Its time for Americans to wake up to what is really happening to our country. President Bush and the Republican Party have all but bankrupted this country with Bush’s misguided leadership. He and Vice President Chaney lied to the American people regarding the need to invade Iraqi. They should be held responsible for the thousands of people killed in Iraqi including our military men and women who gave their lives in a senseless war because of the lies this administration told. Professional athletes are being prosecuted and thrown in prison for lying to congress about their use of enhanced performance drugs. They are told that they should be roll models for younger athletes.  Shouldn’t our out political leaders be roll models for our citizens and be held to the same standards.  Or, is it that the power privilege that are exempted from the laws of this country regardless of the consequences that their actions.

The arrogance of President Bush and his foreign policies has made the United States the laughing stock of the world. Many Americans agree with the Dixie Chicks, they are ashamed to call George W. Bush their president.

It doesn’t take a financial genius to figure out that spending over a trillion dollars a year on a missed guided war will help the American economy. Our countries economy is going (if not already) down the drain.  We have to borrow money from foreign countries such as China to buy oil from mid-eastern oil producing countries. The U.S. housing market is in shambles. The Social Security system is broken. No one can live off of Social Security, yet it discourages recipients from earning supplemental income of over $12K per year if they start receiving Social Security at age 62. Each year the Social Security Administration put a limit on the amount of earned income for any particular year. If you earn over the allowed amount the Social Security Administration will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above the limit. In other words you get penalized 50% of your earnings over the amount of the allowed amount for being productive. Unfortunately, if social security benefits are the primary source of income for some families, the amount taken out in future benefit checks can substantially affect the financial stability of these families. This ruling will affect you until you reach full retirement age of 67 plus 6 months.

Millions of Americans are suffering because they can’t afford medical coverage or the medication they need. Single parents and the elderly are particularly vulnerable.

Education in America is deteriorating. Many students can not attend college because they are not properly prepared or can’t afford to go to college. Bush’s so called policy of “No Child Left Behind” is a failure except for schools in the upper class neighborhoods. Many schools in lower income areas do not have the finances or proper materials or supplies needed to perform and compete at a higher level.

Wake up people before we have another president who will lead us down a path of destruction.  Sen. John McCain’s path is the same path as George W. Bush. McCain’s response to the needs of this country is the same as George W’s that insist that the economy is in good shape although we have businesses and individuals filing for bankruptcy everyday. Jobs sent overseas, homes lost to foreclosures, families struggling to put food on the table and pay bills.  John McCain is living in the same bubble as George Bush. “Out of touch and stuck in the past.”  The only legacy of George W. Bush should be that of a failed presidency and the dumbest president in the history of the United States.

Let’s wake up and take our country back. We have a chance to do more then just talk. We have the chance to get this country back on track.

I returned from Thailand on October 12th. This year’s trip was interesting and much more adventurous then any of my previous trips to the "Land of Smiles. I think I experienced more things on this trip then most people will experience in a lifetime.

First of all, I traveled mostly by using local transportation (baht busses, train, local busses and the ever faithful motorbike). I had just returned from Khon Kean province located in the North Eastern part of Thailand when a coup occurred. Excessive rain caused flooding in Pattaya. Because this is the sixtieth anniversary of the King’s ascension to the throne there were celebrations in every city and village. While in Khon Kean, I traveled to Laos and spent a day in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, along the Mekong River. I stayed with friends in the village of An-At in Khon Kean province. I also managed to get in one day of scuba diving two and a half weeks before my five days in the hospital. It was truly a trip to remember.

I suffered from a pulmonary embolism, where blood clots form in the leg/s, caused from long/extended flying. The clots dislodged and blocked a passage just below my lungs. I had a difficult time breathing. At first it was thought that I was having congestive heart failure. A Angiogram ruled out heart failure. Everything with the heart was in good condition and there was no blockage in any of the arteries leading to the heart. A CT Scan found the problem and a Color Doppler Ultrasound confirmed the cause of the embolism. It was treated with medication and was able to safely return home.

Starting this week I will start posting articles with more detail about my experiences, the coup and my stay in the North East travels around Thailand.

On Tuesday, July 25, 2006,Carl Maxie Brashear died of respiratory and heart failure at age 75 at the Navel Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA. Some of your may reconize his name. He was the first black master diver in the U.S. Navy. Carl Brashear was truely a "Man of Courage." In 1948 President Truman ordered the U.S. military to integrate, Carl Brashear was 17 and enlisted in the Navy. After basic training he entered the Navy diving school. Like most of the career fields in the Navy at the time there were very few blacks, and there were no black divers. Nevertheless, he was determine to become a diver.

His white shipmates made death threats towards him and white officers tried to sabotage his final exam at the diving school. He overcame the racism and  threats to became the Navy's first black deep-sea diver.

In 1966 Mr. Brashear was stationed aboard the USS Hoist, a Navy salvage ship when two U.S. Air Force planes collied off the coast of Spain. A nuclear weapon fell into the sea. Carl Brashear was given the assignment to retrieve the weapon. As he was preparing to make the dive, a large pipe being used to lift the weapon broke lose, rolled across the deck and smashed his leg below his left knee. Because his injuries were so severe the lower portion of his left leg was amputated. Although his injury guaranteed his retirement, Mr. Brashear was determined to continue diving. He refused an evaluation hearing where it was certain he would be found unfit to perform his duties. He was determined to prove he was able to continue diving, even with a prosthesis. Determimed to continue diving, Mr. Brashear applied the lessons learned from his father, hard work and determination to achieve his goal.  He endured grueling physical training in the face of racism, in addition, a disability  to achieve his goal. He proved that an amputee could dive and was eventually reinstated to full duty as a diver. He became the Navy's first amputee allowed to dive. Four years later he became the Navy's first black master diver.

Carl Brashear's story was made into a film in 2000 "Men of Honor," staring Cuba Gooding Jr. as Carl Brasher. The actor called him, "the strongest man I have ever met."

America needs more black heros like Carl Brashear for our young people to learn from. There are many black men and women today who are heros, but we never hear about them. Heros and role models should be in every home. Unfortunately they are not, and most of our young people look up to the Rap stars and athletes who make millions of dollars but few are role models for anyone to emulate.

Mr. Carl Maxie Brashear was truely "A Man of Honor," and "A Man of Courage."

Welcome to mythoughtsblog.

We all have opinions and thoughts on a variety of subjects from local to national and world events; sports, the mismanagements by elected officials in local or federal govements, entertainment, religion, education,  etc. Blogging is a platform to voice our opinions on a variety of subjects.

The postings in this blog are my thoughts and observations on different subjects. Some serious subject matter, and others may be comical.  I hope this blog is thought provoking in some way to everyone who reads it.  The subject matter may irrritate some readers and stimulate others. Ultimately, you will at least give some thought to the articles and form your own personal opinion.