Will hurricane Sandy change the election?

If your car has been damaged by the storms are you less likely to vote? Personally I sent an absentee ballot to cast my vote this go around. Hopefully the effects of hurricane Sandy will dissipate by November 6th and everyone will go out and cast their vote for their favorite candidate.

Why be offended if you're Christian?

Psalm 119:165 - "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them." If Christians actually followed the entire Bible literally or psychologically instead of picking and choosing scriptures they'd find no reason to be offended according to their own book. If you love God's law then why would anything man do offend thee? I enjoy reading the Bible however I enjoy it more now understanding not everything is to be taken as literal facts.  Above was my comment to a huff post religious blogger who posed this question.
It's almost as if being Christian has more to do with the external trappings and not the inner meaning.

A kiss at midnight contest entry

When I met my husband it was after a life altering car accident that left me paralyzed yet independent enough to go back to college. Michael, my husband's nickname, was my tutor in Biology which I passed. I left to be a full time stay at home wife and mom to our son of whom the doctors told me it would be difficult to carry with paralysis. After being with AT&T for 11 years in 2008 my husband was surplussed and we lost our health coverage which meant he became my full time caregiver with no time off while looking for employment and helping me home school our son. Due to my husband's care I've stayed healthy which is really difficult to do with a spinal chord injury. He's working as a contractor today and we're headed towards full economic recovery of the lifestyle we enjoyed before 2008. A midnight kiss in Times Square would mean that the love that my husband has shown me through his strength and the happiness which he taught me is inside of me is not only real but also the greatest expressions two people can share with each other and the world. My husband deserves this opportunity so that he can know that his efforts aren't only appreciated by his family but that others see the value in him as a great human being.

Calling out hairstylists!

Why are stylists not informing their clients that they could wind up looking like Naomi Campbell with her considerable hair loss?

I haven't seen any dialogues about this condition called traction alopecia which is said to be caused by excessive overuse of hair extensions. My own hair fell out due to a side effect of a prescribed acne medication. Today I have been natural without a permanent relaxer for just over eight years.



Much like raw foods has reversed diabetes for some people


  growing your own could regrown one's own hair. I loss the hair around my edges and had broken patches all of which has grown back. There needs to be more educational opportunities to learn about the beauty and maintenance of natural hair so women will know their options besides weaves, wigs or extensions. I suspect Naomi isn't the only victim to get caught up in the "good hair" syndrome that is all but destroying her hair.

Is it auto bail outs or Women deciding the Ohio vote?

The Auto bailouts put many back to work which is great but it wiped pensions and insurance for retirees. If something good happens to one group why does another group suffer from the repercussions of those actions? Having looked at this question I now wonder if women will win the vote in Ohio for Obama? Repealing DOMA will give all humans inalienable rights to marry whomever they love regardless of their gender. While reversing Rowe v Wade will not directly effect me it would put Women's rights back about what 50 years? My niece is headed to college and she needs financial aid so she's made her choice as have I for her sake. Now that my emotional voting debacle is over I can't say I'M 100 per cent convinced that either candidate will be able to do everything to satisfy all or most citizens.

Keep your comments to yourself

After reading Curly Nikki's Emancipation of Black hair it painfully reminded me of the last time I wore my hair flat ironed or straight. My hair fell out due to a chemical reaction a side effect of a medication I was supposed to stay on for 6 months to rid me of cystic acne. I went home almost bald and dismayed and promptly threw the prescription in the garbage. As my hair began to grow back I wore my hair in flat twists which I loved. It was time to get my hair done but I couldn't find anyone at that time who could re-twist my hair. The stylist whom I hired to do my hair came and washed my hair blew it dry and flat ironed it into a style which I proudly wore to the Kingdom Hall to give a talk on stage. When I arrived people smiled and said I looked very pretty. I had on lip gloss and eyeliner so not a lot of makeup but one sister said I looked very Hollywood. Finally the comment to end all comments came from an older sister who herself wore a short natural afro; she told me that she was so glad that I had taken those twists out of my hair because they were ugly and looked nasty to her. I should have left then and not returned but I did my best to brush it off. I haven't flat ironed my hair or worn it straight since because it began to break off. Had this been said by a person of a different ethnic group I'm not sure if it would have hurt as much; but she was African American and my Christian sister which left me feeling not only devastated but confused. Why did my natural twists look ugly and nasty but her natural afro was ok? I still don't know the answer but today I live by the premise that it's not any of my business what others think of me it's only my business what I think of myself. While this isn't biblical it definitely feels better than changing who I am or what I enjoy to suit other people.

Plain Dealer endorses President O'bama

I feel as nervous as a kitten facing a pitbull in a back alley in hearing that not only are Ohioans voting EARLY for President Obama, but our largest newspaper is ALSO backing the president. I've heard many political analysts say that Ohio benefited over the past 4 years with the car bail-out orchestrated by President Obama. Yet, there are so many other issues that are facing so many more citizens throughout the U.S. that don't feel the same way. Is it possible if President Obama is re-elected will he be able to solve all of America's problems? My niece is going to college and she's concerned about re-productive rights, as well as her gay friends who are human beings and deserve the natural rights that we should ALL be able to experience while living on this planet. I guess all that one can do is pray that whomever takes office that they will make a significant difference in the lives of citizens everywhere and not just Ohio.

Petitions Galore

I have signed more petitions this year than I have ever signed in my whole life, mainly because it's easy and online. Everything from stopping the abuse on cows at the Burger King plant to letting gay teens march in a parade in Minnesota. Many of these petitions were very successful in getting the amount of signed supporters yet I kept wondering what would happen if they didn't petition but just started their own parade, for example? When someone doesn't want you to be apart of what they're doing, and instead of going somewhere where you're not wanted why not just start your own?? This is how I feel about the struggles of African-Americans as well as a race of people I strongly feel that we would have come out better emotionally and financially by creating our own economy, instead of marching for inclusion. Especially when I was younger I learned the hard way to stop asking people If they would include me in whatever it was they were doing. The optimal revenge is to lead a successful life and have your naysayers invite you to come where they are much like the University of Texas did with Barbara Smith Conrad, an internationally known African-American opera singer. This is another name that I have not heard mentioned or read about in Black History books or anywhere else.

Holidays were not very Holy

Researching the holidays was a main part of my previous religion so that I could make sure that my worship was in line with bible principles. However, I've found to my shock and awe that most of the holidays were either steeped in occult worship, had pagan origins which are now accepted or have been long forgotten, or they excluded huge groups of people because of prejudice, or whatever reason. While I celebrate holidays with friends and family, my conscience won't ever let me forget the history of these former holy days. Which is why I absolutely love Kwanzaa, from December 26 to January 1, Mother's Day and Father's Day are quote on quote holidays that don't have seedy pasts to them and make sense. Yet, the rest have a history, you should look it up some time.

How come I never heard of Bayard Rustin?

Okay, So I'm watching a documentary on Netflix about Bayard Rustin, who I'd never heard of before October 19, 2012. As it turns out he was a key instrumental figure well known and respected by all communities and had a much bigger part in the March on Washington where the great I Have a Dream speech took place, than anyone has ever mentioned. Please do not tell me that we didn't have a discussion about Bayard Rustin SIMPLY because he was gay? I'm flabbergasted, dismayed and just plain stunned at whomever decided to leave this name out of our short black history month celebration that comes in February of every year. Okay kiddies, so that's a name you should know, Bayard Rustin, look him up on Google, Wikipedia, or at your local library.

NO Labels please!

Disabled, handicapped, minority, Black, Latino, Hispanic, short, tall - Why on Earth do we have so many labels for human beings? I find it frighteningly exhausting and old, I understand labeling food, clothes, even shoes, or political parties require a label to identify, but If we ever get past labeling PEOPLE, PERSONS as anything other than just human beings, I swear I will do some kind of quirky dance in my wheelchair. Labels belong on conditions, foods, products, and services, but human beings are just that, human beings, and the more one reads the news, or any social media, you see the huge divisions between us as human beings. when I look in the mirror I see my face and my eyes and my skin and my hair, I don't see all these labels so I'm going to work at not putting labels on human beings. I know I need adjectives probably to describe them but I refuse to put people, persons, or human beings in these sadistic boxes. NO MORE LABELS!!!

How can there be a WE if there's no me first?

The car is in your spouses name but you pay the monthly car note, who does the car really belong to? Does it belong to both of you, or does it belong to the person who's name its in, or to the person who makes the payment? This was a rather heated discussion I once had with my spouse, and while we came to the conclusion that it should be ours I wonder If a person, mainly a woman, should always have her own first before she becomes a we. I lived on my own and had my own apartment and my own vehicle before getting married, so why after one gets married can they still not have things that ARE their own even though they're part of a we? Personally women should experience total independence before they get married because If your spouse is the breadwinner and pays for everything you could possibly lose your sense of identity or individuality inside of the "we".

Can marriage change your life for the better?

I asked Nick Cannon who is married to Mariah Carey how has marriage and family changed his life for the better. I loved his response and how he handled his support of his wife during the altercation that took place between his wife and Nicki Minaj. Marriage can either change your life for the better or for the worse, depending upon how much effort and work you put into yourself and your spouse as well as your children if you have children.

I voted for my niece.

I haven't voted since the first African American Governor was elected in Virginia in the late 80's. In between for religious reasons I hadn't voted. Boy did I pick a doozy of a time to get back into the political mayhem of the 2012 elections. Romney discounts 47% of the population and O'bama says he inherited a mess from Bush. So while I cast my vote for a candidate I really didn't vote for them I voted for my niece's future at NYU for the next 4 years.

Didn't Win BUT still not a loser

I entered a contest for e3live and while I didn't win the grand prize because I came in seventh I still felt like a winner because I entered the contest instead of saying I know I won't win so why bother. Sometimes we defeat ourselves by not going for what we want by what we think and say to ourselves before we even try.

Was Romney really going to cut Big Bird?

I personally don't feel that Romney really wants to cut out PBS.

Why did I decide to home school my son

After a horrific experience in a predominantly African American school system I chose to home school my last child.

Losing my Religion

I am currently a Huff Post Live contributor and today I spoke about leaving my religion but still believing in God.