of the DREAM Act amendment would provide a 6-year path to permanent residence and eventual citizenship for individuals brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented children if they graduate from high school and continue on to college or military service.

Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) announced that this week he, Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) will introduce the DREAM Act as an amendment to H.R. 1585, the Department of Defense authorization bill, which is now being debated in the Senate. The amendment will need 60 votes to pass. Its adoption would be a giant step forward for the DREAM Act, which would then stand an excellent chance of becoming law this year.

We expect anti-immigrant groups to spread falsehoods about the DREAM Act and to try to inflame their base to intimidate Senators like they did in the recent Senate debate about immigration reform. But DREAM Act supporters are passionate too. We can and must fight back and match their intensity.

To send an e-mail message to your Senators please go to:http://ga3.org/campaign/DREAM

Also, please consider calling both of your Senators today and tell them to:
"PLEASE VOTE FOR THE DURBIN-HAGEL-LUGAR DREAM ACT AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1585 SO THAT IMMIGRANT STUDENTS BROUGHT HERE AS CHILDREN CAN REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL"

Your Senators' phone numbers are online at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Could You Use it In a Sentence?

I am a total geek. I have had Mirriam-Webster's Word of the Day delivered to me via email for years. Amazingly, it still doesn't seem to curtail my use of the F-word. Todays word is onomastics. When I am I going to use this, and if I do, who will understand what I am saying?

I will say that one good thing has come out of this, besides tickling my big brain on a daily basis. When I went on my first date with Mike, without thinking, I called him a palooka. He said, "Now, we're going to use boxing terms from the 20's?" I wanted to rip his clothes off right then and there.



So, yesterday was National Ice Cream Day. We were considering heading out to one of the local celebrations, but I went to church with Carolyn in the morning. So, we decided to make homemade ice cream instead of packing up the kids. Homemade is the best, anyway. We made it sugar-free for our neighbors, and I have to say I am the bomb! Of course, I omitted the water and beat the hell out of it, until my mixer was panting. A little extra beating makes everything special!

French Vanilla Ice Cream

This is a very simple recipe and extremely quick to prepare! You can vary the amount of vanilla that you use and also use all cream instead of the cream/water mixture I have used here. I find the water just breaks up the richness a little.

Ingredients:3 medium pasteurized eggs
5 tablespoons Splenda
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:Using a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs until they are light and fluffy (using an electric whisk saves time here). Whisk in the Splenda, one tablespoon at a time and then whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy again. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk on a high setting until fully blended.

Scrape the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze as usual. Serves 6.
Per serving: 3.85g carbs; 0g fiber; 4.75g protein; 32g fat; 215mg cholesterol; 61mg sodium; 315 calories

I Want To Make You Bad

So, here's a little known factoid about me. I love suspenders. I love them on a heavily-starched man. I think it's maybe something so conservative that it just gives me an extra push to make the man wearing them extra naughty. I used to think that this especially applied to attourneys, but then I dated one. They are "pre-ruined". I like my men with morals, thanks.

However, I noticed that suspenders are not sexy when they are not under a jacket. For example: this is not hot. At all. Unfortunately, neither is this. I think we've all learned something here today, haven't we?

High Anxiety

Hmmmm...I wonder if my life could be compared to a Mel Brooks film.

Anyway, so now that I am thirty I am going trough this very weird anxiety/death thing. I am suddenly an absolute hypochondriac. I already explained this to my OB/GYN, to which he replied, "Don't worry. (Removes gloved hand from my pretty self). Everything looks and feels great." I think I actually replied, "Thanks, I've been working out!" I have no sense of what is appropriate humor while my feet are in the air. Ask any of my former boyfriends.

WTF

Okay, so I was going to post all about myself and my new body that I am creating for myself through tons of sweat and hard work. Then, I was going to mention my husband, and how gorgeous he is, and I am in my sexual peak and perimenopause at the same time. I then thought of how I wouldn't trade my husband for a moment, but if he ever left me, I would love to climb Vincent D'onofrio like a set of monkey bars- especially with my new body, hahahaha.


So, I Google "D'onofrio" for a pic because apparently not everyone knows who he is, he's not Brad Bitt, he's an genuine actor, of course, I could never date an actor (again). But, I digress....I like my men rugged and masculine, dripping with testosterone, yet evolved, brainy, hilarious, and a bit too cerebral. They must also understand me on a gut level. For example, when "Stayin' Alive" plays on the radio- I cannot help it- I dance and my right hand looks as though I am stabbing myself in the back. Any man who might catch me doing this and begin laughing himself is light years ahead of the others.



So, while looking for this:

BTW: wow. look at that.....

I come across this:

I love Harry Hamlin (think:Clash of the Titans) and I have always believed Lisa Rinna to be gorgeous, but what's up with the pose? Looks pretty cheesy. I am sure this is just a bad moment, right? I cannot imagine life in front of a camera all the time.

So, anyway, about D'onofrio- I have seem him in several things over the years, and I was always walking out of the theater or turning off the DVD, thinking that was the most amazing actor- "I have to get his name". From Wells in Ed Wood to the bug in MIB; of course I never remembered it. That is merely just my reference to what an amazing actor he is, but he is gorgeous, to boot!

I wonder how freaky it is to Google yourself and find some SAHM believes you to be rather sexy.

I just became creepy. Damn. I was saving that for my fifties.

PS: Watch Happy Accident.