Where we go from here

This might be the last in the string of posts about my dear "little brother," Jaleel John-Baptiste. Since my last post, we have been to the funeral and wake, spent time with friends, and had a high school memorial and balloon release for him. Instead of writing a long post, I have included photos and video of the past week in case others were unable to attend.

After the funeral.

All of the kids came to the high school to enjoy each other
and Jaleel's music. They were smiling and chatting, writing
down memories of Jaleel on pieces of paper on the stage.
It was so nice to see them enjoying themselves.

Grabbing balloons.

My sister released a balloon for Connor and herself.

One of the girls had this shirt on. I think it's
from the last day of school when all the kids'
wore white for Jaleel.

Walking to the back courtyard to release the balloons.

They were really beautiful to watch.

A lot of people shouted out the different things that they
saw the balloons making in the sky, like a J for Jaleel.

Faintly in the mid-right you can see the two balloons that
Harry and J released for Jaleel. The first two released.

We all lingered for a while watching the balloons hover in the
sky. Before a while, we had to go inside because there were
snowball fights starting.

Cyndi commented that she couldn't look up too
much because it hurt her Asian eyes. The sky
was a very bright blue and the weather was good.

The kids all Tebow'd for Jaleel.

David made a cross for Jaleel to put at the high school. They
will leave it up until they can make a stone of something nice
to sit there as a reminder for the students to live life in honor
of Jaleel and his outstanding memory.

I hope you enjoyed these images. There are more on Jaleel's page. It has been a trying holiday for us this year, and we are, I think, getting back to the happiness and joy of the season. This year more than most, we have been seeing the real spirit of Christmas in each other. Everyone has been so supportive and helpful. The prayers and thoughts were abundant. We have been together almost every day since the beginning of December, and it has really warmed my heart. We have all become very close and made unbelievably kind, new friends.

Without everyone's consistent support, we may not have been able to come out of this with such strong and fond memories. I have been blessed beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I have a husband who loves me and supports me. I have a family who laughs and jokes with me. I have friends who are amazing, even after time catches up with us.

I guess the three most important messages of the season are to wear a seat belt, become a donor, and to have a blessed and Merry Christmas.

Rick Perry: NEVER Going To Be President

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the Rick Perry campaign ad that called out President Obama for "making war with religion." From what I have seen on youtube, Twitter, and Facebook, a lot of people agree that he went too far with his ad. If you haven't seen the ad, watch it now.



I have been thinking a lot about this ad since seeing it. In fact, I think more about it because I didn't bother watching it until I saw that almost half of my Facebook friends had seen it, re-posted it, and written a comment about how terrible Rick Perry and his ad are. In fact, this ad may be the end of Perry's campaign because of how unpopular this ad has made him. So unpopular that news agencies released stories today about this video surpassing the "Friday" video by Rebecca Black. In fact, this really isn't the first time he has contended with Obama about religion in the United States. Here are some headlines:

• Rick Perry complains about gays serving in military
• Rick Perry launches attack on Barack Obama over gay rights and religion
• US Election 2012: Rick Perry attacks Barack Obama's attempts to boost gay rights
• Log Cabin Republicans rip Rick Perry ad
• Rick Perry Says Human Rights for Gays 'Not in America's Interests'
• Rick Perry's 'Strong' Campaign Ad Gets the Web Angry -- and Laughing
• Why Rick Perry's New Ads Are Wrong on Religion - And Obama
• Rick Perry's 'Strong' Ad Surpasses Rebecca Black's 'Friday' With More Dislikes On YouTube (Videos) [Update]

I know, now you've got to do all this reading! What I wanted to get out there is that I don't agree with Rick Perry, and I don't think he'll become president. Let's start with not agreeing.

While gay rights may not be on everyone's radar (surprisingly), it is a huge issue to consider during this 2012 Presidential Election. There is no way a candidate can survive this election without making at least one statement about gay rights or gay marriage at some point. If it doesn't come up along the campaign trail, it will certainly come up during the presidential debates. After the enormous popularity (or should I say unpopularity) of his 'Strong' campaign ad, I'd say he may have said the wrong thing. To me, it has nothing to do with the fact that he doesn't gay marriage or that he doesn't see fighting for gay rights as a priority for the US. My problem comes from the fact that he uses this ad, in a way, to brush gay rights under the rug, dismissing it as if it were never a real problem.

This is why I don't think Rick Perry will be our next president. The issue here is not religion in schools or in the workplace or anywhere. The issue here is gay marriage and gay rights. I think that President Obama did a great thing in working so hard on repealing DADT (Don't Ask Don't Tell). I think that he's been a huge help to many states lobbying for gay marriage. With America where it is today, I don't think that someone with such a negative opinion of gay rights will become president. Forget about Occupy protesters. We'll have a bigger problem on our hands.

I think that the candidate who can express their opinions without belittling entire populations of voters that vote will end up winning. The reality is that, in the last election, Obama got a country filled with young people to vote. These young voters are still voting, and they will definitely vote in this next election. The winner of the next election, I think, will be the person who can persuade the young people that their position is right. That they can lead this country with an open mind to the problems that Americans face. Gay marriage is definitely one of these issues that the next president will have to continue to address.

Again, I don't think Rick Perry's blatant anti-gay rights platform will win over the hearts of younger voters.