These allegations have been hovering around Senator John Edwards for quite some time. I’ll admit, he had me fooled. When I heard the rumors I thought to myself, no way would this man have an extra-marital affair on his wife while she is in such a fragile state. John Edward’s wife Elizabeth has been battling cancer for some time now. His reputation is ruined but that’s not the important issue, he lied to the American Public but that’s the norm for politicians so that’s not the important issue.

The problem here is his wife has to stand by his side, standing up for someone who has embarrassed her in front of the whole world. John Edwards issued a statement saying “You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help,”. I mean even after the man has been caught red handed, he tries to moralize on the public as if he is not the ione who lied, cheated and created this trouble.

Once again I just feel sorry for the wife, she is the victim here. And the story gets even weirder. The woman with whom he cheated has a child who is said to be fathered by another married man who was a former aide to Edwards as well. These women who have these affairs with these married men, who somehow decide to have a conscience like to be the victims as well. Their not, this woman was sleeping with two married men, and having unprotected sex with both of them at that. Once again my prayers are with Elizabeth because she is the one who loses in all this. John Edwards political career was never going anywhere anyway so he’s not losing much.

link

Ok, is this stupid children Friday! I know, I know you should never call a child stupid but the nonsense in the news today is utterly ridiculous and disheartening.

A group of teens at Gloucester high School in Gloucester Massachussetts made a pact to get pregnant. Over 17 young women, most under the age of 16 have gotten pregnant during this school year. The numbers were so startling that the school officials decided to investigate what was going on.

What they found was that these young girls were getting pregnant on purpose. There is so much wrong with this situation that it is not even funny. 1. We have children playing with the lives and futures of these babies that they are about to bring into the world. 2. STD’s are spread through unprotected sex, it is logical to assume that if all these girls are getting pregnant that they are having unprotected sex with these men.

The article states that one man is 24 years old and homeless and he is the father of one of these young girl’s babies. These young girls are searching for love in all the wrong places. It’s sad that they went to such lengths to gain attention. I am truly worried for the young women of the coming generation. In a world where youtube booty shaking and naked photos of young girls pop up everywhere on the internet I am concerned for their well being. I am concerned for the future mothers of our children. Ofcourse it would be preposterous to assume that all young girls are acting this way. But any time you see 17 young girls at one high school making pacts to get pregnant that should let you know that this is a growing problem.

It would be a waste if I just ranted about these problems and said nothing in the way of solutions for such a  problem. We need young women to mentor these young girls. We need young men to mentor our young sisters and present them with more respectful and favorable images of themselves. We need to enstill respect in these young ladies. Not only respect for themselves but respect for their peers and most importantly their own bodies. I pray for these 17 young children coming into this world, and I pray for these girls because the road to parenthood is not be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Now that we have watched these young ladies make these mistakes it is up to their parents, communities, churches and us to help support young women in such a situation and to prevent other young ladies from making similar mistakes. Peace and Love!

Letter to a young black female

What’s up young lady. You may not know who I am but I know who you
are. You see, I see your potential, I envision you accomplishing all
of your dreams and goals. Anything that you set your mind to can and
will be yours if you just Believe!

Believe in what you may ask? Yourself! Believe that you are the
intellect which has governed civilizations for century upon century.
Believe that you are the standard of beauty and not whatever images
the media shells out at you. Believe that there is no task too big
or too small that you can not reach for and achieve.

Realize young lady that women have always been at the helm of
everything great. James Brown said it best, “this is a man’s world but
it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl”. You have so many big
sisters to look up to, so many sources of inspiration that have
provided the framework of the strong work ethic known as womanhood.

Notice I call you young lady for these terms that I hear you referred
to are not your names. You are a Queen who must demand respect, your
mere presence should command respect. You must first respect yourself
however, and respect your fellow sisters as well. Together you young
ladies make up the future table of leadership.

God made you to be special, he made you to stand apart from the crowd.
So fear not if you feel isolated or alone, look back to your big
sisters who have changed the landscape of history, they once felt
alone too. I write you this letter to show my admiration for you, to
pay homage to the beautiful gift that the creator is bestowing upon
us. Follow your dreams and believe in your path young lady, for the
very thought of you reaching a tenth of your potential is an
inspiration to us all!

Truly yours,
Cedric D. Shine (your #1 fan)

Here is the article

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1016357,pregpact062008.article

For a long time I have been debating whether or not I should become a vegetarian. I started to think about it seriously last summer while reading Russell Simmons book “Do You”. He had a lot of knowledge in there discussing our health and how the food we eat affects our mental health and our spiritual being.

However, we become slaves to our desires and sometimes a quarter pounder with cheese and french fries tastes so gooooddd! But lately I have been thinking about what Russell Simmons was saying and also just about us treating our bodies like temples. If we consume a bunch of unhealthy foods now, it will show on us later on in life. Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes; none of these are the look that I’m going for.

So last night I decided that I would become a vegetarian and give my body the attention it deserves. So on my fat boy tip I went to McDonald’s one last time and thought I was about to pig out. Hmmm the picture above shows my half eaten hamburger that was barely cooked. The meat was so red I wonder if they put it on the grill at all. I couldn’t even be mad, this was a sign that I was making the right choice. Even though quarter pounders with cheese feel great that doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Unprotected sex feels great too but it can KILL YOU!

I am not a meat hater, continue to enjoy your burgers and ribs. I however will be eating more soy products and seafood. This actually makes me a pescetarian, I just learned this word today. Peace and love!

The following video is very disturbing; please proceed with caution! I pray that we can have a productive dialogue about this very serious issue that is affecting people of all colors and ethnicities. While I sit here watching this video in disgust, I hope that it is a joke to awake the masses of people engaging in unprotected sex. Please pass this video along because this type of reckless behavior can affect and infect each and every one of our lives.