Operation Injustice

How can this be happening in the millennium
We’re so intelligent, got rocket ships, got Pentiums
We’re so rich, so technologically advanced
So tell me why there’s children
Who were never even given a chance
Never learned to dance, never learned to sing
Never learned to love, only learned to bring-
Unto their own all the hate and rage they bared
Because they’re babies having babies
And no one ever cared
Society helps raise them from the moment of conception
Paying tax dollars because mamma never used contraception
So what do you know about a “hard knock life”
I’ve been living with poverty
Like she is my wife
Poverty’s a bitch
And lady liberty’s a whore
She’s selective
And only liberates those who adore
Her justice system that is so unjust
And these people have the nerve to say “in GOD we trust?”
What do they know about God, or higher powers
Their actions causing controversy
There’s people blowing up towers
Never reevaluating the actions they propose
The blind leading the blind
In a quest to conquer those-
Of rare distinction, they’re inhabitants of rich soil
Call it “Operation Iraqi Freedom”
I’ll call it “Free Oil”

Dedicated to the 58 Iraqi Christians killed during mass in Baghdad

I’m not without sin
So I can’t cast the first stone
But I’m ready to throw a grenade
As we stand here, hearts broken
Crying tears like rivers
Staring at their graves
A community of worship
Stood before God
With the purest of intentions
Victimized by decades of ostracism
Hoping for divine intervention
And on that holy Sunday
These men, women, and children
Gathered peacefully in prayer
Not knowing that some would lose their lives
And others would live in despair
But no one can hear their cries for mercy
They’re overshadowed by the sounds of war
Evil souls exploding in the night
In hopes of knocking on heaven's door
It is he who’ll condemn them
But who will reprimand them
When they believe they have the right to kill
When they hold the fate of others in their merciless hands
And rob them of free will
And who will defend us
When war isn’t within us
And we’re taught to turn the other cheek
When we’ve been silenced for far too long
And are disadvantaged by being meek
And will he forgive me
When there’s love in my heart
But it’s hate that governs my mind
With never-ending questions
And unfulfilling answers
How can this world be so unkind?
We cannot feel powerless
Or be fearful of the cowardice
We’ll never succumb to their defeat
We’ve withstood adversity
Our strength has made history
We’ve always risen to our feet
So united we’ll stand
And never will we fall
Because we have yet to be divided
By mistaking our kindness for weakness
The fire for justice you’ve ignited

Going Green, or Greed?

I went to the Super Store today, not to single them out specifically because it seems as if every major grocery store is charging 5 cents per bag; with the exception of good old Wal Mart, but that's a whole other rant. I had forgotten my reusable shopping bag and was charged the usual 5 cents, which is something I've grown accustomed to doing, and is now something I've become increasingly annoyed with. I know one might say, "just stop forgetting your shopping bag, and you won't have to purchase a bag", but it has absolutely nothing to do with money, it's the principle of the matter. Where is that money going? If we're being forced to purchase bags because we're sometimes absent-minded, and all of these major corporations are "going green", how much of the "green" that we're contributing is actually going to the environment? Research indicates absolutely none. On the contrary, these corporations are even more profitable as a result of this new policy. I'd willingly pay 5 cents per bag if I saw the cashier physically remove the amount I spent on shopping bags, and put it in a little jar with a sticker of planet earth on it. Instead, she deposits it into a slot in her cash till that will inevitably be another digit on someone's paycheque.

In 2009, Target started crediting customers 5 cents per every reusable
bag they used for their purchases. Seems like the perfect concept for
a company that really wants to "go green" without profitable gain in
mind. They're leading by example, others should be as well.