No Government member shall be above those laws they create for the people whose care has been entrusted to them. There comes once in a while a bright moment in life when one looks for the umpteenth time at familiar words, and finally sees the meaning they have… a meaning often hidden in plain sight, as it were. The rule of law has been bandied about for several centuries now. Perhaps as far back as the times of the Roman Empire. Yet, one of our own, John Adams, also talked about it and what he said, can be summarized in 4 basic points: Everyone must follow the law; Leaders must obey the law; Government must obey the law; No one is above the law. What he also said was that we must have a “government of laws and not of men”. Perhaps it takes one who has lived under what is considered to be a government of men and not of laws, to understand the meaning of this small, yet powerful sentence. When someone in government assumes that his/her position allows the deliber...

Whenever my friend Cheíto calls me unexpectedly, I know something is really bothering him… in his own basic way of thinking he actually has some very keen insights . -“RAFA!!!!” “Juat’sup Man?” “We ain’t talk in a lon’ tain” -“Cheíto, Bro… what’s goin‘on?” -“I’n worryd man” “too many thins happenin’ and none too good ” I’ve had my own worries during these past days. All I hear from the direction of our capital and neighboring alleys has not been good. Yes, we all know there isn’t a single government which has been free of sin, but these specific sins are worrisome. They indicate a mind set which wants to control and negate, at all costs, any kind of dissent to said control. -“juat’s goin’on man?”  “souns like our presiden’ has ben takin’ gvmint lessons from Cuba”… -“Whoa Cheíto…. What do you mean?” -“he’s lyin’, he’s havin people look’t at, he’s usin’ the tax people to push other people aroun’…” I have to say that Cheíto, once again, was getting to the cor...

A feeling that sometimes blinds us and leads us into dark physical as well as emotional alleys from which there may be no return… In the many years I have been a “communicator” there has always been a basic rule which I was taught at the very beginning by those who trained me, and which I have tried to follow… not always successfully: Don’t speak blindly in anger for those words which are spewed at a moment of ire, can never be taken back and may destroy more than what they may build. Tonight is different; there are far too many instances that are totally incongruent between what we profess to live and what we, as a nation, choose to actually live. As I watch a show in which different regular Joes and Josephines are being awarded for actions of heroic measurements, there is one in particular which has brought this feeling forward. We, as a nation, have sent our young men and women off to wars, at one time or another, in just about all corners of the world. While they ...

Remember those ads in which a lady was singing until a wine glass would be broken by the sound waves… and then the above question would be asked? Of course… we knew the answer to that one!!! ( by the way… if you do remember… you are giving away your TV age …) Sometimes evidence and circumstances tell us very clearly “who done it” and what’s what. But it isn’t always so clearly established and defined. In fact, circumstances and soft evidence can be managed to make it appear other than what is, or was. Especially, was. There are junctions in life when decisions are made. When these do come about, usually they are due to expediency as well as the reality and need of the moment. Yet, the decision maker I believe tries to take a road which is favorable and will bring about a desired outcome. All within the realm of the moment’s possibilities as well as of the capacity of the person to make and carry out such a defined course of action. Here we go again!! The best laid plans a...

A blue moon was immortalized in a musical standard that became a lover’s hymn… it is also part of a popular saying that implies that whatever is being alluded to, never really comes to pass… I wonder if these two apparently divergent concepts are related… This is one of those titles which allow the writer ( that’s me ) to go into all tangents available to his mind ( let’s assume it is working at this time ) and express most any idea without a real deep commitment to any of them. This week birds are in the news…or rather, one particular bird. According to Venezuela’s interim President this was the late Commander Chavez’ way to come back and communicate with him… Hmmm… and this man runs a country?... Then again… On the other hand, this is the same guy who would have us believe that at some point during Chavez’ last days, while in his death bead and comatose, he held a five ( Yes, 5 ) hour work session with him, and without the aid of a Ouija. Maybe that is what finally pushed h...

“Recovery” is a loose term which encompasses many of one’s attempts to right something that has gone wrong… physically, emotionally, economically and sometimes, a bit of all three combined. This June will mark the 5 th anniversary of my arrival in Charlotte, NC. No fanfares, no welcoming committee; this was not the arrival of a visiting dignitary… more like the coming to town of someone who maybe got off the bus by mistake, not knowing if this was the right place or not. I called my brother from one of the bus station’s payphones. One of the few areas where these were then still available and a reminder that most folk who regularly come through here, cannot afford to have cell phone services. As was my case then. My brother asked me to wait outside, he and his wife were on their way. Since the “family” reunion was already covered in “Part 1” of these entries some time ago, I won’t go into it again. I think best to fast forward to that point where my wife and I re-met aft...

“And what is left for you to see on this life?” was the last question asked by the show’s host of his guest, dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez… -“to see my country free of this tyrannical government” came the quick, unbridled answer… If you are a regular reader, a few entries ago there was mention of a lady who practices patriotism of the highest kind: the one which is done from within the bowels of the enemy… while your knees shake in fear. She has managed, over the last 7 years or so, to produce a blog which is now read by over 12million people a month, in some 40 countries of the world and which is translated into 14 languages. This was my first time with her; the anticipated moment when I would be able to actually watch and listen to this lady whose blog entries have been a guiding light to the realities of that beautiful country I left behind so many years ago; a country which is fast disappearing in the mists of time, fleeting threads of memories hanging on like a s...