How u know if u an Obama Groupie

Ok, we just did a first as far as I can recall, count down the first 100 days of a standing president in office in the form of a formal press conference. The last time I saw count downs like this were for a space shuttle flight. Now Hats off to the President, from where I stand he has received a range of grades personally from an A+ to peace relations with the Muslim world and Health Care to a D- with respect to the economy and Pakistan.

With that said, I want to add how I am some what disturbed by the blind allegiance people give to anyone. In the African American community alone, we have a big problem with this and have labeled such folks as groupies, whether one follows Super head, Lil Wayne and yes, even President Obama. So with out further hesitation, my top reasons you know if you are an Obama Groupie.

• You accept without question all that the President proposes.

• You argue vehemently with anyone that disagrees with an approach or policy the President proffers even when one has not read the policy for themselves, and worse

• His picture hangs on the wall next to Jesus Christ in the front room of your house.

• You still have a campaign sign or bumper sticker on your car reading Obama Biden.

• It is sacrilegious for any one to criticize a suggested approach offered by the President and that those who do in your eyes, will suffer eternal damnation in hell.

• If someone’s disagrees with a particular policy, you are likely to question their blackness (just because i dont agree with giving banks that are gonna fail billions dont mean i am not as black as thou LOL).

• You feel as if the policies he proposes are written by the president himself, even on Swine flu, health care and economics, when in fact experts other than the president write these positions.

• You get mad and fuss at idiots like Sean Hanity, Rush Limbaugh and others when we already know that these lames don’t deserve our objective attention for they just plane ole hatters and sore losers (they wouldn't be down with him if he got the GOP a zillion new members).

• You take the time to read the GQ, or Vanity Fair, or Essence magazines cover stories of the first family are in but wont read his budget plain of recovery act.

• Last but not least you will not find this post funny,. wont laugh and get mad.
  

Now this is just a little fun to me, but on the real, as I say we must be critical of the office holder not the man, especially if we want him to succeed – it aint stop with your vote and remember that. Good Day

all banks are not created equal

Imagine a time and place in which laws of the federal government contributed to racial discrimination, and imagine, just imagine that these laws were being supported and protected by the federal government. Well this is not past history and not occurring under the jurisdiction of a James K. Polk or a Grover Cleveland, but rather under our nation’s first African American President – Barrack Obama.
Yesterday, lawyers representing the state of New York asked the Supreme Court to let states enforce their anti-discrimination laws against national banks. Four years ago, then the New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer, asked several national banks to explain why they were disproportionately and significantly charging blacks and Hispanics high interest rates than whites. As a result, as big banks do to keep folk from seeing they dirt they practice, they filed a lawsuit. Not just the banks, but also the Treasury Department agency that regulates them.
And what happened was something out of the days of the civil rights movement or Jim Crow - a federal judge said that states could not enforce state fair-lending and antidiscrimination laws against national banks by enforcing fair lending laws against them. If that aint some of the dumbest stuff I have ever heard. So it is ok for states to make laws that could be used to investigate illegal actions at banks that function inside their state, but only the federal government can enforce such when it comes to national banks.


Yep, the federal government says they are the only folk that can regulate national financial institutions. But the strange thing is that the Federal Government (which can’t get the SEC to work) doesn't have the manpower or the knowledge of the various state laws, I mean there are 50 states, not to mention that according to recent data, they - Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, only have 10 folk working on enforcement. The case (Cuomo v. The Clearing House Association, 08-453) has the Federal government arguing that by allowing each state to enforce their own fair lending and ant discrimination laws, would get in the way of federal government's supervisory powers.


So in other words, we not only bail out these national banks with no oversight, but also put their interest and protection over the American citizen since states are not able to implement any form of consumer protection and regulatory oversight regarding mortgage lending practices. The use the out dated National Bank Act of 1863 to support their position.


Maybe I am just nit picking, but I think there is something inherently backwards about not being able to enforce nationally established laws (fair lending and ant-discrimination) when America’s history is replete with such and when not doing such makes the constitution worthless. I guess all men are created equal but not all banks. I hope our president can engage his administration to put this on the radar. All he will need is one Executive Order or Presidential Decision Directive, but then again who asked me?

keeping our eyes on the ball

You know historically, if we couldn’t do nothing right in these United States of America, we could train some of the finest and brightest minds in the world as scientist. This is still true today albeit not to many folk want to be scientist as opposed to rappers, entertainers or pro athletes. And even in light of new intellectual circles the likes of India, China and Brazil are emerging to the top of the coffee as of late.But as far as our being proactive and forward thinking, we seem to sometimes take our eyes off the ball. Let’s take so-called terrorism for example. We have been so caught up in looking for folks with bombs wrapped around their somas that we don’t even move beyond thinking for ourselves. Not to mention we always want to contain them in certain regions as well as certain disposition. My problem is that bombs and guns and airplanes are not the only way to strike fear into the hearts of the affeared – especially us in the west. My diabolical mind has me thinking other wise.

For example, since the peanut contamination in South Georgia, I wave wondered what would be the quickest way to strike terror in the world I live in is to attack my stomach, I just wonder if our intelligence community has thought of this? I mean I was just a child when I first heard of Swine flu. I remember the new because it was in the year of the bicentennial, 1976, and occurred at Fort Dix where a young solider was killed by an influenza not seen since the plague of 1918-19.

Swine flu normally infects pigs, but has been detected recently in people in Mexico, the U.S., New Zealand, Canada, and the U.K... And just yesterday in New York officials stated eight "probable" cases, of swine flu have been documented. And over the past year, we can recant of food contamination -- salmonella found in pistachio nuts; Halal International Processing, a York, S.C., recalling almost 3000 pounds of beef, chicken, goat, and lamb products, and today in Georgia, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, because the product has been linked to Salmonella contamination.

I won’t even talk about things over the past 3 years. Like On December 4, 2006, health investigators linked an E. coli outbreak that has sickened approximately 22 folk at Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey and 14 in Long Island And remember not just meat, but that E. coli infections are also associated with sprouts or leafy vegetables such as spinach. That same year three people died and more than 200 fell ill from an outbreak traced to packaged spinach grown in California.

Now I’m not trying to scare anybody (folks who don’t grow their own food) but, if I know this I think so-called terrorist do too, but aint so sure about our homeland security apparatus. Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria are just a few of pathogens that can invade a food product and food poisoning causes about 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and up to 5,000 deaths each year. Listeria is found in soil, vegetation, raw milk, meat, poultry, cheeses (particularly soft mould-ripened varieties) and salad vegetables. I just want to make sure that we think and discuss and talk about such possibilities and that if we really want to secure our homeland, our food should be first and that we can never take out eyes off the ball. Besides folks like aren't NSF types, we cuss, hunt wild turkey on our frams and spend quality time with our kids - being a scientist and 185 IQ or not.

Ménage à trois

POINT OF ORDER: wanna thank my home folk for giving me this ward: Rippa

Although last week I got a little off of my chest regarding Pakistan, I still really aint clear my throat. I mean I’ve been thinking and recant that the former military Dictator Pervez Musharraf was a shady character and ruled his country with an Iron hand. As such it would not surprise me if he is in bed with the Taliban trying to re-appoint himself to the Presidency. Yep folk is foul like that and I will take it a step farther.

President Asif Ali Zardari recently signed the law to enforce Shariah or Islamic law in Swat to quell as if such would stop the Taliban insurgency in the region. But I would be surprised if cronies of the former military dictator have infiltrated that camp and pushed this law on the table. Musharraf never wanted to leave but the US kind of twisted his arms promoting democratic elections, even though a dictator, he was likely the only political/military figure in the region that could take on the Taliban.

Musharraf if you remember launched a military campaign against the Taliban in Swat in late 2007. Now it seems that he will be back in power soon. Just my two cents, I mean it all makes sense now, for who else would be able to save the nation state of Pakistan? No one else and especially the new government whom are already at odds with the US foreign policy position.

So just take that, when the new government is on the edge of failing, and/or being over run by the Taliban, recant I said it here first, that your boy will be back in power. Not to mention, they economic problems in Pakistan make what we see in the west like we in Disney world. So what’s next, I say Ménage à trois. Bush was in bed with Musharraf and Obama willl be too soon.

i am all-mi-T

If I were god……………………….all women would have and be required to wear a cat woman suit

If I were god………………………….instead of horns, all cars would have phasers so when we would blow our horns, instead of honk at them, we would Blow a car up and drive through them as if in deep space

If I were god ……………………………….IRS would mean internal reffa (weed) service.

If I were god…………………………………..Memphis would win NCAA each year in basketball, U Tenn. would win football, and can’t forget them lady vols

If I were God -----------------------------------------Tofu would not exist and pork would replace it and all vegetarians with Canines and incisors for teeth would be banished from the planet earth

If I were god …………………………………my di** wouldn’t stay hard after I came.

If I were god……………………………………………duels would happen each day in the congress and senate.

If I were god……………………………….throat would be something all women could do.

If I were god……………………………………………there would be no need for prisons and they would not exist.

If I were god……………………………………Hip hop music would have lyrics that spoke of history and particle physics

What am I saying; I am ALL-mI-T.

An Hour Away

Being so caught up on loot and the current economic crisis I am often forgetful of the importance of being informed on a worldly stage. But I was just reminded of this. I mean I was asked to write an essay by this news weekly in Atlanta on Obama and his trip to the Summit of the Americas this past week, so I did. Sure I burst open a few GOP perspectives and nonsensical projections, but overall, I was only reminded that Mr. President has big problems and needs to step his game up.

We still have major problems in Afghanistan and especially its neighbor Pakistan. It seems that The Taliban is advancing more and more each day. Not only in the ability to run the courts in feudal courts in both of the nation states above, but all so in their ability to influence the local inhabitants and occupy more territory. They are all over the Swat Valley in Pakistan and looking as if they are becoming entrenched in the area northwest of the capital

How much are they in control? Well let us just say they are patrolling the roads military style and broadcasting messages on loud speakers throughout the area. Which tell me that the so called peace effort offered by the new government has no weight and will likely fail? And this is just a week after the Pakistan's president signed off on the peace pact. The Swat Valley has seen some of the heaviest fighting between the Taliban and security forces over the past year. But it also seems that the new government’s agreement to impose Islamic law in Malakand in an effort to end the fighting with the Taliban may back fire. It is hard to know what is true and fact however, they do this in Pakistan but in Afghanistan, the Taliban denied they were holding peace talks with the government and continue to be able to conduct “high-profile attacks” even as US troop strength continue to grow.

I know Obama understand that Pakistan is a major problem with what we confront in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, he may get his wish and have troops up in that camp before we can say another US bank has failed. For the Taliban is now in control of another district in the country's northwest just 70 miles from the capital. They have also banned music and television and stopped women from entering into a popular shrine of a Muslim saint.
The Taliban has placed the ball in our court now and I wonder what the President will do or plans to do for I have not heard in detailed plans to deal with Pakistan in concert with the Taliban. I just hope he don’t wait until the last minute like Bush 43 or until the government is over thrown and the Taliban running thangs up in that camp. They way I see it, now the Taliban is only an hour away from the capital, and if history is correct, they aint got no problem with taking over and ousting a sitting government.

date rape

Point of order: 1] A shame when folks talk on they cell phone and drive; 2] the recession is really hard on some folks, and 3] The title is not making fun or taking lightly the seriousness of date rape.

Some of my family (the women) have insisted that as a single parent, and given my penchant for women and self asserted standards for what I find is exemplary of women, that I should date. Now on the surface, being a single parent of two is not an impediment, albeit having a son that plays all three high school sports and a three year old grown woman are my priority and make it difficult to date, it is not impossible. Especially seeing that we are out the house at 645 each morning and at the shop by 730 and do not leave until 8pm – then usually on our way to one of my son’s baseball, football or basketball games.

I really love it, although it can be tiresome especially since we eat breakfast at the table each morning and night, no matter what time we get home. But I took my cousin up on the offer and this is how it went, and why I don’t like going on dates. For the record we will call the culprit Lil momma. Well lil momma called and asked me to go and see Seal with here. She said it wasn’t a date, and that her sister suggested that she should ask me to go with them to the concert. So I said yes. Now when I ask a woman on a date, I do the mandatory date things. I pick her up; I pay for everything, and the entire nine. If I ask a woman out best believe I will be taking her out and won’t expect here to do anything. I will even ask up front if there will be a problem with the time and accommodate to make things amenable to such.

Now I guess it is different for women. For lil momma, on the eve before the date, called and told me she wanted me to come and pick her up – yep drive, and check this, at 630pm (an hour and a half before I close my shop). But I was cool, I over looked the fact that for this date I would have to stop making money. But then came the mission creep. After this she wanted me to come and get here when at first she said I would not have to drive. Next she asked if would get some wine and some food since it was at an outdoor concert hall popular in Atlanta where one can bring their there own food and beverage.

So after putting in work like I asked her to go out on a date, we finally get to the joint. There I come to find out the folk she said were going to be there were not and it ended up being me and her, and worse Seal. Now as I looked around, the place was crowed but not packed, and it appeared as if she and I were two of the eleventeen only black folks there. And she was having a blast albeit it seemed to me he was singing songs by Al Green, James Brown, Sam Cook and some more folks. Didn’t sing none of his songs until the end of the show when he came back for an encore – he did rock them though. And all the while all the white folks were dancing and sing all the words to HIS songs as if he was Prince or George Clinton.

I took her home as soon as I could. She did buy me a bottle of Tequila, but that was beside the point. I hope she aint think she was getting some – not at all. I would have preferred to been at home, childless dranking by my lonesome looking at the fight. Besides I done seen seals before at Sea world and Marine land when I was growing up. I was grateful, but just one reason why I don’t date or go out on dates, Id prefer to cook, sit at home, look at the stars, converse and maybe plane ole bone. This was no date, but it sure was date rape in the form of mission creep.

b4 south park there was....

TV aint like it used to be.

Thought Amnesty (4.16.09)

Hanity: Our guess tonight are Congressman Joe Willie Wop and Dr. Torrance Stephens, of the blog Raw Dawg Buffalo. Let us start with you congressmen, what do you think these people are trying to say?

Congressman: They are telling the government that they are out of touch with the people. What the government doesn’t understand is that it is not their money.

Jones Here: Well Congressman, you are one of them, you in DC and I pay your salary. You sound disingenuous

Hanity: Well that aside Dr. Stephens, you are a reasonable man, My Grand father came here from Ireland, and I’m certain he could not believe or realize that one day his children would be spending all of their money for the sake of corrupt Wall street Bankers

Jones Here: I agree, but you must admit that Obama and Bush both did this. To blame one and not the other borders on stupidity at best and bich-azzedness at worse. And you speak of fair and balanced. [Looks over at Congressman]…Why aint you talking?

Hanity: You are wrong, my grandfather came for a better life and freedom and liberty and not excessive taxation.

Jones Here: I will give you that but my folk, unlike you grandfather, did not have the choice to come here and were slaves that likely gave your grandfather wealth. Your freedom and liberty historically for me is my slavery and servitude without representation.

Hanity: Point well taken but that is not the point.

Jones Here: excuse me, you brought it up folk, not me, besides, if you aint looked around this is not representative of America, I am the only one here of my race and ethnicity. You speak as if Obama made the 600o thousand pages of tax code did he?

Hanity: That’s besides the issue.

Jones Here: It is it is not Just Obama dude – it’s the Senate and Congress. I mean you a millionaire, im poor, you aint the common man folk.

Hanity: That’s not entirely true sir, America is a land of opportunity for all, is it not?

Jones Here: In some fashion, but seeing that I’ve been here, family wise for 400 plus years and still trying to come up.

Hanity: Now sir that is racist if I have ever heard such?

Congressman: It certainly is?

Jones Here: I will give you that slavery was based on race – but again, you changing the subject. I did not hear you say the same about Bush 43 when he made up Tarp out of thin air; And as I said I disagree with the economic policy of the President, but not the man. You talk about him so much I think you got a man crush, do you fondle pages too.

Hanity: Cut the mic. We will be back after this commercial break.

Addendum: Support my publication fund.

the hunted

I write this under the auspice of celebrating my one year anniversary of being in business. I have read and been told that any where from 70 to 85 percent of start up businesses fail before the first year. All of the other business owners have been congratulating me as if I have made it. But I have not and do not feel as if I have. The reality is that I am merely a single man, a single business and realize that via introspection, much more work for my betterment and all connected with me needs to be done.

And although I am foul in character, and in nature, my disposition dictates that there is more to me than patting myself on the back can accommodate; that requires being appreciative of what I do have as opposed to what I do not.

I don’t know if I should be mad or sad, but truth is it is disheartening to acknowledge today what are accepted as the standard characteristics of the male species. I just don’t get it, where it comes from or how we as men, and even worse – women, promote sucg dumb azz behavior. How is it that we as men can see it fit to spend or even plan to spend more time in the gym, or working out than in the library, as if it is our external that defines us more than what makes us men – integrity, intellect and character. Sad thing is that we will be the main ones that vilify women for caring more about the external cosmetic virtues of existence – e.g. appearance, yet we do the same thing. Are we that shallow or caught up that we cannot mark priorities of wisdom as such over vanity?

We all talk about how we despise playing games, or that game recognizes game, but it really don’t matter in the big picture if we throw out collective and personal responsibility. For we will say such and talk such when in fact we will spend more time with a play station, or X-box than we do trying to improve and enhance ourselves spiritually and intellectually.

We know more about our favorite teams, and mundane television shows, movies and entertainers than we know of our own family, history or even worse, our own children or their teachers. Yet we will complain vehemently and loudly without lifting a finger to participate to attempt a change. Yes we men, are merely bench warmers in our future for active participation requires making choices but we would rather follow, and be like the next man (often fakers they selves as a consequence of fame and idolatry) than think and engender greatness for ourselves, for if other do not know of such, it is worthless; for to us fame is the only thing of value.

So if real recognize real, then let’s be really real, we are the hunted but many of us do not realize this. We accept what we preach among each other, especially other black men under the mantra of keeping it real, when in reality we keeping it real fake, for only an idiot would postulate such when life in itself is a reality. What is really real is that we would spend more thought and consideration to deciding to get our car wash, more time indeed than we would spend on reading to a child, whether it is our own child or not. Now that is really real, and I can talk this shit folk. Jones here don’t need no accolades or pat on the back for I get it each time my cash register rings and when my kids call me poppa and take the time to talk to me and place their lips on mine. I get it each time I see a former inmate I know keep the job I assisted in helping them find – for they got it on their own, or when I assist a man in a diabetic coma out of his car and give him CPR (as I did last Friday in front of my shop). Yea that’s what keeping it real is all about. Not the promulgation of negative attitudes and stereotypes that foster disingenuous effrontery in the form of being hard for the fact is that only thing men can have hard is they dick. So that’s what’s up, like I said, we the hunted and half us don’t even know we the prey and falling for the bait hook, line and sinker like a red fish in a bayou in Louisiana. And folk wonder why I call folk fck boys and BAN’s (bich azz n I double g a’s). So dress up your cars, buy them fancy clothes, and all the air force ones you can, for I like a nice tailored Valentino suit too, but it aint jack with out my brain cells. For brain cell against brain cell, I’ll smash am jones any day and if I was weak, emotional or insecure – I would cut some heads too, but that’s a last resort.

Addendum: good look to Mahogny Speaking for giving me this award.