Rush Limbaugh Nothing to see here....move along

Rush Limbaugh has occupied his space long enough. His shock value is nothing compared to the Republican Presidential candidates farcical displays of low intellect. Fox News and Rush Limbaugh have played their parts in  the dumbing down of America. Give him his Wikipedia place in history and let us move on-to even dumber downed horizons.

Closeted Racists, The Most dangerous of all

I am in my fifties. A quiet looking old lady, I suppose. I must be harmless looking because I can't believe the things people tell me. I just sit quietly and listen. Until I can't take it anymore. Then I call the person out on their racism.
A closet racist gets along in the world. Why? They have black or Hispanic bosses. They know how to play the game. You won't hear a word from them about the race of important people in their quest for a living wage. But I sometimes wonder how destructive this kind of dishonesty will play out in our nation. Don't be so worried about the blatant racists. I have more respect for them. At least their rants and hatred give you a pretty good heads up . The closet racist could be sitting next to you at work and you wouldn't have a clue. They come to me thinking because I am older I must be too. It amazes me what I hear. About how blacks have become more uppity since Obama was elected. How Treyvon shouldn't have worn a hoodie. About how our country has changed since a black man was elected into office.
Men and women spew racial hatred. These are supposedly educated people, those with enough exposure to the world to know our country is fast becoming caramel colored.
I don't even want to understand how seemingly educated people come up with these ideas. The closet racist is dangerous because that kind of ignorant hatred doesn't just go away. It permeates our airways, digs into the psyches of their children and spews hatred in a much more passive aggressive manner.
I understand that whites are fast becoming the minority in our country. The fact we have old white men running for office in a desperate attempt to maintain a losing status quo will place us right up there with South Africa and apartheid.
Our jails are full of young black men. Our profiling police forces are a testament to our continued national racism.
I was asked recently why I was not "so racist" coming from the era I was born into (the 1950's).
I asked, "What difference does the era make?" We choose our paths in how we think and what we believe. Oh, sure, we can be influenced by our experiences, but we don't need to be owned by them.
Understand our horrific history of racism to not just blacks, but Japanese, (internment camps, Chinese (indentured servants) the annihilation of the Native American population, the underpaid and horribly treated migrant population and maybe an understanding of the nature of the American citizen will emerge.
Closeted racists are dangerous. They are dishonest, politically correct cowards.
There are too many of them in our country and no one calls them out.
Our global world will not tolerate racism. Our country needs to grow up. We are thousands of years behind other countries in terms of maturity but we need to expand our view of the world and its multicolor or we will be seen as uncivilized, dangerous and barbaric. Rightly so.

Blue shorts and shirt will get you shot

I am flummoxed. That is the only word I can think of when people tell me "what's he doing wear a hoodie?" An "educated" friend of mine vomited that statement yesterday and I looked at her and said, "So if you are wearing those blue shorts and blue top someone has the right to shoot you if they are perceived as "granny gang" colors?" (We are both over fifty.)
She backtracked on her comment but I know her. She is as racist as you can get. Her comments about President Obama and his race astound me. Her job surrounds her with black and Hispanic children every day. She is well loved at her place of employment even though her boss is black and Hispanic. They don't have a clue. I hear others I would never have believed make racist comments.
I wonder how many closeted racists there really are out there in the United States?
The thought makes me queasy.

When Life Hits Hard

Two months ago a  young couple went to check on their 6 month old daughter.

She wasn't breathing. A friend of mine who was visiting gave her mouth to mouth resuscitation which tragically was not successful. The little girl died of SIDS. My friend was devastated. He described the feelings of helplessness and frustration at not being able to do anything to save the baby. SIDS remains a mystery and every parents deepest fear. The parents have since split, trying to understand this senseless death is overwhelming and for a young couple beyond the limits of comprehension. At the time of the incident the police were called. They investigated my friend although the situation was apparent.

A month later this friend drove a visiting buddy back to his hotel room on the strip. It was late in the evening when the police pulled him over. Not that this should matter but he drives a red car with tinted windows. He was told he turned right at the wrong time and the Las Vegas police did a registration check, handcuffed him, threw him on the car, told him he was drunk, refused to do a breathalyzer and requested a blood draw instead, They then charged him with a DUI, driving without his license, some kind of thing about lane change and threw him in jail on a Friday night. They held him until late Monday night , releasing him after dropping all the charges.

Did you know the police can accuse you of DUI and hold you in jail for 72 hours awaiting the results of a blood test, without bail?

We all know and fear the Las Vegas Police department. It is corrupt and random. We have citizen shootings frequently and the police are not held accountable. It is a frightening place to live for many.

Most rational people will excuse this police activity away. "Well, if he wasn't doing anything wrong he wouldn't have been noticed.

I don't know about you  but I am beginning to feel a LOT of uneasiness with the way law enforcement in many parts of the country are doing the job.

My friend moved here from California in September. His parents live in an upscale neighborhood in the southwest side of the city. He holds a Masters Degree from UCLA. Since he moved back he has been pulled over four times in his own neighborhood when returning late at night. Each time he is treated with disrespect and literally baited. This last time was pretty frightening. 

I worry about him. He is young. He drives a red car with tinted windows.

The police profile is not good for him. He is a responsible, caring individual who moved back to Las Vegas so he could help his elderly parents.

Oh, did I tell you he is also black?