Global Warming Doesn’t Matter

From the minute we’re born we start to die. No one can avoid it. No one lives forever. Everything on this plane of existence will someday either die or be destroyed.

Inevitably the same holds true for the Earth. The Earth is going to be here for a very long time. But it isn’t going to be here forever. Bottom line is it is going to be destroyed; we can’t stop that. The day is coming when the Earth will cease to exist.

A lot of talk is going around about global warming and how we’re destroying the Earth. Not everybody is trying to recycle as much waste as possible. Everybody wants to drive the largest sport utility vehicle their credit can afford. Too many people want to experience the luxury of heated hand lotion warmers and 12-cylinder sports cars that can barely break into the double digits for highway gas mileage. Everyone wants the 4000 sq. ft. empty nest on top of the hill with triple zone environmental controls to retire to after they’re finished working. Everybody wants to get as much as possible because it’s about them.

There’s little doubt with reasonable people that all of this materialistic, self-absorbed behavior so engrained in western culture is taking a heavy toll on earth’s ability to sustain life. A lot of people like to deny any connection between western decadence and its effects on the environment. A lot of people want more definitive evidence before they’ll even think about considering a possibility that they might be wrong. But chances are good that these are the same people who claimed that there was no connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

As early as the 1950s there was evidence that there was a link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer. People with a lot to loose denied as long as possible, as much as possible. It wasn’t until the earliest part of the 21st century that it could actually be proven beyond any reasonable doubt that smoking kills. But the tobacco companies knew almost from get go that there was a connection. Those companies had way too much to loose to come clean. The same thing is happening now with this global warming thing. Too many people have too much to loose to come honest with their thinking let alone their behavior.

But that’s okay. Although we as a species have proven ourselves unfit to care for this world as if our very survival depended on it, we don’t have the ability to destroy it like we may think. We have altered and continue to alter the atmosphere as if we can simply move to Mars once things get bad enough. But long after we’ve gone, whether it’s by moving to another planet or we’ve altered Earth’s ability to sustain us, Earth itself will still be here. We simply don’t have what it takes to destroy this planet beyond nature’s ability to repair it. So if we as a global community are too weak, greedy, and/or too uncaring to put a stop the perpetual contamination of the Earth’s air, water, and land we and the earth will just have to wait for someone or something to stop all this polluting for us.

The good news is that nature is much more capable of protecting and repairing itself than we think. Orisas are more than ready to step up to the plate that we as a community hem and haw around. Without any financial contemplation or other matters of profit or benefit to consider Orisas won’t hesitate to clean what we contaminate.

So what does this mean? Like most things borne out of nature the Earth is designed to be regenerated and sustained. The process has already started. Scientists have already measured the temperature of the oceans rise a miniscule degree. It doesn’t sound like much. But for each gallon of water in the ocean to rise the fore mentioned fraction of a degree takes a certain amount of caloric energy. I really don’t know how many calories are necessary. But I do know that there are a gazillion gallons of water in the oceans. Do the math. A gazillion gallons of water multiplied by the number of calories is a lot of energy.

All that extra energy sitting in the ocean with Olokun is just waiting to be put to use. Orisas work in concert in their endeavors. Olokun will transfer all that energy to Yemonja and the ocean’s waters will rise higher and the waves will become stronger and hit the shores and land much harder. Olokun and Yemonja will transfer a lot of that energy to Oya and the winds will blow like they’ve never blown before, raising storms fiercer than they’ve been before. Oya’s storms will feed Sango which will generate more lightening strikes. The cause and effect will travel on and on and on down the Orisa line through natural relationships and connections that we cannot imagine or understand with our science.

Suffice it to say that the nature’s technology is far greater than or own. And try as we might, it will forever stay that way. Nature doesn’t have to research how to respond or justify the cost-benefit relationship of a particular action to make sure profit margins are protected for as long as possible.

Most credible scientists believe that millions of years ago the Earth suffered a traumatic, cosmic collision with a meteorite that wiped out the dinosaur. The resulting collision kicked so much dust and debris into the air that the sun was blotted from the sky and the planet suffered from global cooling. An ice age was started and all manner of life on this planet was terminated and/or changed forever. All sorts of animal and plant species were severely impacted. But the Earth remained. It took a while for the planet to heal. But for what we know as countless centuries, eons, and millennia may be nothing more than a couple of minutes on the galactic clock. Regardless, the planet came back teeming with even more life. Nature was resurrected down a different path.

The planet Earth is meant to have life. If the scientific theory is true and this planet was hit by a massive meteor that wiped out the dinosaur and other species, it’s a remarkable achievement for this planet to bounce back so strongly. Whatever adjustments to the climate are necessary for the planet will be made and life will adapt, even if that life may not include the human race.

So rest assured the Earth is in safe hands. Global warming may or may not be real. But in the long run it really doesn’t matter. We don’t need to save the planet from any of the big greedy global conglomerates whose primary focus is the lining of their coffers. As a global community it is more important that we have record profits than clean water. So if we must let’s keep our focus on our money. Nature will take care of nature.

What Makes a Person a Tom?

What makes a person a tom? Many people think that if a black person exercises correct English or enunciates clearly that’s evidence plenty that they’re trying to be something they’re not, white. Many people think that if a black person would like to live in a nice house or in a nice neighborhood that they are trying to live white or amongst white people. There are brothers and sisters plenty who see a black person trying to get an education as someone trying to be something they’re not. A lot of people think that if a black person has a serious bank account with plenty of zeroes in the right places then they’ve sold out.

If I had a dollar every time one of my brothers or sisters took advantage of one of their simple minded moments to call me a tom based on such flimsy criteria I’d have a far better chance to die a very wealthy man. Thankfully I don’t connect my value to my community, my family, or my spirituality to such irrational criticism…well, at least not very often.

I know I do more than my share of tom calling. I remember one particular occasion with a stiff brother who managed the Greyhound bus station in San Antonio, Texas a couple years ago who didn’t see any problem with his rent-a-cops from some security guard company who targeted only African and Hispanic males to harass at the entrance to the facility. Minority men had to produce proof that they had business before they were allowed inside. White males and females weren’t confronted at all. When I tried to educate a brother about his support of a racist and sexist policy he merely pointed to the wall at the posted sign that said Greyhound had the right to search anybody they wanted. I tried to tell the brother he was reinforcing every negative image of African American and Hispanic men by subjecting them to a totally unwarranted search while everyone else walked on by. The brother shrugged with an “I’m sorry but this is our policy” smile on his face. I called him a tom and produced my ticket to Houston. He countered with regret that I felt that way about him. I replied with my own regret that I felt that way about him.

I regularly refer to Oprah Winfrey, Bouncy Knowles, Morgan “the Organ” Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg, Wesley Snipes, George Foreman, Tiger Woods, Ice Cube, Ice-T, Mr. T, Gary Coleman, Montel Jordan, Halle Berry, Queen Latifah, Sean “Pee-diddle-lee” Combs, Clarence Thomas, Colin Powel, and Condoleezaa Rice as straight up bona fide toms. Why? Each one of these people has made conscientious efforts to separate themselves from their African American brothers and sisters.

The image of the original uncle tom is one of an enslaved African who does his/her best to ingratiate themselves to the plantation owner, even at the expense of their African brothers and sisters. The uncle tom personality is more than happy to accept the belief that their race is dominated by white people. Indeed, they use this fact to their advantage. The tom is more than happy to be the favorite of all the subjugated people instead of being an ordinary member of their own community. The tom would be willing to betray his family for an opportunity to show how much they approve of their master being in control.

Today, the modern tom is alive and too well. I don’t know how most people see this individual. But the modern tom is much more pervasive in American culture than we would like to give him credit for. The modern tom is ready to dance a jig at a moments notice. The modern day tom might wear a badge and a gun while willfully enabling his/her law enforcement buddies to abuse brothers and sisters when they need him most to step forward and help them. The modern tom would rather keep his/her mouth shut than say anything against the master who endorses his paycheck. A modern tom would say white people have the right to say what they want or do anything they want with their property rather than take a stand against racism. A tom doesn’t do what they do out of desperation. A tom does what they do for gratification.

The tom is a dangerous person. Malicious or not, the selfish and narrow mindset of the tom can console itself for their participation in the destruction of their entire culture with the belief, totally accepted or not, that the subjugation of their people under their master’s race is for the better good. Racial integrity means nothing to this individual. Personal integrity is secondary to getting a bigger, better share of the crumbs master distributes to his enslaved laborers. So what if everyone else gets less than enough to survive. Somebody’s got to do it. Somebody’s got to be the one to get the most.

Most people would like to think that they wouldn’t even entertain the notion of being an uncle tom if they had to choose. Yet, if many black people were to sit back and take a moment to honestly examine their values, goals, personal philosophy, attitude about materialism, and other components of their character, they would find an unwelcome surprise. Or they may find it a welcome surprise. It all depends on what truly motivates the individual.

Oprah Winfrey Ask Were Blacks Fair to Don Imus

The Oprah Winfrey’s show broadcasted on April 16th, 2007, was a direct result of the firing of radio talk show host Don Imus for his racial and sexist slur against the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. The panel consisted of Stanley Crouch, a columnist with the New York Daily News, Bruce Gordon who is on the board of CBS and very instrumental in getting Mr. Imus fired, Jason Whitlock, a columnist with the Kansas City Star, Diane Weathers, former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, Asha Bandele, an author and journalist who also is a former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, Dr. Robin Smith, Indie Arie, the African American recording artist, the Reverend Al Sharpton via satellite, and various female students of Spelman College via satellite. Oprah’s distinguished panel of guest discussed the need for black and white people to dialogue about why Mr. Imus felt it was permissible to call the women of Rutgers tattooed, nappy headed whores and do black people have a double standard for offensive language.

In the past Mr. Don Imus had been awarded and recognized for being a gifted interviewer who was reported to have been paid ten million dollars a year to do his job. Mr. Imus wasn’t some impressionable, sophomoric radio personality who happened to have heard a rap song on his way in to work one morning and decided since he heard some rapper say it he was empowered to use such language on his own broadcast. Mr. Imus was a seasoned professional who constantly, consistantly, and arrogantly made calculated risk as to the degree he could insult others. Mr. Imus made a conscious choice to use his radio show to make a racist remark as he had reportedly done before. Ergo, it was not the first time and it probably would not have been the last.

Ms. Winfrey asked her panel now that Don Imus has been fired, now what? What comes next? She asked Reverend Al Sharpton what did he think he accomplished by getting Mr. Imus fired. Ms. Winfrey asked Bruce Gordon who also participated in the effort to get Mr. Imus canned, why blacks are pushing for someone to be fired now.

I would like to ask Ms. Winfrey why she is focusing on black issues now. Ms. Winfrey had plenty of opportunities to do shows on issues facing the black community before why is she doing this now? Where was Ms. Winfrey when the federal government hesitated to assist African Americans after Katrina struck? Where is Ms. Winfrey while black people across America are currently loosing their homes in the mortgage meltdown? How come Ms. Winfrey isn’t asking the white community, why you feel empowered to call black women nappy headed whores?

Listen, nobody in the black community is responsible for racist white people. If anything, the dominating white society of America is responsible for the self hate of the black community. Dr. Robin Smith was on point when she made the analogy of people eating poison for so long it becomes unrecognizable as poison but becomes part of our diet, kind of like fast food from McDonalds and Burger King. People like Don Imus and the others of this world are not the victim in this situation. American society is fond of saying that people should take responsibility for their mistakes and poor decisions. Holding rappers responsible for Mr. Imus and his like is like holding Playboy and Hustler magazines responsible for all the rapist in the world.

Ms. Winfrey said she didn’t want to be the only person talking about an issue which is why she avoided bringing this issue to the forefront. So our great leader Ms. Winfrey admits she’s not, nor does she want to be, the leader for black issues that the public may think she is. Ms. Winfrey wants to wait for someone else’s lead before she follows their path. But simultaneously Ms. Winfrey wants to hold the very same leaders of the black community who do blaze the path up for examination before America for their so-called potential hypocrisy. That’s one hell of a way to display your leadership, or lack thereof, on black issues Ms. Winfrey.

Ms. Winfrey pretends she’s not aware of the double standard for behavior in America. She pretends that she’s not aware of black people treating white differently than they treat their own and vice versa. I know Ms. Winfrey has an army of researchers and investigators at her disposal to examine any issue that may come up on her show. Why does she not employ her staff to look into the discrepancy between black and white America? Why not be a leader for blacks instead of a role model for toms?

I found it quite ironic that Ms. Winfrey would use her forum as an opportunity to ask Indie Arie are black people under pressure to conform to corporate standards in order to make unfathomable amounts of money. How many zeroes are in your net worth Ms. Winfrey? Here is one of the biggest sellouts of black people, who just admitted that her program, her media empire is not a vehicle for breaking issues and concerns paramount to the black community, asking Indie Arie, arguably the most prime of examples of how a black woman, a black individual, can do their profession, art, life, and maintain their racial integrity and dignity in the process, about the pressure to conform and comply. Ain’t that the proverbial bitch?

Ms. Winfrey is so concerned with fairness for white people from blacks. Where is Ms. Winfrey concern for fairness for black people from whites? Where was Oprah when Shaquanda Cotton was in juvenile detention in Paris, Texas for shoving a hall monitor? Where was Ms. Winfrey when Mickey Wright, a code inspector for Shelby county in Memphis, Tennessee, was shot and killed in cold blood by Dale Mardis who received a relatively light sentence of fifteen years by pleading no contest to second degree murder? Oh, I know, Ms. Winfrey was too busy opening a forty million dollar school / ballerina hall / beauty pageant in Africa for her poor, handpicked girls that so desperately need an education. The subtle message is Ms. Winfrey doesn’t even recognize or even want to examine the needs of black people in America, though she won’t hesitate to bust open a microphone for that poor millionaire Don Imus.

To answer the question are there double standards for black people and white people Ms. Winfrey has no where to look but at her own character and behavior.

As a black man in America, if I am unarmed and beaten or shot down by police officers, regardless if they are black or white, because I went for my wallet to show identification, if I am rejected for employment because of the color of my skin, if I am dragged behind a pickup truck because some good old racist white boys thought it would be fun to drag a black man a mile or two at ninety miles per hour, if I am accused of rape by a white woman with nothing but her word against mine, or any of a number of injustice black people are regularly subjected to, I would welcome Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Bruce Gordon, the late great Johnnie Cochrane, Cynthia McKinney, Cornelius West, Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman, Al Franklin, RainbowPush, RainbowPull, DemocracyNow, DemocracyThen, FreeSpeech TV, PETA, NAACP, ACLU, and a host of other people, entities, and organization who are not afraid to be on the very frontlines to assist me in my fight for some semblance of justice. The last person I would want anywhere in my vicinity would be Oprah Winfrey and her poisonous Harpo Productions.