Saturday Night Live on Sunday Morning

Didn't watch SNL's season opening until this morning: Priceless.

For a second, I thought Sarah Palin was really on the show! Thank you, Tina Fey for being there. This election...man oh man...how many more days? Will there be debates between the candidates? Will we have some kind of calm in 50 some days? Will my first try at making iced coffee make me stop spending a buck 99 at Jack in the Box?

Stay tuned.

Joe Biden, His speech & My first reactions.....

I didn't jump and down.

I didn't say, "WOW!"

I didn't time how long his ovation was.

I didn't go get a Obama/Biden bumper sticker

I didn't feel he gave his best speech ever.

I didn't feel he would let Barack down.

I didn't feel he would turn & run from a fight.

I didn't feel he would not say what was right.

I didn't feel Joe Biden would let me down either.

The Pressed Pant Suit: Hillary Clinton

OK--short and to the point: Hillary's speech brought down the house.

Don't you wonder if Joe Biden thought, "I hope they cheer that much for me tomorrow night." Or he would turn in his VP -wanna be-- badge and say, "Barack, I'm not for this job."

You saw the pride on Bill's face. Chelsea's too. If Barack hadn't come on so strong, it was Hillary's campaign all the way. I knew she would be the nominee. Maybe she thought she would be too. Nineteen months is a long fight.

What did Barack think of Hillary's reception? A three minute ovation--BEFORE she even spoke? What does Barack think of his VP choice now?

But ya know, tomorrow night it's Joe's turn. His turn to win me over. Joe's gotta bring down the house, plus the whole block. I don't want my tummy's tipsy topsy turviness to continue. His speech has to hit on all cylinders and be so far out there, only NASA's Hubble Space Telescope can pick it up.

Stay tuned.

It was 88 years ago...

History.

Thursday, August 26, 1920, women won the right to vote. Eighty-eight years ago. A blink of an eye in some ways.

Persons who literally gave birth to a country were no longer denied the right to vote. Why were they denied in the first place?

Looked through articles about this time I know nothing about. What did people of that time, think? No cell phones, no hip-hop, no internet, no Wal-mart—heck, there wasn’t even TV. I came across this article from The New York Times:

Sunday, August 29, 1920
EDITORIAL: The Woman of Thirty
It is almost cruel to recall the nineteenth century wit who offered to solve the suffrage question. It would suffice, he said, to permit all women to vote after thirty - the sly inference being that none would qualify. If the author of this merry jest is still alive, even he must find his taunt somewhat faded. Women in fighting for the vote have shown a passion of earnestness, a persistence, and above all a command of both tactics and strategy, which have amazed our master politicians. A new force has invaded public life and it is wielded by leaders who, whatever their foibles, perforce admit their three decades. A world that has hitherto recognized only the power of feminine youth and beauty is on its knees - no less - before the woman of thirty. What is to be the upshot?

It is doubtless true that women will divide much as men have done among the several parties. There will be no solid "woman vote." Having individual opinions and preferences, they will be individually swayed by them in respect to any given political issue or personality. But this is only half of the story. Even the democratic franchise cannot quite unsex either men or women. Hitherto the distinctively feminine instincts and aspirations have centered in winning the right of suffrage; but now that it is won, a vast, united force has been let loose. That political issues and leaders should continue to be merely man-made is inconceivable.

It is a fair guess, and indeed a fact already exemplified, that one distinctive interest of the woman politician will be in what is called welfare legislation - the regulation of the conditions of life and of industry with reference to the health and vigor of the nation, for the present and especially for future generations. Such issues should rouse all the powers of sisterly and motherly instinct; but as yet they have not developed an intensity, and especially a skill in leadership, at all comparable to that displayed in the suffrage campaigns. Perhaps it is because the feminine strength was divided between Albany and Washington; all may be well, now the great victory is won. Yet there is another possibility.

Unlike suffrage, questions of human welfare can seldom be answered by a categorical yes or no. If we legislate an eight-hour day for women, we are subject to unexpected repercussions. Seasonal industries like canning and millinery are crippled and their employees deprived of much valued overtime pay. If we legislate against night work, we hear from elevator girls and ticket choppers, who suffer a serious loss of employment. So the women welfare workers are confronted by others of their sex who demand in the name of freedom that they be permitted to work as they choose. It is not a question of black or white, but of delicately shaded values and the interplay of a thousand nicely adjusted forces, economic and social. The talents required are openness to evidence, accurate foresight and wise tolerance.

Women are beginning to have a sense of this, and they are developing a flexibility of mind and a capacity for compromise that make political discussion a thing very different from what it has been. Again, in the current campaign both parties are appealing to the feminine abhorrence of bloodshed, and especially to the desire to protect brothers and sons; but, while one party declares that the League of Nations will end all wars, the other, with equal assurance, declares that it will ceaselessly embroil us. Once more there is need of openness of mind and accurate foresight - the exercise of which is adding a new talent to the woman of thirty. By degrees the bickerings of politics as practiced by men are developing a really vital view of the situation.
Women who are fit to be mothers of the nation know that there is no sovereign remedy against death in any form, and that the one sure way to make life honorably safe is to face its responsibilities with a clear mind and a high heart. True citizenship means service and sacrifice, the giving as well as the taking.

Truly, we live in a new day and are blessed with new manners. Time was when it seemed a baffling fact that the decade of the feminine struggle for freedom was the decade when hobbles became tightest and heels most toppling. Now we know: it was necessary to convince men that even in politics women can still be feminine. With victory assured, the woman of thirty is already dressing more sedately. Once, at the most intellectual dinner tables, the departure of the ladies was a signal for the men to duck beneath the mahogany for things which, like Desdemona's handkerchief, were not lost but only mislaid. That also was the prerogative of the unenfranchised, and is also a vanishing ceremony. Some men still linger over their cigars, but only at debutante dinners, where the lure is callow youth. In circles dominated by the woman of thirty, cigars are laid aside half smoked and the men clamor at the drawing-room door to know how soon they may be admitted.

Copyright 1920 The New York Times

Eighty-eight years later, my comment is: Why waste a half smoked cigar? Pass it on over. We women of thirty and over know what to do.

Tonight, in this year of 2008, Hillary Clinton, a woman so close to the presidential nomination (or at least vice president?) - speaks at the Democratic Convention. Spirits of these warriors who fought for and received their right to vote on August 26, 1920, will be front and center. If those on the convention’s floor think a hint of cigar smoke tickles their noses…it does.

History.

Headlines: Right Now-Obama and Biden

Doesn't ring my chimes.

I'm still into History being made. In my opinion, for the moment. History has stalled.

Why Joe Biden?

I'm sure he's a fine politics guy. Been in Washington since the '70's. But isn't he just a few years younger than John McCain? Is Joe Biden as much about "Change" as Barack Obama? Is he in touch with young folk of America? Is Joe Biden their hip grandfather? Or does he cater to that section of Americans, who remember how things use to be-for those folks who still won't even shake Barack Obama's hand?

Gotta tell you, I wanted Hillary as the VP. Dream Team. Scream Team--whatever their match would be called. THAT woulda been History. Change. Something not seen before.

Right now? Same ol' same ol'. Yawn.

Wouldn't it be something if John McCain's VP is from out side his party? Someone who would really rock the boat? Didn't think that was possible. Now I think otherwise.

Barack Obama, I've been in your corner. I'm not as confident as I was a couple days ago about you, Michelle and the girls, taking up residence in that house on Pennslvania Avenue. Right this minute, I ain't feelin' it. I hope I'm wrong.

By November, I'll overdose on articles, DVRs of George Stephanopoulos, and listen to all that's said about the Obama-Biden ticket. Gotta be shown why you two are Olympic Gold. Because right now, as I look at the replay of this presidential relay-you're close to the line--close to being disqualified.

Right now--alot of work to be done.

Wednesday...

Rain in Dallas. Temperatures no higher than the 80's today. Off to work....Well, two outta three ain't bad.

I'm blessed to have a job. I realize that. Think more and more of the ministry God has for me--just wish I knew what it was! :) I know I need to make sure the mortgage is paid, the car payment and kitty litter in tow.

Doing more writing of late. Sent a submission to Guideposts, the other day, plus a photo to another magazine. Will be working on another story today at work--

So the VP's are to be announced soon....of course, nobody asked me--so I'll wait patiently to see if John McCain picks a pro-choice Democrat and see if Barack Obama doesNOT pick Hillary Clinton.

Off to work...

Headlines....Oh Jesse Jackson....

what were you thinking?!??!?! How you thought Barack Obama speaks and then to say what you wanted to cut off?

This is a time where we Blacks need to uplift each other higher. There was a time, a Black Man would be beaten into a stupor or even death, if it was thought he even glanced at a white woman. Now one such woman may be a vice president to the new president, who happens to be a Black Man.

At a time where this 2008 election makes history daily, without a sign saying: "Coloreds Only" blocking the way. Just a few decades ago, you sought the Democratic nomination to be President of our United States. What would your reaction be if someone said you spoke down to folks? Wait a minute--didn't you have to apologize to the Jewish population because of something you said, that you thought occurred in private--just like you these currents remarks were said in private--oh yea, with a microphone on? My question to you is, how did/does Barack Obama speak down to our people? Especially after you uttered a slur that degraded a population?

Yes, you marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. You witnessed history. You made history. You planted seeds so Barack Obama, along with any other girl or boy, of any color can rise to be leader of the strongest land on Earth. Now with your remarks, it just stirs the pot of what Black really want.

For that, I'm tired of this race to the White House. For that, I wish it were years into the future after our United States experienced several presidents of either gender of any ethnicity, so this question of how every cough, pant suit, or gesture would not need to be scrutinized.

However, we're not at that point, Jesse Jackson. For you, I'm sorry this isn't 1984 or 1988, with you receiving the kind of recognition that Barack Obama garners. When you ran for president, yes, it was thrilling. Yet it wasn't your time. Or our time. Maybe now it is. Embrace Barack Obama, for without you he may not even be at this point.

You are not the voice of all Black America. You are not my voice. The Voice of Black America comes from those who speak on their own. Give folks enough credit to understand what they hear and speak what they know. Especially on November 4, 2008, the voice may be the loudest its ever been, with spirits of our ancestors engulfing us.

Languish in the harvest you started, Jesse Jackson, not chop it down.

Shame on you.

Sunday Thoughts...

Church this morning. God is welcome in my house everyday. For at least one day, I can go to His. Sermon was on 2 Corinthians 4:7-9. About being a clay pot. How treasures inside are worth more than the vessel they’re stored in. Something to give pause on. .

Another pretty much 100 degree Summer Day in Texas. Also my 20th Anniversary of my move to Dallas from Iowa. Sizzlin then too. I recall my inner debate if I should get a/c in my new car then. About a week before my move, I had it put in. Smart.

Disco music plays from one of my cable stations. Heard a familiar tune—took me back to about 1981 or so. Spandex skirt, 4 inch heels, jheri curl and a boyfriend that shouldn’t have ever been on my Hit Parade. Three out of four ain’t bad. The song? “Lover’s Holiday” by Change, with a young Luther Vandross. As I danced the light fantastic around my house, my cat, Big Boy watched. He seemed to say, “Have you lost your mind?” He ran.

Wimbledon: Venus & Serena. Singles and Doubles 2008 Champions. History.

Presidential Election: When IS November? Possible first Black President. Possible Black First Lady. They will be servants of all the people, not servants of those that reside in the White House. Still believe he needs to pick Hillary as VP. History.

NFL Training Camp: Soon.

Autobiography: of my experiences Donny Osmond-not just a “My dad tipped the maitre’d 40 bucks in Las Vegas so we could sit close.”

My own business: Dream to come true

TV Tonight: New Food Network Star: Aaron McCargo Jr—LOVE HIM. He came alive on Rachel Ray’s show. He could fix me pizza anytime!

Life: I am blessed. Psalms 121

Unity in the Democratic Party....maybe...

Barack and Hillary will meet Friday in Unity, New Hampshire. For their first joint campaign stop. As much as they are the same, their thoughts differ. Quite the interesting campaign it was. I'm sure there is some bitterness and 'what if..." I always believed it was her nomination to lose.

He is our Democratic nominee for President of these United States. My opinion is there can be no other Vice President. She should be that nominee. Both had ancestors that were not allowed the right to vote. Now here we are.

This is his presidency to lose. She should be Vice President. I personally feel Barack would be wrong to not invite her. While I believe Hillary would be wrong to not accept.

History.

The pages await.

History

History.
My great great grandparents: Enos, born 1814 and Louisa, born 1825. Slaves in Virginia. Not that far from Washington DC. Their son, Elias also my great grandfather, and his son, Andrew, my grandfather, both lived in Washington DC for a time. Did they wonder if justice and equal for all would ever touch them? Did they wonder how life would be better for their future family? Did they wonder if they would ever cast votes? Let their voices be heard? Respected as men and woman--and not less than live stock? Did they wonder if someone Black would walk the hallways of the White House that was not a servant? For that person to hold highest position in the land, with the world as its audience?
I'm sure they did. Optimism runs in my family.
History.
It's still being made.