Mental Doo-Doo

Warning: This blog may be a bit more raw than normal. I may say a few things that may be a bit offensive, shocking or both. Proceed at your own risk...

I was talking with my gf who is a High School teacher and I was saying to her that I noticed something while I was driving to work one morning. Is it me or has the "short yellow bus" now become a regular sized bus? That is so not a ringing endorsement of education in our country. But I am a believer in public schools, the government does not put enough resources into our schools to make sure students get a world class education. Where does that begin? Well how about paying teachers a salary they actually can live off of so they can come to work and get some things done. That would be a good start. Oh yeah, and these new aged "helicopter parents", how about you put the fear of God in your kids so they can go in, learn something and not be spoiled brats in the classroom. All of this pressure we are putting on kids to go to Harvard, Yale etc., damn can your kids live!!!!!

The education piece does lead a bit into politics, I am so flabbergasted that the Republicans are behind giving vouchers so lower-middle class families can send their kids to private school? Wow, are you kidding me? I went to private school and guess how I got there...my parents WORKED THEIR ASSES OFF so I could go. It is ironic that the same party in the 1980's led by Ronald Reagan began a big blitz of personal responsibility campaigns where Republican Tucker Carlson-like douchebags in their seersucker suits and bow ties can look down the noses of anyone who worked for a living while these jackasses snorted coke, fucked someone else's wife and sat on their ass and make illegal money on the stock market. I am all for personal responsibility, we would be a much better society if everyone pulled their weight. But what happened to "pulling yourself up by your bootstrap" mentality of the 80's Republican? Is the voucher thing what we call "compassionate conservatism"? Hey, lets give all the poor folks about a grand so their kids can escape failing schools and make themselves better. Something is wrong with that logic: 1. How about taking that money and FIX the failing school(s). No, instead lets bleed money from the schools so kids can go somewhere else! STUPID!!! 2. How far can $1000 take you in private school? I think that will cover the first week, after that, your FUCKED!!!!!

Had to get that out...whew! Well night one of the DNC was interesting, Michelle-O was wonderful and she got rave reviews across the board for her speech. Of course you know that the conservatives had to give the company line about her speech so naturally they had nothing positive to contribute. I really try not to hear what they have to say, although it is good to hear both sides of a debate. What is grinding my gears are these IDIOT Clinton supporters who are threatning to either vote for McCain or not vote at all. If I had any say into that decision, I would say not vote and do me another favor. On Nov 6th, get all the sex you can get. Then on Nov.7th, instead of staying home, go to the hospital and get your tubes tied or get that Vas-D snipped....I so do not want any of you to reproduce ever again in life!! Fucking morons, they are so against Obama they will go vote for McCain. Well, I say if you do just stay on that side of the house! Seems to be working well for Joe Liberman! It amazes me that cons hate that guy and he is for McCain! This election unfortunately is and will continue to bring out alot of ugly truths, truths that alot of us still refuse to accept that race is squarely the main issue. So if it isn't his politics Clinton supporters, what you got left. Obama is a democrat, he is a man, he is a black man...help me understand the hang-up.

McCain has been comical and I am not referring to his late night TV appearances. Those ads are funny and seeing him sitting on his bus with a LARGE cup of Starbucks is quite hilarious! I mean do we really need someone his age overcaffinated and standing near the nuclear launch button? I dont think someone that old should drive or be President. Now, I revere and respect our elders in our society, but hey know your limits. At least McCain rides a bus, I dont think his popularity points would increase if he had to drive. Can you imagine that, him driving a car with his bumper stickers in the left lane of the interstate at 45MPH with the right blinker just going off...not sexy! Wasn't Captain John Smith his first commanding officer in the Navy? And yes, he knew Pocahontas...I bet he poked that hot ass! I jest about his age but this election is just beginning and I am hoping that we start to see how race even in teh most critical election in many years continues to divide us and maybe, just maybe we can become that united vision that Michelle-O talked about last night. This blog took an unexpected turn, will revisit as necessary...thanks for tuning in!

Takin them heads back...nah son, nah!

I have a blog on Yahoo 360, Yahoo's social experiement in trying to create community. After about 3 years, the whole idea has fizzled as I have watched friends fall by the wayside, delete their accounts and sporadic logons. I think I wrote some really good blogs there and I think it will take me a minute to get back up to speed with good, clever writing here on blogger. So for now, enjoy one of my favs from November 2006:

The Cussin blog or Cursing is for motherf*ckers who can't express themselves

I sometimes tell people that I speak three languages, Spanish, English and Profanity. I like to think I am fluent in the last 2. The argument is that people who curse are not able to express themselves in a constructive manner. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, I think it takes a really creative mind to string together a good line of four letter words in order to get ones point across. Think about it, we know people who curse just for the sake of cursing and those who can curse with a "purpose" and can clearly get their point across. Hell, if you are really good about it you may have folks scared to come near you because they think you are crazy. Confused? Let me provide an illustration to show what I am talking about. Lets look at a conversation between two people: we'll call them Jack and Jill.

Jack: Hey Jill, I had some Ice Cream sandwiches in the freezer were there any left?

Jill: Yeah, there was one left

Jack: I guess you ate it?

Jill: Yeah

Jack: I really had my mouth set on an Ice Cream Sandwich

Jill: Well, you can get some more.

Boring conversation, wasn't it? Now lets look at the cursing version of this conversation:

Jack: Hey Jill, I had some Ice Cream sandwiches in the freezer were there any left?

Jill: Yeah, what there was one left. What the fuck about it!

Jack: Shit! I guess you ate that last one!

Jill: Hell Yeah!

Jack: Well damn! I really had my mouth set on an Ice Cream Sandwich you greedy bitch!

Jill: Well, man up and carry your punk ass to the store and buy another fuckin box!

I think Jack and Jill really cleared the air and resolved their issues over said ice cream sandwich in that converation. What do you think? So in summary, dont think of cursing as being unable to effectively express yourself. Instead think of the four letter word as the pepper or salt of your everyday language. We can use cursing to wake up the flavor of our communication, better get our points across when used effectively and can be used as a very efficient way to provide a protective barrier by establishing that you are not to be fucked with.

Insignifcance wins again...

I find it funny that the most insignficant people are the ones that garner the most attention. For example, what is Yahoo's obsession with playing the video of Brooke Hogan giving her views on having a woman for president? If it werent for her dad having his show, she would be just another unknown child of a famous person. (in this case a famous person who should carry his ass home, thus also making him insignificant as well.) Why do we care what Brooke Hogan thinks? Shouldnt we be listening to folks who have something intelligent, insightful and positive to say? There are alot of people who we could theoretically lump into this category, most would think that most (if not all) professional athletes should go into this category. I think that there are plenty of athletes, entertainers et al who are good at their craft and donate positively to society. There is however, a point in time where after being in the spotlight for a while that you should realize that you no longer have alot of significance to the current slate of movements and conversations that are occuring in society. When you get out of your lane in these situations, that is where I think alot of famous people get in trouble. Notice that alot of actors, actresses, writers, thinkers and athletes sometimes fade into obscurity. Obscurity is not completely bad, these folks know their role and that role is not to contribute to the ongoing trend of self-servitude that alot of insignificant people engage in. Plus, if we want to hear good insight on politics, current events etc. consult with a Wolf Blitzer not New York or Brooke Hogan for that matter. Our society's continued focus on celebrity and their attempts at stepping outside of what they know best to offer insight continues to drive our society to increased levels of ineptitude and brain numbness.

Early Retirement=Unpatriotic?

Getting dressed in the morning for work provides alot of different entertainment on the TV. Most of what is on is news and you get so much variation in the type of news you get. There are the old reliables like Good Morning America or Today and of course CNN with the "Most news in the morning?" (Jon Stewart had a good point, how does one measure how much news you cram into a broadcast?) Then there is everyone else, like The Daily Buzz. That crew is corny, I dont think they take themselves seriously. One morning as I dressed, they presented a report that said an economist has done research that suggests that early retirement in this economy is not helpful. The report goes on to label those who retire early as "unpatriotic" since they are taking themselves out of the labor pool and adding themselves to the roll of those who will begin to collect pensions and/or Social Security. WOW...that was some serious s*it! Just think, someone who has worked a good part of their life and is now either sick of working, want to do something else or just dont want to work anymore are unpatriotic. If anything these people should be congratulated for their hard work and endurance especially in these ever changing times where I am sure that they have had many fears of not having a job. Where could the real blame go for our worsening crisis with Social Security? Hmmm, I guess we are forgetting about a large population of young people who cant or dont hold down a regular job who dont contribute to the shrinking Social Security pot. I wonder would it make more sense to label them "unpatriotic."(a bit extreme in my opinion, I would just label them LAZY AS HELL!) It is simple supply and demand, I work now to put money into the pot which will be used by current retirees while the generation behind me should be doing the same thing for me, so on and so forth. Admittedly there are a large number of retirees (Baby Boomers) and fewer of Gen Xers like myself. GenX did have it's angst and growing pains but we knew that it would require us to go forth in the world and make a way by doing as our parents did, work hard at something, endure and be successful. I dont know where Gen Y lost it's way, but they need a compass and soon, hell I have about 30 more years for retirement and damnit I want mine!!! Afterwards, I chuckled and kept on out the door for work. I found the report laughable and yet another reason to consider The Daily Buzz the "USA Today" of morning news shows (I HATE USA Today...worst newspaper ever, looks like a f*cking comic book).

Rebuttal to Election Nonsense entry

Last night's blog was a decent summation of how I felt about Obama's statements in response to conservative attacks on him. If it hasnt been expressely said (and I know someone like Rush Limbaugh will say it), many folks are uncomfortable with someone who "doesn't look like the guys on the money" running for president. I didn't know how to address further the conservative attacks on his character although the main push by the extreme right is to make people scared of the intelligent, young and charismatic black Senator. We can only fight backby supporting Sen. Obama and not throw up road blocks. Below is a blog I wrote at the beginning of the election cycle last year. I think I said pretty well what needs to be done by us. If we can do these things, the conservatives will have to bite their tongues and suck it up for a change instead of being uninformed hate mongers that they live up to be oh so often.

Barack Obama: What's Black Got To Do With It? (April 7, 2007)

I was recalling in my mind a conversation that a classmate and I were having a few weeks back about Barack Obama. What she said wasn't terribly shocking but it really made me mad because it just shows me how much we as a people need to get over and get on with the business of improving ourselves for the better. She told me that there were some black folks who were saying that Barack was not "black enough" to run for president as a black man. I asked her to repeat herself because I really didnt think that was true what she was saying but she said that she heard it on TV watching C-SPAN. To me, saying something like that seems to be a double standard among my people and my classmate who is from Sudan was a bit baffled by the comment because she, like I was wondering how black is black? Let me try to illustrate what I meant by the double standard: Remember a little over 10 years ago when Tiger Woods burst on the scene and we were in awe of his golf game and all the potential that he had and has since delivered on, we wondered more about his complete ethnicity. So when he was interviewed, he more or less said that he didnt see himself as a black man but as Cablinasian which accounted for his whole ethnicity. Did he or did he not draw the ire of the black community as well as provided fodder for black comedians for his comments? Flip that to Barack who is American (born in Hawaii) to a Kenyan father and White american mother. Barack has said countless times that he is proud of his heritage, takes nothing away from being biracial but recognizes that he is a black man. And for that...he is seen as not being "black enough?" What a double standard, hell I mean we should be really be standing behind him for running for president because damn, I sure as hell couldnt do it! Leave it to us, hell if give the chance we could fuck up INSTANT Jello! Recognize this to all the nay sayers who feel that Brother Barack is not up to the task and you need to see his "brother card." If you think about it, he is more African and definetly American (without question) and we need to continually remind ourselves that as a people, we come in all shades, sizes and shapes, some of us grew up in the hood, in suburbia and all points in between. These things should be what makes us unique and more apt to learn from one another and progress. Instead, we choose to pick at the diversity of our people like a sore and pass judgement on who is truly black and who isn't. Like my ex-girlfriend used to say "you own your blackness" and it is weird to see someone who may not understand your experience but that is what should unite and not divide us. The 2008 presidential election is looking like it could be historic, dont let some petty foolishness drive you towards another candidate or worse, not going to the poll at all. If we have learned nothing from the last 2 elections is that we have got to make our voice heard or it will continued to be silenced because politicians are not interested in the group that makes no effort to be heard. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, black people lets start squeaking alot louder so we can get that oil!

Election Nonsense

It has taken me a minute to get this down and I hope that I remember all of the points that I want to make. If not, I guess it will be in a follow-up blog but I have to write about the current stuff going on with the election. Isnt this election getting silly? I couldn't help but laugh when Barack Obama asked a crowd sarcastically if John McCain was serious about attacking him with the now infamous "superstar" ad. Then as Obama "played the race card" according to McCain, all hell broke loose for a bit. I think that I understood what Obama was saying and McCain has it half right in my opinion...Obama is not playing the race card but he is expressing a major theme in this election. Although McCain and alot of folks will not admit it, this election is VERY much about race. And interestingly enough race is not only an issue with whites but with blacks.

So many have taken issue with the statement that Obama made about not looking like the other presidents on the currency. If you think about it, that is the basis of the attacks against him from the conservative talking heads. They attack him on his name (it sounds Muslim) and they use slang in a supposedly joking manner when attacking his policies. So once again, this isn't about race? Could have fooled me, sounds like race is at the forefront of the attacks on a candiate that apparently has few major weaknesses (thus John McCain's ridiculous TVad that started all of this.)

I feel that if you truly dont like Obama, his politics or just think this isnt his time, then I can respect that. What gets me is that many people wont vote for him not for the reasons I stated above but for arbitrary, silly reasons that have nothing to do with politics or the type of leader he can be. This pales in comparison to the divisions within the black community over why many will not vote for him. Dont vote for Obama simply because he is black, exercise some common sense. However, dont turn this into the usual debate about being black enough or having some sort of credibility among blacks. Whether you grew up poor in the hood or well off in the suburbs, there is one common thread that we have as black folks, the stigma of being singled out by racism be it overt or covert. Based on that, I think it is ridiculous to believe that Obama cannot relate to black people simply because he is biracial and didnt grow up like the average. We need to let go of this type of thinking if we want to truly unify and become a powerful voting bloc that is apparent among other minority groups. I heard a report on NPR during the primaries when they asked Hispanics about who they would more than likely vote for. One young woman said that she couldnt vote for Obama because she thought he would be more for blacks and that as a people we would more or less "take over". I laughed at her sheer ignorance and thought that it would not be in anyone's interest for Obama to be the president for one group of people and secondly we cant even unify behind him as a candidate. Hell, if he got in office I still think we would find a reason to reject him.

Obama had good reason to make the statement that he did. It wholeheartedly reflected the view of most that someone who doesn't look like past presidents cant be president. This is the view of alot of people whether they choose to admit it or not. This also reflects the larger issue that we continue to duck critical issues of race instead of dealing with them. Obama's candidacy I think will force some discussions to happen. We need to talk about these issues, it is the thing that continues to divide not only our country but it divides black folks even more deeply. I think this division is the one that hurts the most.