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Points of Promise

4/29/2018

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Related Reading:
Prosperity Analysis 
​Love Remains 

Towards Integration 
​Achieving Equity 
​Freedom For All  ​
Prosperity For All 
The Hispanic / Latino/a Student
A Shared Destiny


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     The truth is that I was taking the time to reflect upon my previous thoughts, particularly with regards to the how Hispanic / Latino students are perceived in the High School, and Higher Education settings. Weather we admit it or not, the tendency for the Latino / Hispanic stereotype to be working systemically occurs. Now this is actually a good test for professionals / educators to see if they can provide the service of education, without inducing stereotypes or prejudices. Regardless of how the Hispanic / Latino students are viewed, there are students who are determined enough to reach their goals. In fact this thought can be transferred to any minority, or person who feels challenged when achieving any sort of goal. The complexity of the Hispanic / Latino segment, is that this population segment requires further research, to understand how students are maneuvering, and what specific challenges they are experiencing. It is an understudies population. There are small studies that provide insights, but not large enough to be generalized to a whole cross-section of the population segment. Similar to the challenges students experience, researchers also experience receiving  support for their research. 

    Challenges occur because students are first generation students attending higher education. Sometimes families are not supportive, but some families are. They want their children to succeed, which is why they migrated to America in the first place. For a chance at a better life. Parents will sacrifice for their children, to see that they make it. Students in higher education can use low expectations as motivators. To turn negative situations, to positive motivators. The challenges activate the innate drives, because achieving a goal is linked to the human need of survival. Hispanic / Latino students are determined just as any other minority population. They are economically successful, including educated, and entrepreneurs. If they didn't believe in a better chance at life, then why would have they come to America? This shows a belief in the American Dream, and what it stands for. 

     At this point I will continue to say, that it is unfortunate that there has been no talk about amending The DREAM Act, or immigration reform, that would include citizenship, and access to federal / state aid for low-income families, and the undocumented to achieve equity. But I will say that I am proud of the states that have taken it upon their own shoulders to try to foster equity, at the higher education level. This includes the development of scholarships for Hispanic / Latino students, the 10% plans for admissions, and the Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). As always there is room for improvement. Possessing knowledge, or being in a position where you can make change, should never mean to impose more in-equity, but to move towards creating more equity. 

Helpful links
Hispanic Scholarship Fund 

My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 29th, 2018.
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Prosperity Analysis

4/28/2018

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Related Reading:
​Love Remains 

Towards Integration 
​Achieving Equity 
​Freedom For All  ​
Prosperity For All 
The Hispanic / Latino/a Student
A Shared Destiny 


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     When we begin to examine anything, it is always best to have a mechanism of comparison. When we think of a minority population such as the Hispanic / Latino, we would compare another minority, such as African Americans, with majority populations, such as White or Caucasian. This is what is known in business terminology as Bench Marking, a comparison. Companies compare their success rates with their competitors all the time, such as Apple with Samsung, or iTunes for Spotify. But sometimes they have to introspect their own product, and how market forces are having an effect upon a companies products, through a product analysis. The same can be said of a population. It is good to have comparisons, but we also need to look at what is happening within a population segment. 

     This is especially true for the Hispanic / Latino population. Within this segment there are those living with status, U.S. born, undocumented and U.S. born, without disclosing U.S. birth. There is unequal opportunity within this segment, that is linked directly to immigration status. Which is why  it is fitting to understand the dynamics that are creating inequality within the Hispanic / Latino population segment. I continue to urge policy, law makers, specialists, analysts, and politicians to work together to find, and create new pathways, that are built for equal opportunity, for all Hispanic / Latino's. It is important for education equity, and it is also important to the future economic health, and prosperity of the nation.

     You can keep doing surveys, questionnaires, about success rates of the Hispanic / Latino community, when you fully well know that a large portion of Hispanic / Latino's does not participate in these. There might be those who are struggling, and there might also be those on the other end of the spectrum, who are very successful. We have reached a point in history, where we have to make a mend to the existing programs of DACA, amend the DREAM Act, or pave the pathway for immigration reform. Why include some, and leave out a few, when it makes sense to include all. With support, eventually everyone is going to paint a prosperous picture of America. 

My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 28th, 2018.
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Love Remains

4/27/2018

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Related Reading:
Towards Integration 
​Achieving Equity 
​Freedom For All  ​
Prosperity For All 
The Hispanic / Latino/a Student
A Shared Destiny


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     After taking the time to collect evidence, think through, and organize ideas, I am left to wonder. After everything is said and done, what is left? What is left but to love? What can we do with harsh histories, that have tried to patch up wounds, and left some wounds to heal by themselves - what can we do with these wounds? Is there anything that can and will be done? When we think of present inequalities, that were shaped through history, and remnants, if not more that exist to the present day? When we think of statistics that should give us clear ideas of facts we want to know, but realize that these figures are created, skewed, to tell the story they want to tell.

     As I write I am referring to the in-eqaulity that Hispanic / Latino students are facing through higher education. I'm sure that there is much more to uncover, but what bothers me, over and over again is that politicians, law, policy makers, or specialists within their field, know about the existence of systemic barriers that have existed for years, but continue to use manipulate knowledge to act as barricades to access, and services. Where we see racism, and modern form colonialism working at its best. There is inequality in all systems, and in every western nation. I can talk about other systems, but because my focus is the Hispanic / Latino population in the USA at this present moment, my thoughts will remain here. 

     Knowing the inequity exists, it doesn't meant that we use the tools that we have to create more inequality, or social divides. It's about using what you have to improve upon what exists. This is the true foundation of knowledge acquisition, and the pinnacle of service. Gaining a skill, acquiring a specialist knowledge is includes being ethical, and socially conscious about the how skills or knowledge is put to use. In other words use what you have for the good, and not to become the evil genius. 

     It is my hope that politicians, law, and policy makers will come together for the good of the Hispanic / Latino community, to find effective solutions for the DACA program, amending the DREAM Act, or paving pathways for new solutions, such as Immigration Reform, for the millions of undocumented who are living in America.

I continue to reflect ....
​My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 27th, 2018.
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Towards Integration

4/26/2018

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Related Reading:
​Achieving Equity 
​Freedom For All  ​
Prosperity For All 
The Hispanic / Latino/a Student
A Shared Destiny


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect. 

    The truth is that recently I have been thinking about equity in education at the higher education level. This does not meant to say that everything is equitable at the K-12 levels, because of course there is always more that we can do to ensure that public education systems progress, and evolve with societal evolutions / revolutions, such as technological innovations, or increasing diversity in the classroom.

Financial Equity
What has caught my attention is the inequity of access to higher education for the millions of undocumented Latino / Hispanic students, who desire to achieve the goal of post-secondary education. Students are automatically purged away from federal / state aid, that is in essence set-up for low-income students and families. This does not mean to say that Hispanic / Latino students still do not apply for post-secondary education, as they do. Students decide to work to pay for their tuition. Some students don't make it to graduate, and some students do. The students who do make it, are the ones who are able to persist, and remain dedicated to their goals regardless of personal, social, economic, and academic challenges. They are the ones who succeed. Students recognize their goal to remain focused, even with the additional challenge of being an undocumented student. 

Seeking Support
At the higher education level it is necessary for students to seek support, through the academic
support services, but most students don't access these services because of their legal status. Another reason is because Hispanic / Latino students don't feel that they belong. The creation of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) has alleviated some of the support challenges, as the services are specifically for Hispanic / Latino students. HSI's themselves do face challenges. They find it challenging to get the funding that they need to offer services to a growing, Hispanic / Latino student population. HSI's are created to meet the needs of these diverse students. For this to happen there needs to be training, qualified and an educated staff to meet the needs of the students. We can see how the creation of HSI's early phases needs to be able to get, and keep diverse staff. Just because enrolment is high, it will not necessarily suggest that there is enough diverse staff to be able to serve the students. There is an opportunity here for international, or out-of-state hiring to ensure that the current, and future Hispanic / Latino cohort attending post-secondary institutions retain their students. They are developing the Hispanic / Latino leaders of tomorrow. And for the students born in the U.S., or who eventually gain status, they will be vital to serve the Hispanic / Latino communities in America. So in a sense what we invest in today, is a preparation and return on investment for tomorrow.
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Integration
Similar to HBCU's, the HSI's also indicated a challenge towards integration of Hispanic / Latino students into the American culture. This is especially a concern for institutions in regions such as Puerto-Rico.  Integration as well as serving minority students, should be the eventual goal as well. We can think about how we can model this type of integration, where we think that we are all learning from each other, and break away from the the inferiority / superiority complex. To exemplify my thoughts we present a current example, where Kanye West tweeted his support for President Trump. He received a backlash from thousands who unfollowed him, or blocked him on twitter. Kim Kardashian defended his action. The response from this tweeting scenario is unfortunate, as it should have been viewed as an opportunity, to reveal that there can be disagreement of political opinions, but also an opportunity for intersectional dialogue between the "races". The backlash demonstrated the need for open-mindedness, and understanding between the races, if we are to move towards integration.

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Diverse Dialogues / Mentorships
These thoughts can also be used to demonstrate the need for serving population segments, but also creating diverse dialogues, where there are partnerships with post-secondary institutions who's student populations are different. Diverse dialogues are an opportunity to increase the success  of minority students, and all who are involved in discussions, as everyone is learning from each other. Mentorship  can also assist Hispanic / Latino students. Minority students gain access to someone who has, or is navigating through higher education, and also someone who they gain networks from. Students can ask a peer, or a graduate student questions, where they might not feel as comfortable with a professional service provider. Mentors can be a source of access to information, such as where and how to gain access to scholarships, or academic support. There is much work being done in states where students can't access federal / state aid, campus initiatives, student clubs, and HSI's. However, there is always a need for improvement as students populations grow. Rather than having some students graduate, we must ensure that all are able to fulfil their goal to graduate. For this goal achievement, it also includes my previous ideas of immigration reform, and thinking about how to enhance education equity for Hispanic / Latino, and undocumented students at the higher levels.   

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Related Reading:
Billboard - Beyonce & Google Team Up to Give $200,000 Worth of Scholarships to HBCU Students

My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 25th, 2018.
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Achieving Equity

4/25/2018

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Related Reading:
​Freedom For All  ​
Prosperity For All 
The Hispanic / Latino/a Student
A Shared Destiny


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect. 

     There is much to think about, where there was the unexpected, sudden death of Mrs. Barbara Bush, a series of deadly attacks, a few births, and also my own discovery through the research that I'm collecting. It was almost as though there was a brain attack. There were a wide variety of emotions, so I wondered what to write about, and decided to write about exactly this. While the many forces of life continue to take effect, we remember Former First Lady Barbara Bush, pray for the good health and well-being of George H.W. Bush as well. As we think of them, the life force continues, with this I mean that - life continues, we cannot put a sudden end to life, and all that it is asking of us. The horror I experienced about the discoveries of the undocumented, and Hispanic / Latino migrants living in the USA continues. 

    I thought some more, and I arrived at a conclusion. I believe that the treatment of the Hispanic / Latino undocumented, the DACA program recipients, and those "protected" through the DREAM Act  is very close to criminalization, yes - Criminals! How can you tell individuals to leave a country, through a program that was created by the state? This is criminal. It's like sending thousands of invitations for a gathering, and then everyone attends, and then you tell them all to leave. In essence this action would be deemed inhospitable. In the same sense we can think deeper about the DACA recipients or the DREAM Act. 

     The DACA program was / is a great source of hope for the undocumented because it gives certain rights such as: 
*You can get a social security card In most states,   you can get a driver’s license
*Take the opportunity to build your credit score and apply for a credit card
*Get a job with benefits such as healthcare Put utility bills in your name
*Attend school for free for a certain amount of years 

    However, while the program which is granting some rights, it leaves out many. It is a flawed program. But for those who have no hope, or legal status, it can be said that it is better than nothing. But why in the 21st century, in probably the worlds wealthiest country do we have such problems? Why? When researchers, policy, and law makers know that the individuals should be granted rights? Such as pathways to citizenship, residency, or legal status. If anyone who has lived in a country for years, and even those who are born in the U.S., and lived without disclosing their birth to protect their families, and parents - It is unacceptable that they have lived in this fear. Denying themselves rights, to live in inferiority. More needs to be done. Anyone who is a DACA recipient, or who has claimed rights through the DREAM Act, should never have to fight, or fear leaving the USA, because this program was created by the State, the bills were passed, and  they allowed millions to claim rights through this program. So instead of saying, go, we don't want you, it is better to claim some sort of responsibility, and protect everyone who is living in the nation. One is not superior to the other. DACA and The DREAM Act must be amended to include rights for citizenship, legal status, and also to ensure that there is education equity, at the higher education levels for all, and this should include the undocumented who have lived in the U.S. for years. If education is a human right, then why does in-equity continue because of race or ethnicity? 

My thoughts to share with love & kindness. 

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand written on April 25th, 2018.
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A Precious Pic

4/23/2018

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Related Reading:
Love and Prayers: Barbara
Barbara Bush​


As I close may eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     After the funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush, that feeling of emptiness continued to linger. While we console ourselves telling the stories of the wonderful woman that Mrs. Bush was, and that she is with God in Heaven, somehow it feels as though we have been robbed, or cheated out of this being, the earthly life form. It seems like I just got to know her, and then gone. This is exactly how I felt when Nancy Reagan also passed. That feeling of an acquaintance, wanting to know more about what that person stood for. While we do have the precious legacies that are left behind, we also have a duty to maintain these, and with maintenance I would also like to add, build upon these legacies. Mrs. Bush was symbolic of a mother, working, and also a public figure, we can also think about the many mothers who didn't get the same opportunities, or are not joined with the same traditional family units. How can her legacy continue to develop for these populations, and also the marginalized who will benefit from what she stood for. When we give ourselves the right to read or succeed, we must also be mindful that we also give the same right to others. One persons right to read should never be greater, or lesser than the others.

     We can also think about her legacy, and other former First Ladies and President's as being integral to the growth and development of the nation of America. When I saw the photo of the former First Ladies, First Lady, and President's pose together, I was reminded of my grandmother, and her brothers and sisters who posed for a photo together in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. They sat together for a photo, smiling as if they've never had an argument, or a misunderstanding with each other. Which of course they did, but it was that idea that made the photo even more beautiful to look at. Regardless of their  differences, the familial link is what kept them together. In the same sense the former President's and First Ladies should be regarded as a family. These are not just individuals, or people standing together, but they are also integral to shaping the legacy of America. Which is why they must continue to grow, aspire, and contribute to the good of the nation of America, the contributions can be simple. The difference to the present contributions, is that they don't have to get involved in the messiness of politics, or the back and forth exchanges that can get messy. But rather focus on issues that they care about.   

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​Thank you to the Bush family for a beautiful funeral service, and for allowing the public to share this service. From the beautiful eulogies, to the flowers, I think that Mrs. Bush would approve. And to Houston, Texas, and Texas A & M, your over-pouring of love truly demonstrates the love she she shared for Houston, Texas, and America.  

Dedication: These thoughts are dedicated to George H. W. Bush, the sudden news of your illness brought much sadness, I pray for your health, ease, and well-being. Be strong for Barbara. 

God Bless You, and God Bless America. 
My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :) 


Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 23rd, 2018.
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Reflection: Freedom For All

4/22/2018

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Related Reading: ​
Prosperity For All 
The Hispanic / Latino/a Student
A Shared Destiny


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect. 

     My last few thought posts were concentrated upon the education of the Hispanic / Latino/a student populations. This is because I am collecting evidence for research, about the educational experience of this segment of the population in the U.S.A. I came to a point during my readings where I wondered: how could this type of inequality have been left to happen for such a long time? The racial divides and inequality are there, although progress has been made. The development of Historically Black Colleges and Universiites HBCU's and Hispanic Serving Institutions HSI's arose. Whilst they are serving their students, they are also problematic in the sense that, they must also include ways to integrate students with the rest of the population segments. There must be ways to integrate racial and ethnic minorities with the rest of populations. For this to happen it means that all populations strive to work together.

     The narratives shift when it comes to the Latino/a and Hispanic populations, to the U.S born and the undocumented as they make decisions with regards to post-secondary education. One portion is granted automatic opportunity, and the other millions are purged away. Yes, some states do have financial opportunities, but for me to understand the dynamics better, it means to connect with the community, learn from their experiences, and to understand what is working and what is not. 

     Higher education is one pathway that students can take to forge their path into adulthood, but without any sort of post-secondary education, even that of community college, the doors to opportunity are already minimized. Today as I continue to think of the divides, I am reminded of the saying: Every man (woman) is guilty of the good they did not do. This comes to mind the I think of the millions of undocumented who have been living in America for years without status - and law makers and senate members shove off passing votes, and amending existing acts. I am left in horror to have learned that this criminalization has gone on for years, when these populations should have been granted pathways to citizenship, or permanent residency years earlier. These solutions must be created, weather a student chooses to go to post-secondary education or not, the opportunity must be equal for all, and this includes being able to receive financial aid at the federal level. Whilst America strives to protect freedom at the global level, we must also remember to strive for continuous progress, so that freedom for all is also present within the nation as well.  

​My thoughts to share with love & Kindness! :) 

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 22nd, 2018.
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Love And Prayers: Barbara

4/21/2018

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Related Reading:
Barbara Bush


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     On April 17th, 2018 former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away. I like everyone else offered condolences and prayers for her to rest in pace. But after offering these words, there was a feeling of emptiness, thinking that a few words, to sum up her entire life life didn't seem enough. But thinking back, it is something very powerful to offer consolation at the most immediate delicate time of death. It is only after, that we begin to feel the impact of a life lost. Whilst I did not know Barbara Bush personally, or ever had the opportunity to meet with her, it is her impact, her legacy, and the power to affect millions that has created a lasting effect. She was a public figure, a former First Lady, she belonged and continues to belong to the nation of America. Whilst we pray for her, we can only think of what her husband George H.W. Bush is feeling for her loss, a soul mate, a life companion, friend, wife and mother to their children. The loss of a loved one is a type of wound. Even if a life well lived, is the best life lived, we can never replace the human being that has passed away. At this time we are reminded that it doesn't matter if you are a Republican, or a Democrat, everyone has a duty to pay their respect to someone who has served the nation of America, and left her gifts to be cherished. 

Pearls For Barbara

Flowers For Barbara 

Candles For Barbara 

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My thoughts of love, prayer, and respect remains with everyone who is grieving. May you find ease, and patience. My thoughts to share with love & kindness. 

​Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 21st, 2018. 

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Prosperity For All

4/21/2018

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Related Reading: ​
The Hispanic / Latino/a Student
A Shared Destiny


As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     The truth is that I was taking the time to reflect upon my previous thoughts, where I was left wondering about the success rates of students vs. the higher enrolment rates of students. Why was there no consistency with the numbers? It turns out that there are actual discrepancies with the statistics, because millions of Hispanic/ Latino/a students who attend Post-Secondary education are not included in the surveys or questionnaires. Students don't participate because of their legal status. Whilst students gain much of the same opportunities at the K-12 level , the Post-Secondary picture is quite different. There are challenges to entry, applications, grades, and so on, but at this level the Hispanic / Latino / a community can be grouped into who has, legal status and citizenship, and who is undocumented. What differs the most is the financial factor. Students normally apply for federal funding, but students who are undocumented do not gain this opportunity. Students who live in the following 10 states: California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin (Diaz-Strong et al., 2010), do get the opportunity to apply for in-state tuition, as these states have taken it upon themselves to allow undocumented students to quality for tuition, regardless of their immigration status. However, even if these students apply, attend, and graduate, again it is very unlikely that they will participate in success surveys, because of their legal status. So we can see a connection between the statistics about success rates of Hispanic / Latino/a students, and immigration status. The results are already inaccurate because they don't include the millions of undocumented students who: work hard and persist to complete their courses. Whilst at the k-12 level the financial factor is not as much of a burden, at the higher education level, the narrative shifts because of legal status.

     Immigration status plays a part in the success of students, and who gains access to services. Whilst the DREAM Act was established to provide some sort of pathway to citizenship, opportunity, and accessibility for undocumented individuals, this act is not a viable solution. In other words it is a type of patchwork, to some sort of accessibility and support. For true equity to arise for the undocumented individuals, many who have been living in the United States of America for years, their needs to be pathways towards citizenship. If we simply deport, or allow individuals to remain undocumented, there is much more harm being done to the health of America and the national economy. At this point an important reminder is that many undocumented Hispanic / Latino/a students are actually born in the U.S., but also decide not to disclose legal status to protect their parents and family members. 

     The National Centre for Public Policy and Higher Education (NCPPHE), has stated that "If the current population trends continue and states do not improve the education for all racial / ethnic groups, the skills of the workforce and the incomes of U.S. residents are projected to decline over the next few decades." (Diaz-Strong et al, 2010, p. 115). The "white" working population will decrease and the Latino / Hispanic working population will rise. Education is one of the top indicators of GDP (Gross Domestic Produce), of how well a nation is performing, this success of this indicator is also at risk because of the racial inequities. In other words leaving out chunks of the population will eventually end up hurting the economy, the effectiveness of a nation, National and global competitiveness, and the GDP success indicators as well. 

     Now I am not saying that these issues have to be solved as of tomorrow, but I am setting a tone to alert law makers, politicians, and all who possess the power to think about effective solutions, that for education equity, there must be immigration reform. You have to do something about these issues. Where the undocumented who have been living in America for years, individuals who are are or were protected through The DREAM Act, or DACA recipients are granted pathways to citizenship. It seems an utter shame that educated specialists have done nothing to come up with effective solutions for immigration, or even to amend existing law acts. The lack of action and the fact that this type of inequity has existed for years is a complete contradiction to what the American Dream stands for, and even for the health, well-being, and prosperity of the nation of America. There must be solutions for these segments of the populations. We must maintain and keep the American Dream alive, and these means to evolve, and to strive to make progress that is inclusive.  

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My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 20th, 2018.

Reference: 
Strong-Diaz, D., Gomez. C., Luna-Duarte. E., M., Meiners., R. E. (2010). Purged: Undocumented Students, Financial Aid Policies, and Access to Higher Eduction. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. 10 (2), 107 - 119. 

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Putin-Friend or Foe?

4/19/2018

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As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

    The Syria Chemical Gas Attack took place, resulting in a strike from the U.S. U.K, and France. The response received a few threats from Russia's Putin, but what I am continuously curious about is - What is Putin's business in Syria? And why is Iran dumb enough to think that Russia is acting in their best interest? Russia is not protecting Iran. Russia is using its ties with Iran to maintain division with the Sunni / Shia Muslim sects, and the Islamic world. Whilst I am not for war, I believe that the world should strive to be war-free, but to arrive at a point, there has to be some limits and boundaries set. France along with the European countries, working with the U.S., U.K, and any other country who is against the destruction, must no longer be silent. Leaders who have the power must work as a collective to ensure that chemical gas attacks, or war crimes no longer happen, and this includes Israel and Turkey. You can and no longer should silently watch this destruction. When you can all work together to prevent, and stop the senseless war in Syria.

*The Islamic world - should realize that Sectarian Unity is better than divides. 

*Israel - The trauma of the Holocaust should be enough to remind you of the destruction of gas attacks. Is it not hypocritical to watch others die from gas attacks. simply because they are not the same faith as you?

*Whilst the strike has served to send a message to Assad and Putin, Iran should step up to the plate, because Russia is simply using it's power to maintain divisions.

Theological Perspective 

   I'm no theologian, but I do possess some understanding of religious  views with regards to the Syria attacks, that target babies and children. Just as Christians and Muslims believe in the rising of Jesus Christ, the Shia Muslims also believe in the coming of another Imam (Islamic leader), he will also emerge with Jesus to bring peace to the world. It is believed that this leader will be born in Syria, or is hidden the regions surrounding Syria. Who ever is mean't to be born shall be born.

    This belief reveals how religious history is replaying itself. Juda's betrayal of Jesus led to the crucifixion of our most loved Jesus. The Massacre of the innocents that was ordered by Herod The Great, the Roman appointed king of the Jews. The slaying of all male babies was ordered. We see similarities happening in Syria. Only this time it is Assad and Putin. An unlikely fitting combination, because one possess the power to control the puppet.  
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My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on April 19th, 2018.
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