Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 11-24-15 Edition

Editorials
Build Success By Building Self-Confidence
When Kinkiness Met Stupidity
We Have A Lot To Be Thankful For
Most people these days, would agree: The concept of thanks isn’t what it used to be or ought to be. Who’s to blame? Maybe, it’s the media (both social and news)
feeding us 24-7 with a steady destabilizing diet that re- minds us of 20th century Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when she and her terrified friends repeated, “Lions and tigers, and bears; oh, my!”
So, the Western World can perhaps be forgiven if being thankful is not at the top of its list – what with wor- ries of ISIS under the bed and Syrians moving next door. The fact that most every American is either taking the wrong medicine, wears the wrong kind of underwear, has insurance that only guarantees a three-wheeled car, or is living with the wrong partner, truly, to be thankful in America, might seem indeed to be a cruel joke.
But it isn’t . . . not at all.
To wake up in the morning and decide to step outside
your door without being arrested, you should be thank- ful. For being able to go to a neighborhood store and buy whatever you want or can afford, you should be thankful.
Owning a car, or at least a pair of shoes, you should be thankful. For owning a television, a cell-phone or a re- frigerator with something in it, you should be thankful. Simply to be alive and in your right mind. No, living in America is not a bed of roses, but we Americans above all, should be among the most thankful people on the face of the earth.
So, when you slice your turkey this season, don’t let the media steal your stuffing. Be thankful! Be prayerful. Pass it on.
“You have to have confidence in your abil- ity, and then be tough enough to follow through.”
Rosalynn Carter
Empowered Greetings. Did you know that people that are confident in their own personal abilities gen- erally tend to be more suc- cessful than those that lack confidence? Your success in life is connected to your level of confidence. If peo- ple around you perceive you to be confident, they will believe in your ability to perform at your best. People will be attracted to your confidence and will want to help propel you to your next level of success.
Here are some tips to
The other day, when a fe- male friend sent me an email tagged with the sub- ject “Freaky Sex,” I didn’t know what she had in store for me. It threw me for a loop because that kind of risque frankness isn’t usu- ally her style.
For a minute, I began to think that she’d temporarily stepped outside of her re- served shell and was about to hit me with a little after- noon delight. Of course, when I clicked onto the mes- sage, it wasn’t anything close to what I expected.
What she sent me was a story about an 18-year-old Tampa woman who was shot and killed by her 21- year-old boyfriend inside of a hotel room. Apparently, at least according to the shooter, he and his girl- friend were preparing to en- gage in an erotic night of role playing when he acci- dently shot her in the head with the gun he was using as a prop.
As he explained it to au- thorities, he believed that the gun wasn’t loaded after he removed the clip. As it
building self-confidence: When you wake up in the morning declare to yourself that, “I am great, I have greatness inside of me and I will have a great day.” As you go throughout your day shift your per- spective or the way you view things. Focus on the positive things happening around you. Find the good in the bad, thus making the good your focus. (Example: Your feet might be hurting but thank God you have
feet.)
Create a positive self-
image of yourself. Look good by being well groomed and neatly dressed. Walk with your head up and your back straight. This body posture exudes confidence. Speak
turns out, there was still a bullet in the chamber.
It wasn’t until after he placed the gun to his girl- friend’s head and pulled the trigger did he realize his tragic mistake. Subse- quently, due to the fact that the investigators believed the evidence at the scene supported his version of events, he was charged with manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.
The story was so incredi- bly insane to me that, if it weren’t for the fact that there was an actual loss of life, it could have easily been considered one of the silliest comedy routines of all time. I mean, I’ve heard of mind blowing sex. But this was on a completely different level.
The first thought to cross my mind after reading the story was, “what kind of buck-wild kinkiness were these two into that involved a real gun being placed to the back of someone’s head?”
Do not get me wrong. I am all for adding some spice to a relationship through acting out fantasies. I just
clearly and project your voice. People want to hear what you have to say.
At the close of your day write down all the good things that happened throughout your day. These will be the things that made you feel good or put a smile on your face as you reflect on them. Also note the things that you have ac- complished that day no matter how small. You will have a greater sense of ac- complishment, which also builds confidence.
Practicing these steps will help build your confi- dence and help you in building a successful life. Confident people become successful people.
Invite Selphenia to be a part of your next event as a speaker, facilitator or work- shop presenter. Call or text 813-956-0185 with your event details.
Stay Connected with Selphenia via her Website: successcoachtowomen.com or on Facebook at Selphenia Nichols Success Coach To Women or on Instagram at Selphenia or on Twitter at queenofsuccess1.
always believed that there were safe words partners agreed to use when things got too weird?
All I can imagine is that maybe they were going for a Bonnie and Clyde theme or something else related to cops, robbers, soldiers or possibly a firing squad. What else would prompt two people to decide that climbing into bed with a gun and bullets was a good idea?
You would think that, once things started getting heavy, at least one of them would have had enough sense to say, “You know what? Maybe we should use the toy version of the 9mm instead.” Now, as a direct re- sult of their recklessness, she’s dead and all he can do is tell her family “I’m sorry,” while wearing a stupid look on his face.
This will, no doubt, go down as a textbook example of what happens when peo- ple try too hard and go too far in the pursuit of bringing freshness to their love lives. And I guess it could also be considered a cautionary tale about the importance of practicing SAFE sex in every sense of the word.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityonice@yahoo.com
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
Voter Suppression In Alabama
I magine having to drive or ride a bus to Titusville (Bre- vard County) three counties away or 127 miles to apply for or take a test for your driver’s license, or to get a gov- ernment issued voter’s ID. Well, if you live in Alabama and are Black, you would more than likely have to do just
that.
In what appears to be one of the most brazen voter
suppression move since the state of Alabama imple- mented its 2011 Voter ID law, making it illegal to vote in Alabama without a government issued photo ID, Ala- bama closed 31 driver’s license bureaus. Citing suspi- cious budgetary constraints, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced last month that it would close 31 of its offices throughout the state, leaving 28 counties without a driver’s license bureau.
Consequently, the impact resulted in eight of ten counties with the highest percentage of Black registered voters closing its driver’s license bureau. Considering the fact that 62 percent of Blacks in the state of Alabama rely on public transportation, you can guess what the result will be next election year.
Clearly, Blacks and some of the state’s poorest citizens were affected by this move. So, the Voting Rights Ad- vancement Act before Congress is needed to restore “core Voting Rights Act protections, which the U. S. Supreme Court gutted in June 2013.”
Since the 2010, election at least 21 states have enacted laws making it harder to vote. Call your Congressional representatives and tell them to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act today. Black voters all over America must vow, “Never again.”