100s of Dead Fish In California - Again

Lost in Translation From a Child of Monday Night Football

Let me put this on the table, I was born in 1962. The golden age of struggle and liberty of family and real sports. I was blessed to have seen the greats many today have forgotten. I used to go to the Memphis Blues AAA baseball team field to see games when Eddie Murry was a minor leaguer because some of my best friends at the time, Anthony and Ricky Duncan cousin Taylor Duncan played Third Base for the Rochester Redwings. We would shag fly ball before each game they were in Memphis, leaving me with more than 100 balls and a cracked Eddie Murray bat – which I cherished.


I was blessed. I was a child of Monday Night Football. I saw the first game. I remember the night Howard Cosell announced John Lennon had been killed, the Colts were playing. I remember bump and run coverage for in football my idols were O.J. Simpson, Dick Butkus, Fran Tarkenton, Conrad Dobler, Jack Tatum and Lester Hayes among others. I cried when my Vikings lost four supper bowels and celebrated when my Steelers won four. That was football. In baseball, I loved Luis Tiant, J.R. Richards, Oil Can Boyd, Steve Carlton, and every player on the 1971 to 1973 Oakland A’s. And Dave Winfield, well I remember seeing him win the college World Series and being MVP as a pitcher. A pitcher would would smack a ball so hard and slide head first because he was competitive and serious. But not as serious and mean as Bob Gibson. And there was difference in the NBA. With Jack Sikma, Bernard King, Walt Frazier and Mr. Sky Hook himself.



But it is not like that anymore. Now, I do not look at sports the same. Maybe it’s the plethora of commentators and sports talk folk that have never played high level sports or the prices of tickets or the salaries players make that turns me off. It really rubs me the wrong way when professional athletes and owners alike think they are not making enough money to the extent players would strike. When I was growing up, players worked regular jobs when the season was over – a sign of character and integrity blatantly missing from professional sports today.




All this talk of a strike or a lock-out, NBA or NFL is beyond reason. I mean It doesn’t make any sense. Especially when people speak of how dangerous their jobs are. When I grew up, professional athletes worked during the year – regular jobs in addition to playing their sport. Sure times have changed but the greed avarice has to stop. Like I said, I know some of yawl will say they deserve the money, that they risk life time injury, that they spent their entire life playing these games. Yes games. By this logic, they don’t deserve what they are being paid. I mean military personal (by choice) like athletes select what they desire to do. And no one anywhere can tell me that a running back or power forward does more to deserve millions of dollars than a solider or a teacher.





But again, objectivity is not of importance. What is stated as being of importance is what they do, which is entertain. Which is strangely curious to me for I cannot understand why they need more money than a person risking his life for their freedom when they already make millions? All of this is lost in translation. It’s just a game; it’s not life or death. Sure a knee injury could destroy an athlete’s career, but it aint like they stepped on an explosive device. Maybe if most athletes would finish or even attend classes while they were in a school they would be able to discern such.

Ryan and The GOP: Just another 80s Boy Band to Me

Ok, I hate to say (really I don’t) but I was pro-phetic like pro football regarding my reference to Obama as being the New Tricky Dick in My post this past Tuesday. Yep like Jimmy “Super-Fly” Snuka, he dropped kicked Paul Ryan and the Republicans. I could not write this on Wednesday, since I wanted to re-read the Ryan budget again to make sure gloating was appropriate. But like I said, I was prophetic.

In Memphis there is one colloquialism that aptly describe what the President did. 1] He pulled his player card.

Now trying to keep it simple, after reading House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan’s budget, what sticks out is that the GOP's cuts come from overturning Obama Care, which would save $725 billion by repealing the subsidies folk would have get to help buy health insurance. In addition, Ryan would drastically change Medicare. Instead of the government reimbursing doctors and hospitals for certain medical services, seniors would purchase a private health care plan and the Feds would then pay the private insurer up to a specified amount. The so-called "Path to Prosperity" would also lower the highest individual and corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 25 percent but neglects to outline which specific tax credits would be eliminated (maybe this is why he was a couple-a-few hundred billion off in his math concerning both cost of interest and Medicare on speculative budget reduction.

Now I can’t be mad at the last one because Obama has not mentioned any specifics either, but he does note the logic in the necessity of taxes, especially for the big Whigs inclusive of individual CEO’s, corporations and their owners. Thus the player card was pulled since Ryan and the GOP (sounds like a 1980s boy band) plainly just wants to use the deficit as an excuse to cut taxes for the rich.

Obama really rocked them with the player card (prescription drug cost reductions in Medicare Part D - ingenious I must admit. This is a real saving compared to Ryan’s proposal which only obtains such from budget cuts. I mean, in my family, I can stop spending as much on going out, but if I have to use it to deal with increasing gas and food prices, what do I actually save? Nothing. The boy band I referenced earlier must think I (representative of Americans, especially the under employed) am stupid. More than 60 percent of Ryan’s cuts come from programs that serve the needy, minorities and the poor specifically.

This is the first time Obama has really impressed me as well as show that he does have gonads. Truth is that Ryan’s plan won’t control costs but rather shift them to the poor and elderly folk who need the most with respect to medical care for example for the latter. Not to mention he states his plan would reduce unemployment to 4 percent in 2015 and 2.8 percent in 2021, figures that America has not experienced since the 1950s

For as Obama stated in his speech: “Around two-thirds of our budget is spent on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and national security. Programs like unemployment insurance, student loans, veterans' benefits, and tax credits for working families take up another 20%. What's left, after interest on the debt, is just 12 percent for everything else. That's 12 percent for all of our other national priorities like education and clean energy; medical research and transportation; food safety and keeping our air and water clean.”

The Ryan budget shows me that as a nation, we need to invest more in education, especially basic math.

NeNe Leaks, Lil Jon and Star Jones: Cowards Afraid to Speak out against Donald Trump’s Claim Obama Not Born in America

African Americans have a strong history of standing up against injustice and hatred. This is not the case currently. Although America has its first African American President, many who claim to support Obama are silent in the right’s quest to humiliate and doubt his legitimacy to serve as the commander in chief.

Just last week we lost a great scholar who made a career in speaking out for truth and against racist dogma, Dr. Manning Marable, but now, it seems we are top heavy with more entertainers and athletes and celebrities that thinkers, intellectuals and those concerned with the collective over the individual. True, entertainers and celebrities can hold the banner for such as James Brown, Bill Crosby, Arthur Ashe, Hank Aaron and Muhammad Ali did in the past, but such is not the case for celebrities today.

Over the past few weeks, Presidential hopeful and tea party fuck boy Donald Trump has been front and center in stating his belief that President Obama as not being a native born American citizen. Triumph, a billionaire and executive producer of the weekly television show “Celebrity Apprentice.”, has received some criticism from African Americans but not much. Especially from celebrities.

On his show there are several people of color including the rapper Little Jon, the reality television beneficiary Ne Ne Leaks, singer Dionne Warrick, and Lawyer Star Jones, but to my amazement, none have spoken out openly against Trumps assertions that Obama was not born in America. I find this troubling for two reasons. First that they are afraid and subconsciously see Trump as a slave master who would be more prone to chop off their foot for not changing their slave name (a metaphor for money) than to stand for the truth and their community. The second is that they appear to be cowards, afraid to voice their beliefs in support of Obama, as if they have forgotten they will not have water hose sprayed on them or dogs let loose on them.

I am very saddened that in 2011, people feel obligated to act more as slaves than free individuals. That is unless they too believe Obama is not a native born American. If they do not, then they seem to serve their selves over the community, the same community that supported them and made them wealthy. For being ashamed to voice a political opinion for a man you support is both loathsome and cowardice and reminds me of what George Orwell once wrote: In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Obama: The New Tricky Dick

For the past several days, since the folk inside the beltway worked out a deal to prevent a government shut down, I have been lmbao. What is strikingly humorous is how the democrats and Obama administration is announcing a moderate defeat and how House GOP leadership and beltway conservatives are claiming victory. Frankly I cannot tell who should get the award for best supporting cast but I will lean toward the Obama administration and I will tell you why. First, I do not see any victory for the GOP. Sure they claim to have cut 39.5 billion from the budget, but it may actually be about 20 billion according to my math, since what I have read seems to buttress the contention that about 20 billion were from the two prior house continuation resolutions to keep all government staff on the job. Now if this is true, Obama is playing wolf when he knows very well that he did not give in as much to GOP grass roots proponents desired. And on the other hand, the GOP leadership in the house has been made to either look like fools or reveal their honest deviancies in basic math. First they said they would cut $100 billion, then around $60 billion, then what they settled for last week. Talk about recapitulation. Then they celebrate as if they won the lottery. In fact they have evinced an approach that merely similar to the metaphorical house of cards. Yes they are on shaky ground for one can best believe they are getting it from the GOP base for not standing firm, and even worse, allowing Obama to usurp the claim of fiscal conservative economics for himself, maybe even inclusive of the democratic party. Now Obama will drop his player card. Supposedly Wednesday he will drop his anti-Paul Ryan plan to reduce the debt. Sure it has basic democratic plans to tax the uber wealthy and cutting defense department spending but surprisingly, it steals a few GOP trump card including slashing programs that aid poor and elderly folk (straight out the republican play book.). But more revealing is that he will show he will be trying to save Medicaid and Medicare unlike the Ryan budget. If you have read what I have read thus far regarding the budget proposal submitted by Paul Ryan, basically changes Medicare to a new program completely. Meaning states with a bunch of seniors like Pennsylvania and Florida may lead to the democrats if they are seen to be fighting against Ryan’s proposed changes to the program. So if house republicans succeed in making their changes via vote this week, changes that will obviate the government from the primary insurer to private corporations, then Obama will be in the driver seat for 2012. He reminds me of Richard Nixon in a way, namely that Nixon was in my eyes one of the smartest Presidents ever. And besides the war in Vietnam and his Watergate issues, earned the name “tricky Dick.” I mean he even got folks to drive 55 miles an hour. This is why Obama is giving his speech today on dealing with the nation’s long term debt. He scooped them; he undercut the GOP at their own game and stole their message. Yes folk, tricky Dick has returned in the form of Barack Obama.

Fluoride spill at water facility burns holes in parking lot cement but it’s Ok to Drink

WHERE THAT BP OIL SPILL MONEY IS GOING

Radiation Leak at Onagawa nuclear power plant less than a 100 kilometres from the Fukushima plant

Florida Republican​s advances bill Supporting David Dukes Idea to make welfare applicants undergo and pay for drug tests

It is evident that class warfare is on the front burner for Republicans and Tea party activist across the nation. From inside the beltway to state capitols across America, legislatures have specifically targeted programs that disproportionately assist Blacks and minorities communities who also happen to subsist mainly at or below the poverty level. The latest example is in the state of Florida, where a bill is being brought to the floor, based on ideas first offered by noted white supremist and Klansman David Duke that would mandate that the state’s welfare recipients would have to undergo -- and pay for -- drug tests to be eligible to receive welfare benefits. The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Jimmie T. Smith, has argued that this is necessary to ensure that state and federal dollars are being spent on families who truly deserve the aid and that those who receive the money don't spend it on drugs. If successful, Florida would become the second state in the nation to approve such an ordinance. It was a central part of the campaign of current, Gov. Rick Scott last year. This would require that more than 21,000 Floridians currently receiving assistance as heads of households would have to submit to the drug screenings, according to the Department of Children and Families. Although it has been pointed out that this could be a profit windfall for Rep. Scott, the measure (HB 353) was approved by the House Judiciary Committee Thursday by a 13-5 vote. Scott founded the urgent care chain, Solantic, would be the owner of the company that will conduct the drug test at a cost of $35 each. Scott has since transferred ownership of the chain to his wife, Ann, after taking office.

The cia's drug running operations and the iran/contra affair