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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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The 4 c's of the DIAMOND

 CUT is a diamond’s most important characteristic. It refers to well its facets reflect light. When a diamond is cut to deeply, light seeps out the side; an overly shallow cut drains the light from the bottom. An “ideal cut,” which results in blinding brilliance, is the most coveted and expensive. 

 

COLOR is rated on a scale from D-Z. D-grade diamonds has absolutely no nitrogen, and the lower you move down the scale towards Z, the more nitrogen is present which brings along a warmer color of yellow and brown body tone. No color grade is BAD; it all depends on personal taste and metal colors {white, yellow gold, or plat.}  

 

CLARITY refers to a diamond “inclusions,” meaning included crystals such as garnet, peridot; fractures or scratches from other diamonds. The clarity scale ranges from F-flawless to I-included. Flaws decrease the value of the gem, most are invisible to the naked eye. It makes all the sense in the world to buy one with inclusions unless you have a great deal of disposable income.  

 

CARAT refers to a diamond’s weight not its size. Generally the larger the crystal the more it will cost. The shap will also yield a different price