From time to time, someone  phones or emails me for advice on getting a book published. I’m still a new author myself. But I do know a few things. In this article I’m providing a little bit of the enormous amount of information I learned the sometimes painfully hard and expensive way. You may know a lot of this already, but these tips are for those who don’t…

Read the full article on my website here.

Read why here:

http://www.mlavoraperry.com/schoolboard

Mr. Ridley, I disagree with your assessment of Obama’s campaign. Where you see him being reactionary , I see him refuting lies to inform an electorate that too readily believes whatever we read or watch in the media.

You’re right, Obama did not definitively “nail” Hillary Clinton in the primary race and he has not–yet–nailed McCain with finality. But is his inability to do so–yet–that hard to understand in light of the the following?

Given the nationally and globally horrific realities of the last 8 years and given the current economic crisis, were Obama a white male candidate with the same stances on the issues, experience, and running mate that he has now, McCain would have been a total non-issue a long time ago. Obama’s campaign is not “worrisome.” Rather, it has been an uphill battle from the very start due in no small part to the racist realities of our country. It’s been uphill, yes, and Obama has continued to climb ever higher, even when he slips, despite the heavy drag of centuries of racist gravity.

What will matter most in the end is not the difference between Obama’s lead in the polls. What will matter is whether or not he ultimately wins the race. I believe that he can and will do so as long as he does what he has done so far–continue to press on and stick to the issues.
More on Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I watch very little TV. I will not be buying that Big Brother compulsory gadget to allow the US government to peer into my private life and that of my fellow unwitting citizens. Eight years ago, I would have thought this line of thinking was paranoid. But now, with our constitutional rights boiled away while we stew in a pot like oblivious frogs, I believe no blow is too low for those in power to strike.

Starting in 2009, in our house, the TV will be for video-use only officially, as it already unofficially is. I got this idea from a friend yesterday and, to me, it’s brillant. Don’t know what I’ll do once the old analogue TV dies. Maybe I better go buy one now before the only ones available are the ones with Big Brother pre-installed.

“Big Brother” by Stevie Wonder
Click the video to listen now, please, for the full interactive experience and the woo-ooh-woo Twilight Zone creepy effect that our current times demand. In case you can’t understand the actor’s first line, he says, “Thought crime is death.” Ain’t that the truth in a Bush state? Come on everybody, let’s make sure it’s not so going forward after the November election.

Learn more about the Big Brother gadget here.

Let’s dash those hopes despite Republican Vice President pick Sarah Palin’s hollow yet dazzling speech and remember the devastation of the past 8 years and why 4 more of the same could mean nothing but disaster.

Read the context of McCain campaign manager Rick Davis’ comment “This election is not about issues”  here.

Read about it here…

I’ve tried to find still shots to post here to attest to what I saw last night—an endless sea of Caucasians. But my words will have to do.

The Republican convention could have been a visual definition of ”homogeneous” while the Democractic convention last week could have stood for “diverse”—all shades of faces smilled back from the tiny screen on my computer.  

Who are we America? Who do we want to represent us? These are just two of the very important questions we need to ask when we cast our vote in November. I’ll tell you one thing, we aren’t all white—and we’re getting less and less so by the minute.

On the 45th anniversary of D. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the dream seems more real than ever…

Are we supposed to be so gullible that just because McCain chose a female running mate those of us who care deeply about women’s rights are going to ignore his record on everything else and jump over to his side, or off to the other side of fence as the case may be?

I don’t know if we’re supposed to be that gullible or not. But I sure hope we aren’t in fact so.

Like Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich said at the Democratic National Convention on August 26, 2008 , “Wake Up America!”