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A bit delayed due to all the Harvey coverage, but better late, than never!
Last Monday (8/25/2017), after 3 years, an 8 foot bronze statue of Martin Luther King Jr. was unveiled on the Georgia Capitol grounds to a crowd of about 800 people that included Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, members of the King family, and other state officials. The unveiling came just in time for the 54th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech. Dr. King's daughter, Reverend Bernice King, who greeted those attending the unveiling by saying, "It's about time," also had this to say about her father and what the day meant, "Forty nine years ago when my father was assassinated, he was the most hated man in America. Today, he is one of the most loved men in the world. Today, we as the sons and daughters of former slaves and former slave owners are here to witness the unveiling of that statue. It is a glorious and grand day in the state of Georgia and in the United States of America and all over the world." She also had this to say about the current climate of the country, "This statue being unveiled today, I believe, also provides a sense of hope to a nation that is in turmoil once again, as many people around this nation are removing and taking down Confederate monuments." Brief thought: More statues needs to be erected for people that that worked to bring this country together and that's all that needs to be said and done.
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Just a little something positive I wanted to pass along.
Last Saturday night, Bruno Mars announced during his concert in Auburn Hills, Michigan that he would be donating $1 million of that show's revenue to The Community Foundation of Greater Flint to help in the ongoing water crisis. "I'm very thankful to the Michigan audience for joining me in supporting this cause. Ongoing challenges remain years later for Flint residents, and it's important that we don't forget our brothers and sister affected by this disaster. As people, especially Americans, we need to stand together to make sure something like this never happens in any community ever again."--Statement from Bruno Mars "With a grateful heart, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint is honored to accept this inspiring donation. We know Bruno Mars' $1 million gift will be transformative to the children and families of Flint. He understands the issues faced by Flint citizens, and we are touched by his concern and generosity."--Statement from President and CEO Isaiah M. Oliver Brief thought: Nothing else really needs to be said, the act of generosity speaks for itself, and it's the kind of generosity and togetherness that the country needs right now. This is a post, I had on my list to cover days ago, but of course Trump and his foolishness took over the time I had set aside for other posts I wanted to get to.
Following in the footsteps of Tennessee, Oregon, and New York, Rhode Island has become the 4th state in the country to make community college free. The Promise Scholarship will cover the cost of tuition and fees @ the Community College of Rhode Island for new students starting this fall semester...regardless of income. In order to be eligible for the scholarship the following requirements have to be met:
Those who take advantage of the scholarship are required to work, live, and/or continue their education in Rhode Island after graduation and the scholarship will go into effect after students have used other need based grants they might've received. Brief thought: Hey Donald Trump! You wanna Make America Great Again?? This is how you do it! You give people equal opportunity to better their lives regardless of skin color, nationality, or income! Take note! There's been a development in the fight against ALS.
On Friday, the FDA approved a new drug called Radicava or edaravone, which is the 1st new drug in 20 years to treat ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. For those that don't know what exactly ALS is, per usual, I got your back!
Radicava was developed in Japan, isn't a cure for ALS, however it can slow down the worsening of the disease. When the drug was 1st created, it was used to treat those who'd had strokes. Radicava is administered via IV and given in 2 week doses followed by a 2 week break. Sounds great right? Well, the downside, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America has said that the drug will cost more than $1,000 per infusion. According to the company, "If taken annually for 12 months or 13 cycles, according to the dosing and administration in the label, the cost before government discounts, will be $145,524. We will offer co pay assistance for commercially insured patients to help reduce their out of pocket cost. The price of Radicava is @ the mid point for an orphan drug in the US and represents the investments MT Pharma America is making to deliver it to US patients." Another down side, the drug can have severe side effects, that include:
Remember when everybody was doing the ALS challenge to raise money for research? It would be nice if all the money that was raised could go towards reducing the cost of the drug. It's like people who have been diagnosed with this disease have been given hope that the effects can be slowed down, then you see the price and that hope disappears. And with the way healthcare is going, hope fades more and more. Hopefully, maybe a generic can be made of the drug, so it can be accessible to people. I just want to start off by saying, this post already is making me so sad because I dearly miss what we had! 2nd, alot of people gave President Obama so much crap for getting $400,000 to do a speaking engagement, but he's putting his money to good use, and the people who were complaining and doing what with their money? Oh ok.
On Wednesday, President Obama was in Chicago hosting a community event @ the Obama Presidential Center, where he made an announcement about how he and Michelle are planning on helping the city of Chicago. "One of the things that we will be starting this year is Michelle and I, personally, are going to donate $2 million to our summer jobs program here in the community, so that right away young people can get to work, and we can start providing opportunities to all of them. We'll be working with the city, we'll be working with the country, we'll be working with businesses because part of what we want to do is reach young people who might be @ risk if they don't have something to do during the summers. But part of what we also want to do is to reach older youth who may be prepared for apprenticeships because one of the things that this project is going to do is generate jobs." **STANDS AND GIVES THIS EXCELLENT BLACK COUPLE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!** This man is still working to improve the conditions of others even though he's no longer in the White House and doesn't have to do what he's doing. He could continue to go about his business and continue vacationing because he's deserved it, but instead he's giving back. GOOD GOD, I MISS THIS MAN! There are 2 things I wanted to really say @ the end of this post, the 1st being, many leaders have made it known that there's a crisis going on in Chicago, but nobody's coming up with solutions and actually implementing those solutions. This is a man who's coming up with solutions and backing them up with actions. The people of Chicago need people like President Obama in their corner to try and help them get out of this violent never ending cycle that they've been in. They need more people like him in their corner to let them know what somebody genuinely cares about them and wants to help them. There's enough talk about what's going on there, but there's not enough talk about what to do and how to "fix" it. 2nd thing, just like what I mentioned @ the beginning of the post. Some folks came out bitching about him getting that money. My thoughts about him getting that money, he deserves every single penny for all the bullshit that he had to go through for 8 years while he was president. And clearly, he and Michelle are giving money back to the community, sooo what's your problem? These people that were complaining need to shut the hell and show us the receipts of them giving back to the community before they start bitching about this man. In a day full of craziness and foolishness, this made me smile, and I wanted to pass it along before I depress you with my Chicago report.
Trayvon Martin, who took aviation classes in high school, will be awarded a posthumous bachelor's degree from Florida Memorial University in aeronautical science. In an explanation on why the decision was made, the University, which is also home to the Trayvon Martin Foundation, posted this to their Facebook page, "The aeronaturics degree is in "honor of the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot." Trayvon's parents, Tracy Martin and Sabrina Fulton (who's also an alumni of the University) will accept his degree during the University's spring commencement on May 13th. Quick thoughts: I thought this was a beautiful thing to do for not only Trayvon, but to also do for his parents because this school is giving them an experience they never thought they would have. The circumstances surrounding why this is happening will always and forever be tragic, but this is an amazing way to make sure that people never forget who Trayvon was, and not just remember what happened to him. He wasn't just a teenager that was murdered by an insane man that refused to follow basic instructions, he was a teenager that had likes, hopes, dreams, goals, your normal everyday teenager. Salute to Florida Memorial University! I know there's been a lot going on this week leading up to Trump's 100 days and just a lot going on in the world in general, so I wanted to end this week of blogging on a positive and lighter note!
Ed Murray, Seattle's mayor announced last Wednesday (4/26) that Seattle would be partnering with Paul G. Allen who's co-founder of Microsoft and Chairman of the Seattle Seahawks, to build a facility that'll house homeless families with children. The Paul G. Allen foundation will provide $30 million to go to the development of this facility and the city has pledged $5 million to go towards the operation and the maintenance of the facility. Kudos to this foundation and kudos to the city of Seattle for being committed to finding solutions to the homeless epidemic in this country. Hopefully, other cities and states will follow suit and we can get everybody off the street. See, something positive to end the week with! I think this is actually how I'm going to start ending my blogging weeks. A nice positive blog to decompress with. This is going to be brief, but it's something that I wanted to bring to everybody's attention cause it's sad that it's come to this, but it's good to see that when it counts, people will stick together.
Across the country, hundreds of volunteers are escorting illegal immigrants to their meetings with immigration officials and to their court hearings, giving these illegals much needed comfort and support through these terrifying situations. These volunteers typically aren't lawyers, sometimes they're law students, but normally they're you're normal, everyday people. They don't offer legal advice, just love, support, and comfort which goes further than people could ever imagine. This is one of the best things I've read since Trump has taken office and started all this immigration hoopla. It's a very kind thing to do for another person that can't give you anything. I can only imagine how frightening it must be for these illegal immigrants to walk alone to these offices and/or court buildings and not know if you're going to go home to the life that you've created here or if you're going to go back to the country that you were so desperate to get away from. With all the foolishness that's going on in this country, this is a comforting sign that maybe we aren't as divided as we may seem. It's also comforting to know that these volunteers are going with these immigrants to court and to these meetings, so that they have knowledge of what's going on. It's very possible and likely that because these folks aren't from here, they don't know the language, they don't know the laws, etc, so these volunteers can step in and try to explain things to them. These volunteers can also in a way keep these lawyers and judges honest. I would like to imagine, they would be less likely to spread lies and untruths if they know an "American" is in the courtroom, but that might be wishful thinking. Kudos to those that escort these folks to their hearings and meetings. So, this made my dark, icy heart thaw, and a tear come to my eye, so of course yall have to shed tears as well!
For the 1st time in this country and in it's history, a Girl Scout troop has been set up and created to serve homeless women and girls. Girl Scout Troop 6000 serves girls and women in New York and was created back in February by Giselle Burgess, who's a homeless woman that serves as community engagement specialist for Girl Scouts of Greater New York. She started the troop out of a Long Island City Sleep Inn which has been converted into a 10 floor homeless shelter housing 100 homeless families. Burgess' organization pays for the girls' monthly dues, starter kits, and covers the cost of membership fees. Troop 6000 currently has a membership of 23 girls that are kindergarten age all the way up to high school students. The troop meets weekly to organize and complete community service projects that benefit their community. There are plans to grow the troop and provide their services to more homeless girls in New York. I'm sure alot of yall were either Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, I wasn't, fun fact about me, I cried my way out of doing it! Yup, sure did! A couple of my family members took me to some meeting, they wanted me to join, and guess who was not in the mood for that...this chick! Anywho, since I was never a part of the Girl Scouts, I guess I never really understood how important it can be for girls. I always thought it was about the cookies and something parents can have their kids do on the weekends. So, here's where the tear came from, the mission behind this particular troop is that these girls and the women associated with the troop may move around, change shelters, etc, There's this uncertainty when you're living in these shelters, but seeing their friends that are going through the exact same thing, it creates some form of stability for them and it shows them that they're no different from anybody else. I think it's a beautiful thing for not only the kids, but also I think for the parents who may feel some sort of way that they can't give their child what they would like to give them, but I'm sure seeing the happiness exude from their children makes up for what they can't give. |
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