SURE WAY TO GET ON OPRAH

Dear Oprah:

I am writing to you because I feel that you will read my letter first and understand how in such dire need of assistance I am. I am a man who is a single parent. I met a woman about 2 years ago, who claimed, as I did to here, that we were soul mates. I welcomed her into my home as is. She knew that I was a single parent, a man who was raising his son. She didn’t have any problems with that.

I proposed to her and gave her a two carat diamond ring. She meant the world to me. A few weeks later, we found out she was pregnant. That’s when it all started. I come to find out after the fact that she had a history of depression and some other psychological problems. In fact, she said she wanted to get an abortion, but wiser heads prevailed.
After the baby was born, she begins to flip out. Not only did she threaten to kill me, she also said she wanted to kill my son and gave me an ultimatum, either he goes or she goes. Of course, I suggested that she leave. But she didn’t, claiming that she loved me and didn’t want to leave or hurt us, but rather that she needed help.

This type of behavior continued on and off until the current state of things. She keyed my car and she also said she would burn down our hose and kill everyone, including our new born daughter. I can’t take this anymore. She even said that no one in my family, including my mother would see the baby ever; this was after we had planned three months prior to go to Memphis (my home) for my mother and grandmother to see the baby. What happened in Memphis was like a scene from a horror movie. Although two nights before we left for Memphis, she said that my mother would never see the child, the night before, she left, with the baby and got a hotel room. She said she didn’t want to go but that I could take the baby with me. She left instead, and I had to wait some four additional hours the following day before we could go – she came too although she said she didn’t want to. In the car the entire ride, she was screaming at the baby and even hit the car seat several times severely in an attempt to quite the baby down. I told her calmly, that that would only make the baby cry more. Meanwhile in the front seat, my son was furious and balling up his fist about to cry.

We made it to Memphis without any more grief. Bt we were not their in my mom’s house for two hours before she went on a triad and screamed that my mother would never see the baby again, and that she would never ever set foot in her house. Then she swung at my mother. My cousin, another female jumped and they started to fight a hotel and as much as I could, I tried to act like things were normal. But I couldn’t’ she even gave me my ring back and told my mother they she would never marry me and that it was over.

Back in Atlanta, things were as quiet as they could be. Outside of the ubiquitous I hate you, you are stupid, you are about shi*, I’m sorry, she had the never to ask me for her ring back as if she did not understand that such is a serious matter not to mention she had given it back twice before. I tried to be patient but I just continued to build up. Recently she took it to another level; she said that the child was not mine and that she had been meeting men in clubs and dating. She asked me to get her a permit to become a stripper and I refused, as a consequence she keyed my vehicle. The she said she wanted to be a prostitute at the bunny ranch, I said she had to do what she needed but I would not want her to do such and no man I figured would.

Now she says she hates me every day and that she is miserable being with me and that she will make my life and my son’s miserable. I ask her to leave and she wont and she said a man would put her out but that I was a punk because I wont put her and the baby in the streets with no where to go. I have also been trying to rebuild my house, it’s nice but it is old and not child proof. She wants it done right then but doesn’t understand that such takes time. She even got into it with my son, in which I told her that she was fussing about a 12 oz container of kool-aid. She told him that his mother hated him and that nobody loved him, I told him that was not the case and I also told her such. The next day, she accidentally burned her purse with her curling irons and asked me to get her another one, I said no, and she said she would get it anyway she could I said ok. The next day she lost her phone and blamed my son and me for it being missing. I don’t know what to do, as I type this I am at work with the child who I don’t know is mine but who I love so much. What can I do? I don’t know if she would come on your show about this topic but she would come for a make over or something, but she needs help and I can’t help here albeit I try every day. It is almost to the point where I may hit her. She slapped me yesterday and it took all I had to leave and go outside.

She only looks up to you and Star Jones (I think that’s her name).

Thanks just for listening

little black robes (11.8.2004)

When one thinks of the Supreme Court it is easy to think
of words like landmark and controversial. For some of us,
their decisions have led to dramatic changes. I am particularly
fond of some decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and
have disdain for others like Dred Scott where they ruled that
African Americans were not citizens.

Historically, the courts were supposed to be the weakest branch
of our government. However, today they often implement their
power by usurping the electoral process. Thomas Jefferson wrote
that having judges as the supreme decision makers on
constitutional questions would result in “despotism of an
oligarchy.�? As it stands, the Supreme Court has become a
state instrument for class rule and has done so via the
process of judicial review.

The best example of this is how in one fatal motion, the
U.S. Supreme Court ended the U.S. Television manufacturing
industry. In August of 1986, the Supreme Court ruled in favor
of Japanese television makers saying that U.S. manufactures
had an unfair advantage over them. As a result of this ruling,
the court effectively ended U.S. television manufacturing. In fact,
people would be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of U.S.
companies that make televisions any more. Another example
occurred in December 2000 when, in a 5 to 4 decision, the
Supreme Court disenfranchised the American voters when
they stated that any state legislature has the power to revoke
the popular vote with respect to the decision made during the
Florida election fiasco.

From my perspective, it is not the duty of the court to serve as
a vehicle of change. I believe that this is the responsibility of
elected leaders. The members of the Supreme Court are neither
elected, nor leaders. Moreover, their views often reflect elitist
values and beliefs that are not reflected by the general population.
I thought America was a constitutional republic, but it appears to
be more of a repressive autocracy as defined by people in
little black robes. —torrance stephens

they ain’t gonna quit (12.23.2004)

What is the one thing for certain that we will find out
about our invasion and occupation of Iraq? The British
eventually learned it—that these folks will never quit.

When the U.S. first took on Fallujah, it was all over
the news. As of the start of December, there has been
barely a mention of the city on the news or in newspapers.
From what I can tell, based on the lack of news coverage
on Fallujah since the operation started, the U.S. is
having a rough time. It is obvious that the media is
intentionally misreporting and under reporting the
events occurring in Fallujah. I suspect that this is
for several reasons. Maybe reporting the killing of
innocent civilians will not go over well in the U.S.
Or maybe it’s the use of outlawed weapons, such as
napalm, on the residents of Fallujah that would
confuse American people who’re watching the news. Worse,
such reports will not go too far at winning the hearts
and minds of Iraqi citizens, as the government desires.

It does not surprise me that the U.S. military is having
a rough time. I mean anytime one is pushed to using chemical
weapons, it is an obvious sign of trouble. Just last August,
the U.S. admitted to using poison gas in Iraq. Now, there
are these reports of using napalm (which is banned) in Fallujah.

I don’t know why the U.S. feels that these individuals are
not citizens. Think about it, what we fail to understand
is that these folks are not going to let a high and mighty
military power stop them from exercising acts of
self-determination. I cannot see someone coming into my
neighborhood—College Park, for example—to take over a
block to sell weed without a struggle, let alone if they
were trying to take and occupy my home. We are in for a
fight, and we better be ready to accept defeat. After all,
defeat is possible. –torrance stephens

birds of a theocracy

Theocracy. It’s not a new word, but it is being
used to characterize questions associated with why
the Muslim world won’t embrace the West, especially
the United States and Israel. In particular, the
term has been bandied about since the war in Iraq
and the tsunamis wreaked havoc in the countries
bordering the Indian Ocean.

Frankly, Muslim countries are no more theocratic
than the United States. Theocracy comes from the
Greek words Theos- meaning “God�? and cratein -
meaning “to rule.�? This means that a theocracy
is a government operating under the belief that
government can only be accomplished by the divine
guidance of a higher power.

In all honesty, the U.S. government is a reflection
of traditional Christian conservative values. This
is why the Republican Party is so heavily-influenced
by the religious right and other groups like the
Christian Coalition. This is as close to theocratic
tyranny as anyone can get.

We should not be vilifying the Islamic world just
because they lean toward theocracy when the United
States does the same thing. In addition, we should
not be directing hateful rhetoric toward such
countries as displayed by writers like Lewis Fein.
So what if Sri Lanka and Indonesia rejected tsunami
relief assistance from Israel and the United States.
Other nations’ spiritual ideology is not the point;
mutual respect for each others’ beliefs is the
salient point. We say we don’t want fanatics running
the Arab world, but we removed a secular leader in
Saddam Hussein and now we have a greater chance of
producing what in theory we were trying to destroy –
a unified and theocratic Muslim world. –torrance stephens

touch downs, chess pieces and dollar keepers

Originally published in Rollingout 10.19.2004

Man, church is a corporation. I know it is not politically correct
to say it,but things are not as sacrosanct in the house of the Lord as they seem. I have nothing against churches or religion really. I grew up in the church,and even loved singing in the choir. But I must call things the way I see them.Everywhere one looks, there are reminders of faith. Religious programming can be observed 24 hours a day on television. It seems more than obvious that religion has become big business for many. Sure, it has always proven to be a moneymaker in the African American community, but things are getting kind of ridiculous.

First, I may be a tad bit slow, but I don’t see why there is a need for the
big, castle like structures that appear to cost millions of dollars to construct.I was taught that church was the people; not a building. Secondly, I don’t or cannot comprehend why a minister needs to wear $1,000 plus suits and/or drive European sports cars panoplied with bullet proof glass. Now I can see this being the appropriate carriage of choice for drug dealers, but not men and women of the cloth.

I just wish the entertainment that we call church in the current form,
redirects attention to the people they serve. We need to re-evaluate
the necessity of passing collection plates around three or four times
during a service and try to figure out how to rebuild and strengthen
our community. If we don’t, then I will rest assured in my conviction
that the church I used to know is nothing more than a capitalistic machine that takes from the poor and gives to the rich. Call me what you like, but I have God in my life and do not need any touchdowns, chess pieces or dollar keepers to show me how to get on my knees and pray.

The Dis Network (from 6.7.2005)

It strikes me as strange that the most visible and some of the
most talented people in our community tend to do more harm
than good. A few months ago, it was Bill Cosby and his wretched
vilification of the African American poor (which now includes the
middle-class thanks to Mr. President). Now we have the incessant
bombardment of hip-hop MCs attacking each other. It’s cool, I
guess, to mix it up a little, but how many times can you rap about
a diamond worth 200 stacks in one ear alone?

Women are part of the problem because most of these men seem
to feel the only way they can attract you all is by showing how much
money they have and can spend. Their egos are already larger than
life. I have heard Killa Ca dis Ma$e, and the Lil Flip and T.I nonsense.
I have even heard about the beef between Luda and T.I.; my
information comes directly from underground mixtapes.

I’m really trying to understand this, I mean so what if Dem Franchise
boys hate D4L or that Lil Scrappy used to have blond hair and was
robbed in Carver Homes; or that Dem Franchise Boys went to college;
or that Jeezy has placed a 10-stackbounty on Gucci Mane’s chain?
It’s all ridiculous. These are relatively astute folks, but don’t they
know they make others think that this is how things SHOULD be?
I mean don’t they know that in the ATL for example, we have a few
problems with young’uns—even from so-called good neighborhoods—
shooting at each other? Don’t they know that they just give folks in
Congress permission to pass new legislation that will impose 10-year
minimum sentences on people convicted of gang violence and allow
the death penalty for gang murders? More specifically, it lets them
treat more juvenile gang members as adults. But I guess that
doesn’t matter. --torrance stephens

somebody in a tom delay t-shirt

From June of this year (6.23.2005)

Tom Delay may need to just be quiet. Whenever he does something,
there is always a cloud of controversy associated with his actions.
The majority leader’s daughter and some of his aids have even been
included in probe of allegations stemming from his spending of millions
of corporate dollars to assist in a 2002 Republican takeover of the
Texas House of Representatives. Investigators suggest that the
money was used to gerrymander congressional districts in Texas
when current laws suggest that using corporate money is illegal
to use in political campaigns conducted in Texas. As a result, Texas
congressional districts were redrawn to help send more Republican
lawmakers from the state to Washington. DeLay has many financial
ties to a number of House Republicans which will make it rather
difficult for them to actually determine the extent to which he broke
laws related to ethical transgressions within Washington.
With all of this, not to mention other issues related to unethical
conduct, Delay made ill-advised comments on the day Terri Schiavo
died after a court ordered her feeding tube removed at the request
of her husband. He suggested that courts should have intervened
to save her, calling their actions “arrogant, out-of-control, and
unaccountable.”

Delay needs to remember his manners and think about what
he is asking for—given the recent events regarding the judicial system
including the murder of the mother and husband of federal Judge Joan
Lefkow in Chicago and the March 11 murder of a judge, court reporter
and deputy sheriff in the Atlanta courthouse. I would suspect that he
would have more important things to do than passing judgment on the
courts and on television shows like “Law & Order.” Who knows, maybe
we should be placing all-points bulletins on folks who wear a
Tom DeLay T-shirt.--torrance stephens

Freedom and Democracy American Style

I’ve been trying to figure out what actually is a constitutional
referendum? This is supposedly what just occurred in Iraq. I
suggest supposedly because such a push toward democratic
centralism as proffered by the Bush Administration realy isn't democratic at all.
The overall process is even more complicated when one evaluates
the US assertion that they are attempting to bring Sunnis into
the political process while at the same time they continue to
target and arrests Sunnis and their major community leaders.

Second, reports indicate that a large number of Iraqi citizens
did not get a majority of the five million copies of the constitution
from the UN as indicated by the Bush Administration. So the
question still remains, how can you have a , constitutional
referendum if most of the folks have not read or do not
know what is contained in the constitution?

Add to the soup the observation that the claims of the Defense
department regarding preparing the Iraqi military to take over
the role of the United States, and we definitely have a quandary.
The President on the one hand, during the first week of October,
said in a speech to the National Endowment for Democracy
that “more than 80 Iraqi army battalions” were ready and
prepared for this task. However, this was in contradiction to
what US Army General George Casey told the Senate Armed
Services Committee on September 29th; when he reported that
there was just a single (one) Iraqi battalion ready and capable of
operating independent of US support.

There is obvious some consternation on behalf of the administration,
who constantly weave thick tails of make-believe as a penumbra
for Iraqi foreign policy and the Iraqi people, who have yet to accept
and promote freedom and democracy American Style.

Sophisticated Colonialism

Social inequality will always be at the center of U.S. politics.
Hurricane Katrina made visible for American that the social
and racial divide were one in the same. From all perspectives
it was visible that what is considered the American dream for
many selected folks is more of a nightmare to others. It
doesn’t seem as if things will change the way the reconstruction
effort has been imitated.

In September 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported, that
FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers awarded six contracts
for as much as $100 million, for recovery and rebuilding work
in the Gulf area. The Shaw Group landed two of these $100
million deals and other lucky folk included Bechtel, Fluor, and
CH2M Hill. Halliburton in the immediate aftermath of the
hurricane recived $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts to
rebuild Navy bases along the Louisiana and Mississippi coast.
Halliburton hits it big also in Iraq, grossing more than $10
billion in Iraq-war related income

The lessons learned abroad by big corporations are being
transferred here state side. Just as in Iraq, no-bid reconstruction
contracts have been given to corporations. This has been
common since the White House created the Office of the
Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization in August
2004. Headed by former US Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual,
since then, it appears as if the Defense Department and FEMA have
been able to successfully drop mega loot in the laps of the rich while
at the same time encourage and foster an atmosphere supportive
privatization. Most of which involve situations of rebuilding
communities after major disaters in which only big corporations
seem to benefit.

This strict focus on reconstruction, and using the private sector
to rebuild areas after wars and disasters, has been labeled by
some as disaster capitalism while a Bangalore-based
researcher named Shalmali Guttal, has described this as
“sophisticated colonialism.” For the government it make sense,
given in many respects, it was difficult to discern what we saw in
the gulf as being any different from Iraq and Africa. Clocking dough
is cool, but not ifnone of the folks indigenous to the problem areas
cannot make any of that money. It just lets me know to be leery of government
in general; maybe that’s their plan afterall.

Chipping Away Liberty

Man, I know most of yall think I am crazy. But on the contrary,
I just like to think and presuppose and offer the conditionals,
could, should and what if? The Bush administration has announced
that starting in October 2006; all U.S. passports will be implanted
with remotely-readable computer chips.

That’s Machine Readable Passports that make use of radio
frequency ID (RFID) chips that can transmit personal
information. About one-third of a millimeter across, these
chips act as transponders (transmitters/responders), that
search for radio signals sent by transceivers or RFID readers.
They transmit data by bringing it into range of a receiver.
Invented in 1969 and patented in 1973, they require no battery
meaning they are much smaller and can be placed, even permanently
in difficult locations. They can be found in everything from
credit cards, clothes and even pets. Hitachi's has developed
a new chip, which carries its own built-in antenna, that is
smaller a flake of pepper.

To me, as I indicated earlier (REF), it’s just some more martial law police
state shit proffered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
It will allow them to identify people in crowds and be able to
hold information including name, date of birth, place of birth,
digitized photographs, medical records and/or iris scans.
This just means cheaper (about 5 cents each) and smaller
surveillance. No matter what ones does the chip can't be
demagnetize. Maybe one could remove the chip, but they
would have to be able to locate it given its microscopic size.

Hitachi is talking with the European Central Bank on a project
to embed RFID chips in euro bank notes. While it is evident
that the government, under the guise of homeland security in
these United States of America, keep chipping away literally,
at our civil liberties. Another concern is that identity thieves
could snatch personal information out of the air easy by
directing an antenna at a person or a vehicle carrying a
passport or any other RFID containing item. Maybe the
Congress should require that all people be notified about
products with embedded RFID tags. But such is doubtful,
they don’t work anyway.