Open Discussion – Going on Vacation

Jun 30

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Caterpillars, moths, butterflies, a certain roach, and all creatures great and small,

First, I want to give special thanks to Yahtzeebutterfly for her commitment in compiling historical data and information for a monthly post on Black American History.  She updates each month’s post in the comment section.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, her posts are under the top menu heading “Black History.”  Her next post for the month of July will be published after July 4th.

Second, I want to thank subscribed followers.  There have been so many new subscribed followers in the last several months that I’ve not had a chance to visit all of those who have blogs.  I never take subscribed followers for granted and do plan to pay it forward as time allows.

01-killer-yardAThird, things are real busy in my neck of the woods and my plate is full.  Starting tomorrow, I’ll be gone for 3 weeks.  I’ll miss you all, but my being away doesn’t mean you have to miss the blog.  We are family here. Feel free to use the comment section to post links to articles that interest you, discuss whatever is on your mind, or just to say “hello” to each other.

 

Embedding Tweets and Youtube Videos

4dSv0jHYou can embed tweets.  When you find a tweet that you want to embed, click the time on the tweet.  It will open in another window with a URL in the browser.  Copy that URL and paste it in a comment box.  Click “post comment” and the tweet will appear.

If you want to share Youtube videos, click under the video where it says “share” and copy the URL in the box.  Then paste it in the comment box and come down a line.  Click “post comment.”

Let us continue to encourage one another, keep our chin up, and fight the good fight for equal justice for all.

Love,

Xena

Posted on 06/30/2016, in open discussion and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. 73 Comments.

  1. CarolMaeWY | 06/30/2016 at 8:14 am

    Enjoy vacation and thanks for thinking of us. 😎

    Liked by 3 people

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  2. roderick2012 | 06/30/2016 at 9:46 am

    Enjoy your vacation, Xena.

    You deserve some time to recharge for all of the work you put into this blog.

    Liked by 4 people

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  3. chuquestaquenumber1 | 06/30/2016 at 10:30 am

    Enjoy your time off.

    Liked by 3 people

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  4. patohio | 06/30/2016 at 10:41 am

    Have a nice vacation and relax, you deserve it! We’ll be thinking of you!

    Liked by 3 people

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  5. yahtzeebutterfly | 06/30/2016 at 12:06 pm

    Glad to hear that you are treating yourself to three weeks off from blogging.

    Here are some treats for you to stay cool:

    Liked by 4 people

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  6. dawnjprice | 07/01/2016 at 4:28 am

    Hello everyone. Xena, I’ve followed this blog since ’12 but can’t remember the last time I commented. I want to apologize for that. I hope you enjoy your time off.

    Liked by 2 people

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  7. shyloh | 07/01/2016 at 5:25 am

    Have a great time off Xena. Love always. you deserve a break. Namaste’

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/02/2016 at 4:50 pm

    Elie Wiesel has died at the age of 87. The Nobel Prize organization called Elie Wiesel “the messenger of mankind.” Having read his many books, I so agree with this. His every sentence was simple truth unadorned with glorious word flourishes. He wrote from his soul in an attempt to reach our hearts, in the hope of opening our hearts. What and how he wrote allowed no neutrality of understanding, no distraction from his words, no turning away from truth, and no escape from the choice of whether or not his readers would commit to make a better world.

    I will sorely miss Elie Wiesel but his words and painful lessons will live on in my heart.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • yahtzeebutterfly | 07/03/2016 at 3:37 pm

      Gronda, thanks for posting this. That student is one talented eighth grader.

      Have a wonderful Fourth! I loved the cinnamon roll routine. 🙂

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  10. Gronda Morin | 07/03/2016 at 9:43 am

    Have a great vacation..This is the first time I’ve posted a you tube video. Thanks for the instructions. Enjoy the video if you have not already seen the Chicago 8th grader in action.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/04/2016 at 9:41 pm

    “Motions hearing for 4th Freddie Gray officer scheduled for Tuesday”
    http://www.abc2news.com/news/region/baltimore-city/motions-hearing-for-4th-freddie-gray-officer-scheduled-for-tuesday

    Excerpt:

    Lt. Brian Rice, the highest-ranking officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, will go to trial this week on manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office charges.”

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  12. mindyme62 | 07/05/2016 at 4:54 am

    ❤

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. Kev | 07/05/2016 at 12:24 pm

    Enjoy your break, Xena… Missing you already. ♥ 👍

    Liked by 2 people

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  14. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/07/2016 at 7:47 pm

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  15. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/07/2016 at 8:39 pm

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  16. Barbara Franken | 07/08/2016 at 12:49 am

    Happy holidays… Love to you x barbara

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/08/2016 at 6:56 am

    Heartbreaking… I awakened today to learn that 5 Dallas officers among 11 officers shot by sniper bullets have died. I am praying for the officers and their loved ones.

    The following tweeted video shows how the sniper’s bullets turned the peaceful demonstration into a scene of panic:

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/08/2016 at 10:31 am

    Like

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  19. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/10/2016 at 8:20 am

    Liked by 2 people

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  20. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/11/2016 at 9:50 pm

    Like

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  21. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/12/2016 at 5:25 pm

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  22. supabutterfly | 07/12/2016 at 10:53 pm

    Have a great vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

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  23. shyloh | 07/13/2016 at 5:26 am

    I am soooooooooooooo missing you here. But you need the break so I am TRYING to be patient lol……….. HUgs my lovely one.

    Liked by 1 person

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  24. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/13/2016 at 7:17 pm

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  25. mindyme62 | 07/13/2016 at 8:10 pm

    I’d like to believe this…

    “I want people to know that we put everything into everything to get this verdict,” said the juror, whose face was blacked out during the televised interview but who appeared to become choked up.”

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/zimmerman-juror-half-of-us-at-first-voted-to-convict/

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    • Xena | 07/18/2016 at 6:27 am

      Mindyme,
      If the 3 who voted guilty in the beginning had not been convinced that there is no law to convict, this nation might have some hope in the system.

      Mark O’Mara was on CNN’s town hall about Black Lives Matter, and the man sounded like a skilled brain washer. All I could think about as he was telling Black men to voluntarily surrender their constitutional rights, was how he picked up the dummy by the shoulders at trial to show the jury how Trayvon purportedly bashed Zimmerman’s head on the concrete. Not even Zimmerman said that Trayvon picked him up by the shoulders.

      I remember how he profiled Trayvon to look like burglars, and used the single White mother as the poster child for fear of men who looked like Trayvon being in that community.

      He made me sick.

      Liked by 2 people

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      • mindyme62 | 07/18/2016 at 9:23 am

        And no one ever explained, or was asked to explain, how Trayvon was able to cover Zimmerslime’s mouth and nose, punch him in the face while also banging his head up and down on the ‘sidewalk’ with only 2 hands especially without having gotten any of Zipper’s DNA on his hands.

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        • Xena | 07/18/2016 at 7:35 pm

          Explain? Do they ever explain the stereotype needed to fit the situation? When we take a hard look, we see that what is now called “profiling” is actually racial stereotyping. Mark O’Mara defended Trayvon’s killer based on his own inward stereotyping. There were many things that made me disgusted during that trial, but one that stands out is that O’Mara continued talking about the head bashing, when Trayvon’s killer said that he had already moved his head off the concrete and as a result, his jacket raised and Trayvon saw the gun behind his fat butt in the dark. So, while the fat one could not stop 6 hands from beating, bashing, and smothering, he was able to pin one arm to get his gun, aim and shoot.

          Even Zimmerman’s MMA trainer said that it is impossible to grip someone’s arm like that while on your back and take that shoot.

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  26. mindyme62 | 07/13/2016 at 8:44 pm

    “GQ’s list of Least Influential people of 2012.. George made it as # 6. (published worldwide)

    “There’s nothing funny about the tragic shooting death of Trayvon Martin. However, there is something morbidly comedic about a man deluding himself into thinking that his life is in danger because a black teenager walking by might assault him with a bag of Skittles. In George Zimmerman’s world, he’s a hero. Thankfully, very, very few other human beings live in George Zimmerman’s world.”

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/14/2016 at 6:22 pm

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  28. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/15/2016 at 7:53 am

    From CNN’s Wednesday night broadcast of “Black, White, and Blue” :

    Monifa Bandele (Senior Campaign Director of MomsRising.org)

    “What’s happening is when we encounter abuse by the police is that there is not an element of accountability.”

    “You feel that nothing will come to your rescue. There will be no resolve.”

    Corey Hughes

    “One of the things that will bridge the gap between Blacks, Whites, and police is acknowledgment.”

    T.D.Jakes

    “It is so difficult to get those who have power to believe that this is legitimate.”

    Rory Ranchman (NYC Councilman)

    “When folks say that Black lives matter, they’re not saying that White lives don’t. What they’re saying is that they want their lives to matter as much as mine does.”

    Charles Blow (Op-Ed Columnist for New York Times)

    “We have turned whole police departments from “protect and serve” to “punish and profit.”

    Col K.L. Williams (Kinloch, Missouri Police Chief)

    “Officers on the street right now, as we’re speaking, they’re seeing something that’s wrong. They’re seeing something that they know should be changed, and they should step in and do something and not turn their backs with “I’d don’t know what I saw.”

    Liked by 2 people

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  29. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/15/2016 at 7:57 am

    Here is an exchange that occurred in the discussion Wednesday night on CNN’s “Black, White, and Blue” broadcast:

    Travis Sattiewhite (News Editor, CNN Political Desk)

    “I am a young, professional Black male. I do everything right, and I have a bright future ahead of me. But, I am terrified when I am stopped by the police. What can I do, even though I’m complying with the officer, what can I do to ensure my safety, and that I will go home to my loved ones at the end of that traffic stop?”

    Mark O’Mara

    “It’s a great, grand principle to throw out there – to say we should all get along and we should all kumbaya. And, we should. We should not have a racial divide in this country anymore. But, we do. So, I say to him -You do put your hands on the wheel. You do be careful, and maybe you do have to be extra careful because you’re Black. But, the refusal to do that, the refusal to acknowledge that we still live within a racially divided country doesn’t help avoid it, because I think it is going to presuppose it to continue. Because, if he sits back and says, ‘No, I’m going to join the movement, and I’m not going to do what would otherwise keep me safe,’ objectively, we haven’t really helped.”

    Charles Blow (Op-Ed Columnist for New York Times)

    “Can we just take a moment as America and register how profound and immoral it is that we should have to give a certain group in this country a toolbox to survive what should otherwise be an innocent interaction. Can we just.. and understand – you were kind of marching over this fact, “Yes, you’re going to have to do that, but stay safe.”

    “The idea that Black and Brown parents should have to do this violence to their own children to say ‘This is the only thing that will keep you safe is that, if you pack this toolbox, and you take it everywhere you go, and this is not the way that everybody has to behave – it is only the way that you have to behave, and that it is not your fault, that you have not done anything wrong, but it is because it’s who you are, and they do not see you as a person that I love, but they see you as a person they should fear.’ “

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Xena | 07/18/2016 at 6:40 am

      Mark O’Mara — the brain washer. Think about what he said …

      ‘No, I’m going to join the movement, and I’m not going to do what would otherwise keep me safe,’ objectively, we haven’t really helped.”

      So, he’s saying the “movement” is disobedience and resistance to law enforcement. What a crock! Remember the man who was told to get his license, and when he reached for it, the officer shot him?

      O’Mara doesn’t appreciate how many Black men have sat with their hands on the wheel and still ended up being abused by law enforcement.

      O’Mara is repeating the superiority ideologies of history, which is that Black men always have to behave according to the standard set by White society, and even behaving according to that standard is never good enough.

      I’m surprised he didn’t just come out and say that Black men stopped in vehicles by the police should play dead.

      Liked by 2 people

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  30. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/15/2016 at 11:01 am

    So horrific.

    My heart and prayers are with all of the victims and their loved ones.

    Liked by 1 person

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  31. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/16/2016 at 8:34 pm

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  32. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/17/2016 at 8:32 pm

    I am praying for the Baton Rouge fallen and wounded officers and their loved ones.

    My heart is breaking for the families of the three officers who have died. Sweet children who will now grow up without their daddies. So very sad. May the Lord watch over them and be present to them with His Love and Comfort.

    May Officers Montreal Jackson,Matthew Gerald, and Deputy Brad Garafola rest in peace.

    Liked by 1 person

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      • mindyme62 | 07/18/2016 at 9:33 am

        Rumors are circulating that Officer Ahearns in Dallas, one of the 5 officers tragically slain last week had ties to White Supremacist organizations and sported Neo Nazi tattoos as well as using racist language in his social media postings. The irony is so harsh that officers were killed in Dallas, a city who had acknowledged their problems with accountability and who had fired 70 officers in the space of a few years time. For Officer Jackson to have been slain in Baton Rouge is also harshly ironic. An officer who clearly was aware of the problems in BR with relations between the police and the citizens they vowed to ‘serve and protect’.

        To kill LEOs is never the answer. To kill those who are not part of the problem is a triple travesty. I would never in a million years advocate or condone murdering anyone. If these shooters really wanted to make an impact, the targets would have been those who had brutalized citizens with impunity. Those whose victims had no justice.

        I understand the frustration of feeling like one would want to exact their own justice when it’s clear no justice will be found through the courts. I understand how one can feel so strongly on an issue that they are willing to sacrifice their life for that cause. Whether one agrees with the actions of the shooters of police or not, they are both true martyrs in every sense of the word. (NEVER to imply that what they did was right.)

        Liked by 1 person

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        • Xena | 07/18/2016 at 7:20 pm

          Mindyme,
          I heard of the rumor and it doesn’t surprise me. Still, I do not believe that humans should kill humans. I know — my pacifism is not realistic in this world, but that is my heart. Also in my belief is that there is reaping and sowing. Wherever there is a negative, there must be a positive. Maybe this was necessary for Congress to do something positive to ban assault rifles since they did nothing when citizens and children in schools were murdered with them. The problem is guns are being used as a substitute for expressions of anger, hate, and/or fear. It’s not right.

          In the past 2 weeks, I’ve done lots of reading and more listening. It’s motivated me to do a series of blog posts when I return.

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  33. Xena | 07/18/2016 at 6:16 am

    I want to thank everyone for their well-wishes. I’m not yet officially back from vacation, but I’ll be around from time to time catching up.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • yahtzeebutterfly | 07/18/2016 at 9:53 am

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    • yahtzeebutterfly | 07/18/2016 at 9:55 am

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      • Xena | 07/18/2016 at 6:10 pm

        Yahtzee,
        One of the reasons I stopped following these trials is because the judge made it clear that he sees the allegations as civil, not criminal offenses.

        Freddie Gray died while in the custody of the Baltimore police. He was unresponsive while in the van when it reached the police station. It wasn’t a bump on the head — it was severing of his spine. The judge does not believe that the police neglected their duties in how they treated, and failed to treat Freddie.

        When Black Lives Matter speaks about the system giving preferential treatment and favoritism to law enforcement so they are not held accountable, this is part of what they are referring to. Even when cops are indicted and brought to trial, judges do not want to be on the retribution end if finding cops guilty.

        Liked by 1 person

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    • yahtzeebutterfly | 07/18/2016 at 9:57 am

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  35. Xena | 07/18/2016 at 7:01 pm

    Please listen to the end where the reporter comments on the lesser charges.

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  37. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/20/2016 at 1:01 pm

    Xena, how ’bout this photo 🙂 ?

    https://twitter.com/Fascinatingpics/status/754133990353801216

    Liked by 1 person

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  39. yahtzeebutterfly | 07/26/2016 at 12:58 pm

    Kentucky man pulls gun in movie theater after kid won’t stop kicking his seat

    PADUCAH, Ky. — Police in Kentucky arrested a man after he pulled a gun in a movie theater — because the child behind him wouldn’t stop kicking his seat…

    “Witnesses said the man got up and cursed the youth, asking if he was going to continue kicking his seat,” the department wrote on its Facebook page. ” The boy’s father interceded and a fight broke out between the two men. As the father got the upper hand in the fight, witnesses said, the other man pulled a gun and said, ‘What the (expletive) are you going to do now?'”

    Other movie goers ran from the theater while the man was apprehended and escorted out. Police say he’s been barred from all Cinemark theaters and they are seeking charges against him.

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