Poverty:Humans Litter:Animals

Poverty is to humans what litter is to animals; it deteriorates our community’s soul alongside Mother Nature’s spirit, with no regard for class, educational level, or fairness A community which combats both through intentional investment alongside observational financial need not only generates community profit, but more importantly, harnesses good will without the necessity of being beholden to both -Michele Peterson, an entrepreneur
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How Sunsets Work

Sunsets are the past and the future mixed up all in one When you think one is over and the other is forgotten, then by the breath and grace of each other we are both beautiful by the glow of the sun’s hues And many the sunsets have never lasted, yet they come back different in our next day, is the renewal of our faith and time We love sunsets because they seem like memories of us glimmering away, and yet we know in some way the sunset is saying everything and whispering every time that we will be ok
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Open Letter to Mr. Marc Benioff

Mr. Marc Benioff CEO Salesforce.com The Landmark, One Market Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94105 Re: Thanks For Being A Stand Up Kind of CEO Dear Mr. Benioff, After a long week of meetings, beers and lunches I found myself in front of my laptop last night looking through my social media pages only to find myself reading an article about you and your company, salesforce.com, and your reaction to the new economic intolerance bill coming out of Indiana Bravo Mr. Benioff, for having the business will, the economic courage and the presence of mind to not only stand up
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Explanation Point Needed Immediately! Part 1

For years I’ve been trying to delicately share with folks how the overuse of the exclamation point is seriously becoming an American epidemic of great proportion, yet the non-existence of an explanation mark is a crime when it comes to our language smart-phone syntax “Call me!” sometimes can be the surrender between an actual return phone call and an unintended audial eye roll “Where are you!!”, is simply not a question anymore, but moreover an accusation of something complicit, fantastical or maybe even sinister, depending on who is double exclaiming this question on the other end of your line Is
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Explanation Point Needed Immediately! Part 2

I often return to Churchill and Roosevelt when needing to understand where we are as a society and where we are headed as economic decay of monetary distribution is before us, yet hardly anyone has the spectacles to see it. I suspect not even Benjamin Graham nor Dr. Yellen can come up with enough monetary syrup to avoid such happenings Although our individuality is preordained to deny such an absurd accusation, my thought is one of antidote verses poison, and rather our choice between cure and remedy that is likely to sequester our current  disease of politics right now In
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Explanation Point Needed Immediately! Part 3

For as long as I can remember I have been myself for better and for worse, yet everyone around me seems to think the only difference between the two is my use of the word and. I for one do not, nor do I ever plan to, believe life, liberty, livery and me can ever just be about the word and. Unless of course you were born one of the lucky ones. And even then I’m not quite sure I believe you to be all that lucky anymore. Inherited wealth and generated wealth are like parasites and a host, without
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Th Bi-Lo Game

Alphabet Bitches Alphabet Bitches Alphabet Bitches Was playing on his IPhone as I touched the father wheeling his kids around the Bi-Lo earlier today “Buddy that just isn’t appropriate music to be playing out loud in the Bi-Lo”, I say to a young father wheeling his three boys around the Bi-Lo a few minutes ago Only to find a Blank stare looking back at me as though someone just interrupted his Bi-Lo sponsored concert, and he’s relatively unhappy about it “You see my young friend this is not the place you wanna have your Alphabet Bitch concert while other moms
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Urban Lawn review of American Sniper.

Lawd help me if any of you want to fight me over my review as I cannot lie, I’m tired today. But if I delay and let my opinion of Clint Eastwood’s movie brain deflate, then I might not properly exhale, and if I do not sigh properly, this might cause some of you to believe me unpatriotic So Here goes, I first read about Chris Kyle a few years ago when a writer at the New Yorker wrote about Chris’s story. Needless to say I was moved by Chris’s story but not because of the obvious or what you
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The biggest threat we have in our country is not Al Qaeda or ISIS

The biggest threat we have in our country is not Al Qaeda or ISIS The biggest threat we have in our country is ignorance Ignorant folks are more likely to be manipulated and controlled via emotion and fear Teach your children about Jesus and the power of forgiveness and prayer, but also teach your children about Shakespeare too. One without the other might lead your children to believe in unbridled intolerance, which is exactly what Jesus wouldn’t have wanted All I’m saying this morning is culture and education can be as effective a tool of reverence as sports and religion.
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My Open Letter to Weston Wamp

Dear Mr. Wamp, My name is Michele Peterson and we’ve never met. Yet, for the last few years I have been steadily watching your coming of age political story and listening to your generational messages. As an entrepreneur I like to think of myself as progressive; I also am so very proud to call myself a Chattanoogan. No matter where I am in my country, I find myself bringing Chattanooga with me. Constantly talking and bragging about the richness of culture and business found here, and talking about the wonderful people, the beautiful not-so-far-away mountain trails and the eclectic mix
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