Over Fifty, Get A Colonoscopy!

View of a healthy colon

I’m going to take a temporary break from politics this time. Although this might not be a dinner table discussion, I hope that it will be informative. There is always something political to talk about, but I won’t.

Just the other day, I had my colonoscopy procedure done and without sedation. This is my second after several years and they removed two benign polyps the first time. I was also under sedation and didn’t see or hear anything either. It’s still embarrassing regardless how you look at it. There might be an opportunity to laugh some of the wording. But, I was able to look at “it” being awake through the entire procedure. Believe me, it is not as bad as you think. Well, the process, anyway. Remember, if taking the laxative according to directions prior to the procedure, you should be very clean and pretty well empty. The staff was kind, respectful, and courteous to me, as well as, very professional. They did all that they could to make me feel at ease. There is really nothing new to these folk in their profession. They are nurses, doctors and above all, caring people. They have had hospital experience, hospice experience, assisted living experience and years of experience in the health field. They actually wish more people would come in to prevent and recognize any future problems they might have. So don’t be ashamed to go to your doctor and set yours up.

Yes, I wore the backless gown but they covered my back up with a sheet exposing only the part that was to be reviewed. Of course, I was uncomfortable; certain areas on the body shouldn’t be shared, let alone, exposed. But, the doctor and nurses (2) talked me through it. They explained that the only discomfort I will feel will be the air to open up my colon to allow the camera with a light and built-in snipper at the end of it to move about. They would have to go all the way to the end and retract slowly for observation. Be visual with me.

I’m looking at the monitor feeling blown up like a balloon and getting my blood pressure checked all at the same time. I see something that looks like a dark tunnel and a light going in and around curves. Modern technology! I’m getting a little gassy, but I wasn’t going to say anything. This was the only temporary discomforting moment I had during the entire session. Anyway, as soon as the doctor started, he called me out about using colon cleansers. DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF COLON CLEANSERS!!! They will turn your colon very dark depending on the years of use. It doesn’t matter if they are all natural. Your colon should be pink just like the inside of your mouth! It’s also very easy to see if there are any problems, too. Well, I’ve been using colon cleansers for about 18 months and a dark colon is a dead giveaway. None of the vendors for colon cleansers even mention the unnatural color of the colon.  Use Miralax if you have a problem with BM, it will not darken the colon. Change your lifestyle, exercise, eat foods high in fiber and get plenty of rest.  All in all, it was very interesting looking at my insides, he did snip a very small polyp that looked like a bump to me. I just hope it was benign. When the procedure was done, they wanted me to pass gas, but I was still hesitant. We know that when you take that cleaning medication, gas won’t be the first thing coming out that’s for sure. That was my major concern. I got copies of the pictures they took, waited until I got home and into the bathroom just to be safe before I committed myself. I’m still glad I waited.

I’m asking anyone that reads this and is over or near the age of 50 to please talk this over with a medical professional. If you have people in your life that cares about you and you about them, please check into this matter. If you just care about your own health still do it.

Here We Go Again!

Senator Graham and Lt. Amy Tomlinson (April 17, 2010) at Blue Angels Air Show in Charleston, SC

“The Greenville Republican Party has rebuked U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for what it calls his cooperation and support of President Barack Obama and the Democrats' liberal agenda.” This is the same group that wanted Lexington County State Senator Jake Knotts expelled for using an ethnic slur against Nikki Haley, a GOP Gubernatorial Candidate. Senator Knotts said, "we already have a raghead in the White House, we don't need a raghead in the governor's mansion." Ms. Haley is of Middle-Eastern descent and the President is mixed. The uproar wasn’t about the President, even though racism and bigotry will not be tolerated in the Republican Party, so said some of its members. It still sounds hypocritical to me because most of them were former Dixiecrats (States’ Rights Party) and democrats who left when the Civil Rights Act was signed. But still, Senator Knotts meant it as a joke. Anderson TEA Party writers Priscilla Hill and Joshua Finn wrote a short but succinct piece about the SC GOP’s Moral Failure about being hypocritical. What we are now seeing is the direct denunciation of Senator Graham who is doing his duty constitutional duty. He is representing all Americans including many of us dumb ass South Carolinians. They are just short of telling him who he should be representing and I am concerned, it might not be me. Bipartisanship politics have failed for this administration. We stand at the brink of a new political system that favors only those that belong to a specific party 100% regardless of a national bearing. A half of pie is still not a whole one. A half of country is not united. Senator Graham seems to care a great deal about our country but he is considered a traitor to the GOP by working with the Democrats or the President. Moderate Republicans are now called RINOs (Republicans in Name Only), similar to being called a liberal. Some of us are still keeping our Christian and family values which are probably a couple of reasons why we still respect our fellow man. As an ultra-conservative, their allegiance is not to God and country but to the party. The issue is not “taking back our country” but whether you are either for us or against us. One might question if some of these folks want to return to the Jim Crow days. Progress towards a better country is just not on the agenda for some people. We’re not going to live forever and we will have to stand before God one day. 

We All Need To Stand Up!!!

I’m not a big fan of the NAACP, but without them and others I wouldn't have the opportunity to do what I'm doing. I have my own personal reasons. One is picking their fights. Injustice is injustice. But don’t get it twisted, civil rights groups are necessary. We need them to speak up for the common man and minorities. That’s right all of us poor and underprivileged people. The right voices can reach the right people. Lyndon B. Johnson said, “While the races may stand side by side, whites stand on history's mountain and blacks stand in history's hollow. Until we overcome unequal history, we cannot overcome unequal opportunity....It's time we get down to the business of trying to stand black and white on level ground.” He went on to sign the Civil Rights Act in 1964. LBJ also made a speech Monday, March 15, 1965, a week after deadly racial violence had erupted in Selma, Alabama, as black people understand that. I just think that they need to expand their purview within the black community. There are injustices that we are committed against each other. There are a lot of people that disagree with a lot of Minister Farrakhan’s philosophies but I do believe that once blacks become self-sufficient by supporting each other, we will gain national acceptance. The Asian and Latino community has done it. They stick together even though they face discrimination, too, but not on such a large scale as blacks.

It would be nice if they address black on black crimes, gangs, high school dropouts, children having babies, deadbeat dads, unemployment, just to name a few. I, personally, think that it is a waste of time to worry about a flag waving in our face than finding ways to change the hearts of people who believe in inequality.

I applaud the Greenville Chapter to speak out against the New Black Panther Party. The two guys in Newberry were friends no matter what color they were. Shooting and dragging the other is extreme. I’m not degrading gravity of the crime. There have been crimes of passion that were considered extreme, too! One wonders what was the impetuous that drove him to such a horrific act. Murder is still the highest charge against anyone, but a hate crime? Yes, we get caught up and we need to use some self-control. But the Greenville Chapter of the NAACP is speaking out and where is the news about that? The media picks the negatives to report on because it sells! Nothing like reporting on a fight rather than a party. The major networks reported on the gag order issued but not a word yet on the NAACP stand against the NBPP. I always did believe good news don’t sell!

We All Got Bigger Problems!!!

Wall Street Executives received over 1.7 billion dollars of bonuses while the unemployed had to wait weeks for their extension to get approved. It’s ironic that some folks on the right complained about the unemployed getting this money and causing laziness in the ranks of the needy. Many of the unemployed were laid off due to problems in our economy and I doubt that so many people would rather sit on their butts and not provide for their families. Those that are working are still playing the lottery hoping one day to cash in on their individual American dreams. Too few employment opportunities are available when so many apply. I didn’t hear the media pressing the argument about the Wall Street bonuses. I wonder is it because the market giants are heavily invested in the media and can control what is released in the media. Again, I question the integrity of the news media. What is more important, the sponsors or the listeners? The more listeners, the more money provided by the sponsors. We are a money-driven society where it is more important to have a healthy bottom line than a compassionate heart. Love won’t pay the bills and if you have several homes, jets, and cars, you’ll need more money. Let’s be honest. True we do have racial issues to deal with but there is a bigger problem underneath. That agenda is widening the gap between the classes, the haves and the have-nots. There will only be rich people and poor people. The middle class is becoming a memory. It is going the way of the dinosaur, extinct. While we are focusing on race relations, there are powers that are moving towards putting all of us poor people, regardless of color, in these two categories, rich and/or poor. We need to wake up, people. Our fears are being used against us and we are being misinformed everyday to convince us that wrong is right. If we don’t have the right sense to know any better we will regret it later. Yeah, I said it. Some folks would want a race war, but it won’t work. There are still too many from all sides that will fight together. We will always remember that we are one nation, indivisible, under God! Even if it means that it is necessary for the Federal Government to reinforce it!

TEMPERatureS Are Rising!!!

It’s getting hotter every summer. But of course, it’s not due to global warming. (Hint of Sarcasm). We’re having extraordinary weather and storms but global warming doesn’t have a thing to do with it. We’re having some flash floods and wind storms with tornado force but again who’s to say they are happening because of global warming. So many people criticized and laughed at Al Gore about global warming and conserving our natural resources that if all of these catastrophes were the effect they wouldn’t accept global warming as the cause. So you know that they wouldn’t believe that God might be trying to tell us something. Of course, when temperatures rise in the summer, so do peoples’ tempers. Our impatience increases and attitudes heighten to the point where it seems we just don’t care. We have to work on this by working on ourselves. In the meantime, the smallest incident can provoke us to a major temper tantrum. Relationships go south, friendships explode, and social discourse takes a back to seat to quick tempers. I will always believe that there are more people willing to work together and encourage each other than those who prefer total separation of the classes and races. It is inevitable that all people will live side by side in harmony and peace because it is written and said by our Lord and God. There will always be those who hate and only see things their way. There is nothing that can be done about it. Ever since the devil entered Eden mankind changed for the worse, but it will never last forever just as we won’t. Everything that has been said philosophically by me is my own opinion. This includes religious, social and racial tolerance and political views. We all must make individual choices on what is right for us even though some of those choices can be wrong. We must still, if we believe, hold on to our faith, and to always include God in our decisions. I believe that whenever we keep Him first in our lives, he will always lead us in the right direction.

The Absolute Power of Negative News!!!

  Andrew Breitbart

By now everyone who has a TV has heard about the mistreatment of Shirley Sherrod, former employee of the US Department of Agriculture. A doctored videotape by an extreme right wing conservative, Andrew Breitbart, was sent to Fox News Network that created a giant wildfire comparable to California’s disasters. It managed to propel an innocent, gentle woman to the forefront of racial injustice and disparity. In his desire to discredit the NAACP, Breitbart almost ruined this woman’s reputation. Thank God she was the right one that he chose. This woman truly had God as her defense! Breitbart failed on so many levels. He wanted to prove that the NAACP was racist instead of the Tea Party. He tried to hide the fact that he is part of that group that want to keep America divided and return to the 50s. He tried to hide the fact that this woman at age 17, father was killed by a white farmer full of pure racial hatred. A woman later in life found in her heart to help all poor people not just black and white. I don’t have to go over the whole story, you already know how it goes. It’s shameful that Breitbart didn’t bother with a true apology to this woman who was used as a scapegoat. It’s embarrassing that our first Black President is reluctant to speak out against race relations because the country is now so sensitive that our elected officials are afraid of not getting reelected. Racism is not going away, people. It’s like the color of your skin, it’s not going anywhere. We can treat our skin, darken it, even lighten it, but we will still be the same person. We need to look in the mirror. It’s disgusting that these same officials on both sides of the aisle are not trying to represent all of the people, just the ones who yell the loudest. Please understand that I know that you don’t have to agree with any President’s policies. I also have enough common sense to know that it doesn’t make you a racist because you don’t agree. But there are some people hiding like cowards behind these smoke screens who are afraid to admit the truth. The truth will prevail. Lies and negative news travel fast. The past 48 hours were filled with nothing but the bad news. The power of mainstream media is absolute until we stop believing everything we see and hear. There are few such as Keith Olbermann & Rachel Maddow, who are not afraid of Fox or their bosses at MSNBC. The rest of the news stations bow before Fox, they must be afraid of the label liberal. Frankly, I credit the media with a lot of this racial division and political polling every other day. They seem to want to keep crap going. I have never seen so many polls taken about this current president. Yet, not one time has anyone polling agency asked my anything.

 Here is an excerpt from Seattle Times News:

*Conservative Andrew Breitbart on Monday posted a 2 ½-minute snippet of Shirley Sherrod's 43-minute NAACP speech on his website, BigGovernment.com.

*Fox News Channel then began its pursuit of Sherrod in prime time Monday night on three successive opinion shows that reached at least 3 million people.

*Leading off, Bill O'Reilly asked on his top-rated program, "Is there racism in the Department of   Agriculture?" He discussed the tape, plugged Breitbart's website and demanded that Sherrod resign  immediately. By the time O'Reilly's remarks, taped in the afternoon, were broadcast, Sherrod had resigned.

*Next up, Sean Hannity treated the resignation as breaking news. He played a short part of what he called   the "shocking" video from Breitbart and later discussed the development with a panel of guests, mentioning the NAACP's recent accusations of racism within the conservative tea-party movement.

*Fox's 7 p.m. show also covered the resignation as breaking news (Sherrod says Fox never tried to contact her before running the video clip repeatedly Monday).

*By Tuesday, Sherrod's forced resignation was the talk of cable-television news.

Side Note: The earlier footage of an undercover sting of an ACORN office, was even more flawed. The undercover operatives, James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles, heavily edited their footage, implying they dressed as a pimp and prostitute when they went to seek financial advice on their illicit activities from ACORN employees. But they actually never wore such flamboyant attire to the ACORN office. He and Giles are now facing civil suits from ACORN employees.

They lied but more importantly the mainstream media didn’t want to follow that up.  Just like now.  Is America afraid to confront racism?  Post-racial society is not here just because a black president was elected.  Whether he spends only one term, it was still more than expected for just being elected.  It's not the right against the left, it's the far right against change.  I applaud Lindsey Graham for reaching across the aisles despite his party's politics of obstruction.  Change can not take place if you want to keep the status quo.

All I can ask is that those of you that really care for a positive, united progression for our nation, pray to our God for strength and maintain hope in our leaders to represent all Americans.

When Race-Baiting Backfires: Mishandling Shirley Sherrod!

Oops, it looks like somebody pulled the hood over everybody’s eyes! The extremes people are willing to go through just to make someone look bad. Well, if you dig a grave for your enemy, dig two, you’ll need one for yourself. As I said before, there are groups out here in this nation willing to sacrifice all to destroy this country. Harmony and peace is not in their vocabulary. Polarize, divide, and separate from within is worse than the terrorists we are fighting internationally. This stinks from Willie Horton days and the heinous act of Timothy McVeigh. Yep, Rush, Glenn & others are the front men but somebody, somewhere is paying. Bizarre that Glenn actually defended Ms. Sherrod. One thing for sure, Fox won’t apologize! "The politics of fear cannot overwhelm the politics of truth, and she has truth on her side." J. Jackson.