D.C. HIV/AIDS & The Black Population

Good Afternoon - I come to bring you news that some of you already knew, but just needed confirmation: D.C. HIV/AIDS rates is higher than some countries in West Africa. I repeat -- the HIV/AIDS rate in D.C. is up to par with countries like Kenya and Uganda.

So what does that mean? It means that 2,984 residents per every 100,000 over the age of 12 -- or 15,120 -- according to the 2008 epidemiology report by the District's HIV/AIDS office are infected.

I'm in the process of reading a book by Harriett Washington, entitled "Medical Apartheid:The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present" which addresses a wide range variety of gruesome tales regarding the treatment of blacks in various medical experiments. In the 1980s, for instance, virtually no African Americans were used in trials of the HIV inhibitor AZT. When the drug came into widespread use in 1991, the Food and Drug Administration had scant research on blacks and erroneously reported that it was not effective for black patients. If more blacks had been included in the original studies, Washington wonders, "would the number of HIV-infected African Americans be lower today?"

There is a belief within the African-American, that AIDS, like Crack-Cocaine, was intentionally distributed to destroy the community, and considering the forced sterilization of black women (what civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hammer plaintively called her “Mississippi appendectomy”), and the "Tuskegee Experiment" -- the urban myth is not hard to believe.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it is completely our government's fault that the HIV/AIDS rates are increasing -- but I do believe that there needs to be some accountability on their part -- especially in D.C. because before the new director came into office, the city government in D.C. placed little emphasis on the need for research and treatment.

When it boils down to individuals, it pisses me off that people do NOT wear condoms. It is 2009 -- they have condoms to meet everyone's needs, from latex-free, ribbed, thin, flavored, etc. etc., so you have NO excuse as to why you do NOT wrap it up! The report found that the highest transmission between men to men and I don't know if there is a perception that if you have anal sex you can't get infected -- but I would have to assume that's the case because many heterosexual individuals believe that as well. Now the limitation to the study is that it does not address or "classify" those married men who label themselves as "heterosexual" but are having sex outside of marriage with other men. So now you are faced with an increased rate of women getting infected by their husbands. We cannot continuously blame the white man for our ignorant behavior and lifestyle choices.

What can we do?

First - Get tested and know your status. I don't care if you're married, only had sex with that one person for years -- I don't give a shit -- get TESTED people and know your status. I'm negative, what are you?

Second - Use protection EVERY single time. I have had to cuss out so many men that I was dealing with because they wanted to raw-dog -- um hell naw. "I mean, you the only girl I'm dealing with" -- ladies and gentlemen if you ever meet anyone who wants you to take chances with your life, run like hell. I don't care how long you two have been dating -- safe sex is always the best sex. Not only are you protecting yourself from diseases, you are helping to decrease your chances of getting that "I'm late" text.

Third - Educate! Remember those little NBC commercials ... "the more you know"? Well I'm an advocate of educating the masses and share knowledge, so hopefully you've learned something new.

I Love Being Black...

I was cleaning out some my listings on You Tube -- and I came across my FAVORITE clip. Check it out:

The Blowguard

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Colon Cleanse & Healthy Vaginas

*Disclaimer -- this note may be graphic to some of you, but hell I figure if you can talk about sex all day, you should be able to talk about healthy colons too.*

It's been quite sometime since I've wrote a blog/note and since I'm on this whole growing spiritually, mentally, intellectually, and physically -- I thought I share my thoughts with you all.

Me and a good friend of mines were talking about natural treatments and whatnot and the topic of colon cleanses and enemas came up. Now I have to address this because I am a little alarmed to know that some people go a week or so without having a bowel movement. What the crap!?

Now there are many definitions of what a normal bowel movement is -- some people go once every day or three times a day -- however lacking a bowel movement AT LEAST once a week is not a good sign. There is no rule for frequency of bowel movements, but the general range is from 3 times a day to 3 times a week. Less than 3 movements a week may indicate constipation, and more than 3 watery stools a day could indicate diarrhea.

In females we have to be even more alert and cautious because lack of bowel movement and unchecked colons result in build up toxins that disrupt the natural flora balance in the colon as well as the vagina. (Basically -- you're lack of #2's is probably why you are walking around smelling like a plate of microwaved sardines.)

I know some of you are thinking "O.M.G. -- what can I do to promote a healthy colon" -- and I have a answer just for you -- a colon cleanse. Trust me, it's not as disgusting as it sounds -- it will probably just look disgusting in your porcelain.

First you cleanse your colon with herbal dietary fiber to clean out all the toxic plaque and debris accumulated over the years (I have a site with photos of this, but it is not for those with weak stomachs). You also have to continue to keep the colon clean with the continued use of fiber (Psyllium husks is the world's best forms of fiber for human consumption, and you can get it anywhere).

While cleansing the colon, you need to replenish the good bacteria that protects healthy flora balance, and cleanse the liver with herbal extracts like silymarin.

Finally, with the use of detoxifying herbs, amino acids, vitamins and minerals, you detoxify heavy metals, like lead and mercury, and other toxins from the body.

Recently, I started using Dr. Natura's Colonix Program which is the BEST colon cleansing program on the market. It is a fiber-based colon cleanser and some people, including my good friend, lost 15lbs in one month using it. The thing that you may not like about the program is the high price. It may be a bit much for some people, but if you're looking for quality, then Colonix is for you. 3 months of cleansing will heal almost anyone. The pictures on the site truly are disgusting, but we need to realize that our colons are filled with toxins as a result of a lifetime of poor diet, and lifestyle. These toxins eventually circulate back to our bloodstream leading to toxic diseases (this includes acne, candida, arthritis).

To compliment this program I also drink Wu-Yi Cleansing Tea (available at GNC) in the morning. Along with this program and my new exercise regime, my personal goal is to drop 80lbs by my 24th birthday (December 9, 2009). I know it sounds like a lot -- but with my last chest pain scare I have to get my health on track, ya dig?

I do not use enemas because I personally do not have a problem in terms of having a bowel movements, but enemas are also good for those of you who do engage in anal sex because it clears the anal cavity. Of course you should also include safe sex practices (i.e. -- you can switch from the vagina to anal with the same condom, but do not go from the butt back into the vagina -- this spreads bacteria into the vagina).

Hopefully you've learned something new -- I'll be back with more notes on how to take care of yourself in 2009. Peace!

Much Ado About Nothing: Rick Warren

Disclaimer: For those of you who know me, you know that usually my opinions probably do not line up with yours – I still love you. Seriously, please do not take this post the wrong way. And feel free to comment! We can have an educated discussion without being hateful, hurtful, or just plain rude.

For a while I've paid little attention to the entire debacle about Rick Warren for good reasons – it's really not one of the most important things that we need to be worried about (i.e. housing crisis, lack of jobs for recent college graduates, urban gentrification, etc.). But I watched the 20/20 interview with Rick Warren a couple of weeks ago and he seems like an okay guy to me. After doing a little research on the arguments against Rick Warren, here’s what I've came up with…

I respect Obama for selecting Rick Warren to give the invocation because he is showing his willingness to work with individuals who might not necessarily agree with him – that's the kind of president we need. We've witness for eight years what can happen when you line up with folks who are nothing but afraid of you or think like you (i.e. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Yoo). Warren represents a section of America who simply do not believe that homosexuality is right and rightfully so, they are entitled to feel that way. Obama is reaching out to evangelicals and other conservatives who actually wanted Mike Huckabee or John McCain to be president, he is demonstrating that he is a man of courage and not afraid to make difficult decisions even when his liberal colleagues rank against him.

Do I agree with everything Warren says? No. Does he make valid points? Yes.

Just like with Abortion and the Death Penalty, I do not agree with homosexuality. I wouldn't have an abortion myself, but I wouldn't chastise anyone who does. I don't agree with the Death Penalty because it's nothing but a "legalized" form of murder. And I don't agree with homosexuality, but I have countless friends who are gay and I love them just the same.

I don't live anyone else life but my own, and I'm human just like you, so who am I to act "holier than thou" and judge anyone's life choices. I don't have to necessarily accept it, but I can be tolerant to it and respect you as a person. I don't have to agree with what you do in order to be friends with you (this is probably where people get the definition of tolerance mixed up with acceptance – they are two entirely different concepts). From what I've read, Warren seems tolerant of gays (kind of a "love the sinner but hate the sin" situation) but as far as accepting a marriage union between them, he's against it.

The arguments against Warren is founded on his staunch opposition to gay marriage but wait a minute maybe some of you are forgetting that neither Obama nor Biden support gay marriage. Matter of fact BOTH of them have stated numerous times that marriage is between a man and a woman. They believe that gays should be entitled the same rights (i.e. adopting, health care, etc.) but both men stopped short of agreeing to gay marriage.

I've recently heard that Rick Warren will be speaking at Ebenezer Baptist for MLK Day and many gay coalitions are opposed to it. From what I understand, Obama addressed the congregation last year and spoke about homophobia in the black community: "we have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them." And with Rick Warren speaking this year, some feel that this is a back step for the black community. I disagree.

Once again this is a case of tolerance vs. acceptance. Just because someone disagrees with your sexual orientation doesn't necessarily make them homophobic. My father doesn't agree with interracial marriage, does that mean he's racist? No, of course not. Dr. King preached about racial equality and tolerance. He didn’t say that people had to "like" and frolicking through the gardens with African-Americans, but simply that African-Americans should be granted the same basic rights as a citizen of this country regardless of their race. If you want to use MLK message in this context, it would be a message of tolerance to gays in the community – but like most southern preachers – I don't necessarily think MLK would "accept" homosexuality. But that's just my opinion.

I know individuals are still hanging on to hope that America will genuinely honor diversity but I think we still have a long way to go. As for Rick Warren – let the man invocate the name of Jesus. If ask me Obama should have picked Rev. Wright (yeah, I said it).

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards (9/11). America's chickens are coming home to roost." – Rev. Jeremiah Wright (truth straight from the pulpit if I ever heard it)

Jah Bless.