brita's Blog

Hello my Fellow Bloggers,

I have been out for a minute, not because I wanted to. I was having Technical Difficulties.  I was in an endless loop of resetting my password for the past week. I could not sign in.  My fingers have been itching like crazy, after hearing the Mayor's protocols for MCS.  I am glad action is being taken, but I do have to correct the Mayor on a certain point with all due respect, as some would say...

Anyway, the responsibility of school safety is the responsibility of the School Board and the Law Enforcement... There are many grants set aside for helping schools maintain safety in there schools if it is not in their budget. Not necessarily for metal detectors, but for programs to get to the root of the problem.  As the Mayor stated, (paraphrasing) it will not end school violence, but it can help.  I have been wandering what was taking so long for the MCS Board to react. I recall them holding meetings, well they said they were on how to get metal detectors in the school. If I recall correctly weren't they looking at their budget to see if they could afford it?????????????????   

REMEMBER MY BLOG?  "EVERY CHILD COLLEGE BOUND OR EVERY CHILD HITTING THE GROUND"

Awhile back I posted some sites that the MCS Board can view for help.  Here are a few I FOUND THIS MORNING: I can't recall the others at this moment.

http://schoolsafetygrants.info/news/

http://www.dpsnc.net/index.php?option=com_content
&task=view&id=6576&Itemid=1111

I agree, the responsibility of the teachers are to teach while the school board design measures to keep the schools safe by developing program (that work and have been tried and proven).  If the Memphis Law enforcement is needed, then they should work together. Yes, the MPD keeps the communities safe and this does include schools, but Mayor don't say the Memphis City School Board has nothing to do with the safety in the schools.........................  it is a combination of factors which come into play here

I will agree with the Mayor, the principles and I must add some teachers must work with the MPD...  When my oldest child was attending public schools, I would visit the classrooms once or twice a week.  I had to send a letter to the school superintendent during that time; because the principle was making it difficult for me to visit. The police officers in the hallways were too friendly (SHOULD i SAY COOL) with the students; many of the students had no respect for them. (Don't ask me why).  Not having respect for authority is also an attribute to the school violence. The teachers allowed the students to play, talk etc... distracting the ones who wanted to learn. I found it impossible for a student to be attentive in some of the classes I visited, especially the algebra class. 

I suggest also, principles check the classrooms, "unannounced" don't let them know you're coming. Get the school counselors "really" involved.

I call for ZERO Tolerance............ in the schools.  I also want to thank the Mayor for taking action.....

I have a question and maybe this is a completely different subject... I recall a campaign initiated for the Middle School students, a Truancy program, I believe with mentors. Why wasn't this also developed for High School Students?  Many of the Middle age students are following the examples of their oldest brother, sister, cousin, etc...

Crime is getting ridiculous in Memphis. The gaul of someone breaking in my house to stel my things that I worked hard for. That's the worse feeling, knowing that someone has been in your house, but to actually come face to face with someone, whoa. 

I was viewing Fox this morning about the man who "took the law into his own hands" To be honest, I call it survival. If a person is bold enough to stay around and not run when then owner of "his" property is seeing what's going on; he is wanting trouble.

I am just sick of it, ultimately disgusted and criminals need to know, hey we productive citizens are going to fight back and defend what's ours......  So I hope this sent out a message to all the takers and not makers.

The only thing I hate, is the man who had to pull the trigger to defend his, has to replay the incident over and over again in his mind...

I say , charge him for what????????????????????

Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King.

I say thank you, because you and your cause and determination has given me the freedom to be me. Your vision, has allowed me to be a visionary. A visionary, whom had no limits nor boundaries. Your voice rang in the ears, heart and spirit and all. Regardless, if the non- hearers did not hear your will; a deaf ear can’t quench the dream/vision that roars.

 I say thank you, because your leadership has inspired me to lead with actions, voice, and compassion. Your voice compelled others to stand up, speak out, and take action. Without your leadership, I wouldn’t be free to be me. Regardless, if the non-see-ers saw your leadership; a blind eye can not be turned off from the luminous after affect.

I say thank you, because your compassion for all to be equal has inspired that same fire in me to be free. To pass on to my seeds, then their seeds, etc... With your words of love, compassion, and strength: Dr. Martin Luther King, I can thank you on so many levels and I will say thank you. My children and their children, children’s will say THANK YOU! 

BRITA 

Hey Guys, I don't know about everyone else, but I am so glad Obama and Clinton dropped the race issue.  There are too many important issues to debate about. I am watching this race closely.  Yes, Obama is looking thinner and Clinton is looking worn. I want to hear more on Health Care, Social Security, The ongoing War, The Environment , Employment, etc...

I understood where Clinton was coming from and I understood where Obama was coming from.  "Let's Get ready to Rumble" on the real issues.. 

Hey guys, I was just writing this blog to say, WHERE WAS EVERYONE????  Regardless, we had a great time. The meeting was on a friday, which made it quite hectic for many to show up, but those who showed up brought a positive vibe with them.

I was just thinking, maybe after the holiday season etc.... we can all get together and try this again. I feel many of you shyed out, shame, shame, shame. I was really looking forward to meeting everyone.

Again, I really enjoyed myself. I want to send out kudos to those who showed up!!!!!!

Hello everyone, I am writing this blog, because I have some concerns. They somewhat stream in the line of OKAYPROSE 's blog.  I would like to knw the true mission of this "meet & greet".  What goals do we have? I would also like to know who all are coming. I do not want negativity in my proximity, actually it gives me HIVES.

I am a positive person and like positive people around me. I don't want to discuss the Farrow nor do I want to have a pow-wow about who is wrong, right nor who is to blame about race. I feel each of us should really re-think this and make sure  of our TRUE intentions.  We need to come together with solutions in our mind. Who and how are we going to target this, who or what organizations can we pull into this, how can we go by educating our fellow brothers and sisters, from churches, youth, educated, uneducated, poor, rich, black white, asian, latinos etc... about this problem.

Tolerance for Diversity is needed in this city, we don't have to like each other, just RESPECT each other.

I say that, because, I am sure like everyone else, my time is valuable.  To be honest, I haven't recieved a time nor date. As I stated in Okay's blog sat. mid-day, if not please confirm...

I would like everyone who is coming to this meet and greet to post their name and thier intentions and what he/she plans to bring to the table.

The responses or lack of will help me make the decision to get involve or not.  Does anyone second this??????????

I found this really interesting. I shared it in another blog and decided to share it here.

http://health.yahoo.com/news/180153

A lousy marriage might literally make you sick. Marital strife and other bad personal relationships can raise your risk for heart disease, researchers reported Monday.

What it likely boils down to is stress ? a well-known contributor to health problems, as well as a potential byproduct of troubled relationships, the scientists said.

In a study of 9,011 British civil servants, most of them married, those with the worst close relationships were 34 percent more likely to have heart attacks or other heart trouble during 12 years of follow-up than those with good relationships. That included partners, close relatives and friends.

The study, in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, follows previous research that has linked health problems with being single and having few close relationships. In the new study, researchers focused more on the quality of marriage and other important relationships.

"What we add here is that, 'OK, being married is in general good, but be careful about the kind of person you have married.' The quality of the relationship matters," said lead author Roberto De Vogli, a researcher 

De Vogli said his research team is doing tests to see if study participants with bad relationships have any biological evidence of stress that could contribute to heart disease. That includes inflammation and elevated levels of stress hormones.

Another recent study also looked at quality of relationships but had different results. There was no association between marital woes in general and risks for heart disease or early death. But it did find, over a 10-year follow-up, that women who keep silent during marital arguments had an increased risk of dying compared with wives who expressed their feelings during fights. What appeared to matter more for men was just being married; married men were less likely to die during the follow-up than single men. That study, of nearly 4,000 men and women, was published online in July in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

In De Vogli's study, men and women with bad relationships faced equal risks. Volunteers filled out questionnaires asking them to rate the person to whom they felt closest on several measures. These included questions about to what extent does that person "give you worries, problems and stress?"

They also were asked about whether they felt they could confide in that person, or whether talking with that person made them feel worse.

Over the following 12 years, 589 participants had heart attacks or other heart problems.

Those with the highest negative scores on the questionnaire had the highest risks, even taking into account other factors related to heart disease such as obesity, high blood pressure and smoking.

James Coyne, a University of Pennsylvania psychology professor who also has examined the health impact of social relationships, said De Vogli's results "make intuitive sense." But he said the study found only a weak association that doesn't prove bad relationships can cause heart disease.

"It is still not clear what to recommend," Coyne said.

"Do we tell people who have negative relationships to get therapy? They may have other reasons to do so, but I see no basis for them doing so only to avoid a heart attack," Coyne said.

Ending a bad marriage is not necessarily the answer either, he said, given evidence that being unmarried also could be a risk.

I found this on the web, just thought this was too cute. Isn't it something how kids think? 

  I know your kids, grandkids, or students have said some funny things...

For weeks a six-year-old lad kept telling his first-grade teacher about the baby brother or sister that was expected at his house.

One day the mother allowed the boy to feel the movements of the unborn child. The six-year old was obviously impressed, but made no comment. Furthermore, he stopped telling his teacher about the impending event.

The teacher finally sat the boy on her lap and said, "Tommy, whatever has become of that baby brother or sister you were expecting at home?"

Tommy burst into tears and confessed, "I think Mommy ate it!"

kids just say the darnest things, :)

I have encountered racism, but mostly during job interviews. Don't get me wrong, I have indirectly and directly been treated differently because of my race, but it doesn't bother me until it affects my lively hood.  

I guess many employers  want to be able to relate and be comfortable with who ever they hire. I don't walk away angry, just disappointed. How do I know its racism and not just "not qualified"? Because, I am completing my MBA with a concentration in Human Resources, so I know how to be interviewed and interview. Plus I have experience. So, when I walk away, I know I interviewed well, but I can sense the interviewer was impressed with me, but the environment and position would probably cause conflict.

One particular job I applied for was an Assistant Human Resource Manager. It was in Germantown, I will call it “a woman’s name up in a loft” lol. Anyway, I sent my resume in, received an email to complete the Gallop poll survey. About 100 questions, situational and personality test combined. Obviously they were impressed, because I received a call for an interview. The phone conversation went well; she was very excited and wanted to set it up within the next two days. So, I did. The very next day, I showed up 15 mins early, dressed very professional and well groomed. When I walked in, I felt the tension from the employees (all white females). So, I took a deep breath and said Brita, you are use to this just smile, speak, and project a positive vibe.  Well, when she came out of the back office, I saw the surprised look on her face. I guess by our phone conversation, she didn’t realize I was African American. lol 

The interview went well, for a moment I felt she was really impressed with my responses, she kept saying perfect after my every response. I knew my qualifications and confidence wasn’t enough.  Like I said, I didn’t get angry, just really disappointed. I haven’t had much luck securing a job here in Memphis with my educational background and experience. Many say, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.  It hasn’t stopped me from trying, but I am really considering going to another State. I am a divorced, single mother of three and I refuse to settle for just any job with less pay.

Diversity is a beautiful thing. It bothers me that I am not judge by my character, but by the color of my skin. On a personal and professional level, I can get along with anyone. I love differences, and positive people. When a person chooses to discriminate, I feel it is an individual thing, a choice, and a statement about ones character.

Solutions? Well I feel Fox13 is bringing attention to this issue and that is what's needed. Real talk from real people. Recognizing the problem and then admitting their is a problem is the first step to a positive change. I am hoping it will motivate Memphians on a personal and professional level to truely look within themselves and initiate change within their environments.

"Tolerance for Diversity" seminars should be developed in churches and in the employment sector in Memphis. 

Hate lacks a definition


Hate, It is a belief.

A ritual that all of us know by heart.

The word itself embodies a meaning that makes the saintly shiver.

Or the most evil people smile.

It is a consciousness.

A way of life.

Not an action, or a feeling, but a being.

A being that engulfs the heart.

It has many causes, and many effects.

Jealousy, greed, envy, all effects, or causes?

It is a thought process, a religion, a job, and a certain death.

A death of soul, and heart.

Hate lacks a definition.



Copyright ©2007 ______Brita

on a lighter note:  I found this on the web. Nasty Habit or Healthy Habit?

Doctor Backs Picking Your Nose And Eating It

Picking your nose and eating it is one of the best ways to stay healthy, according to a top Austrian doctor.

Innsbruck-based lung specialist Prof Dr Friedrich Bischinger said people who pick their noses with their fingers were healthy, happier and probably better in tune with their bodies.

He says society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking and encourage children to take it up.

Dr Bischinger said: "With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner.

"And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system.

"Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine.

"Modern medicine is constantly trying to do the same thing through far more complicated methods, people who pick their nose and eat it get a natural boost to their immune system for free. "

He pointed out that children happily pick their noses, yet by the time they have become adults they have stopped under pressure from a society that has branded it disgusting and anti social.

He said: "I would recommend a new approach where children are encouraged to pick their nose. It is a completely natural response and medically a good idea as well."

And he pointed out that if anyone was really worried about what their neighbour was thinking, they could still enjoy picking their nose in private if they still wanted to get the benefits it offered.

.....say what!!!!! lol

continuation of PALLMALL blog, "should churches pay taxes"

$20,000 toilet, that is crazy, I wander how much the tiolet paper cost? lol What makes their "bottom" worth more than their church members when the "highest suppose to be the servant"

Some of the Mega-churches and smaller churches, can't leave them out- are not being good stewards over the offerings and tithes members are paying in. Monies gathered suppose to be put in the store house and allocated to the fatherless, widows, and the poor. True some are not doing that, they are making their churches biGGer and biGGer.(lol) and their homes like mansions. Some "men and women of God" wear $500-$800 suits while some members sit in the pew with holes underneath their shoes. But to put all Mega-and small churches in the same category- I can not. There are some good ones out there...

To say they should pay taxes? I think not. I feel they should have a check and balance and the checker and balancer should not be associated with the church, it should be an outsider. Being non-profit shouldn't matter; every church, charity, etc... should be policed in some way.

PallMall many are being busted, what's done in the dark comes to the light. I have to add, eventually.

Maybe after they have bought:

"first day of christmas theme"


5 mansions, 4 royals royce, 3 SUVS, 2 rolex watches, and - a - yatche - for - the - whole - familyyyyy

They will be about their Father's business.

Are you really angry at the illegal immigrants or are you just angry with the Latino race?

Be true to yourself!!!!

Maybe if US stop exploiting their labor, they wouldn't come. Do you guys really believe an immigrant would come over here illegally if they didn't feel they could get work? Come on guys, we are getting angry at the wrong people. We can't get made at a particular race, the government is now tired of them because in about another 10 years they will be the majority. I call it 20/20 hindside, it wasn't a problem when US was profiting in the factories, domestic, construction, landscaping etc.."still is". Ask our government why wasn't it important then? They have been coming across the border since the 70(s). If they don't want them over here stop exploiting their labor. They can set up a system, it's not that hard....

Why are you guys soooooooooooo angry at them? (personally angry). just need someone to be angry at? This blog and its comments sounds really RACIST!!!! Shame, Shame, Shame! History is certainly repeating itself.

This goes for blacks, whites, and whatever mixture you are, take a look in the mirror, you are not an Indian (the first who owned this land) We are all immigrant and believe me some came over here legally and illegally from other countries. Without immigrants, where would this country be? Read your History!!! Who built the railroads??? Asians, Irishes, Africans and more....

ALL THE TERRORIST, CELLS, COMING AND GOING AS THEY PLEASE. GOING TO COLLEGE FREE EVEN TAKING PILOT LESSONS SO THEY CAN HURT THE U.S. THAT IS WHAT WE SHOULD BE ANGRY ABOUT (OUR SAFETY) NOT FOOD STAMPS, ETC...

BE ANGRY AT SOME OF OUR AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO ARE CONSTANTLY GETTING DUI(S) AND DWI (S) KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE AND ARE STILL GETTING THEIR LIC. BACK OR DRIVING WITHOUT THEM COMMITTING THE SAME CRIME OVER AND OVER AGAIN. GET ANGRY AT THAT!!!