Good morning.

Before I begin my write…first some gratitude…

Doug: I waited to express my gratitude for you till today. Thank you for what you said. You of all people have been the most personally affected by the time I take to write my blog, more than anyone. I want to thank you for being patient with me and my time. I realize that my blog has been the baby of the family, and you sometimes have been treated, for lack of a better word, as the stepchild.

I appreciate the many times you have sat and waited for me to finish my write so that we could go to breakfast or take Lucy for a walk with you. I also appreciate your e-mails informing me of matters that I might not have been privy to, providing fodder for my blog. Thank you.

I am sure that my new consciousness and awareness of action and knowledge hasn’t always made me the most pleasurable person to live with. I have never really understood the full depth of the meaning, “Ignorance is blissful” until I made the decision to not be ignorant any more. It was much easier being ignorant but it so irresponsible.

Readers: Being the type of person I am, knowledge is powerful, but it is also challenging. Being in power has huge responsibilities. Hence the term RHIR: Rank Has Its Responsibilities. The actions that I take on, and the decisions that I make, like many of you, have  a ripple effect. We must all be conscious of our actions, as well as be responsible for them and the ripple effect they may have on others and our world too.

Anyway…enough of that. Let’s get into the meat of it shall we?

I was given a documentary to watch a few weeks ago, which I did watch. And what I saw was the mother of all conspiracy theories that one could imagine. I don’t like the term “mother of all” but in this case I think it is apropos.  As far as calling it a conspiracy theory…from all that I have learned about the white race, nothing surprises me and no alleged conspiracy theory seems to be far from the truth. There seems to be plenty of evidence to back this baby.

What I am going to talk about is Eugenics. I blogged briefly about Eugenics a few years ago. It is something that we haven’t really delved into too much here. I think it it about time we do. In case you are not familiar with Eugenics, this is the definition:

The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it fell into disfavor only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis.

This documentary is called Maafa 21. Maafa 21 is not only about Eugenics, but genocide. Black genocide is the focus, but really it is about genocide of all otws by White America.

Maafa 21 was released a little over a year ago:

In the few months since Maafa 21 has been released, there have been two showings of Maafa 21 to members of Congress, including members of the Black Caucus. Hundreds of copies of Maafa 21 were personally delivered to credentialed members of the NAACP at their recent conference. In addition, several showings of Maafa 21 have been conducted in theatres, churches, and community centers across the nation. There are plans to show Maafa 21 in various locations during Black History Month.

Maafa 21 will show you things the media has been hiding and politicians don’t want you to know. It shows the connection from slavery and eugenics to abortion and black genocide today and is routinely called “stunning,” “breathtaking,” and “jaw-dropping.”

I am quite surprised that I have not been informed of this earlier than now. Perhaps I would not be able to conceive that we as a society, or should I say white America, could be so conniving and  cruel. But today, I think differently. As always I believe that timing is everything; perhaps, now is the perfect time.

Maafa 21

They were stolen from their homes, locked in chains and taken across an ocean. And for more than 200 years, their blood and sweat would help to build the richest and most powerful nation the world has ever known.

But when slavery ended, their welcome was over. America’s wealthy elite had decided it was time for them to disappear and they were not particular about how it might be done.

What you are about to see is that the plan these people set in motion 150 years ago.

Readers: Thoughts? I know there is going to be a lot to say about this trailer. If what you saw is shocking, and who wouldn’t think that the idea of black genocide through the surreptitious vehicle of Planned Parenthood (Margaret Sanger) is shocking, you’ll want to see the entire documentary, and judge for yourself if this is something that could actually be happening. I believe it is. I strongly urge you to find this documentary, buy it, and watch it.

Here’s something else that will be shocking. From what I have learned Germany was the test model for Eugenics. The holocaust was not about the Jews, per se, it was about killing all of the otws. From the very beginning white America was behind it. White America prodded the Germans into sterilizing every single person who was an otw; even the very young.

America entered the war because even though we were in support of what the Germans were doing (Eugenics was our baby! No Punn intended.), we were afraid that the Germans were getting too much power, and that they would take over our part of the control of the otws, and we Americans, couldn’t let that happen. We didn’t want to lose our control of the otws. And it is evident we still don’t.

Sound too insane? Too crazy? Have you heard of the book, “Trading with the Enemy”? You may just want to read it. (Funny when keyboarding the book title I mistakenly keyed in “sleeping”….guess there really is no difference.)

I’ll end with a quote that I found on the Daily Kos:

Trent Franks and the good old days …

by Barbara Morrill

Friday Feb 26, 2010 at 07:02:04 PM PDT

This takes the, you can’t make this shit up, to a whole new level — Trent Franks (R-AZ) on African Americans in today’s society:

“In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long.  And now we look back on it and we say “How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves.  This is incredible.” And we’re right, we’re right. We should look back on that with criticism.  It is a crushing mark on America’s soul.  And yet today, half of all black children are aborted.  Half of all black children are aborted. Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?”

One has to wonder, as Franks’ curses the Thirteenth Amendment, what other aspects of the good old days does Franks’ pine for?

Good question and one that should be posed to more people than just ‘Franks’. So although he may be pining for the ‘good ‘ol days’ he may not realize how close to the truth he could be when he states that the polices of today are far more devastating than the days of slavery. But my caveat in order to agree with Franks…”If and only If black genocide through abortion is indeed the plan.” According to Maafa 21, obviously it is, and the devastation is designed to be far worse for otws than slavery. What could be worse than devastation by means of genocide, especially when designed so surreptitiously and conspiratorially?

It’s not Friday but I know you want to start flapping. Blog me.

PS. Sorry for the late post, I have been having difficulty not only posting, but posting what is actually written is not showing up. I hope that my entire write is clear and showing up for all of you.

Peace out….

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

First of all, thank you for all of your congratulations, kind compliments, and kudos. People love being recognized, appreciated, honored for their dedication and work…and I am no different. Thank you.

So even though there are days when I don’t hear from you and I feel like no one is reading, I know that you are. And when I do hear from you, I have mixed emotions:  Excitement that people “got in”, and panicked thoughts of “Oh no…look at all of the comments, and I’m in such a rush this morning. Ugh…I hope not too many readers addressed me personally.” :)

But I have to say, I truly love seeing and reading your comments. You inspire me and drive me to get up in the morning and write, when there are days when I just don’t feel like it.  And when I feel like I just want to stay slipped in between the sheets and slumber, I remember that I have readers who not only count on my daily write, but who I count on daily for inspiration. So keep it coming.

And to those of you who attempt and continue to attempt to knock me down, you’ll have to try a lot harder to put this girl to rest.  So I thank you too, for your unkind words, your bold bashing, and everything in between, as you have made me a stronger, more resilient, tough girl, who can take it better than I ever imagined I would and could. You too are an inspiration, and a driving force that keeps me going. So keep it coming.

As far as me keeping it going today, I’m going to keep it short. Here’s the latest from our president, and he’s asking for our help again. Let’s get Wall Street reform passed, okay?

Michelle –

Colorado’s senators are gearing up to cast their last votes on Wall Street reform tomorrow. Right now, we believe we might have just enough votes to pass this historic legislation.

But we won’t know until the final vote is cast — and we’re only certain of one thing: it could come down to one single senator.

That’s how close this is — and that’s how urgently we need your help.

Your senators, Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, have been fighting alongside President Obama to pass this bill — and they need to know you appreciate their leadership.

Call your senators now and let them know you support Wall Street reform — and then make sure to let us know what they said.

Call Sen. Udall at (202) 224-5941

Call Sen. Bennet at (202) 224-5852

We’re on the verge of passing the boldest overhaul of the financial system since the Great Depression.

Wall Street reform will bring more economic security to consumers by forcing credit card companies, mortgage companies, and predatory lenders to stop exploiting consumers with hidden fees and pages of fine print.

It will create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency — with a responsibility to protect all of us. And it will ensure that taxpayers will never again be asked to bail out the big banks that are “too big to fail.”

Reform is facing one last showdown in the Senate. Lobbyists for the big banks are doing everything they can to stop this legislation before it lands on President Obama’s desk.

Readers: As always, you’ve done a great job in the past.  Please do what you can now. Thanks. Note: If you don’t live in Colorado, make sure that you change your location and call your Senators.

Peace & Love: “Live it, Give it!”…

…always.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning. I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend.

I get e-mails from MoveOn all of the time and most of the time I respond. Some of the time I reprint their e-mails here when I feel particularly strong about the issue. Somehow this one got past me a week or so ago, but no worries, it is not too late to take action. I jut did myself.

It has been suggested to us to stop complaining about the system and do something. Here’s one chance for you to do something and make your voice heard:

Dear MoveOn member,

You might have heard this: BP is so well connected in Washington that even after being cited for 760 different safety and environmental violations, the company still got environmental waivers for the Deepwater Horizon rig that’s now destroying the Gulf.1

But BP’s not alone in using its DC influence. Check out the list below of other companies’ outrages—then pass it along.

And be sure to sign our new Fight Washington Corruption Pledge to support 3 key measures that will protect our democracy from corporate lobbyists!

1. 1. Overturn Citizens United: Amend the Constitution to protect America from unlimited corporate spending on our elections by overturning the Supreme Court’s decision giving corporations the same First Amendment rights as people.
   2. Fair elections now: Pass the Fair Elections Now Act, providing public financing to candidates who are supported by small donors so they can compete with corporate-backed and self-funded candidates.
   3. Lobbyist Reform Act: Pass legislation to end the overwhelming influence of corporate lobbyists by: prohibiting individuals from switching from corporate lobbying to government service, or vice-versa, within a 5-year period; stopping corporate lobbyists from giving gifts and providing free travel to government officials; and posting online the attendees and content of all meetings between lobbyists and government officials.

Here’s a few little tidbits that just might get your temperature rising:

1. Exxon Mobil made billions in profits, and yet paid not one dime in federal income taxes in 2009.²

2. The 2005 energy bill had a little known provision, commonly called the Halliburton Loophole, which exempted natural gas drilling from the Clean Water Act. The result? Water so contaminated that you can light it on fire.³

3. Massey Energy was cited more than 2400 times for safety violations in its mines, but chose not to fix potentially lethal problems because low penalties meant it was cheaper to simply keep paying the fines. This spring, 29 miners were killed in an underground explosion at a Massey mine in West Virginia.⁴

4. Michael Taylor was the FDA official who approved the use of Monsanto‘s Bovine Growth Hormone in dairy cows (even though it’s banned in most countries and linked to cancer). After approving it, he left the FDA—to work for Monsanto. Until last year, when he moved back to the government—as President Obama’s “Food Safety Czar.” No joke.⁵

5. Internal Toyota documents outline how the company was successful in limiting regulators actions in the recalls last year—saving hundreds of millions while the death toll continued to climb.⁶

6. GE and its lobbyists—including 33 former government employees—have successfully lobbied Congress to override Defense Department requests to cancel a GE contract to work on a new engine for the Joint Strike Fighter jet. GE will need $2.9 billion to finish the project.⁷

7. Top executives at 9 top banks including Citibank, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley paid themselves over $20 billion dollars in bonuses just weeks after taxpayers bailed them out to the tune of 700 billion dollars.⁸

8. During the waning days of the Bush administration, officials responded to a long-term lobbying campaign by pre-empting product liability lawsuits for dozens of whole industries. They bypassed Congress entirely and rewrote rules ranging from seatbelt manufacturing regulations to prescription drug safety.⁹

9. Sunscreen manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough, in the interest of profits, are opposing an FDA proposal requiring full reporting on sunscreen labels. The New York Times just confirmed that current SPF ratings don’t even measure sun rays that cause cancer.¹⁰

10. BP—a company with a record of 760 drilling safety and environmental violations—was granted safety waivers in order to operate the deepwater drilling rig that ultimately created the worst environmental disaster in US history.¹

Mad yet? Ready to sign the petition? Click here. The goal is 200,000 signatures, and currently MoveOn has over 195,000. How about we take it to the end okay? By signing the pledge MoveOn will pass your name on to your member of Congress, and ask them to Fight Washington Corruption.

MoveOn thanks you and so do I.

Thanks for all you do,

–Ilyse, Robin, Milan, Amy and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “BP’s latest plan succeeding, but may make spill worse,” Newsweek, June 2, 2010.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=88880&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=2

2. “GE, Exxon Paid No U.S. Income Taxes in 2009,” ABC News, April 6, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89262&id=&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=3

3. “Why is Dick Cheney Silent on the Oil Spill?,” Newsweek, June 10, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89263&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=4

4. “Other Massey Mines Showed A Pattern Of Violations,” NPR, April 13, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89264&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=5

5. “Monsanto’s man Taylor returns to FDA in food-czar role,” Grist, July 8, 2009
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-08-monsanto-FDA-taylor/

6. “Toyota tried to cut costs on recalls,” Los Angeles Times, February 22, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89265&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=6

7. “GE vice chairman openly challenges Gates over F-35 fighter jet engine,” The Hill, June 17, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89266&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=7

8. “Bankers Reaped Lavish Bonuses During Bailouts,” The New York Times, July 30, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/business/31pay.html

9. “Bush Rule Changes Curtail Rights of States, Consumers,” Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89267&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=8

10. “UVA Reform: It’s Not PDQ,” The New York Times, June 23, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89268&id=21534-7692656-phJ1vUx&t=9

************

Akello: Thanks for your reply in regards to Barogo. As soon as I read your comment I contacted Madaline.

Will: Good observation, as well as a good read. Thanks for the link.

Robert: Remembering things ‘just a few years ago’ seems to be a very long time in politics. There is little value put on the ability of the average American to remember what happened ‘just a few days ago’. People prove it time and time again that they don’t remember, or they seem to selectively choose what they want to remember in order to justify their beliefs, or what they want to believe is true. I call it laziness too, and people need to be called on it.

Connie: Thanks for writing in again. Love back to you.

And speaking of love…

Jack, Manny, Larry, Vick: I bow to the pressure…here’s all of the lovely photos of Zen Lill. So now you can decide which one is your fave.

Readers: Voting will start on Wednesday. Those that want to participate in the voting, will be able to vote from 11:00 AM on Wednesday, July 14th, until 5:00 PM Friday, July 16th, Pacific Standard time zone. Any votes that come in before 11:00 AM on Wednesday, and after 5:00 PM on Friday will not be included in the count.

Note: The votes will be a secret ballot, but I will post the winner. For those of you who don’t know what I mean by a secret ballot, it means that no votes will be published here. I will collect the votes privately, and I will post the winner.

So….get your votes in and let the best Zen Lill win!

Here they are:

#1:#2 #3

#4 #5#6

Lookin’ good – don’t ya think?  I look forward to seeing your votes.

Peace out…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Check out David’s revised poster for Shannon’s Missing Cat, Missy:

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

____________________________________________________
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

____________________________________________________
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

____________________________________________________
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

************

Readers: Cute huh? I liked it. How are you? Thoughts? Feelings? Flap your lips…it’s Friday. By the way, my computer is back so I am back in touch. Blog me.

On another note, I rarely mix it up here but I just have to talk about the latest here in Oakland. Maybe you are familiar, maybe not, but we had a shooting here at the BART station about a year and a half ago. The police officer, Johannes Mehserle was white. The man, Oscar Grant, he shot point blank in the back while he was down on the ground, was black. He killed Grant.

The trail was moved to LA, California because they felt that the  Mehserle would not get a fair trial. Bt what about a fair trial for Grant? There was not one black person on the jury. After a little over 6 hours of deliberation, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, a huge disappointment, and I agree.  Mehserle should’ve gotten 2nd degree murder.

BART officers are not even supposed to use their guns. Why they even have them, I don’t know. Mehserle said tat he meant to pull out his taser. I don’t believe him. I believe he knew exactly what he was doing when he pulled out his gun instead of his taser.  Minutes before he killed Grant, he was shouting racial slurs.

This, in my opinion, was a racist killing. How does one hold a person face down on the ground, with their knee in the back of an individual, pull a gun and shoot them point blank, and not say that they meant to kill him? This was a racist killing, and I have no problem saying so. FYI: This was all caught on video.

The fact that a white police officer got any type of sentence for shooting and killing a black man is how some people justify this sentence, but that doesn’t mean that the officer got what he deserved, and that should be recognized too.

Mehserle Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter

A jury found former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle guilty Thursday of involuntary manslaughter, concluding that he did not intend to kill train rider Oscar Grant when he shot him in the back on New Year’s Day 2009 but acted so recklessly that he showed a disregard for Grant’s life.

The verdict was an all-but-unprecedented instance of a police officer being convicted for an on-duty shooting. But it deeply disappointed Grant’s relatives, who said the video-recorded shooting was a murder and that Mehserle deserved a sentence years longer than the one he is likely to receive.

“My son was murdered,” said Wanda Johnson, Grant’s mother, outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse where the trial was moved to escape heavy publicity in the Bay Area. “He was murdered and the law has not held the officer accountable.”

The jury also found that Mehserle, 28, had used a gun during the crime. In all, he could be sentenced to five to 14 years in prison.

The jury took 6 1/2 hours over two days to decide that Mehserle was guilty of a crime, but not guilty of the other options it had been given – second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.

Their verdict suggests they believed Mehserle when he testified that he had mistaken his pistol for his Taser as he sought to subdue the 22-year-old Grant at Fruitvale Station in Oakland following a fight on a BART train, a shooting that was captured on video by five other riders as well as a platform camera.

‘I love you guys’

Mehserle, who had been free on $3 million bail, was remanded into custody and led away in handcuffs after the verdict was read. Dressed in a gray suit and blue shirt, he turned to his sobbing parents and sister in the front row of the gallery and said softly, “I love you guys.”

His attorney, Michael Rains, did not comment outside court. But the president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California – whose legal fund is paying for Mehserle’s defense – said he had mixed feelings.

“This whole thing is such a tragedy and such a waste. There’s been a life lost and a life ruined,” Ron Cottingham said. “I’ve had a chance to meet Johannes Mehserle and I know the type of person he is. It was an accident, and Mehserle is paying dearly for that accident.”

John Burris, an Oakland attorney representing Grant’s family, decried “a true compromise verdict.”

“The system is rarely fair when a police officer shoots an African American male,” Burris said. “No true justice has been given.” Grant was African American and Mehserle is white.

Grant’s uncle, Cephus “Bobby” Johnson, said “we knew from the beginning that we were at war with the system. … We have been slapped in the face by this system that has denied us true justice.”

D.A. disappointed

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, speaking at a news conference in Oakland, said she was disappointed and frustrated by the verdict.

“We believe Johannes Mehserle was guilty of the crime of murder,” she said. “We presented the case that way, we presented the evidence that way, and the jury found otherwise.”

Jurors left the courthouse without commenting.

Mehserle’s possible sentence for involuntary manslaughter is two, three or four years, plus three, four or 10 years for using a gun. That means the minimum total sentence that Judge Robert Perry could impose would be five years, and the maximum would be 14 years.

Sentencing was set for Aug. 6. O’Malley would not say what sentence she will seek.

It is possible that there could be further criminal proceedings against Mehserle.

The U.S. Justice Department issued a statement saying its civil rights division, the U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI “have an open investigation into the fatal shooting and, at the conclusion of the state prosecution, will conduct an independent review of the facts and circumstances to determine whether the evidence warrants federal prosecution.”

If you would like th read the rest of the article, click here.

Lance: Did you like the ending? I had fun with this – It was a nice break from all of the seriousness, and something I needed. Thanks for continuing to try and post.

Anna: Hmm..I don’t think I’ve mastered my body yet, but I am trying… :)

Dwayne: I liked my cat story, but I loved your video post. Too cool.

Hey Emily: This one was one of my faves.

Lois: Oh yeah…all girls have a chance. So…even if you aren’t serious, you just might be brought up. This is why, ‘be careful what you ask for,’ is a good thing to heed, ‘because you just may get it’. See you in the big sky!

Troy: I believe Zen Lill answered your question.

AH: Nice to hear from you. Happy to know that you and Bita are still a HOT item. So give us the scoop on Dillinger.  Please say hello to Adam for me.

Readers: I have an early meeting. I will address more comments tomorrow. Start flapping…

xoxo

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

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Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

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" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Torn.

I went to bed last night with much on my mind. On the one hand there is so much to be blessed about in life, so much to be grateful for…and on the other, there is so much disgust and devastation. I woke up to joy and HOPE, followed by frustration and anger. Ah…who am I kidding? I wake up every morning feeling mixed emotions - that is life. So…what to write about?

Torn between two…

…I decided to write about both.

TODAY is the Dalai Lama’s 75th Birthday.

This inspiring, uplifting, incredible spiritual leader of Tibet has spent over 50 years in exile. And yet in spite of this, he continues to preach peace and compassion, in HOPE for a more peaceful world. Many are inspired by His Holiness’s words of wisdom, including myself.

But the question is, “What are we doing separately and as a collective community to bring about peace and create a peaceful world for all?” And truly if we really want to be real and honest, the question is, “Does everyone really want peace to come to all?” I think we know the answer to that question. As much as we want to believe that everyone wants peace for everyone, many people do not. But I feel like I’m going negative here when I want to celebrate His Holiness’s birthday. His unwavering desire and commitment for world peace.

On this day when my thoughts can pull me in contrasting directions, I choose which way I want to go and I choose to hold onto HOPE and led by faith, sometimes blindly. Faith. I used to struggle with faith..possessing it. But over the years I have turned into a big believer, and faith is my friend.

This is my thoughts: If not believing makes things not happen, then the opposite is just as true: “Believing will make things happen.”

So…I grasp onto the Dalai Lama’s words of wisdom, mix them in with my own, and toss in the HOPE that President Obama brings us in these challenging times. What do I end up with? A recipe for my own designer brand of brew for HOPE & FAITH: My PEACE POTION :) It works for me. And somehow I believe, I have faith,  that my peace potion mixed in with the collective HOPE of this planet will see us through.

If you want to mix your own peace potion for his planet, perhaps the words of His Holiness will help you mix your own designer brand of brew.

What do you think?

Happy Birthday His Holiness!

So…we have celebrated LIFE, now it is time to save a LIFE.

Whenever I read or hear of this barbaric act, I am stunned.

This woman will be buried up to her chest and stones will be hurled at her. Stones not large enough to kill immediately, but large enough to cause her a great deal of pain and eventual death. It is shocking to me that we allow such a barbaric act to be legal. This brutality has got to be buried for good. No pun intended at all.

“The majority of those sentenced to death by stoning are women, who suffer disproportionately from such punishment,” the human rights group said in a 2008 report.

On Wednesday, Amnesty made a new call to the Iranian government to immediately halt all executions and commute all death sentences. The group has recorded 126 executions in Iran from the start of this year to June 6.

“The organization is also urging the authorities to review and repeal death penalty laws, to disclose full details of all death sentences and executions and to join the growing international trend towards abolition,” the statement said.

Ahadi, who fled Iran in the early 1980s, told CNN that pressure from Amnesty and other organizations and individuals is likely the only way to save Ashtiani.

“Experience shows (that) … when the pressure gets very high, the Islamic government starts to say something different,” she said.

In Washington, the State Department has criticized the scheduled stoning, saying it raised serious concerns about human rights violations by the Iranian government.

“We have grave concerns that the punishment does not fit the alleged crime, ” Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley said Thursday. “For a modern society such as Iran, we think this raises significant human rights concerns.”

Calling Iran’s judicial system “disproportionate” in its treatment of women, Crowley said, “From the United States’ standpoint, we don’t think putting women to death for adultery is an appropriate punishment.”

Human rights activists have been pushing the Islamic government to abolish stoning, arguing that women are not treated equally before the law in Iran and are especially vulnerable in the judicial system. A woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man, they say.

Article 74 of the Iranian penal code requires at least four witnesses — four men or three men and two women — for an adulterer to receive a stoning sentence, said Ahadi, of the International Committee Against Stoning. But there were no witnesses in Ashtiani’s case. Often, said Ahadi, husbands turn wives in to get out of a marriage.

Mostafaei said he could not understand how such a savage method of death could exist in the year 2010 or how an innocent woman could be taken from her son and daughter, who have written to the court pleading for their mother’s life.

The public won’t be allowed to witness the stoning, Mostafaei said, for fear of condemnation of such a brutal method. He is hoping there won’t be an execution.

Mostafaei, who himself did jail time in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections in June 2009, said he realizes the risk of speaking out for Ashtiani, for fighting for human rights. But he doesn’t let that deter him.

He last saw Ashtiani five months ago behind bars in Tabriz. Since then, he said, he has been searching for a way to save her from the stones.

This is where we mix our peace potions and collectively do something…and if I may add, mixing in a little ass kicking is in order too.

Please take action.

Peace to all.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"