(Akiit.com) Last week me and my wife visited our late president George Washington mansion… To my surprise I couldn’t believe high clean looking the estate still was, as after 100 or so years one would believe it’s age would show… I stood looking up at fiberglass columns which seem to reach the sky and beyond… I shall forever remember this great experience as more people need to intake our history, etc… In summary the world isn’t so big afterall…

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(Akiit.com) Well last week I was over at my brothers house, and there my sister-in-law stood with her bundle of joy… Yes we a have new member to our family, as I’m an uncle for the first time… Wish I would have known about Kiki’s Maternity Clothing website, as any soon to be mom can browse through an array of maternity clothes, and so on… No longer are women hiding their belly as all are embracing motherhood to the fullest… That’s a good thing in my eyes… Well let me call and see how the little one is doing…

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(Akiit.com) As I type this message, my little friend rest so quietly on my lap… Yes the cat which I named Tarheel is dear to me… My wife always complaining I love it more then her, but I know she is just joking… Need to buy a few new toys for Tarheel, as a cat tree would be nice… Then it could play around within it’s own castle… Oh well let me end this blog, as I must leave the house soon…

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(Akiit.com) Chicago, Illinois - Time to shape up if you want to collect Social Security…

I recently looked at my “Social Security Statement” and realized that I’m one of the hardworking boomers who may never see a dime of this nest egg.

After being in the work force full-time for 43 years, and paying into Social Security all those years, I’m beginning to have visions of going someplace where it doesn’t snow on the first day of spring.

But my escape may be short-lived.

No excuse

That’s because I have to be 66 years old to retire. I’m not rushing to check out of here, but you never know.

Last week, one of my earliest childhood friends died unexpectedly after a brief illness. In fact, the last time I saw her was about three weeks ago, when I drove to San Antonio after covering a political event in Austin.

Her name was Sirretha Fondren, and we were probably the same age. After serving in the military, Sirretha and her son, Tony, relocated to San Antonio.

When I saw her, I marveled at how well she had aged. There wasn’t a wrinkle on her face or a gray hair on her head. She was thin as a rail and still carried herself like the diva I remembered.

On Wednesday, I got the sad news that Sirretha had passed away after a bout with the flu turned fatal.

Her death was another reminder that — as hectic as things can get — it is a bad idea to put off the annual checkup.

Although the picture of good health, my friend obviously had some health issues that were probably not addressed.
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(Akiit.com) African-American voters will help insure that Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama keeps his slight edge over Hillary Clinton—for now. They will not help him beat John McCain if he eventually gets the Democratic nomination. Yet it’s still a virtual article of political faith that a strong, united, and crusading black vote can tip the scale for a Democratic presidential candidate. This is a myth and it’s risky business for Obama and the Democrats to believe that. It’s easy to see why Obama might be tempted to think that. When Obama needed a surge early on in the campaign, he called on Oprah, and she delivered. She made a blatant racial pitch for blacks to in the crucial South Carolina primary to vote for him, and they did in near record numbers. That put him over the top and propelled his campaign.

With the black vote firmly in hand, that gave him the freedom to craft his hope and change message in broad, bland, and especially non-racial terms. The idea was to avoid any appearance of a Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton racial tilt. That would be the political kiss of death with many white voters.

But that didn’t change the political reality that black votes still provided the decisive edge for Obama in key primary state wins. And even in his losses to Hillary Clinton in Ohio, California and Texas, black votes kept the race close. Those votes, though, will never be enough to put him over the top in the big states against Clinton, let alone against John McCain in the South and Border states.

The myth that the black vote wins presidential election has been bandied about for so long that it’s taken on the proportion of a political urban legend. In 2000, black voters made up nearly 11 percent of the overall voter. They gave the Democratic presidential contender Al Gore 90 percent of their vote. In 2004, black voters made up nearly 12 percent of the vote and gave Democratic presidential contender John Kerry 88 percent of the vote. Gore and Kerry lost.

The Clinton wins in 1992 and 1996 also helped fuel the myth that black votes put Democrats in the White House. Clinton managed to pry four Southern states out of the GOP orbit but he did it by downplaying racial and social issues and stressing family values, tough defense, and a strong economy. He got lots of white votes, especially, white male votes, and that made the difference since he got the same percentage of black votes that Democrats traditionally got in prior elections.
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