Thinking Outside of The Box

How often do we hear the tired and overused cliche "Think Outside of the Box?" This critical thinker says to you, have we ever thought that maybe not enough thinking is going on inside of the box? Somthing to "think" about.

Are We “ANTI” Everything?

Think about what you see around you every day. Jeans with shreds throughout the legs of the pants are sold; caps that are designed to be worn with the bill facing front are worn with the bill facing the back, the side, on the diagonal and any other way with the exception of the way the cap was designed to be worn.; pants are worn by boys, men and sometimes even girls and women sagging near the knees with the underwear showing and a demonstration takes place in Portland, Maine with women baring their breasts because they feel it is a double standard that men can walk around with no shirts on and they can’t. Even In politics, there seems to be an anti-incumbent sentiment amongst Americans.



There was a time when you would not be caught dead in torn and tattered jeans like the ones people are actually paying money for now. Some designer thought it fashionable to shred jeans in the legs and we are stupid enough to allow them to dictate to us that we must wear them or be square. I can’t tell you how many students have told me that they are wearing their jeans ripped to shreds because that is the way they are made. Think about that………money was actually spent for something that was at one time thrown away by self respecting people who would not even pick cotton or tobacco in dungarees that looked like that. Our pride is so low that a designer can come along and sell us ripped jeans and we are okay with that. “It’s the style.” The same holds true with wearing of the baseball caps any old kind of way.

The sagging of the pants is a different issue altogether. Please don’t tell me it’s the same thing as African Americans wearing afro’s in the seventies. It’s not. The exposing of one’s underwear is disgusting. I am not interested in seeing what pattern is on your boxers. Not to mention, have you ever watched these people trying to walk who wear their pants like that? It’s quite a sight to see the effort to manipulate the pants to stay up without falling down to the ground. Quite a show, it’s almost as if we are “anti-clothes.”

To further this “anti-clothes” observation,on yesterday (April 8, 2010), women marched topless in Portland, Maine without incident. The marchers wanted to call attention to the double standard in society's attitudes toward male and female nudity. Interestingly enough, some of the women became upset when the men stood around watching and taking pictures of them as if they were in a parade. Having spent some time in France some years ago where topless is the norm on beaches there, let me tell you everything going topless is not a pretty sight. I had a greater appreciation for why we have the laws that we have here in the U.S. after that experience. You could always tell the American men because they were standing around with cameras and you could always tell the American women because they had their tops on.

This “anti” everything spirit will not serve America well in the long run (and maybe not even in the short-run). Rev. Jeremiah Wright was blasted in the media for his comments about the difference between God blessing America and God damning America; but if you think about , to damn something means to curse or wish harm upon. If we continue down the road we are continuing, If God has not done so already as Rev. Wright suggests, He (God) just may. If you read your Bible, He’s done it before and He(God) did say, it won’t be water next time.......... Something to critically think about and as always I welcome your response.

Step Away From the Mic....... Please!!

“This is a big f@$%^ing deal?” Vice-President Joe Biden

“It’s easy being Vice President. You don’t have to do anything.” Vice President Joe Biden

“I want to cut his nuts off” Rev. Jessie Jackson

“She wears little eye-patch underwear,” Republican Michael D. Duvall, California state assemblyman

As a radio talk show host and teacher of public speaking, I am amazed every time I hear about these high profile public figures making what they thought to be private remarks on open microphones. To make it all the worse, it is not as if the microphones were hidden or someone was spying on them; in each of these instances the perpetrators were right around the microphones. You would think they would know better based on the fact that they are around microphones for radio, television and speaking all of the time.

Again, having experience operating the sound board in a radio studio, the microphone is clearly lit when it is “hot” and unlit when it is not on. I make sure before I say anything in the microphone that I check to see if the microphone button is lit and I equally take the precaution to make sure the light is unlit and the volume is shut totally off before I say anything in the studio. I must admit, these gaffes by the likes of Joe Biden and Jessie Jackson have made me even that much more cautious when I am in the studio or anywhere near a microphone.

Did Vice President Biden not think the microphone would pick up his “This is a big f%$#ing deal" comment? What in the world was on his mind or not on his mind? Once again like with the sex scandals, one would think that each would learn from the other, but apparently that is just not the case. So, as with all of the sex scandals, let’s see who will make the next blunder around a “hot” microphone. Enjoy the videos or better yet, learn from them. Oh, and if you are wondering, the talk show is The Reading Circle with Marc Medley, heard live on Saturday mornings at 6:00 a.m. on WP88.7 FM and on www.wpradio887. org. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Men, Stop Making These Babies If You are Not Going to Financially Support Them

I know many men are going to find this hard to believe and many won’t like me when I say what I am about to say, but babies and children cost money and a lot of it. I start this writing with that statement because there are just far too many “Deadbeat Dads” roaming around with far too many children who are in need because the proper financial support is not forthcoming. I hear horror stories of men being sixty and seventy thousand dollars in arrears in child support payments and yet nothing is able to be done to recoup the money. Let’s tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; the problem with this is, their children still needed or needs clothing, food, shelter and maybe a toy or two from time to time.. Many of the dads cry they don’t have the money or are not making enough money to pay the support while in the meantime the children they helped create are going lacking. They should have thought about that before making the child.

Ask me how I know; I know because as a school administrator I see it every day. The child support system is a farce and a big one. Case workers and courts are overloaded and apathetic and are not sympathetic to the plight of the mothers and children who are not receiving their court ordered and mandated due. In many cases you can’t even get a case worker to return a call or email. Men are able to skirt the system with ease and the irony of it all is, the men who do pay in a timely fashion face swift consequences when a payment is missed. The men who never pay are never caught. Allegedly warrants are put out for their arrest that can only be enforced if there is a traffic violation or something else brings the man up on the radar screen. That is ridiculous. I say again, while the man is careful not to break any laws that would validate his arrest warrant, his children are going without. It’s about the kids stupid; the kids.

The sad part of the matter is these same men go around physically fathering more and more children that they have no intention of supporting. Notice I said physically and not emotionally. The question comes up, who is the fool? (That’s the subject of another blog). I am not letting the women off of the hook for choosing these sorry excuses for men, however, when a child is brought into the world an entire host of costs come along with it from the time the child is born (actually conceived) until the child is a fully grown adult. Cora Daniels in her book Ghetto Nation calls it “Eighteen to life,” meaning the parents have responsibility for that child or children at a minimum for eighteen years and could be for life. So for each time you make a child you have just started an eighteen to life sentence. Ms. Daniels does not mean this in a negative manner, but the truth of the matter is, it is an eighteen to life job associated with raising children that comes along with a lot of expenses.

These men kill me with their excuses as to why they cannot financially support the children they sired. It never occurred to them that Junior and Juniorette would need shoes, clothes, food and housing on an ongoing basis? Or is it that they just don’t care? This is where the women must wake up and really understand who they are screwing with before they have children by them because in the end the children are the biggest losers.

It’s a sad state of affairs when a court has to force a man to financially support his own offspring. Critically think about that. The judge didn’t force you to procreate, so why should he/she have to force you to pay for them? What kind of conscience must a man have to know that he has children that he is not financially supporting? That his children are going without because of him? Even animals will fight for their own young as can be clearly seen in the video Battle at Kruger. I have absolutely no tolerance or respect for any man who willingly tries or avoids paying his financial support for his children. Whatever happened between the adults is one thing, but to not support his children is another. Woe unto you my brother who leaves his children out there in need.

Critically yours.

Do You Really Expect Us To Believe We Are Being Taxed For OUR Health?

Neither common sense nor dieting can be legislated; that must come from a desire within. Oddly enough Governor Paterson, and Mayor Bloomberg of New York along with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl are trying to have us believe that the sweetened beverage or sugar beverage tax is for our health. Poppycock! You know it, I know it and they know it. These politicians don’t give a rat’s tail about our health; be it diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or whatever else the sugar in these beverages is supposed to cause. Let’s get real! These taxes are about raising money to close these budget gaps. Stop hiding behind the guise of being concerned about our health when the true motive is to raise money by any means necessary. At this point anything is game for being taxed. Let’s see……..how about a tax on the amount of lacquer that is emitted in the air in these nail painting/polishing shops? How about taxing the radiation emitted from these tanning salons? How about taxing the ounces of silicone used in breast implants or the number of grams of Botox injected. Why stop there? The cheese on pizza….the salt on potato chips………

As with everything else, once again the average everyday customer will be burdened with getting less and paying more. Smaller packages, larger price tags; and all of this because the politicians are concerned with the number of citizens being diagnosed with diabetes and our being obese. Give me a break please!!!!! It’s all about the Benjamins. That’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. This critical thinker welcomes your commentary and feedback as always.

Thrilla in Manila in New Jersey - Governor Christie takes on the NJEA

The "Thrilla in Manila" is considered one of the most brutal and bitter bouts in the history of boxing; the match between Governor Chris Christie and the New Jersey Educators Association (NJEA) is likely to be equally as brutal. I am sure there will be a lot to critically think about as this saga unfolds. Stay tuned!!

We Must Be Historians

"We must be historians." These words were uttered today at the St. Luke Baptist Church in Paterson, NJ where Rev. Kenneth D.R. Clayton is the Sr. Pastor, by former United States Congressman and Pastor Emeritus of New Bethel Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy. Rev. Fauntroy was the guest preacher for Heritage Sunday Worship at St. Luke and what a powerful message he delivered. Which brings me to this edition of The Critical Thinker.

As today being February 28th marks the close of February and the end of the month known as Black History Month, it is critical that each of us realize that the understanding of; the study of; and the reflection upon black history cannot be limited to one month alone. Black history, particularly for African Americans and in some respects even more so for everyone else must become a part of our daily lives. African Americans make history every day. It is sad to think that the only time we pause to reflect upon the contributions of African Americans is on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday in January or just during the month of February. It is for this reason that Rev. Fauntroy's words struck a chord with me when he said in this mornings service that we must be historians. I knew when he said it and I heard it that it would be the title for this blog. I had already begun writing on my various sites to remind people that just because February is coming to a close, our recognition of our history must not. We must learn more and more about our ancestry every day. We owe that to our forefathers and foremothers. I would not be sitting in the Principal's seat today if it weren't for those like Rev. Fauntroy who paved the way.

I watched Brenda Blackmon last night host a segment on Black History and when some were interviewed on the street concerning what Black History Month and Dr. King's birthday meant to them, many of them said it is one time throughout the year to pause and reflect on the history of African Americans. It was with these statements that this critical thinker took issue. We must not just pause for the twenty eight days in February and the one day in January. We must reflect upon and act upon our heritage the remaining three hundred and thirty six days as well. During the segment last night, just as I did this morning,I learned so much more about our history. Even the history of slavery in New Jersey. During the segment I also gained and ever greater appreciation for the sit ins at Woolworth nearly fifty years ago.

So for those reading this edition of The Critical Thinker,and not just those of us who are African American, we must understand our history in order for us to move forward and not repeat the mistakes of the past. We must take on the same spirit as our Jewish brothers and sisters whose mantra is "Never Again;" and teach our children and many of our adults about our history and not just the horrible parts; African Americans are descendants from Kings and Queens. That story must also be told. So I end this edition as I began in the words of Reverend Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy....."We Must Be Historians."