Oprah

While Chong wrongly popped off with things that became audible to the public, it too should be considered and weighed for truth that Oprah's own staff at Harpo studios cited her for being self absorbed, an oppressive manager, had turned the "personality" on only when guest were present or she was to go on the air. The same Boss that signed all her employees to a non-disclosure, silence contract. Where there's smoke there' fire...Y'know?

The War on Drugs

Donating money to D.A.R.E. is counter-productive and supportive of the war on drugs that has increased Chicago metropolitan heroin purity from 2%-pure to 90%-pure over the past 40 years since I was a Cook County prosecutor. Drug prohibition is the single best strategy to put more drugs, including heroin, everywhere, uncontrolled and unregulated. I sought to bring that anti-drug war message to an anti-heroin meeting sponsored by the Daily Herald and held in a Geneva theatre some years ago but was told "All speaking slots are filled." Attending the meeting away, I learned that only drug-war supporters, and drug awareness and drug-treatment messages were heard. Now, as a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, I presented last year at a Rotary club luncheon in Kenosha WI and learned that their town of 100,000 people was running one heroin overdose case a day. This year kids in SW Cook County School District 230 (Orland and Palos Townships) are experiencing heroin overdose, but again only drug-war supporters and drug treaters were heard at government and school-supported meetings for parents and students. It's time for a contrary message to be heard -- a message calling for an end to drug prohibition and for the treatment of drugs as a medical matter needing legalization, licensing, regulation, labeling, taxation and control. The drug cartels and street gangs, like Al Capone with alcohol before, favor the continuation of drug prohibition that protects their illegal drug distribution monopoly. Responsive authorities and good people should not side with them by also supporting drug prohibition. Drug use may be bad but drug prohibition is worse.

Hollywood Boulevard

whenever i go down into hollywood and i see all of the tourists walking around (sadly, they're pretty easy to spot which makes them targets).. they sort of have this look of.. 'WTF mixed with, did i really decide to come *here* for vacation and, i hope it's still not too late to cancel the rest of our trip'. if you live here, it's fun & you know all the cool places to go (and definitely which to avoid).. but if you're a tourist, and you actually get to the boulevard, they MUST be like.. oh crap.

what i love about hollywood is its grittiness. i don't know how hollywood was in its heyday (like golden era of hollywood).. but hollywood blvd has always been a sh*thole since i was a kid. but that sh*tty grittiness is what adds to its charm. unfortunately, "sh*tty grittiness" is left off of most travel brochures & the hollywood people get is not the one they were expecting. now what you have is that awkward stage between sh*tty grittiness & gentrification. hollywood still seems to be stuck...it can't quite seem to gentrify.

it takes a special type of person to be able to handle hollywood blvd at night lol. sometimes i go down there at nite just for some amusement because you know you're guaranteed to see some crackheads fighting over a rock. crazy woman shouting at people and taking her clothes off. or the inevitable late-night drunken brawls at 2am when the clubs let out.

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    i don't know what hollywood blvd you live near. but if you honestly tell me you don't see crazy sh*t on hollywood blvd you're insane. what tourist goes to hollywood blvd and expect to see panhandlers that heckle you if you don't contribute on block after block? or costumed Elmo and Superman characters getting into actual fights in front of grauman's? you've never seen strung out people yelling at random strangers or people cracked-out people taking their clothes off? there was this one lady down there that used to throw literal sh*t at people until i guess they shipped her off to skid row.

    lol you can't be serious. i did say, they are attempting to gentrify the area. and nor did i say ALL of these things happen at once. but any given night on hollywood blvd and the surrounding streets is not what tourists are expecting. they're expecting star home tours, the walk of fame (that smells like piss in many sections and you cannot deny that).. i could go on and on. i also bet i could go on youtube and find a plethora of stupid sh*t going on on hollywood blvd.

Forgiveness

For years, I've struggled on and off with fits of depression. It generally involves some sort of unceasing inner self-criticism that casts a shroud of gloom over everyone and everything around me, until all that's left is a very lonely me sitting fetal in a very small room that I seem to have made for myself. And then I remember my Christian upbringing. Jesus set the model for someone that never allowed themselves to be victimized. Regardless of who we are or what we've done, there is always hope and forgiveness ahead, so long as we are brave enough for the journey. More importantly, the ENTIRE dynamic of Jesus' relationships was one of perpetual giving. He went out with nothing, loved his followers intensely, and told all of them to go out and to deliver the gift of love and forgiveness to the world. My personal challenge to anyone reading this (especially those who relate to the depression bit) is this: when you're feeling down for whatever reason, stop what you're doing and go love someone. Do something to help them physically, encourage them, listen to them, etc. Shift your mental focus from yourself to someone outside of you, and see if you were happier focusing on yourself or focusing on others. Nowadays, we have facebook and acquaintances galore but we don't have loving community.