BLACK IN AMERICA- ARE WE VICTIMS, WHO IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE?

from cryptaniteat12

Response to "CNN Presents: Black in America" a six-hour television event"

There’s a story about a young newlywed bride who is cooking a ham dinner. She prepares it by cutting both ends of the ham off before she puts it into the pot. The groom asks the wife why she cut both ends off. The daughter then asks her mother and she replies that was how her mother taught her. At that point the grandmother comes in and she is asked why both ends are cut off. The grandmother replied that she didn’t have a big enough pot.

Black America when do we take responsibility for our condition? How long will we keep cutting off both ends of the ham? You may ask- how do we keep cutting off both ends? Let me give just 13 examples of dysfunctional behavior that some of us perpetuate:

1) Refusing to finish at a minimum high school
2) Failure to turn the television off
3) Failure to choose healthy foods
4) Failure to exercise
5) Choosing consumerism over education
6) Failure to adopt a global perspective, understand our history and world history
7) Using racism and sexism as an excuse for not achieving
8) Living in denial versus confronting our deficiencies and institutional societal wrongs including racism and sexism inside and outside of the church
9) Choosing an underachieving noncommittal black man because he is black
10) Failure to get tested for HIV/AIDS, wear a condom or have your partner wear one
11) Limiting your choice to only black men
12) Forgetting the ancient landmarks that allowed our ancestors to survive slavery
13) Refusal to accept the need for and release ourselves to a higher power in our lives

Black America no one is going to save us, but ourselves. Let’s stop cutting off both ends of the ham because it is comfortable and everyone else is supposedly doing the same. (By the way is ham still a staple in your diet?)

Leave me some comments as to how we can think outside the box rather than cutting off both ends through black homicide, HIV/AIDS (the number one killer of Black women aged 25-34), under and unemployment, disproportionally high school dropout rate, 50% black single parental rate etc.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce
P.S. I'm glad Barack Obama's parents didn’t cut off both ends of the ham!
www.womensempowermentseminars.com

Women's Empowerment Seminars by C. Joyce Farrar-Rosemon

From: youcanbeawinneratlife.com


Hello all,

Life is much more complicated these days. I have had some ups and downs lately, but as the song goes, "all of my good days outweigh my bads days, I won't complain!" I hope all is well with you and yours. I have been busy working on a National Women's Empowerment Seminar that will tour the U.S. in 2009. Click on the previous link and listen to the interview above and it will give you an idea of what you can expect. More details will follow in a few days.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

The 20 Worst Foods in America #10

The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline. Here's how to disarm its weapons of mass inflation

By Matt Goulding

#10. Worst Breakfast
Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes

1,540 calories 77 g fat (9 g trans fat) 198 g carbs(109 g sugars) Five Egg McMuffins yield the same caloric cost as these sugar-stuffed flapjacks.

Order This Instead: The Western Omelet has 654 calories and 44 grams of protein.


My friends if you are starting off your day with this morning delight, you are already off to a bad start. Do you realize that this breakfast contains enough calories for the whole day? This is one of the fastest ways to ensure that you will be paying your doctor ongoing costly visits in the years to come.

We must choose wisely if we want to be Winners at life. Why not invest some time and research and learn about the nutritional value in different foods. If your mother is still with you, give the gift of life by making sure she is eating nutritious foods. Better yet why not cook for her on Mother's Day and take her for a walk.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BARACK

From: Humanitainment (youtube)


I wanted to share a great video with you for those who love action, politics and a good laugh. Only in America could these dynamics be played out on television and in our lives. Regardless of who wins this election, politics in America will never be the same.

We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly during this election season. Now it is time for someone to step up to the plate and with sincerity strike back with effective decisions, sound judgment and an honest commitment to change America and the world. We all can be Winners at life, if we keep our focus on what’s best for the American people.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

What President Barack Obama Would Mean to Black Youth- Thanks To White America!

Obama- The truth about suspending the "Gas Tax"


from youtube: spookytom


As I lay in bed early this morning I contemplated what Barack as president, an African-American male would mean to African-American youth, thanks to White America. These are the thoughts that came to me:

1) African-Americans could no longer pull the race card as an immediate defense.

2) I believe we would start to see a decline in the gang-banging mentality among African-American youth, females included.

3) Single moms (black and white) would have a role model for their African-American children to look up to.

4) African-American youth would be inspired to finish at least high school, if not college.

5) African-American males would be challenged to consummate their manhood in a monogamous relationship as opposed to being someone's "baby's daddy".

6) African-American youth would be challenged to end and lower the rates of teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, under and unemployment, poverty, crime, drug, alcohol and sexual abuse, and racism towards ourselves and whites.

7) African-American youth would be challenged to think and work with non-blacks on ways we can creatively find solutions to global warming, use our natural resources more responsibly to harness energy, lower gas emissions and use technology to produce more efficient crops, cars and jobs for all Americans.

I want to personally thank the thousands, if not millions of White Americans that voted for and will vote for Barack. I want to thank those who put aside Barack's race and saw as Dr. King insisted that we must do, the content of Barack's character, his judgement when faced with opposition and his hope for America.

Change does come from the bottom up and the annals of history will record that your judgement was right in choosing not a African-American or a man, but a person of character that wants to bring about a positive change for all Americans and the world. I truly believe we can all be Winners at life when we lay aside our differences and embrace what makes us stronger as a nation.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

Saving Our Youth- Who Is Really Responsible?

">
from warfa210

This child is like a sheep being led to the slaughter house. In a few years, if proper intervention is not made, this young boy will end up as another statistic- a young black male doomed to spend the gift of life in prison. What is proper intervention? Beating him won't change the fact that he has poor impulse control- it will only harden him and teach him that he is bad. He said himself that he likes doing bad things.

The problem is a generational one of poor parenting and a lack of morals. Where are the parents that conceived this child? Why does the grandmother have guardianship?

Barack is right when he says that change is needed from the bottom up. America is losing a generation of young people because of our rebellious hearts. Wrong is becoming right as long as you have the money to afford a good attorney.

If we are so advanced as a country, why do we have such high rates of teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, juvenile delinquency, obesity, depression, high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc?

The Bible says to train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old, he will not depart. What's happened to the Judeo-Christian values this country was founded on? Perhaps we need to revisit them.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

The 20 Worst Foods in America #11

The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline. Here's how to disarm its weapons of mass inflation
By: Matt Goulding


11. Worst Steak
Lonestar 20 oz T-bone
1,540 calories
124 g fat

Add a baked potato and Lonestar's Signature Lettuce Wedge, and this is a 2,700-calorie blowout. Make the Cut: Stick to fillets and sirloins in steakhouses—they're the two leanest cuts of beef.


Hi guys,

It's time to exercise control over our lives by carefully choosing what we take not only into our mouths, but our minds. Eating nowadays can not be a casual decision. In the past we could pick fruit from a tree and not worry about the health care implications. Today we practically need a dictionary to decipher the contents of a product.

If we want to live a long and quality life if is incumbent upon us to be more discerning. Advertisers spend millions of dollars annually trying to figure out how they can package a food product so that we will buy it. We have to be wise and not buy food that initially appeals to our senses, but later causes us pain, high medical bills and poor health.

One of the best gifts we can pass on to our offspring is the ability to read, comprehend, decipher and make appropriate decisions based on that analysis that promote life. Let's empower the next generation to use these life skills so that they can leave a footprint that enhances the quality of life for generations yet unborn. When we collectively do this, then we truly will be Winners at life.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

Click On The Link To Find The Cheapest Gas In Your Area!

Hey Guys,
I found a great link to find out where the cheapest gas is by zip code nationwide. To find out where the cheapest gas is in your area click on the link and enter your zip code. How easy is that. Pass this link along to others who want or need to save money. I want to give a special shout out to Chandra, one of my readers for passing on this money-saving idea.

If you know of any other money-saving, life-saving or enhancing ideas, please let me know and I will definitely post. Remember, together we can all be Winners at life.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

Reduce Your Risk Of Cancer By Changing Your Diet

Our Diet Must Change To Cut Cancer Risk, Experts Urge
ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2007) — A new report published recently by the World Cancer Research Fund will show how much our diet needs to change if we are to reduce the risk of cancer.

In the British Medical Journal, Professor Tim Key from the Cancer Research UK unit at the University of Oxford discusses what would be needed to achieve the report's goals.

The report concludes that obesity increases the risk of cancer of the oesophagus, colorectum, pancreas, breast, endometrium, and kidney. Its goal is for the average body mass index of the population to be between 21 and 23.

Yet, mean body mass index in adults in the UK is now about 27 and has not fallen into the target range since the 1940s, says Professor Key. Enormous efforts by individuals, society, and government will therefore be needed to reverse the current trend.

The report also shows that alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, colorectum, and breast and also causes cirrhosis, which predisposes to liver cancer. It recommends much lower drinking limits than currently advised in Britain, so a substantial shift in drinking habits would be needed to achieve these goals.

Evidence for a protective effect of fruit and vegetables is less convincing. Nevertheless, the report recommends that people should eat at least five portions of vegetables and fruits each day.

To meet this individual recommendation, the average consumption in the population would need to be about 7.5 portions a day. The average consumption in Britain is currently about three portions a day, says Professor Key, so the consumption of fruit and vegetables would need to be more than doubled.

The major new conclusion in the report is that red and processed meat convincingly cause colorectal cancer. This is based on results from several studies showing that, on average, people who ate the most red or processed meat had about a 30% increased risk compared with those who ate the least. The report therefore recommends that the average intake of red and processed meat in the population should be no more than 300g each week.

In most regions of the world, total meat consumption is well above this goal. In Britain, the current mean intake is about 970g a week in men and about 550g a week in women, so reaching this goal would require a large reduction in meat consumption.

The report identified several foods and nutrients for which some evidence exists of a beneficial effect on the risk of cancer. For example, foods rich in folate may reduce the risk for cancer of the pancreas, and diets rich in calcium may reduce the risk for colorectal cancer.

Professor Key believes that, while the effects of obesity and excessive alcohol consumption are clear, the goal for intake of fruit and vegetables has financial and environmental implications and requires careful consideration.

It may be better to concentrate efforts on increasing the consumption of plant foods such as cereals and beans, which supply energy and protein and can therefore partially replace meat, he concludes.

These wider questions will be dealt with in the WCRF's policy report, due to be published next year.

Adapted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Hi Guys,
I want to pass on this research concerning the relation between diet and cancer. Maybe it's me, but it seems like within the past four decades there has been a significant increase in the occurrence of cancer. I haven't personally done any research, I'm just going by anecdotes and news reports.

Either way, if it is factual or whether it's just this information age that allows us to have world wide access to current events, it's important that we pay attention and change our lifestyle. Ignorance is not bliss when your life is jeopardized by a serious health challenge.

Let's govern our food choices and control our destiny by eating wisely so that we can truly be Winners at life!

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

An Interview With Rick Warren Author Of The Purpose Driven Life

Hi guys,
I want to share with you a candid interview with Rick Warren, the author of the "PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE" that was sent to me by a reader named Chandra. Rick Warren reflects on his wife’s bout with cancer and his response to his new "wealth" from the book sales. Let’s pray and declare healing in the name of Jesus for Mrs. Warren and comfort and strength for her husband who has given so much to others. The Word says that there “is nothing too hard for God and that with God all things are possible!”

Stay Blessed!
Joyce


In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

NOW. PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS

The 20 Worst Foods in America- #12

The 20 Worst Foods in America-#12
The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline. Here's how to disarm its weapons of mass inflation
By: Matt Goulding

12. Worst Burger
Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger
1,520 calories
111 g fat

Carl's brags about this, but also provides convenient nutrition info on its Web site—so ignorance is no excuse for eating it.

A Simple Solution: The Low Carb Six Dollar Burger has just 490 calories.
Five Egg McMuffins yield the same caloric cost as these sugar-stuffed flapjacks.
Order This Instead: The Western Omelet has 654 calories and 44 grams of protein.

For dozens of food and nutrition tips—not to mention restaurant
secrets that will shock the weight off of you—sign up for your
FREE WEEKLY EAT THIS, NOT THAT! NEWSLETTER!

Hello guys,
Let's eat to live and live a long life. I hope this article above makes you aware of your responsibility to keep yourself healthy, wise and strong. 1,520 calories is too much for any man or woman at one meal! If you want to lower your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight, start by choosing wisely now, so that you won't have to pay for it later with pills, doctor visits and operations.

Let's demonstrate our love for ourselves by pampering our bodies with healthy foods that say "I love by body temple" and I won't abuse it or let anyone else abuse it. This will empower you and your descendants to live a quality life. The Bible tells us to choose life so that we and our seed will live and not die. Let's exercise our right to be Winners at life!

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

YES, THEY CAN! - HOPE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

Bronx students discuss Obama's race speech

From: BarackObamadotcom


Hi guys,
I came across this video and I was impressed by these students’ intense interest and views about politics in light of the Obama/Clinton race. What inspired me more was the hope and belief in the indomitable spirit of mankind and the American dream for all of its citizens.

This election has given me hope that King’s 40 year old prophetic dream that America will judge its citizens by their character and not their race or gender is about to be realized. Metaphysically 40 signifies completion. Remarkably, it is significant in Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and other Middle Eastern traditions; it can also represent a rough calculation, a huge sum of units, or simply put a lot of something:

-"Forty days and forty nights" describes the period for which rain fell during Noah's flood
-"Forty days" was the length of the period that the twelve spies explored the Promised Land
-"Forty years" was the length of Israel's wandering in the wilderness. This period of years represents a generation, that is, the time it takes for a new generation to arise.
-Moses' life is divided into three 40-year segments, separated by his fleeing from Egypt, and his return to lead the people out.
-Several Israelite leaders and kings are said to have ruled for "forty years", that is, a generation. (Examples: Eli, Saul, David, Solomon.)
-According to the Midrash, Moses spent three consecutive periods of "forty days and forty nights" on Mount Sinai.
-Rabbi Akiva, the greatest expositor of the Oral Torah, only began learning how to read Hebrew when he was 40 years old
-"Forty days and forty nights" was the period Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness, after which he was tempted by Satan.
-Forty days was the period from Jesus' resurrection till his ascension into heaven.
-In modern Christian practice, Lent consists of the 40 days preceding Easter. -The dead are usually mourned for forty days in Muslim cultures
-Muhammad is said to be forty years old when he first received the revelation delivered by an angel.
-In the Yazidi faith, The Chermera temple (meaning “40 Men” in the Yazidi dialect) is so old that no one remembers how it came to have that name but it is believed to derive from the burial of 40 men on the mountaintop site.
-In Hinduism, some popular religious prayers consist of forty shlokas or dohas (couplets, stanzas).

Finally after 40 years, or essentially a generation later, Dr. King’s dream is being realized. It seems pretty clear that America will have a female or an African American as president. Let us learn from this historical moment the importance of instilling in the next generation the importance of not only the American dream, but their individual dreams. Although it may take time for us to realize our dreams, we must never give up on a heartfelt dream that benefits mankind. Defeat is not an option- when we persist through adversity, we will be Winners at life!

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

The 20 Worst Foods in America- #13

The 20 Worst Foods in America
The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline. Here's how to disarm its weapons of mass inflation By: Matt Goulding


13. Worst Salad
On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef
1,450 calories 102 g fat 78 g carbs 2,410 mg sodium This isn't an anomaly: Five different On the Border salads on the menu contain more than 1,100 calories each. The Salad for You: The Sizzling Chicken Fajita Salad supplies an acceptable 760 calories.But remember to choose a noncaloric beverage, such as water or unsweetened iced tea.

Hello Guys,

Two days to go before the week is up. Have you decided what's for lunch already? Take a look at what's in this salad. Can you believe it- 1,450 calories? I understand why they call it "Grande"- it is a meal that can carry you all through the day and night, especially if you add a beverage to it.

There is a reason why Bill Cosby says, "come on people!" You do the math- guess where the calories go and stay? If you want to be a Winner at life you must learn how to add, subtract and say "no thanks" and move away from the table or bring your own lunch!

Let's start today by saying "no" to things that deplete our energy, weaken our immune system and leave us bloated and depressed. This monosyllabic word contains only two letters in the alphabet, but it will empower you to accomplish things in life that you never thought were possible. Saying "no" is the best way you can love yourself, because by doing so, you are saying you are entitled to a fulfilled and abundant life!

Stay Blessed!

Joyce

A Time To Laugh- Part II

Kerri Pomarolli: Clean Christian Comedy

From: b13ed


Hey Guys,
I couldn't get enough of Kerri, her comedy is infectious so I will share another one of her clips today. I'm sure you like me could benefit from a good laugh that's guaranteed to raise your endorphin level. And it will not cost you a thing, just a click of the mouse below. If you combine it with a walk in the park, an uplifting song, meditation, some fruits and vegetables and a little Quaker Oatmeal you may be able to throw away your bottles of statins and antedepressants.(hmmm) It works for me- let me know what you think. Let's all strive to be a Winner at life!

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

A Time To Laugh

Clean Christian Comedy

From: b13ed


To every thing there is a season,and a time to every purpose under the heaven:.. a time to weep, and a time to laugh. Today my friends I encourage you to have a good laugh. It is important that we acknowledge the negative, disappointing things that may happen to us in life, but we don't stay there.

The good news is that we have a choice and with the gift of life we can change the apparent deficiencies we encounter in life. This is the amazing power that is within man, the capacity to think, create and change our environment by our thoughts and actions.

I encourage you today to use your creative abilities so that you can laugh, build up others and bring about peace and unity in the world. Take a moment to view this video by Kerri Pomarolli to see how she uses the gift of humor to do good while she is here on earth. Let's choose to be a Winner at life and enjoy today!

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

The 20 Worst Foods in America- #14

The 20 Worst Foods in America
The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline. Here's how to disarm its weapons of mass inflation By: Matt Goulding

14. Worst Sandwich
Quizno's Classic Italian (large)
1,510 calories 82 g fat 3,750 mg sodium 106 g carbs A large homemade sandwich would more likely provide about 500 calories. Cut the Calories: Isn't it obvious? Order a small—or save half for later.

Good Morning Guys,

Monday morning- it's back to work. I'm thankful I have another opportunity to work on my dreams and make them a reality. I realize that in order to do so, I must take care of my body temple. I love Italian subs, so you can how dismayed I was to find out that this one pictured above has 1,510 calories! That's enough calories for a whole day.

Since I'm no longer in my twenties, I have to join all the other health conscious individuals over 30 and follow the above advice. It is hard to pass up the whole sub, but I've learned that if I don't it will show up on my thighs and other places that don't look or feel attractive. How do I do it you ask? Exercise, determination, prayer, talking to myself and telling myself that I deserve to look my best and stay healthy. My compromise it to occasionally have one for lunch, eat half, or if I have the whole sub, I have fruit or vegetables for dinner.

I hope this advice helps as you decide what you will have for lunch today. Remember that being a Winner at life requires sacrifice and passing up on some things or foods that initially look satisfying, but the end result has consequences that may be detrimental to our well being.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

The Healing Power of Water

TGIF guys!
I have been slacking off on my blog since the death of my mom on February 29, 2008. I want to thank one of my readers, Anuj Agarwal for sending me a link to his website and allowing me to use today's slideshow.

One of the ways that I deal with loss and depression is to go outside and enjoy nature. A simple walk in the park has a way of lifting my spirit. It allows me to commune with God, enjoy this wonderful planet that we share and gives me the assurance that whatever I'm going through will pass!

This slideshow is for those of you who can't get away and enjoy God's marvelous creation today. Take a few moments and play a game with your mind and pretend you are
there. I guarantee that your blood pressure will go down and your spirits will be lifted like mine. Thanks again Anuj for making my day!

Enjoy your weekend everyone and Stay Blessed!
Joyce

The 20 Worst Foods in America- #15

The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline.

Here's how to disarm its weapons of mass inflation.
By: Matt Goulding

#15. Worst Kids' Meal

Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni 'n' Cheese
1,210 calories
62 g fat
3,450 mg sodium
It's like feeding your kid one and a half boxes of Kraft mac 'n' cheese.

Your Best Option: The 390-calorie Grilled Chicken and Broccoli.

Hi Guys,

Let's not forget to watch over what we are feeding our children. Many future health problems can be avoided if we feed our children the right foods and take the time to present them to kids in an attractive way. We must educate our children ourselves and not rely on the schools, television or the media to tell us what is best. You have been given a mandate as a parent to discern and decipher what's best for your children until they become of age. One of the best ways to do this, is to practice what we preach. If we eat right, I think they will eventually get the message.

Stay Blessed!

Joyce

The 20 Worst Foods in America- #16

The 20 Worst Foods in America
The U.S. food industry has declared war on your waistline. Here's how to disarm its weapons of mass inflation.
By: Matt Goulding


16. Worst Mexican Entree
Chipotle Mexican Grilled Chicken Burrito

1,179 calories
7 g fat
125 g carbs
2,656 mg sodium

Despite a reputation for using healthy, fresh ingredients, Chipot­le's menu is limited to king-size burritos, overstuffed tacos, and gigantic salads—all of which lead to a humongous waistline.

Make Over the Menu:

There are two ways to make a Chipotle burrito healthy enough to eat:

(1) 86 the rice and tortilla and request your meat, vegetables, and beans served in a bowl, or
(2) Bring a friend and saw the burrito in half.


Hi Guys,
Can you believe this- 1,179 calories in one meal sitting? It's no wonder that obesity is becoming one of America's fastest health challenges not only for adults, but unfortunately for children. Let's be more mindful of what we eat and remember to eat to live and not live to eat. If we do that we are on our way to becoming Winners at life. Enjoy your weekend.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

Supermarket Buying Guide

Hi guys,
I want to share with you a great guide to help you stay on course and be a Winner at life. It is true that we are what we eat, so let's show our love for ourselves by making better choices as to what we put in our body temple. To my readers if you know of any helpful articles, please email them to me and I will consider posting them. Thanks goes out to Chandra for yesterday's Obama video.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce


Supermarket Buying Guide
Courtesy of EatingWell.com

How to stay on course in the 6 major aisles of the supermarket.

1. Produce
Let yourself be seduced here; fill your cart with plenty of colorful produce. Aim to try something new each week — an exotic fruit, or a vegetable you've never seen before — even if it costs a little more. You might discover a new healthy passion. Likewise, prewashed, ready-to-eat produce like salad mixes, baby carrots and broccoli/cauliflower florets may seem a splurge, but not if they get you to grab them instead of chips when you're craving a snack. (Admit it: would you pinch pennies so vigorously in the snack-food aisle?)

2. Poultry/Fish/Meat
If convenience is all-important, go for skinless poultry cuts and boneless for quickest cooking. You'll save some calories and fat by choosing white meat over dark, too — but don't sweat the difference if you're planning to broil or grill; most of the fat will drip off anyway. For ground chicken or turkey, make sure you're getting lean breast meat without skin added (read the label).

In the fish department, you can opt for white-fleshed fish for fewest calories, but don't forget fatty fish like salmon or tuna, which contain omega-3 fatty acids that dramatically lower your risk of heart attack and stroke if eaten regularly; just choose a moderate portion to keep a lid on calories. Ask which fish is freshest (or check the Date Packed if it's precut) and reject anything that looks suspect or smells fishy (if it's wrapped in plastic, fillets should be firm to the touch, with no liquid in the package — a sign of improper thawing). Frozen fish is just fine — and sometimes it's the "freshest" choice. Just be sure to thaw it properly: overnight in the refrigerator.

Many successful weight-loss veterans make red meat a special-occasion rather than daily purchase, since it's higher in saturated fat. Look for cuts with "loin" or "round" in the title, and select well-trimmed cuts with the least visible fat. Choose ground beef labeled "90% lean" or higher.

3. Dairy
Seek out dairy products that get 30 percent or fewer calories from fat. When choosing milk, opt for "skim," "fat-free/nonfat" or "1 percent." (Avoid the misleadingly labeled "reduced-fat" 2 percent milk; about 36 percent of its calories come from fat.) However, "low-fat" (1 percent) or "nonfat" yogurts, cottage cheese and sour cream are all worth trying. If you're buying soy or rice "milk," check the label to make sure it's fortified with calcium and vitamin D-and to make sure you're aware of any added sugars.

Don't be afraid to experiment with lower-fat cheeses like part-skim mozzarella or Jarlsberg or reduced-fat Cheddars; they've improved greatly in recent years. (You can always blend them with a little full-fat cheese to boost flavor and texture.) Buy full-fat cheeses with strong flavors, like feta, blue, Parmesan or aged Cheddar — and count on just a little bit going a long way. If you buy butter, plan on using it sparingly — slice off a half-stick and store the rest in the freezer. Or if you prefer a buttery spread, read labels to find one that's free of heart-threatening trans fats. Don't forget the eggs — at 75 calories apiece, they're a diet-friendly protein source (and, contrary to popular belief, don't raise most people's blood cholesterol noticeably, since their saturated-fat content is fairly low). Fat-free egg substitutes (mostly consisting of egg white) are an even better calorie bargain; they're only about 30 calories per 1/4-cup serving, though you might find them a bit bland compared to whole eggs.

4. Freezer
Stock up on plain frozen vegetables (shun the ones with sauce or butter) so that you've always got some veggies on hand. Most are frozen right after picking to preserve nutrients and flavor, so you don't have to feel you're compromising. You might also find some "healthy" frozen entrees-great "fallback" meal insurance, if you like how they taste (check labels to ensure they're really "healthy," and watch the sodium). Pick up some 100 percent fruit juice concentrates and, for semi-indulgent treats, stock up on low-fat ice milks, yogurts and/or sorbets. Look for single-serving packages that allow you to eat a fixed amount.

5. Canned/Packaged Food
While these sections can be a minefield of temptations, there are plenty of healthy staples to be found. Choose whole-grain pastas (there are some astonishingly tasty brands now available) and brown rice, as well as "quick" whole grains like whole-wheat couscous, quinoa and quick-cooking barley. Look for canned fruits packed in water or their own juices, and vegetables canned without salt. For convenient protein fixes, try canned beans, water-packed tuna, canned salmon and sardines — and reduced-sodium soups based on broth or beans.

Looking for a good salad dressing? Focus on flavor rather than worrying too much about the fat content, since the whole point of dressing is to get you to eat more salads. "Reduced-fat" and "fat-free" dressings often contain similar amounts of calories and might not be worth the flavor trade-off. Don't forget to pick up some interesting vinegars, which add calorie-free flavor to just about anything; try balsamic, sherry and apple cider vinegars.

In the cereal aisle, seek out brands labeled "whole-grain" (with whole grains as the first ingredient) and with at least 8 grams of fiber per serving. Check the label to avoid added sugars; you can always add sweetness with your own sliced fresh fruit. In the snack section, best options include whole-grain snack crackers, whole-wheat pretzels, brown rice cakes, whole-grain crispbreads and popcorn (choose "light" microwave variety or — even better — pop it yourself in an air popper or on the stove, in a heart-healthy oil like peanut or canola).

6. Bakery
Since sandwich bread is a staple, be choosy: you'll want one that gives you plenty of whole grains in a tasty package. Look for breads, English muffins, bagels and rolls labeled "100 percent whole-wheat," with at least 3 grams of fiber apiece (the first ingredient in the list should begin with the word "whole"). Try "lunch"-size rolls for burgers and sandwiches; you'll get a more reasonable portion. Store bread in the freezer to keep it fresher longer; just thaw on the counter as needed. Whole-wheat versions of pita and flour tortillas can usually be found here, too, along with corn tortillas; keep them to a 7-inch diameter or less.

Among the cookies and cakes, best choices for a splurge are those in bite-size portions, such as brownie bites, mini muffins or flavored meringues. Be wary of "fat-free" bakery treats, which often have as many or even more calories than their "regular" counterparts. Don't waste your calories on anything that doesn't taste fabulous.

Visit EatingWell.com to learn more.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The EatingWell Diet. Copyright 2007 by Eating Well, Inc.

Obama Speech: 'A More Perfect Union'

From: BarackObamadotcom

In case you missed Barack's historic speech- here it is! The annals of America's text books will record this as one of the greatest speeches in the history of America and the world.

Truly a house divided can not stand. There is power in unity. It is time that we unite not just for a better America, but for a better world! Science tells us that underneath our skin, we are truly one kind,- human kind.

It is time for us to fulfill God's mandate to be our brother's keeper, to lay down our weapons of warfare, to replenish and not deplete the earth and to be fruitful and multiply.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce


'We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.'

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part – through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.

I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.

Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.

This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.

And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.

On one end of the spectrum, we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it’s based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way

But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:

“People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend’s voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories tha t we didn’t need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.”

That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.

Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students.

Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.

A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What’s remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicia ns, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician’s own failings.

And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committ ed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

Ironically, this quintessentially American – and yes, conservative – notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright’s sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

There is one story in particularly that I’d like to leave you with today – a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King’s birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother’s problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn’t. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”

“I’m here because of Ashley.” By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.

Foodborne Illnesses-The 10 Dirtiest Foods On Our Plates

There's an old saying that rings true year after year, "igonorance is bliss." I want to share with you an excellent article by Jim Gorman that will awaken you to the need to be proactive when it comes to choosing and eating foods.

Did you know that under current labeling laws, grocers are under no obligation to list the country of origin of any produce item. Simply choosing produced in the U.S.A. is not a safe alternative either. Unfortunately there are foods produced in the U.S. that are unsafe and we are being served and we served them to our loved ones everyday.

Change must come from the bottom up. Relying on our "political leaders" to do something that we should be doing ourselves is not acceptable. You were made to be the Head and not the Tail, but you must act! There are many things you can do individually to safeguard the quality of your life. If you want to be a Winner at life, you must be informed and then take the necessary actions.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce


Foodborne Illness
Beware the Funky Chicken

Our First World food supply is often cursed with Third World cleanliness -- and the results can be pretty gruesome. Here, a rogue's gallery of the 10 dirtiest foods on our plates By: Jim Gorman.

On October 6, 2003, Jeff Cook took his family out to dinner at the Chi-Chi's Restaurant in the Beaver Valley Mall, north of Pittsburgh. When his chicken-and-steak fajitas arrived at the table, they were accompanied by the obvious -- sauted peppers, onions, sour cream -- and the invisible -- a helping of hepatitis A. Cook, 38, healthy and energetic on that autumn evening, died of acute liver failure a month later.

Hepatitis A may have been the disease that ended up sickening 575 Chi-Chi's patrons and employees -- and killing three -- but a batch of green onions was the carrier. Dirty food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every day, 200,000 Americans contract food poisoning. But Philip Tierno, Ph.D., a microbiologist at New York University medical center and author of The Secret Life of Germs, pegs the true eat-'em-and-weep rate at around 800,000 a day. "Everyone in this country will have at least one incident of sickness this year attributable to a foodborne virus, bacteria, or toxin," Tierno says. Except that most of us won't know what hit us; we'll chalk up the usually mild symptoms -- nausea, diarrhea, cramping -- to "that stomach flu that's going around."

Scientists currently know of only one 100 percent foolproof way to prevent foodborne illness: Stop eating. Or, almost as effective, obsess over every morsel you bring to your mouth and whether it might be staring back at you. But assuming you'd rather not die of slow starvation or, worse, live like Nick Nolte, we present you with a third, saner solution: Identify and sanitize the 10 dirtiest foods.

After considering incidence of foodborne outbreaks, relative danger of the dirt, and how often the carrier is found on our forks, we came up with a list of the edibles most likely to send your day spiraling down the crapper. We then assembled simple strategies for decontaminating the prime suspects -- from the supermarket to the supper table -- without worrying yourself sick. And what if, as with Jeff Cook, someone else does the cooking? We'll also tell you how to spot a dirty restaurant. Add it all up and what we're giving you is a recipe -- for clean living.

Chicken
The dirt: Never mind cigarettes; the Surgeon General should slap a warning label on chicken. Recent nationwide testing by Consumers Union, the advocacy group behind Consumer Reports, notes that of the 484 raw broilers examined, 42 percent were infected by Campylobacter jejuni, and 12 percent by Salmonella enterides.

The latest USDA research notes similar Salmonella levels. Now add in the fact that we each consume about 70 pounds of chicken a year -- more than our intake of beef, pork, or turkey -- and it's a wonder broilers don't come with barf bags.

At the supermarket: Look for birds labeled "free range." Close quarters in the henhouse give bad bugs the chance to spread, as do high-volume processing operations. Free-range chickens, which are given more room to roost and are usually slaughtered in smaller numbers, present a potentially safer option. For example, Ranger chickens, a free-range brand sold in the Pacific Northwest, came up negative for Salmonella and Campylobacter in Consumers Union's tests.

At home: To help prevent foodborne illness, bypass rinsing your raw bird in the sink, and instead put it directly into a baking dish or pan. This shortcut reduces the odds of sullying counters and other foods, says Janet B. Anderson, R.D., director of the Safe Food Institute in North Logan, Utah. If you used a cutting board, clean it (and the knife) with a mild, dilute bleach solution. As for your heat treatment, cook breasts and other cuts until the temperature hits 180°F. (If it's a whole bird, take the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh.) "Poking the chicken or judging by juice color is risky," says Anderson.

Ground Beef
The dirt: Even a little ground chuck can make you upchuck. When USDA inspectors last tested hamburger meat, they looked at 563 sources nationwide and discovered Clostridium perfringens in 53 percent of the batches, Staphylococcus in 30 percent, and Listeria monocytogenes in 12 percent. Interestingly, the USDA found no trace of Escherichia coli 0157:H7, a.k.a. E. coli, one of the desperadoes of foodborne illness. Despite this finding, if slaughterhouse safeguards fail (and they sometimes do), E. coli could potentially pop up in your next patty.

At the supermarket: Choose ground cow that's been nuked. "Find a grocery store that sells irradiated ground beef," says Donald W. Schaffner, Ph.D., an extension specialist in food science at Rutgers University. The package will bear the words "treated by irradiation." Schaffner gives the safety of the treatment a glowing review: "The amount of induced radioactivity is 200,000 times smaller than the level of radioactivity naturally present in all foods."

At home: Add fresh oregano to your burgers and meat loaf. When researchers at Kansas State University mixed a variety of common household spices into ground beef to test their antibacterial properties, oregano tested as one of the best at wiping out E. coli . Use at least 1 tablespoon per pound of meat. Just as important, flatten your patties -- thick burgers will char on the outside before the interior reaches the required 160°F.

Ground Turkey
The dirt: Potentially one of the foulest of the fowl. A USDA survey showed that the odds are better than one in four that your ground gobbler contains Listeria, Campylobacter, Clostridium, or some combination of the three. What's more, in a separate study by the FDA and the University of Maryland, 24 percent of the ground turkey sampled came back positive for Salmonella. And some of that Salmonella was resistant to antibiotics.

At the supermarket: Hunt for organic turkey. Most commercial turkey processors pump up their birds with antibiotics, a practice that may have encouraged the rise of resistant bacteria. Organic outfits, on the other hand, say no to drugs. When you reach the checkout, insist that the turkey be slipped into its own plastic bag and then placed in a meat-only shopping bag. This rule applies to beef and chicken, too: Otherwise, meat drippings might contaminate other groceries.

At home: "Change your mind-set about poultry. Start by thinking of it as being contaminated," says Schaffner. Immediately retire to the dishwasher any platter that has come in contact with raw ground turkey. (Use the hottest setting.) Serve cooked turkey burgers (180°F) on a clean plate. And wipe up any spillage with a paper towel instead of a sponge. "The sponge is the most dangerous item in the house because of the organisms potentially living in it," says Tierno.

Raw Oysters
The dirt: Oysters' power as an aphrodisiac is overblown, but their power as a diarrheic when slurped raw is not. These filters for ocean waste can contain the norovirus (a pathogen notorious for nixing ocean cruises), Campylobacter, and Vibrio vulnificus. University of Arizona researchers who studied oysters from so-called certified-safe beds discovered that 9 percent were contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Still hungry? "We found E. coli in 100 percent of Gulf Coast locations, and in high amounts," says Lynn Joens, Ph.D., the study author.

At the supermarket: Buy from the same beds that a chef stakes his reputation on. Sandy Ingber, executive chef and seafood buyer for Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City, buys Blue Point, Chincoteague, Glidden Point, Narragansett Bay, Pemaquid, and Wellfleet oysters in the winter months. During summer, he buys Coromandel oysters from New Zealand. The reason for the seasonal shift: More than three-quarters of outbreaks involving raw oysters occur in the Northern Hemisphere's warm-water months.

At home: Very simple: Eat only thoroughly cooked oysters. If you must slurp, do so only after following the buying advice above.

Eggs
The dirt: Which is dirtier, the chicken or the egg? The chicken, by a long shot, or so it seems at first. More widespread pasteurization has reduced the rate of Salmonella contamination in eggs to only one in 20,000. But that still leaves more than two million hazardous eggs in circulation each year. Food poisoning linked to eggs sickens an estimated 660,000 people annually and kills 300. "Often, dishes made at restaurants are from pooled eggs," which increases the risk, says Schaffner. "It's really a matter of statistics. Eat an egg sunny-side up and your risk of salmonella is one in 10,000. Eat an undercooked omelette made from a mix of 100 eggs, and the risk is significantly higher."

At the supermarket: Check the egg cartons. You're looking for one word -- "pasteurized" -- and four numbers -- the expiration date. Then remove each egg and look for cracks; germs can enter after pasteurization.

At home: Ignore the egg keeper on the refrigerator door. Instead, keep the eggs in their carton and stow it in the coldest part of your fridge (usually the back of the lowest shelf). Then, after you crack one open, wash your hands. In her study of household food preparation, Utah State's Anderson reports that 60 percent of people failed to wash their hands after handling raw eggs. Finally, cook your eggs -- thoroughly (or, if they're an ingredient in a dish, to 160°F).

Cantaloupe
The dirt: File this under "Who knew?" When the FDA sampled domestically grown cantaloupe, it found that 3.5 percent of the melons carried Salmonella and Shigella, the latter a bacteria normally passed person-to-person. Among imported cantaloupe, 7 percent tested positive for both bugs. And because you eat melons raw, the bacteria go right down your gullet. That's a big part of the reason why from 1990 to 2001, produce in general has sickened as many people as have beef and poultry combined.

At the supermarket: Dents or bruising on the fruit can provide a path in for pathogens. But don't think precut cantaloupe is safer. "I've been in several supermarkets where the produce was cut by personnel who didn't wash their hands after handling eggs and other items," says Anderson.

At home: Because cantaloupe grows on the ground and has a netted exterior, it's easy for Salmonella to sneak on, and once on, it's hard to clean off. Scrub the fruit with a dab of mild dishwashing liquid for 15 to 30 seconds under running water. And make sure you buy a scrub brush that you use exclusively to clean fruits and vegetables; otherwise it could become cross-contaminated.

Peaches
The dirt: Being pretty as a peach comes at a price. The fruit is doused with pesticides in the weeks prior to harvest to ensure blemish-free skin. By the time it arrives in your produce department, the typical peach can be coated with up to nine different pesticides, according to USDA sampling. And while apples tote a wider variety of pesticides, the sheer amount and strength of those on peaches sets the fuzzy fruit apart. On an index of pesticide toxicity devised by Consumers Union, peaches rank highest.

At the supermarket: Fill your plastic produce bag with peaches that wear a "USDA Organic" sticker. And since apples, grapes, pears, and green beans occupy top spots on the Toxicity Index, too, you may want to opt for organic here as well. Just know that organic produce also contains some pesticide residues, but in minuscule amounts.

At home: Wax on, wax off. "A lot of produce has a natural wax coating that holds pesticides, so wash with a sponge or scrub brush and a dab of mild dishwashing detergent. This can eliminate more than half of the residues," says Edward Groth III, Ph.D., a senior scientist with Consumers Union. Got kids? Play it extra safe, and wash and pare peaches, apples, and pears.

Prepackaged Lettuce
The dirt: Don't look now, but the lettuce on a burger could cause you more grief than the beef. Outbreaks of E. coli sickened 36 people in San Diego in September 2003 and sent 29 people reeling in eastern Washington in July 2002. In both cases, prepackaged lettuce was to blame. And according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, lettuce accounted for 11 percent of reported food-poisoning outbreaks linked to produce from 1990 to 2002, and "salad" accounted for 28 percent.

At the supermarket: Prepackaged salad mix is not inherently more hazardous than loose greens or a head of lettuce. It's the claims of being "triple washed" that lull consumers into complacency. "Just because something is wrapped in cellophane doesn't mean it's free of pathogens," says J. Glenn Morris, M.D., chairman of epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Maryland school of medicine.

At home: Rinse salad greens one leaf at a time under running water before eating. Beware of cross-contamination, too. "People know it's risky to put salad in the same colander they washed chicken in," says Anderson, "but they think nothing of touching a towel used to wipe up poultry juice, then making a salad."

Cold Cuts
The dirt: Germs don't take a number in the deli; cold cuts have been labeled at "high risk" of causing listeriosis by a joint team of researchers from the USDA, FDA, and CDC. While only 3 percent of the deli meats sampled contained Listeria at the point of purchase, the bacteria's rapid growth rate on cuts stored even under ideal conditions concerned researchers. Combine that with the fact that cold cuts are, well, eaten cold, and you've got trouble; Listeria thrives at refrigerator temperatures that stun other foodborne pathogens.

At the supermarket: Turns out the most likely source of Listeria-contaminated cold cuts is the deli slicer. Without regular cleaning, the blade can transfer bacteria from roast beef to turkey to pastrami and back. But aside from asking the clerk to stop and clean the slicer before handling your order, the best you can do is avoid delis that are obviously dirty and stick with those that are annoyingly busy. Meats that rotate through a deli quickly have less opportunity to bloom with Listeria.

At home: From now on, skip the sniff test and trash whatever meat you haven't eaten in a week. When you're ready to build your sandwich, slather on the mustard. Researchers at Washington State University killed off 90 percent of three potent pathogens -- Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella -- within 2 hours of exposing them to a mustard compound.

Scallions
The dirt: Scallions play a bit part in most dishes, but a little goes a long way, as evidenced by the massive hepatitis A outbreak at that Chi-Chi's last October. Dirty scallions have also triggered small hep A outbreaks in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Other bugs known to have grabbed a ride on green onions include the parasite Cryptosporidium, Shigella, and the ever-present Salmonella. In FDA tests, U.S.-grown scallions carried Salmonella or Shigella in 3 percent of samples, nearly twice the number detected in imported samples.

At the supermarket: Forget trying to weed out U.S. or Mexican scallions. Given current labeling laws, grocers are under no obligation to list the country of origin of any produce item. More important, buy refrigerated scallions; room temperature can trigger a bacterial explosion.

At home: Turn on your faucet full force to blast away visible dirt. As you rinse, remove the outer sheath to expose lingering microorganisms, but realize that any step short of thorough cooking is only a partial solution. "More and more, pathogens are entering produce like scallions at a cellular level," says Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
2008 RODALE INC. ALL rights reserved

Food Safety: A Safer Salad

Do you guys remember the spinach outbreak we had recently? I do, and in my quest to eat healthier I want to make sure that what I eat is in fact truly good for me. This is particularly important since food is imported from different countries. The other day I bought some garlic and when I got home I saw that it was produced in China. There was another brand made in the U.S. that was slightly more expensive, but I went for the cheaper brand. I now look for foods in general produced in the U.S. even if they are more expensive. My reason for buying American produce is explained in the research article below by Katy Gagnon.

Take a moment to read it and I think it will convince you as well of the need to monitor where your food is purchased. Once you get your salad ingredients home it explains additional steps you can take to insure its safety. I always wondered why older cooks would put vinegar in their greens. I thought the greens were bitter enough, why add vinegar? Now I know the preventive benefits of adding it.

Stay Blessed!
Joyce

Eating a salad a day may help you live longer -- just make sure it's safe
By: Katy Gagnon
Devouring more vegetables will help you live longer, according to new research, unless of course they're teeming with deadly bacteria. Since 1995, there have been 19 E. coli outbreaks linked to a variety of leafy greens, including the outbreak that sickened 200 bagged spinach buyers earlier this year. The reason? "As a head of lettuce grows, it brings in soil with each layer of leaves," says Philip Tierno, Ph.D., a microbiologist at New York University and author of The Secret Life of Germs. If the soil is tainted with bacteria from manure-contaminated water -- as it was in the case of the recent outbreak -- then bacteria becomes nestled deeper and deeper inside the developing plant.

Once befouled, it's nearly impossible to remove pathogens from the leaves thanks to a sticky "biofilm" that coats them, says Scott Martin, Ph.D., a food science and nutrition professor at the University of Illinois. That film is probably the reason why E. coli survived the triple washing that most spinach is subjected to at processing plants. And while boiling kills E. Coli, it would also reduce your salad to mush. Instead, rid your greens of tagalong critters with this plan of attack.

FOOD SAFETY TIPS:
Check the date.
You don't have to frequent the local farmer's market to avoid contaminated produce, just pick produce with the freshest "Best Buy" date (health officials assure all bagged spinach with dates after October 1, 2006 are safe). The fresher the produce the least likely it is that it experienced temperature abuse, which could lead to bacteria growth, Martin says.

Make an acid wash.
Just running them under water doesn't work, you need to go after the "nooks and crannies," Tierno says. Target them with this approach:

1. Fill a large pot with cold water and add a tablespoon of white vinegar or a vitamin-C tablet. The acidity from either will help break up debris. Then add the greens.

2. Stir the water with your hand or spoon, and let the dirt settle on the bottom. If the water still looks dirty, repeat the whole process again with a new pot of water.

3. Scoop the greens out of the water with a strainer. Resist the urge to pour the entire pot into a strainer, which mixes the dirt back in with the greens.

4. Rinse each individual leaf under running water and pat dry.

Scrub before you peel.
Use a vegetable brush to remove dirt on hard produce before you peel. Shaving a carrot or potato without washing it will transfer any dirt from the outside of the vegetable into the edible portion.

Douse everything with vinaigrette.
Adding a vinegary salad dressing to your greens could reduce the amount of pathogens, says Larry Beuchat, Ph.D., food science professor at the University of Georgia. Any dressing will work, but those high in vinegar, such as Italian or Balsamic vinaigrette, are the most effective because their high acid content kills germs, Beuchat says.