Flashback Friday, Remember This?

"Let me tell you a story yes....how I got to be so fresh."  Roxanne Shante is arguably the best female MCs of all time.  I remember this song because I was in 6th grade I think when it came out.  I loved the lyrics so much I borrowed my friend's cassette tape (yeah I know) of song and played it over and over again until I memorized the lyrics.  Lyrics I can still recite from memory to this day. 

Click here to see what Dr. "Roxanne Shante" has been up to

Flashback Friday, Remember This?

Flashback Friday, Remember This?

All this month Flashback Fridays will be dedicated to my favorite decade--the 1980s.  Big hair, sports cars, The Cosby Show--and oh the music.  From MJ's Thriller, to Prince's Little Red Corvette, to UTFO, New Edition, The Police, Cyndi Lauper, Full Force and Lisa Lisa--of the three decades of my life this one was THE BEST for music.

What was your favorite song, artist, or video of the 80's?

Flashback Friday, Remember This? (Special Edition)

Well folks, it's been one year since the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States.  And what a year it's been--two wars and a financial crisis he inherited, a flu pandemic, a Nobel Peace Prize, rising unemployment, and healthcare reform debacle.  Whew!  That was just year one and much has been said about what the Obama administration needs to do to right the ship.  Even though his approval rating seems to average somewhere around the 50% mark (not bad especially considering how bad the economy is), but a precipitous drop from where it once was.  The number of Americans who feel the country is on the right track however, not so good.  Fifty-six percent of the country thinks we're headed in the wrong direction. 

The left wants to say that Obama's problem is that he's not progressive enough (huh?), of course the right says he's not a conservative so it doesn't matter what he does, they will oppose it.  But it's the perception of Americans in the middle that will lead their votes and the general sentiment is that after Bush's incompetent regime, people had hoped for something more with the smart, pragmatic Obama.  A government that works.

It’s not left vs. right government at issue here, but effective government. I think that especially when times are difficult, most Americans will go with what works. Perhaps it’s not the message of the 2010 special election in MA that Democrats will get wrong, but the lesson of 2008. While I believe that a lot of independents are really just Republicans who don’t like labels, most of the independent Obama voters of 2008 were voting for competency. He sold the idea of a working government, not a larger/smaller one. (See here: Link)


Like many folks I reeled at the loss of Ted Kennedy's seat to a Republican (see my next post, Confessions of a Political Junkie).  A Republican, Scott Brown who campaigned to fight against the number one domestic priority of Sen. Kennedy--universal healthcare.  Was it Martha Coakley's fault for running a bad campaign?  Yes, if he were still alive Kennedy wouldn't have lost to populist anger and Scott Brown.  However, none of the Scott Brown debacle would’ve happened if Democrats had gotten healthcare reform done months ago.   Thirty percent of MA voters said they oppose the bill even though they don’t know why they oppose it. That was the most telling lesson out of the healthcare aspect of this thing. The Democrats botched it. They took too long and allowed the details to get too cloudy for ordinary people to understand. They let the Republicans talk folks out of something that in some ways would've made their lives better and in the long run improved the economy.

As far as economic messaging is concerned, I don’t think Obama isn’t selling enough of what his administration has done (see here: Link). I think it’s that people don’t FEEL it. And with 10 percent unemployment, pointing out that your policies have stemmed the job loss isn’t going to cut it. The American people want job CREATION. It can’t be said enough, it’s the ECONOMY stupid.

When things are going well, the public has less of a desire to change leadership. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But if it is broke, you gotta get the hell on so we can get somebody in to right this ship. The irony of turning the car keys back over to the ones who wrecked it (Republicans) because the mechanics (Democrats) are taking too long to fix it, is completely lost on the average American. Sad but true. Accept that Dems and understand that you must deliver results. Period.

I hope that the belief in effective government is what drives the Obama administration, however it is able to achieve it.  The members of the U.S. Congress--I fear are hopelessly lost.  As far as the American people, well, many of us could do with some recalibration as well.  People had high hopes for Obama, just not very realistic expectations.  I can't honestly believe that anyone thought that he'd get the economy turned around in less than a year.  He is the President of the United States, not a wizard.  A magic wand is NOT among the powers the constitution grants the President.  Recovery will take some time.  Republicans had eight whole years to screw up the country.  Barack Obama should get a little more latitude to fix it.

Overall, I am still very happy with the decision I made Nov. 4, 2008.  I'm sorry, but I wanted Obama the consensus builder.  That very quality that enrages his base, was what got me out campaining for him, donating to him, and ultimately voting for him.  I hoped that if anyone could get beyond the partisan bickering and get some shit done, it would be him.  For that, I am willing to give him a little more latitude as well.  Change does not come overnight and there is nothing more resistant to change than Washington.  Good luck Mr. President! 

Flashback Friday Remember This? (Cornbread Earl & Me)

Flashback Friday, Remember This?

BE ABOUT IT

What happened to me? I used to really believe that I could do anything, be anything. I always had a sense of entitlement when I was a kid, heck even now. I never even considered I wouldn't get everything I wanted. Rules, convention, asking permission, waiting your turn…that stuff is for other people--not for me. But somewhere along the way, maybe after being kicked in the throat by life one too many times--I changed. I changed into one of those fearful women I used to pity. Living a life filled with doubt and second-guesses. An attitude that is almost always the result of having made lots of painful mistakes.

But at what point do you shake off the losses and setbacks and disappointments and try again? For me, I had to really take some time to figure out some things first. Namely, what was it that I truly wanted for my life and how could I get it. Getting around obstacles used to be my specialty. A skill built from a lifetime of trying to talk people into stuff. One thing is for sure, in order to achieve the things I want too in life I have to always practice these two things. Number one, I must always eliminate excuses. If there is a problem, figure out a way to solve it. Someone I need to work with me, figure out a way to convince them. Whatever the roadblock is, find a way around it and if I can't figure out the answer, ask the Spirit to guide me.

Number two, I must always be grateful. See that sense of entitlement I mentioned before has a sneaky way of turning one into an arrogant jerk. As long as I understand who I am and never let go of the fact that 'there but for the grace of God go I', everything will be fine.

There may be some people for whom success just finds them. One thing happens and then another things happens and then you meet this person or that and next thing you know, you're on the path to...whatever. But I am not one of those people. I have to kick, scratch, claw, cry, yell, and work and work and work my way to my goal. That’s just how life and I get along. Very little of what I’ve accomplished has come easy. I know that there is a purpose for that in terms of what my struggle may mean to other people. And I will wait for God to move me in the direction of that is.

For now, I know this. 2010 will mark a new era in my life. A turning point if you will. I'm a little older and a little wiser now. I am focused and I know what I want. The project that I am involved in has been a dream of mine for the last ten years. Next year, it is coming to fruition. It is a project so unique and so special that I can't talk about it just yet. Suffice it to say, in true Kisha style, it's something that has never been done before in the world of television and film. But, I will be chronicling its development here on my blog as the details unfold.

So...in the words of the late Michael Jackson—this is it!