MrAnt's blog: "Words Of An Ant"

I was recently talking to some folks in my blog on TagWorld, "Should Blacks Be Republicans?" when somebody brought up the fact that they fear that the Muslim religion is infiltrating the Black community. They seem to believe that because some Muslims are terrorists then somehow this means the Black community is becoming more dangerous to America. Poppycock. I believe that none but the most minuscule number of Blacks who become Muslims in America would even consider doing anything to attack this country. The vast majority of Muslims from the Middle East are not terrorists so there is absolutely no reason to believe that any Blacks who convert to the religion of Islam here are now more dangerous. Even those in Black hate groups like the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panthers are considered to be Separatists. Separatists by definition are not violent but simply believe in the separation of the races. Believe me, I have talked to a Black guy that was a Black Muslim and a member of the New Black Panthers and the last thing that guy was was violent. All he could talk about was Blacks getting away from Whites by moving to Africa to get away from all the racist White people in America. That was his view, not mine, mind you. All Black hate groups belong in the Separatist category and you will seldom if ever hear of any member of those groups committing acts of violence against anyone. However, it is not unknown or unusual for members of so called Christian White hate groups to commit acts of violence against Blacks and other minorities (Blacks are the most victimized racial group in America in terms of hate crimes according to the FBI) and some have even been tied to terrorist attacks on this country. The most famous recent incidents are the dragging to death of the Black man behind a pickup truck in Jasper, Texas by White Supremacists and the Oklahoma City bombing by White Supremacists. The latter was tied to a White Supremacist named Timothy McVeigh. On the contrary, never has any terrorist attack in America been tied to any Black hate group whether it was Muslim or otherwise. Even the Black Panther hate group was not responsible for any terrorist attacks on the US and God knows that was one dangerous armed group. So, the idea that somehow the Black community is becoming more dangerous because more of us are becoming Muslims is just an example of White hysteria, in my opinion. Not that the vast majority of Whites harbor such a fear as that. What all Americans should fear the most is White hate groups, especially minorities like myself.

I believe that convicted felons should not be allowed to vote while they are incarcerated. However, after they have served their time or paid their debt to society, I believe they should be allowed to vote upon release. That is because in order for them to be fully assimilated back into society they should be treated like all other members of society as much as possible. That means at least allowing them to vote again. To deny an ex-con the right to vote is to say they have not paid enough already. I do not believe that is right and is counter productive to making them feel like valued and respected members of society again. It makes them feel unequal and does not promote a good attitude on their part towards society. I am not saying that such mistreatment would cause them to return to prison by breaking the law but it certainly does not help them to assimilate again into society. I also think that denying some 4.7 million ex-cons the right to vote is tantamount to treating them like second class citizens or worse. During the time of slavery, slaves were not considered citizens and were counted as 3/5 of a person. By denying some ex-cons the right to vote the government in a way is treating them like slaves. It may not be denying that they are human beings but it is saying that just like slaves they cannot vote. They can work their butts off, pay taxes, follow all the rules of society, and be free but they do not have the right to vote. Such disenfranchisement is neither right nor fair in my opinion. Plus, if ex-cons are not allowed to vote they are not really being represented. After all, they have no voice in determining who their government representatives are. Nevertheless, they are being taxed. Isn't there something in the Constitution about "no taxation without representation"? Some ex-cons not being allowed to vote is especially odious when one considers that the real reason so many Republicans oppose all ex-cons having the right to vote is that most of them would vote Democrat. That is just plain self-serving on their part and is something that should not be allowed to go on. It is nothing less than government or political corruption, in my opinion. Finally, as an African American some ex-cons being unable to vote is particularly odious to me in terms of my people's long struggle to gain the right to vote. It is also odious to me because a disproportionate number of Blacks are ex-cons. For me to oppose ex-cons having the right to vote would be for me to betray my own race. Plus, I have ex-cons in my family. I could not imagine looking any of them in the face and saying I oppose you being able to vote because you have not paid enough for your crimes. Of course they have. That is why they were released. I would feel like nothing but a traitor to my own family members to have such an attitude. So, those states that do not allow ex-cons to vote need to stop depriving them that right. It is wrong, immoral, evil, and un-American in my opinion. It does not make America a better place but it makes it a worser place instead. That is because an injustice against one group should be considered an injustice against all. Not allowing ex-cons to vote is most certainly unjust.

This present darkness that's in the world, That blinds the lost to dangers that swirl, Around them threatening to end their lives, Before they meet Christ in whom safety lies, Cannot withstand God's awesome power, In the very selfsame hour, When a sinner their soul to God doth yield, And their hope in Christ they begin to build.

Resting 'neath the willow tree, I found myself so much at ease, Hid from sun and prying eyes, Of strangers as they passed me by, That I soon fell sound asleep, But was awaken by the beep, Of someone's noisy rude carhorn, But not my wristwatch which was gone!

My light is fading, My body is tired, My bones are aching, I'm almost expired, I can't hear like I used to, Songs sound the same, I can't see like I used to, Is that your frame? My mind is feeble, My thoughts jumbled, My soul is weary, From years humbled, I'm ready to move on, From Earthly veil, That for some Heaven, But for others Hell.

There is a pothole hotline in St. Louis. It is 314-768-2805. The problem is, the city workers at that hotline are only getting like ten calls a day. So, as a result, potholes are not getting fixed very quickly. They could fix more potholes if people would just call them. I said that to say this. Check and see if your city has a pothole hotline. If it does, get it and call it. My local news station provided the number for us and I am sure if you contact a local news station it will provide you with the number for your city if there is one. If your city workers are anything like ours,your potholes will get fixed pretty quickly if you just call them. Take care.

Well, I had another weird dream this morning. I dreamed about babies being born with misshapen heads. What the *bleep*? Out of all the things to dream about why do I get stuck with bizarre *bleep* dreams about babies with misshapen heads or birth defects? In the dream I think I was talking to one of the parents and saying that when they get old enough I guess they could try to repair their skulls. The parent seemed resistant. I was saying they would have to probably wait until the head stopped growing before they could repair the damage. On second thought, they could probably do surgeries long before then. Then again, I was dreaming so I was not exactly operating on all cylinders. Know what I am saying? I may have dreamed about some other stuff but those dreams are too fuzzy in my memory to blog about. Anyway, I am stuck wondering why in the he double hockey sticks am I dreaming about babies with misshapen heads when I could be dreaming about hot babes instead? I was on another blog of mine on TagWorld and a friend was telling me about this hot dream she had about Tyrese. I was like I am happy for you but my dream blew chunks. Sigh. Could be dreaming about Halle Berry,Angelina Jolie, Serena Williams,Lucy Liu, Kristen Kreuk, Selma Hayek and a host of hot babes of all races and nationalities and I am dreaming about misshapen head babies instead? I must be out of my freaking gourd. Sigh.

This morning I woke up to yet another bizarre dream. It started with me discovering that there was a disjointed floating head,torso, and arms in the house with us. By us I believe I mean my brother, myself, and my mother. My father was not in the house. Initially I screamed for help and I think in my mind I was hoping someone versed in witchcraft or something would come banish the thing. I think I may have watched too much Charmed,Supernatural, The Dresden Files, the X-Files, and other weird shows of a supernatural or just plain strange nature. Anyway, seeing that no help was coming I took it upon myself to challenge this entity. At first it appeared the entity was leaving because it had opened the door and seemed on its way out. That is how I figure it must have had arms because how else could it have opened the door? I do not specifically remember arms though and I will remember less of this dream if I do not hurry up and finish this damned story. Moving on, it hesitated, turned around, and then started coming towards me. I punched it a few times in the torso every time it came forward causing it to go backwards each time. Yet it would once more began to advance. It never tried to attack me. Somehow it ended up down in the basement of the house and I was content to just close the basement door and leave it trapped down there. But then my mother, against my protests, went down there to get something. She was coming back up the stairs with whatever she went down there to get when the dream ended. The entity was nowhere in sight. How strange a dream is that?

He speaks with venomous words His eyes are filled with hate His hands they long to kill His feet run to mischief His heart is dark and cold His ways are naught but wrong His mind is Satan's lair His hatred's beyond compare Kill them all the voice screams Make them die in agony Kill them all the voice commands And do not spare not one Obediently he flips the switch And in a flash death comes to all The suicide bomber has done his deed But Hell not Heaven is his reward.

Interesting Marital Story Put Your Spouse First A while back I heard an interesting story from a woman concerning her first marriage. She married this man from Nigeria two years after dating him. It went okay for the first six months. Then the man's two brothers who were here illegally came to live with them even though they had recently had a child. The brothers would not work. Sure they could not work everywhere due to having to fill out applications and such but they could have earned cash cutting lawns, plastering, moving furniture, etc. Needless to say, the marriage began to be on the rocks. The wife wanted the brothers to leave but the husband would not make them. Eventually, after three years of enduring the mooching brothers, the wife left and got her own place. Without the wife's income, the husband was unable to continue to live where they had been living. He tried to live with relatives but they would have none of it. Eventually, he resorted to selling drugs. He was caught and deported back to Nigeria. God knows what became of him. His ex-wife, on the other hand, has remarried and is very happy. She considers herself blessed. So, this is a lesson to everyone. Never, ever, ever put anyone on God's green Earth ahead of your spouse. To do so is to break one's promise to love and to cherish till death do you part, forsaking all others, and may result in the disolution of your marriage. Forewarned is forearmed. Peace.