As a change of pace for my blog I decided to write about something very dear to my heart, the Philadelphia Flyers. For as long as I can remember I have always loved this hockey team. Even though I myself have never lived in the state of Pennsylvania or anywhere near it I feel like I am a Philly native by blood and heart. My dad is a sports nut and he is from the Philadelphia area. He has spent much of my childhood making sure I carried on his team’s memories and their legacies. He has retold his stories of growing up watching the Eagles, Flyers, Seventy-Sixers and Phillies. In 2004, when the Eagles went to their first Super Bowl ever my dad immediately bought tickets and I and he went to the game. But of his favorite teams none of them had my heart more than the Flyers. Since I grew up in south Florida I never had a chance to see them play unless they came to play the Panthers. But when they did come to town my dad made sure that we would be the first ones at the games. I vividly remember being 7 years old and watching “the legion of doom” warm up before the game and my eyes just light up.
And today is no different. The players may change but my feelings never will. I feel this special bond with the team where I feel like I am on the team. When they win, I win. When they lose I lose. Last season was one of the worst years of my life. Not because of graduating and leaving California for a school 800 miles away from my family and friends soon, but because the Flyers were going through their worst season in Franchise history. Every game they lost was like a stab in the heart for me. But I would still watch. Almost every game that season, I watched because they are my team. One of the greatest things I look forward to in life is to watch my son grow up and watch the Flyers like I do. I could see no greater joy than to pass on my love of hockey and this team to my children. So that when they see them play for the first time they can light up like I did.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
"The Rich"
Where I come from there isn't much diversity between wealth classes. Southern California has 3 of the top 5 richest counties in the United States and Orange County, where I'm from, has the most millionaires in the country. There are 2 extremes though. There are the super elite in the hills and the immigrants in the trailer parks and slums. Most of these people cross the border illegally and have no residency in the United States yet they are still employed. They are hard working people that don't think of the American dream as working 40 hours a week and having everything you want. To them, they are living the American dream with their 60 hour work weeks and less than minimum wage jobs. They have no hopes of climbing the later of a corporation and becoming millionaires or running their own store. The only dreams they have are for their children. Their children do not grow up knowing the slums of Mexico like their parents where everyone is poor. They grow up in an almost worse environment Where not only are they poor in money but are constantly reminded of their lack of money as they cut the grass of a multimillion dollar house or while the women clean the inside of these homes they can never afford everyday. I think they grow up with this resentment towards the rich white Americans. And that’s how all these gangs start in these areas because they feel like it is them against us and have a need to unite or they will never succeed. For them college isn’t a possibility. Most Hispanics barely pass high school because they have to work to help support their family or get involved in other more illegal things. And that’s life for them but over the generations there is an increase in success. With the increase of population on Latinos in southern orange county they are now the majority and don’t feel as threatened.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Romney Defender
When I was last in writing class we talked about a woman defending Mitt Romney and his religion as a Mormon. She was quick to defend Romney and Mormonism because she is also a Mormon. Based on this I can’t take her seriously as a nonbiased person in her argument. She gives a brief explanation as to why she thinks Mormonism is a Christian religion and then goes further to saw Romney is like Jesus. This is one thing a Christian knows is that Jesus is perfect so to compare a politician, no matter what message he brings, to Jesus is a mortal sin. But even if I did not know anything about Jesus, Christian religions or Mormonism, I would still be skeptical because she doesn’t give much reason for me to believe her.
Just because she considers her religion to be one thing does not mean that they should be associated as such. If I say that Denver is a European city that doesn’t make it such and even if I say I’m from Denver and that the mayor of Denver reminds me of the mayor of London doesn’t make it true. Mormons are already known for their “out their” ideas and beliefs and I think that is the only thing hurting Romney at this point in the election. That is the reason people are making a big deal out of him being Mormon. Not because they are trying to attack his good beliefs but because of his bad beliefs that are questionable.
Just because she considers her religion to be one thing does not mean that they should be associated as such. If I say that Denver is a European city that doesn’t make it such and even if I say I’m from Denver and that the mayor of Denver reminds me of the mayor of London doesn’t make it true. Mormons are already known for their “out their” ideas and beliefs and I think that is the only thing hurting Romney at this point in the election. That is the reason people are making a big deal out of him being Mormon. Not because they are trying to attack his good beliefs but because of his bad beliefs that are questionable.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Barack Obama
Barack Obama Speech
Barack Obama is looking to make history in the upcoming presidential primary by becoming the first African-American who is on one of the two major parties presidential ticket. He is the first African-American with a legitimate chance of winning his parties ticket and the presidency in general. He is qualified, charismatic, intelligent, personable, strong minded and most importantly of all he is willing to take on the pressure and responsibility of being not only the leader of the free world but the added pressure of being the first African-American President of the United States.
Obama’s speech starts off with the roar of thousands of people piled into a very large arena all eager to see the man that looks to fix the flaws of the country and change it for the better. He smiles and seems so happy to be where he is and see all the warm welcomes he is receiving. He starts his speech off with a little humor and ice breakers. He is very confident up on the stage. He stands poised and firm the way you would imagine a leader would look. He quickly and swiftly transitions his connection to the crowd from flattery and humor to courage as a leader and promises of change if elected into the White House. He promises better health care and benefits for the middle class and elderly. He insures that if elected he will pull out of Iraq and fix the failing economy.
As great as Obama’s promises sound, how much can he guarantee and how much can we expect from him? Politicians don’t have the best reputation of telling the truth and he is basically saying everything we want to hear. There is not anything he says that is borderline bad or could be seen as negative. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to see a stronger economy, a better healthcare system, better education ratings and an end to the war in Iraq? These things sound great in theory but it will be interesting to see how he intends to accomplish these things.
Another thing I noticed while at the speech was that he was very charming up on stage. He was very charismatic and made everyone feel like he was addressing their specific needs. He was serious when he talked about something important and laid back when he was trying to gain the crowds trust. He reminded me of a Bill Clinton type person. Very personable and charming with people and in crowds he commands attention and respect at the podium. I went there with my own impression of Obama as someone who goes with the flow and is very reserved in what he says but this speech blew me away. I had no idea he was so confident when he spoke or that he was that fascinating when he spoke.
I was very impressed with Obama and proposal on how he would change the country. I am a registered republican and I would not mind seeing this man in the White House. I would be honored for him to be the first African-American President. He is everything a president should be; strong, open to change, good specking ability and a good person. I hope he wins the ticket and runs against a republican for the United States Presidency. That would be the final step for the long journey Africans-Americans have taken in attaining equality in this world and I think Barack Obama would serve that role well.
Barack Obama is looking to make history in the upcoming presidential primary by becoming the first African-American who is on one of the two major parties presidential ticket. He is the first African-American with a legitimate chance of winning his parties ticket and the presidency in general. He is qualified, charismatic, intelligent, personable, strong minded and most importantly of all he is willing to take on the pressure and responsibility of being not only the leader of the free world but the added pressure of being the first African-American President of the United States.
Obama’s speech starts off with the roar of thousands of people piled into a very large arena all eager to see the man that looks to fix the flaws of the country and change it for the better. He smiles and seems so happy to be where he is and see all the warm welcomes he is receiving. He starts his speech off with a little humor and ice breakers. He is very confident up on the stage. He stands poised and firm the way you would imagine a leader would look. He quickly and swiftly transitions his connection to the crowd from flattery and humor to courage as a leader and promises of change if elected into the White House. He promises better health care and benefits for the middle class and elderly. He insures that if elected he will pull out of Iraq and fix the failing economy.
As great as Obama’s promises sound, how much can he guarantee and how much can we expect from him? Politicians don’t have the best reputation of telling the truth and he is basically saying everything we want to hear. There is not anything he says that is borderline bad or could be seen as negative. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to see a stronger economy, a better healthcare system, better education ratings and an end to the war in Iraq? These things sound great in theory but it will be interesting to see how he intends to accomplish these things.
Another thing I noticed while at the speech was that he was very charming up on stage. He was very charismatic and made everyone feel like he was addressing their specific needs. He was serious when he talked about something important and laid back when he was trying to gain the crowds trust. He reminded me of a Bill Clinton type person. Very personable and charming with people and in crowds he commands attention and respect at the podium. I went there with my own impression of Obama as someone who goes with the flow and is very reserved in what he says but this speech blew me away. I had no idea he was so confident when he spoke or that he was that fascinating when he spoke.
I was very impressed with Obama and proposal on how he would change the country. I am a registered republican and I would not mind seeing this man in the White House. I would be honored for him to be the first African-American President. He is everything a president should be; strong, open to change, good specking ability and a good person. I hope he wins the ticket and runs against a republican for the United States Presidency. That would be the final step for the long journey Africans-Americans have taken in attaining equality in this world and I think Barack Obama would serve that role well.
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