Why a flu shot is a must this year

By Sherry Long

No cold is worth your life.

I realize getting a flu shot is not the most glamorous thing to do with your time. 

However,  this winter it could just save your life. 

In Dallas County, more than 23 percent of people suspected of the flu tested positive for influenza as of Jan. 4. 

And it's not just the elderly or unhealthy dying from this year's influenza. 

So far, 26 people are dead from this season’s influenza cases and another 70 people have been treated in local hospital’s intensive care units for the flu. A woman pregnant with her second son, lost her unborn baby due to influenza. 

Another mother, 29, died suddenly after developing flu symptoms over a weekend. 

Most healthy people  over the age of 6 months old are eligible for an influenza shot. 

So, make sure you are there for the long term to celebrate life’s most treasured moments with the people you love.  Get a flu shot.

Squeamish  of needles? You can still get a flu shot. A flu mist nasal spray is now available to most people. 

In Dallas County free flu shots are available at the Dallas County Health and Human Services office at:

Dallas County Health Department

2377 North Stemmons Freeway
1st Floor, Room 159
Dallas, Texas 75207
214-819-2000
8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

HBCU student leaders seek campus voting location

By Sherry Long

Student leaders from Prairie View A&M University, a Historic Black University, are requesting a polling location be located on their campus.  Prairie View A&M is in Prairie View, TX in Waller County, a very rural county. The university is roughly an hour northeast of Houston.

At many colleges across the nation not all students have vehicles. So many students walk everywhere they need to go.  Locating a voting precinct on campus will allow all students to make their voices heard through the ballot box.

This is a great idea and something that should be implemented at every college campus across the country. Not that it will. Unless students, civil rights leaders and supporters put pressure on their local elections offices and state leaders to pass legislation requiring each college and university have its own designated polling station.

Every person over 18 years old deserves the right to vote. College students are no exception.  A study by a nonpartisan group, Nonprofit Vote, showed turnout among young voters under 29 years old was highest in four swing states.

Since the Supreme Court repealed a portion of the Voting Rights Act earlier this year, many elections officials and state leaders in Republican-led states are working overtime to ensure all young, disabled, people of color, poor and elderly people can not vote.

This is why it is so important to support these student leaders at Prairie View A&M and all universities across the nation wishing to have a polling location on their campuses.

God's Views on People

This speaks volumes & I believe Archbishop Desmond Tutu is 100% correct.

Dream Defenders demand Trayvon Martin Act

UPDATE: Wed. July 17 6:40 PM CST
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, according to Huffington Post & Associated Press has still not met with Dream Defenders, a grass-roots student led peaceful protesting group demanding justice for Florida youth.

Dream Defenders staged a sit-in at the Florida Capitol on Monday and it continued to today.

Scott, a Republican, has refused to come into the capitol. He also told the AP that he will not give into the Dream Defenders' plan.

ORIGINAL POST: Wed. July 17th 2:36 PM CST
For the second day in a row, Dream Defenders, a grass-roots advocacy group of college students demanding justice, are holding a sit-in at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee today.

They want the Stand Your Ground Law in Florida repealed. The Stand Your Ground Law was not used as a defense in the Zimmerman trial. A study conducted by researchers at Texas A & M University showed that homicides have risen in states with Stand Your Ground Law.


Brian Marshall, Florida State University Dream Defenders president, told the Tallahassee Democrat:

Dream Defenders came out to demand action through peacefully civil disobedience because they felt George Zimmerman got away with murder. They are demanding a special session of the Florida Legislature be called to pass the Trayvon Martin Act.

Dream Defenders is a student-run organization with chapters at eight colleges in Florida.

"Dream Defenders is something new,” Marshall said. “Dream Defenders focuses on making change in forgotten communities, primarily those of color. Dream Defenders work focuses primarily on the school to prison pipeline and fighting systematic racism that plagues our communities.”


Watch the sit-in live through streaming video.
Huffington Post’s photo gallery of images from the sit-in.

Black People Should NOT be Target Practice

My friend @rachelution at #HoodiesUp in NYC on Sunday. 

Don't stop fighting for Justice for Trayvon and every other black man in America.

Tried of Social Justice Erosion

I talk a lot. I write a lot. I have very strong opinions. People that know me well, know this. Or at least they should. 

I am tried of seeing America's social justice & liberties eroded. 

Racism, War on People of Color, Trayvon Martin, Pro-Choice, Women's Rights, Voting Rights and Animal Rights ~~ these issues resonate deeply within me. 

I strongly believe & feel that if you see injustice in the world it is your OBLIGATION & DUTY to stand up for justice.
I'm sorry if you do not agree with me. I am trying to educate & inspire people to make positive change. 

You can follow me on Twitter at @SherryLong9874

or Facebook Grove Oak Media 

Welcome To My Blog

I am Sherry, a passionate and out-spoken former journalist turned writer and activist working to use my voice through my written words to highlight worthy causes, organizations, non-profits or individuals.

I am a liberal born and raised in Texas.  I moved to Pennsylvania for a journalism job. After getting laid off I decided to use my talent for public relations.  

I have traveled throughout the Eastern United States over the years. I have discovered in some ways people throughout the country are very similar and in other ways we are drastically different.

I am a self-professed nerd. I am an avid reader – traditional books and online resources because once you quit learning you start dying.

I welcome and encourage feedback. I may not always agree with someone else, but I will listen to other people’s views.