Elections and Speculations...just the beginning

Last night, New York Governor David Paterson said without a doubt that he will be running for governor next year in 2010. Paterson also said assuredly, that he is the only capable Democrat for this position in terms of winning the Democratic primary. So confident, so early in the game. But its good to have that view and not lose it. Every race/election is hard and up til the last minute, ANYTHING can happen. Such as the turtle and the hare, Hillary and Barack, Al and Norm (Minnesota), etc. And the possible people who might also run for NY Governor is Andrew Cuomo and Rudy Giuliani, according to NY1. Andrew Cuomo, the current State Attorney General, has always kept quiet whenever there are speculations of what post he will be running for next. And focuses on his current JOB instead! Thank goodness. Even when there were murmurs of him being offered Hillary's Senate position, he stayed out of the limelight and let Governor Paterson focus on his decision. And somehow Rudy's name joined the ring. I thought he was happy enough in the private industry. Rudy is famous worldwide and you always have to remind yourself that the highest political position he held was mayor. But being a NYC mayor is a job that crosses neighborhoods locally and internationally. We'll have to wait to see if any camps have any comments. The fun never stops.

Ringling updated...we think

So I was trying to grab some updates for the little town of Ringling that we've visited a few weeks ago, when its mayor and other major top spots had quit overnight. Sad to say, not much has changed since then (February 2009). There is a new police chief, Lee Aston, who is calling for help for his office. He is the only one answering to calls. Hopefully someone will answer his calls soon, too. We will stay tuned.

What? Can you say that again?

Today, Texas State Representative Betty Brown made a statement that made me cringe. Although I am not surprised by this ignorant opinion, I am surprised that this came from a lawmaker who was actually serious about this issue and continues to defend it. Brown said, during a House testimony regarding voter identification legislation, "Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese, I understand it's a rather difficult language, do you think it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?" Oh. My. Dear. Why is this person a lawmaker for the United States of America? Ms. Brown made this comment during a testimony given by Remy Ko, who was representing the Organization of Chinese Americans on voter identification issues. Brown was asking an entire ethnic group to change their names(which cannot even be more than 2 syllables)to make it easier for poll workers to say. Now that should go down as one of the most absurd law ideas for this country of democracy, public education, tolerance, freedom of religion, Louis Armstrong and Spam. Brown claimed that the Democrats are putting her comments out of perspective and off topic from the real issue by turning it into a race issue. When it is suggested that a race have names that are too hard to pronounce and that it should be changed legally, then it is a race issue.

If you can't pronounce the name Remy Ko, then Ms. Brown, you are the one that needs to go back to school and learn how to sound out the English alphabet. And make it easier for Americans and your constituents to deal with you.

L'Aquila, Italy

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the city of L'Aquila, located in central Italy, on Monday morning. The number of casualties as of Tuesday, April 7, 2009, has reached beyond 200. Search and rescue missions are still ongoing. Please keep the victims and the thousands of people affected by this earthquake in your thoughts. There are local charities that are collecting donations and support for the victims of this earthquake located in Little Italy, Mulberry Street in Manhattan. Check out the Italian-American Museum. Thank you!

Oakland story continues

About 2 weeks ago, on March 21, 2009, there was a shootout in Oakland that resulted in the deaths of 4 police officers, and the shooter. This was one of the deadliest shootings in California's history. Officers Matt Dunakin(40), Ervin Romans(43), and Daniel Sakai(35) were killed during a routine traffic stop. Officer John Hege(41) was left brain dead and was taken off life support on March 24, 2009. The shooter, Lovelle Mixon(27) was actually wanted for violating his parole. Mixon was also a suspect in at least 4 rapes, a previous murder case, drug possession and theft. Officers Dunakin and Hege pulled Mixon over due to a suspicious license plate. Mixon then exited his vehicle and started shooting at the officers. Afterwards, Mixon fled on foot. Bystanders then ran to help the fallen officers.
SWAT officers found Mixon's location at his sister's home. There, Mixon fired a rifle and fatally wounded Officers Romans and Sakai. Mixon was then taken down in a barrage of gunfire.
The Oakland Police Chief, Governor of California, Mayor of Oakland and other community organizers thanked the 800 strong police force for protecting the citizens of Oakland during the officers' funerals. This tragedy surfaced questions and issues of the Oakland Police, again. A few months ago, I've written about how cash-strapped Oakland was that the Mayor, Ron Dellums, had to resort to letting go 69 city employees in order to hire 69 new officers. In addition, the parole system in Oakland is said to be inefficient. After the parolees get out, there is no sufficient way of keeping a close tail on at least the high risk parolees, such as Mixon. Violence and crime has continually increased in Oakland and it does not seem like it will stop anytime soon. This is also causing a strained relationship between the Oakland police department and the community. The city just cannot afford to provide the resources to keep its citizens and its employees safe. Everyone living in Oakland, knows someone who has been shot or killed. Let's hope in the coming future, that Oakland will get more then just a "good luck."

Hi Again

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of new information lately. I kept saying to myself, "Ok, update blog today, there's this and that that is quite interesting. Ok, maybe tomorrow." Yeah. And tomorrow became a month after my last post! I'll get down to business later today =) In the meantime, here's a picture to entertain yourselves with.



This picture was from a White Sox game I went to during the summer of 2008, in Chicago. An American pasttime. Are you ready for some baseball?