The Mind of KLH

Well…I was watching Oprah the other day interview Jay Leno, and she asked him a couple of times if he felt sorry for Conan O’Brien.  I’m sure she asked what a lot of people would have asked given the chance.  As I was watching Jay who seemed a bit uncomfortable, it hit me….ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING????

Conan got severance payout of somewhere in the area of $40 million dollars.  If he lives another 40 years, and never worked another day in his life, that’s a million a year.  I don’t feel sorry for Conan at all.  I think even the notion that anyone should feel sorry for him is absurd.  Conan is super rich, and he’ll easily get another gig that will make him even richer….how sad.

Now to be clear, I’m not mad at Conan.  To me the fact that he makes that money means that the people who pay him believe he’s worth it…and that’s all good.  But I think that we the regular folk, get caught up in this altered reality.  A mindset that is removed from what really matters.  So many people are taking sides…which one of these very rich men got the short end of the stick, is a ridiculous waste of mental energy. 

If we must feel sorry for someone…I have some suggestions:  How about the one hundred fifty thousand and counting people who have died in Haiti?  How about the thousands of children who will be orphans when the dust settles in Haiti?  How about the hundreds of thousands of people in this country who didn’t get a severance package when they were told there is no more work?  How about that man that has to make the long drive home to tell his wife and kids that they’re going to have to move into Grandma’s house because ours was foreclosed on?  How about the thousands of people who die every year because their heartless insurance companies won’t pay for that “experimental procedure” that would have saved their lives.

Now, don’t get me wrong perhaps Conan did get the short end of the stick….perhaps…but I know for a fact that most people would love to have that stick.  I wish the best for Conan, but I’m more concerned with regular folk facing REAL problems.  If we as a people collectively focus on helping each other and even more importantly helping ourselves, we’ll all benefit in a very big way.  Conan can take care of himself.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

Goodness knows this is a very controversial issue….but controversy has never prevented me from diving in, so here goes.  I believe that personal liberty is a very important right that we as Americans have.  I don’t want anybody telling me what I can and can’t do.  However, I know that there are limitations on my liberty.  When what I want to do infringes on someone else’s liberty, I can’t do it.

Now I know that I can’t have a baby.  I can never know what a woman goes through when she gets pregnant.  But just a surely a woman can never know what a fetus feels.  A woman can never know what it’s like to be the man that wanted to be a father to the fetus / baby that was aborted.  Yes…. I am against abortion.  But I am not a fundamentalist freak who believes in extreme measures being perpetrated against women who have had abortions.  I’m writing now because I was watching Court TV airing the trial of Scott Roeder who ADMITS that he shot and killed Dr. Tiller, who was an abortion provider.

The shooter/killer is claiming that he was justified because he was acting in the defense of unborn babies.  This guy is nuts, he’s a hypocrite, and it’s insane that tax payer money is being spent putting on a trial for this killer.  People like this make a mockery of the whole issue.  My thing is this…there is a ton of evidence to support the claim that life begins if not at conception, then VERY shortly thereafter.

I know a lot of women will want to scream at me and say “a woman has a right to do what she wants with her body”, and I would agree.  But these women fail to acknowledge the body that is within them.  I think that a much more appropriate thing for her to exercise her rights over is whether or not to have sex.  Or, whether or not to use birth control.  A woman doesn’t HAVE TO GET PREGNANT!!!!!  Additionally a woman doesn’t HAVE TO HAVE SEX!!!!  How about self control, preparation, forethought, and descretion? 

Here’s another thought (I have a lot of them) if it’s ONLY a woman’s choice as to whether or not she has a baby, then why should a man have to pay child support?  If a woman can decide indepently to abort a pregnancy, then should she be “woman enough” to decide to pay for raising that child?  To exclude a man’s feelings and rights during pregnancy and then force obligations on him after birth is dead wrong.  Now….to be clear I think a man should pay for the upbringing of his children, but I also think to exclude him as a dis-interested and unimportant bystander when the issue of abortion comes up is grossly unfair. 

Abortion rights?  I think abortion is wrong, but I’m not willing to put women in prison for it.  I think it would be more appropriate to overturn Roe v. Wade and make it illegal.  I actually believe women are smart enough to avoid unwanted pregnancies.  It may be a little inconvenient but I know plenty of women who have succeeded.  Birth control works most of the time, and if you add a condom into the mix along with the pill, it’s actually pretty damn hard to have a baby if you don’t want to have one. 

So to all you beautiful, sexy, capable, intelligent women out there if you even MIGHT have sex, just be prepared, it really does work.  To the men, don’t be idiots…USE A RUBBER.  Have a nice day!

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

I welcome your comments.

Well…I said before Obama can’t save you, and I am convinced that is true.  In fact there is no government official that will do for you what you won’t do for yourself.  Nobody can save you…but here’s the good news…Nobody else has to, because you can save yourself.  The gift that President Obama gives to us is the gift of seeing ourselves.  What do I mean by that?  As eloquent and inspiring as Mr. Obama has been it has become clear that even he, cannot change the quality of our lives in any subsequent way except perhaps in a bad way. 

Mr. Obama and Mrs. Obama have said many times on the campaign trail that “We are the change we have been waiting for.”  That is the magic bullet!  I have heard the president say that “It’s not about me…or the congress…it’s about you.”  This is where you and I have to sit up, take notice, and then take action.  All the horrible financial conditions that we find ourselves suffering through is a result of choices we all collectively have made.  We gave our power away to elected officials who don’t care about us, or can’t care for us.  We spent money we didn’t have, and let our government do the same.  We didn’t save for a rainy day…we thought the sun would shine eternally, only to find out that…it doesn’t.  Sometimes it rains and right now a whole lot of us are getting soaked.

So in his State Of The Union address president Obama I’m sure will give a great speech.  He will say it is still important for  all Americans to have health insurance, and it is.  He will say that republicans and democrats should work in a bi-partisan way (I’ve grown to hate that term) and they should.  The president will say that the economy has gotten better but we still have a long way to go, and we do.  There are terrorists out there that demand our vigilant defense and sometimes offense…check.  The president will say lots of things both inspiring and bothersome.  But what the president won’t say, is the thing he most needs to say, and it’s this – “I can’t save you, neither can the congress.”

He won’t say it perhaps because he believes he can, or maybe he honestly doesn’t want to.  Either way the truth is still the same…The government can build the road but we the people have to drive the car to where we want to be.  I was a big supporter of Mr. Obama, I still think there is a lot of potential he has yet to realize.  So far I am sad to say I am not impressed.  He over promised and under delivered.  But…that’s what politicians do.

Right now the State Of The Union is horrible…but you and I can turn it around.  That is my prayer and determination for our country.  So I really hope that Mr. Obama will get about the business of building us some roads…because I think a whole lot of people are about to burn rubber on the way to the America we’re supposed to be.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

This is a question that a lot of people have pondered, and a lot of discussion has been conducted around this topic.  But because Dr. King was such a giant of a man, I think it interesting to consider it in the political and social climate of the day…”What would he do now?”  Well…I think he would be an enthusiastic advocate for universal health care.  He would see the horrible inequity and injustice piled onto people who can least afford it.  I think Dr. King would show how absurd and immoral it is for a health care system to price life saving medical treatment out of the reach of most Americans.  Our police and fire departments are “socialized” so why not medical care?  I think that would be a question he would powerfully demand an answer for.

I think Dr. King would be proud that we have an African American as our president.  But King would not just rubber stamp everything Obama does.  I believe that King would keep the pressure on Mr. Obama to deliver on his promises.  I for one would love to see that.  Dr. KIng would point out the futility in conducting a “War On Terror”.  It is impossible to kill enough people to make them not hate us.  Dr. King showed us the magnificent power of a righteous cause, peacefully being demonstrated for all to see.  He’d remind us that when you don’t take up arms against your enemies the world is forced to see the rightness of your cause.  Yet…as Mr. Obama has said ‘a head of state can hardly be a pacifist’…I think King would agree.  But somehow Dr. King would find a way to counsel our president in the ways of gentle power.  War has it’s place, but so does love, peace, and common good.

I think Dr. King would have been sad that Michael Jackson died so young.  I think he would have told parents the importance of loving their children and supporting them and making them feel like they really matter. I think he would have told us that celebrities have as much right to privacy and intimacy and quiet as we do.

I think Dr. King would be a really powerful force helping to guide us all to our better selves.  Happy Birthday Dr. King….we sure could use you now.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

What a world we live in.  Terrorism has been around for a very long time, but it’s really popular now.  A war on terror may on it’s face seem like the thing to do.  After all terror is …terrible.  All good people want to live in a world free from the horrors that terrorism rains upon innocent people.  We all were mortified by the nightmare of 9-11, the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma, car bombs in the Middle East.  All of us hate terrorism and it’s affects…at least all of us decent people.  However a “war on terrorism” is a dumb idea.

Before you get upset with me, let me explain.  (I hope I don’t go too far over my head)  Terrorism is a tactic.  Basically it involves violence against innocent people with a desire to bring about some some political, religious, or philosophical net result.  Terrorists are by definition unbalanced.  They are most certainly not impressed with our war on terror…especially the ones who blow themselves up with their victims.  Terrorists are filled with hate, and hate is a very powerful and infectious force.  I am inclined to believe that we cannot kill enough of ‘them‘ to make them stop hating us.

Once again…we cannot kill enough terrorists to make them stop hating us.  Think about gang violence…the ‘Crips’ kill some ‘Bloods’ and the ‘Bloods’ are gonna get even.  You kill one of ours we kill two of yours.  So now the ‘Crips’ have to “re-get even” and the cycle NEVER STOPS!!!!!!!  Every single time we kill a terrorist we reaffirm their reason for hating us.  More young men sign up for the cause because the bomb we dropped killed somebody’s mama…so now they REALLY have to get even.  As long as we’re in the cycle the cycle will never ever end.

Now…before you call me a crazy pacifist wimp, I do not believe that we can just sit back and allow ourselves to be brutalized.  However for this horrible merry-go-round to stop someone has to get off, and put on the brakes.  This is what I believe…the terrorists aren’t evil just for it’s own sake.  I really don’t think that they care that much about Americans wearing Nikes and eating at McDonald’s.  I think they perpetrate the evil of terrorism because they don’t know what else to do.  They want something and they don’t know how to go about getting it.  In and of itself these terrorists get no thrill from killing us and themselves…at least I don’t think so.  They want something…and you know what?  I think that what they really really really want is real close to what I want and what you want.

You want to end terrorism Mr. President?  Find out what they really want.  Step outside preconceptions and justifiable rage at their violence and find out what they want.  If we can find a way to help them to see how they can get it (God knows terrorism hasn’t worked) maybe we can spend some of that Iraq and Afghanistan money on a proper economic recovery plan…ya know what I’m sayin??

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

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