Somehow They Fool Some People All The Time

Although the evidence is out and it is clear that President George W. Bush and his administration not only lied about the reason for going to war, but they made a calculated effort to release the name of a CIA operative, because her husband challenged the administration. Seems this administration is going to get away with one more act of betrayal against the American People.

The recent revelations about the conditions at the Military Hospital Walter Reid, is more than a black eye but a gaping head wound to the Bush group. How could they allow our soldiers to be treated this way; in mold, roach and rat infested conditions. A hospital is supposed to be a sterile environment. Yes, you should be able to eat off the floors. Is there any doubt as to what is important to the Bush gang? OIL O-I-L, OIL. Bush has secured the oil fields of Iraq but has failed to launch a real effort in the rebuilding of New Orleans. What more has to happen before people wake up about Bush and his intentions? 

Even though a jury of his peers found that Scooter Libby former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney violated the law, it appears that George Bush may pardon him. After swearing that he would fire anyone responsible for leaking the name of an undercover agent in the CIA, Bush has reneged on that promise. I remember when one could not be allowed to renege at a game of spades and now we are letting our president lie to us in our faces. 

Akon, What's Wrong With Hip Hop

If there was any confusion about the seriousness of the state of Hip Hop and R&B we need only look as far as the recent scandal with Akon. I have been wondering for quite some time what the fascination was with Akon. To me he was always just a mediocre singer, I found his voice annoying. 

I felt betrayed by Akon a long time ago, the first song I heard from him was "Locked Up" and I have to admit I definitely rocked to it. I thought it was soulful and groovy. It touched something in me, but when I heard "Smack That" and "I Wanna f**k You" I was offended. I did not think either song met the threshold to be considered artistic. What I heard when I listened to both of those songs was a pervert publicly advertising his disrespect for women. The shocker was that women were jamming to these songs that portrayed them as sexual objects only there for the satisfaction of men. They blasted it from their cars and danced to it in clubs. When I complained, they said "it's just a song; you're taking it too serious." 

To me it was serious, and there was no way I was dancing to Akon. I was appalled when I heard him on India Aries’ "I Am Not My Hair" and wondered why she would even make a song with someone like Akon. I have since forgiven India after seeing her explanation on "Oprah" (of course she was pushed by the label into the duet with him because they claim it was hotter and more marketable, I question the integrity of the label -MOTOWN- a historically black label) and hearing her say that she has since dropped the Akon version from her albums future copies. 

Boycott George Tenets (Former CIA Director) Book

How can someone who took an oath to be a servant of the people, but instead became a servant of George Bush. George Tenet, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), not only willfully allowed the people to be deceived, he lied to the united nation and was instrumental in causing the death of over three thousand innocent Americans. 

The audacity that he would now try to write a book to make money from his treasonous acts is just to me the final affront on the intelligence of the American people. These thugs who marched into our countries capital like the Gestapo and trashed everything The Constitution stood for is now pushing my patience. The fact that this person could commit such a high crime and instead of being brought to the stockade he is walking around as if no one was hurt by his deceptions is just the final straw for me. 

This guy walks around like he is a victim. It’s like stealing a car and the brakes fail on you, whose fault is that. What is George going to do now sue George Bush; I mean that’s all that’s left. 

Hip Hop Return To Your Roots

With the release of Nas' "Hip Hop is dead", the rapper has made a powerful comment about the state of Hip Hop. I wrote in my previous posting that I thought Hip Hop might be in its last throws, I believe I said it was "on life support". The recent incident with Don Imus and the public reaction may spell the final throws for Hip Hop. One of the main excused Don used in his defense of using the term that he did was that certain words like "nappy" and "hoe" originated in the black community and is often used in Hip Hop culture. First the word nigger did not originate in the black culture of which nigga is a slang, and hoe is just a slang for the word "whore", we did not invent these words. I do think the good thing to come out of the Imus fiasco is that the debate has started. While yes, we do need to address the situation in our own house, we must not miss the opportunity to expand the debate beyond Imus and hip hop culture. 

Maybe we can start talking about racism and sexism in the American culture as a whole. The underlying issue with the Imus comments was the roots it had in slavery, check my previous post - "Beating Imus", that African-Americans are still considered inferior to whites by whites. That the equality that this country brags about is just an illusion. I say lets expand the debate, it is the only way to really heal this nation and bring about true equality and freedom for all.

A Good Person Wouldn't (Beating Imus Part 2)

The "I'm a good person" defense did not stop Don Imus from getting cancelled on MSNBC. The fact that Imus was a "good person that said a bad thing" was a lame defense because during his apology Imus continued to say things that showed his racism. 

I don't think the apology was from the heart because Imus kept saying that black people say these things to each other every day, and that "black women, in their society were degraded by their own kind, their own men on a regular basis". 

Where is the apology? Don’s attempt to deflect responsibility by saying these words are products of the black community and hip hop music were offensive. His defense and the apology only made things worse. This is not the first time Imus has used racial slurs against blacks (who he frequently called "apes" and "chimps") or other ethnic groups. Don Imus is a bigot.

Beating Imus

On Wednesday of last week Don Imus made a comment calling the players of the Rutgers Women’s basketball team “some nappy headed hoes” and referring to the game between Tennessee and Rutgers as a Spike Lee thing. Imus and his sidekick referred to the game as the Jigaboos vs. Wannabees.

I thought these comments were hilarious since Imus looks like a corpse. I had heard the buzz over the weekend about these comments that Imus made but was not privy to actual quote until I read it on the net. This story has blown up since several prominent black activists have called for the termination of Don Imus.

First of all I thought the comments were totally racist even though many try to play it down by saying Don is not a racist. On his morning show yesterday Don apologized to the people offended by his comments stating he was “a good person that said a bad thing”.

Does Imus realize his comments were made about college students? They were not political; they were not making any social statement. The comments from Imus were extremely derogatory and came too easy for him to say out loud when he knew there were millions of people listening to him. I watched Imus’ apology on MSNBC and to hear Don talk about the context in which he made his comments because context was important. Well the context to me is; here is a white male who has the ear of millions of people engaging in the lowest form of racial insult. Imus comments that he was not some crazy guy on a stage ranting racial slurs referring to Michael Richards.

TORTURE-WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

It seems like the team of Bush and Blair are at it again. They are trying to provoke an altercation between the alliance of UK/US and Iran. The recent detention of fifteen British sailors and marines has heightened tensions and raised the possibility of action from the British toward Iran, and folks I just don't see Bush staying out of this one. Blair backed Bush on Iraq, and Bush has been salivating at the possibility of taking military action against Iran, so what is the most likely outcome. Well it sounds like this could be war. I only have a few questions, because I think before anyone goes to war we should at least make sure that we have no unanswered questions.

The Brits say they were in Iraqi waters, and the Iranians say no, they were in Iranian water. Who do we believe. It is very important we get this right. I don't know if war should be an option in resolving conflict, especially among civilized nations. I think the rhetoric between the Iranians and the British and US representatives are only adding fuel to the fire. I think that the Iranians have a right to detain those who have violated their laws. I believe there is a proper channel for identifying whether or not the soldiers were indeed in Iranian waters. If the Iranians want to put the soldiers on trial then let them. There should be conditions, the trial should be public and the soldiers should have a right to representation from their native country. Transparency is a great way to end differences. Let the Iranians present their case, and the Brits can defend their position. I don't think that we should just believe the British government. We know they have lied to us before.

Again, Big City Killing

Amadou

Oh yes they've killed a Black Man

Not just any but a native Afrikan

Oh yes they've shown they are true Blue

a slaughter by authority, Police who are supposed to protect you

He they say looked like a suspect

Here they show their lack of respect

Does every Black Man have to fit their profile

let us think on this for a while

Oh mother, they've taken your son

We pray he is not the only one

Oh father what should a village do?

Avenge a son, or let god handle this one

For in their scale justice is line with enamel and steel

and there is no impression of a fair deal.

Oh yes, they've killed a Black Man

---by the Pollitikat © 1999

This poem was written in response to the shooting of 24 year old Amadou Diallo, who was killed after being shot 19 times by four police officers in the Bronx, on Feb. 4, 1999. Here the officer said they thought Diallo was reaching for a gun when he put his hands in his pocket and fired a total of 41 rounds. The gun turned out to be his wallet, which he was taking out to show officer his identification. Officers shot Amadou as he was standing in his vestibule. These officers were found not guilty.

I am writing this because of the incidents that took place in November 25, of 2006 early in the morning in the midst of a family celebration. Once again we seem to have trigger happy officers over reacting in a situation that should have been easily controllable.   Five people held a gun on three people sitting in a car. How many times are we going to accept the "I thought I saw a gun defense?" Shouldn't an officer be sure he sees a gun before he starts shooting at someone. I am disturbed whenever I hear police saying their lives are at risk. Would someone please remind them that police officers chose to be police officers. No one is forcing them. They could just as easy get a job doing something else. By choosing to be an officer they volunteer their lives in service. Also they get extensive training to think and work in situations of extreme pressure, I know they are not just given a gun and turned onto the streets.

Recruit Hasselbeck From "The View" For Combat In Iraq

Posted on "The View" website - march 19, 2007

Hey Joy, I agree with you all the time. OK most of the time, but I really can't think of anything that I have disagreed with you on right now. You are so funny and poignant. I love your candid speech and insight. I love that you always come with the facts, putting on your glasses to make sure you get it right. Maybe our president should do that, huh. I don't know if you read my previous email about Elisabeth volunteering to fight in Iraq but I am wondering why no one has confronted her with it. see that's the problem, you still try to be nice, when Elisabeth is ruthless. typical democrat/republican relationship. She does not care who is insulted or hurt by her idiocy, she believes what she wants without ever really doing any research. She only goes where she knows she is going to get the answer to validate her warped views. Elisabeth is like our media, who sold out the country and did not do any research about Bush's claims about Iraq and terror. that is what she represents to me, an ignoramus. 

Before I said that she should go ahead and sign up as a volunteer for the war, as many of our citizens have, some even losing their lives. Elisabeth is the worst kind of person because she is in favor of sending people of to die for a lie, and even though she knows it was a lie she still does not care. She still wants young men and women to die for the lie. How could Elisabeth support the troops and not acknowledge that the troops are dying because Bush lied. Hey Lizzy "BUSH LIED". 

IS HIP HOP DEAD?

I know that in my first posting it sounded like I was saying that Hip Hop died, but by no means am I saying that. I strongly feel however that hip hop is on life support. I know that some people may have a certain connection with different parts or eras of hip hop, so when I speak on the subject I want you to know that I am giving consideration to the different age groups that listen to hip hop and what it may mean to different people of different age. I think you can appreciate hip hop without identifying with or celebrating all aspects of it. I do understand that it is the total package that makes up the culture we call hip hop. Hip hop is entertaining, like Sugar Hill Gang and Will Smith , Doug E. Fresh, or Dana Dane. It is political like Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five or Public Enemy and funky like Afrika Bambaata, . We even have our roots in the burbs, with Run-Dmc. I could go on and on. No matter where it came from it was raw and what people were thinking and feeling, what I'm saying is that we've had many voices but these days I feel like everyone is saying the same thing. Sex, Drug, Violence. Yeah some say my music is different, its real, it me, but then they turn around and make a record with every sucker out there. Where is the realness. Since when did Hip Hop become bragging about your bling and exploiting women. We have always had our hard core rappers, Slick Rick, Rakim, the D.O.C. and NWA. 

Today, you have up and comers rapping about what they heard the other guy say and every other word is a curse. How did the rappers of old do it without cursing so much. I am not saying that you shouldn't be able to, but is that all you have to say. I love Hip Hop, I used to party at Skate Key when they had the spring jams, and T-Connection. I grew up in the Bronx. I've gone through all the phases, and I can see the deterioration, and yes I see the hope too. Hip Hop is our baby, and I want better for my baby. I don't have any hangups about language or content, but it is about skills, credibility and authenticity. Hip Hop needs to go back to it's roots. What people seem to be in denial about is the impact that today's Hip Hop culture is having on our youth. Today's artist forget that they were once young. They can say it's up to parents but remember when you were young and all you wanted to do was hear the songs. You listened at a friends house, at a party, or at school. You listened when your parents weren't at home or in your room late at night. It drew you in. I am grateful for the old school, they gave Hip Hop its foundation, what has the new school offered to the culture. We can blame it on the record labels and distributors, but that argument held water in the early days, not today. If rappers really had a desire to change the situation they would have begun their own distributing by now. If only they didn't waste their money on bling!!

ON PRESIDENT and FOREIGN POLICY

The situation between Israel and Palestine is a very serious one. We need a president that is not loyal to neither the Israeli or Palestinians, but one that is loyal to the process of peace. I think Iraq has shown us that war is not the way to resolve differences. I am skeptical of anyone who talks war these days knowing how destructive war can be. This is not the days of rocks and arrows, but bombs that can blow and entire country off the map. Resolving issues through war is not the sign of a civilized society. We must seek other ways to resolve our disputes. War can only lead to resentment which breeds retaliation. The people must say no more war. I am weary of anyone who blindly supports Israel and does not put the Middle East in the proper context. We need a president who will stand tall and tell the truth about the conflict in Middle East like Jimmy Carter just did (I guess he wanted to set record straight before his death and look how he is being ostracized). Israel may have a right to exist but lets not forget that they imposed themselves in a region that was already occupied. 

The Palestinians have a right to exist, they have a right not to die. I was watching a documentary about the border control that is imposed on the Palestinians, how they would not let family member and school children cross, how they chastised and ridicule the Palestinians. People act as though because of the Holocaust the Israeli's have a right to abuse without discretion. That is not fair. Remember it was an Israeli that killed Rabin because he was working towards peace and a dual state. The Israeli's behave like a child who was abused and grows up to be an abuser, shouldn't we still hold them accountable. We need a president who is truly going to work towards peace. You cannot have peace if we don't face the reality of what is happening in the Middle East and stop coddling the Israeli.

Nothing "FAIR" or "HONEST" about our Media

Well I have just finished watching the daily talk shows and I am happy to report that they are up to business as usual. Does all the same coverage on every channel mean fair and honest. Each station often critiques the other. CNN says they are "keeping it honest", FoxNews is "fair and balanced", but are they reporting news? I am not sure what they. FoxNews is the easy one to pick on because of their obvious slant toward republicanism, but after all if we are going to be critical of the obvious biased reporting on Fox we have to talk about the fact that none of the so called liberal media stepped up and asked challenging questions of the administration leading up to the war with Iraq. 

The media was for the war because they saw a ratings opportunity. They heavily promoted the war. Increased rating meant increase advertisement and subsequently increased dollars in the pockets of the media head, my question is what did the reporters have to gain. Did they sell out the country for bonuses, party invitations, Prada, and notoriety.

The Dictator Of The Democracy

I just finished watching the Presidential address informing the nation about the new old strategy of promoting war. I cannot understand why the Democrats seem to have a hard time confronting this President. I keep hearing he is the Commander In Chief. That is not a post he inherited, George Bush is serving by the will of the people.

The Democracy that Bush claims to fight for in Iraq is being eroded here in America. The people in America have spoken and we do not want this war to escalate, we want it to end. How many more soldiers have to die for a fraudulent war. George Bush has basically committed a treasonous act "a betrayal of trust and confidence". Yet the Democrats continue to act as if he is the ultimate decider, well the people are, and the people have spoken. We do not want this war anymore. This war has only benefited George Bush and his administration. I hate to be a conspiracy theorist but I have to ask why the Democrats are allowing this president to continue this illegal war.