Since the unraveling of the U.S. economy you hear many people shouting from the rooftops “I want my country back”. At the gist of this statement is a need to capture the greatness of a previous moment in U.S. history that was for the betterment of the individual. As many would say, “the good ole days”. For many, the current economic and political environment has created a lot of uncertainty in their lives. However, I have a couple issues with this statement. First off, who are the individuals who want to go back in time? Second, how far back would they like to go? Third, who do they feel took the country from them? Fourth, where do they live? Five, what is their current economic level? Six, what was their current economic level at the time they would like to go back to? If you posed this question to a million people you would probably get a million types of answers.

A lot of people in this U.S. have had their heads in the sand for a while (On certain things I can include myself in this category). To be honest, I have been part of the problem in one way or another, so these criticisms are not only leveled at others, but also myself. We have now become so delusional and desperate for an economic antidote that recent polls show that 36% of Americans wish for the economic policies of Ronald Reagan. I would like to know who these people are, but that’s quite a considerable number knowing the “Gipper’s” economic policies were pretty disastrous. Although many have debunked the merits of the “Reagan Revolution”, many romantic nostalgists just won’t let go. That’s not to say there weren’t people who benefited from the policies of Reagan, but collectively his policies were a disaster. Just ask former budget Director David Stockman on how ‘wonderful” the economic Reagan era was.

The disruptive social and economic “bullet” was fired decades ago. Let’s paint a picture. Just imagine millions, maybe even billions of people lined up after one another. An individual fires a bullet (economic instability and social disruption) from a gun. When you get hit with that bullet it’s economic anarchy for you. In that same line, many folks were, lets say number 10267 to get fired upon. Some were even in the hundredth and millionth or billionth.  If you were towards the back of the line it wasn’t your problem because  33,  672, 45976, 273192, 834165, 5938200242 are getting socially and economically “murked” way before you. Many even thought, “oh it will never get to me” or even “Maybe the bullet will lose its momentum and velocity” before it gets to me. Or maybe in denial about the destruction of the bullet, “Maybe the bullet won’t hurt when it gets to me”. Maybe they felt it was someone else’s problem.

Now that the bullet is racing forward and it’s, as O.C. said, “Times Up“, people are clamoring around for answers as to what happened.  Of course it would be “nice” to go back in time when the bullet wasn’t so close to home. The net of economic disruption had already been cast. Now that person is in the net with everyone else.

This reminds me of the Columbine father that said the following:

I am here today because my son Daniel would want me to be here today. If my son Daniel was not one of the victims, he would be here with me today. Something is wrong in this country when a child can grab a gun, grab a gun so easily, and shoot a bullet into the middle of a child’s face, as my son experienced. Something is wrong. But the time has come to come to understand that a Tech-9 semi-automatic -bullet weapon like that, that killed my son, is not used to kill deer. It has no useful purpose. It is time to address this problem.

It’s sad to see any father lose their son to such horrific violence, but at the time, we had already reached the tipping point where guns were in the hands of our youth. The carnage has now reached “everyones” doorstep, but many doorsteps have already been visited by gun violence. The anarchy is now more widespread. Now that we have shared economic grief, we are harking back to the “good ole days”. Keep in mind that there were many before you that have been living with these wounds, but your wounds are now fresh.

I remember a discussion I had with a close family member in the mid 90s and we were talking about the gang violence that had been prevalent in a neighborhood right next to ours. The town was Roosevelt, Long Island in New York. At the time the Bloods and Crips had made significant inroads into the neighborhood. We lived in Uniondale, about a stones throw away. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Wow, we really need to do something about this gang violence. A lot people getting killed in Roosevelt
Family Member: Well that’s Roosevelt, you know how THEY are
Me: Hmmm…well what happens when the gangs come to Uniondale?
Family Member: No, that won’t happen. This is Uniondale, gangs don’t come to Uniondale
Me: I don’t think so. If we don’t take care of the surrounding communities around us, we are definitely going to have gangs here
Family Member: [blank stare]

As expected, the Bloods and the Crips made their way into Uniondale and although the degree of our gang problem was lesser than Roosevelt, we still had people getting shot over gang violence and whatnot. In short, when the economic plane goes down it won’t matter that you paid $5000 dollars for your first-class ticket. Irrespective of your seating arrangement, we are all going down. It’s just a matter of who hits the ground first.

This is going to be my last “10 Products we own that are awesome” post in the United Sates of America (for now). In the next couple hours (inshallah) I will be moving to Qatar for one year. There have been a lot good products I’ve used since the last awesome products post.

Rachael Ray Cookware

I’m not the biggest fan of “pop house-ware” products. My wife said she was watching the Rachael Ray show or some QVC-like show and was quite impressed with how they were demonstrating the usability of the pots. At this point in time, aren’t all pots the same? Well…I can now say no. All pots (and for you druggies out there, I’m talking about cookware) aren’t created equally. After going to Amazon.com and seeing such positive reviews, we decided to take the Rachael Ray plunge. So what’s not to like? Couple things. I like the idea that the handles are colored. After buying silver or black colored handled pots, it was a welcome change. In addition to the colored handles, the handles remain cool. So you can grab the pot right off the stove without those clumsy kitchen gloves that give you as much control over a pot as a race car driver with a butter-basted steering wheel. The last kicker is these pots can be put in the oven. Say what? Yes you can throw them right in the oven and bake what you need without ruining those wonderful rubber gripped colored handles. Need I say more? Give Rachel Ray cookware a try and give her the $174.00 dollar she needs on top of her 60 million (assumed net worth of Rachael Ray) which would bring her the grand net worth of $60,000,000,174.00 dollars.

Misto Stainless Steel Olive Oil Sprayer

This nifty little product is directly tied to the Rachael Ray Cookware. So in -36 font was a little disclaimer on the Rachael Ray cookware instructions that said DO NOT use cooking spray on these pots. I can’t remember the exact language but it would ruin the non-stick coating. Not really a big deal but grabbing a paper towel to wipe a bit of olive oil on the pan every time I’m cooking would be somewhat annoying. So I looked for a olive oil sprayer and Misto served the purpose. It’s really simple. Pump and spray. You pour your olive oil into the steel container then you get ya “pump on”. I wonder if Misto and Rachael Ray give kickbacks to each other? Hmmm…

PBSKids.com

I stumbled upon PBSKids.com after my son Saud was so enamored by the Cat and the Hat cartoon on PBS. He would just point with a stern finger to the laptop and say, “Baba, Cat Hat”. Well that means “Daddy, go find Cat and the Hat on the internet, and even if they don’t have it on the internet, you better make one now”. Luckily for me, PBSKids.com has already taken care of this and my months of late nights of developing an interactive Cat and the Hat game has been postponed. The really great thing about this site is they have a variety of different games dealing with math, reading, shape/color identification, measurement, and a host of other great mind puzzles for kids. Saud spends a considerable amount of time on this site and it’s nice to know he is learning while having a lot of fun.

Pure Citrus Air Freshener (Orange)

This was a recent addition to the list and I’m hoping they have this product in Qatar. Now I know the branding of this unassuming air freshener looks like something you’d get at the .99 cent store, but it’s air freshening performance makes up for it’s very old school 70s-esque Fabergé I hired the design team who made those members only jackets type of look. This product is really powerful. It really freshens up the place and the smell lingers. It will kill all those stagnant smells in the house. It will also kill your pockets. It’s almost 8 dollars for this blasted thing. Those must be some organic oranges imported from Brazil. If orangey smells is not your cup of tea, they have Vanilla, Lemon or Lavender or Citrius Blend. If this product wasn’t exclusive enough, you can only find it at Duane Reede. As it’s popularity grows I’m sure you’ll find it in your local supermarket, but only time will tell. Shout out to sister Taqiyaa for putting us on.

The Rack Workout Station

A couple weeks ago I saw this product on TV. You know, the typical “this is the best workout equipment ever and it will make you look like Flex Weeller” informercial. Now before I continue, I have something to confess. Um…uh..I don’t own this product yet. But I will. It’s a top priority when I get to Qatar. Many of you watch my FB feed have seen me talk about this product relentlessly. This thumbnail does not do this product justice so I’m just going to list several videos that will make you a believer. There’s really nothing more to say or do after you watch these vids other than to go to The Rack Workout Station and get this product. Now prepare to be mesmerized.

Just keep in mind that the Rack is a piece of equipment that compliments your already existing workout. It’s not a replacement for your gym but part of a gym. A nice easy way to change up your workout in addition to other types of pushups, pullups, and ab workouts. It’s nice to get a piece of equipment that has multiple positions and resistance. It’s 30 pounds of heavy duty equipment.

Sunshine Waterproof Picnic Blanket

My wife and I have been using this for a couple years. Some might say “What is the big deal, why not just use a blanket?”. Then I would say “Bring out your ratty looking dusty old blanket that you haven’t used since the 90s, will get you coverage, but not like this sexy looking colorful waterproof/roll this thang up into a tiny bag when I’m done” picnic blanket. It’s really simple. It’s waterproof, it looks good, and you can fold it up into a bag. Need I say more? You’ll be the envy of all the other picnic-ers with their tired ole blankets. Tell Bed, Bath, and Beyond that Malik sent ya. They know me by now. We have four of these things.

Iphone4

I have to admit something. The IPhone is an extraordinary piece of hardware and software. I know many Android fans are ready to stomp and come after me with pitch forks, but I really enjoy using the Iphone. Also known as the “Third Parent” in the Oxford household, this little piece of hardware has transformed how I share and use information. The video and photo quality is amazing, long battery life (and short recharging time), size is perfect, and the landslide of apps that it comes with can cover just about any need I have. My 2 year old son Saud has become a wiz with the IPhone. He probably uses it more than me. There are tons of educational games that I’ve loaded on the thing and Saud loves them all. From matching games to letter/word identification games. When I hear “Baba Phone?”, I know it’s time to give up the goods and hand over the phone to my son. No I’m not getting paid by Apple to say this. After hatin’ on Apple products for a decade I now have to admit that the tide has turned. I’m typing on a Macbook and my wife has a MacBook. I guess the next step is the Ipad.

Concierge Luggage Scale

Somewhat of an obvious and recent addition to the list, my wife got this yesterday from Macy’s. I’ve always heard of a luggage scale but never seen one before. I always wondered what the difference is between a regular scale and a luggage scale. As you know it’s always a clumsy effort to use a regular scale and you have to do this crazy balancing act to counter the weight of the luggage on the scale then keep just enough space in the front to see what the weight is..blah…blah…blah. You know the pain. Well this cute little weight scale has several modes. You can weigh in Kg or lbs. It has a bright blue digital screen and only requires two AAA batteries. We have to keep all our luggage under 50 pounds and with 6 pieces of luggage, it made weighing them extremely easy.

Cast Iron Skillet

I’ve never been a fan of cast iron skillets. They’re heavy, cumbersome, and you have to be very careful with it around water or it will rust like the tin man. But something changed. I started to get into cooking steaks. And if you use any other pan than a cast iron skillet your steaks will come out pretty bland and tough. The cast iron skillet brings life to your steaks. All that flavor, spices and juices being seared into the pan eventually gives your steaks some tasty character. I found this cool link that shows you how to make “restaurant” grade steaks at home. Check it out. My porterhouse steaks have gone from okay to grand. I would also suggest getting the cast iron skillet mitt. Really comes in handy because the cast iron skillet gets really hot.

Tory Burch Silver Weave Flat Shoe

The first time I heard the word Tory Burch (TB) was from my wife. I thought it was a type of tree in the Adirondacks. The funny thing is, I’ve seen these shoes for years, but I never knew the company. You can’t miss that classic buckle that looks like an ornament on a spaceship. My wife has been looking for the right flat shoe for years. No, I’m not kidding. Years! We’ve tried a variety of different shoes and they all come up short. There is one shoe designer (that will remain nameless for the time being) that sells really expensive shoes that has some of the worst stitching I have ever seen. These shoes fall apart after a couple tries. But this post is not about bashing so-called luxury shoe makers that make shoes that qualify only for the 99 cent store. This is about TB and how wonderful my wife’s feet feel. As the cool gals like to call it, they’re called “Torreez”. We actually searched the country to find this silver weave flat shoe. We called the last store in California that had the last pair and they shipped them to us. These things were flying off the shelf. So when you hear someone say “I love my Torreez”, it’s not that they are smitten for a political faction that emerged within the Parliament of England to uphold the legitimist rights of James, Duke of York to succeed his brother Charles II to the throne in the 17th century but shoes that are made by the now well known Tory Burch design company.

Over the last couple weeks, my wife and I have been clearing out the house in preparation to move overseas. As we are going through our waterfall of stuff, we realized something “Wow we have a lot of crap!”. To be honest, I don’t know where all this crap comes from. Since my wife and I have been in the apartment, we go through our annual ritual of clearing out the closet(s) and for some odd reason we end up with 5-10 garbage bags of..well..crap. From old electronics to shoes to comforters to old CIA files of assassination targets. I just wonder if there is a hidden portal in the back of our closets that meticulously adds stuff from other people’s closets.

This recent ritual of getting rid of stuff resulted in about 10 bags of stuff that we’ll send to the salvation army (or some thrift shop) and about 6-7 garbage bags of..well..garbage. If that wasn’t enough we have 6 bags of mail that will be shredded tomorrow. (we have so much we had to hire a professional shredding company to come to our apartment so we dump the stuff into the truck). I was shocked. Keep in mind that we have a 1 bedroom apartment. This mysterious “closet accumulation” phenomenon reminds me of the mysterious “lose 1 sock in the dryer” phenomenon. Is this some conspiracy between the cotton sock suppliers and the dryer manufacturers? Are the dryer manufacturers getting kickbacks from the cotton sock companies (Hanes and Fruit of the Looms) for randomly destroying single socks in the dryer? Do they evaporate after 20 washes?

All this industry conspiracy speculation reminds me of the the assumed conspiracy that Adam Carolla so humorously talked about in his book, In Fifty Years We’ll All be Chicks…And Other Complaints from an Angry Middled-Aged White Guy about the toaster and bread manufacturers. From pg 184 on Toasters:

Where’s the toaster technology? Toasters haven’t progressed since Lucy and Ricky were on TV, but now we’ve got an ankle monitor to make sure Lindsay Lohan hasn’t taken a drink. Imagine traveling back in time to the forties and telling someone sitting around their kitchen, “in 2010 this toaster isn’t gonna toast bread one second faster than it does now. Not one %$%^&*$# second. But there will be a thing the size of a pack of cigarettes you strap to your ankle that will contact a satellite if you’ve had a thimbleful of Kahlua”. They’d slam your head into their Formica tabletop and bury you in a backyard.

And half the time the toast comes out burned. Why was it built with the ability to burn the toast anyway? Do we need the ruin-my-breakfast setting? There are degrees that people enjoy, from lightly toasted to dark brown. But nobody wants briquette. Jacuzzis go from warm to hot, but not enough to kill a human or poach a salmon. The heater in your car can get pretty warm, but it will never go up to blast furnace and melt your face. Why do I need to smelt ore in my toaster? I bet the toaster manufactures have some kind of unholy alliance with the bread companies. I picture a guy who looks like Karl Rove, wearing a gold Toaster Manufactures of America blazer and smoking a cigar, saying “What if I could guarantee that every seventh piece of bread ends up in the garbage? It would increase your sales by fifteen percent. “Then we see the Pillsbury Doughboy laugh, slide a briefcase full of cash across the desk, and say “I think this is the beginning of beautiful relationship.”

With all that said, my wife and I still don’t own a flat-screen television, so maybe our carbon-consuming footprint is not so huge after all.

There is a long held belief out there in professional and laymen economic circles that the only piece of economic behavior that is holding the fragile American economy together is consumption. The storyline continues like this:

If Americans stop consuming while swapping saving for consumption, this will lower production and employment in the global economy, hence the Paradox of Thrift. GDP will plummet and aggregate demand will grind to a screeching halt while creating lower amount of total savings.

The audio excerpt above from Dambisa Moyo’s How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly–and the Stark Choices Ahead. explains why this storyline is untrue.

The irony of this phony story-line is the American people did just that for the last 30 years, and this economic behavior did not bode well for Americans, nor many of those countries whose exports are a substantial portion of their GDP.

The zero-sum explanation of “consuming leads to production and savings leads to economic anemia” is one of the biggest lies every told. No matter how many times this idea has been refuted it seems to rear it’s ugly head like those “If I send this email Intel will send me a dollar for every email forwarded” email threads that have been around since the inception of email.

A few days ago while I on the 1 train, I was brought to tears; these tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to fathom the lack of compassion in so many hearts. My sweet son looked at me with a sort of confusion in his eyes as I inconspicuously wiped my tears away, smiling at him pretending to read a book.

An obvious addict and a young man, no more than 35 years old, was in the same car as I was, sorrowfully telling the story of how he contracted AIDS, how he was jumped by a couple of men a few weeks back, how he could not afford hospital payments to remove fragments of glass from his skull and how he was homeless. I don’t know how much of his story was true or how much of his story was a lie nor was his story the culprit in releasing such sad emotions within me. What I do know is that compassion should never be removed from our hearts regardless of one’s choices in life.

What brought me to tears was not the fact that this young man was an addict or HIV positive or homeless. It is what happened before the train stopped at the 96th street that upset me. This young man shuffled through the car holding up a brown paper cup asking for anyone to help. I personally do not give money to people who ask but I will buy a meal for them. I just don’t know where that money will be end up; maybe on a bottle of beer or on a 5 dollar hit.

As this man shuffled through the car on his bad leg supported by a cane he fell down. He landed right on his back unable to pull himself up again. He landed at the feet of a mid-aged woman and a young man. It might have been hard for him to get up because he lacked strength or maybe he was high or even a combination of both. But why do we as a society not feel the need to lift a finger and assist this man up? Have we become so cold and so disconnected than a human being is so easily neglected? One man actually got up, looked at him like a dog and walked right over him to change seats.

Now, I am all for not supporting those who choose destructive paths in their lives. However, I am also not for leaving someone to roll around like a dog on the floor while he apologizes and struggles to get up. Where is our compassion as a people? This man is still someone’s son and he may even be someone’s father, brother and/or husband. He may not deserve a dollar but he definitely does deserve a helping hand and a little bit of compassion. When the train came to a stop he eventually struggled to pick himself up and waddled of the train.

A reminder to us all!

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

Those who are merciful have mercy shown to them by the All-Merciful.
Show mercy to those who are on earth, then He who is in Heaven will show mercy unto you. (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

Before i get started, I created the image on the left myself, but I jacked this idea from Cafe Press. Just want to give props to those who deserve it. Creative capital is just important. One other very important point. The intent of this post is not to shame anyone. These are ideas and resources that I have accumulated over the last 15 years of my life, and were extremely helpful in my personal development. My intention is to spread useful information. Okay, now lets get started.

Over the last 10 years of my life I have seen a slew of “Black Leadership Forums” (BLF) or Black Agenda Forums (BAF) come and go. By far the “Bentley” of BLFs has been Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union or Round table. Although there has been recent pull back as people from the black community have questioned the “intentions” of his forums, nevertheless it has been seen as the “Lets Find Out What’s Happening With Black Folk Nationally” forum in regards to economics, politics, and various social issues. Even MSNBC and CNN have jumped into the BLF frey with their forums and specials. Al Sharpton just had his BLF last year, and the NAACP had one in July of 2010. Nevertheless, I’ve watched most of these forums, often with hope and weariness.

The total GDP of the African-American community makes us the 13th largest economy in the world. That’s right, only 0.6% of planet earth (African Americans) represents the 13th largest economy in the world. The African American/Black Market profile from the Magazine Publishers of America has slated the purchasing power of African Americans to hit the 1 trillion dollar mark by 2012. Now that’s not to say that all is well, but we clearly have something to work with.

I will break up this post into 5 parts. My hope is that I will be able to finish this before the end of Black History Month 2011. The first part (what you are reading now) is an explanation of my intent and what topics my fictional BLF will contain. In the middle three parts I will explain the the 3 areas that I deem extremely critical to what I will call Black Reconstruction 2.0.. The last part will have resources to every piece of media (books and film) that’s related to this topic. In each area I will list a group of individuals that I believe are the thought leaders who can offer Ideas that lead to solving critical problems, instead of people who give lip service to ideas that go nowhere. These are critical thinkers who continue to think outside of the box while not falling into the “arrogant trap” of their own egos and personal accomplishments. Bless those individuals who taken the time, effort, and necessary sacrifices to live by the creed of “each one teach one” and “am I my brother’s keeper”. Often said by many, but seldom done.

So lets get down to the nitty-gritty on what would my BLF look like, who would be there and what my agenda would be?

To set the stage of my fictional BLF, I would not have a BLF until I actually owned the building where the conference/forum would happen. What is the point of giving lip service to “being independent”, where you have to pay others to have a conversation about “being independent”. In addition to that, the hotel and related eateries would have have to be owned by me. If this option was not financially feasible, I would have each speaker give a 1-2 hour explanation on the topic via video stream and providing resources (books, articles, websites, etc) that detail the presentation they just gave. I would more than likely opt for this virtual option, because asking people to fly all over the world and drive to your event is a waste of time, money and resources that can be better spent toward the actual conference itself. All these hotel fees, gas, food, and travel time is a waste. No audience, no grand standing, no ham-bonin’, and definitely no moon shinin’. Stop showing your teeth!. This is “straight up” information that you can use. Raw and uncut.

There are three sections to my BLF and they are following:

1. Don’t Believe the Hype. Healing comes first.
Without the proper spiritual and mental healing, the next 3 parts of this post won’t mean much. This is about cleaning the mind, body and soul of all the toxic psychological and lifestyle impurities that divert us from greatness. So many of us talk about being powerful and independent but forget about having the proper dignity, candor, and humanity about themselves and the world around them. Not to mention being extremely humble about our accomplishments and fortune. In this section I will have a select group of doctors (some) who I believe have experience in helping folks remove the self-hatred, spiritually deadening and self-defeating attitude that undermines our future. They are the following:

2. Use History as Guide to Help Your Present Situation
One of the biggest issues I see in our communities (not that these issues are exclusive to our communities) is an unwillingness to immerse ourselves in the necessary information to help us address our present problems. I have seen this at all class levels, from the poorest of the poor to the the so-called “talented 10th”. There are so many lessons from past events that serve as a guide for the future, that we often have circular conversations on problems that have already been solved. In this section the participants will give us a brief history in the following areas. Each speaker will be given 2 hours, then provide the necessary resources to help break-down their 2 hour presentation. Now some of the individuals I’ve mentioned have passed on, so I would play certain films and have a panel discussion after to talk about the film:

3. Talk is Cheap. Action Speaks Louder than Getting on Your Soapbox and Doing Absolutely Nothing
One thing I realize about people, is they like to talk. It’s so easy, just open your trap and stuff starts coming out. To be honest, if we got charged a financial penalty every time we said erroneous, propagandized, or unusable information you’d probably hear a couple thousand people talk on television around the globe. Unfortunately, we have a sea of information that does not maximize our spiritual or human capital. Most of it is junk-food nonsense that gets regurgitated over an over again. Like the way a fly eats it’s food. It has to take in food, vomit on it, then slurp it back up. Do you really want to eat like that? Well chances are, you are. They have repackaged, dyed it, seasoned it with fragrances, and sold you something that appears useful, but is as efficient as Ford Model T racing in the Indianapolis 500.

This last segment of my fictional BLF is very important. These individuals will give you the tools. You’ll actually get the hammers, and wrenches to get to work. The first two segments focus on actionable data. This segment focuses on the tools that you need to take advantage of that data. Although this list could reach well over a thousand, I have specifically picked these individuals based on their willingness to be prudent and forthright in their approach to business, socio-economic circumstances, and human enlightenment. Here is the group that would master this segment:

Well folks, that’s it. The following 3 parts will delve into why I believe that each of these individuals offers something that we can benefit from while explaining why they are experts for each segment. The last part (part 5) will be my conclusion on where we are at and where we are going. Look out for the next parts over the next couple of weeks.

Well..to be honest…not a lot. Sike!. Well, I’ve learned quite a bit. I’ll try to make this short and sweet. Who am I kidding? This ain’t gonna be short. (but it won’t be terrible long either)

First, lets get the generic “This year I’m going to do ________________” type of resolutions out of the way.

2011 Resolutions (yuck, just using this word made me squirm, so typical)

• Learn Arabic (by the end of the year have a basic conversation in Arabic with my wife)
• Get back on the P90x grind and get deezed (that means getting jacked…oh that means getting big..oh…that means..get your swole on..oh that means increase my muscles by a certain number..okay when I look in the mirror I can’t stop looking in the mirror)
• Lead at least 5 financial seminars at 5 different universities and colleges. while introducing folks to the specifics of the ABCT (Austrian Business Cycle Theory)

So what have I learned

What have I learned about America
This year I’ve spent a considerable amount of time learning about how Americans have been bamboozled and hoodwinked by the political oligarchy. This pattern will continue, unless we step out of our ideological comfort zones. We spend too much time interacting with our “choirs” and less time utilizing actionable data. At this present moment, I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What have I learned about about me
Whenever I talk about me, that means Islam. They really go hand in hand. Every year I get deeper and and deeper into Islam, and often I find something very refreshing and enlightening. Personally, I must remain on the straight and narrow, while being balanced on a humble path. Without Allah I’d be lost.

Dignity and humility is priority no 1.

What’s Next

In my heart I believe 2011 is going to be a big year, inshallah. I have lots of ideas and plans for the future. Some plans are more covert than others, but nevertheless are being planned out strategically and methodically.

The time is now to Rework.

Book Suggestions

You know I can’t finish this post until I throw some books out there. Here are a couple of “big idea” books.

It’s unfortunate, but too many Americans suffer from the disease of “over-optimism”. There is a big difference between calculated optimism, and divorcing yourself from reality. Like doing crack and expecting not to be an drug addict. Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America delivers a powerful book on how America has evolved into one of the most optimistic countries, but rife with countless examples of failure. I’m not saying that being optimistic is a sin, it isn’t. it’s the cognitive dissonance that’s a problem.

This book was given to me by my boss. Well, that’s not exactly true. It was given to our team, which includes me. It’s really a wonderful book. Want to be start your own business? Want to be learn how to be a starter? If anything, this book helps you to be a productive individual within your business organization. Although the folks at 37signals are steeped in technology innovation, it’s a book that can be applied to any industry. A must read for those who are looking to be better workers and more productive. I’ve come across a lot business books, and I have not read a book like this before. Clear, concise, and full of nuggets of information that you can apply to your professional career. As Seth Godin, says, “Ignore this book at your own peril”.

Many of you have seen this book as my FB profile image. One of the reasons why America has such health problems and costs, is Americans forgot how to eat well. A culture of food production convenience has resulted in ballooning waistlines and healthcare costs. 50 percent of bankruptcies in this country are due to medical expenses. Walter Bortz attempts at asking the biggest questions about our health problems. How did we get here? Why did we get here? And how do we solve these health issues and costs? Another book that complements Next Medicine, is Micheal Pollan’s Food Rules: A Eaters Manual. Now you have healthcare policy and culture in one hand (Next Medicine), while having a guide on how to eat better in the other (Food Rules). Keep in mind that America is the only industrialized country that has such health problems. It’s not just government and medical firms screwing with you, the American public have very poor eating and lifestyle habits.

I was watching the show (or at least trying to watch the show as Saud was trying to have a conversation with me about his shapes and colors) Monday December 6th, 2010 and I was a little concerned with a remark that was made by Condaleeza Rice and then later affirmed by Whoopi. We are of course, all entitled to opinions. My concern is when opinions dismiss facts and those facts are misinterpreted by the American public.

In this day and age, there is a lot of misunderstanding and suspicion directed at Muslims. It is important that facts are presented and respect is given to religions, cultures and belief systems other than those adhered to here in America. Sherri asked Condaleeza Rice about her experiences in more conservative countries where sometimes women are not given adequate respect and opportunities. I agree 100% that this is a serious issue that needs to be tackled consistently. My concern in this segment was how Condaleeza Rice responded. Her exact words were “…I would meet with these very very conservative leaders and one day I was meeting with a very conservative man who couldn’t even shake my hand because I was a woman. And at the end of it he said would you wait right here, I want you to meet my 13 year-old granddaughter. And out came this little girl in Muslim dress and she said ‘I want to be foreign minister too.’ And her grandfather just beamed. And I thought at that moment maybe there is some hope because that very prejudiced man sees a better future for his granddaughter.” Whoopi went on to say that maybe one day she will have to shake hands with men.

Now, most will be asking, what is the danger in what Rice said. Is it not the truth? To these questions, I answer no. In America we are taught to respect others religious beliefs. Accept people’s differences. Embrace others ways of life. In this case, religion and NOT prejudice plays a role in this man’s decision to not shake hands with a woman. The fact that he did not shake Condaleeza Rice’s hand made no difference in his ability to diplomatically speak and unite as two separate nations. The fact that there was no hand shake did not affect, in any way, the ability for a man and a woman to sit down and speak on political issues, to make political agreements or improve on foreign policy. This act was not prejudiced. It was merely a choice that this man makes for his religious beliefs.

It is slight hints such as these that lead the American public to sometimes think that the Middle East and other Muslim nations are backwards and retrogressive. The truth is, many Muslim nations are progressing at an alarming rate and are doing so while still adhering to Muslim teachings. We live in a world where each country and culture holds dear to their heart different beliefs. We cannot, as a world, look down on practices of others. It is unjust and unfair. Men and women have been shaking hands for centuries and I think it is sufficient to say that it really means nothing at the end of the day. Progress in this world will not be hinged on the handshake of a man and woman; rather on the efforts and diplomacy of intellectual and just men and women.

Shout out to my boy Tal Yellin for creating the design for the official 10 Products We Own That Are Awesome banner.

Britax Boulevard CS 70

It took us a couple weeks of researching but we eventually settled on the brand Britax for Saud’s toddler car seat. I mean, look at the name of this thing. It sounds like some exotic sports car from Italy. Britax is to car seats, what Volvo is to safety. There is a hefty price tag (just like Volvo), but you’ll know where that extra money went. There is no doubt that Britax tugs at the “Hey this is your kid and isn’t that cute cuddly loving toddler of yours worth it?” heart strings. You look at this behemoth of a car seat and say to yourself, “Hmm..I could save a 100 bucks if I just went with _______ brand.”, then you look at your kids eyes and it’s over. 10 minutes later your walking out with the Bentley of car sets, get home, and then you scratch your head and say..”Uh how did I get here?”. However, the supports are made out of reinforced steel, it has cushion impact, side impact, and it’s very stylish. What’s really nice is we’ll get a lot of mileage out of this car seat. It goes up to 70 pounds. To be honest, this thing is so expensive I’ll have Saud in this thing until he is 7 years old. I’m still happy we got it.

Oxo Good Grips Strawberry Huller

This is $9 bucks of simple tool ingenuity. All it does is pulls those pesky hulls out of the strawberries (with the vine). I have probably thrown away 8 football fields worth of strawberry caps because I don’t want that green vine on top when I eat my strawberries. With a couple swift movements you can remove the hull and vine. If you want to just remove the vine you don’t have to go so deep into the strawberry. This tool also has a nice plunger mechanism so you can easily push the hull out once you’ve removed it from the strawberry.

Oxo Good Grips Mango Corer

Oxo does it again. Like the Strawberry Huller, my wife and I look to get the most out of our fruit. So much gets thrown away on a mango, it’s a crime on how much waste there is. Even using a knife with samurai swordsmanship never gets enough mango off the seed.The only way is to use your teeth like a rake and scrape your teeth along the seed. Then you have slabs of mango flesh jammed in your teeth and your face and lips are so wet with mango juice that it looks like you just slapped some jheri curl activator on your face. Call me the “yuppy fruit eater”, but I’m trying to eat my fruit without my fruit looking like it ate me. It’s a really fun tool to use, and don’t be surprised if you find yourself just buying mangos so you can core them (knowing you really weren’t in the mood for mangos).

Norpro Silicon Egg/Pancake Ring

The inspiration for this product, was creating the McDonald’s McGriddle at home. If you don’t know what a McGriddle is, then I’ll explain. Take two 3 inch pancakes infused with maple syrup, then take bacon or sausage, with egg/cheese, and sandwich them between the pancakes. Oh goodness! Your taste-buds do backflips. The first time I tried to make the McGriddle, now known as the McMalik at home, was somewhat of a disaster. I used a hodgepodge of tools from empty cans to my KitchenArt Adjust-a-burger press to cut the pancake and eggs into a circle. Rather than nice circular pieces of pancake, it kind of look like the shape of an amoeba. It taste pretty good, but looked pretty bad.

Although demoralized by my amateur culinary fast-food replication efforts, a co-worker of mine suggested a similar product which then led me to these Norpo Silicon rings. I actually bought 4 of these rings so I can make the “McMaliks” faster. My co-workers and family have been brave guinea pigs for my McMalik experimentation and I’m happy to say that everyone loves these things. They are so delicious. A perfect balance of salt (beeftrukey/bacon/sausage [of course halal] and sweet (pancakes infused with maple syrup), with a nice fluffy egg and cheese to balance it all out. Although some copycat recipe sites for McGriddles call for maple crystals to get the maple flavor in the pancake, I just pour maple syrup into the pancake and mix it around while it’s cooking. Those crystals are impossible to get. Went to just about every specialty store, including “Whole Wallet” [Whole Foods] and couldn’t find them. No worries, the maple flavor really gets in there using above method.

Stoneware Grease Keeper

Sarah and I aren’t big “fried food” fans, but we do like to fry from time to time. After we fry, the biggest problem we have, is tons of oil left over that only needs be sieved and re-used for the next frying adventure. Normally we end up throwing it all away or clumsily sieving it with a paper towel (works well but takes some time) and funnel it into another container. So we bought this to “grease keeper” to well…keep the grease. It even has a nice micro mesh strainer on top that fits nicely into the container. One of our favorite fried delights at home is Bennigans famous Fried Monte Cristos.
Warning: Only have this meal once a year or you will have a coronary.

Toddler Shield Edge Cushion

One of the first things you’ll have to do once your child start crawling and walking is you’ll need to start “childproofing” your entire house. At this moment our house is to children, what Fort Knox is to gold. Very safe and extremely secure. One of the most deadly parts of the house are furniture and table corners. Baby’s are attracted to this like bees to honey or bankers to bailouts or klansmen to white sheets or politicians to pork barrel spending or…okay I’m sure you get the point. It’s as if there is a little voice that talks to the children that say “Hey, you over there, why don’t you just run full speed into this furniture corner. Yeah it will be fun, com’ on do it, you’ll love it”. Of course they won’t love it, and there head will be severely damaged. Well, these cushions are amazing. They have really strong elastic cushion that stretches across the edge of the furniture. They come in different colors (black, beige, and cream) and sizes so you can match up the cushion with the right table. I can’t tell you how many times these cushions have saved Saud. I’ve watched him run full speed into these things and he bounces off these cushions like his head is made out of rubber. What’s really nice is the cushions come with an extra set of padding squares that you can put on each corner for extra protection. Now those javelin-esque corners are nice soft pillows of safety.

Charter Club Memory Foam Pillow

For the longest time, my Wife and I have had serious neck problems because of badly engineered pillows. To be honest, I never spent a lot of money on pillows. I felt like pillows, is just something that should work. You get some cotton, stuff it with some feathers and there you have it..pillow. Unbeknownst to me, pillows are extremely complicated and a lot of manufacturing technology and time goes into producing pillows. So the 1st step in our pillow comfort strategy was pretty simple,..spend more. So we bought these Pacifico pillows, which are the same pillows that a lot of major hotels use. After about 8 months, they started to go flat. All this fluffing and preparation to get these pillows to fluff right seemed to be a lot of “sleep overhead”. I just want to lay my head down and be in comfort. So after years of struggling with feathered pillows we ended up going the memory foam pillow route about 6 months ago. No neck problems, and we sleep soundly just about every night..well..that not entirely true. When my son wants to have a fit in the bed, no matter what pillow is there..you ain’t sleeping.

Simple human garbage and recycling cans

Not all garbage cans are created equal and buying Simple Human made me realize that. We now have a kitchen garbage can and a recycling can from Simple Human. One thing I realized with Simple Human is it’s all about the little things. It’s little things that make their products so extraordinary. For example, they have an internal smartbucket® bag change system which makes removing the garbage a lot easier. Not to mention cleaning the garbage bin is a lot easier too. The recyching bins have silent close lids too. When you push the lid down it closes without the banging. In many instances you don’t realize these little conveniences until you get the product at home, but you do realize when you buy Simple Human you are getting a special product.

Cream Of Wheat Original, Instant Cereal

I’ve been eating Cream of Wheat since I was a baby. I have now continued this tradition with my son. One of the biggest flaws with the non-instant version of Cream of Wheatt is you need to have the timing and accuracy of a stopwatch to make the cereal without the lumps. If you stir too fast, it’s not that thick, stir too slow and you get lumps. Oh I hated lumps in my cream of wheat. The anxiety that would grip me every morning not knowing whether I was going to have a lump free bowl of Cream of Wheat was too much. In addition, it took 10 to 15 minutes. Enter Instant Cream of Wheat 2 1/2 minutes and no matter how off my timing is..no lumps. Not even one. What’s also nice is the Instant Cream of Wheat comes with these 1 single size serving packages so you don’t have to fumble around with measurements, yet another draw back to old school Cream of Wheat. Check out my Banana Coconut Morning Surprise. Instant Cream of Wheat plays a very critical role in this recipe. Fast, Good and Tastey. Enjoy!

NUBY BPA FREE 2 Handle 8oz. Cup / Flip-It Straw Top

One word: Cool. Okay one more word: Functional. Nuby makes different types of sippy cups, but this one is by far there most engineered sippy cup. You have to see it to believe it. So the most important feature to a sippy cup is you want the keep the liquid inside the cup, but still give the child easy access to what’s inside the cup. This model has a Vari-flow valve which allows the child to control the flow of liquid from the sippy cup straw. If that wasn’t enough the the valve won’t open unless the child squeezes the straw between their teeth, hence preventing any liquid to come out of the straw. There is a Flip Top cap which stores the straw away in a nice little compartment. There are two nice grip friendly handles on each side of the cup making it easy for the child to grab and go. These sippy cups come in a variety of colors and sizes making your array of options very wide. Your kids will love it.

Honorable mentions

Molton Brown

The first time I heard of Molton Brown I was in England (a couple months ago). At first I thought it was just a repackaged version of The Body Shop. Honestly, can all these liquid bath soaps really be that different? Yes, and Molton Brown is that difference. They have a lot of different fragrances and when you walk out of the shower, you feel like you took a shower in a fresh water lake with in Michigan.
Warning: Frequent use of Molton Brown may result in bankruptcy. Relative to other liquid soaps this stuff is probably more expensive per ounce than pure silver so buy sparingly throughout the year.

9mm Handgun

It took some time for my wife and I to make this purchase. At first we were concerned about the dangers of keeping a loaded 9mm handgun in the house. To be honest, it’s not as bad as you think. We keep it locked away in a safe place and there is no way that our child can get to it. So you are probably asking, why? Well..why not. You never know when you might have to give somebody two to the head because they are threating your life or your family. The biggest benefit is…okay I can’t keep this going. We don’t own a 9mm, and god willing we never will. Gotcha! No, I’m serious..don’t dial child services.

In the wake of the new maniac and psychopath of the month (i.e Joseph Stack who did a homicide-suicide plane crash into I.R.S. building in a failed attempt to kill hundreds to Faisal Shahzad failed Times Square bombing that could of maimed/killed hundreds, maybe even thousands) who in some twisted sense of righteousness believe that killing innocent civilians equates to some deed of salvation or proper retribution for past misgivings. These characters are some of the more obvious examples. The definition of terrorism is the following:

terrorism, act of terrorism, terrorist act (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

Here is my open letter to “The Terrorists”, current and aspiring psychopaths and cowards who might not have thought they “fit the profile”.

Dear Terrorists,(but not limited to)

The “loose cannon” who claim they are Muslim and follow the Quran and Hadiths in Islam who like to blow themselves up (and others) thinking (Allahhualim) that they are going to see Jenna (Heaven). You better go back to the deen of Al-Islam (if you haven’t already blown yourself up) and re-study because your eyes, ears and hearts are sealed with wickedness and the shaytan.
That’s violent terrorism.

Police officers and those in authority in the justice system who beat down and kill civilians mercilessly because you think they are expendable. You have the disease of cognitive dissonance towards those that you’ve concluded have an “otherness” about them which does not fit into your own cultural matrix.
That’s enforcement terrorism. (not to mention xenophobic and prejudice)

The executives and investment houses/banks/firms sitting in their ivory tower embezzling tens of millions and creating questionable investment instruments (money schemes) while undermining the integrity of the financial system. Impoverishing tens of millions for your own selfish benefit.
That’s financial terrorism.

For the murderers and killers who worship gang violence while killing people in your own community including innocent women and children because you want a quick drug profit.
That’s social and urban terrorism.

Those in the halls of Congress (politicians and law makers at the state and federal level) that play up people’s worst fears to usurp power and mislead your constituents with a divide and conquer strategy. Laying in bed with lobbyists and playing both sides of the political coin for your own one dimensional power grab.
That’s political and institutional terrorism.

For the country that goes into other countries claiming (lying) that another country has WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) because so-called intelligent organizations with fancy acronyms “certified the facts” with a faulty threat matrix then mercliessly kills over 150,000 plus innocent civilians (45 9/11s) for almost 10 years while injuring millions then arrogantly occupies the same country creating more violence and misery for the citizens. Or any country that uses occupation as a foundation for foreign policy.
That’s sovereign terrorism.

For the governments and related banks that are in cahoots with one another who indulge in “too big to fail” bailouts and print money like it grows on trees while causing inflation and devaluing the dollar. Not to mention the draconian practice of fractional reserve banking and usury which buries people under so much interest that they are financially impotent.
That’s economic terrorism.

For the racist bigot (and many don’t even know they are and will read this and say, “Oh that’s definitely not me”….well not so fast, it might be you) individual that foolishly claims to believe in God but sympathies with their ethnic, racial, or tribal identity over the inclusive and humanitarian guidelines of all monotheistic ways of life. Now called religion. 
You are a ethnocentric terrorist. (Not to mention a hypocrite)

For the so-called news organizations that are muliti-milllon dollar partisan hack misinformation “non-thinking” tanks that spew misleading, demeaning, information and purposely confuse the public with empty politically inspired anecdotes and regurgitate sound bites from their corporate/ political slave masters.
That’s information terrorism.

If there was anyone who thought any one group of people have cornered the market on “terrorism”, you have not done your homework.

“He who kills a person without (the latter) having killed another person, it is as if he has killed all of humanity, and he who makes one person survive, it is as if he has caused all humanity to survive” – (32,5) – Quran