Christian Protests That Produces Ungodly Behavior

Middle Tennessee is part of what is known as the Bible belt. “A church on every corner” is how we are depicted. For every church, there are five associate ministers waiting to hear “the call” to start their own church or begging God that main preacher will allow them to preach one Sunday. We have several national Christian organizations that are headquartered in Nashville: the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Baptist Convention, and the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church are just a few examples. Lifeway, RH Boyd, and the United Methodist Publishing House are Christian entities that produce church material for church folks to gain a better understanding and knowledge of God daily.

This area is home to several colleges that have Christian roots or missions: Belmont, David Lipscomb, Fisk, Meharry Medical College, Trevecca, and Vanderbilt are all titans in secondary education. These colleges have produced some of the most intelligent, nationally recognized folks who are highly respected throughout the world. Many national Christian conventions are held here as well. The National Religious Broadcaster (NRB) is one the most successful conventions held here annually. National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is a non-partisan, international association of Christian communicators whose member organizations represent millions of listeners, viewers and readers. If you want to be on the television or radio and you want to call it a ministry, NRB is a conference you should attend. The Middle Tennessee area is also the number one region in the country for home school families. Many home school families cite religion as their primary reason for homeschooling. The number of private Christian schools in the area are too numerous to even begin to list.

With all Christ-centered organizations mentioned above, the behaviors of some church folks are keeping Middle Tennessee in the national spotlight. The spotlight seems to say we are church goers who are deeply devoted to our religious beliefs but are not practicing the tenets of loving our neighbors and Christ like acceptance of others. We are wearing hypocritical halos. I have received several calls from curious media friends from around the country asking what is happening in my beloved Volunteer state. My friends were stating that the many stories I have written about the Volunteer State’s generosity and philanthropy endeavors to those in need did not seem like the same state that is producing extreme ungodly behavior towards others who not of the Christians faith. It is a phenomenon that I am having a hard time trying to explain because I am perplexed as well.

Lately, there have been several protests against proposed Mosques in our area that have become very heated and have evoked fear in Christians that Islamic extremists are taking over. Really? With thousands of churches in the Middle Tennessee area that serves millions of Christians, three Mosques are a threat to the faith to Tennessee Christians? Hmm, let that soak for a minute. Protesters have gone from lawfully honking horns, signing petitions, and protesting Mosque locations at council meetings to someone crossing the line by burning construction equipment on the site of the property of the Murfreesboro’s Mosque, which is criminal. With the South’s ugly history of protests that have lead to the burning of property, the burning of the construction equipment was too close to numerous stories that I have heard from my parents and grandparents on the Civil Right battlefield. Many of the protests have been cloaked in biblical poetry and using constitutional sounding words that sound very unconstitutional. All of this protesting had me digging deep to separate fact from fear with a friend.

Since we debate political issues often for sport, I shared with her some of my concerns of where the protests can lead if voices of reasons do not speak up soon. Damaging property leads to harming individuals physically and neither are Godly behaviors. My concerns were deflected with her view that Islam was becoming the “new” religion of our country which she stated was founded on Judeo-Christian values. The discussion had us nursing our coffee cups for three hours.

For several weeks, her emails were sounding the alarm to take the country the back and the need for us to remember the constitution was founded by our Founding Fathers. I would reply that I refuse to live in fear. At our coffee summit, I gave her a copy of the Bill of Rights with the First Amendment highlighted. I asked her to read it out loud.

She read, “"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." After she read it, we both sat in silent for a moment. I could feel her becoming angry in her silence. I said to her, “Fear can provoke us into mayhem and madness.” The Constitution that my friend wants us to get back to gives us the freedom of religion, no matter who we worship; it gives us freedom of speech to say what we want no matter how sane or vile it may be; it gives us the right to read this blog weekly through the freedom of the press; it give us the right to the freedom of assembly so we can meet to protest or pray, and allows us to complain about our government because we have the right to petition the government. That is what separates us from countries like Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

“Try calling the leader of China a socialist and see where it gets you,” I said to her with a smile. After another pot of coffee, we realized that we were going to have differing views on the actions of burning the equipment at the Mosque site. I finally pleaded: how can we read our bible daily and allow the hate and fear of others to fester from our pores? ‘Isn’t that the opposite of being a Christian,” I asked sadly. “I don’t hate them,” she said quietly. I was not trying to change her mind on any issues, I only wanted to her understand and respect my family’s heritage of non violent protests that I strongly believe in today. I have friends from all different backgrounds. We have dialogued about the Mosques buildings that have the media swarming in Tennessee like termites.

Tennessee has become a haven for national corporations over the last decade or so. With trade and industry booms, diversity in ethnicity and religion has followed. As we have opened our arms to invite others to Tennessee for economic reasons, we have to accept with those invitations an influx of other cultures. Those cultures which at one time were in the background are more visible because of the growth in our population, the anti-Muslim political climate, and the ever present media hype without a purpose.

In this age of social media, it is easy to adopt a Twitter mindset of follow and unfollow the constitution depending on how we feel about a particular subject matter. But as Christians, folks are supposedly to think and act different, right? Since there are Christian groups and church folks as numerous as the stars above in the Middle Tennessee area, I would have thought a leader would have stepped forward from one of the many national Christian organizations that are based here and calmed the masses with words that would curtail violent behavior knowing our Southern heritage of protests followed by cruelty. We are in desperate need of leaders who preach the gospel to remind us to practice the words that printed in our area by the hour. Let me close with the verse that I closed my coffee session with my friend.

19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

As great as the constitution, it is has undergone several revision. However, God's word has stood the test of time.

Photo Credit:(John A. Gillis/DNJ)

Article first published as Christian Protests that Produce Ungodly Behavior on Blogcritics.

Larry King took his suspenders off with his Sister-n-Law

Oops, the word “allegedly” should be in the title of this story. Anyway, Larry King’s messy on/off, maybe/soon divorce from wife number seven, Shawn King, has turned nasty with allegations that he took his suspenders off with his wife’s sister. After the last several months of “breaking news” on other folks’ affairs, unsubstantiated rumors, gossip, tidbits, do tell me more type of talk show, 76 year old Larry King is not getting the 24 hours news coverage that CNN and other media outlets have given to a number of scandals over the years. But the media lack of covering one of their own who is now the center of a he said/she said war of words demonstrates how the media outlets choose the lives they pick apart.
From CNN’s website:

"Larry King Live" is CNN's longest-running interview program. Premiering in June 1985 with its now-famous mix of interviews and topical discussions, the show features guests from across the gamut of business, entertainment and politics.

Guests from across the gamut are touted in the shows bio but The Larry King Live has found a special niche with salacious wall to wall coverage of couples breaking up or in trouble; Kate and Jon Gosselin, former New York Governor Elliot Spitlzer, Governor and Jenny Sanford, and can we not forget all things Tiger and Elgin Woods. Now what is ironic about the Tiger Woods coverage, Larry King was “allegedly” unsnapping his suspenders with his wife’s sister while he was asking detailed probing questions about every blonde bimbo that Tiger Woods “allegedly” texted or called. Larry King’s sister-in-law is blonde by the way. Looking back on the questions, Larry King was asking with more insight than most. With every detail about Tiger Woods life on the table for all to gawk about night and day, CNN has not done the same with Larry King who is making the front pages of tabloids at every checkout counter in the country. There has been no lead in stories with quotes credited to the National Enquirer or US Weekly. No updates from Andy Cooper about King. No bias, no bull statements from fiery Mississippi native Campbell Brown. No worst person list from Rick Sanchez with Larry King. However, on April 15th, when we were all distracted trying to get to the post office to postmark our taxes, Show Biz Tonight gives us this quick nugget:

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- CNN talk show host Larry King and his wife, Shawn King, each filed for divorce Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Both cited "irreconcilable differences" in their filings, but they disagreed over custody of the two children from the 12 years of marriage.

He wants to share legal and physical custody of the boys with her, but she is asking the court to grant physical custody to her alone. The Kings have two sons, ages 9 and 11.

"His major concern is for the children and beyond that he will have no further comment," Larry King's publicist said in a written statement.

Shawn King's lawyer did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

The documents said the couple separated on Tuesday, the same day Shawn King signed her papers. Larry King's signature was dated Wednesday. Both petitions were filed Wednesday.

Larry King’s scandal has been absent of nightly interviews with the butler, fired nannies, and former girlfriend’s cousin hairstylist neighbor who spoke to someone briefly eleven years ago. The media that creates sensationalism daily has gone death, blind and stupid when one of their own is really being sensational! The hypocrisy is more snark than this blogger can bear.

Larry King is not the only national media name that has been caught with his suspenders off that made his trousers fall down around his ankles. Tiki Barber, the NBC Today correspondent, is making the news as well. But at least NBC is not ignoring the troubles with their ex-Giant football star turned morning show reporter that has left his wife of 11 years for a former NBC college intern (she is blonde also). NBC has reported on Tiki Barber’s circumstances briefly. Tiki Barber issued a statement about the situation:

"After 11 years of marriage, Ginny and I have decided to separate," Barber said. "This decision was a painful one, but we are moving forward amicably and will continue to work together to raise our children with the love and dedication they have always known."

He does not mention his wife is eight months pregnant with twins and his 6 and 7 year old sons in the statement. Wasn’t Tiger Woods children mentioned nightly? What is surprising about the crafted wholesome value club spokesman, Tiki Barber, has spoken publicly about his hatred of his philandering father who left his mother and family. In 2006, Tiki Barber made this statement about his father;

"Not only did he abandon her, I felt like he abandoned us for a lot of our lives. I have a hard time forgiving that."

Tiki and his twin brother were four when their father left the family. Now I am not trying to stir up any more mess than normal, but it appears that Tiki might need serious counseling. We know from real people with real life experiences unresolved hurts and pain from the actions of one generation will manifest in some form in the next generation. Now that bit of compassion you just read from me is not usually stated when news folks like CNN and NBC stand outside troubled family homes night after night reporting the ugly details of public and private individuals lives.

I am not wishing ill on the King or Barber family by any means. This is not a fun post to write about family conflicts. Each family has young children involved and I am sure a host of relatives and friends that are being thrown into this dreadful situation unwillingly. These families are dealing with private pain in the eye of the public for all to see and judge. Been there, done that. Since this is happening to two national media stars, hopefully all forms of the media will practice more restraint in how the lives of others in similar situations are reported in the future. Right now, we need real news to make a serious comeback. News without bias and slants and ready-made story lines. Leave the family break ups, cheating, whoring, lying, who hooked up with whom to the tabloids that are in the business of reporting gossip. With the shape our country is in right now, we, the people, are crying out for truthful reporting that is desperately needed from everyone one in the business of telling us the news.

Genma Holmes Speaks to Women's Council of Realtors

Genma Holmes will speak to the Nashville Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors on October, 7th 2009 @ the Richland Country Club on Granny White Pike. Holmes will discuss Cultural Diversity in the marketplace.

Holmes will share her experiences working in a non-traditional industry as a woman of color and ways one can grow a business through multicultural marketing and outreach.

Holmes speaks to thousands nationally and is the owner of Holmes Pest Control and GSH Consulting, LLC. Holmes has been featured in countless magazines and is a syndicated writer.

For more info about the WCR got to: www.nashville.wcr-tn.com

Breaking News: Whoopi, Polanski IS a Pervert

I watched Whoopi Goldberg defend Roman Polanski and heard her state that Polanski did not commit “rape rape” of a 13 year old. I wondered immediately if the world of stardom included their lack of reading and comprehension of life outside of their limo rides and dressing rooms. It was as if all of “Hollywood” had taken a page out of politicians’ handbook and were using the same talking points to defend one of their own. Several times throughout the day, I heard the newly coined “rape, rape” referenced. I had the sudden urge to fly to California and rent a jack hammer and disfigure all stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

A quick internet search yielded the actual documents that detailed the crimes that Polanski was accused of committing. I did not get very far in my reading because he did more than rape a child, he stole her soul. As his hideous acts of indecency to a minor child were there for all to see, I wondered if Whoopi had read any of the recent accounts of Jaycee Duggard and Elizabeth Smart. Not cases from thirty years ago but more recent headlines and foul details of men Polanski age that did the same revolting unforgivable crimes to underage girls. No, Polanski did not kidnap his victim but his criminal behavior was the same as Garrido and Mitchell. They did not have hot tubs full of famous friends but their victims have lived to tell what was done to them. Polanski may have won numerous awards for his talents as a film maker but he also deserves another award, sentencing to jail.

Since Whoopi has recanted her early statement (the hate mail was overwhelming); let’s look at her original words “rape rape” and see how Polanski actions are similar with the other creatures that have the same DNA from Satan.

1. “No, please don’t”. Polanski, Garrido, Brian Mitchell victims begged for mercy before they were kidnapped, raped, forced lewd acts upon, and/ or sodomized. They were afraid, terrorized and forced against their will.
2. Elizabeth Smart 14, Jaycee Duggard 11, and Samantha Geimer 13 were not of legal age to buy drinks, tobacco, let alone “have sex” with Mitchell, Garrido, or Polanski willingly.
3. Each offender was in relationships with women who enabled or defended the actions of each pervert. Mitchell‘s accomplice in the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart was Wanda Ileen Barzee. Phillip Garrido was married to his enabler, Nancy Garrido. Garrido met his wife while she was visiting a relative in prison. Garrido also had a neighbor who defended him publically while ignoring the missing child posters that were revisited once Jaycee was found. Polanski despite his criminal charges was married and his chorus of supporters included famous celebrities like Whoopi and Debra Winger and fellow famous predators like Wood Allen.
4. Polanski, Garrido, and Mitchell were all able to blend into society appearing normal while holding down jobs in plain sight. Polanski continued to make movies and even gave interviews in the last year where he spoke about his crime as if he was dismissing a fleeting fling. Garrido gave tips once on how to keep your child safe, and Mitchell was allowed into homes as a handyman. Mitchell did not bother to hide; he boldly walked the streets with Smart!
5. All of these men have justified their actions. Polanski said it was consensual in spite of the grand jury testimony by Samantha Geimer and hospital reports that show otherwise. Phillip Garrido, who has served time for rape and torture of women and young girls, believes that once all the sordid details of the 18 years of Jaycee’s captivity are revealed, you will hear a wonderful redemptive story. Wth? Mitchell also gives scriptural highlights for his repeated rape of a 14 year over a nine month period who he “married” in the middle of the night after he kidnapped her.

The similarities between the men are endless. Whoopi initial words revealed an evil code of silence that needed to be scrutinized. Stars live in an alternate universe that we help shaped; the rush to stand so unashamedly behind Polanski should make all of us think twice about wanting to idolize anyone.

Yes, Polanski's victim wants us to move on from this story and that is understandable. But Polanski crimes and lack of punishment tells us that until our society cherishes our young and women, these crimes will be committed again and again; openly, without shame and unpunished. We cannot “renamed” rape and allow it to be swept under the Hollywood’s red carpet.

Samantha Gruier grand jury testimony in 1977:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover1.html

Elizabeth Smart testifying against in Brian Mitchell in 2009:

Asked by a prosecutor to describe Brian David Mitchell, the self-described prophet accused of holding her captive for nine months, Ms Smart replied: “Evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, greedy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God.”

Elizabeth’s description of Mitchell could be said of Garrido and Polanski. We must be proactive and protective our young from predators even the ones who walk the red carpet.

A National Epidemic, Teens killing Teens

I wrote this post while wiping tears and yelling at my monitor. I watched a few minutes of the video of the senseless beating death of the Chicago teen, Derrion Albert, 16, who was an A student at his school. I could not get my mind around the fact that no one intervened. No one. I could not believe that no one yelled out or ran to get help. As I listened to "fonevideographer" give commentary while the life of a young man who had many possibilities slipped from his ravaged body, I literally got ill. I could not watch the entire video.

I thought of the parents whose son's death has been immortalized on You tube because he was doing what young people should be doing: going to school and making good grades. My heart goes out to them. The details and the “whys” of this vicious crime have been lost among the cries of outrage and righteous indignation. An epidemic of criminal activity committed by young males has terrorized our nation. Chicago has become known for being most dangerous city for school children. Going to school can get you killed! Chicago is not alone in grabbing headlines. Florida’s horrendous rape and beating of a mother and son in the notorious Dunbar Village case left many calling the perpetrators "savages". Mainstream media by-passed the story that was covered by the blog What About Our Daughters. After two years, the young men were finally sentenced last month.

Teens killing teens have made the news right here in Nashville. In the last two weeks, two teens have been involved in shootings. Reading through the month of September’s press releases issued by MNPD, teens made up a third of the crimes reported. The number of teens who were nabbed from truancy sweeps in a one month period was staggering. Not attending school during school hours is a recipe for disaster. As I counted the number of children who were arrested for not being in school in a one month period, I wondered what they were doing if they were not in school. Looking for trouble to find them? What can we, as a city, do to help end the violence and get help for young people who choose to pull a trigger or beat another to death?

It is going to take more than a few people. It is literally going to take a village…our city. Working together across race, gender, or religious affiliation for solutions and to implement changes must start sooner than later. This should be the top priority for everyone: parents, schools, and congregations. We cannot point to one particular situation or group to blame because the violence that has snared our youth does not care about situations or groups.

This week, everyone on radio, television and the blogosphere has talked about the condition of our youth. I heard one DJ complain that it was the music lyrics that our young people listen too and a TV pundit suggested it was the glorification of rappers and stars who behave badly that has influenced young people to act the way they do. That may be the case but we as parents must step up as well. Home training must become popular again. The images of Nene cursing her “friends” at every turn and the Kaynes of the world suggesting to us that we blame our foolishness on your mother’s death, only add to the discord that our country has embraced so proudly. We have glamorized ignorance. Add a Facebook poll asking about the assassination of the President and pics of every inch of one’s body swapped back and forth on the Internet like young people are trading marbles-these sorts of activites gives us an indication of the “condition” of our youth today. Often, our youth depict what we value and prioritize as a country or a people. Our national discord is fast becoming anarchy.

We must support community heroes who are trying to make a difference. Jeff O. Carr sitting on a roof for a week to raise $30,000 to keep our youth out of trouble is noble and commendable. At the same time, it is upsetting that it took a week for the community of color to donate $30,000 to sustain a theater that will nurture young people’s artistic talents and keep them safe. If that was a ball or gala to glorify egos, the money would have been raised within a few hours. Yep, I said it. In an Oasis board meeting on Tuesday, I could not help but mention the violence that we are witnessing among our youth across the country and in Nashville. We are not Somalia with teen pirates under the leadership of drug lords who kill for a dime and a pack of cigarettes. We are not Haiti, a country lacking leadership where nearly 75% of the people in the country are under the age of 19. We are not Mexico, Darfur, or the Congo. So why are we allowing abnormal gruesome behavior to become our expectation for our youth as if the are living in wild? I refuse to believe that our young cannot be helped even when I feel helpless at times or overwhelmed by the constant stream of ghastly news.

We must work together…we are Nashville. We can do better. I will close with a thank you. Jeff O. Carr thanks for caring about our youth. You are a leader with heart and soul and your love for young people is contagious. Your spirit need to be imitated. Quickly!

The Real Spidey Movie

My customers come from all genres and are as eclectic as my jewelry box. Many have been with me through my career changes. One of my favorite groups of customers are those in the film industry. When I transformed from diva to pest control operator, I brought my clients from that business with me. I also market my pest control services to the production companies and theater groups.

Tennessee is a mecca for production companies. Generous tax incentives given to lure Hollywood to the Volunteer state and Tennessee’s right to work status causes companies to flock here in droves. Because of the state‘s climate, pest control issues can plague a set while filming a film, commercial, video or producing a play. Recently, I got a call from one of my favorite casting directors about a pest control issue that threaten the future of a film project. Never one to miss an opportunity to network and audition, I was out the door as soon as I hung up.

Following an hour drive to Smith County, I arrived to see a crew looking anxious and rattled. I was ushered to the production office as if I was Nicole Kidman and the star of my own show. There I was greeted with hugs by the executive producer, production manager, the director and a host of staff. Feeling the anxiety, I asked what could possibly have everyone so uptight. I was informed by the AD that the rented home, which was the backdrop of the storyline, was vacant except for the brown recluse spiders.

Geez. God must be angry with me, I thought. Why not fires ants, cave crickets, funky Mexican beetles, even a snake...but not that nightmare with legs- the brown recluse spider. My acting skills kicked in big time because I was cool as a cumber outwardly, but I could feel the pressure on my chest. Brown recluse spiders, with a production company, were a tall order. I did not want the film company’s budget on my shoulders. I asked Anna, the accountant and long time customer, to give me the production cost per day for filming and the schedule for scene sequences. She jotted a few figures on a note pad that made my jaw drop. With that in mind, I told them I would need to be paid in cash and needed to see the home before I committed to the job.

The AD and I walked up the long drive way to the rustic two-story home. I asked how they got into this situation without talking to HPC beforehand. Oftentimes, we would service a home or stage days prior to the shoot date. He said the location scout knew the home owners. I gave him a "fire the scout look" and he nodded silently. As we got closer, he reminded me of the number of referrals he had sent me over the years and stressed how much he needed me.

Entering the home, I realized why it was chosen for the scenes. The view was beautiful and the empty, spacious rooms were perfect for filming. We moved up the steps quietly. Reaching the top of the steps, I suddenly felt as if I had entered a house of horrors. Spiders were everywhere and suddenly I became conscious of my exposed arms. I returned to my truck to get a Tylek suit, which is a white head to toe coverall. I could sense the fear from the crew as they watched silently. As I was zipping up my suit, I felt the eyes of the camera operators looking as if they were third graders watching “Saw”. I jokingly told them that the suit was my secret weapon to dropping twenty pounds before hitting the red carpets. My joke was not acknowledged. No one laughed. The air was thick with tension. This group of people was knowledgeable about brown recluse spiders.

We returned to the house. Spiders and insects from every genus lurked in the rooms. In light fixtures, on the walls, in cracks, and along the baseboards--bugs had invaded the house along with a profusion of brown recluse spiders. I could not hide my dismay. The look on the AD’s face could not be produced by any bloodcurdling movie. And the sweat on his forehead had nothing to do with the heat. After being upstairs for only short while, a few spiders were on my suit.

We made our way outside and out of view of the crew. We carefully peeled off my suit and double checked for spiders on our clothing. Then we had a brutally frank conversation. The job was not my dilemma but adequate time to complete the work thoroughly would be the challenge. Several days would be needed to work and filming was scheduled to start the next day. I told him he had a huge problem on his hand. Working on a set with a brown recluse infestation, would produce unscripted screams and frightening consequences. If I committed to doing the job, I was not willing to make any guarantees. The staff would want to hear from ME about their safety and I was not going to withhold information from the crew, which were made up of long time customers and friends. Their confidence in me was too valuable to lose. He was in a serious jam and we both knew it. Once we exhausted the number of “what ifs” and risks involved, we took back all talking points to the waiting staff and the crew.

My message to everyone was worthy of an Oscar. I explained the possibilities and what was impossible under the circumstances. I needed to reschedule commercial clients to accommodate the Smith County job. HPC was not made up of miracle workers but we would do the job, without promises, if we were given more time. We agreed to start that day and I made a phone call to an elderly couple in Wilson County who owned a home with a similar majestic view. She contracted to allow them to film outdoor scenes while we worked to rid the house of the fear-provoking spiders.

We started working at 2:00 pm and did not stop until 8:00. The next two days, we worked from 6am to 9pm with an hour break. The home was unfit for filming or living. Spiders were in every imaginable corner of the house. The attic was the mother of all lairs. Vacuuming removed many spiders but the more we vacuumed the more the bugs kept coming. We cracked and creviced the entire home with environmental insecticide sprays, dusts, and aerosols. HPC is one of the few companies that will not laden a home or office with sticky boards and hand over an invoice. We use the old fashion method of seek and destroy. It is very time consuming and tedious work. Did I mention an outside wall was covered in ivy? And not to leave out the creep chimney that had a throbbing web in it that looked like a glob with hairy legs. This was not the largest brown recluse job we have ever undertaken by any means but the turnaround time made this job complex. We are known for our public awareness ads educating families about the dangers of brown recluse. The ads are placed in program guides of Little League sports teams. Knowledge is power and informed moms and dads give us customers who are concerned about the family’s welfare. Rarely do we deal with price shopping landlords or government entities.

Brown recluse spiders thrive in homes and offices. They breed inside walls, in boxes, basements, attics and other out of the way places. This vacant home was the perfect environment for spiders that have no natural enemies. Left untreated, a bite from this spider can cause serious damage to living tissue within hours. Necrosis, death of the flesh, is extremely painful. The venom from the spider is lethal to the muscle. The dead tissue must be surgically remove often leaving scars that are disfiguring and gruesome looking. I have seen bites that have left individuals in the ICU. A wound can take months to heal and sometimes reopen years after a bite.


When we finished the job, the crew returned to film but asked us to remain on the set. I was the pest control guru complete with a trailer and phone in movie land. Talk about the role of a lifetime. The crew was gracious and thankful. I got my ‘star’ in the production manager’s rolodex. I received a call from Tennessee’s film commission office asking me to submit my info to the state’s website. For you non-Hollywood folks (via Tennessee), that’s big. This horrific story ends with happy customers and my kid’s tuition getting paid.

To my former agent who told me I was a fool to start a pest control company, watch the credits baby-my name will be on the big screen after all!

BIA2: The Continuing Mis-Education of America

I watched Black in America 2 with great trepidation. I honestly sent up a prayer begging God to have mercy on black folks, all America would be watching this show. My prayers got stuck somewhere over Nashville’s skyline because what I saw was a diversity project gone astray.

I applaud CNN for wanting to show that they are committed to diverse subject matter. After all, they are the “most trusted name in the news.” What I find perplexing is the need to script news segments and promote the result as a documentary about life in Black America. Based on the promos, BIA2 would bring forth new ideas or solutions to old problems within the black community. Part 1, which I watched three times, gave us the same extremes that are usually spotlighted by the media and left many wondering why repeat the predictable caricatures that appear on cable news every day.

CNN’s narratives exploited the most vulnerable segment of the community and highlighted bourgeois attitudes at their worst. There is no denying that the two groups – the very affluent and the poor - are parts of the black community. But the affluent and poor are in any group of people. For millions of black folks who work hard every day, who are not making six figure incomes, who pay their bills and taxes, and who have trials and struggles like everyone else, what CNN profiled is not a total of our sums. CNN continued the perpetuation of the same stereotypical genres of black life which are the focus of the media the majority of the time. Blacks are viewed as thugs in jail, unwed teens, and absentee fathers/mothers. While true facets of the black experience, they are not reflect of all of our lives. Just like poverty stricken trailer parks and welfare mothers are not reflective of any other group. In a veiled attempt to show balance, mainstream media who most often portray the negative aspects of the black experience will occasionally show an elitist intellectual who is out of touch with his/her people and reality. Good, wholesome and normal people in the black community are rarely shown on television. BIA2 should have been renamed the “Continued Mis-education of White America” (and the rest of the world). Where is the balance between the two extremes?

In part one, CNN showed three segments. The first segment focused on thirty youth at a community center who traveled to Africa to learn more about themselves by having experiences with other youth whose circumstances were as cruel as their own. Taking young people from the inner city for two weeks to serve the world’s poorest is noble. Mrs. Compton-Rock is to be commended for her dedication to her organization, Journey for Change, and to young people. But to assume that upon their return, the magic dust of the Soweto ghetto will have a lasting effect on youth as they negotiate inner city life is implausible. The travel cost of $12,000 per child could have been used for tutors, speech therapists, and maybe even parenting classes. Traveling is one of our greatest educators. Teaching children to give and serve others should be part of life lessons no matter what zip code they live in. But often times, we miss some of our greatest treasures by not taking children to libraries and across town. Touring our national parks, national monuments will bring life to lessons taught in the classrooms. No greater gift could have been given to one of the young men profiled than a book, but did anyone follow up to see if he even read it? Throwing money at poverty without a deliberate evaluative plan is often a waste of resources and time.


Visiting the slums of another country is a good mission trip. But as we saw, the value of the trip was short lived when we are looking for long term solutions for systemic problems that a foreign trip was not able to cure. My questions to the staff of the Salvation Army: Why were these three profiled? Are they a sampling of the thirty kids or are they the exception? How did the letters of young man end up in the hands of the Mrs. Compton-Rock? Why read letters from an incarcerated father to his son on national TV if he wasn’t reading them at home? After some probing, CNN selected the kids to profile and the kids fit a premade storyline that we see over and over-poor fatherless black child saved by the altruism by some outside benevolence force. Several children in the group had two parents. Yet we saw what is typically presented.

After leaving us lost in thought with Malakk Rock vowing to not give up on her special kids, CNN gives us an uplift with the no nonsense school principal with fire in his belly for his students and his belief that his students can and will attend college. With 100% graduation rate and college attendance, Mr. Perry shares his story of being the troubled youth who got out and stayed out of the projects. A positive role model by any standards, his students love and respect for him was obvious. He also shared with America his greatest frustration - getting parents involved with his program. The two parents shown came from predictable, handpicked, scripted backgrounds, perfect for the exploitation of an otherwise uplifting story. The young lady profiled from Capital school had an abusive father and a crack addictive mother. Thankfully, both parents were shown alcohol and drug free. In this segment, we heard clear solutions with proven results, such as longer school days, six day a week school, and allowing junior and seniors to take college classes. Having a high school within a college prepares students for college transition and helps position them in college even if they do not test well on college exams. One of most profound statements made by Principal Perry and not included in this interview was thus:

“I think that the bigger issue when we have a discussion around race is not the interracial discussions but the intra-racial discussions. We don't have a conversation as African-Americans about what we actually value and within our community where those cleavages are. For instance, we don't have a conversation about why it is that so many schools run by African-Americans are so badly under-performing within communities that have always elected black politicians.”

His statement would have changed the tone of the segment and demonstrated that blacks are also holding blacks accountable for the communities they live in.


After hearing the zealous Mr. Perry, CNN does not allow us to stay excited for too long. They bring us shattering back to earth by profiling the founder of the Tuxedo Ball, Dr. Carlotta Miles, and an elite black family. The story focuses on Bertram Lee Jr., a rugby-playing freshman at the elite Haverford College in Pennsylvania. His grandfather was a prominent state judge, his late father a businessman and co-owner of the Denver Nuggets. He said his mother, a top lobbyist in Washington, D.C., instilled in him a love for his race. He was frankly honest about his life and does not apologize for not being poor. Good for him. He shares lessons learned early in life that despite his family’s successful background and affluent lifestyle, wealthy black people still very much feel the sting of racism.

Lee said he was called the N-word at his well-heeled private school and is often questioned by security when he and his black friends play basketball in the school’s gym. Lee sounded grounded and confident and has awareness that his privileged life will not shield him from racist rhetoric. A part of Lee’s affluent life is attending the Annual Tuxedo Ball.

Dr. Carlotta Miles, a psychiatrist and DC area socialite has hosted the Tuxedo Ball for 23 years. Dr. Miles shares the history of the Tuxedo Ball. It is a weekend of socializing and networking that she said grew from a need to keep privileged black children connected after integration. Prominent black families from across the country attend the weekend of events that also includes workshops, motivational seminars, and networking-opportunities. Dr. Miles shares that for generations wealthy blacks have been invisible people, noting

“We are the invisible people because we don’t match the stereotype. The stereotype for black Americans is failure, poverty, failure, victimization and mediocrity.”

When asked how to be a part of this elite group, Dr. Miles insists that in order for your kid to be invited you must be part of the group. This group is only known to members of the group. How can group of supposedly invisible people see each other? Do they wear special glasses that are available to people in the group or CNN?

Dr. Miles's snobbishness came full circle when Soledad asked “How come you don't do a similar thing for kids who are not privileged?” She explained,

“Well, because it's not our mission. There are tons of things that are done for children who are not advantaged. There was nothing for the privileged black child because to be black in America is a challenge for many people whether you're privileged or not."

This statement was from the same interview but shown in an earlier program but. In a perfect world, I would send Dr. Miles and crew to South Africa to get a tutorial in humility.
BIA2 was filmed over a period of several months. After review the transcripts of several shows shown in January around the time of President Obama’s inauguration and February, Black History Month, CNN took segments of the interviews with Dr. Miles, Mr. Perry and Mrs. Compton-Rock to fit the message they wanted conveyed for that particular month. Breaking barriers and the first this and that was shown in January; historical perspectives of blacks in America were shown in February; piss poor and uneducated and socialites with impaired vision in July. One interview sliced to fit the script.

CNN does a hatchet job on black life and handpicked the theme for BIA2. This was not a documentation about black life but an experimentation on how many ways a network can mislead America, especially white American, with one interview.

BIA2 managed to show America blacks flunking out of school and only wanting to shoot basketball, while giving us a glimpse of the life of Blacks who are trying like hell not to be Black in America or see reality. If this is going to be continuing theme with CNN’s Black Folks Series, I will pass on BIA3 and BIA4.

Dinner and Fleas? How not to Entertain 101

I attend many social events in Nashville. My fundraising has evolved into a full-time love affair for the causes I support. And because of my passion, I get invites weekly to parties, events, fundraisers, and social gatherings galore. I am out and about often. I met a nice lady several weeks ago, who attended a fundraiser where I was honored for my work with young people. We talked briefly and promised to follow up with each other.

After exchanging several emails and phone calls, she invited me to a dinner party at her home. She seemed very sincere about helping others and she was aware that I speak often at environmental engagements around the country. She was also curious about the ecological products I use in my business. We shared common interests and had mutual clients.

I accepted her invitation to her party. Her home was in an exclusive neighborhood and I was guaranteed by another party lover that I would enjoy myself and make contacts that would be worth the forty minute drive to her home. Being the professional networker that I am, I could not wait for the big day.

At the party, I saw others I knew. Her home was exquisitely decorated and there were staff to attend to every whim of her guests. Salomon, caviar, smoked trout, and to my surprise, fried catfish nuggets, were just a few of the tempting tidbits that was so beautifully displayed on gigantic silver trays and platters. A bar was stationed in every room downstairs of the home. The décor was summery and southern, no detail spared. I sneaked off to the kitchen to introduce myself to the cater, to ensure I would have a goody bag of catfish to take home. After peeping in the kitchen, the caters were friends and I felt relieved that the food was being prepared by folks who I knew. (Part of my home training from Mississippi is to always know who is cooking the food.)


Thirty minutes into the party, I felt a sting on my leg. Immediately, my spidey senses were alarmed. After being in the pest control business for nearly two decades, I have been stung or bitten by every little creature on earth it seems. Bug repellent for outdoors, antibiotics, antidotes all go in my makeup before my lip gloss. Two minutes later, I felt the second, third, and fourth bites. I excused myself and rushed to the bathroom to give myself a once over. In the powder room, I was not alone. Another guest was intensely looking at her legs. I said, “Oh my, you too”. As we were inspecting ourselves, I pulled out an alcohol swab and started dabbing at a growing red bump. The other woman introduced herself quickly as Julie and said, “You are prepared”. I told her that I owned a pest control company. She knew who I was right away. I poured the contents of my purse out and I spent the next ten minutes doctoring on both of us.

We returned to the party and I noticed several other women were swatting at their legs. I went to the owner and asked if she had any pets. She said yes, several terriers and two chows that were put away. Her babies she informed me. I told her that I was bitten and she had fleas. She said, “I thought I got rid of them.” I stared back stunned, and asked about her treatment schedule. She had her home treated earlier in the week, she informed me. Now, I am pissed because I know she did not use my company and it takes at least two weeks to get fleas under control. The follow up is done in ten days, so she could not have had a follow up treatment. As I was talking to the hostess, we were interrupted by another guest who said she had been bitten by 'something'. The guest then turned to me and asked was I there to take care of the problem. What the hell? No, she didn’t. Yes, folks she asked me to kill the fleas.

I could not get out of there faster enough. I came home with my legs riddled with bites and I was insulted on two levels. I was invited to someone’s home who knew I owned a pest control company, who had conversed with me for several weeks to come to her party and had the audacity to use another pest control company. I have three in college, that job could have bought three text books and a coke. Second, I am at her party as a guest and I was asked to exterminate the pests. In my new BCBG dress, are you kidding me? Now if I had worn something older, sure.

And to add to my burning anger, I left my catfish! Damn. What a night.

After all the planning that was put into this event, the hostess forgot one of the most sacred tenets of entertaining, making sure your party is not remembered for the uninvited guests;ants, spiders, roaches or fleas. This tale of entertaining horror could have been prevented. If you are not using Holmes Pest Control; do not throw a summer extravaganza.

Photo Credits: Erik Johnson,ASAM, HPC

Debra Lee's Circus, The BET Awards

Watching movies and barbecuing is how my family spends most Sunday afternoons. This past Sunday, I broke a cardinal rule and watched the BET Awards for the first time. My kids convinced me that it would be great since it was billed as a tribute to Michael Jackson and his humanitarian endeavors. However, the show that was promoted was not the show I watched. The BET Awards was a chaotic three hour black-a-thon fiasco.

How things begin is an indication of where things will end. Watching CNN’s anchorman Don Lemon giving shouts out on the red carpet was the start of the calamity that went downhill fast. To add to the circus atmosphere that was forming outside, Joe Jackson, MJ’s father and belt wielding former manager, was on the red carpet promoting his new record label. Huh? I know grief is expressed in different ways but this was a drastic departure from tears and sadness that is normally shown. He sounded more like an old school promoter for Denise LaSalle than a father who had lost a son two days prior. But what do I know. I never watched the show and I did not know if this was the norm. Arsenio Hall was raised from the dead and Chaka Khan said something. As for the rest of the folks, I had no idea if they were artists or clowns that were paid to keep us distracted.

Once the “show” started, I cursed myself for partaking in foolishness. I was tweeting throughout the night because my kids could not stand me shouting at them and the TV. New Edition was cute and Jamie Fox was comic relief. The O'Jays, in their yesteryear prom suits, had me dancing. Sugary Ne-yo and Jamie's collaboration was touching. The duet with Monica and Keisha Cole was sassy and had vocal harmony. I loved Keke Palmer throw down. And Maxwell could have sung all night.

But what was up with Queen B’s ballerina-wedding night-wingless angel outfit? Did she sing a song that is the theme for dog rescuers? It was not proper for a MJ tribute. But the pandemonium kept coming; Ray J and the Atlanta vixens, Lil Wayne gold dipped teeth (ew), Ving Rhames, and various characters that had no talent only added to the bizarre profanity laced evening. Don Cornelius rambling intro, which made time stand still, had me praying for the torturous show to end. And let’s not forget the commercials for upcoming BET reality shows that I confused with promos for a support group for incarcerated women.

After the rappers destroyed the English language as we know it and perplexity that would have been right at home at the Hoodie Awards, Mary Mary blessed the show with a gospel song straight from a juke joint. Don't hate, I blog like I see it.

Recognizing Alicia Keys and Wyclef was nice, but, seriously, where was the tribute to MJ? I felt Janet's pain who sounded broken as she reminded the audience that MJ was her brother.

Why the ring mistress of BET, Debra Lee, could not have waited and worked on a show that would have been truly entertaining and befitting to MJ's memory and his work is beyond me. MJ gave $300 million to charities which is rarely mentioned. Focusing on his charitable contributions during his lifetime and how his musical brilliance created an entire genre of music/videos would have rocked the house and lifted spirits. Instead, we were reminded why he lived in a place called “Neverland”. You would have to live in a world of make believe to call the show a tribute. The responses on Twitter and in the blogosphere have been horrific. The poorly orchestrated show did not reflect MJ’s musical influence and minimized the gifts of many talented individuals. I am wondering if the folks at the Stellar Awards would have done a better job. On second thought, never mind, that spaceship will never land.
Photos credit: www.bet.com

Bugsact finally makes it on the Daily Show!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
"i" on News
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

I guess my thoughts are by far the most interesting on Twitter and Facebook. I made CNN which made the Daily Show. Who said Bloggers have no life?

National Destitute Father of the Year, Desmond Hatchett

Update: He now has 30 kids...read here as of May 19, 2012.

National Destitute Father of the Year recipient, Desmond Hatchett of Knoxville is a self- professed sperm donor, I mean “father”, to 21 children by 11 baby mamas. The 29 year old started procreating at the ripe old age of 17. His children ages range from 11 months to 11 years old. Hatchett’s court appearance for child support made national headlines last week.

Before you start searching the NFL or NBA rosters looking for this dead beat dad, don’t. This morally and financially bankrupt man makes $6.55 an hour. He will never be able to support 1 child let alone 21 at his pay grade. Hatchet was summoned before Knoxville’s Municipal Court last week where his name appeared 11 times in one day on the court’s docket, representing 15 of his children for back child support.
Hatchett says he was not out to set a record. He says he never intended to have this many children, “It just happened” and he claims all of the mothers knew about his large family. How does having 21 kids “just happen”? I do believe that the women probably knew he had a large clan. I am curious about the ages of the mamas. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are probably a month shy of their junior year of high school, if not by age, for sure by mentality. Men like Hatchett look for the young and stupid to hook up with.

My questions are for the mamas. Who? Why? What is he saying to so many baby mamas that make them go gaga for him? Why so many did not use protection if not for birth control but to keep safe from a STD? He must have lines that only Devil himself could make up to get these women to fall for him. It has been reported, he was seeing more than one at a time. This is where we have to be mothers to motherless and ask direct questions and hold the moms accountable as well as the dead beat sperm donor. If my grandmother was having one of these overdue talks, I can hear her being snarky, “If you sleep with someone with that many children and he can barely support himself, you get what you get…nothing.” Or one could get a dreaded disease from him to add to this sad saga.

The question Knox County officials now face is how to support all these children. Hatchett works a minimum wage job and Tennessee law states only 50% of his paycheck can be taken for child support. By the time the money is split 21 ways, some of the mothers get less than $2 per month. That leaves the taxpayers footing a large portion of the bill for these children, which means you and I are paying for his babies and the drama of his babies' mamas.

This is where black folks have to address black folks' foolishness. The women allowing this mayhem into their lives is bad, but for him to have the gall to give media interviews to explain himself is beyond comprehension. For the mothers to complain about the amount they are getting from him, makes this story comic book ready. Where is the shame? There are several photos of him checking his cell phone. He can pay for a cell phone but cannot pay for child support! He should be put on a chain gang breaking rocks for TDOT to pay the state to take care of his kids. Listen up mamas, a man making minimum wage with 21 children cannot afford to take a woman to Krystal to buy a Krystal Chik combo. A basic record search did not indicate he had a criminal record, although fathering 21 children by 11 different women should be considered a crime.

What adds fuel to this raging forest fire, most of the women have more than one child by him. I understand being duped by a fool once but to allow him to sire two kids by you means common sense is seriously missing.

One media outlet reported, “Even though Hatchett can't support the children he has, there is nothing the state can do to prevent him from having more. Hatchett reports that he had 4 children in one year, twice. He says he's done having children now, but only time will tell. He does say that he's a good father and knows the names, ages, and birth dates of all of his children.”

God help us. He brags to the media that he had four children in one year. TWICE! He knows his children’s names and birthdays but cannot take care of them. My granddaddy left this earth barely able to pronounce my name but he took care of me and every grandchild that landed on his door step. Knowing your kids names means zero, when you cannot buy diaper wipes let alone a package of diapers.

This should be a case study for chapters of 52 Color Men. Put the galas on hold this year and go find men like Hatchett and take them under your wings. After you beat the hell out of them, teach them work ethics, get them employed, SHOW them how (or in this case not to be) fathers and daddies to their children. Teach the women in the community to stay away from predatory lovers who revel in having children because they think this makes them men.

For the social clubs that show community love by having cotillions, start going to middle schools with Hatchett’s picture and tell his story to every girl at the school. Help young girls to form girl clubs equivalent to a neighbor watch program to teach them to report men like Hatchett when they drive through (or walk) their neighborhoods. Teach them to scream “baby maker!” and run in the house and lock the doors until the police arrive. We must protect the young while they are still teachable. As much as I hate putting labels on individuals, in this case we should label this situation so we can dissect it for teaching purposes. Since this is a G-rated post, I cannot use the label here.

For those of us who were insulted by the suggestion in the June ’09 issue of Essence that a strip club was a place to meet men, I suggest lobbying Essence to put Desmond Hatchett on the cover and tell his compelling life story to other women who might think Hatchett is a great find. Since Hatchett wants to be a media darling, there is nothing like getting his sordid history out there as a warning to other women who may not know the rest of the story. By putting Hatchett on the cover, it will help make him the poster child for what women should not want in a man no matter how lonely one may get. Single and sane is far better than being saddled with this sperm pimp and all of his baggage.

Please do not tell me the "he was raised without a father" storyline. We cannot continue to blame the decay of our culture on everything and everyone else. We have to take back what we have freely given away; our pride, our decency, our sense of family and the ability to be self-sufficient no matter how tough times are. Our values are leaving, going, fading fast. I can take being marginalized by other races in our society but when I see us devouring our young by turning a blind eye to the Hatchetts and his women of the world, I have to fight to keep hope alive in my heart that we can do better. Someone had to know that Mr. Impregnator was running around town loose and out of control. Did anyone sound alarms to the mothers? Would they have heeded the warnings if told to stay away? This is not a soap box but the truth and sometimes we have to speak/write the truth even if it is hard to hear/read.

Lastly and most importantly, the children, none whom asked for this chaos. They are innocent. Can you imagine the lives they are living if their moms are coming to court asking for $2 dollars in BACK child support payments? This is not a third world country we are talking about, this is Tennessee. Who wants to go to school with the whole world knowing you got twenty other siblings within a five block radius? Hatchett's offspring will fight an uphill battle for the rest of their lives. To see children starting life off emotionally, physically, and psychologically struggling because of irresponsible parents equals depraved indifference in my book. Not to mention the cruelty the kids will suffer at the hands of other children. Kids can be mean to one another; I can only imagine the fights on the playground when the children are laughed at by other kids. Can you imagine the jokes? Desmond Hatchett and his mamas bore children into the world that are now etched into our social programs for the next two decades. Many non-profits that would be willing to help families in need are already stretched beyond their limits and their financial wells are running dry. This is an additional burden to social ills that many of us have no idea how to solve.

I am headed to my closet to pray. Many years ago, I did not understand the totality when I first read, “I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?” Now, I understand...fully. At this moment, I am out of words (that can be printed).

The Redundancy of the Government and Lessons from the Hood

Coinciding with National Child Abuse Awareness Month, Governor Bredesen announced the state will fund a new program aimed to help reduce infant mortality in two Nashville neighborhoods.

The two year program, "Mothers United for Healthy Babies", will target the Napier and Sudekum housing and Edgehill communities. These areas have significant higher infant mortality rates than the rest of the Davidson County. A similar program was unveiled in Memphis a week earlier. In Memphis, a baby under the age of one dies every 48 hours.

“The Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination is committed to developing and supporting programs with a record of success in increasing survival rates among Tennessee’s youngest population,” said Governor Bredesen in a recent press release. “I’m pleased the state is funding this program to empower mothers in Davidson County with the education and support they need to increase their babies’ chances of reaching their first birthdays and beyond.”

I applaud the Governor for his efforts to address a problem that is plaguing a segment of the community. But addressing and studying the problem is what government programs do. Rarely will a government program solve a social issue because the solutions are often not as complicated as the bureaucracy that is set up to solve the problem.

Ironically, April is National Pest Control Month. Ask any pest management professional and we will tell you, where there are roaches and rodents running amuck, there will be illness, disease and filth out of control. Crime is not that far behind. With two press conferences and much media converge to announce the program; has anyone from the Governor's office taken a stroll through public housing and visited homes where the roaches greet you at the door? Has anyone gone into a unit and taken a whiff of the pungent odor from the rodents' urine in the air that is breathed daily by young mothers and infants?

When I first started in this business, I visited a few Section-8 units prior to responding to an invitation to bid. I was greener than the botanical pesticides I use and everything I did was an educational experience at that point. I was escorted by an employee of the housing complex who eyed me suspiciously and wondered why I was taking the time to inspect "the projects". I looked at him with wide-eyed innocence and asked, "Don't everyone do a walk through?" He erupted in laughter and asked, “Lady, are you serious? These units are going for a dollar an apartment!” I thought I heard him wrong and asked him again and he repeated, “one dollar!” louder and with more laughter.

A scientist put a dollar worth of insecticide in a vial for me and it was a squirt or two. That was my introduction to the redundancy of government programs. Metro pays $4 dollars for an apartment. The average home owner pays $40-65 for monthly maintenance services and they are not fighting infestations.

Roaches can spread at least 33 kinds of bacteria, 6 kinds of parasitic worms and 7 other human pathogens. Roaches pick up germs on the spines of their legs and bodies as they crawl through sewage and then carry them into food or onto cooking surfaces. Germs, that roaches eat from decaying matter or sewage, are protected while inside them and can remain infective for weeks longer than if they had been exposed to cleaning agents or sunlight and air. The habits and high reproductive rate of cockroaches can lead to large populations which can spread disease, contaminate and eat our food, as well as cause allergies and trigger asthma attacks.

Rodents are worst. Mice and rats are known to spread strains of Hantavirus that sometimes kill people. Rodents are known to harbor and spread as many as 200 human diseases. The house mouse have recently been shown to give off an allergen (called Mouse Urinary Protein or MUP) in the hundreds of tiny micro-droplets of urine they deposit every night as they scurry through their territory or nesting areas.

“Mothers United will emphasize how mothers help mothers to keep babies healthy.” I sure hope they are telling the young mothers to tell each other about the diseases that can be spread by roaches and rodents.

A few years ago, I took a young mother who lived in public housing under my wings. She was trying to put herself through college. On one of Nashville’s coldest days, she called me to say she was without lights. I arrived at her apartment and helped get the kids to my truck. Out the corner of my eye, what I thought was a rug tossed on the floor moved slightly. Upon seeing the rug move again, I tiptoed to inspect what I was seeing. The "rug" was not a rug, IT was several rats. I bit my tongue so hard to keep from screaming that I tasted blood. When a pest control professional wants to run, you got a serious problem. The rats were huddled together keeping warm because she had no heat. No lights, no heat. I was not surprised to learn later that her children were suffering from upper respiratory illnesses. I told her she needed to get out of the place for safety as well as health reasons. She had seen the rats do that before and said they were not the "big ones". I kill rats and had not seen that until that moment! I continued to push the issue and told her that her kids were not going to get well in that environment. I informed her sternly that rats are known to bite. She pointed out to me the bright side of the situation; with the heat being off, rats were not trying to come upstairs. I damn near drove off the highway trying to comprehend her logic!

Here's another one; same public housing, different mother, similar tale. I got a call from a mom who was barely eighteen and her six month old would not stop crying. I could hear the anxiety in her voice and I surely heard the baby cries through the phone. I knew something was wrong and asked if she had a pediatrician. Her preferred method of medical care was the emergency room. I called the only pediatrician's office I had in my cell phone, and worked out something for the young mom. The doctor’s office saw the baby right away and granted the mom some leniency with the payment. The doctor on call examined the fretful child with loving care. After a few minutes, he extracted a roach from the baby's ear canal. Pus was oozing from the child's ear like yellow lava and hearing her pitiful cries was heartbreaking. I helped the mom move that week. That was the first time I had seen a roach pulled from a baby's ear. I am now an old pro at checking crying babies’ ears for roaches.

I share these experiences not for humor but for education. Most individuals do not know how the lack of pest control affect our health and environment. When I share information with government buyers, who can make changes to help eliminate the problems, I am met with grunts and moans. I am always told that it is a problem that no one can solve. Whenever I address the relationship between pest control, sanitation, and illness in low income housing, I am met with blank stares. The correlation between the three is well documented and has been studied quite extensively worldwide.

Only in government housing will folks be allowed to live like this. The government sets up a system that perpetuates poverty, sickness and death and then sets up a program to study the program that it set up. Overlooking simple solutions is why most government programs become bad policies within a few years. Often, I remind government officials, from DC to Nashville, that the plague was spread by mice and flea bites. Everything old can be new again. Whoever thought we would be talking about the swine flu this week? I was a young girl during the Ford’s Administration but I remember my grandfather talking about the swine flu.

At one time, older women taught the younger ones. I can remember my grandmother giving me her sage advice about the goodness of Clorox. I was taught that a gallon of Clorox was part of your weekly grocery shopping. It was added to my dish water to clean my kitchen and my bathroom had to have the smell of Clorox or Pine Sol in it or it was not considered clean. Cleaning a kitchen with bleach is as old as time itself. Where do we find roaches mainly, in the kitchen? I have been in the pest control business for quite some time and nothing cleans up after roaches like Clorox. Will part of the education to young mothers in the Governor’s program include practical tips about sanitation and how important it is to maintain a clean home, especially around small babies and preemies? You cannot legislate common sense but some things in life must be taught in order for you to learn them.

I hope the folks that are trying to save our young children take a closer look at the pest management program that is set up in public housing. Eliminating the roaches and rodents should be a priority to helping create healthy environments for mothers, infants, and children. This is not a solicitation for my services by any means; I am in the business of making a profit so most government programs will not fit on my balance sheet. But I am very passionate about young children living in healthy environments, so I am praying for the success of the program. Now if anyone from the Governor’s group would like an escort to check out the units first hand, I will meet you there. By the way, wear a good pair of shoes; you will be learning a dance called, “STOMP!”


Governor Bredesen Press Release: http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/governor/viewArticleContent.do?id=1358

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct_rodents.htm

Photo credit: Divine Caroline

Tea Parties about Taxes vs. Jobs with Coke and a Smile

I attended several tea parties yesterday. An informed consumer makes a better a tax payer in my book. Paying taxes is not a Democrat or Republican issue to me. It is an issue that everyone in this country should be paying attention too, especially during this time of economic chaos. As I listened to the crowds yelling about the President, I think the message of why they were gathering in the first place was lost in the screaming.

One of the top grievances of the organizers was the hundreds of billions of dollars in recent taxpayer subsidies to automakers, banks and Wall Street investment giants. This was a grass root movement that started in Tennessee. Many concerned citizens, black and white, red and yellow, were disgusted by executive bonuses and lack of accountability to the taxpayers who are now "investors" in these global companies. Being investors in companies that many Americans do not consider are good investments, tea parties should have been a time for not only educating the stockholders but elected officials.


When Fox News signed on to the project, the messages became more Palinish vibe in its delivery and context. Fox's nightly commentators started puffing air into the grass root movement and it suddenly became a national event.

At one of the rallies I attended yesterday, more time was spent screaming about President than talking about the whoring lawmakers in bed with the companies they are bailing out. Using taxpayers' money to give to wealthy executives, while asking working folks to pay more should have been the focus. Explanations on where taxpayers' money is going and in layman terms would have been a huge benefit.

When I looked at the energy spent on tea parties, I think of how many Americans lost their jobs in the last year. Millions of jobs have literally disappeared over night. We are not dealing with the fact that many of the companies that have given pink slips to the masses are guilty of having factories overseas and received TARP funding. And bailout funding. And tax breaks. That is the bigger story for me.

Protesting the lack of jobs and demanding that any corporations receiving government welfare payments make every effort to keep Americans in jobs and to bringing back jobs from overseas would have been more unifying and inclusive. The color of money makes everyone see green. The folks at Gallup are reporting that a larger percentage of Americans are willing to pay more taxes in the short run to get our country back on track for the long haul. No one polled me, but I am willing to pay more as well. The nightly commentators, who were blowing hot air into this movement, are receiving millions as talk show hosts, getting huge speaking fees, and selling us fear while their rating are increasing. Those increased rating will help them renegotiate their contracts in 2010 and sell more books in 2011. They are no different than the elected officials who are protecting companies that are receiving bailout funding. Both are talking out the side of their necks and exploiting taxpayers for their financial gain.

Overall, the tea party movement was hi-jacked by talk show personalities and became gatherings that allowed many to vent their pent up frustrations over the election, the President, the party in charged at the moment, why life sucks, and other melodramas. In the end, we are going to pay more taxes that will be used to help fund the corporations that will get bailouts to buy expensive planes to fly their executives to deposit their paychecks in offshore tax havens.

In the meantime, I am going to buy a Coke for a friend who has been laid off and has no insurance to care for his ailing wife with cancer. He can use a smile.

Tea Time with Mike

It should be an interesting day watching the coverage of Tea Parties around the country. I have been assigned to cover several rallies scheduled in Nashville. I have my tea bags ready to boil and I will be checking in with Michael Patrick Leahy from Top Conservative. Michael is the founder of the organization that is making noise about taxes. I have been following Mike's blog and his show based in California at
http://taxdayteaparty.com.

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/bugsact. If I am not back by this evening, call my mother.

Breaking News: Nancy Grace Interrupts her Obsession with Caylee Anthony and reported a Black Woman Missing

In today's world, many individuals can deliver the news. News anchors, reporters, journalists, bloggers and talent disguised as cable hosts and then there is Nancy Grace. Nancy Grace is in a genre by herself. She is the only person on television that covers missing kids with some facts and any rumor that can be found on the streets. I am convinced that CNN's Nancy Grace is obsessed with Caylee Anthony and needs psychiatric counseling immediately. With little objectivity and even less professionalism, Nancy conducts interviews equivalent to face offs. Nancy Grace, a former prosecutor, makes me wonder if she believes she can bypass the courts and send anyone straight to jail via her TV show.

Nancy Grace has a special way of making you hate to watch her and hate to miss the next show. Since July, her acid tongue has been fixated on the Anthony family complete with swirling pictures and videos on the TV screen. As a self professed news junkie, I can watch any show on any network with an open mind. But I can only watch Nancy Grace in short intervals. Nancy has become as creepy as a pedophile showing the pictures of Caylee throughout her show. Speaking of perverts, she closes the show to Michael Jackson’s song “Gone Too Soon”. The irony of that is too long to discuss in this posting. I often find myself begging my TV screen to show a child of color missing as if it would answer back.

One child of color was profiled in the last six months. One. Six year old Adji Desir from Florida was profiled briefly. Nancy spent four minutes in her initial reporting of his disappearance from his front yard. He has not been seen since. She gave him some attention a few more times but his coverage pales in comparison to the swirling pictures of Caylee with the show ending with the baby saying "Pa-pa, pa-pa ". And where did she get the video of the baby being given a bath, anyway? How CNN can exploit a tragedy like this and then question why they are losing viewers to Fox News is pure amazement? As deranged as Sean Hannity sounds about a pending communist state, bowing to a king, and foreign appeasement to ever increasing ratings, he does not have a deceased child on the TV screen night after night.

After Caylee Anthony's body was founded in December, Nancy Grace dedicated two weekend specials to Caylee. In tears, she described Caylee's first two years of life with the infamous partying mother known as "Tot Mom". Nancy's emotional voice is heard while we watched Caylee go from a baby to a toddler. Picture after family picture of Caylee was shown with commentary as if it was her child. I had to switch the channel because it was getting too bizarre. Since that time, Nancy has not masked her hatred of Casey Anthony and her family. But with a flip of the switch and quicker than someone needing extra strength Zoloft, Nancy was in an uproar at the media when George considered suicide to escape the pain of losing his grandchild.

The concern shown for the distraught grandfather, who she aided in pushing him over the edge by many folks assessment, proved to me she is one buckle away from a straight jacket. But Nancy was back to herself within a few days spitting venom at lawyers who showed caution not to assume this case is a slam dunk. When the body of Caylee was finally laid to rest, the family sent a message to the media not to come. I am sure the only names on the list were Nancy Grace and her whipping post producer, Natisha Lance. The funeral was replayed over and over for a week and Nancy did not miss a beat in showing the Tot Mom prison rants with her family.

With new photos of Tot Mom partying, a court appearance "in a new purple sweater", and Casey's parents freshly taped civil case deposition that should have been on paid-per-view; Nancy has been given more ammunition to poison the jury pool. I would be surprised if this case is tried in Orlando. And there is a possibility that Tot Mom maybe partying again in a year or two if the leaking of information continues.

Last week, Nancy did the unthinkable; she interrupted her diatribe about Tot Mom to profile a Black mother missing. And to add more intrigue to her sudden awareness of others, she bought Girl Scout cookies on national TV. Nancy Grace profiled a missing mother of color and told us that she encourages young girls by supporting the Girl Scouts. There is a God! After shaking myself from shock, I went to the Internet to research the story. Unfortunately, her website does not offer any details about mother who was profiled. How the Girl Scout cookies fit in the story leaves me puzzled but, nevertheless, a person of color was profiled. Nancy broke her routine of baby exploitation and gave a family of color loved one air time.

This subject is personal, I must confess. I know how important it is to show the face of a missing child, teen, (fill in the blank) on television. You engage the audience to take a closer look and hope that someone may have seen the face somewhere. There are hundreds of children and young women who are reported missing every day. But why focus on one family for nearly a year? Why not give families, without the saga, drama, and derogation, a 30 second camera shot? It is amazing how the memory can be jogged in an instant. I am not trying to take any one's Caylee fix from them but mentioning another name, profiling Blacks, Hispanics, and others would not take any steam from the hate-fest-freak-show coverage of the Tot Mom yelling at her parents.

It makes me sick to know harm was brought to the child, any child for that matter. I hate that another child, named Haleigh, is starting to get Nancy's attention mainly because of the dysfunction that is being uncovered within her family dynamics. Nancy is not helping the family find the child but picking them apart publicly. Reporting who the parents are sleeping with diverts attention from the real issue, Haleigh is missing.

There will be a special place in hell for CNN and Headline News (HLN). Not only do they put Nancy Grace on seven nights a week, they have given her a preshow with Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell. And to add even more creepiness to the mix, Jane has a preshow with Mike Galanos of Prime News. Mike discusses what Jane will discuss that Nancy will discuss about Tot Mom. Four hours daily discussing one child not including the wee hour repeat shows. When is too much enough? CNN should not have any ratings at this point.

The Tot Mom case goes to trial in October. Between now and the trial, I hope Nancy will put her hateful energy into helping families of all colors find their love ones and locking up criminals who harm kids. John Walsh of America's Most Wanted has his critics but he uses his show to actually get criminals off the street and behind bars. Hundreds of cold cases have been solved and thousands of wackos have been put behind bars. His show only airs ONE night a week.

Nancy can continue to discuss what waiting-for-trial-killers eat in prison and continue to interview former and future lovers of the Tot Mom, but as least use her voice to help find the missing or give the grieving solace and closure. After watching her in short bursts this week, I realize I am just not into watching Nancy Grace exploit children. I rather buy the National Enquirer; at least I know the headlines are sensational upfront.