BAH! Pardon the Turkey

OBAMA GIVES PRESIDENTIAL PARDON TO TURKEY
"Without forgiveness, there's no future." ~Desmond Tutu

My name is Courage, and I've just received an official pardon from President Obama. Sure, I should feel good about that, but there are some nagging questions still plaguing me.
I don't mean to sound like everyone else who has ever received a Presidential Pardon, but I am innocent, so why do I need a pardon? What did I ever do that put me in such a position? Is it because I am a white turkey? Is it because I am a female? I can't quite put my talon on it.
Now I get to fly (on an airplane, first class no less) to spend the rest of my days in Disneyland. Did I just hit the winning home run in the World Series or make the final three-point shot to win the NBA championship? I don't remember being given a Disney contract to sign ahead of time.
Was I ever convicted of a crime that I have to be given a pardon from the President? It's bad enough that people like Scooter Libby are called turkeys, for reasons I'll never understand. It gives all turkeys a bad name, you know? And we all know that President Bush's commutation of Libby's prison sentence was not politically motivated. It was an act of justice and mercy. Yeah, right.
Now back to me. I like this Obama fella, even if he did say, "I was planning on eating this sucker", if Sasha and Malia hadn't intervened to save me. But it scares me to think of who will be the first person he actually pardons? From all the clucking going on in the hen house, it could well be someone who served in the White House as an advisor and went back to one of the Wall Street firms that benefitted from the bailout, and who then got himself a nice bonus, courtesy of the American taxpayer. And this Obama said he wasn't going to populate the Executive Branch with the same old insiders, as President Bush did?
It's time for the President to start talking turkey with the American people, and leave me the hell out of it. After all, "I'm going to Disneyland."

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Facebook | David G Host Jordan

Facebook | David G Host Jordan: "BSR Show 4 The Block Sports Report Hosted By Keith Allen
Source: www.youtube.com
This is the Block Sports Report Hosted by Keith Allen. This show is dedicated to bringing you news concerning Cleveland High School Sports and local sporting events in the Cleveland area."

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BAH ! Black MBA's Part Three

The Masters of Business Administration by Cecil Hickman, Publisher and Editor.

The Second Annual Mideast Regional Conference of the National Black MBA Association had an impressive speakers roster including an executive from Pitney Bowes and several top notch motivational speakers. However I gravitated toward the vending exhibit room... the place where the entrepreneurs layout their wares.

I had an engrossing conversation with a business owner only four months out of the box that led into a discussion about the need to save a generation of young african americans. We agreed that the new economy was raining havoc. The young woman had connections with a local university and who saw that a disproportionate share of the dropouts were african-american males. She wants to do something to turn that around.

She had a very impressive business card that made an immediate impact and I went out that very day and upgraded my own.

I also talked to a legal services insurance group. I know from experience that this economic downturn had forced a dramatic downsizing that hit the black community particularly hard. Sometimes where the ax fell exposed the prejudices of the employer. I only wish my family had known that for $26 dollars a month we could have had access to topnotch legal advice that might have warded off the firing squad or at least made the severance package more palatable. I remember asking what percentage of African-Amercans made up this company's workforce and was surprised to learn it was nearly half. I guess it is one of those best kept secrets.

I didn't know what to expect from the regional conference of the National Black MBA's. Something dull and dry I suppose. Maybe something akin to a group of accountants or economists. You know ... technical stuff.

I came away with tools that will transform how I handle this blog publishing business of mine ... and that frankly was a shocker ! The slugs for this gathering has to be Quality and Relevance. For example, it took place at the classy Intercontinental Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Wait till I tell you about the quality of Speakers in my next post. There were also major issues discussed that I will bring up in subsequent postings. Stay tuned.

(Click on the cell phone Video below then check back in for Part Three later for the Speakers and what I learned from them).

BTW: I resolved to buy a high-end High Definition Video Camera this week and revamp my whole marketing approach... based on lessons learned from this group).

BAH ! National Black MBA Regional Conference. Cleveland

It is tough having much confidence as an unemployed elderly black male who's profession is in turmoil. All my friends and family who are journalists are struggling. Can such an event have much of an impact on me.

Attending Personal Branding session. S. Renee Smith, motivational speaker and author,, of Image Consultant. Missed half of it. Talks about Likeability. I wrote down I am calm, quiet and empathetic. She is very interactive.

All this taking place at the Intercontinental Hotel. VERY professional. Especially imressive after the excellent but predominatly white small business conference that took place yesterday.

More posts to come.

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BAH! Red Flag or Career Part Two

I received a second accented call the following week.  This time a voice that sounded very much like the first gave me the same routine.  This time however he seemed to have his act together.  I learned he had gotten my name and number from CareerBuilder but since I had long ago dropped using that service I couldn't tell if he was following up or whether he had ripped off the contact.  I certainly did not remember putting in an application to be a insurance salesman.


This time he revealed that the company wanted me to come in for a job interview Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the suburb of Middleburg Heights.  Red Flags on Red Alert I still agreed .... amybe I thought it would make an interesting blog entry at the very least.  Besides maybe the needed a media guy or something.  


So I set up a calendar alert and forgot all about it.  Yes, I knew it sounded like a come-on ... similar to buying a timeshare or winning a cruise offered by a resort.  I could always change my mind?  Or could I.  You wanna know what happened when Wednesday rolled around?

BAH! Red Flag or Career Part One

There are red flags all over the place yet here I am sitting with a bunch of desparate job seekers at Bankers Life and Casualty.

Two weeks ago I received one of those out-of-the-blue phone calls. It was a male voice with an indian-sounding accent phone banking about something I couldn't quite understand.

The caller began peppering me with questions about my job circumstances. I peppered right back with basic questions like "Why do you want to know? " and "How did you get my name and number".

His answers were short an uninformative ... my hanging up the phone was just as short and uninformative.

Guess what happened the following week?
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BAH ! Obama Nobel Peace Prize

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The Opinion People are Piling on.  Can't see what the  Prez has done to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize!  They are blinded by the unanimous vote.  Certainly few can move past the obvious intent of the Nobel Prize Committee.

This unique selection lays clear the European notion that the leader of the Free World -- the United States -- is back with a diplomatic vision more relevant then ever before.   It is cynical to think of this as merely an anti-George W. Bush vote.   How long could they maintain any credibility as the most respected prize in the world?

Perhaps if the Facts People ever return to journalism, we might actually learn why the Nobel Prize committee did what they did ... rather than seek the guesswork --loud though they may be-- of the Opinion People.




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BAH ! Haile-Selassie -- Ardi and the Greatest Fossil Hunter on Earth

Yohannes Haile-Selassie.  The most fascinating man in the world!  Always buried in the lead while buried in the mud. The Greatest Fossil Hunter Alive. Give him a title -- if only the Indiana Jones of paleonathropoligists.

Remember that name ... no one else will.    Yohannes Haile-Selassie
is Ethiopian ... reason enough to ignore.  Not his namesake ... the late Emperor of Ethiopia.  Not an afterthought to a team of remarkable scientific minds.

Just simply the Greatest Fossil Hunter Alive !

Consider this ... as a STUDENT he discovered the 2.5 million year old skull of a unknown hominid species.  later as a fossil hunter in his native country ... found the fingers of Ardi.  And now, as PhD, explains the fossils of the earliest human ancestor of all ... Ardipitecus ramidus.   So sayeth the Plain Dealer who buried his bio ... although he is curator of physical anthropology at Cleveland's Natural History Museum.  So no sayeth Time Magazine ... who mentioned his name not at all.

But let's play fair ... in previous articles the Plain Dealer gave this remarkable researcher his due.  Wrote several stories ...making Haile-Selassie the focus of the rewriting of human history. But I can't find his name in the national press.  I get touchy I guess that when the grand announcement is made to the world last week ... the name of the fossil--Ardi--is the lead while the Greatest Fossil Hunter in the world ... is lost in the story.

BAH ! Ex President on Race

JIMMY CARTER IS RIGHT

A Commentary by Lloyd C. Daniel

Why is there so much anger and fear in the public debate over the White House’s moderate plan for health care reform?  Have you had a chance to stop and think why there are so few people of color or young people of any nationality actively protesting?  The main reason is because we won the last presidential election! It’s not all about race and that’s not what Carter said. And it’s not just about political disagreement. This political passion play is also about paranoia and other forms of madness.  That’s why some of the demonstrators are scary to the point of embarrassment for many Republicans. I don’t think that racism, alone, would lead a rational person to conclude that this is the end of the world and that the President is the anti-Christ. But let’s face it, many people find it hard to accept that they were smashed at the polls back in November and a new America is on the rise, an America within which white skin privilege just isn’t quite what it used to be.  So at the adrenaline charged demonstrations, they’re unintentionally showing all of America their true feelings, their “true colors”. They make a mockery of what they claim to stand for, and as conservative Congressman Joe Wilson auditions for a cameo, walk on role, as the guy who stands, this time, not in “the school house door”,

but the hospital door, once again, “the whole world’s watching” to see what this country is really about.

Rep. Lloyd C. Daniel is a writer, educator, advocate and a former member, of the Missouri House of Representatives.  His website address is  HYPERLINK "http://www.lloyddaniel.info" www.lloyddaniel.info 

Obama Healthcare

I am visiting an influential baptist church. It is a church with political and civic leaders. Janotors and parking attendants. Despite advanced degrees the bulletin is full of advice for finding a job.

At one point in the service the pastor mentioned that one of its deacons would be leaving after the service to go to a hospital. Going to a hospital to visit his 27 year old son. His young man of a son who has learned he has a year to live with a rare incurable kidney cancer.

The church congregation embraced the stoic deacon. All were moved to tears.
Another deacon beseeched the God they love to provide some sort of solace. And with that they prayed for all those in the nations capitol who are battling over healthcare. For this group healthcare is not a political game.

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AS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY EATS ITSELF: A Commentary by Former Missouri State Representative Lloyd Daniel

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The motion of history waits for no one. As time moves on, what will become of the ultra-right wing members and supporters of the Republican Party, who are now being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the rest of this century?

Many of them will whine and mourn the loss of unearned, and therefore unfair advantage, as did most Southern Democrats, (they called them Dixiecrats) and other backward folks lament the end
of slavery, the smashing of the Confederacy, the death of Ol’ Jeff Davis, Reconstruction, women winning the right to vote, the gains made by the modern civil rights and labor movements and the numerous successful international movements for independence and national liberation, etc.

But eventually, most of them, after a period of stiff resistance,
will ride the multi-hued, multi-polar train of world realignment into a more democratic future. As their numbers dwindle, nearing the end of empire, they will find themselves faced with the choice of either riding on that train, as fellow travelers, with no special privileges or packed into a tiny RICH WHITE MEN ONLY caboose,
tended to by a handful of battered Nazi porters humming Wagner, as they cross over the River Jordan; angry, bitter, sentimental and unreconstructed.

Editor’s Note: Rep. Lloyd Daniel is a writer, advocate and a former Missouri State legislator. His website address is www.lloyddaniel.info

Come back next week for more writings by Lloyd Daniel

Sour Grapes: The Health Care Debate, a commentary by Lloyd Daniel

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SOUR GRAPES: The Health Care Debate
(A Commentary by Lloyd Daniel)
August 11, 2009

Why is there so much anger and fear being expressed in the public debate over the White House’s moderate, compromise plan for health care reform?
Have you had a chance to stop and think on why there are so few people of color or young people of any nationally actively protesting the soft, largely optional, reform plan. The main reason is because we won the last presidential election! Let’s face it, many people find it hard to accept that they were smashed at the polls back in November and a new America is on the rise. An America in which white skin privilege isn’t what it used to be. So at the adrenaline charged forum/debate/demonstrations, they’re unintentionally showing all of America and the world their true feelings and their “true colors”.

When I was in grade school, at Ladd and Meservey, my parents were members of the NAACP. So was I. I carried around my NAACP youth member card in my Roy Rogers wallet. Late in 1959, I also Elmer’s glued a small JFK campaign button inside the wallet where my money would have gone, if I had had any. Recently as I watched CNN, I focused in on the expressions distorting the faces of the fanatical anti-healthcare bill protesters. They reminded me so much of the hate filled expressions of those who, in the ’50 and ‘60s, lobbied, protested and murdered to prevent American citizens from gaining basic human rights. Whipped up by today’s right-wing demagogues, I heard the same venomous cackles and I could see the same frantic ignorance and fear dominating their gaze. For them, the subtext was health care. But the real theme was President Obama and his refusal to buckle when confronted by their hysterical rants.

If you happen to speak with any of these apoplectic protesters, let them know that if they’re really against government-run or so-called socialized medicine, they should immediately cut up their own and/or their relatives’ Medicare cards, because Medicare is exactly that.

Editor’s Note: Rep. Lloyd Daniel is a writer, advocate and a former Missouri State legislator. His website address is www.lloyddaniel.info

Come back next week for more writings by Lloyd Daniel

Bad Choices

Two days ago I was watching a show on ESPN in which former NY Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was being interviewed. He started shedding his crocodile tears during the interview. I wondered was he crying because he threw away millions of dollars or his fear of the unknown that is waiting for him in prison when he starts serving his time in September. My take is this he should have thought about all this before he decided he was gonna be that gangsta in the club. It's sad because he really seems to be a good guy who just wandered into ultimate stupidity hurting only himself. If you have to bring a gun to a club that's the last place he should be. It could have been worse the gun going off hitting a innocent bystander wounding or worse killing that person or Plaxico killing himself. There are times when we say its the white man holding us back when actually we as black people potentially become our own worst enemy. Hopefully Plaxico can learn from this and move on with his life after he serves his time.

The B.S

It seems to me that there is a lot of contradiction when it comes to our president of the united states. With all the mess that happened during George Bush tenure in the white house it seemed to be very little uproar. But now since president Obama has been in the white house every little thing he does seems to get scrutinized. Like reaching out to the Muslim's abroad there was much to say about that. But Bush and his father were business partners to a well known terrorist Named Bin Laden but little or nothing at all was said about that. And far as the health care issue at least Obama trying to correct some of the mess that has deteriorated this country for the last 8 years. Which is more than Bush has ever done. My opinion is that We got to give Obama a chance to succeed instead of downing him every time he tries something different instead going along with the same tired philosophy which brought this country to the brink of the great depression. Lets give our president a chance that has been given to his predecessor's.

Barber Shop Talk

The Barbershop aka The Black Man's Country Club. Today, I was made aware of some relative current terms used to degrade Blacks. As if nigga wasn't enough, Shine and Mudshark were the words mentioned.. Now, Im not sure if these are some old terms revised so if anyone can shed light to this dark area, it'll be appreciated.

Black Baby Boomer Canary in the Coal Mine

I guess we are always on the cutting edge. The first to get cut in an economic downturn. The first to the bottom of the curve. And now apparently the first forced to start our own businesses.

Blogger Black Primetime reports a story by Hana Cho in the Baltimore Sun that the entrepreneurial spirit resides not in the 20 to 34 year olds. But in the 55 to 64 years olds. And that African Americans are particularly active.

Even though I can't even spell the word apparently I have the spirit. I already know I was in that group that raced into the recession way ahead of the pack ...wallowed for five years in the Great recession under the "B" administration ... And dabbled with the Depression of 14 to 25 % Black Unemployment.

But now can I possibly be back on the Fast Track?

The newspaper article is based on my hometown research foundation, the Ewing Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, just down the road from where I picked up my diploma. These folks help displaced workers create their own businesses.

They have a program called Fasttrack.org. That I'm gonna check out today now that I know it exists.

When I was sloughed off my jobs and began to notice that even-more -competent Black friends my age were losing theirs I finally took the blinders off.

I will have to create my own employment or not be employed at at all.




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Professor Gates and the Quiet Negro

Once I was on the faculty of a major midwestern university. It's where I first came to understand the Louis Gates phenomena.

I was assigned to a search committee to fill an open spot for the position of professor of journalism. There were three candidates. One an Asian from the West, an African American from the South and a Caucasian from the West.

I was the only African American on the Search Committee and I recall the open discussion of tilting the selection to further the goal of diversity. This is what happened.

The Asian was very hostile. It was shocking. We later learned he had no intention of leaving his own university ... he just wanted a free trip to see for himself what all the fuss was about the lofty reputation our school had in journalism education. Though he openly disparaged members of the faculty he still was judged a viable candidate. I wanted to punch him out and said so.

The Black guy had imposing credentials. But when we asked him questions he seemed to button up like a candidate for U.S. Supreme Court. Even our ad hoc Black Caucus could not pry anything out of him.

I remember asking the Black candidate what his philosophy of news was. He said, "Well, I like sports."

As a newshound it could not have sounded more strange than if he said " I like knitting".

Either this guy was an idiot or the most cagey applicant in the tradition of Bid Whist or Poker ... Keep your cards clost to the vest. .

The White candidate also had imposing credentials. He treated the committee and everyone he met with respect. He clearly wanted the job and pursued it. He had a dazzling answer to my question about news. In other words he won my vote.

Yet in our search committee deliberations I was astounded at the tortured logic that put the White guy out of the running. In the end no one was picked and the search was thrown open again.

There is a lot that can be said about this sample of 1990's hiring philosophy. I leave that up to your interpretation

But I have come to see that the Black Candidate's strategy was more mired in White low expectations about diversity than it ever could be free to match Lofty Black expectations of merit.

And that my friends is my analysis of the Henry Gates affair.
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Happy Birthday!

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Happy Birthday President Obama!

The Officer, The Professor, The Unrest......

As I sit here brainstorming. The Hypocrisy that Blacks have endured and currently against. Officer Crowley and Henry Louis Gates Jr. comes to mind, the "teachable moment" shows that despite our achievements in life we still lack the respect of our peers. To be detained by the authorities at your own residents after going through the motions is "stupidity" which caused an uproar across the country to the point that President Obama defuses by calling a conference to resolve these difference over beer... I have to agree with this gesture of human nature, that if more indulged in such rituals maybe this can be a more peaceful place to live.... As though, Ignorance is bliss that Officer Barrett of the Boston PD displays in an attempt to spark more flame by sending out the derogatory email about Henry Gates entailing to the momentous "Beer Summit"...no peace, no respect in 2009. This leads me to the "Unrest" of Emmitt Till as some may be aware the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Il was latest on blast due to the discovery of the coffin that Till was buried in 1955 was hidden in a shed beneath "trash" appalling.... Furthermore, arose speculation that the casket may have also been used to bury others. The glass casket that needs to be immortalize in a museum buried under trash... Till was 14 when he was horridly murder by white men of the infamous Jim Crow era for whistling at a white woman in Mississippi while visiting relatives. The massacre of the young Chicago native aided the ignited Civil Rights movement. I remember my grandfather telling the story of that moment as he is a native of Mississippi having to endure the Hypocrisy of Willie Lynch, Jim Crow not being able to have an education. How we as Blacks with more opportunity to receive knowledge and we choose to do dumb things.. We need to wake up and smell the more advanced prejudice the "mental wars" the mind is a terrible thing to waste............ The Hypocrisy is us...... Most get enraged when Imus used the term "nappy headed ho's"... Yet, Too Short makes reference of the similar term its cool.. Now don't get me wrong I'm a Too Short fan... Look at the one in the mirror and ask yourself "What Can I do???" We must divert this Hypocrisy just because Obama is the Prez doesn't me we get a "Pass".. Its says change is inevitable by application of oneself to another and so on..... The walkers, talkers and, the achievers its for the taking.... We can overstand by sticking with the plan.... Not the prefabricated plan of big booty women, big flashy jewelry, bmw or benz... That's a limit.....We have no limits like Master P song "We No Limit Soldiers" like MLK, Malcolm, Medgar, Marcus to name a few we are still stuck in societies His-story lets move on from this mental entrapment We need more educators to aid in nurturing and growth of our future the Babies.........to be continued......

Jobless Recovery

I call my friend to tell her about that nasty TV commercial about Chia Obama. She tracks such travesties on her blog Obama Respect Disrespect. She already knew about it ... had already attacked it.

But the phone conversation never gets there. She has lost her job.

Now she is in recovery ... Reeling from this rend in her life. Another Black Baby Boomer stunned by this trend in our lives.

The term jobless recovery takes on new meaning ... When the jobloss is yours. Good thing she is the most resourceful person in these parts.
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Blacks Against Hypocrisy--Michael Jackson

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I was stunned when I discovered that Time Magazine didn't do a cover story on Michael Jackson. Instead they had a cover of a giant birthday cake discussing the state of married life.  Then next week they had a cover story about Sarah Palin preening about on a boat dock in Alaska.  

Newsweek did sorta.  Apparently they had an alternate cover story with a picture of a very young Michael Jackson.  Both have come out with commendable commemorative editions however. 

The best coverage that I read was in something called Hip Hop Magazine.  They seemed to best capture the unprecedented impact Michael Jackson had on global culture.  There were a dozen or so other commemorative cover story special editions including that published by Rolling Stone.

The mainstream media continued it's ambivalent coverage.  They were stuck on the controversies of his life, the disposition of his children, and the mystery surrounding his death. The question always arises in my mind that if a story has nothing new to offer ... then why publish it.  

What do you think?

Memorial Fit for a King

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Wow, What comment! We are going to have to put links to your words that
will define them for us or we'll have to keep a dictionary around all the time!

What a Memorial for Micheal Jackson, it was fit for a KING.....The greatest entertainer
of all time!!......what a great thing to say about him!.........What an accomplishment he has made!....As I think about what my mother's epitaph reads.......Gone by not forgotten!... I think of Micheal........He will be remembered for all time! We loved him but .....He loved us more!

Mrs. Tee

Blacks Against Hypocrisy--Michael Jackson

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I am watching the Michael Jackson memorial on CNN. It is a global event. Every angle covered.
I'm searching my own memories, my visual cues, my emotional touchstones.
He is still alive, still the engenue genius.

He is also the metaphor for ambivalent blackness in intransigent white America.
He is Batman in reverse. Black on the inside, White on the outside.
It didn't matter for many ... one way or the other ... it didn't matter.


But in the final analysis ... the Music is What it Is. It conveyed the lyrics of his life.
It buoyed the lachrymose of life. He escaped my own existence ... what I mean
He lifted me from the moment. ...to a place he prepared ... from music he made ...
from a muse he didn't know. Maybe the music was Michael and Michael was music.

Blacks Against Hypocrisy --Internet Time bomb

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You have probably noticed the design changes undertaken by Blacks Against Hypocrisy.  We have also made changes in our editorial focus.  We now are taking a serious look at the most critical issue facing the economic future of African-Americans ... that is the Time Bomb known as the Internet.   --Blacks Against Hypocrisy editorial staff. 

We notice there is a conference titled "Black Folks Guide to Making Big Money on the Internet Online Conference 2009".  It takes place in August 28th 2009 ... and they are charging $375 to attend.  WHERE is anybodies guess.  Maybe the folks who set it up assume everything takes place in New York City ... who knows the logic.  But we can't find the location anywhere.  If you know where this is taking place please let us all know. 

We found the conference on something called  PR.com.  Some kind of press release service.  We at Blacks Against Hypocrisy have more than a passing interest in press release services.  The flaws are often so obvious one contributor decided to create his own site highlighted by an easy-to use-template specially targeted for Black groups.     http://hickmantemplates.revealmediagroup.com.  

Perhaps someone out there in cyberspace will let us know if this conference is worth the ink.  Perhaps it means that Blacks are sensitive to Hypocrisy in New Media.  That the Internet Time bomb we describe below is not going un-noticed.  

                                                    ______________________

Hidden beneath today's disturbing economic news is the hidden hypocrisy time bomb known as the Internet. Blacks know it has created a culture of products and services FOR FREE !   

Newsrooms on buyout status know full well how sites like Craigslist have killed ad revenue for a dying breed of journalism.  The travel industry lost franchises when scheduling a flight went online.  Any car dealers left should be against the internet trend because they will have to deal with websites that put them on bypass.  

Blacks Against Hypocrisy believes the brunt of this digital dislocation will fall on the backs of minorities.  BAH ! suspects education and brute sweat won't be the gold standard when any kid with a computer and a garage can create and destroy whole  industries. You can even get your masters online bypassing brick and mortar universities.  

Somehow in the rush to fix the banks, and automakers ... there needs to be regulatory reform aimed at taming the Wild Wild West known as the Internet.  Blacks aren't against the Internet ... many are simply not allowed to be part of it.     

Can we get a witness ?

 

BAH ! African Am. Prez n Africa Why ?

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AllAfrica.com reports the U.S. has to defend President Barack Obama's major policy speech to the Muslim world because it takes place in an authoritarian country Egypt. Why not ... say critics ... why not make the speech in a democratic country like Indonesia?

BAH ! NCR Blacks move from Ohio to Georgia

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NCR makes a lot of money ... 5.2 billion dollars. It wants to move its headquarters from Ohio to Georgia ... taking its strong Diversity Tradition away from a state struggling in a down economy.   More than 2000 jobs will move away from Dayton to Duluth.   Already companies in dying Ohio cities that do business with NCR are putting holds on that account.  The Governor of Ohio is throwing 31 million dollars NCR's way to try to keep them in the Buckeye but it is clearly too little and too late.  The Governor of Georgia is already putting out the welcome mat.

NCR started out as the National Cash Register Company and expanded into ATMS and other automated business products.  They  say they have a strong committment to diversity ... look at the resume of their second-in-command:


Quincy L. Allen
Quincy L. Allen was appointed CEO of Vertis Communications in 2009 and is responsible for the strategic direction of the company. Prior to Vertis, Quincy was with Xerox Corporation for 27 years. Most recently, he was president of the Global Business and Strategic Marketing Group, as well as vice president of Xerox Corporation. He rose through the ranks of Xerox beginning as an electrical engineer, then serving in senior technical and management positions in areas such as supply chain, sales and marketing, and product development. Other key positions include vice president, Worldwide Customer Services Strategy; senior vice president, North American Services and Solutions; senior vice president, Xerox Business Group Operations; and president of the Production Systems Group. Quincy earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Rochester. He also is a board member of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc. and the Electronic Document Systems Foundation.

It is clear that recent reprehensible economic policies have placed a major hardship on manufacturing states like Ohio.  Maybe it jumping from the frying pan into the fryer ... Georgia has an above average unemployment rate.  This will help that southern state ... but decimate Southern Ohio. By the way, Forbes placed Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown and Dayton on its list of Dying Cities.

BAH ! General Motors

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We stayed at the massive GM complex while attending the Detroit Jazz Festival.
The glittery silos had the look of "Forever" ... you know ... like it was too powerful to ever fail.

Today we know they are entering into bankruptcy. My best friend Morris, who worked on the assembly line, will lose his job. It was a career he once thought would live on "forever".

But just like Jazz, like careers, like car companies ... nothing lives forever ... not even the arrogance of once-powerful employers.

BAH ! The Home Team loses... Away from Home

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There is a certain swagger when a team realizes it will defeat another... that it will ultimately win ! It's an attitude that never seems to leave unless an unexpected loss occurs on the home court.  So it is with  NBA Champions... so it is with great leaders ... and definitely that's the way it is with great countries. 

Often however swagger meets grit ... and a shockingly surprise defeat...  tears through an otherwise confident organization.  Sometimes the underdog simply rises to the occasion.  We go into battle as Heroes and leave as Sidekicks in the actual winner's war.

Shock ensues with the insouciant sense that the playing field is NEVER level. How many better teams in sports and political history have lost?  How many great talents have never won a championship?  How many lesser beings have wandered into the lottery of luck.

For minorities ... the cult of meritocracy... is just as irrelevant.   It is the home field advantage of family and friends that is HUGE !  Because the Playing Field is NEVER level for minorities ... and Victory is... stunning as it is... in the Loss. 

BAH ! Don't let what you Can't do stop what you Can do

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Long ago...the estimable NBA analyst Steve Jones watched the 5'3" Muggsy Bogues dominate a game offensively AND defensively and made the remarks quoted in the headline above.  This is so true in minority life.  A certain local candidate for judge, against all odds, finally wins after six attempts. A certain high school coach loses a job...then finds another in time to put food on the family table.  Oddless victories Black Americans know well as Our unemployment rate sours into a Depression.

We watch our favorite teams fight for survival and absorb the battles lost... but celebrate  wars won when devastating losses turn a team into a champion.  That is the story line some Black-American live.  The ones that give the Race hope ! But it is still hard to forget the tragedies.

We have no choice...we have  to do what we can do... often over what we are allowed to do. 

"Don't let what you can't do...stop what you can do !".  Amen Brother Jones.

BAH ! Disturbing Insider Tip--Why Feds deny claims

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In certain departments in a certain influential federal agency...the rules are rigged so that employees are rewarded if they DENY claims of  American Citizens? Get my drift?

An insider "federal claims adjuster" tells BAH! that employees have to meet and exceed quotas on the number of cases they process.  The more they process the more secure their employment.  It takes 15 minutes to deny a case...45 minutes to an hour to approve a case.   Do the mental Math!

This insider says this "system" inadvertently rewards Denials.  This "system" also leads to an adversarial relationship in client service for untold thousands of American Citizens.  Get my drift?  If you have noticed this kind of situation in your own dealings with federal agencies ....give BAH! a shoutout.   

  

Black Radio a Key Asset; Is It Worth the Price?

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Let me see, if I understand this correctly. The Performance Rights Act would have radio stations pay performers to play their songs; currently they do not. It sounds pretty simple but apparently it’s not. There is generally another side involved.

I agree with the previous entry concerning the intellectual property of performers. The performers have been “raped by record companies, radio stations, television stations, ………..you name it….to turn a buck.”

“Some think this is the American way.”

Who got the money? The record companies? The radio stations? The performers? ……etc. , it appears they all got a share, but in what percentage?

This has been a capitalist system…….although now with few rules……who knows to what extent people will go too for money?

Right or Wrong! This is why we are a BAILOUT NATION now!

Some say “Pay first, then we talk.”

The radio stations promoted the performers and helped them get more exposure to sell their craft. Should they begin charging the performers a fee to do this or charge them an advertising charge??

The record companies were contracted to produce, distribute, and sell the performers craft in mass. They appear to get a good return for this....do they pay the performers well?... apparently not.

The performers get paid when they sign their contracts, when they sell their music, etc.....It's not enough!

Some say “Everything has a price..”

It appears that the squeaky wheel gets the oil and changes are being considered ……..as mentioned in the Detroit News…..

“Chairmen John Conyers said he shares the concern about the potential impact of new fees on small broadcasters. As a result, he proposed changes that were agreed to that create a sliding fee scale for small broadcasters and delays the start date of payments:

Stations with annual gross revenues of less than $100,000 would pay $500 each year. Those with gross revenues between $100,000 and $500,000 would pay $2,500. Those between $500,000 and $1.25 million would pay a royalty fee of $5,000 per year.
The fees wouldn't start for three years if a station's revenues are less than $5 million annually, and for 1 year for others.

In the original bill, stations with gross revenues of less than $1.25 million would pay a flat fee of $5,000. “

Why is there so much concern in helping the performers get paid now, when they have been raped for so long? .............This doesn't seem like much money, right?.........This would be the beginning, who knows where it would go. This would create a huge income stream for somebody, but I'm not so sure that would be the performers.

Some say “We are a land of Laws” ...............yet….....they are continually broken ……. Some Attorneys are working for you others are part of the problem.

Performers, you have a gift, we love it, I agree. Put a price on it, get your price or negotiate. Your gift is one part of the business……then there's the business of the industry and there's always the money!

We know there are people who make millions of dollars in the music industry and can’t sing, can’t read music, or play an instrument.

Capitalism …..Fees,…..you think…...it’s about the MONEY???

WAMO--Included in possible sell of 3 Black radio stations in Pittsburgh to St. Joseph's Missions
resulting in more job loss ..........Do you think they will be interested in your programming??

The bottom line is we need Black Radio for our Performers, our Politicians, and for our Voice.

Mass Communication is a Key Asset! We don't want to loose it! We need to gain more control and expand it! ...........We Can't Afford to Loose It!!!!! Stand Up! Put your resources together and buy controlling interests and "Rock-n-Roll."

BAH ! Cheney battles Obama

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Jazz Currents: Performance Rights Act

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Like jazz vocalist, pianist Mose Allison sings...... "Everybody is cryin' mercy, but they don't know the meaning of the word."  

In the recent cry by radio stations who think they've been dealt a lethal blow by a decision to up the revenue cost in favor of musicians here's a thought.

Musicians have literally been raped with no lubricant by record companies, radio stations, television stations, the internet, club owners, and just about anyone else who uses a musician's intellectual property to turn a buck. Musicians create the hits that we love and everyone else profits from. They are the geese who lays the golden eggs.

"The Geese" have been so micro-focused on music that they've for the most part relinquished the "business" part of the music business. For them, music business is an oxymoron.  

Interestingly enough, the much maligned Michael Jackson is an example of a musician who has paid attention and did very well, including buying up the entire Beatle's catalog. I'm sure Sir Paul McCartney wishes every morning he had paid more attention when he's drinking his tea and eating his crumpets.

The Kings and Queens of radio have no clothes on this one.....

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BAH ! Notre Dame, Supreme Court and a New Lawn Mower

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Soon the President of the United States will pick a new Supreme Court Justice to replace David Souter....needless to say the litmus test may again be Roe v. Wade.  Sunday Mr. Obama braved hecklers at Notre Dame... proposed Common Ground between two "irreconcilable camps" on the issue of Abortion.  How will all of this will help Blacks decide whether or not to buy a new Lawn Mower?   

My Catholic Neighbor to the Right of me has a brand new 80-inch Gas-Guzzling Mower with a gigantic grass catcher and an elegant ignition system. This neighbor also has a Scorched Earth power train and a Your-Ass-is-Grass and I-am-the-Lawnmower attitude.  Needless to say...his daily cuttings makes a yard look more like Plowed Ground than Common Ground.    

The Local Liberal to the Left has a recycled reel mower with  a refurbished grass catcher and a composte-ignition system.  This neighbor has an Irritate Authority power train and a Your-Assets is-Grass and I-am the-Lawnmower attitude.   Needless to say her random cuttings make a yard look more like Coffee Grounds than Common Ground. 

"There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbour's." --Clyde Moore.

So, the guy in the middle, the Minority Man, looks amused at the snow job in his neighborhood.

Seeking Common Ground he buys a refurbished but full-warranty Lawn Mower with very few bells and whistles but one important feature.  The ability to cut the grass just right !  It's power train is based on Practicality and it's grass catcher is goal-oriented and balanced.  He cuts the front every week and the back yard every other week.  

The moral of the story.  Focus on what everyone agrees is achievable.....preventative education, reductions in abortions, more efficient adoptions...are just a start.  That plus an attitude to pursue the practical is the best policy of all.  That's a Kick-ass Lawnpower with Assets !

BAH! Radio Fees for Performers

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Today the House Judiciary Committee will markup the Performance Rights Act...a bill that would force radio stations to pay royalties for their work.  Rallies and on-air protests are planned. Minority station owners claim it will put them out of business...that they simply can't afford it in this economic environment.  Bill supporters claim it is long past due that musicians receive compensation for their creative efforts.  

The Chair of the Judiciary Committee....John Conyers... the dean of African-American congressfolk...is a jazz aficianado and it's clear where his sympathies lie. Critics say he is backed by foreign-based record execs who stand to reap a windfall.  These critics include prominent African-American and Hispanic-Ameroican stations who rightfully claim they are at least owed a congressional hearing on their views. 

As usual the truth is somewhere in the middle.  Musicians who have their works aired for free clearly deserve something just as most other media require.  But it is just as clear that radio stations provide a unique promotional platform that can drive sales of the performer's product.  That needs to be recognized financially ...perhaps as a tax deductible in-kind asset.  

The public deserves a fair, open and transparent congressional hearing on House Bill 484 in order to judge both sides of the controversy.  Musicians deserve the right to negotiate royalties and radio station owners deserve the right to include their promotional capabilities as discounts on royalties. 

BAH! Manny like Madoff

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Manny Ramiriz is like Bernie Madoff.  Both allegedly took advantage of a weak regulatory environment and both got caught when the systems changed...exposing both.  Both played by the unwritten nod and wink  rules of both "sports".  

The slugger and the seller...both symptoms of the no-holds barred economic policy party that disdained a vigilant regulator.  Greed and Fear are the rules... And a level playing field be damned!  

It's something Seniors and Minorities know well in the Jobless Game.

 

BAH ! Obama Tax on Overseas Hidden Profits

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U-S based Multi-National Companies continue to shirk their responsibilities in supporting the recovery of the American Economy.  Now they pledge to fight the President's effort to hire 800 IRS people... to go after the 80 Billion Dollars parked overseas by these same corporations... in their morally-bankrupt effort to escape paying their fair share.  

The multi-national companies have had no trouble demanding Taxpayer Bailouts or throwing people out of work while protecting their stockpile.  Their Media and Congressional  apologists have already begun a campaign to disparage the Administration's new effort. 

Multi-National Corporations should pay the same proportion of their income in taxes as minority Americans ...and you can bet that scares them half to death. 

BAH ! Rush Limbaugh LOL

Back in the Roaring Nineties the biggest Loudmouth was Limbaugh.  My white friends in a certain midwestern state said he was great !  I listened ...mystified...for years. I wanted to know what his audience thought...an audience that controlled the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court.  

Rush sounded a lot like what I remembered of Senator Eugene McCarthy. Arrogant, dismissive, and crude. It was His version of Conservatism or the highway...and did that school of thought a Huge disservice.  He had no reporter staff to search out the truth...he merely trolled the "drive-by media" and spun it beyond reality.

Now mainstream America has seen what minority America has long known...that the Rush philosophy is as bankrupt as AIG, Chrysler, and Lehman Brothers.  That the Rush philosophy is as morally blind as the Iraq War, Katrina, and Dick Cheney. Now I can safely switch off the Limbaugh Loudmouth and know that I am not missing a thing !

BAH ! Wage Deflation

The Boston Globe and Chrysler are trying to force huge wage cuts on its workers to try to survive.  Sign of the Times.  General Motors, the financial sector, and companies across America are trying to do the same.  But that's better than losing your job right?  Sure it is...better to have income than to not have income. 

But there is a Catch 22 here.  According to ________ prize winning economist and editorialist Paul Krugman, such wage deflation is very bad for the recovery.  Those left with jobs simply don't have enough money to buy stuff at the store and fuel a consumer resurgence.  

But that analysis is for the broader market.  Certain sectors are mired in a Depression not a Recession.  African American men, Baby Boomers, Auto Workers, etc. are more afraid of not finding a job then they are of losing one they have already lost.  For them wage deflation is 100 %!!!   

BAH ! Mr. Obama's First 100 days

The Mainstream Media will likely give a grade for the first 100 days through the prism of their political positions.  Watch for it.  The way Fox assesses it will be different from MSNBC and different from CNN.  The way the Wall Street Journal handles it will be different from the way the New York Times reports on it.  Look beneath the covers for their editorial positions and whether it bleeds into their "objective" analysis.

Widen your reading list to include That Minority Thing, the Root and other multicultural opinion sites.  Get a balanced view.  Know what Limbaugh and O'Reilly think because they both influence a sizeable if shrinking number of influential voters.

See through the hypocrisy of today's shrinking newsrooms and exploding punditry to find a balanced and fair appraisal of President Barack Obama. In other words, go to the aggregators like Google News and Yahoo News !  

BAH ! Spectre of Specter

Arlen Specter started out as a Democrat.  Switched to Republican.  Now has decided to become a Democrat again.  Seems he saw the poll numbers for the Republican primary in his home state of Pennsylvania and decided his prospects were "bleak". His GOP prospects dimmed considerably after he and two other moderate republicans broke rank and voted for the Obama stimulus package.  

He also noted that 200,000 PA. republicans switched parties in the last presidential election.  The Limbaugh reaction boils down to "good riddance" as does that of the combative putative head of the RNC Michael Steele.  

Now that we have absorbed all this political ruckus maybe we can get back to the business of whipping Swine flu, reviving the economy, wiping out Al Queda, ending the Iraq War, reforming health care, energy and the economy.  You know, insignificant stuff like that.

BAH ! Internet Unregulated

Why isn't the Internet regulated? We get frightened by the Swine Virus and rush to regulate it out of existence. . We toss bailot money for the derivatives "virus" yet we we stand by while an unchecked internet threatens the body economic and eviscerates industry after industry. Is there no common sense difference between deregulation and No regulation?

BAH ! Craigslist Killer and Deregulation

Why should the Internet escape reasonable regulation? Some guy in ________ is accused of ________ women who posted sex-for-money ads on Craigslist. He may have set them up for murder in the quiet recesses of fancy hotels. Now there is a hue and cry for the founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark,, to rein in the ads to protect the public.

Why does the Federal Communications Act of 1996 protect what some attorney generals call the largest porn industry in the country?

Why does it take murder for the public to wake up to the dangers of an unregulated Internet? Minorities already know not to trust job listings on the internet because so many are just come-ons by anonymous characters who are really seeking ways to strip ____________ of their money. Now we also know at least one mild-mannered medical student allegedly wanted to strip women of much much more.

Is There Corruption in Online Bidding Process to Buy/Sell Real Estate? by Mrs. Tee

It came to my attention that some of the vacant or foreclosure properties in our
neighborhoods could be due to underhanded practices with the online bidding
process.

Bids could be put in by or for a non-existent business or individual. This non-existent entity wins the bid over a willing, interested party. Then since the winner is non-existent the property remains vacant and an eye sore in the neighborhood. The other interested party who is not able to act on this property must find another property of interest to them.

Is this possible? Can they corrupt the process in this manner? What do you think?

Mrs. Tee

BAH ! Obama vs Chavez Reagan vs Gorbachev

Let me get this straight. It was OK for Reagan to pal around with _______________ of the Soviet Union who could kill us militarily and not okay for Obama to shake hands with Chavez of ___________ who can only call us names. It's was OK for Nixon to toast __________ of China and not OK for Obama to be civil to uncivil __________ of Nicaragua.

Perhaps the cool style of this President exposed the boorishness and impotence of those popgun dictators not the dignity and might of the United States. Perhaps his new face of diplomacy has exposed the thin-skinned nature of the failed foreign policy of Cheney/Bush more than anything else.

Now I get it. It was okay for conservatives to chatup mortal enemies to further American interests in the Cold War...it's not okay for realists to engage the pipsqueaks south of the border to further American economic interests weakened by the global policies of the previous administration.

BAH ! Newsroom Nadir Democracy Downsized

It is the newsrooms who are dying not journalism. That system of editors, news directors, fact checkers, producers etc. etc. that protects the information gathering process...is rapidly unraveling. The replacements are amateurs armed with an attitude, a camera, and a disdain for journalistic ethics.

The replacements include the loudmouths with opinions rather than the reporters seeking the facts. Yet the demand for accurate information is greater than ever.



The new system covers the Recession but ignores the economic Depression overwhelming minorities. The outrage is with corporate bailouts and not with the loss of jobs dominated by blacks, latinos, and asians.



We are creating a new blog Last Hired First Fired designed to restore the balance between opinion and fact. If you are interested we have modest paid editor positions, offer internship writer and fact-checker opportunities, and volunteer reporter contributors. Reply by commenting. This new blog needs writers sensitive to minority and economic news.

Obama Respect-Disrespect

OBAMA RESPECT-DISRESPECT???? WHAT DO YOU THINK?Rev. Al Sharpton was discussing a similar issue with his co-host and I believe an attorney, they had call in as a guest, on his radio program. I think it was on Thursday April 9, 2009. They mentioned: 1. An OBAMA FRIED CHICKEN now being sold in New York. 2. A CHIA-A-PET was sold with the face of President Obama and the plant growing out of its head that looked like an Afro......but complaints came in and it was removed from the shelves. And there was 3. The OBAMA CONDOMS; the co-host mentioned she saw while shopping! She was very turned off by them. What do you think about these three items??? Share this with everyone so we can see what they think as well!......My general take from the discussion was that in most cases, most of the items being sold have the intent to promote the President in a positive way and that for the first time many Black entrepreneurs are able to profit in way that they have never been able to profit before. They also mentioned Martin Luther King Jr. We know the following he had and the height he was able to rise too, but most of the items we were not able to profit from.......As far as the negative press..it sells!.... There is always someone willing to take a negative approach and stretch it as far as the can. DISRESPECT will change when we start complaining, when people or products don't give President Obama or First Lady Michele Obama the respect they are due, we need to turn off the TV, radio, etc. and send out emails in massive proportions, and tie up the phone lines all over this country! Change takes Action!..and Action doesn't happen without You!... So Let's Pay Attention! Send this to Everyone! Let's get the Feedback! and Let's get Started Now! Mrs. Tee

Private Citizen Journal--Text Driving

Most recently one of our major cities recently passed a leglislation on DWT(driving while texting)which is good for safety reasons.now if we can encourage our (AA) elected officials in this major city to sponsor legislation aimed at indecent exposure PUP (pull up pants). Their leadership will be greatly appreciated from protecting us from this potential public hazard!

AFFECTED DECENDANTS


Let me mention some names I cried over from AIDS to abstention
I cried hard deep tears
Not for HIV but for the Memories
Of lost greatness of names still unknown to a host of
Affected Descendants
Whom I represent
James Baldwin 1987, with novels in playwright and poem, setting on a cloud
Welcoming Max Robinson on December 20, 1988,
Carrying his tapes from ABC World News Tonight
The Journalist born in 39 on that HIV climb
First Black full time Anchorman
And I am your affected Descendent
On Drugs they did not make, you could not take
I am your Descendant
There rises Alvin Ailey from January 5, 1931 to December 1, 1989
Where is his crime?
Learning from Katherine Dunham each step up his endless frame
That still claimed him more than his name but his dance, his dance
I am his Affected Descendant
Marlin Riggs 1957 to 1994
Graduated from Harvard, Magda Cum Laude
His Emmy in 93, Peabody in 91
The filmmaker acting in a new play this day
Was sent on his way
In honor of him and more
I am his affected Descendant
NKOSI Johnson Ascended in 01 at the age of twelve
From then, the living hell of South Africa
They called him the face of HIV
But he is more than that to me
I just wish you could see
I am his affected Descendant
Jerry Smith 1986
Tight end NFL Redskins
Simon NIKOLI 1998
The great GLTB activist from South Africa
Gibson Kente in 2004
And there are more, and there are more
Kente the father of Black Theater in Soweto
My Brother EZAY-E to me straight out of Compton in 1995
Ganster RAP and NWA
Walk in his shadow this day
I am the descendent connected by virus

To a host of history’s meanest most fierce warriors
I want no more births from this disease
By my account to fall in ascension lane
What ever be their name
For everything we hold dear and near bring forth a generation by education
And affected not infected generation
Why did Arthur Ashe rise in 1993, three grand slam titles, Davis cup and graduate of UCLA
His transfusion could not keep the AIDS away
Doctor Isabello Reyes is still taking care of me
And Derrick Anderson a father a brother
Halsey Wood
All these men of African Decent
Lent me strength in their assent
And all the angles of AIDS in there Lament
Affected Descendants
To Heaven Went.
f.
2009

BAH ! Tea Party Tax Day & Santelli Rant

Let me be sure we've got this right. Today's 3000 Tea Parties organized by right wingers are protesting tax bloat when in fact the government cut taxes. The effort was touched off by a rant from business "reporter" Rick Santelli, who railed against financial help for homeowners left underwater. But he loved bailots for wall street fat cats. "...helping the folks who carry the water not those who drink it..." so he proclaimed.

The Boston Tea Party was all about raising taxes on Tea done without colonial representation in the British parliament. It led to the American Revolution.

These guys wanna equate that with temporary bailouts approved by their representatives to save the economy ravaged by the pee party on Wall Street. That's revolutionary alright.

BAH ! Korea. Size Matters

Less we forget. Size matters. The ballistics behemoth known as the United States defeated second banana the Soviet Union. Does North Korea really rate?

A failed launch by a second rate dictator compared to the nuclear arsenal of Russia...it's downsized antecedent. Somehow we seem to lose perspective.



Yes size matters. But the common cold can bring even the largest animal to its knees. A pipsqueek power like North Korea might destabilize the region. Son of Domino Effect? Yes size matters...large and small.

BAH ! Real Estate for Religion--post Easter

The subprime real estate bust wrecked the world economy apparently. Some say a commercial real estate bubble is about to implode. That alone might sink the recovery.

But what havoc might the combustion of religious real estate wrought? The primarily white Catholic Church around the corner is closing under the weight of a million dollar roof repair and assessments owed the diocese. 50 other urban parishes are in some form of closure...if not foreclosure.

A tiny protestant church not far away avoided the banks by passing the hat to raise the thousands needed to repair its leaky roof. Meanwhile a powerful Black Baptist church on the far side of the city cut back on services...religious and social...in an effor to ride out the recession.

Is it possible that the Bush economy is also wrecking spiritual economies left and right...leaving empty marble hulks behind as the only legacy of that very born-again administration?

Obama Bashing by Mrs. Tee

Have you noticed that many times when President Barack Obama is mentioned on TV, RADIO, Web, etc,....that people will not say President Obama, Mr. President, or President Barack........and the same thing happens with First Lady Michelle Obama.

It's distasteful, disgusting, and very disrespectful. They are the most powerful couple in the world and they deserve the respect, the titles, the accolades, and everything else that comes with the position. Not only did they do the work to get there, they get it! They understand and they are just getting started! The Change Continues.

MrsTee

BAH ! Assault Weapons sound Fishy

There is a catchy TV ditty sung by a mounted bass that goes like this:

Give me back that fillet of fish. Give me back that fish
Give me back that fillet of fish. Give me back that fish

What if it was you hanging up on this wall
If it was you in that sandwich...you wouldn't be laughing at all

This could very well apply to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder:

Give me back that ban on Assault Weapons. Give me back that ban
Give me back that ban on Assault Weapons. Give me back that ban.

What if it was you hanging up in this morgue.
If it was you on that slab...you wouldn't be laughing at all

BAH ! Assault Weapons for Pirates and Cop Killers

Let me get this straight. Twenty sailors on the open sea near Somalia are unarmed and pirates can board their freighters, hold the captain hostage and demand millions in ransom. The Pirates are armed to the teeth, the sailors are not.

A brother police officer in Pittsburgh can answer a domestic disturbance call and get gunned down along with his two backups. The killer has a semi-automatic weapon and a bullet-proof vest.

A deranged killer can wipe out 13 innocents at a center for teaching english to immigrants in Binghamton, NY. A killer armed with two semi-automatic weapons and a bullet-proof vest.

So why aren't sailors in the crowded shipping lanes off the coast Africa allowed to carry the kinds of military-style weapons and armor to defend themselves that killers are allowed to register in the United States to kill innocents.