How can you be afraid of terror, when you the only ones with jets and tanks -circa 2003

War is Hell; in fact it is some ugly shit that I would not advise anyone to ever desire to participate in. Right now, the way things are going, we may be on the brink of World War III. Sure, I know idiots of the political persuasion consider a war on emotions as being a fitting target, but that’s not what I’m talking about. No, I’m referring to what may be on the horizon if Zionist tyrants continue using US made weaponry on people that do not have a standing army to protect them.

Israel has been a hot sport for a while, and few weeks ago, right on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, it launched a major military attack on the inhabitants of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. It was speculated that as a consequence of these violent attacks between 1200 and 1500 Palestinians were left homeless. The Yom Kippur war really started around 1972, and for what it is worth historically, it came about when then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat threatened war unless the United States forced Israel to accept his interpretation of UN Resolution 242, which required total Israeli withdrawal from territories taken in 1967 war.

Since then, nothing has really changed. Many people do not know that the U.S. government and military played a major role in Israel’s success of the Yom Kippur war. In fact US Navy forces sent both the USS Independence and USS Roosevelt in addition to an amphibious force in the Mediterranean and the Eastern Atlantic to assist the Israeli government. Also on that October 14, the US Air Force began Operation Nickel Grass, which supplied the Israeli military with more than 20,000 tons of military supplies.


Since the Jewish leader, David Ben Gurion, proclaimed the state of Israel on May 14, 1948, after British Mandatory rule had ended, Mesopotamia has not been the same. The League of Nations decided to make a country in a region where western conquest and Imperialism has been just as much a feature of the immediate environment as the sand dunes in this part of Asia. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab sectors and as one would have expected, fighting started immediately.

Maybe it’s me but I’m just not stupid enough to accept that these attacks on the people of Palestine are accidents nor are the responses to terror. I find it hard to believe that a nation suited to the bone with F-16 Tomcats and Apache Helicopter, courtesy of my tax dollars is afraid of people without an army, airplanes, tanks and/or war ships. The really threat to security in the region is Israel. They are the only government that has expressed they will use weapons of mass destruction if they feel threaten. If we truly want to go with the concept of regime change, then this government needs to be the first. Especially
Since these folks have continued to be at each other’s necks and will forever be if we fail to see that the problem started back in 1948. So the next time you see or read a bout a young woman strapping bombs to her person and blowing up a few civilians and military personnel, don’t sleep. Ask yourself if she has an army to join? While you at, the next time you want to know why these people have such revulsion and disgust for the United States, look at the Tanks and Airplanes and Helicopters used to drop the bombs.

Current Seas (circa 2003)

It is strongly recommended that people in the US should get out and see as well as experience other parts of the world outside of the America’s. This is a practice that I like to keep in effect. In doing such I have noticed over the past year the dramatic slip in the purchasing power of the US Dollar. This can be no more visible than when one makes regular currency exchanges. On my most recent trip to South Africa and Malawi, I received 6.5 rand to the dollar. It was somewhat upsetting since three months and 6 months prior I got 8.5 and 10.1 to the dollar respectively.

We you have to the chance to travel, you regular get a first had observation of how strong the dollar is as a s sheet of paper currency. What you can purchase abroad with it compared to at home in the States is mid boggling at times. This is in particular to countries in Africa and Asia.

I speculate the recent declines are associated with the deficit and the looming anticipation of trade wars brewing between the US with China, Britain and the European Union. The most recent exchange rates have $1.20 Euros to the dollar. This type of strong reduction in value will prove problematic not only for US citizens but also financial markets around the globe. Since every thing, including all commodities and world markets are valued and based on the dollar, decreases in its value will likely make every one try to devalue their currency so they will not have to, as a country or nation pay more for goods. Over the past 18 months the dollar has dropped 27 and 19 percent respectively to the Euro and the Japanese Yen.

The large and growing deficit being increased over the tenure of the current administration is one contributing reason for the dollars decline. This sea change of a sorts is related to a few things. The deficit is growing more daily while at the same time the US economy still sees Americans buying more stuff from abroad than they are selling abroad. Couple this with a loss of about 3 million jobs over the same period, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this just may be the start of something troubling.

Although we see the stock market rising, when the dollar falls in value, we will likely see a decline in the purchasing of US Equities and Bonds by foreign investors. No one wants to by Bonds if the currency underneath the bond is weak.. Gold is at a seven year high and that thing we call the deficit is expected to grow to $500 billion or more. Like I said, travel more America, get out the country. WE can’t buy much in our country anymore with the dollar, so we may as well spend it abroad, where we get more bang for out buck.

DVDs are Fundamental (circa 2005)

There is a new disease infecting our community. It specifically targets our children and younger adults. No, I am not speaking of a new strain of HIV/AIDS or violence, but rather something more heinous and without a viral etiological connection. I am speaking specifically of our ability to read as well as our desire for the written word.

This is not an issue of having a skill deficit by rather the failure of seeing reading as being important and essential. I was taught that it was my duty to read all I could get my hands on, and this was not just limited to the sports page, horoscopes or what my particular subject interest may be. I often remind my son that more than 150 years ago, during the period of American slavery, it was illegal for slaves to learn to read and that if they were found out of having such a skill, they were punished by being blinded, having their tongue cut out, or death.

Now I am not going to place blame on the school system, since the foundation for reading should be established in the home, nor will I attach this reduction to external elements of the environment such as television, cable and the new age culture of music videos and play station consoles.

Albeit these are required to understand the lack of love and pleasure our children should or would find in reading, the most significant factor is the home. If we truly concerned ourselves with this issue, then we would elevate reading over other past times, particularly in environments where reading should flourish such as in the car. I don’t claim to have all of the answers but I do know, if we were concerned with this, we would have books and newspapers in the back seats of our cars and trucks instead of video screens and DVDs.

change in blog status

The newspaper I write for has asked that I not publish my essays until they run them first - sorry. So until they catch up I will publish old essays. Thanks TTS

Cowards and crooks

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that public employees who speak up about possible government wrong doing, fraud and general criminal behavior via their jobs are not protected against employer retaliation by the First Amendment. In the case Ceballos v. Garcetti, they ruled that ruled that the Los Angeles County district attorney's office did not violate prosecutor Richard Ceballos's freedom of speech by demoting him after he wrote to supervisors that a sheriff's deputy had lied to get a search warrant.

Ceballos was evntually reassigned as a trial attorney and denied a promotion, which he suggested were retalliation for his writing the memo (a violation of his First Amendment rights). This suggest that since employees have obligations to make complaints on their jobs by using internal grievance procedures that are within their job description, when they do level complaints they have no First Amendment protections regarding what they may or may not say.


In essence thay are saying that it is the duty of the citizenry of America, especially thoes that work with the federal government, to support any unethical conduct by federal top-dog beuracratis against both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I find this strange given that it is the civil duty of federal employees to speak out against waste, fraud and any behavior that can be considered as criminal as American citizens first.

In the opinion, Justice Kennedy, Chief Justice Roberts, Justices Scalia, Thomas and Alito, said that Ceballos is entitled to no First Amendment protection for his speech for writing a memo to his superior arguing that a case should be dropped because there were inaccuracies and "misrepresentations" in an affidavit used by a sheriff's deputy to obtain a search warrant.

So employees will not have any incentive to use the protocols of their work place for grievances (where there is no 1st admenednt protrection) but will more likely speak out in public if they want First Amendment protections. This is rather doltish and witless seeing that if they speak either privately or publicly, they can be fired for what is essentially personal private speech. Even if they just speak publicly, they loose any chance of keeping their jobs because they did not use the employer's circumscribed guidance for complaint.

What does this mean? It means that the Court's decision basically makes it hard for folks to tell or whistle blowon any wrong doings. The truth is that the brave people who do stand up as honest American and tell, are still subject to retaliation by their supervisors . This is even if the allegations and complaints are true and point to criminal behavior. Maybe this would not have happened if Justice O'Connor had not left the bench January 31, before the opinion was completed. Originally the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the Ceballos case was "inherently a matter of public concern" protected by the Constitution. Alito was the deciding vote that broke the 4-4 tie. The present administration supported Garcetti citing the U.S. government is "the nation's largest public employer."

The court has in essence done what congress, via the constitution is no able to...." make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." In this decision they say that First Amendment rights do not apply to government employees who speak within the scope of their jobs. I just find it hard to belive if I found my boss selling plans to the Taliban, and I told on him, I could be fired and charged with a crime. Personally, government workers speaking out on the job have the same kind protection as any one else speaking out in public as citizens. What remains to be seen is what kind of civil servants will we have , or will it leave us with a corpus of cowards - afriad to speak out about criminal acts by their supeiors for fear of losing their jobs, or crooks - selling plans to the enemy, padding their pockets, taking bribes and disrespecting the public good.

plush opus in the metropolis

I had a good weekend. But I have been reminded once again that there is a lot of work left for us to change the mentalities of these fools proclaiming to keep it real in these streets. I was hoping I didn’t have to write about this mess no more, but what makes it so bad is that last week I heard that there was shooting at home for one of my home boys (who I do not know personally) Mario Mims. Mims was having an album release party for his new album under his stage name of Yo Gotti. Now this was May 19th, but I just found out it actually happened. Although the say they only heard one shot at the Plush Club on Memphis' Beale Street, three people, a man and two women were injured.

Some at the crib think it was due to a beef between Gotti and another Memphis rapper Miscellaneous over the song "Memphis Walk." Which was released by released his version of the song two years ago while Gotti just did his version of the song and put it on his new album.

I guess it is like the Mumps or TB, because this shit is going around unabated. I mean in New York over the past week, a bouncer is suspected to have shot four men following an argument in front Opus 22 Cafe and Lounge. The shooting left a 25-year-old Puerto Rican man dead with three others wounded.

Then there was the shooting last evening at Miami's Club Metropolis. The result was one 22 year old man dead of a knife wound and another taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital after being shot in the thigh. Metropolis is a nice joint based on my first hand experience. Some of those there in Miami for the event included Yung Joc, Usher, Nelly, and Slim Thug all attended functions and performed at different clubs throughout the weekend but I have yet to find out who was performing when the chaos occurred. I don’t know if we will ever learn our lesson, but at this rate, we will be listening to country and western music, let alone, have any fans to attend these venues to keep the hip-hop game lucrative.

keep it tight

I think I want to settle down now. In fact I have been thinking about this for a while. The consternation however, revolves around finding the right partner. Yes, she has to be my partner. By definition, a partner is one that shares; and one associated with another especially in an action. We would have to have a solid relationship too, and by that I mean having and knowing what it takes to create a thriving marriage and being connected or binding in mind, body soul and spirit.

In biblical terms, I would like for it to be as written in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 where real love is defined as being patient with each other, being kind to each other, being never envious of each other, never boasting to or about each other, having a relationship characterized by humility, never being rude to each other, not being self-seeking, not being easily angered with each other, being truthful with each other, protecting each other and trusting each other.

I'm not afraid to love either, i mean if i can give it to my kids and dogs and family I can do it for a woman as well and I'm not afraid of being hurt nor will I fear such because of emotional pain and memories. So I don't think anyone else should be either. For me, the problem is in this age of groupies, tricks and wants be video models, it’s hard to find someone like that. So I still dream and wonder if such is possible. Strike that I do, and I am optimistic and i think/know I have found that one. Its just hard work and ups and downs and some technical difficulities but i know what we got is unbreakable. Just my two cents. So all yawl in a good working partnership/relationship, i hope this motivates u to keep your head up and keep that relationship tight, because its hard work and it wont get any eaiser.

Church Schisms over Slavery

Throughout the history of slavery, one constant was the impact of religion, in particular Christianity, on the institution of human bondage. Europe’s advance into the new world brought colonialism, slavery, and imperialism under the guise of Christianity, which according to Sipe Mzimela, is nothing more than variations of European cultures, specifically German (Lutheranism), English (Anglicanism & Methodism), Scot’s (Presbyterianism) and the French, Belgium and Portugal (Catholicism).1 European or western religions operated differently from other religions such as Islam, with respect to slavery. One difference between the involvement of Christians and Muslims in African slavery was that Islam mandated that people read the Koran compared to European missionaries that felt teaching Africans to read was problematic. Christian missionaries preached all men were equal under eyes of God but yet ridiculed Africans (forcing them through the use of guns) to accept slavery as explained by the Christian concept of suffering and their failure in racial terms.

From the earliest days of the trade, churches and religious views regarding the capture and enslavement of Africans and other non-white people were dominant. The decree of Pope Alexander VI in 1493, that all most all of the Americas were to be ruled by Spain basically established that it was alright for Europeans to use non-whites in the name of God. During one point in time, the enslavement of human beings was such a way of life for much of the new world that religious institutions wedged a vested interest in converting non-Europeans to Christianity. Bartolome de Las Casas, a Christian notable in history, came to the conclusion that African slaves were needed in Hispaniola after he had killed many of the indigenous people by working them to death.

Missionaries taught Africans that it was the will and desire of God for them to suffer oppression, discrimination, and exploitation. The scope of the evangelic effort was evident by the number of missions remaining on the continent after colonialism. In the Congo, there were 669 Catholic missions alone.2 History is replete with accounts of missionaries from various denominations and country actively implementing national policy objectives under the guise of religion. At one point in time, the Portuguese, built a fortress on the island Arguin, off the cost of Mauritania, to hold slaves that were taken from the mainland (1440) purportedly as part of an effort to gain Christian converts.3 In 1663, Frenchman representing the Lazarist missionary tried to convert one of the Antanosy rulers of Madagascar to Christianity. This eventually resulted in the loss of Fort Dauphin and the death of the missionary. But the policy was continued when in 1664 when the French government encouraged mixed marriages, only to the extent as the wife was baptized and accepted the Christian faith.4

In many ways, the church through its clergy, and as an institution supported and encouraged the very onset of the European slave trade, as well as attitudes about Africa and Africans as being heathens without knowledge of a supreme being and/or a Christian understanding.5 Slavery involved absolute obedience and submission which both the clergy and slave masters tried to instill.6 Some even claimed to be possessed by the Holy Ghost, as was the case with Swiss Father Vernaud. Others like Juan Gines de Sepulveda suggested that some people were inferior and needed protection of slavery under the direction of gentle Christians.7 This position was based on the dialectics of Aristotle. This matched Puritans views of Africans as vehicles to be controlled if they accepted the Christian way.

The religious cloak on slavery in the Colonies was no less overwhelming. Given that many expeditions were set forth by the Dutch, Portuguese, France, and England, it is not unexpected that collectively whites became associated with other philosophical perspectives. Some have advanced that in colonial America, the terms Christian, European, free, and white were synonoymous.8 Laws in many cases supported his and continued to justify slavery since many were based on biblical laws of the Old and New Testament. Puritan slave codes in New England were modifications of old testament version of slavery. In the colonies, acts such as the statute passed in Maryland in 1639, stated all rights of its Christians with the exception of slaves and Virginia, which in 1640 denied Africans the rights to bear arms.9 In 1667, the Virginia House of Burgesses said that “baptism” did not remove the condition of slavery. There was heavy Quaker involvement in the slave trade. William Penn owned slaves which were transported to the United States on a Quaker ship called Society.10 The Puritans were also intimately involved in the institution of slavery for profit. The Puritans’ west Caribbean activities could best be represented with New Providence Island, which was well known for the pirating of illegal cargo in the form of slaves. In Peruana, it is noted that in Corboda , a thousand slaves were sold from two haciendas owned by religious institutions and that the Covent of St. Theresa owned a ranch with more than 30 slaves.11

Some may have expected for the church, as a bastion of religious humility, would speak out against the violence of perpetuating human bondage and degradation. The fact is that they did not because the labor of African slaves resulted in commercial, industrial and financial wealth in which many religions collected proceeds from. This is not to say that over the centuries, churches did not actively speak out against the institution. In the beginning, Pius II, Paul III, Urban VIII, among others condemned the practices between 1462 to 1639.12 Eventually, many religious institutions saw and could no longer ignore how brutal and inhumane slavery was. Many of these institutions began to stand along side the slave in support of abolition and anti-slavery. However, it was a little too late, since many had already become wealthy from the trade and still had the blood of those considered savage and inferior on their hands. European religions on the behalf of missionaries and religious leaders, facilitated Europe’s occupation of Africa. This is a factual occurrence whether it was the Dutch Reform Church of South Africa which overtly sanctioned apartheid or the Catholic enterprises at Goree.

saturday in the park

Had a great time this weekend. I was the Marshall at graduation too, which meant all the faculty had to enter behind me and Maya Angelo was our speaker. I don’t know if it was the fact that there were three game seven NBA final games expected in near dates or that no famous people or anyone I knew got shot or injured. It started early Saturday morning, had to take my son to the airport at 6am to catch a flight to St. Louis for his aunt’s wedding. I would have attended but I had graduation to deal with at the school of Medicine. I got this snappy photo with our interim president – Dr, David Satcher. This will be his last graduation as the head of the School of Medicine.

After that I had to get home and run a few errands. In which I was also able to take a nice evening nap, starting at around 1pm. I got a call from my boy Shorty Greg. He wanted me to meet over at the barbershop on Bankhead across from the spot his car wash used to be. He said he wanted me to go to a block party that his old neighborhood was sponsoring – Kimberly Courts. Now for yawl folks who don’t know anything about the ATL., it is located on the heart of the Westside in the area of Simpson road, and Bankhead.


After hanging out in the parking lot by the barbershop, my daughter and I followed Short Greg to the park. As soon as I got there I was almost in heaven. The music was loud and the best of what the Westside had to offer. The food was cooking, and I was welcomed as if I was from KC myself. Greg took me around and introduced me to folks (me, him and Mook-B (D4L status) go way back). Since I had baby girl with me, I posted up in the back of this truck that was filled to the brim with Ice and beverage. Young Dro and his folks were there passing out his new mixed CD with DJ Drama. I was more impressed with this young kid named Carlos who Greg said put on the party every year, and this was the 5th anniversary bash. The kid road up in a Chevy with butterfly doors open, with his boy in the passenger side and pulled out a lot of gallons of Absolute and Hennessey.

They way Greg walked around, you could have sworn he was the mayor of Kimberly Courts or at least running for office. He had all the women taking care of me from bringing me plates of food to getting me beer and cognac. And the best thing about it was that it reminded me of being home, and that these were real folks and the only violent acts I saw regarded dancing drinking, laughing and me and shorty greg taking pictures with my daughter by his car. Good lookin’ Short Greg, I will be back next year for sure.

thank yall

You know its Friday and I just wanted to say that I work with the greatest folks in the world. Albeit I am the only man in my office, the women, sisters I work with are the bomb and they let me know they appreciate me all the time. So today, this is just a quick shout out to these ladies they know who they are.

They say I have nice feet since I wear open-toe and open-heel shoes all the time
They fix my coffee and wash my mug with out me asking
They always are in a good mood and happy and smile
They say I smell good and always congratulate me when I get a publication, grant, or award [Yesterday I got Faculty of the Year award at Morehouse School of medicine]

They say I am a good parent and a good man and a good father
They say I look nice nearly every day – even though I don’t think I do

So this is just a little thank you to these women. Thanks TTS