The Thinking Black Man

Whitney's "Home Going..."

2012-02-18T20:07:00.003-05:00

Like millions of others, last weekend I was stunned when Whitney Houston passed away. I was on my sofa browsing Google News and I saw about halfway down the page "Whitney Houston, 48 pronouced dead."

I had to read it several times because it didn't make sense. "What do they mean pronounced dead?" "What do they mean dead?" Then after a few seconds, my brain told me, dead meant dead.

I was sad.

The 17 year old me was supposed to marry Whitney Houston back in '85 when I first heard her debut album and saw this pretty woman with her shoulder out starring back at me and me alone.

I guess this post is really less about my feelings for whitney and more for my feelings toward the media. Maybe the 'white' media, but the media none-the-less.

I saw a crawl yesterday on CNN that said, "Whitney Houston's funeral to be called "A Home Going Service". Then I saw something similar on another channel and I read it on certain websites.

I just want to scream to the media world... BLACK PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CALLING OUR FUNERALS "HOME GOING SERVICES" SINCE WE FIRST STARTED DYING!

I think the media is under this insane assumption that "Home Going Services" are something we reserve for famous Blacks. Sorry media - you look stupid! We all get "home going services" - it is NOT some ceremony that we've been holding secret from you people and we only break it out for our famous folks.

Just thought you should know.

TTBM

Republicans... again.

2011-03-04T21:11:00.008-05:00

A lot of times I find myself saying, "America will never truly be great again." This upsets some people and they write me off by thinking that I'm just being grumpy.

Well, I AM grumpy a lot, but I'm not wrong.

As long as we have the current Democratic mindset at odds with the current Republican mindset, America will never be great again. I think Dems are too damn timid and too damn giving at the negotiations table and I think the Republicans are simply too worried about protecting the richest two percent of the country's citizens; too worried about keeping the fat cats on Wall Street happy; too worried about keeping their foot on the neck of everyday Americans; and too worried about spreading fear and ignorance in the furtherance of the previous three issues.

Today, the Republicans pushed hard to force Democrats into signing off of over $60,000,000,000.00 in Government spending cuts. Yet, most Republicans are war mongerers that desperately crave us to contract-out the majority of war operations at greater cost than paying our soldiers for the job. Republicans also want to keep massive tax breaks in place for the wealthiest corporations in our country, which keeps billions of dollars out of our Government's hands and they also crush any chance for economic growth by cutting down and cutting out thousands of programs designed to HELP Americans and HELP create jobs.

I think Republicans are evil. AHHHHHH, there I said it.

God that feels good.

Re-pub-lic-ans-are-eeeeeeeeeeee-vil.

AHHHHHHHHHHH, sounds like music to my ears. Feels like honey on my tongue.

I just don't respect Republicans. I can't, for the life of me, understand how a decent, compassionate, intelligent person would ever want to align themselves with a party that wants to oppress poor people and minorites, women and children, foreigners and Americans. A party that agressively seeks profits for the wealthiest companies in the world while ASSURING that these companies don't pay a dollar in taxes to AMERICA. I political party that demonizes gays and anyone that may be different what they think should be the norm. A party that uses spending cuts as a tool to make sure the hungry stay hungry, the poor stay lacking and the children get a less than stellar education. All the while they wave the American flag and scream, "We are Patriots."

They are liars.

Republicans are everything that America should never be. America will always be shy of greatness because of the petty, greedy, blood thirsty, evil, Republicans.

They need to be waving an upside-down flag.

America is in distress.

TTBM

TSUNAMI WARNING!!! Sort of...

2010-02-27T19:04:00.005-05:00

At 5:20 today, I found myself sitting in my living-room flipping from CNN, to HLN, to FOX NEWS. I was trying to see who was putting the scariest spin on the possible tsunami headed toward Hawaii.

I think CNN actually made a very docile event sound threatening and dangerous. They showed the waves coming in, but they laid down some serious "The worst may be yet to come..." dialogue over their split screen images. HLN didn't do bad, they had some good interviews and they made the potential three foot waves sound like a 50 feet wall of watery death. FOX though... well, they really disappointed me. They mentioned the potential tsunami, covered some other news, brushed past the tsunami again, covered the earthquake, did the weather and briefly mentioned the tsunami one more time.

WTH?

FOX news stunned me! I figured that if any network could scare me - here on the east coast - about a tsunami 3000 miles away, it would be FOX! But alas, I was wrong. I guess FOX can only scare folks with political nonsense. I guess they can only play to their strengths. They've got real heavyweights when it comes to spinning the most innocent political issue into the next Holocaust, but they just don't have the journalistic depth to exploit anything else. I feel like I should be happy, but I simply find myself confused.

CNN on the other hand was really pulling out the stops. I felt a little sad for them though - they wanted so badly to catch a person getting dragged to their death in a rip-tide, or smashed against a wall in a massive surge of water. When the scientists began to tell them that the worst was over and the water level had only raised a little, the newscaster was practically begging him to give him a glimmer of deadly hope. "But technically the threat could still go on for hours couldn't it? Technically?" The scientist gave him a slight bit of hope. I could almost hear the reporter going, "YEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!"

Don't worry cable news networks - you'll have plenty of other chances to try to scare us to death this year - it's only February.

TTBM

GIVE METRO A MINUTE!!!

2009-06-23T17:25:00.006-04:00

Let's give the DC Metro Transit Authority a few minutes!

It is Tuesday afternoon and just a few minutes past the 24 hour mark for the worst accident in Metro's 30+ year history. And the media is in a frenzy!

Reporters for the local news stations, especially FOX5, are just chomping at the bit and asking anyone with a camera in front of them to explain why "Metro" [the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority] hasn't issued a formal statement explaining why two Red Line trains collided yesterday killing over 7 people and injuring dozens more.

I've heard a few intelligent people, telling the local media, through clenched teeth, that investigations are on going and neither Metro or the NTSB have any idea of what happened just 1 day ago. I don't even think emergency workers are 100% sure that they've gotten all of the bodies off the trains. A big section of of one train is just a compressed heap of tangled metal! Anything could still be in there at this point!

I'm pretty steamed about how the media outlets in this area are acting like bloodthristy sharks over this tragedy. Yesterday afternoon in the first hour after the crash, a few of the local newscasters were trying their damn'dest to be the first to use the phrase "confirmed casualty" in a complete sentence. I think FOX5 might have been the winner, but it was close!

Now, in the aftermath, everyone in the media is looking for the next sexy lead-in... "Who can we BLAME?" I've already heard that it appears to be a toss up between an automated mechancial system that failed and a possible operator error. One radio station reported that the driver of the train was ranked 18th from the bottom [in experience] in a system with over 500 operators. The news guy was actually drooling when he said that. I bet he was giddy that he could find such a stat.

The driver and at least 6 others died.

I truly wish that the media would just calm down a little bit. Report what they have and not make a circus of speculation out of what they don't have and out of what they don't know.

And, let's be real, law suits are going to start raining down from the sky on Metro, so that too is a legitimate matter that must be considered by WMATA. No matter how you slice it, there is no reason for Metro to rush out with an inaccurate statement only to have to issue a corrective statement days later... which of course, The Media would beat them to death over!

Let NTSB do their job, let Metro cooperate fully and keep their other lines servicing their hundreds of thousands of riders and let the information come out as it becomes clear. Nobody is going to forget about this DC Media, I promise - let's bury the dead, heal the injured, make sure this doesn't happen again and move forward.

Mama's House - ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

2009-04-24T23:42:00.004-04:00

Damn, I missed My Blog!!!

I've been wanting to write, and wanting to write and wanting to write and finally, tonight - I stumbled into the perfect storm of free time, access to my laptop, being awake, and something bugging the hell out of me.

No, not the TEA Baggers - I'll get to them tomorrow...

I was just told that this 31 year old guy I know just went out and bought a brand new Mercedes. That by itself is not a bad thing, the bad part is that he still lives at home with MAMA.

I have been hearing so many stories of grown-ass men, mainly Black Men, but I believe that is largely because of the circles I travel in, being well into their 30's and still living at home WITH MAMA. Some even live with MAMA and DADDY, so they can't even say "I'm just looking out for my mom."

There is a 47 year old guy at my job who PROUDLY still lives at his mother's house. I know a 44 year old guy who still lives with his dad and his dad's new wife. I know a 27 year old guy that trots around his parents house carefree like he's 16 and trying to borrow the car keys. I know a 35 year old guy that makes over $90K a year and isn't thinking about leaving home. He's quick to declare that he gives his parents $430 a month. Uh, last time I checked - there were no apartments in the city for $430 a month, so that, combined with the fact that he makes over $90K a year makes him one cheap bastard, one VERY cheap bastard.

What the hell is this about?

I'm going to go ahead and put a little of my family business out there. I have two brothers that are well into their 30's and they are well set to stay at MOM and DAD's house until somebody dies. Honestly, it is that fact that makes me visit my parents less and less. They sit back and accept the fact, almost welcome the fact that these two are just never going to leave home and I just can't grasp that logic.

My mother often says that she knows that my brother X is going to meet a good woman and get married. I've tried to tell her that most Sister's in their 30's that are about anything - have their own places and their own money and they want to go places and do things and enjoy life with a man that is doing his thing, being his own man, LIVING IN HIS OWN PLACE, and not collecting video games and DVD's in his mom's basement. I told her that no self respecting woman is going to want anything serious with a man that has to take her to a motel or a hotel everytime he wants to be close to her. Most women are not going to want to sit in the basement of their 35 year old boyfriend's parent's house on Friday and watch movies. I tried to reason with her to push my brother's into grown-manhood. She declined, said nothing was wrong with them living 'at home' and said that they would leave when they were ready. Then she got a little mad at me so I cut my losses.

I've tried talking to my brothers, well sort of, brother Y and me aren't that close, so we just stay cordial with each other, and brother X always seems to breeze past my suggestions that maybe he needs to get an apartment or something. I think to him, there is nothing to be gained by having your own place, and I guess he expects my parents to live another 50 years and just take care of the house they live in. I try to school him sometimes but he ignores me, he always seems to have some story about how this 'girl' he met at the mall... I'm sorry, he calls women 'fee-males' now... so he'll tell me about how some 'fee-male' he met at the mall is trippin' and won't return his calls.

Sure, maybe I'm being a d*ck, or maybe I'm getting into other folks' business, but to me, I care about my brothers and I care about my parents and I think it's time for my 30+ year old brothers to become independent men and learn to live on their own. Especially my brother X, he is such a nice guy and has such a great heart - I just wish he would mature some and get his own place and try to see the world beyond that little 20 square miles he almost refuses to leave.

But, enough about my brothers - I have been coming across more and more men that live with Mom'an'em. It's funny to me, because I've often wondered how these men present their living situations to women they meet. There is no way I could imagine being 34 again and telling some gorgeous woman, "Yeah, I live on the westside at my mom and dad's house. It's cool, my mom does my laundry on weekends." As fate would have it, I was talking to a guy who was telling me about a buddy of his that makes almost six figures a year and still lives with mommy and daddy. I said, "He still lives with his Mom?" He told me this - exactly, "Yeah, yeah, he lives out there with his people." I said, "His mom and dad?" Again he replied, "Yeah, with his people." So I concluded that maybe that is the cool term to describe living at home with mom and 'em - 'I live with my people." I guess that works.

I think I find myself bothered by the whole 'grown man living with his mom' phenomenon because it seems to be growing and spreading. I believe too many of these 'men' are missing the crucial maturing aspect that comes with being self sufficient. Many of these men are making children of their own who are living with their mama's while daddy refuses to make strides to either marry mama or at least make a Daddy's home for their children. We are in enough of a predicament now with well over half of all Black children being born to single mothers - allowing grown, healthy men to just live at home and sleep in the same bedroom they had when they were 4 years old is insane to me. Insane and crippling in the long run.

Absolutely nuts-

TTBM

President Barack Obama

2008-11-04T23:09:00.005-05:00

I'm actually in tears.

CNN has just called Barack Obama - PRESIDENT ELECT BARACK OBAMA! California has just checked in and his electoral count is 299. I just can't believe that we are here. After two years of campaining. After fighting the powerhouse Clinton's, after fighting the dirty lies of John McCain and his GOP croanies, Barack Obama has come out on top. AMERICA's FUTURE has come out on top.

Thank God for this day, and this opportunity, and this achievement.

THBM

E Minus 9 days "The Palin Factor"

2008-10-26T22:29:00.001-04:00

If you love something, you want to see it thrive. You want to see it flourish. You want to see it being the very best that it can be. This applies to everything, your friends, your spouse, your kids, and even your country.

I love America.

I do.

I think America is the greatest nation in the world, and I wouldn't want to wake up anywhere else in the world except for AMERICA. Now, while I say this - I want it clear that I respect any citizen of any other country in the world to feel the exact same way about their country. It can be just as true to them as it is to me.

But is that statement as true to John McCain, as it is to me?

Case in point: Let's suppose that John McCain believed that he was going to be the next president of the United States, this is reasonable and quite true I assume. So, if he thought that he was going to be president and the Commander-In-Chief of our armed forces and the leader of our great nation, that I assume he truly loves, why would he not intrust our nation to a qualified partner in his vice-president?

We're all human, none of us are immortal. We are all sharing this moral plane on even footing. Within reason we all need to make plans, contingencies if you will, to assure that the things that we love are able to thrive and flourish in the unexpected event that we are no longer present or able to care for and support them the way we believe they should be cared for and provided for. That's why many of us that are fortunate enough to afford life insurance, purchase it - we want to help provide for our loved ones financial security if we can't do it any longer; that's why some people leave large endowments to schools, churches, colleges and organizations - so that that can thrive and continue for years and generations anew.

But John McCain has told America and told the world that if, 'I am elected the next president of the United States, a counrty with the most powerful military in the world, a country that is a central hub of global finance, a country with one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, a country that is a 232 year old democracy, and if I am unable to complete my four year term in that office, I shall willingly turn over control of that nation to Sarah Palin."

God, I wish I could insert the silence that should follow that last sentence.

He is telling not just America, but the whole world that he really doesn't give a damn about our country. Now I have no idea how bad a president John McCain will be. Maybe not as bad as Bush, but close I'm sure. But I certain of one thing - SARAH PALIN would be worse than George W. Bush. In fact, I'd rather have 4 more years of Bush than two years of Palin. Now think about that. Four more of Bush v. Two of Palin.

Now, I don't dislike Sarah Palin, the woman, the mother, the Governor, the big game hunter - I don't know the woman. But what I have seen from her scares me. She's worse than Bush in an interview - My God, did anyone see her with Couric? Sure, she was thrust upon the national stage - but she has shown day-by-day that she is not smart enough or politically saavy enough to play on the main stage. As I've heard older folks say, "She plays well in the 'sticks'." The Sticks being the small venue of Alaska. I've got no beef with Alaska, but being the mayor of a small town where she wanted to ban books she didn't like, and where she wanted to allow guns in schools, and where she let meth overrun the streets and then the Governor of a state for a year or two where she voted for a 9-figure bridge to-nowhere, and tried like hell to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from his job in law enforcement, it doesn't qualify you to have a shot at possibly being the next president of the United States. When you hear her trying desperately to explain how living across the Bering Strait from Russia gives her National security experience I feel terrified knowing that she might end up as our President.

I find it strange that no one in the big media talks about the fact that her and her husband are staunch supporters of the "Alaskan Independence Party" a group that has publically called the Government of the United States their sworn enemy, and pushed for legislation that would allow them the ability to secede from America. How is it that no one is crying foul on this one? If someone caught a picture of Barack Obama lighting up a Newport, the three major networks would interrupt broadcasting with a "Special News Report."

John McCain is telling all of us that he really doesn't have our nation and its best inteests in his heart and in his mind. He picked Sarah Palin because the shock value she brought the the table - she was a woman, and moreso, a woman that almost nobody had heard of. She is probably one of the most unqualified individuals in this country to be the next vice-president of the United States and the Republicans know it - unfortuantely for the rest of us - the die-hard Republicans care more about their party than they do about about our nation and its future.

I think what turns my stomach most of all was something that Sarah Palin herself said. When asked what she said when McCain offered her the VP spot, she replied, "He asked me if I wanted to be his vice-presidential running mate and I didn't blink an eye. I immediately told him yes!" To me, this is the most troubling thing of all. It's either an arrogant lie, or it shows that she has no regard for our country. I think that a decent, humble and intelligent person would have acknowledged the scope of the request and would have needed a little bit of time to think about the question, to look at their personal capabilities, to maybe even pray about it - but they would have taken a pause to make sure they were the best for the job or at least mostly READY for the job. Not her, not Sarah Palin - she jumped in head first without hesitation and without giving our nation any real thought. She saw her name in lights and she saw hubby Todd making snow angels in the rose garden. Sadly, she is a vice presidential joke.

This is a serious time for serious people, and Sarah Palin is just not ready for the job.

TTBM

E MINUS 10 days: "A Time to be Smart..."

2008-10-25T21:22:00.001-04:00

"This is the most important election in our lifetime."

I think this is the second time that I've heard this phrase, and its the second time I have believed it.

The first time was in 2004 when Bush stole yet another election from our country by using dirty, underhanded politics and singing the same old song to the same old people.

Now we find ourselves as a nation, under the gun again. Another narrow-focused, conservative-minded, protect-the-rich and piss-on-the-poor Republican threatening to further our doomed effort in Iraq, to keep his foot on the neck of the non-wealthy in America and to insure the continued prosperity of his mega-rich base.

I find myself very very scared lately. Our country has put George W. Bush in the White House TWO times. George W. Bush is probably the last American that should find himself in charge of our great nation. And now we find ourselves being told the same old distorted lies and twisted pipe-dreams again - by the same old party - on a somewhat different day.

I'm worried.

Sure, the polls show that Barrack Obama is ahead in almost every way possible, but the Republicans are scared and they are backed into a corner. We should expect them to come out fighting... fighting AND cheating. It's funny how you ONLY hear about cheating and questionable ballots, and harassment of voters where Democrats are threatening to take Republican seats and so called "Red" states. Republicans... excuse me... some Republicans are the most devious and underhanded people in the world and their party means SO MUCH more to them, than OUR country does. Some of these Republicans are so scared of change and so fearful that they may have to pay an extra bit of tax on their "upper class" incomes that they are willing to bend. break and sometimes burn the Constitution to get their way.

These are dangerous times for Americans. Not because George Bush has allowed bin Laden to stay alive and be the multi-billion dollar face of fear to us, and not because George Bush has allowed big banks and corporations to run rough-shod with no regulation and bring the world to the edge of complete financial collapse... NO - These times are dangerous for us because John McCain and his inept number two, Sarah Palin, are supported by fear mongering cheaters and criminals that will stop at nothing to put them in The White House. We cannot allow this election to be stolen, we cannot allow 4 more years of Bushesque politics to run and ruin our once great nation. We can't allow the lies and hype to take center stage.

It is time for us all to be smart, to vote, to not be deterred, to watch these people closely on November 4th, and to encourage everyone we know to get out to the polls and vote. We honestly may never have another chance at the pace we're going now. And heaven help us if Sarah Palin ends up as president... but I'll talk about that at E Minus 9 days.

TTBM.

Thanks

2008-10-14T10:59:00.001-04:00

Thanks to everyone that has stopped by my blog in the last few months to try and catch some random thoughts from this Brother.

I wish I had some glamorous, Earth-moving reason for not blogging, but sadly I don't. I think life just stepped in, along with some changes in the computer use policy at my job, and I figured I wasn't quite ready to give up my salary to blog during my lunch hour.

Anway, I'm going to see if I can find my voice again and I'm going to get busy checking out my old friends in the blogosphere - I can't wait to see what you all have been up to.

-TTBM!!!

What on Earth are they doing?

2008-06-11T14:43:00.002-04:00

Why do I know that this will NOT be the last time the American media makes this current election a racist, ignorant, fear driven, sick-minded, debacle? I guess because, I have a brain.

It appears that the ignorant, talking-heads that we have so graciously planted on cable-TV and given their own news shows, loud microphones and bright lights - want to be heard. They want to be heard and they want to say THEE stupidest things so that someone will pay them some attention.

It seems as though Barack and Michelle Obama gave each other a little "dap" onstage last week in St. Paul and the media appears to have gone ape-sh*t over the gesture. Media people on all of the big networks were asking what was "meant by that gesture," and "Why did they do that?" and "What do you call that hand thing?". WHAAAAAAAAAT???

These people claim to be able to present NEWS to the masses. They are supposed to be intelligent enough to present world events, history making events, once in a lifetime events and they are unnerved and baffedly beyond words by a little "fist dap." Give me a freakin' break.

I started to define "fist dap" right here... but then I thought about it. If anyone is kind enough to read this, and living in the United States, and has NOT, repeat - NOT been living under a rock, then they should already know what a "fist dap" or "a pound" or "some dap" is. Therefore I won't waste your valuable blog-reading time.

Back to the talking heads - one Fox News reporter, E.D. Hill went as far as to call the gesture "A terrorist Fist Jab." Hill was promptly repremanded by Fox in public; behind closed doors I'm sure she's a water-cooler hero at Fox, and she probably got a neat little bonus check for the dig against the Obama's.

But, this kind of foolishness, what I call "racial foolishness" is certain to spread in the coming months. I think Barack is going to come under fire for his party of choice, that's a no-brainer, but what we are going to see and read is an amazing amount of racial foolishness from the mainstream media. We are going to see the big media windbags from Fox, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, etc. saying things and making accusations that are going to sound nothing short of insane. The media is going to attack the Obama's because they are not White. Note that I didn't say Black, I said, "Not White."

For the simple fact that the media picked up the gesture and noted it, shows that even the tiniest of things that may not be done by "mainstream" Whites are going to be presented as alien, foreign, void of logic, you-name-it. Every little thing that Barack and Michelle will do overthe rest of this election is going to be hyper-scrutinized. John McCain can drag his wife out onto Pennsylvania Avenue and cover her in whipped cream and chopped nuts from head-to-toe and the media will glance over it with a chuckle and a grin and move into a detailed, three-part, round-table discussion over "Why the Obama's picked NOW to paint their Volvo station-wagon beige?"

We are going to be flooded with some of the dumbest, saddest, most ignorant news reporting in our country's history over the next five months, and I'm sorry to say The Obama's are going to be at the heart of most of it. We are at the most crucial time in our country's existence, employment is down, the economy is down, thousands of Americans are losing their homes each day, crime is up, education is WAY down, we are deep in a recession, gas is approaching $5 a gallon, healthcare is a joke, and our media is acting like the Black guy running for president is sharing a mysterious pact of some sort with his wife.

Until we demand our media to take us seriously as Americans. they never will!!!!

Michelle Obama

2008-06-04T17:20:00.005-04:00

Last night as I sat glued to my TV watching Barack Obama acknowledging his history making ascension to the Democratic Party's nomination for President, I was overwhelmed.

Here we are in 2008 and there is a very good chance that the next President of the United States could be an African American man. I am nothing less than astonished. I'm astonished and tremendously proud to be an American on this day. The majority of Democratic voters were able to look [for the most part] past race and they were able to vote for a Black man. WOW! Way to go America!

I was on the edge of my seat for the whole speech. My wife and I were exchanging high-fives and clapping and giving our love to Barack Obama and the future of hope and optimism that we pray he brings. Then he finished with a couple of "God Bless America's" and then suddenly my whole perspective on the night's events changed. Michelle Obama took the stage with her husband.

I have become quite a Michelle Obama fan over the last year or so. I think that she is a very dynamic, intelligent and downright likeable person. For Barack Obama to have captured the heart of a woman like her, it says a lot about his character, and I admire the relationship the two of them appear to have. That is why my perspective changed. Michelle did not appear to be her usual happy and cheerful "potential future-first-lady" self, she looked worried.

She tried to hide it, that stunned, worried look that people get when their spouses step into harms way. It was the look of spouses that kiss their loved ones goodbye before they head off to war. It was the same look that I imagine police officers and fire-fighters spouses give their loved ones when they leave for work. It was the look I assume Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz gave their husbands when they went out to change the world.

I have an optimistic streak deep within me, it is in this streak that I believe Barack Obama will change the world, I believe that he will beat John McCain and move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and he'll do amazing things and he'll grow old and gray and write memoirs and give lectures and be an American icon for generations. But, my optimism aside, we live in a world of fanatics, lunatics, racists and hate mongers. We live in a world of danger.

I think this is why My Girl - Michelle looked a little worried last night. She's given us her husband. She's allowed... YES allowed... our country to have a chance for renewed greatness on the back and shoulders of her best friend, her husband, her man, [in her own words] her babies DADDY. She's a smart woman, she knows the dangers that powerful people face, she knows the dangers that powerful men face, she knows the dangers that powerful Black men face - and yet, she's allowed her husband to try and improve our lives.

In all the wonderful and deserved Barack Obama hype that we are now celebrating, let us not forget Michelle. Let us not forget that behind every good man there is an even better woman.

LUV U OBAMA'S!!!!!!!!!!!

TTBM

Auschwitz or Buchenwald... who cares?

2008-05-28T16:33:00.003-04:00

Auschwitz or Buchenwald... who cares?

Barack Obama's Grandfather and/or Great Uncle helped to liberate tortured Jews from a Nazi death camp in World War II. That is a great thing and the Obama family should be proud beyond words at the role their family members played in such a significant event.

It seems as though the Democratic Heir apparent, Barack Obama, was speaking before a crowd yesterday in New Mexico and he mentioned that his Great Uncle had helped to liberate Auschwitz in World War II. It didn't take Republicans long to wikipedia Auschwitz and discover that Soviet troops in fact, liberated the death camp in January of 1945. "Oh, he's a liar! Tar and feather that Boy!" They were quick to yell!!! (okay, maybe they just whispered the tar and feathers part - but I'm sure someone said it!)

Barack has since corrected himself. I believe he got his death camps mixed up. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

You have Auschwitz, where between 1.1 and 2.5 million Jews were killed, and then you have Buchenwald were 56,000 Jews were killed. That is what drives me to ask - Who Cares?

No... NOT "Who Cares about murdered Jews?" I mean - "Who Cares about an error in which camp was liberated?!?!?" You had hundreds of thousands and millions of people that were imprisoned, tortured, murdered and you have crazy Republicans trying to hold a slip of the tongue against a man and his family's military history. Someone is REALLY trying to make that an issue! My God - people, we have to get serious here!!!!

Auschwitz or Buchenwald? Who cares? Why is it that people can't just embrace what Obama's family did? Why create such a furor over something like that? Especially when so few Republicans on The Hill have their own children in Service to our country. Why blow Barack's comments so far out of line. So he said one camp and not the other. Big woop. The Bottom line is this - His Great Uncle was out there in the snow and mud and blood of Germany's battlefield. He was probably getting shot at and watching his fellow soldiers [or Marines] getting killed, but he and many brave others pressed on until a Nazi death camp was put down and liberated. As a lot of people like to say, "He was doing The Damn Thing!" Something like that should not be chewed on and chewed up and used a political fodder by anyone.

This is a serious time America and we need serious people to get our mess straightened out. Play time is over.

TTBM

As bad as it could be...

2008-05-19T18:55:00.008-04:00

I filled up yesterday and I paid $3.79 a gallon, for regular. When the pump stopped ticking my money away, the damage came to $72.02. "My God." I thought.

To say I wasn't happy is putting it mildly.

The whole time I stood at the pump and stared at my money disappearing, I found myself in my usual rage over the oil companies. This was so unfair. These rich bastards are making quarterly profits that are bigger than the Gross Domestic Product of hundreds of countries! Now they wanted my money too! It just wasn't fair! I was pretty pissed.

Then I oddly thought of a woman that I saw on the cover of the newspaper today. It was the woman in the picture accompanying this post. The picture was a little different but the woman is the same. In the picture I saw, she was alone, kneeling and crying and the caption said that her daughter had died.

Her DAUGHTER had died in the recent earthquake.

Her DAUGHTER had died.

My gas cost me $72 dollars... and her DAUGHTER died.

My children were home, safe and sound with their mother. I was with them just a few minutes later. We had spaghetti for dinner. It was pretty good... and her DAUGHTER died.

It is so very easy to overlook your blessings. For me, I suppose I get pissed off just a tad bit more than the average person. I'll be the first person to tell you that I can be a bit of a jerk sometimes. If you've read my blog before, I'm sure you'll agree with that. But, yesterday I really allowed myself to take in the good fortune that I have.

These gas prices will not be the end of my life. $4, $5 even $6 a gallon will not be the end of my life. I won't really feel any pain from it. All that may happen to me may be... I won't be buying an X-Box 360 or a flat screen HD television this year [or next]; I may have to get rid of my SUV and buy a neat lil'hybrid; I may have to give up $200 Hugo Boss shoes and buy $60 Kenneth Cole's instead; I may have to stop fussing over $7 cooking oil and $6 a gallon milk. But, God willing I'll still have my wife and kids. I'll have what is really important to me.

I have to remember to practice what I try to preach to my kids... I have to remember that I'm a citizen of the world and not just a citizen of my town, state and country. With 100,000 dead and dying in cyclone ravaged Myanmar and 50,000 feared dead in parts of earthquake shattered China, and dozens and dozens of families left homeless in the central plains of the United States after weeks of tornadoes - My Problems don't seem as bad as I sometimes think they are.

Now, I'm a little less worried about my next trip to Citgo.

TTBM

Blue Justice

2008-04-25T17:13:00.004-04:00

You have got to be kidding me.

I am usually one of the first people to defend police officers. Sure, as a Black man raised in a big city I have enough reasons to dislike police in general. I've been stopped and sometimes harrassed by them growing up as a teen of the '80's and I know that all police share the one major flaw of being human. But, I will tell anyone that being a cop is a tough, dangerous and thankless job. I probably couldn't do it. I'm not sure if I'd want to.

One of the usual points I like to bring up when police debates flare up is the fact that I think cops first promise should be to come home at night safe and sound to their familes. The second promise should be close behind and should be to protect and serve. I never think I have those two mixed up because if I were a cop, or a fire fighter, or a plumber or a truck driver - my FIRST promise is to always come home to my wife and kids!

I think when police are in a dangerous and life threatening position, they should use as much force as needed to protect themselves, their fellow officers and the public in general. They should be brave and smart and shoot straight and true.

But then you have cops like New York's Mike Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper. Murderers.

(In fact, I'm not even typing their names in blue, because they are not true cops)

These guys murdered Sean Bell in cold blood. And worse than that - New York Judge Arthur Cooperman decided that they were justified in shooting 50 times at a car containing three unarmed Black men. 50 TIMES!!!

Okay, granted. When this event was going down in the early hours of November 25, 2006 outside of a strip club in Queens. The shooters didn't know the car was empty, but they damn sure knew that NO ONE WAS SHOOTING BACK AT THEM! One of this men actually lowered his gun, popped a clip out, pulled a fresh one out, popped it back in, charged his gun and continued firing. 50 TIMES!!!

And this judge basically told them, "Nice job guys. No harm, no foul. One Black guy dead and two injured. Next time shoot straighter, see if you can get'em all."

That's what he told them. And, yes - I know that two of the cops where Black [looking].

This verdict is nothing short of a slap in the face of all minorities. This verdict is a sham and a travisty of justice. It shows that in New York, you can gun down Black men wholesale and as long as you are wearing a badge. You are teflon; you are safe, you are golden, you are held harmless to accountability.

This is sadly not the last time that New York cops are not going to murder a minority in cold blood. The NYPD... excuse me... not the [whole] NYPD, just the arrogant NYPD assholes that equate gun caliber with genitalia size, will consider Cooperman's verdict as a free pass to claim "fear" as justification to rain down hot lead on innocent civilians.

If there is a spirit of justice in this country, if she is blindfolded and truly issues her verdicts without bias towards race or stature, then today she must be sheding a tear, she must be sad, she must be blue.

TTBM

Wright and wrong...

2008-03-15T22:17:00.007-04:00

I haven't blogged in a while and I certainly hope I haven't lost my voice... let's see.

This whole Jeremiah Wright thing has rubbed my nerves raw.

The media is eating these little sound bites up- CNN, FOX, MSNBC and the rest are burning the airwaves to snatch as many ratings points as possible with the words of Barack Obama's hometown preacher.

I've heard most of the comments, which were clearly snatched in segments which guaranteed the most shock value to the American listener. While I think the entire sermon should be heard in its full context before anyone should make a blanket denouncement of Rev. Wright, I live in America and I know 95% of the people complaining aren't going to go beyond 7 or 8 keystrokes to try and learn anything.

But, full context aside, Rev. Wright's comments are his own, he believes in them and frankly that should be that. Barack Obama didn't make these comments, so for anyone to try and hold Wright's comments to Mr. Obama is utter foolishness. Stupid, shallow, dim-witted election year foolishness! That's like people around the world holding the dumb stuff that George Bush says all the time to the citizens of the United States. Does anyone with an IQ higher than a bullfrog stand up and say, "George Bush's thoughts and feelings are mine?" No.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing Rev. Wright to George Bush, but I am truly saying that one man's comments should not be transposed over to another just because the two of them are associated. I am embarrased that as an American, my fellow voting adults are so easily manipulated and herded like a flock of dumb sheep into these little political columns as defined by the Republicans [and or Hillary Clinton]. Someone shows some nicely edited clips of Barack Obama's preacher, and suddenly Barack is a hate monger and a racist and a bunch of other nicely scripted catch words. I'm stunned.

I was reading some websites today and I am stunned by the number of people, [white people] saying dumb things like...

"I didn't know blacks hate America so much. It's like an eye opener. Since it is a view shared by almost 100% black churches throughout the country (according to a black FoxNews guest), it explains theoverwhelming anti-socieity tendency of the black community..."

I can't help but say, "What the hell????" "Blacks hate America?" "A view shared by almost 100% of Black churches?" What kind of dumbass wrote that? I will bet my next paycheck that this person has never been within 50 feet of a Black church! I feel so sad for this person that they are so weak minded and so prone to think just the way the MEDIA wants her to think. This is a great example of the power of the American media on people that are not strong enough to think for themselves. The media gave her a broad brush, and she ran off to paint with it. (Just a little knowledge for her - Blacks do not hate America! Many Blacks may have issues with various aspects of America, but we do not hate America. For my two cents - ANYBODY of ANY RACE that hates America, needs to get the hell out of America! ANYBODY!!!)

Then I read:

"Barak sold his soul to win in Chicago and it's coming back to bite him. I voted for him for Sen. but will never vote for him again..."

I have to ask, how does going to a church for years and years before you ever think about running for Senate count as "selling your soul." I hope this person didn't just vote for Barack because he went to church in Chicago, because frankly, that would be stupid. Use your head fellow voter - don't let the Media lead you by the nose like a little puppy!

And lastly, this one just stunned me:

"Barack Obama has deliberately infected his own family with 20 years of anti-American racist hatred. He must not be allowed to similarly infect America. The Reverend Jeremiah Wright mentored Obama. They have hijacked Christianity in the same way as Osama has hijacked Islam. Obama and Osama really ARE the same person. Obama's fellow churchgoers simply haven't arrived at the point where the vests are strapped onto the children....yet."

I've tried to cut down my profanity on my blog, but for this one, I'm gonna' dust off a 10 pointer... (here we go) What the Fuck? Are you serious? Are you really serious? Infected his family for 20 years, huh? Obama and Osama are really the same person, huh? See ,these kinds of people scare the shit out of me. So narrow and so easily brought into line. Pitiful.

I think what gets me in all of this is the fact that so many people that have never heard of Jeremiah Wright until this week and who know nothing of this man are so quick to pass judgement on him and a member of his church after hearing 30 seconds of a partial sermon by him. I'm not saying he was right or wrong, and I'm not saying what I agree or disagree with in the SNIPPIT's of his sermon. But what I am saying is that I know Rev. Wright does not spend every Sunday taking shots and America, American Racism, and American Imperialism - sadly, many sheeple have been lead to believe this.

And on top of that - folks have to pick their argument when it comes to Obama and religion. Plenty of narrow-minded folks are worried about his name and assume he is Muslim [these people are an American embarrassment]! Yet, now we have a new cluster of folks that are taking arms against his relationship with his Christian pastor. So, somewhere these people have to decide - is he a Muslim or a Christian and for which one are they going to hate him!!!

How are we going to ever get a decent person in the White House as long as so many Americans are weak minded, mailable, vote clumps. So few people seem to be willing to look at the REAL political issues with clarity. People need to stay focused here - the consequences to this country and our future are so great! We have suffered under 8 years of George Bush's mismanagement of our economy and our military and we have to get serious. Let Jeremiah Wright be Jeremiah Wright and let Barack Obama be Barack Obama.

Armageddon has fallen upon DC!!!

2008-02-20T17:15:00.002-05:00

Oh my God!

It's snowing in the District of Columbia! I see it with my very own eyes, right outside of my office window. Big fluffy snowflakes that seem to be melting on the sidewalk far below.

Snow in the District of Columbia spells catastrophe for men and women of all ages! People in DC, inside the I-495 beltway, loose their minds and all of their driving skills at the first sign of a snowflake. A mere dusting will guarantee countless pile-ups, road closings, and hours and hours of traffic. All is lost! All is lost!

Lock your doors and say your prayers because snow is falling in the nations capital!

How am I going to get home? Will I ever see my loved ones again?

I admit that I haven't been posting much lately on my blog - but, I still love my blog! I still love my readers! I still love reading the comments! But with snow on the streets of DC, my life will be in complete jeopardy as I set out to the subway!

Am I man enough to walk several blocks and cross several streets in the District under a (gulp) raging snowfall?

Pray for me.....

TSBM.

A special little place...

2008-01-15T19:02:00.000-05:00

I'm a dad.

Being a DAD is a special thing. It's not the same thing as these numb-skulls that get women [and girls] pregnant and just roll out and treat their kids like lost socks... things you don't go back for.

Dad's do the damn thing!

Dad's worry about their kids; Dad's feel all of their kids pain 100 times more than the kids themselves; Dad's hear the sneezes and the coughs in the middle of the night and we go pull the covers up on our babies; Dad's protect and place nothing at a higher premium than the safety of our children. While very few of us will say we deserve it, there IS a special little place in heaven for real Dads.

But there is another little "special place" I hope, for fathers like Lam Luong.

Lam Luong is the guy that threw his four babies off of an 80 foot bridge in Bayou LaBatre, Alabama last week.

I hope that there is a special little place in hell for fathers like him.

Things effect me very deeply, usually to my detriment - the night after I heard about this insane and senseless quadruple homicide I barely slept. I tossed and turned and tried to keep my eyes closed for more than a few minutes at a time, but it didn't work. I sat on the edge of my bed for a long time around 2:30AM. I just keep thinking about how confused and terrified those children felt as the man that was supposed to be Dad, was murdering them. I just couldn't get the feel of drowning babies out of my head. I wonder if they understood that they didn't do anything wrong. I couldn't understand how this could happen. I found myself praying that God snatched these babies souls before they hit that water and they never felt a thing. (This is what I usually hope and pray when people die, especially from violence.)

I found myself wishing that I could have just two minutes alone with Lam Luong. Two minutes to reach into some of the darker places in my primal being and two minutes to show him the terror and pain his dying children felt. But I knew that that wasn't right. He had broken the rules of our fraternity, not me, and there was no reason that should corrupt my soul because of his ill deeds. So I could only hope that there was a special little place in hell for fathers that murder their babies.

How was I to get to sleep? After a long bout with my own rage and anger, I wandered down the hall to my kids room and watched them sleep. MY KIDS. MY SONS. MY ANGELS. I went over and sat on the bottom bunk bed, where my youngest sleeps. After a few minutes, I laid down and pulled the covers up over myself and drifted off into a peaceful sleep next to him. Maybe I was the one who needed protecting that night.

TTBM

Pardon the interruption...

2008-01-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

Today, I did something very rude. It was incredibly thoughtless of me and I want to apologize. And, the worst part is - I do this very often, and I never seem to learn. But today, I felt compelled to blog my concerns and MY APOLOGY.

Let me tell you what happened.

I went to buy a couple of dress shirts. I picked up three different colors and took about 20 minutes to match them up with appropriate ties. I looked at cuff links and then made my way to the register. This was in a place where everybody lines up in one aisle right in the middle of the store and the line feeds perpendicular into a row of 6 cash registers.

When I got ready to pay, no one was in front of me, so I stood at the point where the sign reads "line starts here". There were two women standing at registers directly in front of me and they were talking. One was in her 20's and one was in her 40's. The younger one glanced at me and then went on talking. There was third woman working her register to my left and ringing-up a customer. To my right was a young man ringing up a couple of people. The ladies in front of me were still chatting and I assume almost a minute had gone by.

Now I'm wondering if maybe I was standing in the right place. I checked and sure'nuff I was in the right place. Both women glanced back at me, they knew I was still standing there! I'm pretty hard to miss! The young one looked annoyed with my lingering presence and finally asked me, "Can I help you?" I looked at her astonished and said, "Yeah, that's why I'm here." She rang me up, folded my ties and tossed everything in a bag and moved on to the guy behind me.

On my way out to my truck it dawned on me. I was very rude to that woman.

I mean, when you think about it... I left MY house to come to HER job. I decided that I wanted to spend some of MY money at HER place of business. Honestly, how rude of ME was it to pick up shirts and ties that are sold at HER job and expect HER to take MY money for them? Really... what a complete jerk I was to wait so quietly and so patiently while she finished talking and didn't even want to be disturbed and do her job of taking MY money.

I've learned my lesson.

I'm a rude dude.

So, to the young lady at the cash register at that men's store that I like so much - I apologize for interrupting your conversation. It was thoughtless, foolish and rude of me to expect you to be working while you were at your job. I'll try to do better next time by not expecting anything of you.

TTBM

We're smarter than THAT! Aren't we?

2008-01-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, Hillary took New Hampshire. Nice job, Hill.

It wasn't a blowout over Barack, but at this level of a campaign, and in a contest of this magnitude, a win is a win and every vote pushes you closer to your party's nomination for President.

Today, I couldn't help but hear all of the laughable pundits claiming that Hillary's shaky voiced emotional comments from this past weekend were the reason she scored so well in Tuesday's primary. All of these expert, genius windbags were saying that voters saw Hillary's emotional side as a winning trait and suddenly the so-called Ice Queen had thawed. I couldn't help but say to myself, "Good Lord! Please let us [as American voters] be smarter than that!"

Now, granted, George Bush won the last election and he is quite possibly the worst President in the history of the world - so we Americans HAVE done some stupid stuff. But, voting for a person because SHE ALMOST CRIED!!! Please God let us be smarter than that!

For the record - I don't think of Hillary as an Ice Queen. Personally, I think Hillary's broken voice spoke her true and honest feelings, but the looks and the sounds were as staged as a Broadway musical and about as real as a seven dollar bill. Hillary and her handlers went fishing - they tossed a line to the media and the weaker minded voters and tried to see who they could catch. In my heart, I'd like to think she didn't really catch many people. I'd like to think that the people of New Hampshire voted on real issues and real concerns like the people of Iowa did when they voted for my man Barack.

I can only hope and pray that American voters can't be bought or swayed by some well acted blinking and some misty eyes. If that is all it takes, then maybe I should be running for President - as bad as George Bush has ruined our country, I find myself trembling with emotion damn near every day.

TTBM

Damn... I think.

2008-01-05T19:35:00.000-05:00

Damn.

I haven't posted in a while, so happy New Year to all of my fellow bloggers and those wonderful folks who peek in on my ramblings from time to time. I hope you all have a great year and I truly wish you the very best!

Back to uh, uh, oh yeah - Damn!

Everybody that knows me, knows that I'm a Redskins fan. I love football and I love my burgundy and gold.

As I type this, the curtain has closed on the 2007 season for us. Seattle just beat us 35 to 14. Ah, there is the wonderful number 21 yet again. The same number worn by our fallen favorite son, Sean Taylor. Damn.

Actually, I am far from disappointed in my Wildcard Skins. We lost a lot of games this year that we should have won; We missed a lot of catches we should have caught; We threw a lot of passes we shouldn't have; We called a lot of plays that we should have thought through. But, when all was said and done, we ended up where we wanted to be all along - in the post season. Damn.

We flew to Seattle and we got beat by a better team. It was their day and it was in front of their fans. So, these things happen. We didn't play bad, we just didn't play as good as we should have. I would love to be able to point a finger at someone. I'd love to blame our veteran rookie quarterback Todd Collins, but he has had an impressive 5 games. I'd love to blame Clinton Portis, but he's put down over 1200 yards this year, impressive. I'd love to blame the defense, but hell - I love all of those guys!!! Damn.

So, I'll just let my images of beating Dallas in round two of the playoffs fade from view. Training camp starts in seven months and I'll just make due with the NFL network until then.

Hold your heads up fellow Skins fans, the loyal followers of 20 other teams were green with envy at us before our game today and even now, we've had quite a season - lets be proud!

Sean Taylor

2007-11-29T17:24:00.000-05:00

I'm still pretty stunned about the death of yet another young Black man to pointless, stupid violence.

I'm a Redskins fan, and for the last few weeks my biggest concern was the fact that we've been playing so badly that we were going to miss the playoffs yet again. I was disgusted with The Great Joe Gibbs, I was disgusted with the play calling, I was disgusted with the poor execution I was seeing by a group of men that I was so loyal to. I was so disgusted with the Redskins that I refused to even watch their recent game against the Buccaneers. Then, Monday morning, suddenly everything took a back seat.

I was on the Internet at google.com checking headlines when "Redskin's Sean Taylor shot in home" popped up. I whispered, "Damn." and clicked on the story. "Okay, a leg wound. He should be okay," I foolishly thought. I followed the story all day online. All I kept hearing was "He's in a coma and in critical condition." I actually thought to myself on Monday night - He'll be fine. He'll be upgraded to serious in the morning and by Saturday there will be pictures of him smiling with doctors and nurses and signing autographs for sick kids in the children's ward. I assumed he'd miss the rest of the season and come back next pre-season as the Redskins Golden-Boy with smashing tackles and crazy interceptions." Yeah, he'll be fine.

Then Tuesday morning I turned on the radio next to the bed and they were talking about him in the past tense. "He was a talented player..." "He had this kind of spirit..." "He was well liked by..." And I thought, "Damn, why are they talking about him like he's dead. That's pretty thoughtless." With a knot forming in my stomach I went into the guest room and turned on the TV and there it was on channel 5, "Sean Taylor, 1983 - 2007" You could have knocked me over with a feather. I called to my wife, "Sean Taylor died!"

Just then my 3 year old son walked in, coincidentally wearing a Redskins jersey over his pajamas, and asked in a sleepy voice as he sat down next me, "Why did he die?"

What could I say?

I looked at him, then the TV, and then him again and I put my arm around him and said, "Because a very bad person hurt him. And that's why he died." My son looked satisfied with my answer. I don't believe he fully grasps the concept of death and dying, and I guess at this point that is kind of a good thing - maybe.

I'm just stunned.

The police are saying that right now his shooting looks random, but I believe that like I believe George Bush is a good president. I think that is a police ploy to capture the shooter. I don't believe this was a random crime. I'm confident that the person [or persons] that did this knew that was Sean Taylor's home, I'm confident they knew he was home, and I'm confident that he was a target for whatever reason. I think if someone just wanted to steal something, they wouldn't break into a bedroom and start shooting - they would avoid contact and flee. Or if they were startled they would run and just start shooting blindly during their excape. I'm sure that Sean's killer knew him and knew he was home. I truly hope that they bring him to justice!

I was so pissed off over the 'Skins not making the playoffs this year that I had vowed not to watch another single game. Now I can hardly give a damn. I feel for those guys. I feel for the whole organization. Football is just a game, a sport - life is REAL. Life is joy and strength and faith and happiness and pain and sorrow. Life is real and life is what is important. I'm ashamed that I had forgotten that on Sunday afternoons.

TTBM

Nation's Capital or Murder Capital?

2007-11-19T23:10:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago in Washington DC, a young man named Timothy Spicer was getting into his car at a metro station when he was car jacked.

It wasn't enough that some thug wanted to steal his car, but they shot him three times and left him to die, which unfortunately he did a short time later. Then this same ruthless animal took his car, drove it for a few hours and then abandoned it in south-east DC. This savage hoodlum, KILLED a man, KILLED a father in cold blood for what? For a joyride? To get to his girlfriend's of his mama's house a little faster than a cab or a bus? Actually, it doesn't really matter. No reason is justifiable.

Of course, now almost everyone in DC is asking, "What can police chief Cathy Lanier do to solve the high murder rates in the district? What can police chief Cathy Lanier do to stop the violence in the streets?"

My question is, "What is DC going to do to stop the violence and the murders?"

I always hear around DC what is the POLICE CHIEF going to do? And, I'm always amazed. There is NO magic solution that the police chief is hiding or holding onto that is going to make these knuckleheads, hoodlums, thugs and monsters stop robbing, raping and killing innocent people. The police chief just can't reach into his or her [now "HER", but not too long ago "HIS"] pocket and pull out a substance that will make these people go away or at least stop being criminals.

All a police chief can really do is strategically move and allocate manpower to try and put band-aids on gunshot wounds [no pun intended] around the city. A chief can also try to maintain a system of post crime investigation that truly hunts and fully prosecutes criminals.

But, neither of these are REALLY and TRULY going to stop the vast majority of murders and violent crimes. Sure, they'll stop a few, but the bulk of crimes will continue. I think in DC there are probably over 1000 city blocks of varying sizes. Considering that you would need between 1 and 7 officers on foot patrol, shifts a day, almost 24 hours a day, for weeks, months and years to really make a big dent in the DC murder rate and frankly, DC doesn't have the manpower or the budget for such foolishness. Then when it comes to post crime follow up, the DC police constantly run into the 50 people standing over the body that "didn't see nuffin'. " It is truly a lose-lose situation for those who think the police chief is the savior.

It all comes down to simply one thing - if person A wants to kill person B for any reason... drugs, money, love, hate, whatever - there is a good chance that person B is going to be in the morgue in a very short time. DC is a city with tough, though useless, gun laws and getting a gun is not hard to do if you know the right people or can hop across the border into northern Virginia or central Maryland. Person A can get the equipment they need to slaughter person B and the police chief and police department can do little to stop it.

There are really only a few ways to stop the violence and murder in DC, some are legal - though not politically desirable and still others are illegal and unfavorable and yet highly effective.

-I think one solution to the crime rate would to be a massive overhauling of the public education system. The schools have to truly teach the children and teach them well. The teachers have to be talented and highly motivated [and yes, highly paid and highly recruited] and they must be supported by the parents! The parents are vital to children that become strong learners. It is only through solid learning that the young people can grow up to have options in their lives. With a school system that is just barely making it, kids just get pushed through and when they come out at 18 or 19, they are not prepared to find truly gainful employment. And these young people become very susceptible to the call of the violent and hungry streets. YOUNG PEOPLE MUST BE EDUCATED!

-The district of Columbia must also, constantly, seek to bring new business and industry to within its city limits. Young people must have job opportunities that will allow them to have comfortable and productive lives. I'm not knocking fast-food jobs, but before young people are drawn into the street life, they must be given professional and intellectual options to bring out the best in them, without that opportunity they will see no self-worth and will feel that being a thug or a "baby mama" is all they are good for. YOUNG PEOPLE MUST BE EMPLOYED!

-Lastly, law enforcement has to GET THE GUNS. I have no proof of what I am about to say, but in a city where civilian ownership of a firearm is illegal, I am willing to bet that there are easily 10,000 illegal guns inside the city limits. The gun violence is too high and there have been too many shootings and murders in the last 15 years to believe that there are less than 10,000 guns. Now, this is where it gets tricky. You can't just say, "Okay, everybody turn in your guns." That might get you a few hundred, and those will be 50 year old relics from law abiding citizens that didn't know what to do with Grandpa's old pistol from WWII. Police need to get out on the streets and do something akin to random spot-checks. YES, I KNOW that violates the 4th Amendment, and there is part of the problem. It's illegal. But when I was a kid in Baltimore, my buddies and I seemed to always be getting stopped by the cops and frisked. They'd mumble something like, "Oh, a lady was mugged up the street and she said a Black kid did it." While we never knew when this was true and when it wasn't, typically in my neighborhood - if someone robbed someone - it was a Black kid. Yeah, that is sad, but it is true and I'd be lying or bullsh*tting if I claimed otherwise. But, a big deterrent to gun violence would be the danger of being caught at random in a police search and facing stiff jail time. The bonus would be dozens of guns coming off the streets almost every day. While this is very unsavory to think about - it would work. Then as Black people, we have to decide whether we want our young Black men to have hurt feelings or to have bullet wounds.

All this ranting and it still seems like a lose-lose to me. I hope I'm wrong.

TTBM

The Noose

2007-10-12T22:10:00.000-04:00

It saddens me to see that the "noose" has suddenly made a resurgence as a tool of hate and fear in this country. In the Black community, those of us who give a damn about our history have always held the noose at a mental "arm's length." It was not something we talked about, nor was it something we went to great lengths to NOT talk about - it was just a quiet symbol of a time we had hoped was gone forever.

But deep down I'm sure that most of us knew that it would take many years and several generations for this kind of hate and stupidity to fade out of our culture. And this is still the case. Fools are still trying to keep the images of lynched black men and black women and black children at the forefront of our minds and like the hey-days of the klan and the night riders, they perform this cowardice with stealth and darkness and anonymity. They are like the dirtiest of roaches - they stir in the filth, thrive in the garbage, spread disease and hide from the light.

It seems as though the nooses that sparked the troubles of the Jena Six have reminded a wave of narrow-minded imbeciles from one end of this country to the other that the noose is still a powerful symbol of racial hatred. There was an incident outside of the Black Student Union at the University of Maryland where a rope resembling a noose was left in a tree; then a noose was found inside the locker of a New York police officer; a noose was found in a partially completed store in South Elgin Illinois; a noose was found outside of a Manhattan post office; some clown in Punta Gorda has decided to hang bunches of nooses all around the outside of his house.

I think most of these noose hangers are closet racists. I think deep down they are taking the time to shake things up and give into their darker racist desires. But on the flip side, I think some of these people are stupid jerks that know nothing of the true hatred and dark history of this deftly twisted rope. To some of them, the noose is just some artsy tid-bit that gets people riled up, and to me these people are just as dangerous because of their sheer ignorance to history and their vulnerability to repeat it.

The Noose is an interesting fabrication. My Dad taught me how to tie a modified noose with fishing line as a kid to secure my fishing hooks to the fishing rigs when we spent time on the Chesapeake. It was then that I learned that tying a noose is not an easy or quick process. You HAVE to WANT to tie a noose. It's not like a typical knot where you get two pieces of string and go over and under and over again with a pull. A Noose is a precise and methodical creation with lots if twists and loops and for someone to take the time to create one, they truly want... WANT... WANT... to use it. Whether that use is catching fish or taking an innocent life in 45 seconds of pain and terror - the noose is efficient, effective, unbeatable and will always be with us - I only wonder how long it will take for people to stop using it as a symbol of hate, fear and days of terror.

The deception we see...

2007-09-27T23:09:00.000-04:00

I was driving the other day and not really paying attention to anything other than the road when this commercial caught my ear. Basically, it was talking about a Air Force surveillance aircraft that picked up an enemy target and sent an electronic signal to an Army ground unit who relayed instructions to a Navy fighter to take the target out. Then it finished with some snazzy catchphrase like, "Netcentric Warfare brought to you by Northrop Grumman."

I had been hearing this radio ad and others like it quite a bit over the last year. Then I got to thinking about the fact that I had been seeing a lot of television and newspaper ads for military contractors over the last few years. On the subway, on the sides of buses, in magazines, basically everywhere I go I see ads for the big military contractors. I don't seem to remember a lot of commercials for these types of companies until the last couple of years. I just don't think that these companies could have marketed themselves or their products so aggressively unless we as Americans hadn't gotten so conditioned to war, warfare and the images associated with both.

Certainly many of us had heard of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Grumman and these big companies, but they were back-burner companies when it came to the workings of most of our daily lives - we knew they existed, but they weren't household names until NBC Nightly News and CNN brought their products into our living rooms.

Then I got to thinking about it and I found myself asking the question: "Is the deception we SEE, the truth we DON'T?"

Honestly I don't know if that question is sheer genius or the definition of stupidity, but none the less it made me look deeper at this awful war that an unfit President and a Congress that is so busy trying to keep their jobs that they don't want to do their jobs - has gotten us into.

First, everyone in the White House was bent out of shape over Iraq's ignoring certain UN resolutions, and then Bush excited over Weapons of Mass Destruction, and then suddenly Bush told us that WE had to liberate the people of Iraq, and I think now we are, uh, let me see... fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here. I'm sure there have been some other reasons for this war, but they'll come to me later.

However, I think my eyes are opened a little wider now. Surely we all know that Bush and Cheney and their supporters want access to that precious middle eastern oil, but I think even more than that, Bush wants to make his economic base, his economic supporters even wealthier by financing the military manufacturing industry of this nation.

It is no secret that WAR is great for a country's economy, at least for corporate side of the economy. Employment in related fields go up, raw materials are needed and gobbled up, technology goes through the roof - Industry Fat Cats laugh their way right to the bank! In the last six years, Northrop Grumman stock values have gone up nearly 100%; Lockheed Martin stocks have gone up over 150%; and United Technologies [the parent company of Pratt and Whitney who manufacture most of the military aircraft engines] has seen its stock rise by over 200% in the same period! The people behind our President - the people that funded his campaign for the White House, the people that he publicly called "his base" must now be repaid and thanked properly and what better way to do that than to give them a war, a war that has pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into non-competed military contracts; a war that has built up massive numbers of tanks and jets and bombs, guns and bullets, and SOMEBODY has to make them! And then we have the support contracts from companies like Blackwater and the infamous Haliburton [who has since taken all of their tax generating income to the country of Dubai!!!] who are making billions of dollars with each passing year of our war in Iraq! There are actually more US contractors in Iraq than there are US soldiers and Marines!!! Somebody is GETTIN' PAID!!!

So, we not only went to war for a Presidential vendetta, and not only did we go so that powerful people behind the scenes in our country can take a large stake in the global oil reserves - but, we went to war because our political leaders wanted to make the rich in this nation richer, they wanted to fund the mighty American war industry and they wanted George Bush to go out of the White House as the most generous president to corporate interests EVER - and they were willing to fuel it and finance this with the blood of our brave men and women.

I'm not finished with this one yet...

TTBM

Could this change the world???

2007-09-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

Every so often, I come across something that just blows me away. Today is one of those times.

There is a man who has made a discovery that could very well change the world, provided he is not a fraud. His discovery could change the world as we know it unless the powerful people who are undoubtedly lining up against him as I type this bury him. Our world could change FOR THE BETTER, provided, armies of lobbyists are stopped in their tracks THIS VERY MOMENT before they can start poisoning the minds of our fragile congressional representatives.

This article was taken from yahoo.com:

Radio Frequencies Help Burn Salt Water
By David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

ERIE, Pa. - An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century.
John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies, it would burn.

The discovery has scientists excited by the prospect of using salt water, the most abundant resource on earth, as a fuel.

Rustum Roy, a Penn State University chemist, has held demonstrations at his State College lab to confirm his own observations.

The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen, Roy said. Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies, he said.

The discovery is "the most remarkable in water science in 100 years," Roy said.

"This is the most abundant element in the world. It is everywhere," Roy said. "Seeing it burn gives me the chills."

Roy will meet this week with officials from the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to try to obtain research funding.

The scientists want to find out whether the energy output from the burning hydrogen — which reached a heat of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit — would be enough to power a car or other heavy machinery.

"We will get our ideas together and check this out and see where it leads," Roy said. "The potential is huge."

Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Now, I must admit that I haven't researched this thing too much, but over the next few days I'm going to use the link on this blog (to the right) to E-Mail my representatives on The Hill to aid the research of this discovery. Provided it is legit, this could end global warming, cut greenhouse gases down to next to nothing, wipe air pollution off of the map and give our children, grand children and dozens of more generations a world with clean clear air, clean water and endless fuel.

TTBM!!!!

That queezy feeling...

2007-09-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

You know that feeling you get just before a first date?

You know how you've met this person and you're all excited over whether or not this person could be THE ONE?

They look good, they've got a great smile, they say the right things, they've got that twinkle in their eyes that makes you wonder... "Are they as special as I think they are?"

In the hours leading up to the Big Date, you have butterflies in your stomach, your chest is kinda' tight, your thoughts and mind are all over the place, you can't think of much else. You just want to get to the date and see what's what?

That's how I feel right now.

Me and 500,000 REDSKIN fans all across this country!!!

We are queezy with anticipation as the first kickoff of our new season approaches. Is Jason Campbell going to be something special? Is Clinton Portis going to rush for 1600 yards? Is the defense going be number one against the run? Are we gonna' crush some teams this year? Is Joe Gibbs FINALLY gonna' live up to the hype? Are glory days going to be upon us again?

Lord knows I want the answer to be "YES" to all of these. But sadly I'm a realistic pessimist. The answer to most of these is going to be "NO" and the worst part is, I'm still going to be there for all 16 weeks. I bleed burgundy and gold. And for the last decade or so - I've been bleeding a lot.

I'm still lost in the glory days of the past... Theismann throwing touchdowns, Riggins blowing across the goal line, Green intercepting balls and jetting into the endzone, Mann pressing opposing quarterbacks out of the pocket, Marshall crushing opposing running backs, Manley bruising his way through the line, Williams and Rypien leading us to The Promised Land, Big Tre' shuttin' defenses down... it's all still with me.

Every year for the last ten years I find myself threatening to become a Colts fan 'next season' because I get tired of the same old "Skin's collapse." I get tired of the stupid holding penalty; the dumb interception, the foolish fumble; the damned delay of game penalty - all of the avoidable stuff that puts one in the right hand column. Every year.

And yet, I'm here again - hours before kickoff and the butterflies are in my stomach. I'm still burgundy and gold and ready to bleed - again. As usual, I'll be ready on Sunday with a some Heineken, hot dogs, Fritos and band-aids.

Lets do it!

My prediction: Skins 17 - Dolphins 13

Like Mike...

2007-08-23T20:18:00.000-04:00

I have to admit that I'm pretty stunned at the outcry for Michael Vick to be allowed to return to the NFL after he does the jail time that is coming his way.

This morning I discovered that NBA player Stephon Marbury felt that dog fighting was a sport and Vick is a man that is hurting and being brought down.

The NAACP was on the morning news standing firm behind Michael Vick being allowed to resume his gainful employment with the NFL after he pays his debt to society. R.L. White of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP said that Vick was getting more attention than he would have if he had killed a person. White then said something foolish like, we should all join hands with Vick and embrace the fact that he is only human.

Then, Jason Whitlock of FOX Sports, who I usually kinda' like, wrote the most ridiculous piece of non-sense that I have seen all year crying foul against anything negative that should befall the precious Mr. Vick. In his article he said that "As a society, we should aid in Vick's rehabilitation and welcome a new Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football." He goes on to say that Vick, deserves the opportunity to re-enter society and earn an honest living..."

One of my co-workers stood tall for Mike Vick, proclaiming that she'd heard about a lot of guys in Baltimore dog fighting and she felt that it was a "legitimate sport like dog-racing" and she felt that the justice system was just trying to bring another Black man down.

God, if I write one more quote from these bleeding heart imbeciles - I am going to drop dead right here on my keyboard.

This whole - "Cry For Mike" campaign that so many people are participating in is nothing short of astonishing. I wish this kind of outcry occurred for the hundreds of Black people that are shot, stabbed and killed by other Blacks every day. I wish groups like the NAACP re-established their value in our community by standing taller and stronger for the law abiding Black people and took less of a presence for Blacks who are LEGITIMATELY convicted of and confessed to criminal activity. (please note the word "legitimate" in the previous sentence, I am ALWAYS for the defense of innocent Blacks that are falsely accused and railroaded into our jails)

This whole Vick thing comes down into three parts in my book:

1. The criminal act of dog fighting

2. The media blitz surrounding Vick

3. The post prison life for Vick

Here's my two cents...

#1. This dog fighting thing. It's some of the most vile and savage stuff I've ever seen. I'm disheartened that so many people in the Black Community have either embraced it or dismissed it. With all the Vick hype in recent months, everybody is racing to show as much as they can of this spectacle and I've tried to watch it to grasp just what MIGHT be sport like about it, and sadly I didn't have the stomach for it. It is animalistic, sub-human and barbaric... two dogs - raised and trained to kill, are in a pit and forced to bite and claw each other to death. They sink their fangs into each others throats and rip and tear - trying to pull enough skin, muscle and arteries off of one enough to break the other dogs spirit and continue ripping into it to bring about death or submission. Then for the losers who aren't fortunate enough to die, the thugs that own them take them to the side and find sadistic ways to kill them.

Why fools think this is a REAL SPORT is beyond me. They need to stop making excuses for the criminal and inhumane behavior of thugs and hoodlums. They need to stop trying to coddle that element in society that makes padlocks, lo-jacks, burglar alarms, mace, steering wheel locks and guns for home protection necessary! At some point, we - especially as Black people need to acknowledge crimes as CRIMES. Everything illegal does not warrant a wave of sympathy and excuses. SOMETIMES - SOME PEOPLE have no regard for the law and SOMETIMES things are actually CRIMES!

#2 This media blitz. Okay, I'm tired of seeing Vick - I really am. But he brought this mess on himself! He is a public figure... dare I say a 'celebrity' in many people's eyes. When you are a high profile figure, in this country, in this day and age - everything you do, even the slightest bit negative, is going to be captured on a camera, on a phone, on the Internet - somewhere! You are going to be scrutinized, whether it is fair or unfair, it is going to be publicized. So, Vick should have known that if he was involved in something illegal - regardless of whether it was dog fighting, gun running, drug smuggling, DWI, DUI, gambling, handgun violations, weed smoking, dice, or peeing in public - it would be the lead story on ESPN and FOX news! I'm actually starting to wonder what the hell Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan are doing this week?

#3 Post prison. My buddies think I'm being hard on Mike Vick when I say that he should be banned for life from the NFL. My reasoning for this has nothing to do specifically with the dogs or the color of his skin. It has, however, everything to do with the National Football League. It is a PRIVILEGE to play in the NFL, it is not a RIGHT. It is a PRIVILEGE to put on an NFL team uniform and take the field on the grandest stage in the world, it is not a right. It is a PRIVILEGE to have the opportunity to earn millions of dollars a year playing the greatest game in the world, it is not a right. And, it is a PRIVILEGE to live the dreams of millions and millions of boys and men across the globe by being a professional football player, it is not a right. Vick knew this and he took it for granted and he broke the rules and now he should not be allowed to participate in the game again. He had the opportunity - the once in a lifetime opportunity and he squandered it - thus it is called a ONCE IN A LIFETIME opportunity. Bleeding hearts like White and Whitlock are begging for Vick to be given a chance to earn a living when he gets out - NEWSFLASH - Mike Vick already has more money in the bank than 90% of Americans will ever see in a lifetime - earning a living is the LEAST of his worries, so again - GIVE ME A BREAK! And just because he may not be allowed to play football again, nobody said he couldn't be a plumber, or an electrician, or a dentist, or an airline pilot. There are only about 96 NFL quarterbacks in the world, so there ARE other jobs out their for him. Besides, after he gets out of jail, I'm confident that Vick a.k.a. Ron Mexico will find plenty of other shenanigans to get into!

For those people that are crying about the justice system trying to pull down another Black man, please, please, please, please, please give me a break. Michael Vick did not just wake up a few months ago wearing Black skin. Unless they have been living under a rock, or they've been in the Republican party for more than 10 years - 95% of Blacks over the age of 18 knows that the justice system in this country is far from perfect when it comes to Black people. Let's be honest here. Vick, assuming he has a modest amount of sense, knows that he as a Black man, and not just ANY Black man, but a Black MULTI-MILLIONAIRE is not going to be untouchable when it comes to the law. He knew this. So for all these people acting like the US justice system just suddenly became unfair and unbalanced in the case of this guy, get over yourselves, its the same game it always has been and Vick knew the rules and the risks!

Let me share a little something with anybody that is not a Black man living in 21st century America. I respect police officers for the most part - but when it comes to the justice system as a whole, I am ALWAYS on guard. With the exception of mornings when I take the trash out, I am never without legal identification a.k.a. MY LICENSE. Because I am always aware that as a Black man, if I am ever pulled over, or detained, or question by law enforcement - there is a reasonable chance, that in this day and age - I could be blamed, charged or even incarcerated for any given amount of time for virtually any crime that has occurred within 50 miles and 48 hours of my present location. And, this is simply because "I fit the description" - Black Male, 25 - 45 years old, 5' 8" to 6'1" - it sounds crazy. Yeah - it sounds insane, but it is true. If you don't believe me, ask around. I'm never slippin'. I am always able to prove who I am. I'm always inbounds. And frankly, Mike Vick was slippin'. He went out-of-bounds. He thought he was above a justice system that thrives on Black men. He thought he was above the laws of human decency. He thought he was above the rules of the largest sports organization in the world. He wasn't - and now he has to face the music.

Mike Vick was living the dream. The dream that so many boys and men have. He was an NFL Quarterback. He was a professional athlete. The world was his oyster, and he threw it all away for some foolish, thuggish, criminal, barbaric ignorance. I have no sympathy for him.

TTBM

Et tu E-Z-Bake?

2007-08-18T00:34:00.001-04:00

I wasn't too surprised when I heard, a few weeks ago, that Sesame Street toys made in China were being recalled. Leading this particular recall were Big Bird and Elmo toys. I always thought that Big Bird was pretty clean cut, but Elmo's a different story. I always KNEW that there was something sinister about him.

All that red fur and googly eyes, and that little voice. I knew HE was a bad dude, I knew HE was just the kind of toy to try to harm our kids. Him and his CRAYONS and his little goldfish... pleeeease.

But the Easy Bake oven recall came out of left field.

Well, actually none of this should surprise me and a big part of me is happy its happening. These incredible recalls; fish, dog food, cat food, toothpaste, toys this week, toys last week, toys the week before last, toys next week - its shameful. Shameful and disgusting. But NOT shameful and disgusting because of anything the Chinese have done. No, it's shameful that WE have so much of our economy, our products, and our welfare resting squarely in another country's hands!!!

I came to a scary conclusion a few years ago... one morning I was lying in the floor playing with a bunch of toy trucks with my son and I happened to notice that the one I had was made in China. For no particular reason I checked another one and it to was made in China. A third was made in Taiwan, two more in China, two more in Taiwan. I got so caught up in this reality check that I ended up spending the better part of an hour trying to find anything in my home, toys or otherwise, that was made in the good old U.S. of A. When all was said and done I'd have to say that less than 10% of the things I checked were made in this country.

Even in my wildest imagination I thought that maybe 30 or 40 percent might be made in America. But I was way off base. This is the fact that I'm so shamed and bothered by. The politicians of this country have so much against China. Its the classic case of smile in your face and stab you in the back, yet while China and the US are smiling at each other - we are importing hundreds of billions of dollars in materials and goods from them each and every year. Yet deep down we don't trust them. And while trust is a big issue, there is an even bigger problem that has me scratching my head.

Why in the world aren't we Americans making our own toothpaste? Why aren't we Americans growing and producing our own fish and fruits? Why aren't we making and painting our own toys for OUR kids? Why?

Have you read your orange juice bottle?
"made with oranges grown in China, Chile, Brazil..."

Have you looked inside of you sneakers?
"made in Taiwan..."

Have you looked on the bottom of your laptop or keyboard?
"Japan no doubt..."

Why aren't WE in America stepping up and making our own merchandise?

Let me be real for a moment, I know its all about money, everything is. American importers want to use the cheaper Chinese labor and China wants the business. I'm all for international trade and international commerce, and I understand that the United States needs to be a big part of that. But must we COMPLETELY sell ourselves? I honestly doubt that millions of little Chinese and Taiwanese boys and girls are crawling around on the floor playing with toy cars and toy trucks, and little airplanes and dolls made in America. I doubt it seriously.

Honestly, it's that same "let somebody else do it" mentality that is fueling so much of the immigration problem we have in this country. If I hear one more politician say, the illegal immigrant population does the jobs that American's are unwilling to do - I'll scream. The truthful statement is "Illegal Immigrants will do the jobs that Americans are unwilling to do for slave wages." When it comes to Asian manufacturing for American importing the statement is "Chinese will manufacture the goods that Americans are unwilling to do for slave wages." And, nobody should HAVE to do ANYTHING for a slave wage. It is this type of shameful financial treatment of lower tier employees that creates a multi-generational poverty among working class people.

It's disgusting. Multi-billion dollar companies refuse to shave a small portion off of their profit line by hiring the men and women, the mothers and fathers that will buy their products - to make their products. These importers want their toys, and snacks and products sold in Detroit, Washington DC, Boise, Tampa, Cleveland, Sacramento, Boston, Miami, Denver and all of these kinds of places, but they are not willing to hire the people that live in these cities to make these same products at a decent salary. And we're telling them, "It's okay."

"Sure, it's okay to not hire me, an American, to build a product that is intended for American stores and American citizens. I'm not upset. There's NOTHING you can do to create jobs for Americans that ARE willing to work, but can't find a job that pays enough to buy food and healthcare. It's okay. I know your profit is very important to you and I wouldn't want to interfere with your profit. So please, give me that Elmo with the lead painted eyes, the truck with those loose little magnets, and the Easy Bake oven that gives off those deadly fumes... my two-year-old will love them."

TTBM.

Guns + Young + Poor Judgement = Safer Schools for all.

2007-08-15T22:33:00.000-04:00

I found my jaw hanging wide open a few days ago when I read about a big push in Virginia to allow college kids with concealed weapons permits to carry handguns on campus.

Of course, the overwhelming justification the supporters of this bill are using is the tragic massacre that took place at Virginia Tech this past April.

I take nothing away from those effected by those terrible killings. It was an unthinkable crime that seemed to come from nowhere and I'm certain that many folks will never ever fully recover from such overwhelming violence. I think it shames the memories of all of the victims at Tech, for these people to call for even more handguns on our college campuses.

To me, it's as if the Gun Lobby, the Gun Nuts, the Wing-Nuts - whatever you want to call them, can't wait to push the NRA mindset of more guns, more guns, more guns into American hands. These people are saying "What if April 16th happens again?" "I have to arm my kid so I can rest easy knowing he's on campus." They are just waiting to buy Junior his first Glock, or Sig, or Smith and Wesson, and a cute little ankle holster.

To these people I want to say, "Open your eyes! You are making college campuses 10 times more dangerous WITH more guns than it is without the guns!"

So many people think that if you have a gun and a violent crime occurs, you can use sound judgement, safely and quickly draw your weapon, check your background, take careful aim, wait for the right moment, wait, breathe, wait some more, breathe again, double-check the target and the background, wait, aim, aim, breathe in deep, exhale slowly, aim, squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze - BANG! Check your target and do it all again. This, I promise, will be virtually impossible to do for 98% of all people. If you doubt me, ask My Man - GUNFIGHTER.

Simply put, college aged kids, need to focus on being students and professors need to focus on professing - not trying to be pseudo-cops. I'd be more scared KNOWING my kids were on a campus with a hundred [or more] hidden handguns all around them. If Virginia, and the other states considering similar bills were to pass these into laws, they would be lighting the fuse to an even more deadly explosion of violence. 19 to 21 year olds are the very last people that should be carrying weapons while trying to go to school, take classes, pass tests, do homework, think about jobs, and worry about mounting school loans. It's just too much, I think. And, the next mass shooting is just one failed exam, one breakup with a girlfriend, one overlimit credit card bill, one embarrassing professor away from happening when a stressed out sophomore declares that he has "had enough."

To parents and students that want guns on campus, so they will feel safer - please think twice. You are going to get someone - either YOUR kid, or someone innocent - KILLED. Let your student, study and if they want to carry a gun to make the world safer, send them to the local police academy or the local Marine recruiter, then at least they'll be properly trained. But don't get them killed or make them into a killer. Guns and shooting are serious business and should not be bought and used without sincere and mature consideration. And if after this consideration, you still want to be armed and on a college campus - stay out of school, because you're obviously not smart enough to handle it.

TTBM

Driving in DC

2007-08-03T19:40:00.000-04:00

I’ve never been in combat. At least not “REAL” combat with folks shooting guns at me, with hand grenades going off and tanks and jets blowing up everything in sight. Naw – nothing like that.

But, you know what I have done, and lived to tell about it?

I’ve driven in Washington DC.

Yup. And for the most part – I’ve survived.

Now, Washington is a great city to drive in – provided you are the only car on the road. There is history, great architecture and impressive landscapes from one end of this city to the other. The streets, while bumpy and crappy for the most part, are arranged in a reasonable and very user friendly configuration in which one street will be going north and the very next one will be going south, the same typically applies to east and west. Most of the streets are identified on the signs with NW, SW, NE, or SE and if that doesn’t work and you can see the dome of the capital and the sun, then you can pretty much figure out what part of town you’re in. Like I said, it’s a great city to drive in if you are the only car on the road.

And that happens… never.

This morning I saw so much aggressive driving, so much crazy lane changing, so many middle fingers being thrown that I almost pulled over to wait until rush hour was over. It was incredible! Typically I take the DC metro [subway] into work, and despite all the gripes and complaints about the fares that metro charges – I’d pay $20 a day to avoid all the foolish crap that people do on the roads inside the beltway!

As I drove cautiously past Union Station, several minutes after seeing a massive SUV narrowly miss hitting an Audi sedan, I asked myself why do things seem so crazy here in DC. My conclusion was this:

The District of Columbia is made up of four major groups of drivers. You have the Hob-Nobbers, the people that live and work in the high profile parts of DC - Capital Hill, Georgetown, Arlington, etc. They are very focused on themselves and the assumed rightness of their mission. They are very oblivious of most other drivers because they are Senator’s aides, Government hotshots or up and coming executives at the hottest law firms and companies. They are ALWAYS headed somewhere more important than you or I and they MUST be able to get home or to the office. These people can usually be seen in their Volvo’s, Audi’s and Mercedes’ impatiently whipping in and out of lanes as they become bored with having us mere mortals around them.

Then you have, The Tourists. These people come from all over the country to see the sights, and that’s where the problems start. They land at Reagan National Airport and pickup a minivan or SUV and head right into the city – AT RUSH HOUR! They have no clue as to where they are going and where ever the are, they are awestruck! They have to slow down to look at every damn thing in sight. Then they make an illegal turn at the next intersection so they go back and see it again. To these people I want to say, take some time to read your map, have a driver and a photographer that are two separate people and drive between 11AM and 2 PM and 8PM and 11PM ONLY!!! You can always spot these people, because they go 20 miles per hour and swerve a lot.

After The Tourists, you have The Residents. They know the lay of the land and they just want to get from point A to point C without getting stuck at point B. They don’t care about the Capital, the Mall, the Jefferson Memorial, Union Station or the Senate Office buildings – they just don’t feel like being bothered by all the other non-sense. These people tend to be aggressive to most of us because typically their cars are already beaten up because the DC streets are so rough and raggedy and I think they figure that if they hit a few of us other drivers, maybe we’ll spread the word to stay out of town! The Residents tend to drive way to fast and way too close to your bumper!

Finally you have The Commuters, like me. We don’t live in DC, we just work and play here. We like the Capital and the White House and the Smithsonian, but we don’t pay them much mind because we’ve see them a million times. We like our jobs, but we won’t kill to get to them, and we know pretty much how the city is laid out, but we won’t break our necks to get to where we’re going. We just come and we go. Our traffic screw up is an odd combination of all three - illegal turns, too much and too little speed, a touch of tail gating and a sprinkle of quick lane changing. But see – we HAVE to drive this way in order to survive those other three kinds of drivers!

It’s kill or be killed sometimes on the roads in DC, and like I said, “I’ve never been in combat…” but I’ve been REAL close!

The N---- Mindset...

2007-07-23T23:27:00.000-04:00

I used to post my thoughts several times a week. I didn't care what people thought about 'em, I thought 'em, I wrote 'em, I loved 'em. If something crossed my mind, I went like a mad man to my laptop.

Then I added a little counter to my blog and I was tickled that I got 10 or 12 hits a day. And after that I added this cool little global hit tracker code on my blog and I was blown away by folks reading my blog from all over the world. Then I REALLY started noticing these two counters... my daily hits went from a few, to a few dozen, to a few hundred everyday. I watched as my blog hits rocketed out of the hundreds and tens of thousands and flew past the 20, and 25 thousand hit mark and folks from all across Europe and Africa and Asia and the Middle East and The Americas started reading my stuff and I suddenly got full of myself. Don't get me wrong - I'm blessed and humbled by the readership on my blog, but I started to get worried about who might get offended, and who might not like what I say, and I started thinking harder and harder about what I should write and I started taking days and days to pick 'just the right subject'. Then I started feeling like I wasn't being true to myself and the things that caught my attention, I think I got kinda' big headed, like I had betrayed the guy that started this blog.

Then I happened past a great blog called "Write For Life" which is run by one of my favorite bloggers - MIZREPRESENT. And she had a quote from someone that read in effect, "it's better to write for yourself and have no audience, than it is to write for an audience and have no self." That has stayed with me, and here I am.

going for self...

Recently, the NAACP had a big funeral service for The N-word. I thought that was a nice thing to do, seeing that I personally hate the damn word! I always think that the NAACP needs to do more things to regain its position of promenance in the Black community, and I thought this was a decent start. Burying the N-Word. Now this is probably only going to stop a tiny handful of Black folks from using the word, and frankly, those of us that are enlightened and intelligent enough to know that the word is a filthy, self loathing, shameful, pathetic, flaming hot brand on the spirit of our race... we've already buried it years ago.

But then you'll still have far far too many young Blacks that aren't smart or strong enough to eliminate the word from their vocabulary and mindset.

I was completely disgusted at the "Racsim & The N Word" forum a few days after the 'funeral' when rapper Da'Brat decided to argue down Dr. Cornell West over her usage and the rap industry's acceptance, need and embracing of the N word. She declared that when Blacks use the word, its softened and warmed up by spelling it Nigga (with an A) and not Nigger (with an ER). Personally, I'm so sick and tired of that lame justification for not having the intelligence or internal fortitude to change your attitude and mindset. It's pathetic!

To be honest, burying the N-word was cute... but what we need to do as a race, especially with certain members of Our Race, is eliminate the N - Mentality. The N Mindset! That is where the Real harm lies - in those men and women who are ego driven and only think of themselves. Who don't care about their children, their parents, or their very own legacy. Those men and women, who care nothing of law and order, nothing about respect for others, older people, younger people - no one! Those thugs and hoodlums who live only to steal, shoot, rob and kill. That N-Mindset is what we have to eliminate in our communities. That is the REAL problem!

I really say this today because a few days ago I went back to my hometown of Baltimore for a wedding. My poor town has truly fallen into a violent, poorly managed, poorly educated, drug haven of a city. It makes me sad. Anyway... I found myself heading west down a large street and I could hear what sounded like a lawnmower in the distance. The only problem was that it was getting louder very quickly as I approached a green light at a fairly busy intersection. When I was about 30 feet from the intersection, this man... a Black guy in his 20's or 30's wearing the standard issued white tank-top... came flying through the intersection on this huge ATV causing several cars to slam on their brakes. First - he ran a red light, Second - ATV's are against the law on Baltimore streets, Third - the intersection was very busy, and Fourth - I don't think he even slowed down to try and avoid causing an accident. It is this kind of ignorant, thoughtless, thugish, primative, egotistic behavior that makes the N-Mindset far worse than the N-Word alone. We have to get rid of both and we have to do it now and we have to use any means at our disposal. These fools are destroying our heritage, our ancestors legacy, our children's future and our current integrity.

A child asked, What is a nigger?

Dr. Cornel West replied, "He's a human being who is scared and without dignity."

And I agree.

TTBM

Priviledged Executive?

2007-07-12T00:47:00.000-04:00

"...one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all."

Powerful words.

Words - far too powerful for a country run by George Bush.

I've got this thing I do now when I see a picture of president Bush in the paper, or on TV - I look at him very hard and I try to catch the fear in his eyes. I know he's afraid. A lot of people know it. He's afraid that more and more people each day see his incompetence. He's afraid that everyday it becomes more apparent that he is in so far over his head that it borders on the insane.

For a man that claimed to bring integrity back to the White House along with family values, honor, truth and dignity - he has done nothing even close to that. He governs our nation with his fingers crossed behind his back, a wink when we're not looking and a smirk before he smiles. Oh yeah... and while he's doing all of this he's dissolving our civil liberties and personal privacy and somehow has the time to thumb his nose at the law and any form of accountability.

Now he's told two of his top aides to ignore congressional subpoenas to testify mere weeks after commuting the federally recommended prison time for fellow crook Scooter Libby. I think his rationale for that was, "Uh, I just didn't want Scooter in jail that long..."

The things this man does are absolutely stunning. And the poor, poor Dumocrats on Capital Hill are so weak, and so feable, and so easily pushed around. They can't do anything, I mean... after all they're just CONGRESS! America put the Democrats in control of the congress because FINALLY, we realized that 2000 was a scham and 2004 was a mistake, so THIS was our chance to get it right... to hold Bush accountable, to get this bottomless-pit of war over, to get our reputation back! And what have they done? Folded up and hid in the corner, only to come out when Bush needs someone slap and piss on. The Democrats on The Hill are useless.

I wish I could truly put in words how distraught I am over the crimes of George Bush. He and his crew of Merry Bandits has ruined our nation, its reputation and our neighbors impression of us around the world. Tony Blair's popularity dropped so low because of his blind loyalty to Bush that he had to quit his position. Pervez Musharraf is facing rebels and assassination attempts because he too has aligned himself with the Bush Crew. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, gives Bush public support albeit with a thin, nervous grin. And, frankly, Russia's Valdimir Putin looks like he wants to punch Bush right in the face every time he sees him.

I think the worst part of all of this is that there is nothing that can be done to punish Bush, to put him in check, to get him out of office, or to simply hold him to account on the things his administration has done. Our congress is inept and impotent and our Chief Executive is claiming... privilege.

TTBM

Blood in the water...

2007-06-29T22:22:00.000-04:00

I did another post on Monday evening the 25th. I was very distraught when I wrote it and it was very heartfelt. To be honest, I'm still licking my emotional wounds over the subject.

On Monday evening I sat down to do some Accounting homework and I turned the TV to the USA network so I could have Monday Night Raw playing in the background. If you don't know, Monday Night Raw is one of the longest running and highest rated programs on cable television. It is the live weekly wrestling program of World Wrestling Entertainment [formerly The World Wrestling Federation]. On Monday evening, all that was known by most people was that one of the best wrestlers in the world, Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. I automatically assumed it was carbon monoxide or a violent home invasion. I was devastated and I poured my heart into a long posting about the former world champion.

The next morning, I found out the dark and tragic truth of a double homicide and suicide.

I snatched my posting down Tuesday morning and spent the rest of the day sulking and cursing under my breath at a man that would do something so savage to his wife and child - the very people that a husband and father are charged with protecting.

I am a wrestling fan.

I don't tell many people that because so few people see wrestling as anything more than large men and women beating each other with steel chairs. Professional wrestling is so much more than that. Why people can go see Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Nichole Kidman, Halle Berry and hundreds of others and suspend reality for two hours to enjoy them as fighter pilots, dirty cops, spies and secret agents and yet many of these people criticize Adam Copeland (Edge), Steve Williams (Steve Austin), Glenn Jacobs (Kane) and others who create a fantasy world where good takes on evil, and right takes on wrong inside a 20' X 20' ring?

I don't know.

But what has been driving me nuts all week, is this feeding frenzy that the media has been in over the evil deeds of Chris Benoit. It seems as though there were some prescription steroids found in the Benoit home. AUTOMATICALLY - the media [especially that narrow minded Nancy Grace] jumped on this ROID RAGE bandwagon!!! It pisses me off to no end, that the media is this country is so untalented and in such a rush "to bring it to us first" - no matter how incomplete and inaccurate IT is. They hear one word and latch on in a ferocious death grip, like piranhas fueled by fresh blood in the water. The media AUTOMATICALLY assumes that anything a pro-wrestler does is steroid fueled. And this story is extra juicy because you've got a high body count, domestic violence, a dead child and a muscled up pro-wrestler! Nice, neat, simple and bloody. The word "prescription" has all but disappeared in this story. All "steroids" do NOT cause ROID RAGE and the crime scene does not support a RAGE.

Heaven help this country if our reporters DARED to do some real work, some real INVESTIGATIONS, some real INSIGHT into what they report - instead of grabbing the first snippet of anything and running with it - maybe our media would just do some real homework.

I'm NOT defending Chris Benoit by any stretch of the imagination. I'm defending the hundreds of men and women that choose to earn their livings by being professional wrestlers. I'm defending those men and women that choose not to use steroids and who step inside that squared circle for our entertainment.

If anyone took the time to really look into this situation, they'd probably find that Chris Benoit was clean and free of steroids when he committed the darkest acts imaginable. Very few media sources are pointing out the fact that the WWE has an independently run "Wellness Program" to make sure its performers are drug and steroid free. Very few sources are also telling people that Benoit tested NEGATIVE for steroids in his last test 60 days ago.

I think the media should move beyond trying to smear ALL pro wrestlers with their broad claims of "they all do it," and they should stop trying to simplify Benoit's actions by neatly packaging them as a "Roid Raging Muscle-Head that snapped." I think there were some dark
demons in Chris Benoit's heart and mind. I think what he has done is the most unforgivable of acts. I am ashamed for crying when I heard that he had died. I am angered that an innocent woman and little boy are dead at the hands of the man trusted with their well being. I'm angry and confused.

Thanks for reading this. I'm humbled that you gave me several minutes of your valuable time.

TTBM.

ON FATHERS DAY...

2007-06-17T15:49:00.000-04:00

On this Father's Day, I wanted to re-post a special posting I did last September. It is still fresh with me and I wanted to share it again.

DOUGLAS MARTIN was a husband and a father of six daughters.

I knew Mr. Martin very indirectly - I may have actually spoken to him 2 or 3 times and I'd probably waved 'hello' to him the same number of times.

On September 14th 2006, he and three of his daughters were swimming near the 78th street pier in Ocean City. With hurricane Florence blowing strong in the Atlantic about the same time, the northeastern US seaboard had been plagued with strong, dangerous riptides. Mr. Martin and his girls got caught up in such a riptide. They were separated from each other and he swam to shore to make sure everyone was okay. When he got there, only his 17 year old daughter had made it back safely. Mr. Martin turned back to the sea and did what father's do - he went back for his children.

It turns out that his 13 year old daughter had been lucky and smart enough to let herself float on her back and get washed out to sea, where she was rescued by an off-duty beach patrol officer. Mr. Martin and his 15 year old, Amy, were found a short time later by the Coast Guard and taken to Atlantic General Hospital where he was pronouced dead on arrival and where she died an hour later.

Over the last few days I have thought about these events for hours and hours. Their deaths reinforce the fact that we have to give love to those around us every chance we get. What was an innocent moment of family fun - a quick swim before dinner - turned to devastating tragedy in only a few minutes. What was a happy family of eight, was in the blink of an eye changed to a grieving family of six. I'm sure that morning Mr. & Mrs. Martin had no idea that that would be their last morning waking up together.

In my mind, I've tried to imagine what Mr. Martin was thinking when he realized that two of his children were in mortal danger. Swimming out to them with water splashing around him, rip currents pulling like strong arms at his whole body, yelling and screaming his girls names. I'm positive that he had no thoughts of his own impending death, I'm positive that he had no idea that the 46 years of life that he had were about to end in a few minutes. I'm positive that his only thoughts were of a life without two of his girls and this is a life that he was swimming frantically to prevent. If they weren't coming back, then HE wasn't coming back.

I know there are millions of fathers who would risk and give their lives without a second of thought to protect their children. But to have actually encountered a man that would be called upon to make that exact sacrifice is humbling. To me, it defines the man. To me, it is the example of what a MAN does, and it is the best example of what a FATHER does.

Rest in peace, Douglas and Amy.

THBM

My marriage is over...

2007-06-11T12:02:00.000-04:00

You know, all good things must come to an end.

Over the last 8 years there were some really great moments that will stay with me forever. And then there were some downright dreadful times that I wish I could forget and yet I probably never will.

I was very loyal, I mean - loyal to a fault sometimes. My commitment made me miss some other things that I really wanted to be a part of of, but there I was week in and week out, month in and month out, year in and year out.

And in the end, all my wife could say was, "I'm sorry sweetie."

"I'm sorry sweetie."

I know she meant it from the bottom of her heart, but it didn't take away my disappointment. It didn't take away the hurt. It didn't make me feel like less of a fool.

I should have walked away three years ago, before my son was born. Then he too, wouldn't have had to see the sadness in his fathers eyes. I'm just not the same man I was three years ago. Now I'm bitter and jaded. I've been teased, taunted and strung along. I think the term I'm looking for is "played like a fiddle."

I was there through it all:
-The thing on the boat five years ago...
-That dreadful Columbus Day parade...
-That night, lost in the woods in knee deep snow...
-The trip to Italy...
-The new house by the woods...

And what do I get in return?

The worst series finale in television history!

I have to say - MY TELEVISION DIDN'T LAND ON TONY SOPRANO, TONY SOPRANO LANDED ON MY TELEVISION!

Eight years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. The opening scene showed a much younger and much smaller Tony Soprano watching some ducks landing on his pool at the old house. He walked out to get a closer look and they flew away. He passed out. This was his first of many stress induced blackouts that drove him into the office of Dr. Jennifer Melfi.

My loyalty to the Sopranos over the last eight years is very much like a real marriage, you have to be faithful and supportive, you have to forsake all other shows [in the same time slot], you have to listen carefully and understand what is going on, but most of all you have to take the good with the bad. Unfortunately, the last three seasons have ranged from boring to awful to terrible. I think David Chase and the other writers and people behind the scenes have taken the loyalty of us Sopranos fans for granted. I think they just figured they could throw any mis-mash of storylines and artsy-fartsy perspective together and call it "an episode." Well, that's just what they did, and my stupid-self, I kept watching and hoping that something special was still yet to come. It never did.

As the last season pulled along slowly and painfully, I knew that time was running out for a stellar mind blowing ending. For whatever reason, Chase tried to develop the loathsome, boring son of Tony Soprano, (Anthony Jr.) in the last 7 episodes. This is something that should have been attempted six years ago while anybody still gave a damn. At this point, nobody cared about AJ. When he tried to kill himself a few weeks ago, I was hoping that he'd succeed just so we could get him out of the way, but even at that, he couldn't get the job done.

I was so burnt out heading into last night's series finale, I had said that only one thing would make me like the show, that would have been for Silvio Dante to be awake from his coma and listening to "Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen when Tony walked in to visit him. Then I wanted Sil to say, "Hey Ton', you know, that Bruce Springsteen, he's got a really good band." This would have been classic because Steven Van Zandt, the actor who plays Silvio, plays guitar in Bruce's E Street Band. But, even that was too much to ask.

So, last night, my eight year marriage to Tony Soprano, Sil, Dr. Melfi, Chris, Paulie Walnuts, Uncle June, Bobby Bacala, Meadow, and The Bing came to a close with a sad little whimper, a whimper and a squish.

When it was done, I was sad. I felt stupid for sticking with a once great show for three years after its greatness left. I sat there in stunned silence. My wife knew I was crushed, so she patted me on my leg and said, "I'm sorry sweetie."

I was too.

TTBM

It's good to be rich and white, isn't it?

2007-06-07T23:09:00.000-04:00

So, Paris Hilton spent exactly three days in lockup.

(RIGHT: Here she is walking out of the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, CA.)

Just when I was about to write a letter to the Washington Post begging them to stop giving us day by day "Paris Prison Updates" in its Express newspaper, I see that the smug little strumpet is on her way home.

The first thing out of my mouth was, "WTF?"

So, she has a mysterious 'illness' a 'rash' all over her body so she gets to go home and sit in her mega mansion with a little tracker bracelet on. Can you give me a freakin' break here?!?! This is complete and undeniable bullsh*t. This is simply a brazen example of being rich, white and privileged - nothing more.

When this whole jail thing came down, I was tickled to death. I despise Paris and all the other little rich white kids that stay drunk, high and hunted by crazed photographers. Most of these Paris', Lindsay's, Brittany's, and Nicole's float in and out of rehab and court so much that it's hard to keep track of who's in and who's out. FINALLY a judge had grown a 'set' and decided to put Paris' creepy looking behind in a jail cell. Then she panicked and fired her publicist, re-hired him, chickened out and then toughened up. And here we are four days later, and a wittle luttle wash has gotten the Hilton heiress a pass to go home.

Darn those nasty prison cells!

Let me clue those California dim-wits to something. The girl has HIVES! It is caused by being stressed out - IT WILL GO AWAY WHEN HER SENTENCE IS UP! Stress is what SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE UNDER! Violating probation is a crime! It is punishable by jail time. Hence, Paris - YOU SHOULD BE IN JAIL THIS VERY MOMENT! Not sitting at home in a cashmere robe eating Japanese stuffed shrimp. To me THAT IS A CRIME and whoever let you out, should be in the cell next to you!

It truly kills me that wealth and race are the ultimate trump cards in this country. I see Paris Hilton's smug little emotionless smile in the newspapers almost every day. She looks as if she thinks she's better than everyone else and I'll be damned if some judge didn't decide that she was better than everyone else. I'm sure some of those women that were in jail with her had hives too, I'm sure that all of the mothers in lockup with her wanted to be home with their children, I'm sure that some of the women in detention with her did small stupid things and yet NONE of them got to ride home today. NONE of them got a pass. But I'm willing to bet that none of them had a multi-million dollar bank account.

This is bullcrap.

As I type this, I am reading on another link that another judge has called Paris back to court because of a nationwide outcry over her release. I hope she has to go back, but to me the real insult has already been dealt to us of all races and all incomes because we've been shown that money is power and money makes you above the law.

Blaxsploitation 2K7

2007-05-27T02:30:00.000-04:00

The whole Don Imus thing a few weeks ago was awful on so many levels. We all know what he said and we all know that it was senseless, thoughtless and frankly, mean spirited.

But personally, I didn't get all up in arms over it. It was a stupid, stupid, stupid thing to say - it wasn't funny, it wasn't important, it was just the mindless rantings of a old guy that always looks to me like he just fell off a horse and got dragged for three or four miles.

I didn't get too bothered by what he said because my personal gripe with the degradation of American Black women starts with the Hip Hop industry, more specifically The Rap industry. No where else in the world do you find men of a particular race degrading the women of the same race in the sheer volume, nature and overall magnitude. The vast majority of Black rappers with any type of media exposure love to fill their music videos with the most beautiful women of color imaginable. Sadly, these women are usually the half naked, bouncing, jiggling, wiggling, sexually starved playthings of the rapper and his Boyz. Oh, and lets not forget usually the rappers are called their women B*tches, Hoes, Tricks and any number of other shameless things.

My gripe with the degradation of American Black women then goes to advertising, television and movies where Black women are usually portrayed as loud, angry, out of shape, finger snappin', neck poppin', single-moms. Okay - not ALL roles on TV fit this mold - but do this survey I do sometimes... Get a pad and a pen, draw a vertical line down the middle of the page and write a "B" at the top of one side and write "W/O" at the top of the other side. Then divide your two columns with another vertical line and write "F/S" on the left most side of each of the new columns and then write "L/C" on the right most side of each new line.

The letters stand for:

B (Black)

W/O (White / Other)

F/S (Fat / Slim)

L/C (Loud / Calm)

Now, just watch about an hour of commercial television and put a check mark under the corresponding column as you see women in commercials. That's all I have to say about that, the marks will speak for themselves.

But, what sent me to my blog at 2:30 in the morning when I should be asleep and dreaming about fast cars or beautiful women, is the fact that I was up and I happened to come across a show called "Charm School" on VH1 - you know, the other music video channel that doesn't show music videos anymore. I've passed by this show once or twice before because I've heard people talking about it and it kinda' left me dumbfounded. In a nutshell, there are 13 young women who were rejects from another awful VH1 show called "Flava of Love" that are brought together under the watchful eye of the comedienne / actress Mo'Nique. Mo' Noque's goal in all of this is to teach these young women how to become young ladies with "Charm" and good manners.

This show is really an exploitative joke. There are 8 Black women in the cast, a few White women and Filipino woman. This is one of those elimination shows and I think there are about 6 young Black women left. What truly bothers me about this show, from what I saw tonight and what I've seen in a prior episode is that helping these women grow and mature seems to be the last thing that Mo' Nique, the producers and VH1 have in mind. All they seem to want to do is put women with anger management issues, trust and honesty issues and little to no self esteem in situations that bring out the worst in them. Periodically, after an intense argument, cursing out or fist fight, the women trudge into this "office" where Mo'Nique is sitting and acting as if she's running a multi-million dollar company and they whine and moan to her. She says something odd and off the wall that is supposed to be motherly and wise and all is good again. Then, 20 minutes later she kicks off the young woman that actually seemed to be getting smarter and wiser.

I think the sole purpose of this show is to keep the loud mouthed finger poppers that are gonna' keep the most drama going onscreen. Nobody at VH1 gives a damn about these women that honestly need some help when it comes to social grace. These women serve as nothing more than tick drivers. They drive the Nielsen ratings ticks up ever-so-slightly for VH1. And yet again, the American Black woman is undeservedly shined on by a dim light.

Insane.

TTBM.

Why do you spell Czar with a "C"?

2007-05-16T09:33:00.000-04:00

So, we have ourselves a new WAR CZAR in the Bush administration. YAY!

I couldn't help but wonder, as I heard this announcement yesterday, if this new CZAR, a chap named Douglas Lute... that's Lt. General Douglas Lute - to you and I, would be as effective as the DRUG CZARs that past presidents have appointed. We sure did get that drug thing licked, didn't we?

I also wondered what kind of man Doug Lute was. He certainly has to be brave of heart and stiff of lip, to be handed a job that will undoubtedly come with a bulls-eye the size of a manhole cover to wear on his back. I mean, as George Bush's illegal war continues to kill hundreds of US soldiers, and Marines, along with almost countless Iraqi Shi'a and Sunni civilians - someone is going to have to catch THE BLAME. Frankly, I think Bush got tired of hearing what a complete and utter debacle he's gotten our nation into, so he's now appointed a front man to deflect the criticism.

Enter, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute.

Honestly, I feel for the guy. He's probably a fine man and a steadfast soldier. And probably the kind of man that could not refuse his commander-in-chief when called upon to step in harms way.

To me though, this new WAR CZAR, just shows again, that our great nation is being lead by a man that I would trust to boil an egg for me. It is down right criminal how George Bush has gotten away with the deaths of 100,000's of men, women and children in this unneeded, unjustified, unprovoked, unethical, underestimated and unthoughtout Iraqi war.

Thanks to Dubba'ya, I now have a whole series of words that raise my blood pressure!

Insurgent
Iraq
Car bomb
Terrorism
Republican
Baghdad
Triangle of Death
Condolezza
Cheney
Bush
Bush
Bush
Bush
Bush
Bush
and my ultimate pressure word - "SURGE"

I would have added CZAR, but the day is still young.

Surge, however, is my key pressure word lately, because it is the biggest joke this year when it comes to the war. Bush has this great strategy to put down the insurgency - JUST PILE MORE OF OUR FINE AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN INTO THIS STEAMING CAULDRON AND THEY'LL STOP THE INSURGENTS. This is his STRATEGY! Give these bloodthirsty, angry, bitter, suicidal monsters even more of our troops to kill. Sure, we're gonna' take our share of insurgents with us, but still - more American families are going to be getting visits by grim faced military officials driving dark Government sedans.

My little advice to Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute - keep that upper lip stiff, be honest as possible, do all you can do to get our men and women the hell out of Iraq, and never ever - ever - hesitate to point the blame for this war and its inevitable failure, right square where it belongs - at the White House, and our commander-in-chief, George W. Bush.

You were doin' 55 in a 54...

2007-05-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

I read the other day that the US Department of Justice recently released a study showing that Blacks are more often told to step out of their vehicles during traffic stops and more often searched, threatened with force or subjected to force than Hispanics and Whites.

This gave me a nice little laugh as I flipped a few pages in the Washinton Post and read the latest installment of "Pearls Before Swine" in the comics section.

After I plugged in a half dozen numbers on the Sudoku, I came back to the DOJ article. My first question was, "Who in the heck are they releasing this information too?" As a Black person, I already knew this. I was actually stunned that someone spent the money and the time to study this. I just thought it was a universal fact that was known throughout the land. Sure, that sounds a bit cavalier I guess, but to me it's like saying, NEWSFLASH - It's going to be hot in July. Hardly worth a yawn, here on the east coast of the states.

As a read through this article, I couldn't help but think back on the lump in my throat I had in LA one night a few weeks after the '92 riots. I was in California visiting a friend of mine and driving a rental car by myself. I got lost and was trying to catch a street name that might get me someplace near where I was supposed to be. I was in a rather rough part of town and I was driving kinda' slowly as I read the signs. Suddenly the night sky lit up blue and red behind me. Two police cars appeared from nowhere with sirens blasting and lights flashing. I was suddenly, oddly - in fear of my well being. I was worried that maybe they thought I was doing something illegal, I just - in my heart - was afraid that I was going to be pulled over, roughed up and locked down in the city of Angels. Partly because the riots were still raw on everybody's nerves, partly because I was in a bad sports car, partly because I was driving slow, but mostly because I was Black, male, and young.

That was then. But, even today with 40 just over the horizon, I still get an uneasy feeling when I see a Crown Victoria in my rear-view mirror. It's even worse when my kids are riding with me. To my credit, I'm a farily safe driver and I've only been pulled over a few times in the last 8 or 9 years, and only one of those was for speeding. And, to the police officers credit - none of them asked me to get out of my vehicle and all of them were pleasant and professional.

All that aside, the threat, the subtle threat of coming across that one cop - at the wrong place at the wrong time with just the right amount of fear and the right sized chip on his shoulder, is very real. I always know that it can happen. I'm Black. I'm a man. I'm a pretty "Big Dude" [as my buddies call me] and I'm intelligent. All I need is for that one, jerk cop to step to me incorrectly, and then I become a statistic. And, I'm not alone. All Blacks - especially MEN, face this same possibility every time we get behind the wheel. Driving within the speed limit and using your turn signals is no gaurentee that a drive will be event free. All we need is a cop that dosen't respect what his badge stands for and a simple moment of opportunity. All we need is that one bad apple to cross our path and we become a statistic.

So, to the Department of Justice. Thanks for telling us what most of us already knew. Now, tell us what you are going to do about it.

TTBM

Sneakin' Jesus...

2007-04-15T08:22:00.000-04:00

Something has been bothering me for about three days now, and sometimes when I write stuff down, it becomes clearer to me - so, here goes.

My office has a new manager. Where I work, we call office managers - Unit Chiefs. Our new Unit Chief is known by all of us and honestly, there is some concern that she may not be the easiest person to work for. I think we all have our doubts about her management style but some of us are willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and see where she takes us. I for one, am just going to do my job like always, keep her aware of whats going on on my desk and let the chips fall where they may.

My Unit Chief left the office in the middle of this past week to go on personal travel. At about 10 o'clock on the very next day after she left, our Program Manager - a young woman in her mid-twenties came to my office and knocked on my door. When I told her to come in, she was holding a bottle of extra virgin olive cooking oil and halfway grinning. "Are you participating in the anointing?" My answer was a well thought out, "Huh?"

It turns out that she had brought in extra-virgin olive oil to conduct an anointing of my Unit Chief's office and she was rounding up the Black people in the office to participate. BTW - My Unit Chief is White. {This will probably be my ONLY racial reference here, because I don't 100% think race was really a major issue here - but I want to paint the picture as clear as possible.}

I told her I didn't understand why she was anointing the UC's office. I asked, "Are you saying she's 'evil' or something?" She said with a guilty childish giggle, "No, it's just that a lot of important decisions have to be made from that office and I..." she shrugged her shoulders and smirked. When I looked out of my office towards the UC's office I noticed two more of my co-workers standing there talking and chuckling and waiting for this 'anointing.' I asked were they are part of this too and they said, "I guess." I asked the Program Manager, "Why do this when the UC is out? Why not ask her if she wants her office anointed?" She shrugged her shoulders and said it was no big deal. I told her that I wasn't going to be a part of this because I don't "play with Jesus..." I closed my door and went back to working.

She came to my door two more times that afternoon trying to justify what she wanted to do, but I just told her that I didn't like the joking tone and the sneaky feel of her actions.

The next day, two of my co-workers asked me was I still mad about the anointing, and I am the last person in the world to mince my words so I told them that I was not "mad" per se, but I was bothered by the sneaky way it was done. Our UC is Catholic and while I'm NOT Catholic, I understand that they strongly worship The Virgin Mary where Christians strongly worship Jesus Christ. I don't think it was right to anoint with oil and pray in a woman's workspace in Jesus's name when you DID NOT ask her if she wanted it and then you choose to do it the morning AFTER she leaves on travel. I felt that was very underhanded and I felt that it was disrespectful. Then I come to find out that some other people associated with my office, but in another 'unit' did the exact same thing to their Unit Chief's office when he was on travel [same racial and religious lines - BTW].

This is my whole opinion on this. I'm a Christian. But, I'm not a Gangland Christian.

"Gangland Christian" is my personal term for Christians that carry their religion like a 'gang' member carries his gang affiliation. If you aren't down with their 'gang' then you are the enemy. If you aren't a Baptist, or a Holiness, or an Episcopal or an African Methodist or a whatever - then you ain't NOTHING! I work with SOME people that have a bible on their desk, a psalm on their screensaver, angels on their calendars and a gospel station playing on their radio and they will curse you out and stab you in the back in a heartbeat. I work with some people that have the mindset that "MY GOD IS BETTER THAN YOUR GOD, BECAUSE AT MY CHURCH WE DO THIS AND YOU ALL DON'T! AND I'M A BETTER CHRISTIAN THAN YOU!!!"

I basically told my interested co-workers that I didn't feel that Jesus had to be sneaked into any environment. If these people truly wanted to ask for the Lord's blessings toward my Unit Chief, then I think they should have had the heart to walk up to her and tell her what they wanted to do. If she was against it, then they should have respected her wishes - but this whole "sneaking" and [half] joking approach seemed so fake and so childish.

One person tried to explain her participation in this "anointing" by saying, "Well, sometimes the devil can work through people, and we just wanted to make sure that the devil wouldn't be able to work through her or her office..."

I knew then, that it was time to walk away.

Before leaving, I told her that while our UC might become a micro-manager and a few other bad things - I was doubtful that satan was really excited about taking over our office. Now, I must be honest - I don't know what the devil's list of priorities are, but I don't think my UC is evil or on the devil's "must do" list. Some of the people I work with have to check their egos and skewed religious interpretations and except the fact that in a world of heartless leaders, bloodthirsty warlords, and brutal criminals that rape and murder and terrorize, the true EVIL IN MAN is present - but it's most likely NOT in the form of an office manager that won't approve your over-time.

Star gazing with Mr. Wayne...

2007-04-06T17:18:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I found myself in a second hand CD store outside of Washington DC looking for something interesting to satisfy my musical cravings. After finding something with Etta James on it, I went to the register to pay up. While waiting for the heavily tattooed cashier to ring me up, I noticed a box with Bushnell 10 x 50 binoculars in it and a $5.00 price tag. I asked if $5.00 was right and the guy behind the counter said, "Yeah." I checked them out and they were an older model, but practically unused. I knew $5.00 was a steal for these, so I got them. The cashier said some guy brought them in and wanted to trade them for a CD and nobody knew how much they were worth. I knew they were worth at least $50 so I made out pretty well.

From an astronomy class I took a few years ago, I knew that 10 x 50 binoculars were nice for star gazing, so I was looking forward to checking out the heavens. It amazes me that you can look at the night sky with a naked eye and see hundreds and hundreds of stars, but with just an inexpensive set of hand held binoculars you can see thousands more that are just outside of our naked eye range.

A few nights ago, I went outside with my binoculars and leaned against my truck and began combing the sky for star clusters my naked eye missed. I stared a long time at Rigel and Sirius, the two easiest stars to find in the sky after the trio that comprises Orion's belt. I like Sirius because of all that I have heard about the Dogon tribe in Africa and their amazing knowledge of this star.

After a few minutes, I lowered my binoculars and just stared up into the sky - lost in its vastness. I guess 10 minutes had passed before Mr. Wayne came to mind and after 20 years, the quiet man who was the neighborhood enigma when I was growing up had suddenly had the answer to it all.

Let me push back the clock a little to the mid-80's in east Baltimore. One of my buddies had a step-dad named Mr. Wayne. Mr. Wayne was a modest man, very quiet and very polite. The thing that made him stand out to all of us neighborhood kids was the fact that whenever the night sky was fairly clear, Mr. Wayne would lean against his car and just stare at the stars for hours and hours and hours. Some of the knuckleheads would crack stupid jokes, and call him crazy and call him names and tease his kids. But, for those of us who were close to his children, we were told that 'something' had happened to him in Vietnam. I never really knew for sure, what had happened and I don't think his kids knew either - but we knew that it was probably something horrible and he should never be disrespected for it.

But, I always wondered, "What was so important about looking at the night sky?"

Did the stars guide him away from a life threatening situation?
Was he tortured under a night sky?
Was he held captive and all he could see where the stars?

I'll never know. I haven't seen Mr. Wayne in 18 years and I have no idea where he or is family are now.

However, while I was standing in front of my house looking up into all that God created - I felt small. I felt downright tiny. I felt like a single little molecule in a universe that was as it was supposed to be. I felt like at that very moment, I was doing what I was supposed to be doing among the grass, and the trees, and the wind, and the earth and the galaxy and the universe.

When we look into a dark sky and see star light, we are looking back over time. The light we see at any given time was generated millions of years ago and is just reaching us now. Some of the stars we see shining bright every evening are no longer even in existence - having burnt out and collapsed while dinosaurs ruled our planet. The universe is vast, it is magnificent, it is humbling. And therein lies what I believe Mr. Wayne understood. I think that whatever happened to him during the war left him scarred inside and I think that part of him needed to find perspective in the madness of war, or the madness of the world. I think that when he looked up at the stars, he could put the past in the past and he could find comfort that he was now among the grass and the trees and the wind and the earth and the galaxy and the universe.

I think the stars made his universe as it should be.

THBM

The first time...

2007-03-24T08:22:00.000-04:00

I remember my FIRST TIME.

I'll never forget it.

I was 14.

It started around 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon. I was bike riding with two of my buddies, Rick and Ralph, about a mile from our neighborhood. Ralph caught a flat and we didn't have any patches with us, so we had to walk our bikes back home.

About three blocks from home, a Baltimore City police cruiser came down the street towards us and slowed when he got to us. Rick whispered, "He's gonna' stop us." I said, "Naw, he's just checking the addresses, thats all." The police car drove away and I gave Rick an I-told-you-so look. That was just before the second squad car pulled up and slowed along side of us.

What were the odds of two police cars in two minutes having to stop and check addresses at exactly where the three of us were walking? I wondered. My smug look faded. But again, the car drove off. Ralph groaned as the third police car came over the hill in front of us. Three is always the magic number. He slowed, stopped, popped his blue-berries on [his roof lights] and got out.

"Put the bikes down boys and raise your hands."

Ralph and I put our bikes down and slowly raised our hands.

Rick didn't budge.

The cop flipped open his holster and placed his hand against his gun.

Rick dropped his and reached for the sky.

It's been over 20 years and I swear to God, I can still hear that soft, innocent, naive voice in my head saying, "Oh, he's making a big mistake because we didn't do anything wrong. He probably wants to stop some guys further down the street. I wonder if he knows he's in the wrong block? Probably, not." I was honestly expecting someone to come over his radio and say something like, "Car 104. Car 104. We've got the right guys down in the 6800 block. You're in the 6400 block, come on down here with us."

It never happened.

We were patted down, frisked - as some people call it. We were questioned as to where we were coming from, where we were headed, how old were we, what were our adresses, how to spell our names, did we steal our bikes, what schools did we go to... and about 20 other stupid little things. He looked like he really wanted to cuff us and haul us away. I had this sickening and scared feeling in my gut suddenly. What if I went to jail? I didn't do anything wrong. The officer sized us up for a long minute and when all was said and done he left us without a word. I don't believe the three of us spoke a single word for the rest of the walk home.

Not "the first time" you were thinking about, huh?

This same type of stop and check would happen almost 20 times in the next six years. We used to call it "The Pat Down." We'd see a police car coming and it might be two or three of us walking home from the movies or the bus stop or from playing sports in a nearby neighborhood and someone would say, "Here comes a Roller, lets get ready for the Pat Down."

I've always liked police. Still do. Even after a sizeable amount of my childhood innocence was taken at that very first Pat Down, I look at police this way - it's a hard and thankless job. I believe 100% that you have some shallow, arrogant, racist and violent people wearing badges across this country. But, you also have people like that in every career, in every position. I believe that the majority of police in this country are fairly decent and brave men and women that want to do the right thing for their communities, cities and states - but they are overshadowed by stupid and thoughtless morons that steal the headlines with foolishness.

Morons like the Baltimore City Police officers that recently ARRESTED seven year old Gerard Mungo Jr. I've been thinking about My First Time a lot this week after I heard about a little child in handcuffs.

It seems as though Gerard's dad thought it was nice to buy his 7 year old son a motorbike that was deemed illegal to ride in Baltimore city limits. The logic of this decision escapes me on so many levels, it's not even worth mentioning. But when Baltimore City police found the seven year old sitting on this motorbike [which was turned off], which they first claimed was stolen, they snatched him physically off the bike in front of his mother. What insued was a series of traumatic events that included the little boy managing to run up to his bedroom before being HANDCUFFED and taken to the police station and handcuffed to a table. This was done even AFTER the police supervisor had arrived. This is nothing short of complete insanity, with a sprinkling of cold-heartedness and splash of absolute racism and a healthy dose of honest-to-God stupidity!

This kind of unwarranted assualt is one of the reasons I find myself spending less and less time in my hometown.

It saddens me that this little boy will now probably become yet one more little boy that hates the police. He will become one more young boy that has issues with the color of his skin and the color of skin that is not like his. This little boy has lost such a big piece of his innocence. Some foolish men with guns and badges that were sworn to protect and serve, have done the opposite of what they were called to do - instead of protecting and serving, they stole and violated.

I'm sorry that Gerard Mungo Jr. has now had his First Time.

TTBM

Thinking Blogger Award...

2007-03-19T18:20:00.000-04:00

WOW!

A Thinking Blogger's Award!

I don't know what to say? Uh, well let me begin by thanking God for making me love writing and reading so much. I'd like to thank my family for without them my life woul'd only be 1/83rd as much fun as it is right at this moment. I'd like to thank Dell for making one kick-ass and affordable laptop! And I'd like to thank EVERYONE around the world that takes the time to read my humble little opinions on my blog!

Let me backtrack for a moment. Early this month I was named for a pretty interesting blog award called THE THINKING BLOGGER AWARD. This is a concept originated by blogger ILKER YOLDAS, and I was choosen for this by a fellow blogger named GUNFIGHTER who writes one of my favorite blogs THE VIEW FROM HERE.

The rules for winning a THINKING BLOGGER AWARD are as follows:

1. If, and ONLY IF, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Honestly, I think this is a pretty cool thing to do. I think the idea of blogging as a hobby, and sharing ideas with people is simply incredible. I think BLOGS make the world a much smaller place and the idea that people from all over the world can and sometimes do access my thoughts and opinions is so amazing and humbling. It is also humbling that a blogger I enjoy and respect so much thinks a lot of my blog, too - so thanks a million GUNFIGHTER!!!

In keeping with the rules of the award - here are five fellow bloggers that make me think and make me look a little harder at the world I live in. Sadly, I could ONLY name five. There are so many more that I enjoy and those are listed on the right side of my blog!

My THINKING BLOG WINNERS ARE:

THE NATIVE SON

DJ BLACK ADAM'S BLOG

PROGRESS AT ALL COST

LA BELLA NOIRE'S RAMBLINGS

RIDWAN LAHER'S BLOG

Today's car bombing...

2007-03-05T22:26:00.000-05:00

Without fail, my mornings seem to all start with three little words... "today's car bombing..."

Between the time I get out of the shower and the time I'm halfway dressed, I hear on the radio from either an NPR reporter or a BBC reporter or a WTOP reporter - those three words. They're usually followed by the words "in Baghdad" or "in" some city or terrority that until 3 years ago I had never even heard of, like - Baaj, or Ramadi, or Sadr city. Then I hear the numbers - 10 dead; 18 dead; 27 dead; 40 dead and 39 injured; 68 injured; 104 injured.

Then I find myself hit with a wave of guilt, confusion and anger.

Guilt - because while I was in the shower, chances are I was bothered by the pain-in-the-ass E-mails and voicemails that I know are waiting for me in the office. Chances are, that deep down in the back of my mind I was hoping that I might come across gasoline at less than $2.22 a gallon so that I could fill up my American made SUV. Chances are, that I wouldn't eat a healthy chicken salad for lunch if the guys wanted to go out and get greasy steak and cheese subs.

These are the worries of my day. Shame on me.

Somewhere, halfway across the world while I was sleeping in my warm and toasty bed, some Iraqi men and women were in a market buying fruit, or bread, or batteries and some savage, mindless, bloodthirtsy monster pulled alongside them and detonated 50 pounds of high explosives wrapped in 70 pounds of metal nuts and bolts.

Somewhere, halfway across the world while I was sleeping in my warm and toasty bed, 78 men in the twenties and thirties lined up outside of an Iraqi police station. They had decided to risk their lives and take a stake in what could be The New Iraq. They were ready to join the police force. This is, until a dark blue Toyota Camry loaded with fertilizer, gunpowder and hand grenades plowed into their line mere seconds before blowing up in a bright yellow flaming mushroom cloud.

Somewhere, halfway across the world while I was sleeping in my warm and toasty bed, several dozen Iraqi boys and girls were playing outside of their elementary school when some innocent looking teenager with a backpack slung over his shoulder walked among the children. He probably gave them a slight smile of innocence envy as he pushed the trigger in his pants pocket closing a small circuit and exploding the nine pounds of semtex and five pounds of ball bearings in his backpack.

Somewhere, halfway across the world while I was sleeping in my warm and toasty bed, six US Marines and seven US soldiers were conducting a vehicle checkpoint east of the green zone when two men in a beat-up Honda Accord pulled up to them. One of the Marines told him to turn his vehicle off and pop his trunk. The man complied and leaned forward whispering a silent thank you to Allah. Sensing his fate, the Marine called to his fellow troops, yelling for them to "get down!" But his words were lost in the roar of 100 pounds of high explosives doing the one thing they were made to do.

And I'm worried about some damn E-Mails and steak subs. GUILT.

I found something interesting as I typed this post. If you go to Google and select NEWS links and type these three words "suicide, bomber, Iraq" you get OVER 8800 hits. If you type in "car bomb Iraq" you get over 12,000 hits. I find this absolutely amazing. Amazing and horrifying.

This is where my confusion and anger comes into play. This situation [like DARFUR] is a complete human tragedy. The numbers of dead, dying and injured is so high and it is growing so fast, that I find myself numb with anger. This conflict is so mindless and was so avoidable. The shame it has brought to our once great country. The disregard of the lives of our brave men and women who voluteered to serve our nation, by George Bush and the countless Washington bureaucrats. The victimizing and murdering of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children. The violent bloodlust of sectarian madmen who kill in the name of their God and who kill in defense of how THEY think their God should be worshipped. It is frustrating, it is disgusting, it is inhuman, it is devastating, it is all here again... in... today's car bombing.

TTBM

Cause Celeb

2007-02-22T07:14:00.000-05:00

My TV has recently become an annoyance to me.

Okay, I take that back. WHAT I HAVE BEEN SEEING ON MY TV has recently become an annoyance to me.

Let's see: I have seen a bald Britney Spears at least 5 times; I have seen at least 75 images of Anna Nicole Smith in the last few days; I have seen that awful Paris Hilton at least 9 times in the last week and a half; I've fallen witness to a few of Lindsay Lohan's adventures over the last few weeks; I think Tim Hardaway has flashed up on my screen a half dozen times and... let me just stop there for a second.

I am growing ever so tired of people being celebrated for nothing. For NOTHING in the grand scheme of things. Someone can sing a little, someone can act a little, someone can dribble a ball, someone can throw a touchdown... okay, granted not everyone can do these things, but have we grown insane in our adoration of these fellow mortals? Our society has twisted itself around these people and we have placed them on a grand alter. We chase these people through the most mudane of lifes duties - grocery shopping, working out, throwing out their trash. Photographers stalk their every move with hopes of hawking their images to the highest and most perverse bidder. We hold these people under bright lights so we can witness their lowest and most human moments and glipse at their tragedies while we wait in line to buy our milk, eggs and granny-smith apples.

I've had enough.

Britney: A sad sight indeed. Confused and obviously headed towards a tragic end - on camera. Why do I know? Because she can sing okay - so society has shoved her her life all over CNN.

Anna Nicole: Her claim to fame? Uh, Playboy playmate, her big boobs, her countless boyfriends, her bleach blonde do, and her dead billionaire husband. So, why in God's name is she taking up court TV time? Why is MSNBC spending hours and hours of valuable air time detailing her life which actually didn't do a thing to make the world a better [or worse] place.

Paris: Her claim to fame is the fact that she has a great last name and she knows how to create her own hype. Hype which millions of 20 something nobody's live and die for. Honestly, the only thing that makes Paris photoworthy is her uncanny resemblance to a six foot, blonde praying mantis.

Lindsay Lohan: Honestly I don't know if she's a singer or an actress. I think she's an actress, but all I know for sure is that FOX news and CNN tend to show her always entering or leaving REHAB somewhere. I hope she gets herself together - she looks like a kid to me... a tired, burnt-out, hard livin', kid.

Tim Hardaway: He doesn't like gay people. And HE is WHO again? A burnt out ex-baller? Okay, alright, okay... so why do I care WHAT he likes? Beats me - but EPSN and CNN seem to think I should know and care.

So, this is what I have decided to do.

I have decided to create my own list of people that DESERVE some CELEBRITY status in the world! I have found some men and women that WE SHOULD KNOW and care about - here goes:

SGT. KUNIHIKO MIYAMOTO - a 53 year old police officer who was severely injured recently while saving the life of a woman who wanted to commit suicide at the Tokiwadai train station, on the Tobu Tojo line in Tokyo, Japan. SGT. MIYAMOTO recently died of his injuries.

THE THREE BOSTON FIRE FIGHTERS - that recently went into a burning apartment building on Cheney Street and saved three children [all under the age of six] who where home alone when the blaze broke out.

ILHAN KARADENIZ - the owner of a coffee shop in the Istanbul neighborhood of Zeytinburnu who noticed cracks in the walls and a slight rumbling in the five story building where his shop is. Mr. Karadeniz and several others ran through the building banging on doors and waking up people saving an unknown number of lives just before the building collapsed.

RANDY WEATBROOK - who, after having a near fatal heart attack in Mesquite, NV was saved by an Air Force Captain using a defibrilator. Mr. Weatbrook soon thereafter wrote a check for nearly $7000 to pay for a defibrillator in each of the public schools in the town where he had his heart attack.

LEE BRICE - recently donated a kidney to a complete stranger in Kingston, WIsconsin. She gave her kidney for no other reason than to help save the life of a fellow human being.

TATE ELSE - a special ed teacher at Cottonwood Elementary school in Nevada saved the life of a third grader who began choking on a piece of food during breakfast at the school.

NOW THESE PEOPLE need to be uplifted. THESE PEOPLE need to be plastered on CNN, MSNBC, FOX news, ABC, NBC, and CBS! THESE PEOPLE saved lives. THESE PEOPLE have made the world a better place and we should care about THEM and what makes them tick. I think we all can learn from their bravery and their willingness to sacrifice.

THEY ARE THE TRUE CELEBRITIES.

TTBM

Married to THE BOSS...

2007-02-16T18:29:00.000-05:00

When I was single. I looked at marriage as something that either WOULD or WOULDN'T happen. That's about it. I didn't expect to die if it did happen and I didn't expect to die if didn't. I just figured that things would happen as they were supposed to.

Okay, so now I'm married. I'm happy. I'm very happy. I love my wife, my kids and my life.

But that's me.

On the other hand, most of my close buddies are married - in fact, most of the guys I associate with are married, but SOME of their circumstances leave me scratching my head.

To me, in my humble little opinion, a man and a woman should get married when they TRULY love and respect each other. They are ready to make an honest commitment of fidelity to each other, they are willing to share their lives with each other and they are generally ready to try and make each other happy for [hopefully] many many years to come. That's it - nothing fancy, nothing earth shattering.

However, some of the marriages I have seen, with emphasis on SOME, leave me scratching my head.

Now, I'm talking mainly about the guys here. I'm not a woman, so I'm not going to pretend to claim that I fully understand a woman's perspective on marriage, but with some of the guys I know, I just don't understand things.

ONE GUY - is scared of his wife. Scared like a little boy is towards his mama. He has to get advanced permission (PERMISSION) from his wife before he does anything short of going to work. He doesn't "check" with her to make sure his plans don't conflict with hers or with the family as a whole. He has to go ask, "Honey, I want to go shoot pool with the guys on Saturday. Can I go?" And his wife - knowing she has the power - she tells him, "Maybe. I'll see how you act during the week." And, I'm NOT JOKING. HE comes back to us with this lil'sad puppy look and basically puts our plans on hold pending approval from MAMA. There is no way a grown man should need to be married to a MAMA. This drives me absolutely insane!

ANOTHER BUDDY - of mine, is so afraid that his wife will ask him for some time to herself if she allows him to go out with us - that he just doesn't even hang out with us anymore. I'm not sure, but I think he's so insecure that he is afraid that if he goes to a game with us and gets four hours of "time with the guys" that his wife will DEMAND four hours "with the girls" and during these four hours - she MAY NOT be with the girls... she could be CHEATING on him! To him, I just want to ask - "If you are so worried about your wife's fidelity, why even be married? And besides - if she's going to cheat on you, she's NOT going to wait until "Girls Night Out" - she's going to do what she wants WHENEVER she wants. Adultery knows no working hours - it's an around-the-clock industry!

THEN - I have the one buddy who just gets scared when he hangs out with us. We're not doing ANYTHING to be worried about or concerned over. We're either at the movies, or playing poker, or shooting pool, or checking out a game or just hanging out shootin' the breeze. We DON'T do it all the time - once or twice a month at the maximum. We make sure we spend ample time with our wives and our kids and we give our wives time to themselves too - very NORMAL stuff I think - but this one guy just gets so scared when we hang out sometimes. It's as if he thinks his wife WANTS him sitting up under her ALL night. We think she enjoys the time to herself more than him, but he feels like he is doing something wrong by leaving home for a few hours. Why bother?

I could really go on and on about some of the uh, interesting [insane] things I have seen my buddies put up with; subject themselves to; punish themselves for; and ask for more of... but it just drives me crazy!

Marriage shouldn't be painful. It shouldn't be a furtherance of childhood control by a parent figure. It shouldn't be a surrendering of your freedom to another. It shouldn't be something that makes you less than you are and it shouldn't be something that takes the joy from your spirit.

TTBM

Alberta Clipper- GOOD, Nor'Easter - BAD

2007-02-07T11:08:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke up to a perfect winter day. Everything was coated in two inches of light fluffy snow! Only heaven could have looked better.

An Alberta Clipper blew through Maryland, Virginia and DC last night between 10PM and 5AM. Let me see if I can explain the science behind that: An Alberta Clipper is a fast moving blast of cold Canadian air sweeping north-west to south east from central Canada over the Mid-Atlantic states. Their speed and low temps usually bring several inches of powdery fluffy snow.

The dreaded Nor-Easter comes up from the south, bringing lots of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and blankets the entire eastern seaboard in deep heavy snow and ice.

This morning, I didn't even bother with the shovel. I took a broom and went crazy up and down my street sweeping everyone's sidewalks clear. I figured - a little cardio before work was a good thing! And best of all, the main streets were clear and there was no ice to be found - just white fluffy snow all over the grass and driveways - it was beautiful! That's what I like, snow - without the danger and peril of ice!

Ice, in and of itself isn't really dangerous, but 95% of the drivers in DC simply can't drive when it gets wet or slippery. If there is even a hint of icy conditions you are guaranteed to have cars flipped over on route 66, multi-car pile-ups on I-95, cars spun off the road on the 495 beltway and dozens of street closing fender benders throughout DC proper. So when I found a light dusting of snow this morning, I was happy!

Let it snow!

(and thaw and melt and dry up...)

TTBM

Perspective...

2007-01-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

I love animals. I think they're pretty nice.

I've had pets, and some of my pets have either died or had to be put to sleep. It's not an easy thing to lose a pet. I firmly believe that people can come to love animals just as they come to love people. But, let's be real here - they are still animals. Their value is still second to that of humans in the grand scheme of things.

I think.

Let me get to my point here. Today, the 2006 Kentucy Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized. I, like millions of other people saw his tragic [and eventually fatal] injury at the 2006 Preakness in Baltimore. Doctors did amazing things to keep him alive and get him moving back to good health. Unfornately, this was not meant to be. This post is NOT intended to make light of Barbaro's death - I just want to put that out there!

This post is to look at what is important to us in death. What is the human perspective.

These are just some of the 4657 comments I found on MSN.com:

Just know how much you were loved and how much you will be missed.
We will continue to pray for his peace.
Barbaro - Goodbye my hero.
Barbaro has been an inspiration to many.
a true american hero, who inspired people all over the world.
Deepest sympathy to everyone trying to save this beautiful angel.
your champions heart will live on in the memoriesof all of us who loved you
To the beautiful baby, God rest you now.
I will always remember him with admiration and love and deepest respect for his intelligence.
May God give you rest my friend...you have been such an inspiration to so many of us...
They could never have caught your spirit with which you ran, Nor the love you gave to your fans.
You were a fighter and a winner.
we are better for having experienced his tremendous courage and fight.
Thanks for inspiring us all.
Rest in peace my friend you are a true hero.

Like I said, I feel for the loss of an animal and I'm not knockin' the situation with Barbaro - I feel for his owners and his trainers and the doctors that tried to save him. But...

But...

But... BARBARO WAS A HORSE! He was a race horse. Bred to run, period. He didn't cure anything, he didn't design anything, he didn't DO anything except RUN. Okay, he ran very fast! I'll give him that. But all this mushy, tearful, end-of-the-world non-sense about being an INSPIRATION, a TRUE HERO, an AMERICAN HERO, a FRIEND, a BABY, an ANGEL, a FIGHTER?

My God people, lets try and keep our perspective here. BARBARO was a horse. That's all. Just a horse. Where is all this love and passionate outcry when our fellow man dies? When people are murdered, when children are starving? Where is all this love and compassion? Let's keep our perspective here people!!!

If the people that took the time to write these wonderful and flowery tributes to a DEAD HORSE took that same amount of time to E-Mail their Congressmen about: trying to stop the killing of human beings in Darfur; trying to stop the misguided plan of President Bush's Iraq strategy; trying to work hard to establish affordable healthcare in our country; trying to fix our social security program; trying to fight global warming; trying to help fight AIDS... if these people used their love of a DEAD HORSE and focused their perspective and their energies on their fellow living humans... oh, what a wonderful world this would be.

It just a horse people, that's all. Take that same passion and go ask a stranger, "How are you doing today?" See how you can make the world a little better for your fellow MAN.

I'm sure Barbaro is looking down from Horsey Heaven saying the same thing. (sort of)

TTBM

Is it just me...

2007-01-25T19:20:00.000-05:00

Okay... it may just be me

Sometimes I get real sensitive to racial portrayal in the media. I suppose if you read my last post about looters and scavengers you already know this. But now something else has pushed me hard onto my blog

I wonder if the media does racist stuff deliberately ALL THE TIME, or are there instances of sheer ignorance that bring racism slowly and subtley into the light

What I mean is - are there times when people that control the news and television and movies and advertisement bring across minorities in a bad light and in their hearts they are 100% oblivious to the fact that they have made Blacks [and others] look buffoonish. Are there times when some of these people actually think they are doing something good and they are just innocently missing the mark by leaps and bounds

Okay - here is what is bothering me now. I just saw a commercial for CISCO Network Services.

In the commercial you see a young Black boy, maybe 10 or 11 years old walking into a kitchen. Then you see a Black man walk towards him with a sophisticated camera cell phone and the man says, "Show me something cool, man." Instantly the boy starts wiggling and dancing and twisting and gyrating. He's what many people would call "Poppin' " So basically he's dancing around his kitchen. Then you see people from all over the world - YES - ALL OVER THE WORLD, rushing to their cell phones, PDA's, computers and laptops to stare in wonderment at this Black kid dancing in his kitchen

Why is the Black kid DANCING? Haven't we moved beyond that yet?

-Why couldn't he have pulled out a blackboard and solved some incredible MATH PROBLEM?
-Why couldn't he have pulled out a canvas and oil paints and started painting a masterpiece?
-Why couldn't he have pulled out some electrical components and made some incredible electronic device?
-Why couldn't he have pulled out a large double helix DNA replica and switched a few things around and said, "I just cured the common cold"

Why did he have to be dancing?

I just think that some companies and the people behind these companies just don't have a clue as to how irresponsible and ignorant they truly are. I bet CISCO didn't set out to make Black people look bad. They probably figured that they were doing something big by building a commercial around a Black kid. They probably never gave ANY consideration to the fact that they made the kid look like a buffoon. Just a smiling, mindless dancing thing. Poor kid.

I bet that no one in CISCO's marketing department even thought of giving him some intelligent dialouge or something truly intelligent and amazing to do on his "telecast" They probably said, "Hey, Black people can dance. Let's just give him some hip music and he can dance! Yeah - THAT'S ORIGINAL

To anyone reading this - if you agree with me, then watch for the signs. Watch for the negative and shallow presentations of minorities around you. Mind you, not all minorities are presented badly in the media, but when you see wrong - send out E-Mails and write letters to these companies. It is the only way we can truly bring racial ignorance and misrepresentation to light!

TTBM

Perception is reality...

2007-01-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

QUESTION - What is going on in this photo?

ANSWER - According to the Associated Press: "Scavengers Simone and Dougal roll home an empty barrel that they recovered from Branscombe beach near Sidmouth, England. Dozens of people swarmed over the pebble beach exploring the contents of containers from the stricken vessel Napoli, which is grounded about a mile out at sea. Officials said some of the containers were carrying the possessions of people immigrating to South Africa. Picture: AP"

While smiling Simone and Dougal are cheerfully wheeling home what is allegedly an empty barrel, hundreds of photos just like these are all over the global electronic and written press. In all of my reading I continuously see the words "scavengers" and "beachcomers" describing these people, as if they are a cheerful group of retirees looking for nick-nacks to share with the gang at the old folks home. Of course, the words used to describe the actions of these people are "liberating" and "salvaging."

Let me back up for a moment - a few days ago, a massive cargo ship ran aground in high winds during a storm off the coast of Sidmouth, in England. The ship was carrying a wide array of goods, many of which fell off and washed ashore and still more that remained on the deck of the grounded vessel.

Well, the citizens of the nearby towns have decided to descend on the beaches to steal all that they can find of value. Some of the more popular items are brand new $15,000 BMW motorcycles, expensive engine parts, clothes, shoes, dog food, oil paintings and other things. Hundreds of people are just all over the place STEALING things that DON'T BELONG TO THEM!!! But, the English police are on the job! According to the AP, the police are TELLING the SCAVENGERS to stop taking items from the beach. TELLING THEM!!! At last count I have seen at least three photos of police standing around looking bored and stupid with their hands in their pockets.

My issue here, if you haven't figured it out yet...

Why is this considered such a mild and happy-go-lucky crime? Is it because the people commiting these blatant acts of larceny are jovial caucasians? Is it because the people STEALING all of this property are so blindly drunk with their own arrogance that they feel it is okay to take what does not belong to them? Is the media looking on them as kind-hearted ruffians because of their skin color and stupid Alfred E. Newman - "What, me worry?" smiles on their thieving mugs?

All day, I kept saying to myself, "With great power comes great responsibility." Sure, that line is straight out of Spider-Man, but it is true! It is true for both the National and International Media. The mass media has to constantly be aware of its power and its impact on the world and on global racial relations.

My point is - PERCEPTION IS REALITY! The mass media controls much of the perceptions that people around the world make and live by. This controlled perception becomes the reality that many people live and die by. When the media gives hundreds of white people that are clearly breaking the law, a white-washed and sugar-coated presentation from one end of the planet to the other - it skews the global perception. It makes white people seem light-hearted, playful, whistful and high-spirited.

" The [WHITE] scavengers, joyfully found thousands of dollars worth of other people's belongings strewn across a sunny beach. Many of these fun-loving scavengers playfully ignored the chiding of local police as they loaded motorcycles and BMW transmissions on their family vehicles." This is basically how most headlines read.

Now had this ship run aground in say, Mogadishu, the headlines would have read-

"Thousands of angry Somalis violently looted a beach covered with Internationally owned property and belongings. Seven people were injured when private security, hired by the ship owner, arrived on the scene in heavily armed helicopter gunships." And, you know I'm NOT lying.

Need I bring back the images of countless Black folks in New Orleans after Katrina? Okay - sure, some folks WERE looting! When your home is flooded and sitting underwater and you are stealing stereos and DVD's - yes YOU ARE LOOTING, regardless of your race! But, on the other hand just because you are black and you have a bag in your hands YOU ARE NOT A LOOTER! The Mass Media ignored this fact! Every Black person on film in the Katrina aftermath that was holding a bag and standing near a business was captioned as A LOOTER! [Google it if you doubt me!] While White Katrina victims were described as "finding" things to survive the Blacks were all "looting"!

The Global Mass Media has to look hard in the mirror and learn to be fair and neutral when it presents events that happen across this planet!

By the way - the people in the photo - ARE LOOTING! THEY ARE STEALING ITEMS THAT DO NOT BELONG TO THEM! For God's sake, these arrogant fools gave their names - they need to be found and prosecuted!

TTBM!

Lovie & Tony

2007-01-21T22:22:00.000-05:00

What a day!
What a day for football fans!
What a day for Black people!

We have TWO Black HEAD COACHES, Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy, leading teams into the greatest sporting event of the year - The Super Bowl!

The deal was sealed when Indianapolis Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson intercepted a pass from the New England Patriots quartback Tom Brady with the Colts ahead by four points and less than 25 seconds remaining on the clock. Jackson caught the ball, ran about five yards and showed great intelligence and selflessness by falling onto his back and allowing th eplay to end. A lot of other 'hotdogs" would have tried to show off by running wildly towards the endzone, or would have stupidly started lateraling the ball around with hopes of scoring a touchdown to add insult to the Patriots injury - but not Jackson, he showed that he had his head together and did the right thing. Major Kudos to HIM!

The Monsters of the Midway, the Chicago Bears under the coaching of Lovie Smith had secured their spot in the Super Bowl earlier today with a big win over America's feel-good team, the New Orleans Saints.

This is such a spectacular milestone for Blacks in the higher-end of professional sports. Sure, many Blacks can throw and run and jump and tackle, that's just a plain old given at this point. But step by step, Blacks are proving their talent and abilities to the world of the NFL...

Okay, let me just point out that there are far more important issues, obstacles and goals for Blacks to get through, over and to in the real world, but since I'm a big football fan, I just wanted to blow my horn about the greatest sport in the world.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

For the longest time, uh the 80's, there was just Doug Williams and Warren Moon - the two lone Black men trusted to throw the ball in the NFL. Slowly but surely through the 90's and into the last 6 years, more and more Black men were trusted at the helm of the offenses. And then, they started popping up on the sidelines calling the shots as HEAD COACHES, and I was like, "YEAH!"

Yeah, ART SHELL!
Yeah, RAY RHODES!
Yeah, DENNY GREEN!
Yeah, TONY DUNGY!
Yeah, HERMAN EDWARDS!
Yeah, MARVIN LEWIS!
Yeah, LOVIE SMITH!

And here we are now, with two really good and really talented teams, lead by intelligent and skillful Black men, in what is going to be a serious blend of strategic, smash mouth, groudpounding, and airin' it out gridiron warfare! I just can't wait!!!

TEBM

Rantings of a sleepy dad...

2007-01-17T18:22:00.000-05:00

At 3:18 AM this morning, I had just under 2 and a half hours of sleep. That's when I heard the coughing, followed by, "Mom-my!" then "Dad-dy!"

My youngest son was awake and I knew he wasn't feeling good. So, I went in his room and got him. He was warm, but not hot and he was coughing pretty good. It still wasn't time for his cough medicine, but I decided to give him something for the cold I could hear in his chest. If I put him in the bed with my wife and I, all three of us would have been awake, so I decided to go downstairs to my favorite spot for coughing kids in the middle of the night - the sofa. I propped him at a comfortable angle on a throw pillow in the corner of the sofa, covered him in a blanket and laid down alongside him. He stopped coughing but was still breathing kinda' funky. I could still hear a little rattle in his chest. I decided that I'd give the medicine 30 minutes to work, before I step my Doctor Daddy game up.

So, there I was at 3:30 in the morning, in the dark, wishing I was the one that was congested instead of my boy. As I watched the minutes tick away in the green glow of my VCR, I couldn't help but be amazed at the millions of sounds a house makes in the middle of the night. Floors creak and crackle as the temperature outside drops degree after degree. The refrigerator makes a loud click sound before the motor kicks on - I'm not sure I've ever even heard the refrigerator motor before. My wife has some wind chimes out back that were banging like Grambling's band versus FAMU at halftime.

Then at 4 o'clock on the nose, my resting eyes where shocked wide open by a loud bang behind me! I had an instant adrenaline rush that prepared me for the horde of monsters from my childhood that were about to leap from behind the sofa to devourer me. They weren't going to harm my son, because as everyone knows - monsters don't eat kids, DUH. But I was ready for Freddie Kruger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, JAWS, Micheal Myers and Jack Nicholson [whatever his name was in "The Shining"] I was amp'd and ready to stand down whatever caused the loud sound. Then, I used my Hyper Sensitive Daddy Record and Re-Play God-Gifted Sound System and I was able to quickly replay the sound I heard, filter out the light haze of sleep, triangulate the direction, duration and volume of the sound and determined that it was NOT a nightmarish horde of villains, but was instead my oldest son dropping his big plastic HUMMVEE out of his bed. He was obviously stirring about and knocked the toy out onto the floor.

Noticing that my son was breathing a little better, and I probably wouldn't be getting back to sleep, I allowed myself to imagine who I would have enlisted to help me fight off the Freddie Kruger lead assault. My immediate roster of Allies consisted of: The Incredible Hulk (The REAL Hulk - Lou Ferrigno], Bo & Luke Duke [w/The General Lee], K.I.T.T. [w/o Michael Knight], Mannix and Danno. While I don't expect many people under 35 to remember Mannix or Danno, suffice it to say that I have put together a mighty group of characters to do battle in my living room at 4:00AM.

I never did make it back to sleep.

Maybe that's why I just wrote this...

TSBM

$1.5 million worth of rubble...

2007-01-13T00:09:00.000-05:00

I've always assumed that incompetence, much like ignorance - is universal.

However, when you live outside of DC, you tend to REALLY notice, the incompetence of DC.

It seems as though, someone in the DC Government approved a building permit for a house along side of popular Rock Creek Park. The only problem is - the house was allowed to be built in the BACK YARD of another house! Now, when the construction was about to begin in 2005, the neighbors complained to DC and like good ol'DC, their complaints fell on deaf ears. Nobody took the time to look into the problem. So, the house was built.

Now the neighborhood looks awful, original homeowners have an obstructed view and lawyers are pushing DC to make things right. "Right" meaning, pay the family that contracted the house to be built for their land and their home, pay the legal fees of the neighbors, and pay the cost of having the house DEMOLISHED. Total: >$1,500,000.00!!!!!

Proving that he was the Master of The Understatement, Patrick Canavan, the former Director of DC's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA)said that this "was a costly mistake." He said that when this problem originally started, the DCRA didn't have a computer system to "safeguard against this happening." A COMPUTER SYSTEM?!?!?! What about having the keys to a city car and having a surveyor and a DCRA rep drive out to the site with some blueprints a pen a compass and some common sense? This isn't a COMPUTER PROBLEM, it is an INCOMPETENCE problem. It is a lack of motivation and a lack of folks giving a damn about the city they work for. This could have been stopped early on if someone had just taken the time to step outside of their cubicle, step outside of the office and go to the site and use some God-Gifted common sense and initiative.

Now, the cash strapped District of Columbia Government has thrown away $1.5 million dollars. Almost like they did 6 or 7 seven years ago by allowing themselves to be conned by Cadillac into funding a Gran Prix style racetrack by RFK stadium - that was only used once and then totally abandoned!

Considering the poor state of DC schools, the low salaries for teachers, police and fire fighters, the homeless around DC, the crime rate - I think that $1.5 million could and should have been better spent. It certainly would not have eliminated ANY of the above issues, but I think each could have been positively impacted with just a small portion of that wasted money... all because of INCOMPETENCE.

TDBM

BUSHwacked... still

2007-01-07T07:52:00.000-05:00

With Saddam Hussein slowly rotting away in a grave in Tikrit, I can't help but think that deep down George Bush suddenly doesn't care about too much else. He's gotten what he wanted.

I always have AND always will believe that the second gulf war was the most costly vendetta in world history. I think George Bush saw a man that he could beat and a country he could pillage of its oil wealth. I think George W. Bush had no real plan for making America better and could think of nothing creative to make his mark on history aside from being "A Wartime President."

This is why over three years after we went into Iraq, we are still there, still dying, and still pumping more fresh American blood into an Iraqi civil war, from which we STILL have no exit strategy. George Bush was so blindly and stupidly exicted to get our troops, the finest fighters in the world, into Baghdad to capture and/or kill Saddam Hussein - that he sent them in with nothing short of a one-way ticket.

When I first heard his pre-war quote about Saddam Hussein, when he said, "He tried to kill my Daddy..." I knew we as a nation were doomed in this war effort. And we are. We will be at 5000 killed by Summertime and so many more Americans will be grieving and trying to put their broken lives back together thanks to a President that is narrow-minded and short sighted.

This is all not to mention, or overlook, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's that have died and will die in this ruthless and bloodthirsty civil war that we seem so hell bend on standing in the middle of. At some point, our strategy needs to be stand aside and let the Sunni's and the Shia' fight until the bloodlust, hatred and anger is out of their systems. That is awful and that is barbaric, but that is the way it must be. We must let Iraqi go the way it must go - be it good or be it bad. It's like pushing a car in neutral down a hill... once it gets rolling, you have to just let it go where it has to go.

Meanwhile, America's truest enemy - OSAMA BIN LADEN - is sitting up in a village in northern Pakistan surrounded by family and friends drinking goat's milk and eating like an Arabian Prince in exile. I haven't heard the name Osama uttered from President Bush's lips in well over a year. Bush said it himself, "I just don't think about him [Bin Laden] that much..." I think Bush was trying to sound flippant when he said that - like he wasn't pressed about him... but he needs to be. He needs to make sure that we don't forget about Osama, he needs to remind the world that you can't spill American blood in American streets and just walk away.

But what am I talking about... that would sound like a REAL president wouldn't it?

Christmas in the BLOGOSPHERE!

2006-12-25T02:30:00.000-05:00

It's 2:12AM Christmas moring...

Gifts and toys are under the tree and the 9 year old in me is breakin' all the rules... I'm staying up!

No I'm not looking for the fat man...

I'm givin' a shout out to everyone that has made my blog one of my 2006 highlights! My blog has amazed me with the number of people that take the time to read my thoughts and opinions and leave comments, thoughts and opinions of their own! The kinds of interractions I've seen on this blog are humbling and amazing. I've had folks agree with me, challenge me, disagree with me and just plain keep on top of me and I want to thank you all and I want to wish all of you the best Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Festivus - whatever it is you celebrate in late December.

I want to send out a special end of year wish to some of my cyber-friends that bless and honor me with their frequent visits, comments and thoughts on my blog! Please forgive me if I accidentally left your name off, I've been putting toys together and my brain is a little fried!!!

-Gunfighter
-Anali
-DJ Black Adam
-Tasha
-Golden Silence
-Creole in DC
-Native Son
-Seaniemo
-TDJ
-Heavenly Zeta
-Evia
-Clare
-Notta Golddigger
-JAC
-Curious
-JJ
-KJ
-Da Rattler
-DATMF
-Charlie Mack's Granddaughter
-Mad Cabbie
-Tickled Pinkies
-Elizabeth
-MMAFAN
-K Dad
-Oface
-I am not Starr Jones
-MsDee
-Coco Stasia

...And all the countless "ANONYMOUS" commenters.

Merry Christmas and my best wishes to you and your families in the year to come!

...and a blogger shall lead them.

-The Thinking Black Man

Cellular Annoyance!!!

2006-12-20T21:12:00.000-05:00

Few things bother me as much as rude fools on their cell phones.

I took a final exam today in a controlled test room. On the door was a big sign that read "TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE" then inside the door was big sign that read "TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE." Then the woman that was at the sign in desk asked, "Do you have a cell phone? If you do, please turn it off now." Along the walls there were numerous signs with big pictures of cell phones that read, "EXAM ROOM - ALL CELLULAR PHONES MUST BE TURNED OFF."

Okay, so an hour later I'm calculating the difference between FIFO and LIFO inventory management when... A FREAKIN' CELL PHONE STARTS RINGING!!!! And not just ringing, but blasting some vulgar rap song! The rude fool that didn't follow the easiest directions in the world had the nerve to take her time turning it off! How rude and stupid and thoughtless do you have to be to NOT turn off your cell phone in a TESTING ROOM. I can't even accept that she forgot about it. Like so many rude fools I come across on the subway and in the streets, that cell phone means more to her than respecting the people around her.

These ignorant people absolutely kill me. I have heard some of the most vulgar and insane conversations being shouted into cellphones on the subway, and in stores.

I've heard guys running down what they did and were gonna' do to women in the bedroom;
I've heard a mother cursing her lawyer out for not getting her child support payments reduced;
I've heard countless people carrying on the loudest conversations about absolutely nothing on their darn cell phones;
I've heard losers rehearsing their vulgar rap lyrics into their cellphones;
I was almost run over in a crosswalk by some dumb woman trying to talk on her cellphone with one hand while barely turning her stiring wheel with the other;
I was nearly run off the road a few weeks ago by a thoughtless clown running his lips on his cell phone on I-95.

Basically I'm fed up with this creepy love of the cell phone that so many people are showing! Folks walking around all day with these big wireless ear pieces on with the blinking lights looking like the freakin' Borg. It's all insanity to me!

I'm not knocking cell phones themselves - I think they are incredible devices and they make life very convenient. But the insane addiction that so many people have towards them gives me the willies. Some folks can't stand to be more than a few seconds away from that first ring; some folks can't exist for more than a few minutes before having to yack on the phone with ANYONE about the first little flicker of thought that enters their little pea brains; and some folks CAN'T EVEN TURN THEIR PHONE OFF FOR THREE HOURS IN A SILENT EXAM ROOM WITH 20 SIGNS THAT TELL THEM TO CUT THEM OFF!!!

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

Can anyone explain "Declining Balance Depreciation" in 30 words or less? Nevermind...

TTBM

Jumping the gun with Steve Jett (no pun intended)

2006-12-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I had this little wooden jig-saw puzzle map of the United States. I loved that thing. I think that's why US geography always came easy to me. I remember that Idaho was a fat yellow 'L' shaped state that went in fourth, after I put in Washington, Oregon and California. Now, while I knew where the state went in relations to the other 49, I had no real idea of the cities and towns that made up the fat 'L' shaped state. So when I heard about a town called Greenleaf considering a unique gun ordinance, my first question was "Where in the hell is Greenleaf?" That question stood out so much with me that I ended up using it as a title in my blog posting about the creator of this 'ordinance', a councilman named Steve Jett.

The article I read was compressed from several east coast newspapers and a news website. It implied that this Steve Jett fellow was implying that hurricane Katrina refugees or refugees like them could end up in the small town of Greenleaf and he was suggesting that townsfolk arm themselves against the impending crimewave that would insue. I think if anyone could have seen me when I first heard this on the radio and THEN read it in print - they would pobably think I was about to blow an artery. I was livid, to put it mildly.

So, I started blogging. Basically I tore this Steve Jett a new one.

Then I noticed a comment on my posting, actually two comments, several weeks later. This person identified themselves as a Greenleaf citizen and they told me that the story I heard/read had been spun out of context and they suggested I do more research. I agreed.

In my posting, I called Steve Jett an asshole. Actually to be perfectly correct I called him a 'Racist Asshole.' To me, those are two significant words to call someone and at the time I felt I was justified. At the time I thought this guy was using race and fear to stir up his town. I have since found that the articles I encountered were spun a fair amount. So basically, I now believe that I was wrong about Steve Jett. From my newest research I have concluded that Steve Jett is neither racist OR an asshole.

In a nutshell, the basis for Steve Jett's gun ordinance suggestion, which was part of a larger community ordinance, called for citizens to consider [CONSIDER] arming themselves to be prepared to protect their homes from possible spill-over crime from larger cities in the region - NOT from possible hurricane Katrina victims! Greenleaf is a small town with less than 900 people, no reported crime, and practically no police force. Personally, I agree with what he is saying. I agree with it and I do it myself. I have been the first-hand victim of spill-over crime from people that came from DC to my neighborhood to steal from me, and I have quite a "welcome" for anyone foolish enough to break into my home while I am there. So, I was wrong to call Steve Jett a racist asshole for what he is trying to do.

I know that most blogs are just opinions and rolling conversations, I consider mine to be just that. If I was talking to someone or sharing my opinion face to face with anyone that was kind enough to listen [or read, in this case] and I said something that was wrong or improper to them or about them, I was raised by my parents to be the type of man to apologize - so, I apologize to Steve Jett for calling him a racist and an asshole. I'm sure he'll personally never read this blog, so my apology may just go out into the cybersphere, and that is fine with me. I believe the universe tends to unfold as it should, so I have sent my karma out to wherever it is supposed to be.

PS. I still don't agree with Mr. Jett's claims to be using the second amendment to the Constitution in his ordinance, but a lot of folks make this claim and I happen to disagree with them all.

TTBM

When is enough sh-t, enough?

2006-11-30T22:27:00.000-05:00

The kid next door is yellin' at his mom again, so it's either time to blog or time to go over there and whup his ass. Since his mom would probably have me locked up for the latter, I'll try the former.

Every few weeks I can hear the 20 year old boy next door yelling at his mother. Yes he's 20 and yes he's a BOY. He's an asshole actually [ I don't want to give 'boys' a bad name] and I think he's got some wires crossed in his head. Outside the house, he's mild mannered and quiet, soft spoken and polite. You'd think he takes his halo home each night and polishes it up before saying his prayers and taking his vitamins. But when he gets angry, he lays into his mother with a profanity laden diatribe that makes my eyebrows raise! I don't think he has a chemical imbalance or anything, I just think that he knows he's a little runt of a punk and if he talked to anybody in the street like that, they'd whip his little ass and stuff him into his own pants pocket. But he knows that his mother baby's him, she coddles him, she allows him to treat her like shit and she is not strong enough or willing to kick his triflin', disrespectful, loser ass out into the street.

The way he treats her always brings me to a question that I always find myself asking:
"When is enough shit, enough?"

To hear this woman talk about her son, you'd think he was a fine young man, but she is clearly in a massive state of denial.

Here's another situation that had me asking myself this question: I found myself in a hospital lobby a few weeks ago. There was a woman in her late 30's there with her mother who was about 60 years old. The younger woman walked over to her mother and said, "Give me $5.00 so I can go get some fries from downstairs." The mother quickly pulled out a handful of bills and gave her daughter a five and then peeled off a second five. The daughter rejected the second five and said [with some attitude] "Why you givin' me $10? All I'm gettin' is some fries!" The mother said, "Well, I need you to bring me something to drink. All I can have is diet Pespi." The daughter seemed very irritated and said, "Shoot, five is enough for fries and a soda. Stuff downstairs ain't that expensive!" She walked away.

Ten minutes later the daughter came back with a chicken fingers platter with fries and a clear colored soda. The mother shot me a quick embarrased look and asked her daughter, "Where's my diet Pespi?" The daughter sat down and started shaking her catsup packet and replied dismissively, "I changed my mind when I got down there and I wanted some chicken and a Sprite, so I didn't have enough to get your soda." The mother shrugged and shook her head sheepishly. She glanced back towards me helpless and embarrased. I swear to God, this is exactly how this went down with NO exaggerations!!!

Now, in my book, any number of things could have caused the daughter not to have any cash on her, but to straight up diss her mother like this! To just shit all over her mother like this! I got the strangest feeling that this assinine treatment was nothing new from her.

Again I ask...
"When is enough shit, enough?"

Then there was the woman I was talking to who had once dated a guy, and they decided to play house and they bought a home together and then they had a kid. Of course, hardly anyone gets married these days, and these two were no different - they'll share a mortgage and bring a life into the world but far be it for them to try and make a commitment to each other. Anyway...

Homeboy turns straight punk after a year or so and he bails out on the woman I was talking to. No child support, no financial support for the house-hold, nothing. So the woman is damned near homeless and penniless for a long time before she gets herself together, but she refuses to take him to court for child support. So, a few years go by and she's doing better, but her Grandmother is now on her death bed. She manages to balance her day between being at her Grandmothers bedside, being at her job and being a mother. Then Homeboy's mother becomes ill at the same time and mind you, he's still dissin' her and their kid, but this woman goes to be with him at his mothers bedside. So she's now spending everyday driving all over creation to run from one hospital to the next and then to work and then to daycare and then home. She's standing beside this guy despite how cold he's treated her. Then when her Grandmother dies, this asshole doesn't even have the decency to show up at the funeral - if not for her grandmother, then at least to show his appreciation for her stading by his sick mother. But she still finds a way to defend this clown to people.

Can someone tell me...
"When is enough shit, enough?"

I mean, when do you say to yourself, "I've allowed this person to treat me so bad that I can't look myself in the mirror. I have thrown away all of my self-respect because I continue to allow this person to treat me like I'm worthless." When do you say, "I have more value than this!"

I understand that some things just aren't for me to understand. I accept that the things that make me tick, don't make everyone else tick the same way, but at some point damn-it, isn't enough, enough?

TTBM

Greenleaf is five miles from Caldwell! And now you know too...

2006-11-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

A few days ago in the town of Greenleaf, Idaho - the city passed Ordinance #208, which was basically called "Greenleaf's Gun Ownership Ordinance."

Basically, it requested (but did not require) that all residents keep a gun in their homes for protection and to deter crime.

Personally, I don't have any issues with law abiding citizens owning guns to protect themselves and deter crime, especially in their homes. I don't even have an issue with city ordiances requesting this. I hate criminals with a passion and if more people had guns IN THEIR HOMES, I think many hoodlums and thugs would think twice before breaking and entering.

My issue with the Greenleaf situation is that after seeing the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, a city councilor in this tiny Idaho town founded by pacifist Quakers came up with what he considered a novel idea. He wanted Greenleaf residents to keep a gun at home in case they were overrun by refugees from the Gulf Coast.

"This is not an 'it'll never happen here kind of thing,'" said Steven Jett, the ordinance's sponsor. "We could get refugees." This is actually what he said!

The actual ordinance reads.
“In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, it is recommended that every head of household residing in the city limits maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore, and obtain appropriate training relating to proper, safe and lawful handling of firearms.”

Okay, it's a gun ordinance. But I hate the fact that this asshole Steven Jett is trying to use racism and racial ignorance to promote this plan. If you want your folks to buy guns because you're an NRA patsy, then go ahead and push the guns. But, damnit don't try to stir up an unreasonable fear of black people within your white community! By far, the face of the Katrina evacuees where black. What this asshole Jett is saying is... "White folks of Greenleaf, be scared! Be scared because BLACK PEOPLE might come to our town! Whoooooo! Whooooooo! Be afraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaid! Whooooooo!"

What an asshole.

Now, I try to be the first person to call a duck a duck. And, I've heard the stories, I've read the reports - there are large numbers of criminals that have been relocated from New Orleans and lots of these hoodlums have be relocated around the country and started doing the shit that got them locked down in the first place - and I FIRMLY believe these people should be taken off the streets and put behind bars accordingly. But, for Idaho's Steven Jett to try and paint all Katrina evacuees as criminal, it is absolutely, racist and it is absolutely criminal.

And since I'm calling Steven Jett an asshole here, I'd like to comment on all assholes that misuse the US Constitution...

"Steven Jett, the sponsor of the proposal wrote, 'I am the city councilman that has proposed the ordinance in Greenleaf, Idaho. You would agree that this is not a new idea. The 2nd amendment was ratified 215 years ago (12/15/1791). I am only supporting it.' "

The 2nd amendment reads:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

So many assholes cut and chop this sentence up to use it towards their own end. Steven Jett is no different. He's trying to justify the "right of the people to keep and bear arms..." Personally, I think owning a gun is fine if it is legally purchased and registered and the owner is a law abiding citizen with proper mental faculties. But I do not believe that the 2nd amendment is a cart blanche allowance for everyone to have a gun. If you read the text itself, it is clear that it was written to assure that the 18th century American militia was well armed and ready to stand in armed defense of the United States. Well, in today's United States we have an Army, a Navy, an Air Force, and the best damned fighters in THE WORLD - THE UNITED STATES MARINES to protect our homeland. The whole militia thing isn't quite what it used to be. But folks still try to use the 2nd amendment to serve their own purposes. Just read people! Read and use your heads!

TTBM

A Message to Joe Gibbs

2006-11-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

Dear Joe,

It's time to play Jason Campbell.

It's time to play Jason Campbell.
Sure, we all love you and respect you from our glory days. Your legend here in DC will live for generations. But now, Mr. Gibbs, you are killing us. You and Mark Brunell are killing us with your ineffective gameplay. He is slow and jittery and passes like a little girl. You, sir, seem to be in another world - shrugging your shoulders and scratching your head like you can't figure out what is going on.

It's time to play Jason Campbell.
See, at this point, nobody takes the Redskins seriously. You have a slow and immobile quarterback who cannot and will not run the ball. In the modern NFL you have fast QB's like Mike Vick and Steve McNair and you have big strong QB's like Culpepper, Peyton Manning, Brian Leftwich and then you have QB's that can really throw like Fauvre, Brees, McNabb, Manning, and Brady. These kinds of QB's keep defenses on their toes, because you have to be prepared for anything. A deep pass, a run, a screen, ascramble, a short pass, anything. Mark Brunell [God Bless him] he just doesn't bring the depth and the talent and the threat that you need to keep opponents on their heels. And, now Portis is out! You need to bench Brunell.

It's time to play Jason Campbell.
Lord, Joe! You traded three draft picks to get this Campbell kid. And now you won't play him!?!?! We all are wondering if you've lost your mind. You sell all your stocks to by a Porsche and yet you leave it in the garage so you can go tooling around town in your '81 LeBaron. You can no longer say that he isn't ready to play yet, the ONLY WAY HE WILL GET READY IS IF YOU PLAY HIM!!! If he is awful, it will show, but he can only get better. This guy is not fine wine Joe, he does NOT get better sitting in your basement aging. He needs to be on the field.

It's time to play Jason Campbell.
Frankly Joe, we all like loyalty. But this "Love Fest" you have going on with Mark Brunell is a smack in the face to all of us fans who cheer for the Redskins each week, EACH SEASON!!! We bleed burgundy and gold for God's sake!!! The Redskins ARE NOT YOURS!!! They are ours Joe! They are ours! They belong to the fans! You coaches come and go, the players come and go! But us fans - we stay forever! So, I don't care what you and Mark have to prove to each other. I don't know if you have seen one too many Hollywood movies where the old fart comes in and saves the day. But that is not for you and Mark to try and prove to each other! That is not fair to us fans! Your stubborness and almost flippant attitude towards benching Brunell are almost criminal. You owe the fans a winning team. You are slapping us fans and the rest of the Redskin players right in the face by refusing to put the best team possible on the field each Sunday.

Joe, I love you - But I'm afraid this game may have passed you and Brunell by. It is time play step aside and play Jason Campbell.

Signed-
ALL THE DAMN REDSKIN FANS!!!!

Angry Dad...

2006-11-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

Today I am still, The Angry Dad.

Yesterday, my four year old son was at a Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party for one of his little friends. I didn't go, but when my wife got back, my son had some scratches on his face that he didn't have when he left for the party.

According to my wife, while my son was playing up in these 'tubes' they have running along the walls and ceiling for the kids climb, play and slide in, he got into a scuffle with another little boy. Another little Black kid, just like himself.

When the two of them came out of the 'tubes' my son was in tears, he had fresh bleeding scratches and the other kid had a busted lip. My wife didn't know what had happened, but like the leveled headed, intelligent woman that she is she didn't point fingers or make a scene. She called for the other boys mother and proceeded to tell both of them that fighting is not how you settle your problems. The first to show up for the other boy was [probably] his grandmother and then some very young looking 20 something woman assuming the role of his mother. My wife tried to explain what happened from her perspecive and tried to determine if apologies [from either side] were needed and to just get something by way of response from the other mother. The woman looked her kid over, said some things to the grandmother lady and flat ignored my wife and child. When I say IGNORED, I mean did not say a word or anything, she just took her kid and walked away. My wife was dumbfounded.

I wish I was there to comfort my son. I'm sure my wife did a fine job, but I would have liked to have been there too. Actually I probably would have done more harm than good and while I'd like to think I would have stressed to both boys that fighting is not something they should have done, I think I would have gone to jail for the verbal assault upon the other kids mother. I mean, how fuckin' triflin' is a mother who refuses to even acknowledge the child or the MOTHER of the child that just got into a fight with her child. How ghetto could this trick really be. What kind of mother is she? She is the ignorant, flippant, arrogant type of mother that far too many young children have. I am quite certain that I would not have allowed her to just walk away from me. That's not a knock on my wife, but I'm certain that I would have given this woman a significant piece of my mind. She inturn would have probably cursed me out and I would have finished her off with a precision onslaught of verbal declarations and assumptions about her, her family, her family's pets, her hygene and her sexual habits. As I said, I may have caused more harm than good by being there.

A few things about this incident really stung me. ONE, my son has this wide-eyed innocence about him. He thinks that everyone is his friend and everyone wants to play with him and all kids like to be nice to each other. This incident has proven to him that this simply isn't true. TWO, I couldn't help but think about a conversation I had with my father years ago. He told me that he could not understand why it seemed that young Black kids had such a high propensity to fight each other. He said that when you put large numbers of White kids together or Asian kids or Spanish kids, you don't see the same volume of little kids calling each other names and fighting each other. I've never scientifically looked at this phenomenon - but on the surface, I tend to agree with my dad. My opinions are formed by the conversations I hear and see in public, the things I've encountered at playgrounds and things I've been exposed to in general. My father's words came back to me significantly with this incident yesterday.

I stressed to my son yesterday, that fighting is not the way boys and men should settle their differences. I also told him that some kids are just not friendly and some kids don't like to play fair. I told him that I wish I was there for him when this happened. And then I told him words that I was told a hundred times and only violated once [okay, twice] - "Don't throw the first punch, but if somebody hits you first, then do what you have to do to protect yourself." I really wish I didn't have to tell him this at this point, but that really wasn't up to me.

-I'm still angry, though.

TABM

Election Day blues...

2006-11-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's late afternoon on election day.

The news is full of nothing substaintial. A lot of election day fluff and expert interviews that all end in... "well we'll just have to wait a see..." I just want to yell - "So what the HELL are YOU being interviewed for?"

Two things have my blood pressure up though-

The first is: there have been large numbers of election flyers being distributed in black communities with a "Ehrlich - Steele, Democtratic Voting Guide" title line. The cover of the flyer has pictures of three Black men on it including Democratic Maryland congressman Kweisi Mfume, Wayne Curry and Prince George's County executive Jack Johnson. For the record none of these three men endorse the current Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich. Yet, on the inside of the flyer where the candidates are listed - the Republican Governor is listed as the top candidate along with Michael Steele the Republican Senate candidate.

On top of that, the people handing these flyers out we're homeless people from Philadelphia that were bused in solely because they didn't know who was who in our election. And according to then, this was the only chance for food and money that they had.

From the Bob Ehrlich camp, they admitted that they had paid for and provided these flyers, "but it was not an attempt to confuse voters."

Uh... BULLSHIT!

This is a sad and shameless attempt to trick voters that may not be paying as much attention as they should. Now I have to say - that anyone who is not mentally sound enough to know who's a Republican and who's a Democrat, and they're not able to read a flyer to see who's who, then frankly, I really don't want them voting. Yeah I know some folks will figure it's cute when a 93 year old blind grandmother still gets out to the polls to vote like she did 20 years ago and she refuses to let anybody read the ballot to her... but come on! Regardless of how I feel about the voting process, some people are going to be deceived and some are going to hurt the future of our state and nation.

I still think Bob Ehrlich is the lesser or two evils for Maryland's Governor, but he is a low down dirty dog... wait wait... I like dogs - he is a low down dirty bastard for pulling a stunt like this! Shame on him!

The second thing that is bothering me today is: The black vote and Michael Steele. From media estimates, there are a lot of Black people voting along color lines. I as a Black man am 100% ashamed of these ignorant people.

If you are Black and you vote for Steele because you like his policies, or you like George Bush, or you are against embryonic stem cell research, or you want to stay the course in Iraq. Then fine. Those are real issues and that's what elections are all about. You're an asshole - but at least you are voting the issues. So I can't fault you.

But, if you look at his face and say, "I'm voting for him because he's Black and I'm Black." and you don't know his politics, or you don't know his history, then you are absolutely worthless as a human being. You are a sellout, you are a fool, you are not worthy of the time it would take to have your ass kicked.

All I can say is...

BLACK FOLKS:

please, please, please

DO NOT VOTE FOR MICHAEL STEELE JUST BECAUSE HE IS BLACK!

And, please, please, please - PLEASE...

Give a damn.

TTBM

It started with puppies and ended with Multiple Sclerosis

2006-11-04T23:45:00.000-05:00

With election day less than 72 hours away. I found myself turning an ever increasing deaf ear to the political ads squeezed in between my favorite television shows. It was my ignoring ear that heard a certain silence in an ad that actually caught my attention.

Let me back up for a second to explain why I heard that silence.

About four months ago I first saw a TV ad with Michael Steele on it. He started out by warning us that "The Washington set" was about to start a series of dark and frightening ad's, demonizing him and accusing him of everything under the sun, including hating puppies. He proceeded to touch on a few political points and then pulled a puppy from off camera and rubbed it under the chin and said, "For the record. I like puppies." I thought that was amusing.

Then over the next few days I started noticing people, Black People, asking each other, "Are you voting for Michael Steele?" Before long the question came around to me and I asked, "Why in the world do you think I'd vote for Michael Steele?" People would then kinda' bob and weave a little and I follow up with, "Because he's Black?" They'd shuffle a little and answer, "Yeah, I was just wondering."

I then proceeded to tell everyone almost the same answer, verbatim. "There is no way in the world that I would vote for someone just because our skin was the same color! And, there is no way - at this point in history that I would play a part in giving a Republican a seat in the Senate or the House. I want Democrats to take over the Congress and hold hearings that will hold President George Bush 100% accountable for the illegal and unjustified invasion of Iraq, The unnecessary deaths and injuries to thousands and tens of thousands of American Servicemen and women, The unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of dead and injured Iraqis, The privatization and for-profit contracting of services performed in the Iraq Theater of Operations, and the lack of support in the hunt for Osama bin Laden!" So Hell no, I ain't voting for Michael Steele! At this point in my answer my face would ususally be red and I'd be scowling!

So that is where I stand on Mike Steele. He's a Bush Republican, Republicans tend to give less than a damn about minorities, middle class and lower income families. I believe that Republicans have arrogantly stolen the concept of moral decency and claimed it as solely their domain and told America that you are either moral and with us or immoral and against us - there is no middle ground and only we are civil and just. Of course those Republicans that have recently been accused of paying off abused mistresses; or tax evasion; or flirting with pedophillia; or stealing; or having methamphetimene fueled gay sex with a prostitute. Should simply be ignored and not factored into the GOP's principles - yet when Bill Clinton foolishly got a blowjob in the oval office, Republicans labeled the whole party as horny and immoral. These people have got to be kidding!

Am I voting for Michael Steele? Am I voting for a Republican? Am I voting for a Black Republican? Am I voting to help give George W. Bush a free pass on accountability?

To steal a quote from Senator Clay Davis on HBO's "The Wire"

SHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT! No.

Well, back to the silence I heard.

This past week I started seeing commericals featuring Mike Steele's sister, Dr. Monica Turner. She started her ads by saying, "Congressman Ben Cardin is attacking Michael Steele with deceptive, tasteless ads," speaking about recent Democratic ads featuring Michael J. Fox and the need to have Ben Carin in the Senate to help Democrats push through federal funding for Embryonic stem cell research. As everyone knows, Fox has Parkinson's disease and his muscle spasms are clear in the ad. She goes on specifically to say Cardin "is using the victim of a terrible disease to frighten people all for his own political gain."

She goes on for a few more seconds before closing with this statement about Michael Steele "He does support stem cell research, and he cares deeply for those who suffer from disease. How do I know? I'm Michael Steele's little sister. I have MS, and I know he cares about me."

When I heard this I nearly fell out of my seat! Isn't Michael Steele doing the same thing he's accusing Cardin of doing. Isn't he using M.S. to frighten people in the same political vein that Cardin used Parkinson's? Isn't there the same amount of logic AND shamelessness in both ad's?

Well, last night as Dr. Turner was interrupting a new episode of Divorce Court, I noticed that Dr. Turner's ad ended a few words shorter than normal. She said, "How do I know? I'm Michael Steele's little sister." PERIOD! CUT! END! STOP! after over a week of this ad running, I think someone in Steele's camp realized that they looked just as pitiful as his opponent. Either way - it doesn't matter. I think folks have already made up their minds. I can only hope and pray that no matter how people vote, they vote THE ISSUES and they vote THEIR CONSCIENCE. With a large Black democratic group in Prince George's county throwing their public endorsement to Steele. I find myself worried and disheartened. I'm afraid that many Blacks are going to side with Steele because of his color. If this is the case, then their decision will be a slap in the face of all the men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we could be afforded the right to vote.

I'm going to end this post with one of my favorite quotes from an anti-Steele ad:

"Michael Steele likes puppies, but he loves George Bush!"
Think people, before you vote on Tuesday. It's not about Black or White, it's about good and bad, right and wrong.

TVBM

Observations and rhinestones...

2006-10-31T07:36:00.000-05:00

I saw something on the subway last night that made me want to run to my blog!

It wasn't the first time I saw it, but it was just the wrong thing at the wrong time at the wrong moment.

Ladies, ladies, ladies...
If you are a mature and grown woman, please do not come out in public with words like:

"Diva"
"Cutie"
"Sexy"
"Hottie"
"Sugar"
and/or
"Girl"

embroidered in rhinestones and glitter on the seat of your pants!!!!

It looks like a sizzlin'-hot-ghetto-mess when you do. I just want to tell you what your friends and family are too scared to say.

Let's have just a tiny bit of decorum here, can we?

Just for the record, there is not a TRUE Diva in the free world that would be caught dead with the word "DIVA" sewn to her ass in bright red sequins!!! So, please find it in your heart to believe that if you are a real hottie, cutie, sexy sugar or diva - WE WILL SEE IT IN HOW YOU CARRY YOURSELF and not in the billboard you have turned your backside into!

TTBM

Nothing is more Un-American than ELECTION TIME!!!

2006-10-26T16:59:00.000-04:00

"Fogarty watched a naked young stripper do the splits over a banana. She stood back up, her face smiling proudly and her round breasts glistening from a spotlight in the dim bar..."

So, what does this have to do with elections?

Let me disgress for a moment. TO ME, elections should embody the fundamentals of what America was built on: the ideals of honesty, integrity, truth, justice, liberty and all those good things. An election should be based on groups of people with beliefs on how to make life better for their fellow citizens, their country and even the world. At election time, these people should present their beliefs passionately and honestly to the people that will vote for or against them. They should be critical of their opponents and welcoming to the same. They should not insult the citizenry or the processes in place. It should come down to facts, truth, approach and integrity. That's the way I THINK it should be. Aside from the total naivety of what I just typed, I think my principle is sound.

So what do Fogarty and The Stripper have to do with elections? Well, it seems as though the Democratic candidate for Virginia's Senate, Jim Webb, seat wrote several fictional novels years ago and Fogarty and company were one of many steamy scenes from Webb novels that have been appearing lately on right-wing websites. Supporters of George Allen, the Republican candidate, he been trying to smeer Webb's name by calling him a smut-monger and degenerate. What does this have to do with REAL issues?

George Allen himself is floating in questionable moral waters after publically calling one of Webb's young staffers, "Macacca" (Ma-Ka-Kaa) and publically telling the young man of Indian decent, "Welcome to America! Welcome to the Real Virginia!" This was a debacle for Allen because Macacca means 'monkey' in the language his parents speak. Allen swore he had no idea what it meant, and claimed that it was just some 'non-sense' word he heard a member of his staff use. And for the record, the young man in question was born in VIRGINIA! George Allen was born in CALIFORNIA. Now other incidents of racial accusations against Allen are beginning to surface. While I hate racist assholes, I still haven't heard much on the issues from either candidate in the Commonwealth.

Across the Potomac in Maryland, two important races are bringing out the racists, the liars and the hardline heavyweights. For Senate we have:
Fighting out of the BLUE corner, weighing in at 189 pounds with 20 years in DC, Ben "Smoking Votes" Cardin!
and
Standing tall in the RED corner, weighing in at a ready 198 pounds, Michael "Don't make me call my ex-brother-in-law Mike Tyson on you" Steele!
For the record Democrat Cardin is white and Republican Steele is black.

This battle has brought out Cardin staffers being accused of eating OREO cookies to degrade Steele. Black folks at Morgan State University have been accused of throwing OREOs on stage while Steele was speaking. Cardin's commercials stress the fact that Steele gave the 2004 keynote speech at the GOP convention, and he is a loyal supporter of Dubba-ya. Personally, if you are a member of a party and the president is the head of your party, supporting him isn't the craziest thing in the world. Still few issues here but heavy on nastiness.

Steele's people claim that while Cardin has been in politics for 40 years he hasn't changed a thing in Washington. They play this point to insanity on TV and radio. For a minute, I was looking sideways at Cardin myself until I did my homework and found out that Cardin was a state delagate for 20 years and a member of the DC set for 20 years. While 2 decades is a long time, it is not the 40 years that Steele's camp is implying. Steele has also been trying this weird little game of sort-of-trying to act like he's not a Republican [in the evil sense of the word] - it's thin, very thin - but he's trying. Where do he and Cardin stand on stem cell research, taxes, crime, the war, my kids education, my job security, my health care rates, my elderly mom and dad? Who knows - I haven't been able to catch a debate lately, but I WILL before "E" day. (psst, just between us - there is no way in hell I'm going to help the Republicans get another seat in the Senate. I don't care what color he is, I don't care how friendly he looks and I don't care if he likes puppies! You must be crazy if you think I'd vote for Steele!)

Also in Maryland, the Governors race has come down to the Mayor of Baltimore - Democrat Martin O'Malley vs encumbant Republican Robert Ehrlich. These two are trying to present a somewhat politically motivated battle. It's thin, but they are trying. Simply put, the big issue is Baltimore. Baltimore - the former "Charm City USA" is sitting in the crapper right now. Crime is high, murders are high, Education is shameful on a NATIONAL level, herion is like water running down the streets, gangs are out of control. Basically, you are only safe in about 50% of the city. Safe being that you have a reasonable expectation of going to work and coming home in one piece. Now, O'Malley, into his 7th police chief in 7 years wants to do for Maryland what he has done for Baltimore.

These two are pushing hard at each other. Not heavy on the issues, but moreso on calling the other a pitiful joke and the other one declaring, "No, no - YOU'RE a bigger joke than me!" Sorry "O" but I've seen my hometown up close. It's fucked up and you have no clue as to how to un-fuck it. I can't put you in the Statehouse this time. Lock some of those B-More thugs, drug dealers and hoodlums up, come up with an education plan that can REALLY work, pay your teachers, cops and fire fighters better, and get a serious re-hab program in place and next time, my vote is yours. This time, I think its going to Ehrlich.

So, there we have it. Local politics is just like national politics. Nasty, dirty business where skeletons [no matter how big or small] will get dragged out of your closet. Nobody seems willing to say "These are my plans for taxes. This is what I'll do about crime. I feel this way about stem cells. I'll vote this way on abortion. The environment is important to me because of this..." Naw - folks just want to play the race card; folks just care about who you had sex with back when; folks just want to twist the truth about this or that. Somehow - that just seems Un-American to me.

TTBM