Word of the Day = Patriarchy

Patriarchy -  n., 1 a form of social organization in which the father is head of the family, descent being traced through the male line  2 rule or domination by men

If you were ever uncertain whether we lived in a patriarchal society then read this article from CNN.com.  I believe this woman also appeared on an episode of Tyra Banks.

ALSO, as we’re (or I am at least) celebrating the 36 anniversary of freedom of choice, read this uber-popular WordPress blog.  How to Stump an Anti-Abortionist with One Question.  I find great issue with the term “anti-abortionist” because I don’t believe anyone is really for its alleged antithesis, pro-abortion, but more often are in favor of the right to choose.  Nonetheless, it’s quite a provocative and enlightening read, no matter what side of the issue you stand.

Current News!

I found this article interesting.  It’s about an illegal immigrant who was executed in Texas for a robbery/murder.  I, myself, am too lazy to really read up on the laws about this, however, it seems to me that US citizens have done the same thing and live very long lives in prison.  Que interesante…

In other news…John Edwards admits to his extra-marital affair, but not to fathering the ‘love-child’, yet no DNA test has be done.  We all hate on the tabloids (what does that word even mean?), but more often than not there is usually a significant amount of truth to their reports.  I wish this story wasn’t true.  National Enquirer- 1, John Edwards-0.

WAKE UP AMER!CA

So I manged to catch a portion of CNN’s Black in America “The Black Woman and Family” and one thing I was floored by was one woman’s solution to the crisis of missing fathers in the Black community; “Marry Your Baby’s Daddy Day”…WHAT?!  So the solution to missing fathers in America’s Black community is for them to marry their mothers?  I will give it to her, the creator does offer marriage counseling for some time before, but I just feel like we should be focusing on teaching and enabling Black America to have hope and strive for the best,  no matter the circumstances from whence you came.  That means treating our Black citizens with enough compassion and respect to provide them with the encouragement and support necessary to progress both personally and economically.

On raising interracial children:

Later an interracial couple made up of a Black woman and White man talked about the raising of their kids to which the mother stated,  “I want to raise my kids Black.”  How in the hell do you raise your kids Black?  As a biracial person myself, this has to be the most offensive thing you can say to someone who is made of more than one “race.”  Essentially, you’re denying part of your child’s identity.  This same mother believes that her kids will be more accepted by Blacks…that’s simply untrue, at least it has been for many.  Yes, your child will have difficulties with other people accepting their racial makeup, but the solution is not to deny part of them and raise them as what you think it means to raise a ”Black” child.  We should be exposing our interracial children to all sides and aspects of their heritage instead of limiting them early on in life and essentially facilitating racial identity issues in the future.  This message goes out to all of America.  WAKE UP!

What is “being Black”?

Later this month CNN will host a two night series called Black in America.  This show, hosted by Soledad O’Brien, will examine the lives of African Americans covering a range of topics including academics, health and family.  As part of the special, you can view celebrities and leaders share their opinions about Black culture.  I took special note of Whoopi Goldberg’s points about being called “articulate” and in light of Obama’s candidacy for presidency, this is an idea that is just as applicable now.  She also discusses her own personal philosophy view of race that I very much agree with.  Soledad O’Brien explains the intent behind the special and her hopes that it will garner discussion and provide a lot of questions for all of us to think about.

And, the series also includes an episode about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorating the anniversary of his death.  I would definitely encourage you to view the videos on the website and the issues they bring up.  You can view the videos here.

Is the FDA missing the mark?

Recently, the vaccine thought to retard the prevalence of human papillomavirus has come under fire with patient complaints, some dictating mild discomfort and fevers and others quite severe with complaints of pancreatitis and death.  Gardasil, which was approved by the FDA in 2006, is designed to prevent HPV, a serious sexually transmitted infection which supposedly can cause cervical cancer in a small number of women.

According to CNN.com, the drug which is manufactured by Merck & Co., there have been about 16 million vaccines in the US and 26 million worldwide.  When it was first released, critics argued that FDA approval of Gardasil may have come a little too rapidly and now with the growing concerns with this vaccination and the recent confusion regarding the current salmonella outbreak, I’m being to wonder, how effective is the FDA and its regulations?