Sensitive Man Urges- “Give a Laptop, Get a Laptop”

One Laptop Per Child, an organization that is building and distributing laptop computers to children in the developing world, is offering a free laptop for every one you donate. The cost to you is $399 for both laptops (and $200 of that is tax deductible). From their website:

One learning child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.
The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a “Give One. Get One.” program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.

Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving).

For all U.S. donors who participate in the Give One Get One program, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary HotSpot access. Find out more.

Please be aware that we will make every effort to deliver the XO laptops by the holidays, but quantities are limited. Early purchasers have the best chance of receiving their XO laptops in time for the holidays, but we cannot guarantee timing.

It’s a great little laptop – and has many special design features to make it 1) compatible with extreme environmental conditions such as high heat and humidity, 2) durable, 3) energy-efficient, and 4) visible in bright sunlight, in addition to being “responsive, and fun”. Some of its neat features include: 1) Wifi mesh networking, 2) built-in camera, speakers, microphone and game controller, 3) rotatable screen, and 4) memory card slot. Also, it has a rechargeable battery with 3 different recharging options, 2 of which are designed for locations “off the grid”. Note that the XO laptop does not use Windows or Mac operating system, it uses a special version of Linux.

Soooo… why not buy one.. I mean two!! But, hurry!! Only 13 days left.

The “Ho” Word

But first… My prayers go out to those impacted by the massacre today at Virginia Tech- those murdered, plus their families and friends.
… a moment of silence. please…

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Now, about Imus– I am glad that he got fired.
… I wonder why it took so long.
… Once the sponsors started pulling out, the handwriting was on the wall.
… BUT… why didn’t CBS fire him sooner?… why did they have to wait to see “how the story played out.” ?

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And another dimension of the story–
I am glad there is now a growing dialog about rappers, especially gangsta rappers, to get them to remove the word “Ho” from their songs (other degrading words and phrases as well). Rev. Al Sharton and Jesse Jackson have said recently that we should be lifting up our women and youth, and not degrading them in the lyrics and in the music videos (to be completely honest, they have not always spoken out against such lyrics). But, as you can imagine, there is controversy here too. Some rappers, like Russell Simmons, Mims and others, say that they are simply reflecting the nature of the environment of the ‘hood. Some say even more that they are drawing attention to the plight of growing up and living in the ‘hood so that maybe something will be done about it. (A few example links below, shown in alphabetical order.)
– Arizona Republic- click here
– Barack Obama- click here
– Cagle Cartoons- click here
– CNN- click here
– MSNBC- click here
– Oprah- click here

The objective should be to lift women up !! Black women.. All women!! We should do all that we can to encourage them to “be all that they can be”. More on that in the future… Let’s hope the discussion in the media keeps this issue alive for a while, and eventually things move in the right way.

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What do you think?