Twenty Oh Nine

I didn't blog much in 2008. My focus was really good for the first part of the year (i.e., the Newsweek article), but somewhere along the way I lost my way. I will be much better in 2009. I have a new radio show that will start in February, and I plan to volunteer more. I need to clear my head of the garbage and the foolishness. The last six months have been productive and destructive, but I'm coming back strong in Twenty Oh Nine. You hear me??? Twenty Oh Nine is going to be it. Look forward to more exposure. More entries. More fans. More everything. Out with the old and in with the new. Keep listening....

Lost & Found

I’ve lost my focus. Have you seen it? It was shaped like a bright pink laptop or a fantastically smooth Gel ink pen. I’ve lost my passion. Have you seen it? It resembled a beautifully thick novel with a highly stylized drawing of a voluptuous Black beauty on its cover. I’ve lost my dreams. Have you seem them? It had that new car smell mixed with the piney freshness of hardwood floors. I’ve lost my drive. Have you seen it? It was as loud as an overzealous high school football coach in the last game of the season. I’ve lost my love. Have you seen it? He was a cross between a chocolately black dimpled rogue and a high yellow green-eyed stoic. I’ve lost myself. Have you seen her? She had beautifully long hair, a great smile, and great lashes and brows.

If you come across anything, please call 1800MYLOSTSOUL. (standard messaging rates may apply)

Damn...what a difference a season makes...

President-Elect Barack Obama.

Senator Barack Obama

SENATOR BARACK OBAMA IS THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE.

Hallelujah!

Amen!

Glory to God!

Blessed it Be!

Well it's official

Kentucky is a state filled with racist dummies.

This is what America is about.

Below are some quotes you and everyone else need to consider before you talk about Rev. Wright or any other American who speaks their mind about America:

In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects.
-J. William Fulbright

If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism; if our government is to function it must have dissent.
-Henry Commager

We must dare to think "unthinkable" thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about "unthinkable things" because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.
-J. William Fulbright

This seems to be the impasse between Blacks and whites. If a Black man questions America, he can still love America. If a Black man criticizes America, he can still love America. If a Black man disapproves of America policies, he can still love America. If a Black man disparages America, he can still love America. It is his right to dissent. It is his duty to dissent. It is an obligation to dissent. Patriotism cannot be demeaned by silliness of a flag pin or a flag pole or a damn, flag for that matter. The flag is a symbol that stands for the RIGHT to dissent: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press.

Black people love America. Black people are the original dreamers of America. Only Black people have been hindered from realizing the dream because they have been enslaved from the inception (and before) of this country until 1865; Jim and Jane Crowed from 1865 to 1965; and had to endure hostility to their very existence. Black people want America to live up to its rhetoric, live up to its dream, live up to its vision. America is a land of free. And, yes free to dissent about America.

Some actually paid me to write...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/130604

OMG, so many things to say…

There are so many things that I have to comment on, my head just may explode (please watch out for the white meat!). First, the Michelle Obama statement. She made a now infamous statement about pride and country. The white conservatives with their self-serving, fake patriotism had a field day. First, everyone who had a show to promote or rile up viewers, i.e., something to sell, misquoted her for obvious reasons. If you listen to the whole statement it clearly refers to the groundswell of hope in the Obama campaign, the idea of voting for something not against something else (you know “you’re just voting for the lesser of two evils” mentality rampant in the political discussions of past) And, even more clearly, we all know the spoken word is different than the written word by its use of hyperbole and overstatement for great oratorical effect. Many people had something to gain by demonizing her statements.

But, underneath the statement, the emotion behind it, the context of it is much more profound and complex than these ridiculous talking heads will consider or concede. Let’s deconstruct Michelle Obama: black, woman, 48, lawyer, grew up working class, Harvard law, child of the late sixties and early seventies. Old enough to remember segregated schools and forced busing. Witnessed the testimony of elders of the jim crow South and experienced the ghettoized North. There is a delicate balance of her patriotism to this country. Of course, there is a delicate balance of any black person’s patriotism to this country. To be born in any other country would be that much more disastrous. Who would want to be born a girl in China? Or, for that matter, a girl anywhere in Asia, Africa, or the Arab world? Who would want a childhood in Africa? Who would want to be born a Muslim in Serbia? The world is filled with hate for many “other” groups. So, life in America, definitely ain’t bad, but it’s not perfect.

Since the inception of this country, black people have been on the underside of America. From 1620 to 1865, black people were slaves, consider chattel (property for the dummies), non-human beings, “no rights that a white man was bound to respect.” And this was just the American version, slavery had been going on for far much longer in other parts of the world. But back to these United States…from 1865 to 1965, Jim Crow limited movement, suppressed the right to vote, and used VIOLENCE through lynching for intimidation and control. From 1965-1979, a move toward a multi-racial society. But, in came Regan a man who said lets get back to our American values and away from the aberrance of the flower child generation. A man who set the tone to abandon the sick and the poor. A man who set up the conversation to be: let’s take back our country. How exactly are black people supposed to be patriotic to this country? A country with the sanction and/or silence of the national government that has exploited, abused, used, intimidated, and killed black people for hundreds of years. Context, people, context is what we are all missing. What the conversations are always missing. It’s hard to be proud of your country when it plots your demise and destruction. It’s hard to be proud of your country when there is an open hostility to your very existence. It’s hard to be proud of your country when there are parts of the country where you better be out before sun down. Every black person knew exactly what she was saying and not saying explicitly. America may be finally living up to its ideals. To its rhetoric. To is flowery language of “every man is created equal endowed by his Creator with certain inalienable rights among these Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Had to get that out. I feel refreshed. More on the ridiculous notion that white men have angst, pressure and are downtrodden because they are white men. WTF!?!?!

That's when Ms. Benita goes OFF!

Pragmatism.
Definition: 1. of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations; 2. Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical.

This is the point every Black leader that doesn't support Obama is sorely missing. How in the world can you talk exclusively to 12% of the population? He's not running for president of Black America or the Black United States of America. He's running for THE President of THE United States of America. Pragmatically, he must walk a very fine line to get elected. White people have a fear and guilt when comes to a black leader or black progress. We all know this. Deep down there is the fear that in a position of power a black person will exact revenge on whites. It's a baseless fear and demonstrates the utter lack of understanding of the Black race. There is no way, blacks will be vengeful for past whites' transgressions. First, most Black people have bought into the Christian belief of turn the other cheek and forgiveness. And, second, it's not in black American's nature to be vengeful regarding this issue. How else could slave women suckle future slave masters without smothering them? How else could the cooks not poison every person on the plantation? We are not in the revenge business. We have, or used to have, an air of moral superiority to whites. But, back to the point: black leaders are being ridiculous about the their lack of support of Obama.

Of course, this man is for black people. You can see it everyday with his VISIBLY black wife and two little black daughters. He clearly takes black issues into concern. Can you see the wink and the nod he's giving you black folk? His speeches are RIFE with allusiong to black poetry, black prose, and Baptist sermons. He's wants to win. He wants to be president. He can't do that just talking and cowtowing to black folks. (You stupid MFs don't vote no way...an evil aside, I'm sorry, of course, some of you vote...the ones that aren't felons.) I hate to say it. I hate to say it. But this is the CRABS IN A BUCKET syndrome. Instead of backing this man 100%, black leaders of old see that there time could be drawing to a close, just like the bipartisan politics of the Clintons is on its way out. Babyboomers, of all races: you are on your way out. Bow out gracefully. Step aside with tact and dignity. Stop whining. Stop saying a 46 year old MAN is not ready to lead. Stop extending childhood and adolescence, so you can be "adults" for 60 plus years. It's over, it's all over. Self-annointed leaders of the black community you will no longer be able to be in your second-class position of power---begging "the Man" to support black issues, black causes, or YOU. None of you will continue your little fiefdoms in urban areas all over the country. You will not be the HNIC, the overseerer, the intermediary for the black community. You're done like burnt toast.

I'm glad the black community you so called represent has largely ignored your insanity and supported Obama in fantastic numbers. I'm glad for once the black community is thinking for itself no matter what any of you say. Tavis take a hike. Along with all the other so-called leaders that have allowed the underclass of black people to fester and be left to their own devices (bad idea). You mega-churched it up with Bentleys, 6,000 square foot homes, & private jets, but haven't used the church like it has been since emancipation: as a place to stragetize against racism, oppression and make education the center of every black child's life. You have pimped out the people so you can have money, status, and a little bit of power. They say absolute power corrupts absolutely; well, a little power poisons the mind a little. These polluted brains have missed the boat entirely. When Obama is the nominee, and then the president will they come sniveling for jobs? Well, of course, they will. They have no shame, no principles and no intergrity.



more on this later: tavis' state of the union and the rejection of Michelle Obama...WTF!

I don't know what this means, but...

There’s a drum in my head
And I don’t know the beat

There’s a drum in my head
And it doesn’t have feet

There’s a drum in my head
And it has no where to meet

There’s a drum in my head
And it knows no conceit

There’s a drum in my head
And it gives off a lot of heat

There’s a drum in my head
And never keeps anything neat

There’s a drum in my head
And it will never give up its seat

Stop asking & read!

If one more person says: well, I don't know what Barack Obama stands for....I will scream. He stands for a breaking from corporations running the country to the PEOPLE running the country. Corporation don't have the good of the country as their core value. The core value (which is an oxymoron, because corporations do not have values, a moral compass, or a sense of right or wrong)....the core value of a corporation is to make profits at the expense of all other goals. Make profits. Do better than last quarter. It doesn't even matter is the corporation does last a long time to build a tradition or legacy, just needs to be around long enough to make a profit for shareholders. Now, this in it self is not an entirely bad thing, well, I'll say this: it's a goal that has helped this country to reach its greatness. But, the goal of immediate profits above all else does not always consistent with human compassion. Should profits control your health care decisions? Should profits control the Police force or the Fire department? Should profits control how we take care of the homeless, the disabled, the widows, the orphans, or the elderly?
If you want to know what Obama believes it's in his latest book The Audacity of Hope. I know, I know. Why should I buy this book to understand his positions. Because he will not be reduced to media soundbites. He will not reduce his opinions to easy little bits of information that make no sense to a very, very complex world and very complex problems. Its in the book. Check it out at the library (remember those?). Borrow it from a friend. Don't spend $15 bucks at Starbucks or Target and get something to expand your mind.

He's brilliant. He's energetic. He's dynamic. And he scares the daylights out of Hilary.

OMG!

Congratulation Barack Obama!

Think on this:

President of the United States (and former General of the Army) Dwight D. Eisenhower in his Farewell Address to the Nation on January 17, 1961:

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction... This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Happy New Year!!!!!!