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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Smelling The Roses

What ever happened to taking our time? You know just relaxing, not hurrying about. Everybody is in such a darn rush to get somewhere or to do something. So much so, we have terms for it. The "Early bird catches to worm", means get up at the crack of dawn or you'll miss out. Miss out on what? The term " I need it yesterday", means give it to me right now. Needing it yesterday is not even possible when you think about. If it was needed yesterday than why didn't you do it yesterday? 

I made a promise to never rush anything unless I'm paid to do so. My time is valuable to me. If I have to rush, than I'm getting paid for it, period. Besides, I always take my time and focus on the details so I get it done correctly the first time. Cause I don't enjoy repeating anything.

Stop and "Smell the roses". That saying couldn't be more true for this day and age. Fast everything has been invented, DSL, fast-food, drive-thrus, automated customer service when you call for help, self-check out lanes, etc. Even giving birth to a beautiful bundle of joy takes a three day hospital stay, some hospitals kick you out after one day. Surgeries that once required a hospital stay are now done on a out-patient basis. When does it stop?

One can choose to rush about in every area of life, but we small business owners should take time to service customers and clients. Take time to give them what they want, not what you think they want. Take time to be understanding of their needs. No automated customer service phone lines needed. Make them feel that you truly care about doing business with them. Let's all start doing the simple act of Smelling The Roses.