Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee for President.

I am a bit concerned about the upcoming presidential election. It is fraught with those who want no government involvement, too much government involvement, some who put you to sleep whenever they speak and some who make you wonder if they ever took a history class or even follow current events. These, my fellow Americans, are what we have to choose from to hold the highest office in the land. May God help us all! I am unimpressed with the lot of them but the biggest offense for me as a woman who has been voting for almost forty years, is the thought of the possibility of the first woman President, to have the wits of a cow in the pasture. Yes, I am speaking of both women, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin. It shocks me that some very nice people whom I truly respect seem to be one of their greatest cheerleaders and I have to ask...Why?

Both women are what you might call...I will try to be polite... okay, "Media ( second word rhymes with S'mores). I would strongly suggest that the lovely to look at Ms. Bachmann spend more time attending her district in Minnesota and less time trying to make headlines. She is an adept fundraiser and is degrees more intelligent than Ms. Palin but who isn't? I have a problem with someone representing our country very strongly opposing the rights of certain groups of citizens , mainly those in the gay community. It also disturbs me greatly that her husband, who is a christian counselor (nothing wrong with that) takes it upon himself to convince said community that this lifestyle is sinful according to HIS beliefs. Noting the high pitched ,lispy lilt of his voice, I fear Mr. Bachmann doth protest too much. I also find it interesting that Ms. Bachmann commented that "All cultures are not created equal". I could go on but I really, really can't wait to move on to the next female candidate.

Let's chat about Sarah Palin fer a spell. There are some who think that people are mean to dear Ms. Palin but I am here to tell you this woman is about as helpless as a shark in a tank full of sardines. I can appreciate that she likes huntin, fishin. shootin and guttin as well as the next gal from the tundra. Hell, I bet she can harpoon a whale if she sets her mind to it. My question is:
Is she capable of leading this country? Uh, let me think about it...NO! When I say these things it is not out of malice but you have to admit that she is so much fun to make commentary on.
What bothers me is how many people actually buy her down home, you betcha, deer in the headlights (when you ask her a question which requires a contemplative thought process )demeanor.

I do not hate these women, as I truly do not hate another human being. I do not dispute everything they say, not really and I fully believe they have every right to state their views and I am sure they truly believe what they say and I do admire their conviction. I am a fan of neither but I am not a fan of any potential candidate at this time. My pick isn't running in this election and I mourn that she did not win the last one. I want anyone who represents the office of the Presidency to do well, as when they do not, we as a country do not as well. Lets face it fellow citizens, we all succeed together and we fail together and we can no longer afford any more failure. Let us hope that whoever sits in the oval office will bring hope, peace and prosperity for all who reside in this great country we all call home. Even those who can see Russia from their backyard.

Livin in da hood!

The title alone speaks volumes but let me elaborate a bit upon my ire, born of countless hours and sleepless nights due to certain residents of my neighborhood. Do I live in the most poverty stricken area of the city? No, nor does it not have good qualities and some wonderful people who live here. There are many who have resided in this area for many years but they have seen a drastic decline in this once, peaceful, well kept, residential area in what was once considered a great place to live. Why the decline you ask? Let's start with a few contributing factors.

• Influx of troublesome residents who have transferred here from Chicago, Rockford and other cities with problem areas and we have inherited their upstarts.


• Residents of public housing who utilize the generous system of state aid that our state cannot afford but still manages to provide.


• Said residents are not gainfully employed (due to generous state aid) and party all night as they do not have to work in the morning as many of their sleeplessly tired neighbors do.


• Unsupervised youth who run the streets in large groups and do not seem to be able to communicate within normal vocal decibels as they most likely have lost their hearing due to the booming vibration of the music they listen to and the rest of the neighborhood must listen to as well, whether we want to or not.


• Youth and adults alike of problematic residences scream, yell, utter profanities, threaten anyone brave enough to ask them to please lower the volume of all of the above.


• Landlords who own these buildings could care less if anyone close by is inconvenienced as long as they receive rent money and continue to rent to the very people who are creating havoc for anyone within a two block radius.

For those of you who may be thinking, "Why did you move there?" Because despite an unheeded warning that living in this neighborhood might be a problem, my apartment is very nice and spacious and the nicest place I looked at for the money. Uh, the warning bells should have gone off on that one. I am now moving to a wonderful house in a quiet neighborhood and one might say "If you're leaving, what's the big deal?" Well, I have never been one to just worry about myself. There are good people who live here and they do not want to be forced out because they were here before the bad elements came to town.

The police are on most people's speed dial in this area and it is getting old for law enforcement and residents alike. Due to financial cuts (thanks Scott!) Police officers are limited in this area and even if they do come, the problems still continue to occur. I do not believe in vigilante tactics at the hands of angry citizens but we need to get a handle on the neighborhood and let our city officials and support agencies know that we want a solution. Here are a few suggestions from yours truly.

• Bye bye state aid for those who can work. I have compassion for single mothers but when you have three plus children, spend less time in the sack and more time gainfully employed. This needs to begin with Section 8 monitoring and control.


• Parents who continually fail to supervise their children should be fined for multiple disturbances.


• If you can't afford to work and pay your bills, you can't afford drugs or alcohol.


• If landlords want troublesome tenants and do not keep their disturbances under control, let them pay a fine or two and I guarantee you will see these tenants get sent packing.


• Don't expect law enforcement to do everything. Citizens have rights, contact those who can go above and beyond and remind them who votes them into office and whom they represent.

I have said my peace and vented my frustrations but the fact is that the problem still exists and everyone deserves to live in a community where they feel safe and feel like their home is a haven from this crazy world we sometimes live in. It is a sad commentary that there are those who haven't a clue that anyone exists besides them. It is also a fact that most of these people come from generation after generation of like mentality but it has got to stop for the sake of the sanity of the many good people who deserve to live in a neighborhood they can be proud to call home.

If R-E-S-P-E-C-T is good enough for Aretha, it should be good enough for the rest of us!

I have been precipitating how to go about writing this commentary and I have just decided to "tell it like it is" in my humble opinion. The subject is the decline in respectful behavior among some of today's youth, especially noticeable around the ages of thirteen and fourteen year olds.
I realize this is a difficult age. They so badly want to be grown up, make their own decisions and do not particularly like guidance from authoritative figures such as parents, teachers, older siblings, martians...okay, you get my drift.

Please realize that I am not referring to the many respectful, giving and wonderful youth who are a joy to our society. I have noticed of late, the many youth in my section of the city who run in herds (such as twenty or more) and plague their neighborhoods with language that would make a porn star blush and can be driven into a confrontational rage from zero to ninety seconds with each other or anyone who happens to cross their path. Communication is based upon high pitched shouting and screaming as if they are in a stadium instead of a city neighborhood and the only way they can be heard by those within a matter of inches from them is to use their mega voices. If you as a reasonable adult, happen to nicely mention that perhaps they should keep their voices at a more reasonable decibel out of courtesy for others around them, you will be met with a string of obscenities and threatening looks, not to mention the possibility of a physical confrontation and downright defiance.

I will try to state this as delicately as possible when I say that on every occasion that this occurs, it is with youth who are mostly African American. Am I prejudice? I have friends of every ethnicity and sexual orientation and do not consider myself racist but the above statement happens to be a fact. Another fact is that I can guarantee that most, if not all of these youth have either neglectful or abusive parents who behave much the same way. Am I racist? No, I am fed up with this behavior and with similar behavior from their parents who conduct themselves the exact same way! How can these kids possibly be any less respectful than the adults who should but do not set any positive example?

My statements may be perceived by some as singling out a particular race as if they are the only ones guilty of such behavior. In my neighborhood,this is often the case. On one occasion, upon being awakened at three in the morning by music that makes your house rattle, along with booming voices in which my roommate asked them to please tone it down. He was greeted with the ever popular "hater!" I loved my roommate's comment."I hate anyone who wakes me up at three in the morning!"

There are so many youth within the black community who want to make a difference in the world and have great talent and amazing personalities as well as respectful of adults and set a positive example of youth in their communities. It frosts my mini wheats that these fabulous kids will be thrown in the same category with the youth who are troublesome, just because of their color. Our world would be very bland without diversity of all kinds and there are problems with not only youth but adults as well of all ethnicities. I actually do not care what color your skin is, what religion you belong to or don't belong to. I don't care if you are a purple tutu wearing Lady Ga Ga loving banjo playing snake charmer...whew... Just behave like a civilized human being and be respectful of others from time to time, including yourself.