Today the Secret Service says they are embarrassed by the security breech. To think that someone off the street could get this close to the leader of the free world is just frightening. Why were these people passed through? Could it be a case of racial profiling? Would a black couple have been able to move so easily through the gates? I don’t think so we are constantly challenged to prove who we are. It was bad enough to see their pictures with the vice-president, but today we now know they were up close and personal with the president. Some are laughing this off as some kind of humorous prank, but this is serious. These people wanted their 15 minutes and they got it, but hopefully there will be some serious consequences from this incident.

 Today we learned that a couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi,  breeched security and attended the White House State Dinner. This is the first time something like this has happened. How could this happen? According to NBC Brian Williams they tried to enter one of the entrances and they were turned around. They then entered the pedestrian entrance. How did they get through? They looked like they belonged. They were dressed appropriately and they had the right swagger, but what else? This couple managed to take pictures with Vice-President Joe Biden and they had the nerve to post them on their Facebook page. They are being called party crashers, but that simply seems a little too cute. These people are criminals there is nothing cute about this. Assassination attempts are up 400% since President Obama took office. This is a security breech and some heads need to roll on this one. This is simply unacceptable.

 Today I went to the beauty shop and heard one of the stylist say she was leaving her home at 11:30PM tomorrow night to be in Pennsylvania by 3AM to be in line for a sale that would start at 4AM. When did we lose our collective minds? When my kids were younger I would get up at 5 and go to Toys Are Us, but I learned it really was not worth it. Some of the so-called doorbusters are gone by the time you enter the door, but that is not the biggest problem. Too many people are still putting too much on plastic. One of the stylist said that she was behind on her car note but she was not going to miss the Black Friday specials. Black Friday is something dreamed up by the merchants with the goal of getting everyone hyped up to buy. This year let’s exercise a little self control. Instead of letting your child give you a list as long as your arm, ask them to write down 2 things that they really want. Smaller kids are easier to please, but as they get older their wants get more expensive, and notice I use the word want. Most Christmas presents are not needs they are wants, and wants can be managed. So let’s curb expectations this year. Let’s use the sense God gave u,s and our mothers cultivated, and let’s finally put the brakes on some of this foolishness.

This Thanksgiving is different for me. In July I lost my job and have not found a new one yet, but in spite of that I am still very thankful. I am thankful that I have a supportive family and loving friends who have been a constant source of emotional support. I am thankful that my family is healthy and the dreaded swine flu has not stopped by my home. I am thankful that our  extended family will be arriving tonight for the holiday. I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to share my thoughts with you for almost two years. I am thankful that I live in a country that allows me to share my uncensored and unfiltered opinions everyday.  I am also thankful that you take the time to read my blog. I would say God Bless America, but He already has. So I will ask for His continued blessings on all of you, and I will just say Enjoy your Turkey Day and try not to eat too much!

President or Jihad. Car dealer/Birther is exercising his right to free speech. Some segments of America can not deal with the fact that the president is black, but they can’t say that. So they will continue the mission to de-legitimize the president. It has been 10 months since he took office and they can’t get over it. So they will continue to do things like this, but in spite of the billboard President Obama will go to sleep in the White House tonight because like it or not he is the elected leader of this country.

“According to cbs3.com, Lincoln University, an HBCU in Pennsylvania, has mandated a fitness course for overweight students in an effort to impact the soaring rates of obesity and diabetes in the African-American community. The mandate requires students to get tested for their BMI. Those in the obese range will be required to take the course that involves walking, weight training, aerobics and other physical activities.”  Is this good news? Is overweight the only problem on campus? What about the drug users are they too going to be outed? Obesity is definately not the only problem on campus, but it is one of the most visible. Will the fitness teachers identify the students that should have their BMI tested? Is this an invasion of privacy. What if the overweight condition has an emotional component? Will there be any therapy involved or will this just be boot camp? Lose weight or else? This is dangerous territory. Will they have the overweight teachers exercising too? There might be good intentions here, but there is something wrong with this approach.

Over the weekend I read an article that said John McCain might have to run against a member of the Tea bag movement. In a hypothetical Rasmussen poll John McCain has 45% support compared to former Congressman, conservative radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth’s 43%. Two per cent separates the two. “On his radio show Friday, Hayworth discussed the results of the Rasmussen poll at length. Hayworth said discussions with his immediate family are “more than a topic of casual conversation.” He indicated a desire to run, saying that he is in the “due diligence” phase and that the primary roadblock would be fundraising, specifically to pay off some debt.” Hayworth is a beneficiary of the 2008 election and he has mastered the mobs. He has successfully tapped into the anger that the McCain/Palin ticket unleashed. They waged an us against them campaign. In that case the them was President Obama and his supporters, but now in a twist McCain is seen as part of the them. Prior to the election McCain was viewed as a moderate Republican who would reach across the aisle to get results, but this crowd is hardline. Their motto seems to be our way or the highway. There is no longer any room for statesmen who have the word compromise in their vocabulary. Last November an angry monster was released. They tapped into visceral anger, but they thought they could control it. What John McCain did not know then was that he too might be eaten by the monster he helped create.

A wise Latina boss once told me to never say you did not do something because you were too busy. He said when something becomes a priority you will make time for it. For Congress the unemployment situation in this country is simply not a priority.  Sadly, unemployment has not been a priority to President Obama. He has been preoccupied with his signature issue: healthcare. All of the people who should be talking and doing something about unemployment all have a job. So they might devote some lip service to the issue it is not crucial. Last week we saw Congressmen grandstanding as they chastised the Treasury Secretary, but that was something done for dramatic effect. After the camera lights faded they went on to business as usual. It was entirely inconsequential. The members of Congress are not part of the 1 out of 10 Americans looking for non-existent jobs.  Next year we will get the opportunity to make some of them see what unemployment really feels like.

 While watching Oprah Winfrey on Friday I was struck by something she said to the star of ‘Precious”, Gabourey Sidibe. Oprah quoting Precious director Lee Daniels said “Gabby speaks like a white girl from the Valley and is so confident that she is either in denial about her physicality or from another planet.” This is insulting on two levels. It is outrageous that Daniels would say it, and it is astounding that Winfrey would repeat it. Sidibe is an obese woman, but the fact that she is confidant in her own skin is not delusional. It is inspiring. Newsflash: not every big woman is a shame of herself. Some obese people actually like themselves. They do not look in the mirror and see someone else like the character Precious did in the movie. They look in the mirror and they like what they see. I might give Lee Daniels a pass on this one, but Winfrey who has struggled with self acceptance should know better. Sidibe has obviously come to love herself. She said she started dieting when she was six years old. In her twenties she finally found self acceptance and she said “One day I had to sit down with myself and decide that I loved myself no matter what my body looked like and what other people thought about my body.” Amen to that.

Over the past few weeks I have read many reviews of the movie Precious. Most if not all have been complimentary, but then there was Armond White of the New York Press. He wrote a scathing review that compared Precious to the infamous 1915 drama Birth of a Nation. That is quite the comparison. I saw Birth of a Nation in college and if featured unflattering portrayals of black people with the roles being played by white people in blackface. White said “not since The Birth of a Nation has a mainstream movie demeaned the idea of black American life as much as Precious. Full of brazenly racist clichés (Precious steals and eats an entire bucket of fried chicken), it is a sociological horror show. Offering racist hysteria masquerading as social sensitivity, it’s been acclaimed on the international festival circuit that usually disdains movies about black Americans as somehow inartistic and unworthy.” Precious does not demean the black experience in reality it embraces a part of the black experience that we don’t see. It exists but it is not only invisible to the mainstream it is also invisible to large segments of the black community. The real truth is we don’t want to see it. it is far too raw and too painful for most of us to deal with. Precious removes the veil and we are forced to look at some raw truths. It is ironic that the title character is over 300 pounds and she seeks to blend in. She does not want to be seen, but her size makes that dream impossible. We see a person, a child  struggling in an existence that most would find futile. Her struggle is reminiscent of the mythological character Sisyphus. His task was to push a huge rock up a hill with the full knowledge that it would come down again, and he would have to repeat the process. That is the life that Precious had a 24 hours of struggle with the promise of 24 more the following day. Sometimes when you don’t see something you can choose to believe it simply does not exist, but sometimes you are brought face to face with some truths that you do not want to accept. Sometimes you attach some insidious logic to why this truth is exposed. The purpose of Birth of a Nation was to instill fear in the majority. The images were designed to affirm the fear that black power spelled the end to life as they knew it. Precious had no such agenda. Precious is the story of a girl who lived a horrible life and then one day a light came into it, it was not a bright light but it was just enough to give Precious a glimmer of hope and that is what this girl yearned for.

I encourage you to read another insightful post written by Gail on Precious and The Blind Side: http://gaj1206.wordpress.com/