point of order

Just left San Diego and they say it was an hour before an earthquake hit up North by San Jose. Now I am in DC, really Bethesda, Maryland for a scholars round table sponsored by NIH. As a scientist, I often make use of higher order statistical and mathematical models for the purpose of evaluating the efficacy of my research outcomes. My personal profiecincy ranges to cover Item response analysis, structural equation modeling and assorted regression analysis techniques.

Regression allows me (at least in theory) to predict outcomes of one variable based on another. Unfortunately utility is limited to numbers and not humans nor human actions or events. In the world we reside, regression means sliding backwards in time.

Last week, Clarence Davenport Jr. was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Although he should, from this purview listed in the annals of U.S. History somewhere, chances are his story won’t. You see the retired Army Colonel was the 6th African American to ever graduate from West Point. A member of the class of 1943, he matriculated some five years before President Harry Truman ended segregation in the military in 1948.

During this time at the academy, Davenport was subjugated to a practiced referred as being “SILENCED.” It was mainly used against cadet who had broken major rules of conduct. Not Davenport, his was the result of his skin color and ethnicity. He was made to eat alone, not speak or be spoken to by anyone unless it regarded official Academy activities and lived in isolation. It has been written that other cadets did horrible things to him including but not limited to putting sht in his bed, clothes and shoes.

This was some 50 plus years ago when segregation was retro chic. It just seems that the same attitudes are prevalent now. A lot of states now like Texas and California have passed ballot efforts that have banned the use of Affirmative action for college admissions. Some states such as Florida spend more of corrections/prisons that they do on higher education annually. The Supreme Court just struck down measures in Kentucky designed to curb school segregation issues resulting in race not being viable whe trying to implement equal and quality education for all students.

They say at his funeral, some member of his graduation class attended his funeral. They also say these same men, the ones that didn’t speak to him, stood in silence again as his casket passed them and placed in the earth. I guess showing up is a form of change. If it took them fifty plus years, how long will it take for the rest of the folk to fall in line?

Between San Diego and Basiden

Today, I am lost for words; not really, I just don’t have anything to write about. You see I just landed in San Diego. I was hoping to see first had the smoke and the flames from the devastating wild fires. But to my surprise, I aint see shit. Not Jack, not even any smoke. I was gonna write about how FEMA showed up on time here and was working, unlike during Katrina, but I can’t write about that either because I hear they had a staged press conference already where questions were asked by FEMA employees faking to be reporters.

So what does that leave me? Nothing really, except the fact I saw the Michael Basiden show for the first time on BET. I guess they trying to clean up their act. Anywho, the were talking about the “clean-up woman.” You know the woman that chases after married men. They even had one of them air heads from charm school, who obviously failed her classes and was allowed entry under what I presuppose was the Hoochie mama scholarship.

What struck me as interesting was that one of the ladies said it was impossible for a woman to love a married man, regardless of the mans situation because she would always be nothing more than his ho, even if she was able to get some loot from him. Interesting thought I said to myself in between tokes. So I ask yawl, is it possible for a woman to love a man who is already married, with a family and who is promised to someone else? Yawl clean up women holla? I figure a woman STUPID enough to deal with a married man, or a brother for that matter, is STUPID enough to love them – just my two cents. And wouldn’t be surprised if they got it from their parents. I can see a mother asking a married man to take care of her daughter if she had a history of adultery herself.

I guess the show is supposed to be like his radio show. Maybe I will check I out again, maybe not. Since I was passing through in search of a football game.

4getting what real folk go through

It is not difficult out here in cyberville, to get lost and caught up in the mundane. I know, because I write about the mundane among other things. And I complain also. The question is what is it that I have to complain for? Nothing, for I am blessed and I actually see and welcome my blessings. Over the last three months I have been dismissed from my place of employment, been attacked with a butcher knife and cut with scissors, strapped with the worry of providing for my family, fleshed wounded in the face by my daughters mother with a fork, and had my crab cakes spit in by said daughters mother, just last night (had restraint not to kill her). Add to this my grandmother had congestive heart failure Monday and I have been back and forth to Macon, I still see nothing to frown or complain about. Not to mention had a child hood chum die who I grew up in Memphis with (Shouts out MilkDud) and one of my best friends mothers just died.

I do not ever want to be said that I have forgotten about what real folk go through, race and gender aside. I know there are homeless and that I have a home; that there are foreclosures left and right down here in these parts, but I have no such edict; that people come back from wars diseased, distraught and penniless; that my children are safe and healthy and shown love by me incessantly, and that they are not the victims of drive bys, pedophiles or illiteracy.

Yep its hard, but we can never forget about real folks and what they go through, those that ride the bus every day, work two jobs or make the average annual income of 17,000K a year. Them folks that battle to keep lights on and food on the table, or worse a roof over their family head.

We forget too much, we don’t see our blessings and give the value of those blessing to those responsible for such. Simply put we take what we have, to see, to walk, to fuck, and to have companionship and health for granted. So I guess what im trying to say is that we should appreciate and value that which provides value in our lives unconditionally. We should bestow blessings on those who bless others and us for the sake of value and pray even when we not asking nothing, but just to say hank you.

I do not have rats in my house, and I have my heart. So even if I did, I wont forget that’s what real folk go through. I’m blessed; I have access to cyberville and most folk’s aint.

Criminal Minded

Now i'm the first main to wanna see al my brothers out of jail, especially the ones who are in there for nothing or for just being black and in the wrong place at the wrong time. And I was one of them folks that used to say free Geronimo Pratt and free Nelson Mandela. But down in these parts, it seems as if we got our priorities screwed up. I mean, I hate jails and prisons, and I don’t want to ever go there. Albeit I have dirt behind m ear, I have yet to be caught for such discretions such to warrant a sentence and prison time.

As many of us know, Clifford “the big red dog” Harris, Jr. is in jail. Not prison yet, but he may soon be. Just as Michael Vick, it is for poor personal decision-making. Would like to say stupidity, but I will hold off for the time being. But in both case, these men, had prior indiscretions that I felt should have warned them to cool it and count their blessings. But for the sake of keeping it real, they kept it real stupid. I just have a problem for folks saying free Vick and Free T.I. just because of who they are, or because they like to watch them play football, or because they like their music or worse, because they think they cute.

I feel that as a people, if folks do wrong, let them suffer, learn and grow. I’d be saying free Vick and Free T.I too if they were innocent. But sometimes we must reap what we sow. I teach my son that there are consequences to his actions and that only he can live by his choices. Especially as a Black man, I tell him he MUST know better.

I remember seeing TI recently on BET and he said, folks better be glad I’m rapping about stuff and not doing it.” I feel now it was a bold face lie. My momma said she would get me out of jail for anything except raping and stealing. So I did neither. But she say if you know you are doing wrong, and something against the law, and you do it anyway – you get what you deserve. Damn, why we got to be so stupid? Nonetheless, I’m more so disappointed in those folks who calling for their freedom. I bet if one of the guns he bought were used to kill their child, wife or brother, they wouldn’t be saying such. Let’s think about what we ask for, because when we need the justice system and their laws applied to the other folks, if they don’t do such, who will be mad at then? I’m sure we won’t be saying free the KKK for fighting pit bulls and purchasing machine guns. Maybe that’s what KRS-One meant when he said ”criminal minded, you’ve been blinded.”

The Bush Library

From what I can recant of US Presidential politics, most mutha fuckas wait till hey get out of office before they are commemorated. This is to say they don’t commemorate themselves. George W. Bush, I guess aint the average run of the mill mutha fucka. I guess he couldn’t wait until he was out of office, or better yet, dead, to have his memorial constructed. My folk (who a navy seal) say that all you can see is cranes all over the place in Baghdad and that security there is even thicker than the green zone. What are they building? Supposedly the new U.S. Embassy, but since when has an embassy been constructed on a 104 acre site? I have seen Embassy’s all around the world, in particular U.S. Embassies. From Nigeria to Ethiopia, to Benin to Zimbabwe and places in between, none have ever been that large. Some have reported that it is even larger than the United Nations site in NYC and the a third smaller than the National Mall in DC.

Located beside the Tigris River, the embassy will have features the Iraqi people used to have - a defense force and uninterrupted electricity and water. With 21 buildings, it will be ironically located down the street from Saddam Hussein’s former presidential palace.

All I was able to find on the new embassy was the articles I have hyper-linked here. It is so secret that I concluded it has to be more than an embassy, but rather a presidential library for Mr. Bush. After all, what more fitting a location than Iraq? We gone be up in that camp for years to come if the exercise historically recorded by the British is any indication. This embassy is a strong indication of this, being the largest in the world.

To me doing such tells the Iraqi people and government who is really in charge and who has the final say on THEIR democratic government. But why would the Iraqi’s be mad? Although they say the U.S. ambassador to Iraq will beliving in a house approximatelly 16,000 square feet, it seems like he trying to build his library in a place where he will be most reknown. Picture that, Bush Presidential Library of Bagdad. It is the least he can do since he assisted in the destruction of the historical libraries in the country. I’m just glad its over there.

the name game

Yo, first I would like to say this is for Rich – no graphics. Second, another thought entered, well really was introduced into my corpus last night. See I got a call from someone I had not heard from in a coupla few years. I didn't recognize the number and i tok it, which is unusual. The conversation went like this, me first:

“Yes”

“May I speak with Torrance?”

“Yes, who’s calling?”

“Horse man, you don’t remember me?”

And like the late 1990’s, her name instantly popped in my mind in concert with a few sordid acts and details I will not evince on this page.

I wonder how common is it for a woman to name, or give names to a particular attribute of the male anatomy. I have been called ‘sugarcane’ the aforementioned and ‘nineandahalfby6’ by a former math major. I have never been into naming or branding a woman’s anatomy (with the exception of me planting myself at the base of my partners spine). So I ask, women what names yawl be calling the jimmy? And fellows, yawl can tell some of the names yawl been called – just food for thought, or for lack of a better phrase, THE NAME GAME.





PS: On December 22, im pushing a book drive for one of my books (pls dont order from Amazon - they dont pay).

the ghost of Grover Clevland

It is unsettling at times, to know that the world you live in is not alwaysone that has your best cultural interest at hand. I was trying to hold off on publishing this but I couldn’t. But just imagine, post segregation, 2007, and your child is one of 9 African American students attending a middle school in New Jersey. They come home and ask you to assist them with their home work but you cannot. Not because you are dumb but more so because are stunned and appauled.

This is what happened for sme parents whoes children attened Grover Cleveland Middle School in Caldwell, NJ. Two New Jersey middle school teachers gave students a take-home project on slavery. The students, who were in the 6th grade, were asked to write a persuasive report, as if they were a plantation owner, selling the pros of slavery for running a Cotton Plantation they had inherited from their relatives.

In essence, they were given homework that was supposed to result in a media campaign in support of slavery and the use of slave labor for this imaginary plantation in South Carolina. More than 100 students participated in the assignment. It almost makes sense given that out of the 2,334 students in the district as of the 2005-06 school year, 38 were black, according to the state Department of Education.

Higher education seems to be less than high nowadays if these type of assignments are to represent getting the most out of our students. And no, this has nothing to do with political incorrectness but moreso with the fact that Amerikka was founded and has thrived on racism and will continue to do so. Why not give students an assignment asking them to maximize the killing of Jews In Auschitz? What’s the difference. Both are insensitive and have no pedagogic utility other than to add more shame to the villians that perpatrated slavery and the extermination of the jews. I say lets put instructors like these in gas chambers, maybe they will learn something. Besides, with teachers like this, no wonder we are enrolling at higher rates in prison than in college.

But what can one expect from a school that is named after the 22nd President of these United States and a staunch racist and supporter of white supremacy.

Nothing soft about that

I often spend the precious pages of cyberville talking and pointing fingers at my folk and myself. It even pains me to do such. But this weekend in Atlanta, from Thursday until Saturday, I have been paid by stupidity once again. Not just because I hate how some folks promote nonsense, but also because the reality is that these folks are still my brothers and sisters.

This past weekend in Atlanta, BET hosted their annual hip-hop awards show. It wasn’t a troubled weekend with al the folks in tow but there were two events that caught m attention and the attention of the community as a whole. On Thursday night, it was alleged that J. T. Money (originally of the Poison Klan) was wanted for his possible role in a shooting at a Club in midtown called Opera. This event resulted in the death of a young man. I still can’t figure why a person who is going to a club, would take a gat. I mean it is not like one is expecting an old fashion meet me at sun down shot out.

The second occurred Saturday evening before he awards show. Atlanta’s own Clifford T.I. (T.I.P) Harris was arrested at a Walgreen’s parking lot at the corner of North and Piedmont Avenue. Not just a simple arrest but one involving two felonies including the possession of three unregistered machine guns and 2 silencers and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Now what gives here? According to eyewitnesses, the ATF and local police swarmed the parking lot, forced TIP and his folks to the ground and did their due. I am just troubled because back in the day, a brother would never purchase a silencer. Instead we used potatoes.

Now I love my guns too, and may or ma not have some of the weapons that he was charged with having – but I ain't no convicted felon. Is it the fame, or is it down right stupidity that brings the even to the fore? I cannot figure it out. With all that loot, you think that people could move beyond that type of dumb shit. Isn’t one machine gun enough? I guess now, like cars and watches, greed and big headedness makes folks, at least some figure they have to stunt and show out and front like they are what the are not. And say stupid, because according to reports, he bought the weapons from his body guard of seven months, who was a cooperating witness in an ATF who had been caught trying to purchase guns from a under cover federal agent a few days before.

If anything can come out of this it is a message documenting the importance of education. Young boys, education is the key, Books is the key, they allow you to see the world and learn about others as well as one’s own self. Ain’t nothing weak or soft about education, books and learning. We need to get of that dumb shit and value what is really our divine right – being free, sovereign and thinking beings, or else we will never learn and will only increase the populations of prisons. So pick up a book and take your education seriously, because that’s what’s really real, and ain’t nothing soft about that. Cause now Mr. Harris faces the serious possibility of serving Federal time and may have wasted an extremely prosperous career.

Flickted homo sapien sapien

I learned of the origin of man through the works of Chekih Anta Diop (my Idol), the Senegalese scholar. To me his most seminal works were The African Origin of Civilization, Pre-Colonial Black Africa and Civilization or Barbarism. It was him that I learned of the lineage of homo habillis, Homo erectus and homo sapien sapien (all in Africa). This is just a preface, since for the last two days I have been hanging out on Bankhead with my folk D4L at their studio. I say this because I have written a few essays but have been thinking about stuff, that I thin I should understand being that I am homo sapien sapien. Many of which come from the consternation proffered by the cathode ray tube. Here goes.

1] Ugly Betty. How don’t seem ugly to me but is rather finer than a mug.

2] Grey’s Anatomy. It is nothing like the book.

3] Human vegetarians that have incisors and Canines which by design are made to shred meat.

4] Women suggesting that Jay-Z is fine – when did this happen.

5] A woman not giving head to her man, and a man that don’t consume kitty.

6] Over-looking the history of a nation such as Turkey for genocidal crimes because they let us use their military runways to take supplies to Iraq.

7] Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, scholar-in-residence at. Middle East Institute (How can a person of Jewish descent be an expert on Islam – this is not anti-Semitic.

8] Why mainstream America see the most defining event of our time being 9/11 and the war in Iraq as opposed to Racism.


Just a few things that I don’t understand and makes me feel un worthy of my status as homo sapien sapien.

fantasy congress

Since I killed what would be roughly the amount of brain cells one would loose after consuming a pint of Tequila last night, I would like to interrupt our regular scheduled programming to suggest an intersection of two things that I thought should never merge, or that from a regression of my days as a chemistry major, are insoluble.

If you don’t know, I am a fantasy sports junky and a CSPAN addict. I mean I have badges and shit and been playing since about 1995. From ESPN to the Sporting News, I have had a many of fantasy tems covering baseball, basketball and football. What many of you do know, via the reading and mental consumption of my tractates posted on this Blog, is that also am an astute follower of politics and politrix. Looking at CSPAN today, I noticed that these folks were passing Bills, was amazed because I had never seen the process work so well since “I’m just a Bill on Capitol Hill” School house rock days – I may be dating my self. But what I came to find out was that the were voting on two things:

H.Res. 697 - Commending Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre for establishing a National Football League record for most career touchdown passes, and for other purposes (Sponsored by Rep. Kagen / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

and

H.Res. 654 - Congratulating the Phoenix Mercury for winning the 2007 Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Championship (Sponsored by Rep. Pastor / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

I was puzzled that my money was going for them to vote on these resolutions when the taxes on my 11 acres going up steadily each year. I mean it’s cool to honor folk, but do they need to take it to the floor for a vote? I’m down with H.Res. 630 (Congratulated the Warner Robins, Georgia Little League Baseball on winning the 2007 Little League World Series Championship - Sponsored by Rep. Marshall / Oversight and Government Reform Committee) and things of hat nature, but can’t they send an email around?

Afterwards, I just so happened to run across a new fantasy league. It is called the Fantasy Congress, and a person can pick up to seven represenatives, from either side of the house to make a team. I couldn’t resist the temptation to set up my own league and draft my stating line-up.
Each person can have a team comprised of upper-senators, lower senators All-stars (senior representatives), a supporting line-up mid-range representatives) and rookies (junior representatives). Points are given for six categories 1] legislative success, 2] voting attendance, 3] Maverick score (having guts to break and vote against party lines), 4] speeches, 5] national news media coverage and 6] local news media coverage.

I was even allowed the chance to extend my season beyond the limits of the active congress and senate so I set mine to one year. Now why am I saying this? Well I set up a league and it has room for 23 folks. Since they ain’t working for us from a representation perspective, we may as well get some use out of them as quasi-athletes. So what yawl say, who down to play some fantasy congress? I’ll be waiting. The League is called the Rawdawgbufalo Libetarian blogosphere and the password is 9andahalfby6.

Let’s do this.

shysternomics

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a shyster is a person "who is professionally unscrupulous especially in the practice of law or politics." Being from the dirty, i have met a many of shysters both in the streets and in the work place. From my recollection, the governor of Mississippi gives new meaning to this word.

We all recant of August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina “Dropped the Bomb” on parts of the Dirty. It was one of the catastrophic storms in the history of the U.S. In many places, it did so much damage that it lead to the displacement of tens of thousands of people. In fact the U.S. Census Bureau, noted that after the event, the population of the state of Louisiana declined by 219,563 (almost 5%). Almost 80% of New Orleans was flooded (neighborhoods that ranged from 75 to 100% African American – see pg 2) by Hurricane Katrina, with some parts documented to have been submerged under 20 feet of water.

Total city of NO displacement was close to 500,000 persons (200,000 households). Mississippi was hit hard too, where the hurriciane leaving almost 300 people dead and about $125 billion in damages. However, it was not hit as hard as Lousiana, in particular New Orleans where the LA Department of Health document at least 1,464 deaths (like im supposed to belive this) across the state.

A recent GAO report I just read (came out end of August) suggest that the Federal Emergency Management Agency administered an alternative housing program that unfairly directed $275 of the available $388 million to residents in the state of Mississippi. A little bit more than 70 percent of the 275,00 homes destroyed or rendered unlivable due to Katrina were located in Lousiana alone. Add in Rita to the mix, 217,245 housing units were destroyed compared to approximatelly 68,000 in Mississippi.

We also know that there are many reports of massive fraud in the state. Take the State Farm insurance Example. Two auditors, in an exclusive interview with ABC news show 20/20, alleged that audit reports that concluded that damage was caused by wind were hidden until new reports could be fabricated to show otherwise – so SFI would not have to pay.

I guess it does pay to be a friend of GWB and the governor of the State of Mississippi (Haley Barbour) as it has been suggested by other writers. I just wonder how much loot in kick backs both them folks got from the Feds and State Farm - go figure

aint nothin' like the real thang baby

Some times you think you have heard it all, like when my employer told me I had to ask permission from them to make any loot on the side. Or about 16 year old Pleajhai Mervin, who had her wrist broken by a school guard for dropping her cake.

But what is astonishing to me are these self-righteous puritanical hypocrites that want to impose their views, no matter how fascist on others. This past Monday, the United States Supreme Court decided not to hear a case that challenged the state of Alabama’s decleration of sex toys as being contraband.

The high court upheld a lower court ruling against Sherri Williams, owner of Pleasures stores in Huntsville and Decatur. The law (Alabama's anti-obscenity law) was enacted in 1998, bans devices “designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.” LOL. So if you want one, the state will likily loose a modicum of revenue since folks will have to get their toys from out of state (the law permits folks to buy sex toys out of state for use in Alabama) LOL.

The Police chief is even on board. Decatur Police Department spokesman Lt. Dennis Hughes indicated that they would enforce state laws, including this one to the fullest.

I don’t see the value in wasting man power or enacting laws that make more non-violent offenders, let alone that infringe on individual liberty. Not to mention, the city of Decatur, Alabama, according to my research has higher rates of Murder, forcible rapes, robbery and aggravated assault per capita than the entire United States. Just another example of why our economy is in the dumps and folks want to succeed from the union. But from where I stand, aint nothing like the real thing baby.

Somebody asked me to categorize my blog, what category is it? Helpl pls.
And are their awards for primarily AA blogs? have a great weekend and enjoy the pic.

lol

Just a query, we all know about sperm banks, but tell me this, is it possible to become a licensed independent contacted sperm donor? I mean, why go to a bank, albeit the selection is vast, when you can select the make and model of your sperm – both on and offline. I figure like this, I am a good person, and I think I have high octane, mandingo, zulu, put it on the plate super duper loop-t-looper sperms. And stating such, why can’t I be an independent sperm contractor for that corpus of women that may desire to have a child, and may desire certain qualities in their sperm that love in all cases may not predict such qualities to evince. I figure high IQ sperm. PHD sperm, and raw dawg country Memphis Nigga sperm may have a price somewhere in the sperm market. And add African American, 6-2, 180, and no diseases to the aforementioned (albeit there is a thin line between brilliance and insanity).

I could also give discounted prices since my overhead would be low (no pun intended) by providing direct and on site installation. Just a query? Especialy since I am unemplyed at the time? For real though!