Both the Bidens and Trumps have landed the USA in the pits.

 For years I have been wondering how Donald Trump could continue to garner such popular support, considering how depraved he is!

For this a man who is not only boastful about his sexually predatory practices, but also, he has also been found to have committed other serious illegal acts during his public career.

These include criminal racial discrimination against black potential tenants in New York,  using funds raised for the benefit of the Trump Foundation for his personal use, robbing students registered in Trump University, robbing small contractors and on and on.

While I thought Joe Biden was better for the goals and reputation of the country, I was extremely disappointed by his selfishness in holding on to power after the first term.

 For no matter how fit you feel as you age, the reality is, after a certain age we do not have the mental or physical ability to handle certain tasks efficiently, and we could all see Biden deteriorating before our eyes.

Hunter Biden 

By selfishly insisting that he was running again, he prevented other possible more competent persons putting themselves up for the leadership of the Democrat Party and candidates for president.

In fact, in the blog: https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2023/04/he-is-just-too-old.html?m=1, I also pointed to the toll his son Hunter Biden, was having on the family. 

 I am no psychiatrist, but I suspect Hunter's conviction today will have a serious psychological effect on Biden, further expediting his decline. 

It is not only as a drug addict and financial exploiter of the Biden name that this remaining son has been a millstone around the President's neck, but morally, in family matters as well. 

For while the Biden's like to showcase their grandchildren, they have not only refused to acknowledge their last grandchild, (who was sired by Hunter), but also, have never had a word of condemnation for that son's refusal to support financially, that child!

(The DNA commissioned by the mom, proved it was Hunter's child and the entire sordid affair has been widely reported in the press.)

The world has for quite a few decades, held up the USA as a good example in many regards.

In my book however, both the Bidens and Trump have been terrible for the reputation and future of this great country.

Worse, the convicted felon will probably once again end up being the president of this the most powerful country in the world.😥.

So sad.

NB. 

The debate between Trump and Biden last night has not only confirmed everything I said above, but it has probably damaged Biden's legacy forever.

 For in truth, Biden had been an exemplary citizen who sacrificed a lot over the years, to serve his country and make it a better place for all.

However, because of his determination to selfishly hold on to power long after he has no capacity to perform effectively, he will probably destroy that legacy forever.

Power indeed corrupts!

(The original article was posted 06/11/2024 and the debate held 06/27/2024).

This cartoon sums up the sad situation.

Is death really the ultimate?

Some years ago I stopped speak to a pair of young men who were soliciting funds on Trafalgar Road in Kingston. 

The younger one had no hands, arms, feet, or legs and he was in a wheelchair being pushed by the other. 

My heart went out to the wheelchair bound gentleman. I tried to imagine how one survives when you find yourself in a situation like that. 

That's really when I started to appreciate the little things we take for granted,  like feet and fingers!

When I inquired how he had received such severe injury, he told me he was in a car accident.

 The car he was in, went over a gully.

I guess that's one reason why when I hear the Road Safety Council always harping only on the death rate from road accidents, I find it so annoying!

For in all their ads that I have heard, they never seem to take serious injuries (which I suspect are far more prevalent than death in car accidents,) into consideration when warning about the need to drive carefully!

Can you believe too that while there is a horde of statistics on road accidents and the death rate, they have no facts or figures on serious injuries! (At least I couldn't find any!)

 It is because I just heard another radio ad advising drivers how to avoid death on the roads, why I am back on this topic. 

For death has always been their mantra over the decades I have been hearing their ads.

Could it be because I am one of the weird people in the world who doesn't think death is worse than serious incapacitating injury, why no ad warning me of possible death could influence me one bit to take my foot off the accelerator? 

Really how many of you would rather be totally incapacitated than dead? (This is my idea of an informal poll on the issue!)

In my book, if the Road Safety Council wants to encourage safer driving, they should be widening the scope of their ads instead of forever harping only about death.

 Or is it that they don't know death is inevitable? 

 Why don't they encourage motorists to think seriously about the possibility of having to spend the rest of their long lives totally dependent on others to do the most basic things?

Worse yet, if one is not born a millionaire, how well or long can you survive without being able to support oneself if one is seriously injured in an accident?

Interestingly, I wrote the above on the 10^th June. When I took up my Sunday Observer, (16/6) I noticed an article entitled “I’ve never been the same, Survivors share long-lasting impacts of road crashes” written by Kelsey Thomas.

Big up Kelsey as I have also often wondered why no working journalist has ever investigated and highlighted the terrible situation in which the injured are left.

For this particular article, Thomas interviewed only two persons, but I think if more drivers and road users in general read it, it would give them an idea of the physical and mental repercussions that remain when one is the injured for life.

I hope someone who coordinates advertising programs for the Road Safety Council reads it and gets the point that while death is final and inevitable for all, a life of suffering isn’t!

It’s time the Road Safety Council starts thinking outside of the box!

 

 

 

Island groove

 If you want a Caribbean person to go missing, just beg the Lord to send a teeny weeny bit of rain😊.

For that's just about the amount of rain that fell before what turned out to be a great musical event put on by the Tamarac City.

But alas, most Tamarac residents missed that really nice and energizing event.

Our groovy Mayor never missed a beat though.

Neither did my friend Cora (91)😊.

She enjoyed the short time there. She may not spend all night at these events but she loves the great outdoors.

The few people who came also had a great time as the music was good throughout.

When we got there, the "stilt" experts (Bahamian?) were just finishing up their routine.

Then it was time for great Caribbean music.

Nadine Sutherland who closed out the show, kept the vibes going.

And the kids had a great time too.

Plantation City was represented.

Nadine Sutherland 

Miramar City was also represented.

Hope in 2024 Tamarac will host more Caribbean music events.

It really sets the groove.👍.

Celebrating the Big 8

Cultural activist, renowned artist/musician, playwright, mentor and businessman Colin Smith, ( aka Barry) had no idea what was waiting for him at Island Space museum as he walked leisurely in Broward Mall, Florida, with his granddaughter, talented jazz singer/musician Alyssa (McDoom).

For although he suspected all week that something was being planned for his birthday, as his wife Anette, son Tariq, and daughters Kellie, Anika and Colleen kept whispering furtively, but shutting up as he approached, he couldn't imagine the scope. 

 A surprised Colin arrives with        granddaughter Alyssa.

.....and immediately caught the vibes 😊.

Some of the Smith siblings pay tribute to their famous brother Colin.

Son Tariq was the MC

It was a well planned affair, beautifully decorated venue, delicious food and a room full of happy friends and family who had come from all over the USA and Trinidad, to shower their friend and in many cases, mentor, with lots of love for his 80th birthday.

Daughter Colleen at entrance of venue.

Wife Anette surrounded by friends

Youngest of his siblings Hayden.

Some pieces of his art were on display.

Posing with my cousin Milton and wife Joan 

Alyssa serenades grandad Colin.

Other friends born in June, cut the cake with Colin.

Proud son Tariq toasts his mentor

                                                       Colin's band, Tallawah, entertains.

                 Dub poet Malachi left his own anniversary celebration to herald his friend.

It was an enjoyable, well planned, and executed affair for someone who has done so well for his family and kept his country's flag flying culturally in Florida.

We look forward to the big 81.

Action, not a bagga mout!

Neither Bruce Golding nor Andrew Holness seemed to have learnt much from the mantra of their late mentor, Edward Phillip George Seaga.

His catchy but important mantra was “Action not a bagga mout".

Every time I hear the JLP squealing like petulant teenagers over the dual citizenship issue, this comes to mind. 

Let me state unequivocally up and front, I personally don’t believe any member of the legislature should be allowed to have one foot in one foot out. For they make the laws that affect us all and when they make bad decisions, dual citizenship allows them the out when things go awry.

So, when leader of the Opposition Mark Golding who has British citizenship, says those who have dual citizenship should be allowed to sit in parliament, I disagree with him vehemently.

The constitutional anomaly allowing some legislators to have dual citizenship and be in parliament while barring others, is found in sections 39 and 40. It allows anyone who is a citizen of a Commonwealth country and is a resident in Jamaica for the immediately preceding twelve months, to be appointed to the Senate or elected to the House of Representatives.

But, guess what, in our constitution, dual only means American!

(I am wondering what we get from being members of the commonwealth anyway, apart from occasionally eating, drinking and making merry with the leaders of other former British colonies! Is it that we can’t stomach the thought of not celebrating British imperialism which oppressed our ancestors for centuries?)

Now considering how our love of foreign shifted radically from England to the United States since 1962, one would have thought our brilliant politicians would have sought to clarify the issue by now.

No sir, this nonesense had remained conveniently tucked away for 46 years, until January 2008, when attorney Abe Dabdoud who was a PNP candidate, thought he could get into parliament via a back door, by having the courts remove West Portland MP Daryl Vaz because he held a US citizenship.

Vaz had beat him at the polls.

Dabdoud failed but the country received a rude awakening as quite a few other JLP MP’s had to renounce their US citizenship, while those PNP MP's who held Commonwealth citizenship at that very time (I know of two at that time) watched in amusement.

This is where the bagga mout comes in.

For despite the grief it caused at the time, Bruce Golding, the then Prime Minister, did not think it important enough to try and undo the anomaly and chaos in the country as a result of that quirk in our constitution.

So, no action was taken following the weeping and wailing in the JLP and the bagga mout that prevailed for months on end!

(Oh, I forget, Golding must have been too taken up with Dudus to pay too much attention to parliamentary matters!)

Then came October 2017, when we had another bout of weeping and wailing over the same issue, as the PNP put up former Medical Association of Jamaica president, Dr. Shane Alexis to be their candidate in a by-election in St. Mary.

Alexis was legally nominated as although he was born in Canada, he had lived in Jamaica for decades but had never applied for Jamaican citizenship.

 Canada is a commonwealth country.

By then, young Andrew Holness had become prime minister, but he too took no action, once the bagga mout subsided.

Now here we are again in 2024, and the bagga mout from the JLP and its surrogates over the same issue, is once again becoming overwhelming.

You see, Mark Golding, leader of the Opposition, though born in Jamaica, has British citizenship. 

Oh mercy me!

Because some noise makers are belatedly realizing that they have no legal grounds to demand Golding’s withdrawal from parliament, they are now using words like morality and hypocrisy, in the argument.

Would someone like to tell me who are the moral and non-hypocritical politicians in our parliament?

Those who give themselves 200% and 300% salary increases while giving deserving people 40%? Those whose financial accounts can’t be verified for 3 years or have illegally enriched themselves off the backs of taxpayers?

After Barbados (little England) got rid of the British monarchy as head of their government, our government, having been shamed by their bold action, established a Constitutional Reform Committee to do the same.

But they don’t seem to want to reform thoroughly, for if we get rid of the British monarch as our head of state, why aren’t we getting out of this expensive and useless Commonwealth club, (also headed by the British monarch), replacing the Privy council as our final court, (wouldn't it be justice to resume hanging, if only for those who murder children!) and get rid of all those British titles bestowed on our citizens?

And why are we seeking to replace the overpaid and useless ribbon-cutting  Governor General with an equally useless ceremonial president?

Does any Jamaican think we will ever achieve effective constitutional reform under a bunch of bureaucratic tinkerers?

I certainly don’t think the ongoing fiasco will be anything but another total waste of money and energy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning to draw 😊

I love my art class, mainly because I have such a great, motivating teacher.

 Her name is Michelle and our art class with her is on Wednesdays.

With my art teacher Michelle

I really don't think I have much artistic talent, but she thinks she sees some in me😊.

 So I am trying hard not to disappoint her and myself.

All who celebrated with me today

Another good thing I love about Michelle, is that she loves parties☺.

For every occasion, be it mother's day, or any other event, she is quick to provide drinks, plates, napkins etc and encourage us to bring snacks, so we can take a few minutes to celebrate.

It's a fun group

When I declared at our last class that my birthday would be the following Monday, she immediately declared, party next week.

I celebrate whenever and wherever, so this was before my usual scrabble game on Sunday.

I happen to go to yoga before my drawing class and as promised, drinks, cookies and delicious cheese cakes were ready and waiting when I got there. 

In addition, Donna, (in red and white stripes above) had made the beautiful card below and everyone signed.

Donna also brought a cheese cake.

And Norma, (extreme left) who had also promised to bring me a strawberry cheesecake, did so and even brought champagne!

However, as our senior center is a non-alchohol zone, we didn't open it, so the bottle was donated to me to carry home.

And didn't I enjoy it😊. 

I not only love my art teacher, but everyone who attends our class, as Michelle knows

how to motivate us how to celebrate life, and everyone had the party spirit today!

Yup, I may never become a great artist, but I will certainly continue to enjoy attending this class.😁

93 and chugging along😊

I can't think of anyone I have known all my life on this planet, apart from my immediate family. 

Apart from the  Ramsay's.

Sybil youngest son Hon. Peter Davis, starts the proceedings.

They lived in Middle Quarters, nextdoor to my grandparents, so everytime I visited my grandmother, I saw them.

                  Second son Robert, with Camara

Sybil, or rather Dr. Sybil Davis, who turned 93 years old this week, is only one of three surviving members of the children of that family, so I was honored to be able to celebrate the milestone with her.

The birthday girl with her eldest son

Richard.

She has been consistently celebrating her birthday every year, (since I moved to Florida) but this year she declared it would be the last. 

Hope it isn't, as I always look forward to the get together.

My cousin Barry, serenading the birthday girl

Her brother, the late Father Ken Ramsay, had been one of my closest friends in Jamaica for decades, but he died during Thanksgiving weekend, about 4 years ago.

Always missing him.

 Apart from being a priest, he was an accomplished water color artist, and I am happy Sybil gave me this painting from his collection, as it cements my memory of him.

A watercolor by the late father Ken Ramsay

Sybil is of course a Taurean as I am, (our birthdays are four days apart) so her parties have  always been more or less mine too.😊.

So hoping next year's will be on as usual.