Iran once known as Persia is one of the oldest and long ago most advanced civilizations the world has ever seen. All the way up to 1979 it too was considered as one of the beautiful places to experience a life of free thinking and enjoyed the expression of all cultures. Today, only 43 years since the dictator ascension, that image is so far removed from the minds of almost the entire world. Where once tolerance and acceptance was the catapult of their innovation and dreams, it has been replaced with isolation and authoritarianism. Assassinations of what would of been freedom loving new leaders occurred one after the other. Politics resistance has rung there several times almost decade after decade....
Does anyone remember when dealing with the coronavirus meant watching Joe Exotic and baking banana or sour dough bread? Well, the ‘rona turned not only The Tiger King, but all of 2020 into a complete shit show, didn’t it? And now, after being quarantined...
Long after the Civil War ended, statues were erected memorializing the Confederacy. For example, here at the Loudoun County Courthouse a Confederate Solider stands guard, of what exactly? What heritage does he represent that would somehow reflect America's culture and aspirations of today's society? Erected in 1908, forty three years after the Civil War and one hundred and twelve years later, he still stands there as a reminder. As a reminder of what exactly, Treason, Rebellion, White Supremacy, the desire to continue to oppress people of color? A campaign was pushed by Chair Supervisor Randall about five years ago and to her dismay was not fulfilled. The talk even reached the local news and yet nothing happened. I am sure...
On April 25th, 2019, the Maryland-National Capital Parks & Planning Commission's Natural & Historical Resource Division, as part of their “Legends and Legacy” series, hosted the “Black Women in Politics: Shattering the Glass Ceiling" discussion at the Oxon Hill Manor in suburban Maryland.I was fortunate enough to receive an invite, where I listened to some of the D.C. region’s most prominent female leaders speak first-hand on their struggles working in a male-dominated arena and of too many unnecessary hurdles imposed upon them for simply being women. So rather then going over each of their policy accomplishments, I thought it extremely important to highlight the underlining theme of how they overcame these struggles and the outcome to not only represent themselves, but us all. First...
Puerto Rico on Sept 17th 2017, suffered the worst natural disaster covering the entire island in possibility its history. As a result, the total infrastructure basically collapsed. To put this in perspective, no power for months, no water for weeks and no phones stretching across 2.2 million acres of land impacting approximately 3.6 million people. Phones wouldn't normally make this list. But on an island communicating within the island for necessary logistics and/or off the island is both critical and essential. That first week families waited desperately to hear if their loved ones were still alive. While everything was unclear to the outside world, things became crystal clear for those on the island. We are all we have. Even today...
