We've Got It Bad When A Candy Peanut Butter Cup Is Worth More Than A Life

Killed his cellmate over Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

Something is wrong with us (so called human beings). I say this because we are becoming more and more of a violent society as time passes. Each day on any given news broadcast network, the stories are getting more and more bizarre. For each time you think you have seen and heard it all, something even more bizarre lets you know that you indeed have not. There seems to be no depth to the lack of regard for human life. The headline for the photo to the left was Man sentenced to life after killing cellmate over Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. As I was in my car listening to the radio, the story in the following link was shared: Cops: Purse-snatcher showed up at house, attacked man, rammed SUV through garage door. A synopsis of the crime is as follows:

Friday evening at about 5:37 p.m., a 58-year-old Franklin Township woman called 911 to report that her purse was snatched from her while she was exiting a supermarket at the Somerset Plaza in Franklin Township. The man who snatched the woman's purse, showed up at her home, attacked her son and ran her SUV through a closed garage door to seal it. At about 11:15 p.m., the victim's 32-year-old son, who was visiting, exited the home via the garage door to retrieve an item from his vehicle — and was confronted by someone matching the description of the purse-snatcher. The thief assaulted the son to the head and body with a blunt object, leaving him just able to retreat into the house via the garage door and close it. Seeing her son’s injuries, the mother screamed, and the thief started to leave the area on his bicycle, but he returned, kicked in a garage door panel and stole a 2011 burgundy RDX Acura.The thief backed the vehicle through the closed garage door then stopped to pick up the bicycle and put it in the back.

 I'm not sure barbarians were as bad. The following also occurred over the last couple of days

(Reuters) - A gunman killed six people and wounded seven others in a drive-by shooting in a Southern California college town, spraying bullets from his car until it crashed and he was found dead inside, authorities said on Saturday.

There are so many other stories that I could use as examples for this post, but I think you will get the point. What makes it all the worse is, they are all SENSELESS. No conscience in the perpetrators at all. It's like their conscience is seared. Something is wrong and seems like there is nothing that we are able to do about it except as Karen Clark-Sheard, says in her song, stay "Prayed Up."


I don't know about you, but for me, in these times, I intend to do just that...........Stay prayed up. You are invited to join me on Saturdays at 6 a.m. EDT on gobrave.org and follow me on Twitter @thinkcritical01. Stay prayed up y'all!

My Goal is to Live to be 100 and Healthy

This blog post is lighter than my recent posts; however, no less important of an issue. If you have ever tuned in on Saturday mornings to The Reading Circle with Marc Medley on WP88.7 FM or gobrave.org, you have probably heard me say "My goal is to live to be 100 and healthy." Not 100 and scuffling, or 100 and drooling or 100 and need someone to move me about; but 100 and vibrantly healthy. You also will always hear me couch that with "That may be my plans, but it may not be God's, as I am sure He gets a good laugh from my plans."

At the writing of this blog, I am nearly forty eight years away from reaching my goal and I am in generally good health. Recently my wonderful team of doctors (general, opticians, and dentists) have encouraged me to be even more health conscious if I am to reach my goal. I've revamped my diet to exclude sugar and starches as much as possible from it and have increased my intake of fruits and vegetables. I was teasing my wife on one of our recent grocery shopping trips, that I have traded in my cookies for kale (smile).

As the host of The Reading Circle, I am introduced to authors of all genres and on my healthy quest, I was introduced to author, Dr. William Cortvriendt and his book Living a Century or More: A Scientifically Fact-Based Journey to Longevity. Dr. Cortvriendt (which means "Little Friend" by the way), delivered a fun and fascinating interview with me about his work.  When Dr.Cortvriendt was asked is it possible to reach the age of 100 while being healthy? His response was:

"Of Course That’s Possible! My newly released book ‘Living a Century or More’ shows people how to add many years to their lives while being and feeling much healthier, based on published research in the most renowned medical journals.We all like to live healthier, but it is often not known what is healthy and what is not. Also doctors often are not aware that very simple changes in lifestyle and diet can result in large improvements in health and life expectancy. For example, simply changing the type and amount of carbohydrates in your diet has an important relation with your risk for diabetes. Avoiding diabetes at age 50 increases our life expectancy with eight years while enjoying a much better health" (Full interview on link below)

Did I mention that Dr. Cortvriendt was calling into the show from Spain? It was 6:00 a.m. EDT here and noon there as they are six hours ahead of us. The point of Dr. Cortvriendt's work is, we can indeed live healthier if we CHOOSE to do so. It is a choice; a choice that is not helped by the media or the pricing structure of junk foods vs. healthy foods. I shared an experience I had one day when I went to the vending machine with a one dollar bill in hand. I usually would go to the vending machine to purchase a cola with the dollar. Silly me, I took the same dollar when I went to purchase a bottle of water from that same machine. I inserted my dollar and pressed my selection only to have the machine blink at me. I inserted the dollar again, pressed my selection and again, the machine blinked at me. The teachers who were in the teacher's room at the time said, "Mr. Medley, water is a dollar and twenty five cents and not a dollar." Being now more health conscious, it struck me as interesting that the soda was a dollar and the water (out of the same machine mind you) was more expensive. I found the same to be true with many of the healthier food items I have begun to purchase as I take on this healthier eating and drinking quest. What message is that sending? That's for another blog post.

I share this post for all who are like me and Dr. Cortvriendt who have this goal of living to be a century or more and healthy. My pastor, Reverend K.D.R. Clayton, also shares this goal, so I will be sure to share this book with him and others who look to be a centenarian one day (smile).  I invite you to visit the following link to hear the entire interview with Dr. Cortvriendt on The Reading Circle with Marc Medley below:

INTERVIEW 

You are also invited to tune in on Saturday mornings at 6 a.m. EDT on gobrave.org  and to follow The Critical Thinker on Twitter @thinkcritical01. Onward to becoming a centenarian and to your good health.  

DANGEROUS TRENDS

This post could be titled Back to the Future; however, the situations at hand are much more critical than the whimsical 1985 science fiction comedy starring Michael J. Fox. In fact, there is absolutely nothing comedic or funny at all about the above three videos. The photo below taken in the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial clearly expresses that in the Jewish culture the capturing and enslaving of their people will never happen again; yet, from the videos above, one could surmise that for Africans, African-Americans and perhaps other darker skinned people, enslavement could indeed happen again in one form or another.

For many, as we see with Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clipper and Robert Copeland, a New Hampshire police commissioner; their views have not changed since their youth in the early 1930's and 1940's. The recent revealing of their commentary whether overt or covert, apologetic or unapologetic clearly tells us how they really feel on the inside and there are many more just like Sterling and Copeland.

Then we have the nearly 300 Nigerian girls who were abducted by the extremist group Boko Haram while taking exams at a school in Borno's north-eastern village of Chibok on April 14, 2014. The abductors were the same color as the girls. The fact that their abductors looked like them is metaphorical to the plight of  too many African Americans here in the United States who are enslaving themselves by refusing to get their education, displaying their underwear (sagging), and killing each other. I have a T-Shirt from the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Maryland that reads "Now We Lynch Ourselves," which speaks to the atrocities in Nigeria and here in the U.S.concerning African Americans and Africans.

All of this for me indicates some very dangerous trends. It bespeaks for me that we are indeed moving backwards and the possibility of some type of enslavement is indeed achievable for those who are looking for the opportunity to enslave. While I don't foresee the slavery being as it was when the first African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 to aid in the building of the country; there will be some sort of slavery for those who are not prepared again. Look at the trends....... the very dangerous trends.  Something to critically think about and as always I invite you to join me live on Saturday mornings at 6 a.m. ET on gobrave.org for The Reading Circle and to follow me on Twitter @thinkcritical01.

Overt/Covert - The Difference a "C" Makes

Bull Connor

OVERT- adjective \ō-ˈvərt, ˈō-(ˌ)vərt\: easily seen : not secret or hidden

"Negroes and whites will not segregate together as long as I am Commissioner."
"All you gotta do is tell them you're going to bring the dogs. Look at 'em run. I want to see the dogs work."
"You can never whip these birds, if you don't keep you and them separate. I found that out in Birmingham. You've got to keep the white and the black separate." 

Donald Sterling

COVERT- adjective \ˈkō-(ˌ)vərt, kō-ˈ; ˈkə-vərt\ : made, shown, or done in a way that is not easily seen or noticed: secret or hidden 

"And why are you taking pictures with minorities.....Why?"
"Yeah, it bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with Black people. Do you have to?"
"I want you to love them (Blacks and Hispanics) privately."
"But why publicize it on the Instagram and why bring it to my games?" 

HISTORICALLY................ 

 “When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either”  Senator Trent Lott 

“The black is a better athlete to begin with because he’s been bred to be that way — because of his high thighs and big thighs that goes up into his back, and they can jump higher and run faster because of their bigger thighs. This goes back all the way to the Civil War when during the slave trading, the owner — the slave owner would breed his big black to his big woman so that he could have a big black kid.”  Jimmy the Greek, Sports Commentator 

"That little boy is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve." Fuzzy Zoeller, Golfer 

 "I used to own - my father had a ranch. We used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes,”  U.S. Representative Don Young 

 "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what ... who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims. ... These are people who pay no income tax. ... and so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives," Mitt Romney, 2012 Presidential Candidate 

Above are just five historical examples out of countless other statements that have been made usually under the influence of alcohol or what was thought to be behind closed doors. As one who love words, I thought this was an opportune time to be tongue and cheek with the words "overt" and "covert."  The words contain the same letters with the exception of the letter "C" but are definitional opposites. One is easily seen and the other is not. One is clearly more dangerous than the other.

I can appreciate the Bull Connor's of the world because I know where they stand; however, the Donald Sterling's and the others named above as examples are a horse of a different color (no pun intended). As the kids can say, "There is no shame in Bull Connor's game," as he let you know with no uncertainty and without a shadow of a doubt where he stood. The others on the other hand portray themselves to be one thing, when really they are not. They portray themselves to care for everyone when in reality they do not. It's fine for Black/minority basketball players to make Donald Sterling billions, but not okay for blacks to be brought to "his" games. Mr. Sterling in his own words is "bothered" by the fact that his "mixed" girlfriend (her words) wants to associate with Blacks.

The problem with our covert brothers and sisters is that they are in the words of the O'JAYS, "Back stabbers."

(What they do)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)

A back stabber is much more dangerous than the person who has no shame in his/her game. The covert brothers and sisters and smiling in your face while at the same time wishing you did not exist or are looking at ways to make money off of you, while still hating you (it's called being pimped).

Memorial Wall at Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany

I recently visited  the Dachau concentration camp in Germany and was once again reminded of the mantra of our Jewish brothers and sisters who make it very clear that it (The Holocaust) will never happen again. Their slogan is "Never Again."  Every race and ethnic group who has suffered atrocities merely because of their race or ethnic background ought to adopt similar sentiments and always take actions to ensure that it will indeed never happen again.

Be very clear that there too many covert brothers and sisters out there to count and their true selves only manifest under the influence of alcohol or in quiet room conversations that somehow leak out. Mr. Sterling says that he is a part of a historical culture; a culture that I pray will one day become extinct. As always, something to critically think about.   You are invited to listen to me live each Saturday morning at 6 a.m. ET on gobrave.org and follow on Twitter @thinkcritical01.