The Final Countdown To Frankenstorm

Wow! Would you believe Hurricane Sandy already has a Wikipedia page? You can also find her in the Wiki search box by using her nickname, Frankenstorm. It seems she's already made her place in history and she's not even here yet!

Anyway, as we move into Monday and the anticipated wrath of this storm, I'm praying that God will bless all of us to come out of it safe and sound, and with as little property damage as possible. I guess many of us here in Philly are not used to weather this severe on a consistent basis, so it's very hard for us to conceptualize exactly what all of this means. What I can tell you is, the city is shut down, public transportation has been suspended, public schools and many colleges/universities are closed, and most people don't have to report to work, so we're taking this very seriously.

Given the circumstances, this may very well be my last post for a few days, as we have been warned of the potential for widespread electrical power outages. So, just pray for all of us and God willing, we'll see you on the other side of this storm!

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Update 10/30/12 (9:30am): I'm thanking God this morning for his tender mercies because the worst of Hurricane Sandy has passed in Philly. It would appear that NJ and NY definitely got the worst of the storm because we don't have a coastline. They are predicting some minimal rain and wind gusts on and off throughout today. The City of Phila and public schools are still closed, SEPTA is still down, thousands of people are without electric, traffic lights are out, trees are down blocking roads, and all the usual chaos that normally follows storms of this magnitude. Mayor Michael Nutter is still advising people to stay off the streets because many of these conditions prevent obvious hazards, seen and unseen. I'm also praying for everyone who was severely affected by the storm that all their needs are met as soon as possible. 

Happy Sunday!

Don't worry about anything... God's got it all under control!

A Very Special Lady...

Ruby Dee - October 27, 1924

Happy Birthday, as well as much love and respect, for an African American treasure as an actress and a proud, strong black woman. According to my calculations, she turned 88 years old yesterday, and I hope God will continue to bless her to see many more birthdays!

Absentee Ballot Alert!

Apparently, many people are only putting one stamp on their ballots when mailing them in and the post office has returned a large number of them for insufficient postage. This could be yet another form of voter suppression because people aren't being told about it prior to mailing. Please help spread the word and share this information with anyone you know who will be voting by absentee ballot. Thank you!

Anybody Still Undecided?

"Regressive Vs. Progressive" 

Well, the presidential debates are over and there's only 8 more days until election day on November 6th. If you're still undecided, I strongly encourage you to watch this video by Robert B. Reich. He does an excellent job of  breaking down "What's at Stake in the 2012 Election" in plain and simple layman's terms, complete with illustrations (because some people need pictures to understand). So, do yourself a favor and watch it. I guarantee, you'll be glad you did. Since you're undecided anyway, what do you have to loose at this point? Who knows? It just might help you "get on with it" and make up your mind already! (Losing Patience)

President Obama: The Man w/ A Plan!

Yeah, now where is Romney's plan? Do you hear C-R-I-C-K-E-T-S? The president is the only candidate with a real plan to move this country forward. Click on the image to read it and share it. Make sure your family and friends see his second-term plans to keep this country moving in the right direction!

Something To Think About...

And, BTW... that's the HOPE for a brighter tomorrow on

all their faces! Don't disappoint them! Vote on November 6th!

Note: My photo collage was featured on the "God Bless The President of the United States" Facebook page on Thursday, October 25, 2012! Use this link to check it out!  

#4--Obama Vs. Romney Presidential Debate

2012 Election Central Official Website 

Date: Monday, October 22, 2012

Topic: Foreign Policy

Air Time: 9:00-10:30 pm (EST)

Location: Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL

Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates

Participants: President Barack Obama & Governor Mitt Romney

Moderator: Bob Schieffer, Host of "Face The Nation", CBS

Format: This format will be identical to the first presidential debate.

TV & Live Stream Coverage: The debate will air live on C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as all cable news channels including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, among others. Also, each debate will be streamed live online. Click on the image or use the text link underneath to review the full schedule of dates, times, topics, and access live streams.

Happy Sunday!

The Lord will perfect that which is His!

Alex Cross, Starring Tyler Perry?

Alex Cross Official Website

Me and the hubby got a chance to see Tyler Perry in the movie "Alex Cross" today. There was some talk early on that Idris Elba was originally slated to play the infamous detective from the popular novels by James Patterson, and many people (particularly females) were very disappointed when it was announced that Idris wouldn't be cast in the role after all. Then, something completely unexpected happened... Tyler Perry was cast in the role instead.

Now, for all those people who thought Tyler didn't have the "chops" to do it, you're wrong, and I encourage you to check it out and judge for yourself. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. He actually did a very good job and the villain in this movie, played by Matthew Fox, was no joke either. It was a great movie and we give it 2 thumbs up! Tyler, is there anything you CAN'T do? :)

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL!

Motown The Musical on Broadway.com

Well, it's about time! Our musical history and journey through the Motown years w/ entrepeneur extraordinaire Berry Gordy will be hitting the Broadway stage in the spring of 2013! The play will cover the "Motown Sound" from 1959-1983 (Motown 25), and all the great acts of that era will be depicted in the play. Many of them have moved on from this life, but they left behind musical legacies that will never be forgotten. Tickets are on sale now, so spread the word and plan a trip to NYC to see it. Click on the image or text link underneath for more information, promotional video, and ticket sales!

The Political Condition

The Problem

The Cure

False, Misleading Facts In Second Debate

At the risk of sounding like Steve Harvey, I'm not sure why anyone would still be "undecided" as to who to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, and I say that objectively without favor to either candidate. But, if you're one of those in limbo and you've got the time, here's a rather lengthy read that might help you on the road to making up your mind. Just click on this link to read an article called "False, Misleading Facts In Second Debate" which appeared on Philly.com after last night's Presidential Debate.

Apparently, the article is based on information from the website FactCheck.org, a non-partisan, non-profit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. According to FactCheck, the second Obama-Romney debate was heated, confrontational, and full of claims that sometimes didn’t match the facts, so give it a read.

There's only one more Presidential Debate left and the bottom line is, you've got to vote for someone. Please understand that given how close the candidates are in the polls, the so-called "undecided" could swing this thing either way, so I'm hoping all of you will make up your minds real soon. My biggest fear is that some of you might decide not to vote at all and we definitely don't want that to happen. Non-participation could definitely cause this thing to swing in the wrong direction and we could wind up with a president who's elected by default rather than by choice.

I guess if worst comes to worst and you're still undecided after reading the article and watching the last debate on Monday, October 22nd, you still have a couple of options... coin toss or eenie-meenie-minee-moe. But, by all means, please make sure you VOTE!

#3--Obama Vs. Romney Presidential Debate

2012 Election Central Official Website 

Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Topic: Foreign & Domestic Policy

Air Time: 9:00-10:30 pm (EST)

Location: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY

Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates

Participants: President Barack Obama & Governor Mitt Romney

Moderator: Cheryl Crowley, CNN Chief Political Correspondent

Format: The second presidential debate will take place in the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues. Candidates each will have two minutes to respond, and an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate a discussion. The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization.

Laste Debate:
#4--Obama Vs. Romney Presidential Debate - Monday, October 22nd, 9:00-10:30pm (EST)

TV & Live Stream Coverage: Each debate will air live on C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as all cable news channels including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, among others. Also, each debate will be streamed live online. Click on the image or use the text link underneath to see full schedule of dates, times, topics, and access live streams.

R.I.P. Arlen Specter

Arlen J. Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter was a Republican from 1965 until 2009, when he switched to the Democratic Party. First elected in 1980, he represented his state for 30 years in the Senate. Specter was a moderate who staked out a spot in the political center. He was born in Wichita, KS to emigrant Russian Jewish parents. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and served with the United States Air Force during the Korean War. Specter later graduated from Yale Law School and opened a law firm with Marvin Katz, who would later become a federal judge. Specter served as assistant counsel for the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy and helped devise the "single bullet theory". In 1965, Specter was elected District Attorney of Philadelphia, a position that he would hold until he lost his re-election bid in 1973.

Happy Sunday!

Repeal & Replace w/ What?

Mitt Romney doubled down on his suggestion that uninsured Americans can find the care they need in emergency rooms, telling The Dispatch that people will always receive the treatment they need, and do not die or suffer because they can not pay for care. He pointed to federal law that requires hospitals to admit emergency patients, repeating his advice that patients rely on the most expensive form of care reserved strictly for emergencies. Romney told the Columbus Dispatch:

“We don’t have a setting across this country where if you don’t have insurance, we just say to you, tough luck, you’re going to die when you have your heart attack. No, you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it’s paid for either by charity, the government, or by the hospital. We don’t have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don’t have insurance.”

He pointed out that federal law requires hospitals to treat those without health insurance — although hospital officials frequently say that drives up health care costs. Emergency rooms serve as a place of last resort, but 45,000 Americans still die every year because they lack health insurance, or one every 12 minutes. Uninsured adults under age 65 are also at a 40% higher death risk. Hospitals may treat patients for emergency medical conditions regardless of legal status or ability to pay, but patients with chronic conditions that don’t require emergency interference are often unable to access needed care. Romney’s health care proposal would leave 72 million Americans without health insurance and wouldn’t provide all uninsured Americans with a stable source of insurance.

You know, it never ceases to amaze me how this guy just doesn't have a clue about how the "real world" (not the rich world) works. I don't care what laws are on the books, if they're not enforced, they're useless! We've always had doctors and hospitals who refuse to see patients because they can't pay... but, poor people don't have the resources to really fight back when things like that happen to them and the doctors and hospitals know it. One such example would be doctors who opt not to see people because they have Medicaid, much less those who can't pay at all.

What world is Romney living in because it sure isn't this one? We have civil rights laws on the books too, but are they always enforced? Absolutely NOT! Just ask Trayvon Martin. Oh yeah, that's right... he's no longer here to answer the question.

Quote of the Day

It's not a perfect world... so, stop expecting it to be that way!

#2--Biden Vs. Ryan Vice Presidential Debate

2012 Election Central Presidential Debate Schedule & Live Stream

"Old Lion vs. Lion Cub" on Thursday, October 11th, 9:00-10:30pm (EST) @ Centre College, Danville KY. The topic will be Foreign & Domestic Policy and the moderator will be Martha Raddatz, ABC News Chief Foreign Correspondent. Thank God it's not Jim Lehrer! LOL!

TV & Live Stream Coverage: Each debate will air live on C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as all cable news channels including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, among others. Also, each debate will be streamed live online. Click on the image or use the text link underneath to see full schedule of dates, times, topics, and access live streams.

⏰ Quality Time w/ The Grands

Columbus Day - Monday, October 8th

No work + no school + no day care = QT w/ the grandkids!

To My Father...

R.I.P. Roosevelt Williams 1936-2002
He would have been 76 years old today.

Attention: PA Residents!

RegisterToVote.org

If you haven't registered to vote yet, your registration application must be postmarked by tomorrow OCTOBER 9, 2012. If you've been procrastinating, time is running out and you only have one day left to get this done. All those who fought, marched, and (in some cases) lost their lives so that you can vote would like to know that their sacrifice was not in vain. Please register and make sure you vote on November 6th!

Happy Sunday!

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

Kinney Center For Autism Education & Support

Sensory-Friendly Family Movie Night

The Kinney Center at St. Joseph's University (Philadelphia, PA) is providing a special opportunity for Kinney Families to enjoy a film in a safe, accepting, and sensory-friendly environment. The theater will have the lights up and the sound turned down. Just like in the sensory-friendly films offered by AMC Theatres in partnership with the Autism Society, "Audience members are invited to get up and dance, walk, shout or sing!" A break room will also be available for any audience members who need to take an intermission.

Movie Title: Toy Story 3 (2010, G) - The toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home.

When: Friday, November 2, 2012 @ 6:00pm (doors open at 5:40pm)

Where: Forum Theater-Campion Student Center, St. Joseph's University

Directions & Parking: To be determined - families who RSVP will receive more information via email when it becomes available.

Cost: Free admission

Guest List: Kinney Families - families who have had at least one child attend a Kinney Center program.

Maximum Number of Guests per Family: 8 (please, only reserve as many spots as will likely attend to allow the maximum number of families to participate)

Total Number of Guests: 100 (reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis; the Forum Theater can hold more, but we want families to have the option to spread out)

RSVP By: Friday, October 26, 2012

Food: Popcorn will be available for sale. Feel free to bring snacks and beverages. If needed, there will be a section reserved for those with peanut allergies.

Instructions: Click on the image or text link underneath for more information regarding accommodations, criteria, parking, and reservations. If you have any questions, please contact us at kinneyautism@sju.edu or 610-660-2170.

Vote In The 7-11 Presidential (Coffee Cup) Election!

7-Election National Map Results

Did you know 7-11 boasts that their political cups have accurately predicted the next president in the last 3 elections? If you haven't purchased a blue Obama cup or a red Romney cup to support the presidential candidate of your choice, get one the next time you're @ 7-11. In the meantime, click on the image for more information or the text link underneath to see which candidate is leading the coffee cup race on the national map, as well as the state where you live!

Lifetime Original Movie

Steel Magnolias Official Website

This remake of the 1989 classic will premiere on Lifetime Sunday, October 7th @ 9:00pm (EST). Starring: Queen Latifah, Adepero Oduye, Phylicia Rashad, Condola Rashad, Jill Scott, and Alfre Woodard. Click on the image or use the text link underneath to visit the webpage on Lifetime for behind-the-scenes, interviews, photos, previews, etc.

Mitt's Gonna Do What To Big Bird?

We Don't Think So!

I, like millions of other Americans, just finished watching the first Presidential Debate. I actually did a little venting about it on Facebook while it was going on... but after it went off, I decided to do a blog post about it too.

For starters, I could swear there were several instances in which Mitt Romney just repeated President Obama's answers to several of the questions, but worded the answers differently. He also wasn't specific enough about how he's going to implement anything he claims he's going to do, but that's nothing new for him. So, he really didn't say anything that changed my mind about him in the least, despite the fact that it's being reported he won the debate.

I also felt the moderator, Jim Lehrer, did a piss-poor job of facilitating the flow of discussion and maintaining order. It seemed to me he let Romney write his own rules when it came to common courtesy, cutting people off, and talking while somebody else was talking, while the president was consistently told about every minute he went over his alloted time to speak and held to the strictest rules of political etiquette. As a result, Lehrer came across as being somewhat biased to me.

As for President Obama, I'm so sorry this debate took place on his 20th wedding anniversary, and that was probably due to poor planning and timing by someone when the debate schedule was set up. However, I thought all of his answers were articulated quite well and I think he's much more "polished" when it comes to public speaking, as opposed to Romney. But, unfortunately, I have to agree with the news correspondents who felt as though he didn't challenge Romney enough, especially when his answers blatantly conflicted with things he has said in the past (or in other words, when he lied).

It's almost as though the president climbed into the ring with his technique in tact, but he left his boxing gloves at home. And, I hope he's not making the mistake of becoming too comfortable with recent reports that he's leading in the polls. I'm sure Romney climbed into the ring feeling just the opposite... so he gave it his all, it showed, and he won the decision. Hopefully, the president will bring his gloves, be prepared to use them, and go for the knockout in round two on October 16th and round three on October 22nd.

And, regarding Romney's comments about cutting government funding to PBS, which would leave Big Bird without a job... It's really on now! Why would he stop big companies like Exxon from receiving corporate welfare, when he can cut government funding to other things such as PBS instead? Low blow, Mitt! WTH? In fact, unless that whole thing was some kind of inside joke, I'm surprised the moderator didn't have a strong reaction to it because his regular job as host of "NewsHour" would be in jeopardy too, which ironically airs on PBS.

So, the bottom line is, we can't let Romney get anywhere near the White House and that's all there is to it. Now, good people... make sure you vote on November 6th and don't let anyone or anything stand in your way. We all know there are much bigger and burning issues at stake, but now we also know that PBS, Big Bird, and not to mention all of our kids and grandkids who love that station and all it has to offer, will be innocent victims in all of this too and they're depending on us to do the right thing. Don't worry, Big Bird... we won't let you down! :)

#1--Obama Vs. Romney Presidential Debate

2012 Election Central Official Website 

Date: Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Topic: Domestic Policy

Air Time: 9:00-10:30 pm (EST)

Location: University of Denver in Denver, CO

Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates

Participants: President Barack Obama & Governor Mitt Romney

Moderator: Jim Lehrer, Host of "NewsHour" on PBS

Format: This debate will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.

Future Debates:
#2--Biden Vs. Ryan Vice Presidential Debate - Tuesday, October 11, 2012, 9:00-10:30pm (EST)
#3--Obama Vs. Romney Presidential Debate - Sunday, October 16th, 9:00-10:30pm (EST)
#4--Obama Vs. Romney Presidential Debate - Saturday, October 22nd, 9:00-10:30pm (EST)

TV & Live Stream Coverage: Each debate will air live on C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as all cable news channels including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, among others. Also, each debate will be streamed live online. Click on the image or use the text link underneath to see full schedule of dates, times, topics, and access live streams.

AARP Pennsylvania Multicultural Festival

Online Registration & Ticket Purchase

AARP Pennsylvania Multicultural Festival

Friday, October 12th, 7:00-11:00pm 

National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA
Click on image for a larger view and more information.

Did You Know?

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Official Website