Why Not Just Introduce a Bill To Have A Fine For Not Using Common Sense? “The Stupidity Bill”

Over and over again I keep hearing that government is too big and far too intrusive in the lives of Americans and yet I also keep hearing of these bills that being introduced that keep drilling down further and further into smaller and smaller issues in the lives of the infamous “American People.” (No one can say the words “American People” like a politician…..it just seems to take on a whole different tone when the words come out their mouths). Two recent examples include a bill in New York, that is pending in the legislature’s transportation committee that would ban the use of mobile phones, iPods or other electronic devices while crossing streets — runners and other exercisers included (Distracted Pedestrians) and in New Jersey, a bill that would require people to register their bicycles with the MVC or pay a fine of up to $100 with children younger than 15 relying on their parents or guardians to register the bike for them.

Now folks, come on…. Do we really need the government to govern issues that ought to be common sense? Regular every day, ordinary citizen and exerciser, Marie Wickham interviewed by The New York Times said in her interview that she would be opposed to any ban of such devices. “I think it’s an infringement on personal rights,” she said. “At some point, we need to take responsibility for our own stupidity.” I could not agree with Ms. Wickham more. When do individuals take responsibility for themselves? At what point do individuals learn that consequences come about because of decisions that are made whether they be stupid or intelligent. At what point do we indeed take responsibility for our own stupidity? One has to know that he/she cannot hear in a busy intersection if the volume of his/her device is too loud and if by chance he/she is hit and or killed then so be it. When these devices are worn at a low enough volume surely cars, trucks, buses and horns can be heard. So that begs the question, what volume is the user listening to where he or she cannot hear a car? If it is that loud then it is a stupid decision that could come with some deadly consequences. We don't need a law for that.

The bicycle bill is being introduced because a few kids made the bad decision to snatch purses while on a bicycle and the legislature is seeking a way for victims to identify the getaway bike. Again, I say come on on now……. Do you honestly think someone is going to get down the plate number on a moving bicycle? We barely get down the plate number on a moving automobile, let alone a moving bicycle. Again, personal responsibility and parental guidance and training must come into play. Now everyone would have to pay a $10 fee to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to register a bicycle. The DMV has enough on their hands just to get our cars registered.

So since we are introducing bills, why not just do one overall bill that will fine people for not using common sense, the sense that doesn’t seem to be too common. Have you ever heard of some of these criminal stories where the judge ought to have thrown the criminal in jail for stupidity? Not for his/her crime, but just merely on the count of stupidity.  Why not introduce a bill that would fine folks for stupidity? The “Stupidity Bill.” That can be a catch all instead of all of these seemingly stupid bills that continue to infringe deeper and deeper upon the personal lives of the “American People.” Something to critically think about and as always I welcome your thoughts in the comment section of this blog.

"You've Got Mail," and Your Mail Is YOUR Mail - A Look at Invasion of Privacy

As I start this blog post, let me make it very clear that my intent is not to defend the actions of Clara Walker, a Detroit, Michigan wife whose email account was allegedly hacked or read without her authorization by her husband Leon Walker. It is however, a post stating my views concerning the unauthorized reading or entering of email accounts, cell phone text messages, cell phone voice message accounts, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, personal/private journals etc. etc. In my view (and this is my personal view, as this is my blog) no one, including spouses or any other family members ought to be able to enter into any of these private accounts without the express permission or authorization of the account holder. Just because you are in a committed or marital relationship does not automatically give anyone (husband or wife; boyfriend or girlfriend) carte blanche to just blatantly disregard the fact that email accounts, etc. are private accounts for the holder. That’s why they are all password protected. I very well understand the principals of marriage, and I also understand that whether you are married or not, you are still an individual and are entitled to your privacy. Invasion of privacy rules ought to still apply whether it is a spouse, brother, sister, mother, father, stranger etc. Invasion of privacy is invasion of privacy.

Having been one on the receiving end of having my journals, email and cell phone voice mail accounts compromised, it is clearly a pet peeve of mine. When I read the accounts of the Walker case it brought back vivid flashbacks of my experiences. Again, I do not condone Mrs. Walker’s behavior as that is a separate issue; however, it is not a good feeling to have your privacy invaded in such a way. It leaves you feeling violated just as if someone had broken into your house or gone into your underwear drawer without your authorization. Regardless of what type of relationship you are in, there are just some things that you want to remain with you and keep private. In my view marriage is not a license to trample on each others' privacy. Just like any other part of the relationship, the privacy piece needs to be respected as well and when it is not, you can expect trouble.

Mr. Walker in an interview stated that "She'd asked me to read her e-mails before and that "She gave me the password before. She didn't hide it." First of all I don’t believe in husbands and wives sharing passwords to individual accounts. If it is a shared email account that is one thing; however, if it is a personal account, the passwords ought not to be shared to avoid the possibility of either snooping. The old cliché that says “curiosity killed the cat” is true. You define “cat” in any way you would like, whether it be a marriage(cat), relationship(cat), job(cat) or whatever, in many instances snooping in someone’s private email account can be a killer. The other old adage of “If you look for anything long and hard enough, you will find it,” is also true. Whatever you look for in someone else’s accounts, you will undoubtedly find even if it is in your own mind and perception. Again, I understand folks view on marriage concerning EVERYTHING has to be shared and I don’t agree. Married or not, we still have to have our own space and be able to maintain some individuality (I know there are those of you who won’t agree and that’s okay). My view is I have me, you have you, and we have we. You do your thing; I do my thing; and then there are things we do together. The more developed each one becomes as an individual, the stronger the WE will become; individual interests, friends, personalities, etc. needs to also be a part of a marriage or relationship. There ought not to be any need for each other to read each other’s personal emails and text messages unauthorized. Either you trust each other or you don’t. If you choose to invite your spouse to read a particular email or the two of you share a joint email address that is one thing; to blatantly barge into or hack into a personal account is another.

There are invasion of privacy laws, and in the Walker case Oakland County, Michigan, Prosecutor Jessica Cooper used a state anti-hacking law to charge Leon Walker with a felony. According to CNN, the Michigan statute forbids someone from accessing "a computer program, computer, computer system or computer network" to acquire property "without authorization." New York criminal defense lawyer Paul Callan said all 50 U.S. states have such laws, but he called this "a highly unusual use of a criminal statute." There are other tenets of the various invasions of privacy laws and statues as well. People really need to think before they “peek” (Mr. Walker’s words) or snoop around in other folks’ emails, journals, and other various accounts because they are indeed breaking invasion of privacy laws. These accounts are no different than what is now known as “snail mail” or what we traditionally know as letters delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Just as no one has the right to open anyone else’s mail, no one has a right to open anyone’s email which is short as you know for electronic mail.

As I said above, this is an extreme pet peeve of mine and one I am very sensitive to because if you have ever been the victim of this sort of invasion, it is an indescribable feeling of being violated nothing short in my mind of  being raped. In fact, it is a rape of your private information as your private information is taken without your consent and by force. I cannot advise and advocate enough for folks not to do it regardless of what you think the case may be. Nothing good can come from anyone breaking into anyone’s privacy unauthorized. Without siding with Mrs. Walker for her actions in all of this, I can feel her pain of being violated by her husband reading and sharing her emails. Agree or disagree,  as always, I welcome your commentary in the comment section of the blog.

Drops of Water On Any Hard Surface Will Over Time Wear Through That Hard Surface

For the second time this year I have come across a book that speaks the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  Earlier this year I read the book ENOUGH by Juan Williams and I could not sing the praises of the message of that book enough and now I have discovered the book STOP BEING NIGGARDLY by Karen Hunter and I cannot stop singing praises of Ms. Hunter's message. The reason being, the messages of both Ms. Hunter and Mr. Williams are very similar. They both, like Bill Cosby and Minister Farrakhan seek to help African Americans see the inappropriate behaviors that we (African Americans) partake in that keep us from being as successful as we can be.

Ms. Hunter and Mr. Williams express so eloquently in their books my personal views and opinions concerning why African Americans as a race is not as far along as I know we could be. In both books, one might think the authors are Anti-African American even though both are indeed African American. As I have written in previous blogs, the problem that I see with African Americans (and yes I know I am generalizing and that there are individual cases) is that we really do resist hearing the things we need to either stop doing or start doing to improve ourselves as a whole. Not only do we resist hearing it, we don't make the necessary changes needed for improvement. This could never be more evident then what Bill Cosby experienced when he delivered his now famous “Pound Cake Speech.”  He was lambasted by both African Americans who have quote unquote made it and by those who were nowhere near making it, all because he had the courage to speak the truth in terms of what African Americans need to do to move forward. Like President Barack Obama, he heard that he wasn’t “Black enough,” or had lost his “blackness” because he expressed his views on why African Americans stay gridlocked in terms of moving forward in society. He dared ask the African American community to look within her own house or in the mirror and as a result was ostracized and nearly outcast from the African American community. Minister Louis Farrakhan has been preaching the same messages for years concerning our (African Americans) being able to do for ourselves to no avail. We still tend to gravitate towards any silly fad that comes along, i.e. sagging pants; being fascinated by the “Bling, (which is usually fake)” having to show that we spent the most money on an item albeit automobile, sneakers, jewelry, etc. ; calling each other derogatory terms and thinking it is cute; not taking the importance of education seriously; and the list goes on and on. When someone points this out to us (African Americans) we then want to get an attitude or try to justify these behaviors in every which way possible. Usually it has something to do with the “white man” or our having been enslaved for over four hundred years.  Yes, there may some truth to these justifications, however, we cannot continue to be paralyzed by the fact that we were once slaves or by what the white man does or does not do.  Karen Hunter says it well in her book STOP BEING NIGGARDLY, when she says, “I can’t control white people. I can only control me.”  It has been my experience that we are quick to not do what we are supposed to do and then turn around and blame the white man for what we feel we ought to have received if we had done what we were supposed to have done. How can you blame the white man for your not having a job because you dropped out of school? How can you blame anyone for your limited options, when you did not take your education seriously? 

So just as when I wrote the blog concerning The Pound Cake Speech, I expect folks to be critical of my views and I am okay with that.  I agree with Karen Hunter when she says that she knows that drops of water on any hard surface will over time wear through that hard surface and she hopes as do I to be yet another drop of water.  She likens the drops to the words of Nannie Helen Burroughs, Marcus Garvey, Marva Collins, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X, preachers, and teachers who attempt to inspire and motivate people to have full lives.  The message is not new, but it is resisted and denied.  It is our hope that enough of us will continue to be drops of water eroding that rock like surface of denial and resistance in order for African Americans to move to higher heights.  More of us must get to the point where we realize the truth and take action to move us further forward. Being in denial or getting mad at the messengers will keep us stuck in mediocrity and will continue to move us further and further away from excellence. Like Ms. Hunter, Mr. Williams, Mr. Cosby, and Minister Farrakhan, I will continue to be that drop of water continuously hitting that hard surface of African American denial of our issues.  I am not anti-white, however, I am pro-black and because I am pro black I cannot just sit by and watch us as a people continue to move backward while  making a bunch of excuses as to why. Making excuses for why we ought to be able to call each other “nigger” and "hos;" why we ought not speak correctly, or parent our children correctly; why we ought to be happy being mis-educated and under educated and the list goes on. I for one will not hold my peace because someone might say that I am not black enough or have lost touch with my blackness.  We can and must do better than what we do.  Nannie Mae Burroughs wrote in the 30’s Twelve Things the Negro Must Do and the twelve things she outlined still are applicable in 2010 and as we move into 2011. I say again, we can and must do better than what we do.  Let us face it and fix it. 

Twelve Things the Negro Must Do

by Nannie Helen Burroughs

(1) The Negro Must Learn to Put First Things First

(2) The Negro Must Stop Expecting God and White Folk to Do for Him What He Can Do for Himself

(3) The Negro Must Keep Himself, His Children and His Home Clean and Make the Surroundings in Which He Lives Comfortable and Attractive

(4) The Negro Must Learn to Dress More Appropriately for Work and for Leisure

(5) The Negro Must Make His Religion an Everyday Practice and Not Just a Sunday-Go-to Meeting Emotional Affair

(6) The Negro Must Highly Resolve to Wipe Out Mass Ignorance

(7) The Negro Must Stop Charging His Failures Up to His "Color" and to White People's Attitude

(8) The Negro Must Overcome His Bad Job Habits

(9) The Negro Must Improve His Conduct in Public Places

(10) The Negro Must Learn How to Operate Business for People -- Not for Negro People, Only

(11) The Average So-Called Educated Negro Will Have to Come Down Out of the Air

(12) The Negro Must Stop Forgetting His Friends. Remember!

I apologize to Sony

I apologize to Sony for mistakenly identifying it as the maker of XBOX in my last blog post (There Are Some Roles That Need To Be Turned Down).  In my disgust for Kobe Bryant's part in it, I mistakenly noted Sony as the maker and not Microsoft. So the line should read in the last post that the Microsoft and Activision Publishing, Inc. execs ought to be ashamed for the Call of Duty ad and the message it sends. Again I say, really take a look at that ad with the young girl and the machine gun and again my apologies to Sony.

There Are Some Roles that Need to be Turned Down (Revised to reflect accurate company Activision Publishing Inc.)

Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel shooting a machine gun and bazooka; Magic Johnson, Troy Aikman and Hulk Hogan peddling Rent-A-Center; Carl Weathers acting like a clown with a Bud Light Playbook; and I am sure the list goes on and on.
I truly understand the need for work and residuals by entertainers, however, these are well known celebrities who I am sure could have turned the aforementioned roles down. Kobe, Jimmy and Troy are still active in their respective professions with Magic and Carl more in the backgrounds.

The issue I have with their particular involvement in these ads are the fact that they are detrimental, especially the Kimmel and Bryant ad for Activision Publishing, Inc's XBOX game Call of Duty. What really caught my eye beyond Kobe’s involvement was the scene with the very young girl firing away with an Oozie Machine Gun. Kobe is also seen firing away with the Oozie and Jimmy Kimmel has a bazooka. Absolutely ridiculous!!!! Shame on Activision Publishing Inc's ad agency folks and the Activision Publishing Inc. execs for approving the content of that advertisement. We won’t even get into the Call of Duty game itself. That’s another blog post.  In truth, I am disgusted with Kobe for being involved in this non-sense especially given the increasing murder rates in our African American communities.

Now folks, come on……… our murder rates are rising in urban areas and we are going to show a Kobe Bryant firing an Oozie. Does that make sense to you? If it does, we are worse off than I thought. Next time the Call of Duty ad is played, take a good look at it. See beyond the “game.” What message is Kobe and Jimmy sending? I know many of you would say “None.” Many of you would say, “There he is thinking too deep again.” But think about it….am I? With murder rates in cities like Paterson and Newark, New Jersey on the rise by our children and teenagers, no one stops to think that there is a connection? Only one of the hottest basketball players of our time making it look like it is alright to be shooting and killing. Come on. We have got to do better than that.

In terms of Rent-A-Center, that is one of the worst deals anyone can make. Over the long haul the “renter” has paid over and over again for something that could have been purchased at a much less expensive price than what will be paid over the life of the rental agreement. The “renter” would be better off to save for the “big screen TV” or furniture or perhaps use a lay away plan. The worst thing one could do is to get into an agreement with Rent-A-Center, yet here we have names such as Magic Johnson, Troy Aikman and Hulk Hogan singing the praises of Rent-A-Center advocating our going there to quickly rent our entertainment and furniture needs. Like Kobe, Magic Johnson of all people ought to know how their involvement is impacting the African American communities. I am sure Sony and Rent-A-Center are very much aware hence their being selected to be a part of the advertising campaigns. Mr. Aikman and Hulk Hogan are no better. So when we critically think about this, we have to see that sometimes there are roles that need to be turned down based on what the company is marketing and to whom. The last thing kids need to see is Kobe Bryant squeezing off rounds from and Oozie. The last thing disenfranchised folks need to see is Troy Aikman or Hulk Hogan steering them towards deals that everyone knows is even more costly in the long run. Who is pimping who?

I have much respect for entertainers such as Angela Bassett, Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Bill Cosby, etc. who will not take roles that will be detrimental to themselves or the communities they serve. They place their self-respect and the respect of their support base above the proverbial “Almighty Dollar.”  They do not allow themselves to be pimped. As always I welcome your thoughts and commentary.

You Know It When You See It – Kudos to Cuban Pete’s Restaurant in Montclair, NJ

Sometimes it seems as if good to great customer service went the way of the dinosaur; yet every now and again you see a glimmer of what good to great customer service looks like and more importantly feel like. I had such an experience this past Friday night.

Earlier on Friday two of my co-workers recommended that I go to a restaurant establishment in Montclair, NJ known as Cuban Pete’s. They both spoke highly of the food and forewarned me that it could get crowded. True to their description, the restaurant was indeed standing room only. My wife Yvette and I proceeded to find out how long the wait would be and was told by the maitre d' that it would be a forty five minute wait. Based on the number of people standing around, forty five minutes seemed to be reasonable, so we decided to wait. We patiently waited and waited and waited without our names being called to be seated. In the mean time we witnessed couples who had entered after us be seated in a relatively short period of time. The owner asked why we were still waiting and we told him that we had not been called as of yet. He then checked the list and as it turns out an oversight had occurred and our names were skipped as the maitre d'  had continued to move forward, in fact she was on the next page. This is where the great customer service came in. The owner of Cuban Pete’s felt so terrible that he told me and my wife that our dinner would be on him. He said that he would pick up the tab for our having to wait longer than we were told because of the oversight of the maitre d'.

It was an extremely wise business move and great customer service gesture. While it cost him sixty dollars for the meal, it brought him much more in public relations and word of mouth. He had the business insight to know that we would share our bad experience and drive customers away instead of recommending his establishment as I am now doing as evidenced by this blog post. I am indeed sharing my wonderful experience with others who I highly recommend to patronize Cuban Pete’s at 428 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, NJ. The food was as excellent as promised by my co-workers. I had the Red Snapper and it was so good. While I was thanking the owner for his generosity, he extended his generosity even more with a fifty dollar gift certificate for a future visit. He was a man of principle. Yvette and I could truly feel his sincerity and he apologized profusely for the error and our extended wait. In these times, gestures like that are rare but when you think about it, it makes extremely good business sense.

Certainly good customer service is so badly needed and desired that when it is experienced it is acknowledged almost with disbelief ("I can't believe I just received great customer service"). My fraternity brother Herman “Skip” Mason who is the General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., via Twitter posted “Shout out to Detroit Marriott Room service for prompt service! Healthy breakfast turkey sausage, egg whites, fruit and wheat toast. Pardon me...” Once again because good customer service is so rare, the need was felt to acknowledge it. Good customer service ought to be the rule and not the exception. Kudos to the owner of Cuban Pete’s for his principles, sincerity and good business sense. If you are in the Montclair, New Jersey area I encourage you to dine at Cuban Pete’s- 428 Bloomfield Avenue - Montclair, NJ. (973)746-1100/ (973)746-2100. My wife and I will certainly be going back.

We Keep Getting the Wake Up Calls But Are We Ever Going to Wake Up?

As I was watching the news last night I heard at least three stories that the news anchors described as “Wake Up Calls” and of course my critical thinking skills kicked in and asked the question, if we are receiving all of these “wake up calls,” when are we going to wake up? It begs the further question, are we ever going to wake up? Each passing tragedy and horrific event serves as a metaphorical alarm, and yet we seem to keep hitting the metaphorical snooze button. Poverty is at a record high; college students are being murdered just by being at a party; a college freshman commits suicide as a result of an invasion of his privacy; Osama Bin Laden can send audio and video tapes at will (without our technology being able to track him), and we have pastors and priests who cannot keep their hands off of young men (not to mention the one who wanted to burn the Quran). It’s as if we are all asleep and the wake up calls keeps coming and we keep refusing to wake up. We can be likened to Rip Van Winkle or the Disciples who could not stay awake when Jesus went to pray even after He gave them a wake up call.


If we do not wake up soon, we won’t have to worry about waking up as we will just drift or be forced into that eternal sleep. People are getting killed senselessly on a daily basis; our politicians do very little other than bicker and see who can find the most dirt on the other; and for the most part the church is perceived as being relatively quiet. The phrase “wake up call” is used so frequently that at this point it really is like the alarm going off every 10 minutes and one rolling over and hitting the snooze button each time it sounds off then falling back to sleep for another 10 minutes. As a world and a country we cannot afford to keep ignoring the wake up calls that we keep receiving. If we continue to do this, we will not only be asleep but we will continue to live a nightmare. As always, I welcome your thoughts.