“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince; And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. ”

~William Shakespeare, Hamlet

This quote immediately came to mind when I opened this page to write this post. Today it has been confirmed that music legend Prince has died at the age 0f 57. Children of the 80s all over the world are in shock and reliving their fondest memories of the musical genius. I’m one of them.

Today “this is what it sounds like, when Doves Cry.” Now we know the sound. It’s deafening.

Celebrities pass away all the time. In fact, 2 more this week alone. However, when losing one feels so personal and heavy in your heart as Prince does, you truly realize the impact he has had on a generation, an entire industry and the world. Maybe the word genius is overused in some capacity but there really are very few deserving of that adjective. Prince is absolutely one of them.

Today marks the second time I’ve felt deep sadness and emotion in reaction to the loss of a celebrity. The first was when we lost Robin Williams. Today is the second. Today is extremely heartbreaking.

There isn’t much I can say that hasn’t been said already about Prince. His music evokes memories for all who grew up living it while it was being created. I explained to my kids today what he meant to me. I described my walkman and how music was on cassettes when I listened to Prince over and over again. I wore out my cassettes so when CDs came out, I upgraded my Prince collection. I remember how badly I wanted to see Purple Rain as a teen. I wasn’t allowed to watch it at first and when it finally came out on network TV (you know, edited for all audiences) I was finally allowed to watch it. I watched it so often after that, I’ve lost count on how much. From that first view, the color purple became meaningful for me. Even my kids know that is my favorite color and now they understand how Prince is the reason why. Purple Rain.

I spent most of my teenage years hanging out with musicians and writing music with many of them. I wrote so much poetry growing up and the next logical step was lyrics. Prince was such an inspiration for those of us who loved to create with words and song. He was just…wow. Really if you are a creative brain and grew up in the 80s, Prince just blew your mind. Purple Rain directly inspired a song I wrote in the early 90s. His lyrical and musical genius has forever impacted countless artists and opened the floodgates of imagination and other great works.

I’m actually in tears writing this because his influence on my world is so deep, personal, emotional, inspirational and unforgettable. I really can’t describe it any better so I’ll let Prince take it from here.

Purple Rain in the rain decades later.

1999 seemed so far away when this song was released. “Party like it’s 1999” has become a catchphrase that still hasn’t gone out of style. In fact, ironically today, I saw a commercial that used this very phrase. Prince coined the phrase of a century that will continue live on.

Love everything about this solo guitar set. Everything.

And because he made another song I love even better by covering it, I have to share this. Radiohead can always hold an honor not many other artists can…being covered by a legend.

“How could you just leave me standing, alone in a world that’s so cold…”   “Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry.”

Good-night, sweet prince.

Robert DeNiro Just Might Be the Advocate Parents Need, Even If He Doesn’t Know It Yet.

I watched the interview with Robert DeNiro on the Today Show as it aired LIVE. Within about 2 minutes, they asked him about Vaxxed, the documentary that he originally allowed into the Tribeca Film Festival and defended, then subsequently pulled from the festival line-up. Those who are advocates for the film and the right to safe vaccines all suspected that DeNiro was pressured by the CDC to do so.

“I think the movie is something people should see…But definitely there is something to that movie…I as a parent of a child who has Autism, I am concerned. I am not anti-vaccine, I want safe vaccines… The thing is to shut it down, there’s no reason to. If you’re scientists, let’s see, let’s hear. Everybody doesn’t want to hear much about it, it’s shut down…There’s more to this than meets the eye, believe me…There’s something there that people aren’t addressing and for me to get so upset here today, on The Today Show with you guys, means there is something there. That’s all I wanted was for the movie to be seen, you can make your own judgment, but you must see it… There is a link [between vaccines and autism] and they are saying there isn’t and there are… other things there. I don’t know, I’m not a scientist but I know because I’ve seen so much reaction about just ‘let’s find out the truth.’ … Everyone should have the choice to take vaccines, some places it’s becoming mandatory but it does benefit the big drug companies…”  ~ Robert DeNiro

Today, he proved that the pressure was weighing heavily on his conscience when it comes to the questions of vaccine safety and the possible link to Autism. DeNiro took a huge step on the Today Show. He stepped out from behind the heavy hand of the CDC and into the light of advocacy. He may very well be the advocate that every parent in this country needs, even those who don’t know it yet. He may very well be the voice that speaks for those who have been silenced in their fight or worse, who’s lives have been cut short due to vaccine injury and death.

From all the parents of children who have been injured or lost their lives from vaccines, thank you Robert DeNiro. Thank you for helping them be heard. Thank you for giving them a voice. From all the parents who feel the weight of guilt for this, thank you. For all the parents who live with Autism in their families and lives, thank you. Thank you for sharing your personal experience with having an Autistic child and letting us know we are not alone.

Robert DeNiro took a huge step today for all parents and used his opportunity to do so with conviction. Almost immediately, the mainstream media scrambled to discredit his stance, but he opened an important door today and I hope he fights to keep it open.

If you would like to learn more from someone who has become an advocate for all parents after watching her baby daughter suffer from vaccine injuries, then years later passing away as a result, please visit my friend Karen Kain’s website here. You may not know it, but she’s fighting for all parents and their children’s rights to safe vaccines. Even yours.

 

Karen-and-Lorrin
Karen Kain and her daughter Lorrin, who was vaccine injured as an infant and passed away at age 15. Photo courtesy of karenkain.com

 

Here’s a trailer of Vaxxed. You can visit their website to learn about screenings in your area or request one.

**It is important to note that the medical community and media are working overtime to make Robert DeNiro sound like he is clueless (yet he is a father of a child with Autism). That is how they treat parents who question the safety of vaccines. Belittling and bullying are part of the tactics that force vaccines on us without any real guarantees or answers. I know people who have lost children to vaccine injuries. Before you are willing to believe everything the mainstream media tells you, I ask that you do some research, learn about “Hot Lots,” The Vaccine Injury Fund (why does the government have a fund to pay out if they are safe?) and check out this documentary for yourself. Be willing to do research before you assume and be open minded to the possibility that vaccines that once were intended to prevent disease have become much more than that. We all have a right to know what is in the needles going into our children. IF a government can cover up poisoning thousands through the water supply, why would you assume they’d never do it through mandatory shots? I know this is a heated subject with people on both sides but it would not even be in question if there weren’t so many reasons to question it.

These are not anti-vaccine advocates. These are pro-safe vaccine advocates. There is a huge difference.

There are many medical professionals who have come forward and refuse to bow down to big pharmaceuticals. K Paul Stoller, MD is one of them and his latest blog post on the Bolen Report here also has a link to his website.

 

Navigating the News

Our country and world is in crisis. Just take a look at the current news stories. A serious problem facing us today starts with the inability to navigate the news and decipher fact from fiction. As a life long writer, journalist and news reporter, I have always taken seriously the responsibility that comes with this profession. Once called “journalistic integrity,” that code of ethics, the standard of our profession, has become almost non-existent in today’s mainstream media. “Journalists” are not what they once were and we have more “reality TV” style news-casting than true news reporting. 24 hour hour news is now a ratings race instead of an unbiased relaying of events.

George-Orwell-and-Propaganda

Throughout the topics I will cover here, I plan to help you find your way through all the bullshit that is fed to you as truth and newsworthy so you can push it aside and focus on the real issues facing our nation and world. I’ll warn you, it’s not usually pretty when you finally push below the surface but it’s necessary if you want to be more aware of what is really going on. The world as you know it is not at all as black and white, right or left, day or night as you are led to believe.

If you are already someone who takes the time to research and question everything you are told, then I applaud your willingness to be more consciously aware. It’s not an overnight revolution and everyone who has taken this path knows it takes an open mind and strong convictions. The man behind the curtain is not always who you’d think and you can not always ignore the truths in front of you, no matter how hard you may try.

I’ve watched the evolution of journalism and it’s really more like a destruction. It has morphed into an entirely new breed of journalists who no longer tell the story, but instead craft the story, even star in the story and way too often, involve themselves in the event to fuel the story where it really never existed.

You’ll see once you are willing to really take a look. We’ll soon trace the ownership and political affiliations of the mainstream media outlets you have been relying on to report the truth without bias, starting on the ground floor of this multilevel tower of deception.

Until next time… ~ #jerseygirlblog

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