Recap of Congressional Black Caucus Institute Democratic Debate

I hope everyone tuned in to CNN last night to watch the debate between Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, and Senator Edwards. They had to face the Congressional Black Caucus Institute in Myrtle Beach, SC. This debate was important for members of the black community to watch because the candidates specifically spoke on issues that concern the black community.

I do not know much about Senator John Edwards, but he actually did alot better than what I thought he was going to do. Senator Clinton, once again, disappointed me but not significantly. Senator Obama made me love him even more, however, I did not fully agree with his policy on Universal health care....it was also the policy that both Senator Clinton and Senator Edwards attacked him on.

The debate was probably the most heated debate that I have seen in my lifetime concerning the Presidential elections. Senator Clinton and Senatore Obama were at each other's throats. Probably because they are both only 2 delegate votes away from gaining the Presidential nomination.

For all those who are not fully familiar with politics, the way the system works is that before the National Convention which I believe is held over the summer, each party has a string of candidates who attempt to win the nomination of that party. Whoever wins the nomination, will be able to run for President in the actual election. Right now, Democratic candidates are competing against each other for the spot to be voted into the 2008 election. Whoever wins the nomination will run against the nominated Republican.

With that said, the orator of the debate brought up an interesting question, which Democratic candidate is strong enough to win against the Republican candidate? This is probably the most important thing to consider since the last thing that most blacks want to see is another Republican in office. Even still, I think Obama is stronger than Clinton in that he has a strategic plan on how to win over the Republican voters (esp. considering he is a black man who has to win over people in Texas). He believes in a "transformative majority" in which everyone, despite their political party, works for the betterment of every citizen.

During the debate, Senator Clinton side track some of the issues and went into dirty politics by attacking Senator Obama on his overall character and integrity. This in itself made Senator Clinton look bad considering both Senatore Obama and Senator Edwards explicitly stated that they were there for the issues....and not to do tit for tats. Senator Obama did get sucked into going back and forth with Senator Clinton because he had to defend his stance which he did so very eloquently.

To me, it was Obama who had the most thorough and well thought out plans for the direction that he wanted to take the United States. Even though I feel like he is a person who prioritizes domestic policy over foreign policy (which is what I personally perfer), he had the best approach concerning foreign policy out of the three candidates. This surprised me because I thought that foreign policy was going to be where Senator Clinton would shine. Unfortunately, she did just the opposite. Initially she said that she wanted to have the troops pulled out within 60 days of her Presidency....but after Obama said that was not feasible because you have to gradually pull troops out of Iraq because of safety issues for the soldiers themselves, Clinton quickly changed her position and just repeated what Obama had said. To me, it shows that she has yet to establish a well-developed plan concerning foriegn issues.

In addition, Obama was the only candidate who talked about the financial impact of the war and how the monies could be spent on other things like education and that they still needed to work on stabalizing Iraq even after troops are pulled out because they do not want a repeat of 9/11. The other two candidates were primarily concerned with just getting the troops home to their families.

For all those who missed this democratic debate, there will be another one held on CNN on January 31st. I think at 8:00pm.

Tune in. Educate yourself. Vote.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

As I said, my blog will be the new home of my impersonal journal. I want to begin to focus more on the issues that effect our everyday lives...or the everyday lives of others.


Promote the Dream: Don't Read and Speak About It, Be About It

With that said, I'd like to bring special attention to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. People across the nation celebrate (or don't celebrate) the birth of this significant and influential man in so many different ways. At my college in particular, we commemorate Martin Luther King's values and principles by getting off for a half-day of classes, going to on-campus events, and participating in a vigil/march in the evening.

Nine times out of ten, I rarely participate in these events strictly because I feel that everyday should be Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Everyday, people should strive to promote the values and principals that Martin Luther King Jr. strove so hard to implement within our society. I think people feel like by participating, celebrating, and recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. one out of three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, they think that they are doing something significant. There are people who feel strongly and show their gratitude toward Martin Luther King Jr this time of year, but a lot of these people are the same people who do not exercise their right to vote or who are not standing up for better educational opportunities and funding by getting involved with their congressman. These are the same people who are not taking advantage of a college education. These are the same people who hurt, disrespect, and kill their own people. These are the same people who are so absorbed in their personal relationships with the opposite sex that they let "nigga children" hold them back (i.e. making a generation of babies raising babies and having more people on welfare). And by the term "nigga children" I'm not referring to the black race as a whole, I'm referring to those blacks who continuously perpetuate the stereotype and make Martin Luther King Jr. turn over in his grave.

I think it is imperative that everyone, not just blacks, take the time and ask themselves are we promoting the dream or are we destroying it?....for some the question may not be either or.....the question should concern whether or not they are lingering in the halls of contentment. Those who are lingering in the halls of contentment are those who may take advantage of the opportunities presented to them, but they do not do anything to help the next person. At the end of the day, they do nothing....they get in and get out. In this case, contentment is selfish....and participating in the destruction of the dream is far beyond that.

Like I said, I'm not just referring to blacks even though we should have a greater and more invested interest in the cause to diminish the racial divide. Everyone should get more involved....not on a once-a-year basis, but daily. Fight for something! Better your own circumstances! Not just for yourself, but for the generation to come. Fight for the opportunities you would want your children to have.

I am a person who strongly values education. I think that a lack of education is the number one killer of the black community. I blame half of it on the government because they do not give equal funding to schools, it takes money to make money, but I also blame half of it on blacks given the fact that no one is making noise about this injustice. We are allowing it to happen. We have stopped caring.

We as a race like to portray ourselves as STRONG, INVINCIBLE, and in someways even GANGSTER....but how strong and invincible are we if we continuously fall back...if we continuously surrender to injustice? Why cannot the new words for the black race be that we are SMART, DIPLOMATIC, CONTRIBUTORY, FIGHTERS. We have programs like affirmative action and welfare to help us when we fall....but when you look at the bigger picture, we should get to the point where these programs are no longer necessary. Why do we need to be hired based on whether or not we meet the minimum qualifications for a job? If we fought harder for our right to an equal education, we would not need affirmative action because we would be more than competitive enough that our qualifications could surpass our white/asian/etc counterparts. Why are we dependent on government handouts?...if more blacks were wealthy, not rich, but wealthy we would not need the welfare system. But no one is striving for the change. No one is reaching for the dream....we've successfully turned ourselves into spoiled children of the government where expect everything to come easy and free and do not want to work hard for significant future gains.

Over the years, I have participated heavily in organizations that provide education to troubled youths. Even if you disagree that a lack of education is the number one killer of the black community, pick what you think is and work toward change. You do not have to something overly significant...you first start with yourself, then you start by helping the person next to you.


Learn that Politics Isn't A Dirty Word

My people, my people...vote, vote, vote. But do not just vote....you have a little less than a whole year to develop your personal political point of view. After that, choose the best candidate based on who represents your views. I'm tired of having conversations regarding whether or not people are going to vote for the WOMAN or the BLACK. It's not about that. It's about the issues. Intelligent, well-informed people know that.

A woman in office would be a great day for women in general...but at the same time, do you know whether or not Mrs. Clinton is going to increase educational funding? Do you know what she is going to do about Iraq? If her platform is not conducive to your own personal opinions, then despite whether or not she is a WOMAN, she is not the candidate for you. Same goes for Mr. Obama.

I highly encourage people to read each candidates platform at their websites. I highly encourage people to REGISTER TO VOTE. If you do not vote, you cannot complain.

I am a hardcore Senator Obama fan and I have personally lost my faith in Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama, to me, has successfully prioritized domestic policy and foreign policy. It is my opinion that domestic policy should take precedence over foreign policy. Because Bush has got us in a foreign mess, the next President is going to have to clean up his shit. I think that Mr. Obama has the ability to keep domestic policy at the forefront while still handling his shit overseas. He is a person who I feel knows that it is important to take care of home first.

3000 people died in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11...and a President who is so focused on foreign policy will do everything to fight for the lost lives of these people. But who is fighting for the 3000 lives taken by homelessness, gun violence, drugs, poverty? Who is fignting for the thousands of students who lives are already pre-determined because they do not have the opportunities to get ahead? Who is fighting for the 3000+ Katrina victims who have died or still without homes?

Vote for the candidate who believes in fighting for every citizen...and not just the ones in business suits who work for the government.

Vote for the candidate who will promote the dream.