BUY A CHILD A BEER

Here’s the deal: I’m participating in a bowl-a-thon called Bowl for Kids. It’s to raise money for the Finish Line Youth Foundation, which gives grants to “…programs that provide community based access to athletics for kids under the age of 18, as well as camps that give kids the chance to be active, especially camps that provide services to kids who are disadvantaged or disabled.”

Although the foundation is in Indianapolis, it sponsors programs all over the U.S.

I just need to raise $100. I know I’ve been asking for a lot lately, but this is for kids so it’s ok, right?

If you feel so compelled to pitch in $5-10, please go to the link before and find my name in the “Bowler” drop-down menu.

Thank you in advance!

GEOFFREY
http://www.bowlathon.net/event/FLYF_Bowl_for_Kids_2012/donate

JUST HAD TO SHARE

I’m lost in a sea of insecurities, fighting against everyone and everything that could hurt me. Love can barely see through darkened eyes. Tenderness covered up with layers of skin and callous. Break me down. Or break me. Either way, leave me in shambles and worse than what I see.

** defines my state of mind***

2010 In Review

I’m still surprised that  I’m up at 3.00am (12/31/10)  The worst year in my life.. well thanks it is over and I look forward to 2011 with a renewed focus..

2010 started so badly for me and my instincts just whispered to my lil mind of the horrors I was going to face..

January 2nd of 2011, I was involved in a horrible accident that shook me to almost death..in short I cheated death, the drama and all the crap that followed after the accident lasted the entire year and still left a deep mental scar that will take decades to heal.

2010 was a year of uncertainty, the economy was really messed up, jobs were scarce, living arrangement had to be evaluated…there was a period when I lost my job and was almost homeless… but..I got up dusted myself and licked my wounds and pursued greater things.

The Indianapolis City county building become my second home, shuffling from criminal courts to family courts like a stray dog. I sat  most of the time alone thinking and contemplating about life in general..”why me” was the question on my mind.

I believe that I’m a simple guy with average intelligence, immune from the ills of life, educated, informed,charismatic and easy to get along with. But my believes were shattered by few unrealistic individuals( racist, uneducated, stupid Indianapolis cops) who forced me to even have thoughts of just leaving this world.

My son kept my spirit high and every thought of him made me stronger each passing day, rolling out of  bed every morning and looking at his innocent pictures, brought a smile to my lips as I went to  thorough my crap in a normal manner.

I was gifted also to have very understanding friends , who offered a shoulder to lean on, their thoughts and prayers made me stronger. at the same time I lost several so-called fake friends( Opportunists) who were around for beer only and took off when the keg dried up.

I’m willing to confess that despite my sorrows I was not clean either, I did a lot of people wrong, I messed up with people’s emotions, became careless in what I was doing, ruthless with my words, and my heart was transformed to steel with no emotions.. technically i became a human robot that cared about myself and nobody else.

Done with my crappy stuff i hope 2011 will be much better that 2010…just holding my breath.

Back

well it’s been a while since i was here!maybe it is because I have been lazy to type/write, tooo lazy to think, too busy reflecting on matters that wont help me or there are too many thoughts on my mind that need critical thinking. The year is almost over and for the last few days i have been spending some quality time with my son… that is more important than writting crap.. laters

$600 B stimulus!!! where is the GOP?

Before and after the mid-term elections, the republican party and maybe 99.9% of the so-called Tea Party activists were all up in arms against the $787 B  stimulus package passed by congress and signed to law by President Obama, most of them rallied against a weak U.S dollar and excessive borrowing by the federal government. Last week the federal reserve announced a $600 B quantitative easing measure to stimulate the economy and so far there is not even a single protest from the Republicans.

This is what the $600 B  stimulus package means, the  fed will technically print or create money out of thin air***digitally** in order to buy government bonds. The simple economic reasoning is that this measure  will lower interest rates encouraging consumers and business to borrow money cheaply thus increasing spending.

On the other hand, a flood of money into the market combined with lower  interest rates will make investors move their money to countries with higher interest rates and **may** lower the value of the U.S dollar thus making american exports cheaper and imports expensive.

Although I support any measure to stimulate the economy, this measure has its ills. more money in the market is a recipe for inflation and it also creates currency wars between countries trying to boost their economies.

The republican party has always rallied against any form of stimulus package especially one that will lower the value of the dollar. I find it ironic that republicans were against the $ 787 B  stimulus package and yet they havent raised their voices against the fed’s $600 B stimulus. I could bet a million dollars that if President Obamaannounced  the fed’s decision, every so-called fiscal conservative republicans and talk radio hosts  will be against it.

I’m for any measure that will lower the unemployment rate and get us out of recession,  lets not be fooled by Micro economics 101, there is more to free market than just supply and demand.

IMPD

In Indianapolis, the police are kings of the street, they can arrest you, beat you up,  cause death by driving drunk, and even choke you and get away with it.

Recent incidents have made me come to a conclusion that the Indianapolis Police can do what ever they want without any consequences as evidenced by the exoneration of Officer Piland.

This Police officer beat up a 15 year old boy, leaving him with chipped teeth,bruised face and a swollen face and after even an internal investigation concluded that excessive force was used and recommended his firing the merit board  exonerated him all the charges and soon he may be  going back to the streets.

The same merit board, recommended the firing of another officer Nhat Nguyen over a headlock on a guy who was already handcuffed.. Kudos on a rare decision.

What is so disturbing, was the case of David Bisard, who was technically drunk and killed a motorist. Drunk driving charges were dropped on what is seen as a cover up to the accident investigation.

All these incidents and many more  are a thorn  in a city where there is a deep rift between police officer and the community. I call these cases the extreme tail end of incidents involving police officers and the community. there are several unreported cases  such as wrongful  arrests, use of excessive force, intimidation, confiscation of property and even stealing of arrestees’ cash.

My observations may be wrong, but a system that allows cops to act as they wish without any consequences is not to the best interest of the community, it only keeps driving a wedge between citizens who need police presence to keep quiet or act irrationally. The integrity of the police force should be a factor in deciding where to live and raise a family.

Parenting

I’m a proud father and there is nothing comforting than seeing that innocent smile and a give me all hug accompanied by “please daddy” yet parenting  can also be tough when both parents do not see eye to eye on the best interest of a child.

Apart from food, shelter and clothing, there are more important things in a child’s life such as education, health and the most important parental involvement in mentoring and discipline.

kkkk yap yap aside.. there is always a smile in any parents face when a child performs better in school, sports or behaves exceptionally well. all parents would love to take credit for raising a good citizen  but I know that it takes two  for that to be reality.

All I’m trying to rant about is the fact that I never understand why there is a such big conflict in determining what is the best interest of a child and why two grown human beings cannot sit down and lay a good path for their kids.

I will always be there for my son and I hope that my impact in his life will be a positive one.

The Whip is out!!

 I just squeezed my eyes and pinched my soft smooth skin while listening to the humble  beats of my heart trying to slowly digest  the resignation/firing of corrupt elite in Kenya. too late I’m not dreaming it is happening!!

Thanks to the new constitution,  The Powerful Elite charged or accused of corruption are either resigning or getting fired. During the Kenyatta and Moi era, corruption was a norm of life.. so many politicians and business men got away with a pat in the back  despite robbing tax payers billions of shillings.

Powerful and very influential ministers like Ruto, Wetangula and even my name sake Nairobi mayor Geoffrey majiwa have all succumbed to pressure and stepped down.

I do not recall anyone resigning or getting fired in relation to the Goldenberg scandal nor do I remember of any politicians losing their jobs after the recent anglo-leasing scandal.

Kenyan politicians have nowhere to hide, The new constitution is being enforced and the bigger fish are getting hooked up in numbers. The time when powerful friends protected their colleagues seems to over.

Kenyan MPs are among the highest paid public officials in the world and with their huge salaries comes accountability. I’m glad to see some progress  in fighting corruption and I hope the same will be applied to all public officials who still live in the colonial era of get rich quick  while millions of Kenyans are starving.

Although I do not support the ICC I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen to those individual  who are indicted  to face trial for violence.

*** as a Kenyan, corruption is in my genes all I will be praying for is not to get caught***

Private prison Industry

Building and managing prisons is a multi billion dollar industry in the United states. Correction Corporation of America  and GEO are two of the largest and profitable publicly traded private prison companies in the United states.

The Private Prison  business model is simple, ” Crime pays big” especially when your customer is either the federal, state, or the  local  county government. As inmate population increases so do their profits.

Private companies are paid by locking people up. each day a person spends in jail, these companies are compensated for inmate housing, food, medical care,counselling e.t.c The incentive  lock more inmates longer is huge profits.

90 percent of public officials are elected and lobbied hard by the private prison industry to pass tougher laws on minor crimes. some laws  advocate for longer prison/jail terms that solely benefit these companies. Judges with stakes in the industry are more likely to sentence more  people to prison rather than alternative correction methods, the same can be applied to sheriffs who are more likely to arrest more people for petty crimes.

Private prison executives have generously funded politicians and extensively lobbied for contracts to run prisons under the disguise that private run prisons are more cost-effective than government run prisons.

Prisons are filled with black and hispanic inmates who cannot afford bail or  good lawyers and their offenses range from minor possession of drugs, child support,probation violations, petty theft. the benefit for private prison companies is keeping these non-violent offenders in jail longer equals to more money from the clients. some of these crimes are so petty that fines and other programs could have worked better rather than jail terms.

Maybe the government should also look into privatising the military and then measure how many wars will be fought. if the incentive to make more money is engaging in  wars then it will be necessary to hire private government contracted military at a cheaper rate than use government forces.

There is a big conflict of interest here!!!!!