Charlie Sheen and BYU: Who's Really Winning?

America is getting a bigger laugh from Charlie Sheen and his solo antics than from his ensemble performance on “Two and a Half Men.” Here’s a bulletin: If you are just now learning that Charlie Sheen is crazy, you must have been living on BYU’s campus for the last 10 years. I think Sheen having a meltdown in 2011 is just one of the seven signs of the apocalypse coming to fruition. We have had a good laugh and had the shit scared out of us seeing his interviews and now the run I think has died down for the most part with the exception being his twitter account where he can regail us with more of his insane logic. The thing that got me going on all of this was when during the morning news on Fox 5 DC, one of the anchors reported on Sheen’s antics by starting off with “Your Charlie Sheen update.” I stopped mid stride in dressing and stared the TV down like I was going to kill it. “A Charlie Sheen update?” Bitch, are you nuts??? I need the “news” stations to leave this celebrity reporting to E!, Entertainment Tonight and TMZ. You don’t see them reporting on Libya so stay in your fucking lane! It’s bad enough that I can’t get real journalism from our so called news outlets (You remember real journalism: Who, What, Where, When and Why) now they want to pontificate and sensationalize every issue. At this point, just let him alone and continue this slow and steady descent into madness. The next time the news outlets should even mention Charlie Sheen is when the find him naked, on top of a Hennessey soaked pile of cocaine, dead. And please, when this happens, feel free to interrupt my TV programming like we found Bin Laden to notify me of this fact. Would be better if you interrupted the Wendy Williams show to make this report. (How that manimal stays on the air I have no clue!)

This past Tuesday as we were all still buzzing from Charlie Sheen, the third ranked BYU Cougars kicked their leading rebounder Brandon Davies off the team for breaking the University's Honor Code. I think we can all agree on the concept of honor as a stand alone idea. If we cannot, I think you would be that person that would ask me for a ride to the bank when I am actually driving your getaway car. Where the divergence from this idea appears is when the word code is put behind honor. In essence, with most colleges and universities an honor code is the expectation that the institution has of you as a student as you attend. Most are simple, a student will not lie, cheat or steal. Some will add that you will not tolerate those who do and you are required to report honor code violations. BYU's code had these elements and more as their code lays down an expectation to live in a way that reflects the Mormon tradition. I don't know about you, but if I was a big time sports recruit, three things would be on my list as to what I would want in my college experience: (In this order)

1. Get my degree
2. Play hard, be a legend. Maybe get a pro contract.
3. I'm a black athlete. Girls will be throwing the panties at me like batting practice and i'm trying to knock it ALL out the park...

With that said, BYU wouldn't fit with my educational goals. But, maybe there was something that Davies saw in the university at the time that he liked. He did break one tenet of the code as he upheld another (he admitted that he had sex). You would think that would count for something right?! As much as I would hate to see him leave the team, BYU did do the right thing as all schools who must dole out punishment under the auspices of honor codes must. To do so instills the idea that at school and in life, you are expected to act in a certain way. It must have been hard for fans as now BYU's chances of getting a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament have dissolved and after Davies' dismissal, they got their asses handed to them by New Mexico. Principle over athletic success is the bottom line here, something that unfortunately isn't seen all that much is collegiate sports these days. There is a bigger message though, if it had come to light that BYU let this slide then the issue of the importance of adherence to a code of behavior would have become a divisive issue. In order to teach life lessons, whether we agree with the lesson or not we have to stick to principle. BYU's honor code is unique in some ways from other college honor codes but it is principled in it's own way and to not enforce it would be a hollow victory for all instead of keeping a team together to achieve a place in the pantheon of champions. Class dismissed....

Pimps? Damn, it's Hard Out Here For Everybody!

Good morning all, thought I would hit you with a blog rewind. I wrote this one on June 7, 2006 when the economy was crazy but not as hellish as it is now. Enjoy, hit you with some fresh out the oven blogs later...

No disrespect to pimps (shout outs to Pimpin Ken and Bishop Magic Don Juan) but I went to Wal-Mart last night and I observed people shopping as I was and I saw the faces of sticker shock. I mean wages are flat (ain't nobody getting a raise and some of us work all the time!) and everything is steadily going up! Even the prospect of education which is supposed to mean a better standard of living is out of reach. We have to incur massive debt just to work hard enough to get by, in the words of Johnny "Guitar" Watson..."Aint that a Bitch"! But really, if you think about the song and I know you saw "Pimps up, Hos Down" is it really hard out here for a pimp? Technically, they ain't doing shit!!! I guess it is hard out here for a pimp to give orders! It is hard out here for the poor man!

Submitted for your disapproval:

1. The last couple of weeks, I was noticing that gas had got down to aroung 2.60 a gallon. I got excited, my heart started beating wildly in my chest, I started to sweat and I got a bit lightheaded. Could we see gas under 2.00 a gallon soon I thought? Actually, I was under the influence of the fumes of the 10% Ethanol in the gas as I pumped $25 into my 4 cylinder Sentra. So I guess I was high for once in my life. Those oil company executives should be shot...yet another example of pimpery at it's finest. As soon as we all make the money, we go running to the pumps for gas so it's like payout to the oil pimps.

2. I haven't seen this many bank robberies in the news since I was a child. I thought bank robbery was played out considering the technology that aids police in catching the thieves (ask the cell phone bandit about that...dumbass!!) and CSI has us believing we can extract DNA from anything and voila...I GOT YO ASS!! It's got to be pretty tight out here when you walk into a bank in the middle of summer with a gun, a sweatshirt and pantyhose on your head looking to run off with a sack of dough!

3. How about Lay and Skilling at Enron? Now you either have to be a heartless SOB or just plain greedy to do what they did to those people. The working man don't stand a chance. You make better time keeping your nest egg in a Mason jar under your mattress with a pit bull standing guard instead of investing. The man will find a way to get his and get yours. And after the verdict was read, how about one of them still insisted he was innocent and plans to appeal? If I was a member of the press corps and I heard that ignant ass shit (yes, not ignornant...ignant) I would have taken my microphone and knocked the cowboy shit out of him!

MC Hammer said it best, We got to pray just to make it today. Which makes me wonder...is it hard out here for Hammer too?

A Trip to Haterville

I was having drinks with a friend the other evening and we got to talking about work. I told her that I like my job, don’t love it but it is much better than my last job which I hated with a passion. It wasn’t the job so much, just a couple of people and the bulls*it I had to put up with from them.  She told me why she no longer worked for the organization that I worked for. We both began there almost a year ago in different departments. Within several months due to turnover, she was promoted to a better position, more pay and more responsibility. She went from being at the beck and call of doctors and nurses to more or less calling shots.  That caused tension from some of the nurses and it began a big game of he said, she said. Unfortunately in the process of trying to vindicate herself, she broke a company rule and her boss had to let her go.

I do not believe that anyone’s job is better than anyone else’s. However, I don’t understand how a person with a college degree, professional licensing and the ability to control life or death through their actions can HATE on someone who is trying to better themselves and just happen to be in the right place at the right time and inherits a promotion.

Her situation sounded like what I went through before I went back to school. I was hired at a “prominent” HBCU as a researcher in 2003. I had expressed an interest in teaching and within my first few months, an opportunity presented itself. I received the endorsement of my boss to teach and do lab work and things went along fine. At the beginning of our work relationship, things were cordial and fine. I shared work that I had done with my students and I felt like I had a good repoire with them.  As I think back over the things the then chair of our department said to me, it appears that my boss and her co-investigator who are both PhD educated somehow felt threatened by a man with a Master’s degree who had goals of being professionally educated as well. 

By year 2, they isolated me and made me look like I was the dead weight in the lab. Instead of talking to me about what they perceived to be a problem, they just decided to can me at my next evaluation. Now dont get me wrong, I admit I was not a perfect employee, but some of the accusations were downright outrageous. I had the backing of the Chair and the Dean although they were poweless to do anything about the situation. Out of all of this, it hurt that my own people did this to me. We are hateful and hurtful to each other as African-Americans at all levels of society; academia is much, much worse. It makes NO sense that someone at the top of the ladder should feel like that guy climbing the ladder, who took advantage of a great opportunity is a threat to their standing. How does that work?

It has taken me some time to get over that situation and for my friend I am sure that some aspects of her experience will take some time to get past. I have always believed that Karma is a b*tch, what you reap is what you sow.  I believe that we both gave our best on our jobs only to get railroaded by hateful people. If you treat others with respect, that will go so much further in the long run. All I know is that somewhere down the line, karma is ready to jump up and beat down some punk ass haters. As the beat down commences, you will hear Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” in the background. We are still here and despite the circumstances of the past, we are here standing stronger and smarter than ever.

Class Dismissed…

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!