reading . . .

a book by a distant relative . . .

yet what he is writing about isn’t distant enough . . . the synchronicity is killing me . . . .

just a note–

i have always maintained that as a writer, i have the right to use any and all words as i see fit to express myself and to force or engage a reaction from a reader– i have always felt that in keeping with honest writing that all obscenities, ethnic and racial slurs were fair game– i don’t like to see any creative work censored and i have been upset at censoring that has been taking place around the world in reaction to cartoons and written articles–

in a previous post concerning pat buchanan i used the n-word (and i have to state right now that i hate the way that “n-word” itself sounds as i write it)– however, as the day progressed i felt more and more uncomfortable using the word– i tried to justify it to myself as i do with any other word yet it wasn’t sitting right– i have gone back into the post and starred out the majority of the word– perhaps the point is made just as well, perhaps some will be offended at the use of n***** still– perhaps we all need a handbook–

jason whitlock requests a handbook–

a good article by jason whitlock concerning the above vogue cover– evidently some folks are comparing it to a king kong with fay ray photo and stating it is racist because of this– perhaps we could say that folks that see the picture like this are racist themselves– hell, perhaps the fact that we notice that the guy and the girl are different colors shows that we are racist– i really don’t pay attention to sports or models so i really don’t know either of these folks but i think lebron has some pretty cool sneakers on–

anyway, read the article– maybe we all need a handbook nowadays–

FOX Sports on MSN – NBA – Am I supposed to be mad about LeBron?

white america vs. the whites of america

pat buchanan’s post a brief for whitey appears to be the typical conservative white males’ scream of batten down the hatches, hide the women and children, there is a n***** in the hen-house– of course pat, like all good racists, never actually says the word n*****– but you can feel it slithering across the monitor and appearing to crawl out from behind the words all the same–

man, where the hell is his mind at– this fool has got his shot-gun loaded and he is shooting from the rocking chair on his front porch– all the old stereotypes are brought to the fore-front from public services (welfare mothers) to the imbalance of incarceration (which as pat emphasizes is because blacks are more violent)– it is always interesting to see how a conservative twists the facts to fit there own opinion–

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

i mean the opening statement here “First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks.” what the hell is he smoking??? even a little white boy like me can see the bullshit here!!! and “Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans.” my god pat has moved on to the hallucinogenic’s of my childhood!!! yes sir, let me help you there just like we did in new orleans. . . he goes on to say . . .

Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it really white America’s fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?

and finally to scare the hell out of all white males that believe that women are their property to protect and care for . . .

Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, . . . ?

it is scary to think that anyone in our society thinks like pat– however, it is prejudices and stereotypes like the ones that pat puts forth that must be dealt with once and for all by all the races within our country if we are in fact ever to heal and become the melting pot that some of us really dream about– it is time for the whites of america along with all the other races of america to deal with the nightmare that is “white america”–

canadian caddyshack (getting ready for the season)

War on gophers backfires – World environment- msnbc.com

4000

3 a.m.??? shit, i’m amazed anyone can sleep in the white house– why doesn’t someone call the bastard that is there now and wake him up– 202-456-1414

amazing to think also that we (the usa) hit 4000 while celebrating the christian holiday of easter– hallelujah . . .

body of war

i was lucky to click on to q & a on c-span tonight– phil donahue was on the show and talking about a documentary that he has been working on called body of war– the documentary is . . .

about a young man named Tomas Young who, following September 11, 2001, enlisted in the military. In March 2004, he went to Iraq. Less than a week into his tour of duty he was shot and paralyzed from the chest down. After months of recovery, he returned to his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. The documentary tells the story of his physical rehabilitation and his decision to actively protest the war in Iraq.

"I am David Paterson and I am the Governor of New York State. "

“I was born in the borough of Brooklyn. I was educated on Long Island. Harlem is my home. This is where I learned love for family and appreciation for community.

I have confronted the prejudice of race and challenged the issues of my own disability. I have served in government for over two decades. I stand willing and able to lead this state to a brighter future and a better tomorrow.
Let me reintroduce myself. I am David Paterson and I am the Governor of New York State. “

full speech here

a warm radiator, favorite toys and a warm buddy . . .

obama is black– he’s got my vote!!!

the past seven years with the present administration have been sheer hell for anyone that considers themselves progressive, liberal or at least to be living in the year 2008– it has been with a lot of joy to see the varied candidates that have run on the democratic ticket this time around– personally, i was pleased to see the quality of candidates such as kucinich, edwards, clinton, richardson and obama–

initially, i was going to vote for edwards or kucinich– however, i have switched to obama’s campaign as i see him as a relatively young man with fresh ideas and the ability to stir the hell out of the american people in a positive way– although i grew up in a 99.9% white environment, obama reminds me of a teen-age friend in his physical make-up and outward personality– a friendly guy that everyone likes and you always feel that he is going to do the right thing–

let’s face it– again, the past seven years have been sheer hell and the pendulum needs to be sent in the opposite direction with a little extra weight on it this time– so when looking at candidates for the president, i personally feel that we must go the extra distance to reset the balance and i feel obama will do exactly that– our country is long overdue for a president that is black, jewish, asian, female, gay etc. etc.– the white old boy network has ruled washington dc for to long and this ongoing perception for the american citizen is disillusioning and detrimental to the health of the nation as a whole–

lately there has been a lot of tit and tat back and forth between the clinton campaign and the obama campaign– for the most part, i have found it primarily disheartening– as stated, i grew up in a white neighborhood and had virtually no exposure to black people– i have always thought that because of this distance that it was normal that i would have racist attitudes whether or not they were right or wrong– with this modus operandi, it is continually amazing to me that people accuse and deny others and themselves of racist statements etc. etc.– to me the denial of our racism is worse then the racism itself– this denial is compounded with tragedies like hurricane katrina, the jenna 6 and the sean bell case–

how can we deny the racism??? drive through any major american city and notice the way that we segregate ourselves into different neighborhoods– take a visit to any local prison– is the inmate population non-proportionally black??? why do we refuse to acknowledge our own racism???

i remember listening to my elders and the greater world while i was growing up when they would talk about presidential candidates and who they were going to vote for– presidential looks was always a good decider for many– religion was mentioned but never was there the question that a candidate might not be christian– (heaven forbid)– most folks it always seemed to me found one issue or another that their candidate supported and clung to the issue as the reason to vote for their candidate– against the war// for the war// for civil rights// against civil rights// etc. etc.– so . . . why is the race of an individual “off-limits”???– you mean it’s wrong for me to vote for someone because they are a certain color??? to me that makes no sense at all– i also believe that the majority of citizens are very confused about this also–

geraldine ferraro said what??? wait a second, i kind of agree with her . . . the pastor of obama’s church said what??? wait a second, i kind of agree with him too– (a gilligan moment) folks . . . get a grip– obama is black and he is more then qualified to be our next president– although i don’t believe in miracles, perhaps with a black president our twisted country can become a little more united between the races and perhaps the next time a category 4 hurricane hits a major city it won’t be primarily the black population that gets forgotten and left behind–