The Pledge of Allegiance

"I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

American Writers sentenced to 12 years hard labor in North Korea

North Korea convicted two American journalists and sentenced them Monday to 12 years of hard labor. Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV media venture, were found guilty of committing a "grave crime" against North Korea and of illegally entering the country, state-run media said.The ruling came nearly three months after their arrest. North Korea's penal code calls for transferring them to prison within 10 days.
The United States, which does not have diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, was "deeply concerned" about the reported verdict. North Korean guards arrested Ling and Lee near the China-North Korean border on March 17. The two were reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women at the time of their arrest, and it's unclear if they strayed into the North or were grabbed by aggressive border guards who crossed into China. A cameraman and their local guide escaped.
Lisa Ling, sister to Laura Ling in a blog entry described "the feeling of utter isolation" she experienced during a 2005 trip to North Korea, had pleaded for leniency. She said neither journalist intended to cross into North Korea and her younger sister suffered from an ulcer requiring medical treatment, while Lee was the mother of a 4-year-old, Hannah.
The sentence is "a terrible shock for all those who have repeatedly insisted on their innocence," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement, noting that North Korea is ranked as Asia's worst country for press freedom.
As a journalist and American citizen, I am deeply saddened by this development in this unjust case of two American journalists. What is most disheartening is the fact that our country has strained diplomatic ties with North Korea thus almost guaranteeing that this situation was not handled fairly based on the individuals' criminal intent, but rather as a slap in the face to Pres. Obama and the U.S. government. I fear if they had not been writing about a subject matter that showed the atrocities women and girls face all over the world, the outcomes would have been different. It is high time for the media to rally around these reporters, but even more importantly, the issue of female trafficking for sex and slavery needs to stay in the forefront where it belongs.

Pinch Me...Am I still in the United States of America?

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! --The Pointer Sisters lyrics

This morning I awoke and felt like jumping up and down with glee! Someone who is my real choice for President of the USA has actually won. A regular ordinary person who will go on to do extraordinary things. He still needs our support and prayers. I will gladly do my share.

I'm so euphoric and elated!

Am I dreaming or what? If this is a dream--please don't wake me.

Do ya feel me?

Change Has Come to America...Meet the new 'First Family' of the United States of America

My options were many. I had three invitations to election night viewing/victory parties all in downtown Chicago. I'm leery of huge crowds even though the idea of being in the energy was inviting. I opted to stay at home and take a nap so that I could stay awake and see the results with my husband and 3 sons.
Four hours later when I awoke from what was supposed to be a 45 minute 'cat-nap', I tuned in to election coverage and was awed by what I saw. A peaceful, patriotic, sea of people in Grant park. This was more people in one place just standing still than I'd ever seen in my life. People of every size, shape, height, and ethnic heritage. Suburbanites and city-dwellers; old and young, men and women, boys and girls. Kids and babies were perched on top of the shoulders of their parents--given a joyful reprieve from going to bed early on a school-night.

When the polls closed on the West Coast and the election results were shown, Senator Barack Obama was declared the winner at about 10pm CST, with 280 electoral votes. The crowd erupted in a resounding roar and my spirit literally left my body briefly and soared through the air. I prayed to go high enough to see the face of God. When I landed I did see His face--in all the tearful faces involved in a giant flag-waving, celebratory hugfest
Senator Barack Obama had been elected President of the United States of America in a landslide victory. What a beautiful day to be alive. Change has come to America.
Here are a few lines from his powerful 16 minutes acceptance speech in Chicago, Illinois to a crowd of over 150,000 in Grant Park. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The moment was sacred.

OBAMA: If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.