Congratulations Danny Wayne Hudson, Jr....

We drove down to Marion, AL today to see my youngest cousin graduate from high school. He attended Marion Military Institute. I am so proud of him. Below are photos and video footage from the ceremony. The first film is my cousin Danny. He had the distinction of being the first student on program.
Danny walking across the stage...
The last video is a former graduate singing "You Raised Me Up." I thought about our family and in particular Danny's father who is serving in Iraq right now. Its an honor to upload this film so that he can see his son's ceremony.

Huckabee jokes about Obama "being shot"

The West Virginia Vote....

The Real News did a special report on the West Virginia election before the votes were cast. This video made me think a great deal of my previous post on white rural(male) working class voters. Something I like about this footage is that it includes discussions on race and somewhat alludes to topics of gender.

Click here to see the report.

My Trip to Cuba

I went to Cuba today and had a wonderful time. The drive down from from Birmingham was really pleasant. Yes...I said Birmingham. My job sent me on a trip down to Cuba, Alabama and the whole experience was too great. Here are some photos from the trip.


I attended a program at the Sumter County Welcome Center in Cuba, AL and one of the local high school choir's performed.

Interesting attire for a small town high school choir member....

The insects on the left are called lovebugs by locals. They say that these bugs die after detaching from their 'lovers.' It didn't strike me at the time, but I am now curious about when they produce eggs. If they die after detaching then how do they produce more lovebugs?

Why is this place called Cuba, AL? I met Linda Munoz, an amazing glass and mosaics artist from York, AL, and she agreed to share the history. I apologize all for my horrible editing at the end...the ending is a bit awkward.

Arkindelas?

It's amazing what you can find on the internet. My father is the guy in the center (behind the sweetheart). Akindelas was a service organization. It's mission statement is below:

MISSION STATEMENT

The primary mission of the AKINDELAS Fraternity is to pursue solutions and resolutions to health, economic and community development issues that effect the Afro-American community. Our objectives include finding revenue streams, providing education and other resources to combat the
effects of disease and practices that inflect suffering in our neighborhoods.

We shall further pursue areas that enhance our communities by recognizing academic achievement and support of local charities.

On Their Trail: The Hunt for White Rural (Male) Working Class Voters

I am becoming more and more bothered by the language of pundits during this campaign. Whether trailing "Obama's black vote," or tallying "Clinton's female vote," the tedious and annoying process of viewing these candidates' as monolithic beings is doing a horrible disservice to the democratic process. Equally as annoying is the call that CNN, MSNBC, and other news agencies have put out to white rural (male) working class voters. I guess it makes sense...If you're not female OR black, then..... how do you decide who to vote for?!

For me the most frustrating thing about pundits leading the discussion about Democrat's seeking the white (male) rural working class vote is that they completely discount the history of this population's voting trends. This group left the party in three large waves:

(1) When Truman added a civil rights plank to his campaign the Dixiecrat party was established in protest .

(2) Kennedy made a call to Mrs. Coretta Scott King for support during his 1960 election and many Dixiecrats/States Rights Party members moved even farther to the right.

(3) Many (but not all) of the 'loyal' white rural (male) working class voters that remained with the Democratic Party did so in hopes of seeing it return to it's old 'Bourbon Rule Democrat' roots. By the 1980s some of them became Republicans, but again many of the ones that remained with the Democratic Party stayed in name only. They quickly became known as Reagan Democrats.

So, I guess my question to the political pundits is how and why would Obama or Clinton pursue these votes, especially considering the fact that this group has not historically been supportive of civil rights. And to qualify my use of the term civil rights...I'm not talking about the racialized 1954-1968 usage of the word. I mean "civil rights," the rights of citizens. Rooted in the 14th amendment and helping to push for the rights of people regardless of color, gender, and ability. It's not popular to say, but deep down I feel that most white rural (male) working class voters do not support the Democratic Party because of their history of bigotry and greed. Why is this so hard for those in the mainstream media to see and when will the election conversation turn back to real issues?

The show will begin shortly...

So...I am excited about setting up this blog because a lot runs through my head and I think it will be fun and interesting to share some things online. I definitely welcome feedback and hope to post topics which deserve more than a passing notice.


With that said, to give a blog a title like More Than a Passing Notice has left me a little shy about my first post. So....let's talk about procrastination. This topic is a great idea handed down by a friend. The number one thing to limit people from reaching their goals (big or small) is fear. What cures fear? Action.

.....I'm ready and will return shortly.