Dr. King’s dream and march, our nightmare and pain “I feel so broken hearted, I cried so many tears There was so much you gave me, to my heart, to my soul So much of your dreams that were never told There was hope for a brighter day Why were you, my flower, plucked away Oh, oh, I’m missing you Tell me why the road turns I’m missing you” —Diana Ross I miss my son. I miss hugging him. I miss looking in his eyes when he is excited. I miss us discussing his plans for his future. I miss sharing in his everyday experiences. I miss his smile. I miss his joy. All I ever wanted was for him to be in an environment where he can grow. My son was arrested at 19 years of age. He was sentenced t

For the past few months cities across America have seen crowds of protestors taking to the streets angered by the state of the U.S. economy in the wake of noticeable corporate greed, Wall Street failures, and home lending corruption scandals to name a few gripes. In what has become known as the “Occupy Wall Street” or “OWS” movement, citizen discourse has largely become a protest of “We won’t take it anymore” politics, against the widening wealth divide and continued mistrust of a political system. A type of corporate-political combo agenda that has seemingly sold out main street Americans for the greater catered interest of the top one percent richest people. Now this does not on its surf

It may sound cliche, but I love America. Not for what she is, or the thing she’s done, but for what she represents: the idea that we are born free, that every citizen is free to pursue their own path to happiness, and that in this land one is free to speak their mind, whether or not that opinion is popular. America is more than the earth between its borders. It is hope. Hope that shines like a beacon into the darkest corners of this world, calling to those who want more for their destiny than their homelands can give them. The best and the most determined to succeed from all over the planet come here to learn, to raise their children, and to hope for a better future. When the brave are c

 There are a lot of little things that I love about baseball: the crack of the bat, ballpark dogs with extra onion and sauerkraut, the sound of the ball smacking leather, nerding out on statistics, big swooping 12-to-6 curve balls that fall off the table, monster jacks, infield hits, bleacher bums, diving catches, when infielders barehand the ball (or even better, when outfielders do it).   The list goes on and on, but there may be nothing about baseball that I enjoy more than a good manager ejection.   The "manager ejection" is unique to baseball. I mean, you see basketball coaches get tossed from time to time, and sometimes they throw a little tantrum, but it's not the same.   I do

  "Don't forget your pitchfork!" - a friends response when informed that I would be attending a Tea Party.        Over the past year, I have heard a lot about the Tea Party movement, much of it negative, some positive. I do, from time to time, listen to conservative talk radio.             The Tea Party bashers would have you believe that these events are akin to that very famous tea party in "Alice in Wonderland." I'm talking about the cartoon classic here, not the Tim Burton rehash.  A few irrationally fearful lunatics, totally out of touch with reality, brought together by nonsense: "Unbirthdays" in one, "America's rapid deterioration into a Marxist state" in the other.  And the Te

       The cheeseburger.  Is there anything so uniting and yet polarizing at the same time?  Everybody loves cheeseburgers.  What about the tree-hugging vegans, you ask?  They love cheeseburgers too, but the burger is made of bulgur and whey and twigs, and the cheese is made of soy, whatever that is.  The top-selling vegan product today is the veggie burger.  That's a fact.  Look it up. And when you do, let me know what you find out, because I'm using the word "fact" very loosely here.   The point is, everyone loves burgers. There you go, we're united. So if we can agree that everyone loves burgers, why are they so polarizing? Because your favorite burger probably isn't my favorite bu

With so many ways to show your patriotism, there will be no excuse to be blue in Sacramento this weekend. Daytime Fun on the Fourth Annual East Sacramento Parade Parade begins: 10 a.m. Route: Walking 41st and 42nd streets at M Street in red, white and blue. Pyrospectacular at Cal Expo What: Independence Day fireworks celebration When: Gates open at 4:30 p.m., fireworks begin around 9:30 p.m. Where: Cal Expo. Guests should use the East Gate, located at the intersection of Exposition Boulevard and Challenge Way, as the main entrance to the event. Enter through the D Lot parking area. Highlights: Largest-scale pyrotechnics display in the area’s history; music and dancing in the Grandstand

In the wake the recent presidential elections or re-selection of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Islamic Republic of Iran, supporters of the opposition Presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi have staged massive protests within the country to show their displeasure of the announced results. With a record voter turnout in what amounted to as a very heated contest for the top public post in Iran, observers, reformers, and analysts alike across the globe felt that popular candidate Mousavi could unseat Ahmadinejad when it was all said and done. However those hopes were all but dashed when the official reporting came out that in fact Ahmadinejad had not only won by a close ma