lower gas prices feel like blood money in my pocket

Do any of you feel the same way?

Few weeks ago, over $4.00.
Last week, $3.77.
Yesterday, $3.55.
My mom said it's supposed to go down to $3.41 soon.

I feel like this is the gov't.'s way of giving me blood money. My heart sinks everytime I see the prices go down. The lower we fall, I know the more we're going to pay for it later. It's gonna hit us in the gut & I'm afraid some of us won't be able to rise back up.

I knew this would happen. I wanted to blog about this on July 14th. The day Bush overturned that ban on offshore drilling, I felt punched in the stomach. I just felt so sick to my stomach. Like seriously nauseous. I just hoped that we've elected a Congress smart enough to not make his executive order come to fruition.

The very next day, the price of oil per barrel dropped. It's been dropping since. I know it's only dropping cause ppl think that we're gonna be drowning in all the crude oil our lil hearts can take real soon. But that ain't happenin, Charlie.

What's gonna happen when ppl realize that this isn't the solution? It's just gonna skyrocket way past what we thought was high before. The truth is, this country's been spoiled as far as gas prices go for decades now. If ppl think they can't afford gas now, they're gonna be in for a rude awakening when it hits over $8.00 a gallon. That's what I think will happen when ppl realize that offshore drilling's not the end-all to this prob.

Please don't let this congress let us down.

Here's the long & short of it (mostly long, cause c'mon, you know I ramble):

- if (if) there's oil to be found, it will be decades (decades) before we actually got that oil & the price drop from it would be minimal. It would come out to a 2¢ drop, 20 years from now.

- 80% of US produced oil (from US reserves) is from 4 states: LA, TX, AK, & CA. If we wanted to find more, our best best would be the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

- Um... do you know what "National Wildlife Refuge" even means? It means, you told those animals that you weren't going to destroy their home for your own evil means.

- If they spent a decade looking/finding/drilling for oil, there's only realistically a year's worth up there. You're gonna destroy the sanctuary for that? Really? Really?

- It is very (very) likely that any oil drilled from ANWR will never be sold in the US. It will be sold off to the highest International bidder (most likely China). (C'mon, ppl, didja forget we're a capitalist society?)

- Currently, we have 500 oil spills in Alaska every year. Yeah, they don't exactly advertise that. You don't think that's gonna decrease when they have more new drilling monstrosities?

- Seismic testing to locate oil creates decibel levels of 260 – twice as loud as an ambulance – underwater. Exposure to these levels of noise underwater can cause disorientation, brain hemorrhaging, or even beaching for whales and dolphins. Only last week over 100 melon-head whales beached off of Madagascar close to where ExxonMobil was conducting seismic testing. (6/19/2008, from Greenpeace website)

Here's a video of a guy who spent 3 months hiking across Alaska, & spent a LOT of time in the ANWR (it's 3½ mins ppl):



What we need is an alternate solution. My main concern is that we will lose track of what's imp: trying to develop alternative renewable energies.

Like this Pickens Plan that this guy T. Boone has.


Here be the plan:
(click pic to go to site)

23 positions in a one-night stand?

So you know how R. Kelly got off?

Yeah, that didn't link to what you thought it was gonna link to, eh? You sick, sick ppls! ;)

Anyway, I have a couple thoughts on that.

1- they say one of the main factors is that the girl in the video didn't testify. I'm wondering if anyone's checked for any weird (& extreme) activity in her bank account since this case has arisen. I'm just sayin.

and deux- I think anyone who has that video on their computer should face some sort of child porn charges. Yes, that prob means a few of the ppl who come to this post googling this whole situation.

No, I haven't seen the video. No, I have no plans to ever see the video. And yes, I did just write that in a huffy-pretentious voice.


UPDATE: Ok, I was gonna post a comment, but it turned really long, so I'm just adding it here as a radio edit.

It's absolutely crazy. Kids are having sex at the age of like 12 in suburbs & even younger in inner cities. I've heard this from kids! It's insane & outta control.

I'm so scared for our youth.

The other thing is, I think she was totally willing (as were other teenage girls). And they don't regret it when they're older. It's a "cool thing". And if they did regret it (doubtful), they would never testify against someone so famous that so many ppl love. Some crazy fans would try to stalk/hurt them if Kells ever went to jail.

I was listening to a radio show while in Chi-town one weekend, & there were a couple girls who called in bragging about having slept w/ him a decade ago when they were teens. Who knows if they were legit, or if they were making it up? But regardless, it was seen as a cool experience.

noooooo.......

I'm a good person. I don't turn right on red (like some miscreants). I don't speed (anymore- mainly b/c of gas consumption*). I haven't killed or maimed anyone.

I wanna be economically stimulated. I neeeed to be economically stimulated.

And I swear in return, I'll stimulate the economy. Seriously. I'm good for it. I mean, I've already been stimulating the economy w/out being economically stimulated, so think how much more I can once I am!

*you end up reducing gas consumption by like 33% if you drive at a decent, steady pace. That averages most ppl a savings of like $500 a year! For realsies!

that's how you slap a racist diva

How comes we don't convict racists & bigots here in the US like they do in France?

They mean ill-will & harm to a particular group of ppl. How many ppl die here in the US b/c of their race, religion, gender (transgender), or sexual-orientation? How many are harmed or die, & it goes unreported? It's sickening.

story:
Brigitte Bardot wrote a letter to (then) Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. In the letter, she provoked discrimination and racial hatred; stating that Muslims are destroying France.

She wrote that France was "tired of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts."

Her statements were also published in her foundation's quarterly journal.

France has anti-racism laws that "prevent inciting hatred and discrimination on racial or religious or racial grounds". Bardot has already been convicted four times for this in the past.

go ellen, it's yo birthday

stupid crackerjack crackhead

So, TIoP just posted that MSNBC finally canceled that stupid Cracker-Jack Crack-head's show.

Thank GOD for small favors, huh? You remember Tucker Carlson, don't cha? Here's the post where I got super-mad at him:

Hate Crime Nation

And here's my post just after that to self-promote:

Pimping my Old Gay Posts

i ain't mad at cha

It's ok, Bron-Bron.

Betta late than neva, eh?

boooooo....

I'd like to just post the pic below that I've painted on & be done w/ it. But of course, I can't. I have to say a lil sumptin-sumptin here. B/c I'm not one of those ppl who think that dude can't support whoever he wants. He can.

HOWEVER, he CANNOT be disrespectful to the town that pays him. He's OUR bitch, so to say. Cleveland welcomed him here from the 'Kron, & Cleveland all donned "Witness" shirts. Um, remember the humongo poster on Ontario? Dude, you had everyone calling you "King James".

Cleveland showed you some respect.

Lebron,
I couldn't care less who you like. I don't care what sports team, religion, or political party you support. We get it, we know you're a bandwagon junkie, w/ your Bulls & Cowboys & Yanks. I don't care about that.

I do care that you have everything to gain if any part of Cleveland does well. I was once a little surprised at what a good business-head you had on your shoulders. This is not a good business decision. You are a Cleveland icon; the Yankees cap is a huge logo, & we all know how much Clevelanders hate the Yankees.

You shouldn't have worn the cap, you should'ta held it over your head, & you shouldn'ta gone on national television supporting the Yankees. You shoulda just came to the game in whatever normal clothes you wanted to wear (no logos) & just cheered for the Yanks if you wanted. Although, there really wasn't much opportunity to do so last night, eh?

You were always a lil cocky, L. But I think you pushed it too far. You're testing your city. Bottom line is that this isn't a good business decision.

Here's what you gotta do: Meet Braylon Edwards. Bray-boy went to Michigan, everyone knows that. He plays for our Brownies. So, at a Browns game, when the crowd started up the Ohio State "O-H-I-O" chant, he put his hands up & did it too.

"I was definitely doing it. This is Ohio. This is my residence. This is where I play football. This is where I earn my paycheck. This is the city I've adopted and the one that has adopted me. I don't mind doing O-H-I-O. I don't believe it just pertains to Ohio State.
Cleveland ... is in Ohio."

- Braylon Edwards

the sunshine state?

More like the clouded-over state.

Don't mean to be a negative & stuff, but I've mentioned before how FL gets more days of thunderstorms every year than not.

And we know the ppl there aren't exactly the brightest in the country. They're the only state w/ that whole hanging chad problem. Plus, they decided as state that a guy called Jeb would be their best bet as Gov. Yes, folks, they elected this guy fair & square.

And y'all prob don't know too much about their education system, but lemme tell you, it SU-CKS. First, school starts the 1st week of August. This messes up everyone's vaca plans, b/c that's when most of the fam across the nation is able to get together.

Anyway, so this past Monday morn, I was getting ready for work in the morn, & I was thinking of what a pain this whole having FL around is. And I came up w/ the GREATEST IDEA EVER! Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it's def up there as one of my best ideas.

You know how ppl are always talking about how CA's gonna fall off into the Pacific? Well, ppl have mentioned it before.

So, I was thinking about how CA gets a bad rap sometimes b/c of the air-heads/ditzes in LA. But it's really not bad. I enjoy San Fran, the food, the shopping, the strolling, the weather, the food. And LA's fun too, you get to go there & act all pretentious & uppity. So FUN! And the Roosevelt Hotel's fun to stay at, & the the Getty museum's fun to visit. So, I was thinking how I like CA & about the San Andreas Fault & everything. And that's when I came up w/ the GREAT IDEA!

What if there was some way to get FL to fall off into the ocean instead?

No, wait... hear me out on this one.

FL sucks, remember? We just discussed a couple of the ways in which it sucks; & I didn't even mention jellyfish once. Oh, & the ppl there are old, so it's just a matter of time before they'll be gone anyway.

So, anyway, I've decided to come up w/ my own fake scientific proof on a major benefit to back my "let's saw off FL" cause. Here's a pic that NASA had put out during Hurricane Katrina (8/29/2005):NOW- by my own theories (w/ no scientific training whatsoever)*, I've come up w/ a modified version of this same pic:Do you see how w/out FL to contain the storm, it could very easily branch out into the Atlantic & dissipate? Ah HA! We wouldn't have had all the destruction, we would still be living w/ a false sense of security that FEMA had our backs, & we wouldn't have to live w/ the knowledge that "George Bush doesn't care about Black ppl".

The only possible dilemma I see, if we saw off FL, is the bug infestation. See, I've thought this out completely. Now, this is just a possibility, ppl. No need to get your panties in a bunch until we know for sure what'll happen w/ all the Floridian bugs. We all know that there's nothing but bugs, insects, locusts, blech all over FL. If we saw the state off, then there's a few possibilities:
- they may just go off into the ocean.
- they may relocate to Cuba. We're still at odds w/ the Castro regime, right?**
- OR- they may just die off since they used to live off of the FL environment, & it no longer exists.


*dude, I know what you're thinking... If I can come up w/ these great plans w/ no scientific knowledge/training whatsoever, imagine if I actually knew anything about science at all! I'd totally be more genius-er than I am now!!

**seriously, I'm going to do a post tomorrow (I think) going into this a little. Bush can just be so ridiculous sometimes.

heads of state

I'd written about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before. He had said then that he wouldn't do Oli Stone's doc b/c he wants nothing to do w/ the US b/c anything to do w/ the US relates to "the Great Satan".

Sooooo.... um, isn't Columbia University in the US? So, why'd he do that? You know what I really wanna know that I can't seem find out? How much did they pay him to appear & speak?

You know what I mean? Seriously, even if you wanted Carrot Top to come to your school to speak, you'd have to pay him, & put him up in swanky digs & stuff. So, how much? And the students are ok w/ having contributed to his income?

Y'all remember the tasering that happened at John Kerry's todo at the University of Florida last week? I mean, they freakin tasered him! He just didn't agree w/ Kerry. I mean, his tuition & fees helped bring Kerry there, so he's got a right to say what he wants. I think The Idea of Progress did a great post on it. Yes, he got carried away, & shoulda been removed b/c he was getting in the way of the others who also contributed & actually did want to hear what the Ker-ster had to say. But to TASER him; that's just sickening. I've written about another tasering at a sunny school before too; & so y'all know I'm just pretty anti-tasering.

But the Columbia president paid Ahmadinejad to come to speak there, & then just bent him over & spanked him? If we're going to taser anyone who is adamantly against whoever we pay to come speak at the school, shouldn't that be consistent?

The kid paying tuition & fees gets tasered. The president who collects his income from the tuition & fees doesn't. I'm not saying he shoulda got tasered. I'm saying the kid shouldn't have.

I hate inconsistencies. Ahmadinejad saying he wants nothing to do w/ the US, then coming here to speak. Someone getting tasered for causing a scene at a lecture, & someone else being commended for it (even though he himself paid big money to the offender?). What's up w/ all dat yo?!?!

Oh, yeah, & then Evo Morales spoke at Cooper Union on Monday, & said that capitalism is "the worst enemy of humanity". He got thunderous applause from the 200 students that came to hear him speak. So, don't tell me it has anything to do w/ denouncing our way of life. Maybe it's just cause they're such a hippie school.

Sidenote: don't think I'm anti Evo, cause I'm not. I think it's cool that a poor farmer w/ no "formal education" can become president. I put "formal education" in quotes not b/c I love quotes so much, but b/c I don’t think a person’s intelligence or common sense comes is relative to the level of his degree. There are so many ppl among us who may not have formal training, but may be smarter or more qualified than those with a doctoral degree. But that’s a post for another day. Or not (you know how lazy I can be about posting).

do your pants hang low?

I'm sure all of you have heard about local governments across the nation banning the whole saggy pant trend that's going around. Now, I'm all for going up to a kid with his (sorry, but they all seem to be boys) pants hanging low, smacking him upside the head, & telling him to pull his pants up.

But I don't think any government should propose a law dictating what ppl can & can't wear.

What if they found glitter offensive? It's fine to not like a trend. I wasn't crazy about the backwards overalls (a la Criss Cross); I don't enjoy feathered teased hair. It doesn't matter if you don't like something, you can't just ban it like that. That's not the principle this nation is founded on.

See, if you could just go around fining & arresting ppl for whatever you don't like (or is really wrong, but not illegal yet); I'd get fines out the wa-zoo for always ending sentences in prepositions.

Now... if they were to propose a voluntary task force of
... big men ... who are dressed as women ... who are also packin ...
to go around & smack those boys w/ their pants hung low upside the head until they pull them up.

Well, I'd have no problem w/ that.

OH OH... WAIT... I just had a thought. What if maybe an evil genius scientist could also concoct a serum of some sort? So that when the big man in drag smacked the fashion-offending young lad, HE would then have something come over him. So that then, HE also felt compelled to dress as a woman (sans 'packin') & go around smacking others that were once like him upside the head TOO!

Or, is that going too far?

a call for more lazy protesting!

I think I may be supporting the wrong causes. I dragged myself out of bed this morn, & dragged myself in & outta the shower to get ready. As I got out & was getting ready, it hit me that I completely support the wrong causes in my life.

Look at John & Yoko... They supported causes that made them stay in bed ALL DAY LONG! Now, whatever type of cause wants you to rally like that, I can get behind. I could TOTALLY do that!

How come no one ever has rallies like that anymore?

I’ve mentioned here how I went to Kent State. Y’all know Kent State, right? You’ve heard of it in the song “(4 dead in) Ohio”. About when our government’s military force opened fire on their own kids. Yeah, & you wonder how I ended up so paranoid & cynical. I remember in college, we didn’t have classes on May 4th in remembrance of the Kent State shootings. There were tons of vigils, & musicians (nationally famous hippie musicians, & local hippie musicians) would come & play on Blanket Hill. We would hang out on the grass & listen to ppl sing or speak. There was this one guy on the May 4th Task Force that was also there in the shootings, & he would speak & re-tell his story every year.

But one year that clearly sticks out in my mind is the year we all spread out & laid on the entire expanse there. Hundreds of ppl came that year. Everyone met at Blanket Hill, & laid down on the hill (careful not to hurt the daffodils*), over the hill next to Taylor Hall, & partly in front of it.

Anyway, the point of this all was that I did attend a rally where ppl laid down on the grass on a temperate, beautiful sunny day surrounded by flowers, & just thought of the injustices that happen in the world. News crews were there to take pics, so the word could be spread. So, there’s proof positive that you can have a successful rally & be laying around.

I wish there were more things like that. Either that, or I need to go to bed earlier. But since I didn’t get to sleep until about 2 am last night, y’all get a big long rambling post b/c it takes me forever & a day to get to a point.

Assorted May 4th sites: official site of May 4th Task Force | may41970.com | may4.org (they have a great timeline of events) | FBI investigation | A million other links

*The pic is of Blanket Hill, the 2 granite structures are part of the May 4th memorial (they only built 7% of what was proposed), & the building in the back (that kinda reminds you of the Pantheon) is Taylor Hall. There are 58,175 daffodils planted on Blanket Hill; one for each of the US servicemen & servicewomen who died in the Vietnam conflict war. When I was in school there, I’d heard that you get fined $500 per daffodil that you picked b/c it’s technically defacing a memorial (or something like that). I never did find out if that was true, or just an urban legend; but I never did pick a single daffodil. I did pick the black-eyed susans that were in front of the Student Center all the time though.

pimping my old gay posts

So, I really posted today about the whole Tucker fiasco (below). But once you read it, you're gonna be all worked up & mad at stupid ppl. And let's face, most ppl are stupid.

So, I'm linking to myself so that you can all go back in time (via l'archive de moi), & read a funny. Click below:

gay marriage is wrong. Right?

Oh, & check out this article I found:

Are Homosexual Civil Unions A 600-year-old Tradition?

It mentions how in medieval France, they had a term "affrerement" (like brotherment) that served as a legal contract. They "pledged to live together sharing 'un pain, un vin, et une bourse' -- one bread, one wine, and one purse."

Anyway, it's also an interesting article. So, check it yo.

hate crime nation

Hey everyone. I'm sure many of you have already heard about this whole Tucker / MSNBC incident. But I thought I'd post about it b/c it's completely ABSURD. This is the mentality that bothers me. Ppl like Tucker is what's wrong with the World (forget the US, I really mean the whole world; b/c ppl like him exist everywhere).

He clearly ADMITTED TO A HATE CRIME ON TELEVISION, there's video of it everywhere. (Click here to take you to video).

But I thought for ppl who either can't watch the video at work, or don't want to read through the whole transcript, I'd highlight the parts that infuriate me. Cause that's what I do's. Oh, & of course I interject w/ my 2 cents in the brackets, in red.

..........................................................................

From the August 28 edition of MSNBC Live at 9 p.m. ET:

ABRAMS: But Tucker, your position has long been on these kinds of stories that their personal lives are not our business. Does this case qualify for that, in your mind, as well?

CARLSON: Let me be clear, Dan. I am not gay. I have never been gay. [Ok, why is this sentence even added in here? What type of professional commentator would even think it necessary to say this?! They're just a bunch of guys raggin on someone else.] I overreacted and made a poor decision.

SCARBOROUGH: And you love your -- you love your wife, Tucker. [again- huh? I think it's funny how Tucker doesn't say something like "yes, I do love my wife. I can tell you Tucker's def not getting any love at home for passing up this opportunity for a nice sweet, sentimental shout-out.] Let me just say for the record, I am not gay, either. [Is that an accomplishment of yours? Do you want a cookie or something? Still more of this bs-ing/making fun of someone. This is a cable news program, not the locker-room]

CARLSON: Let me -- let me put it this way. Whether he's gay or not actually is not our business [if someone's sexuality is none of anyone's business, why are you both so concerned about talking about it all? And wait til you see what's coming.] , and I do think it's indefensible that the newspaper in Idaho spent a year interviewing 300 people to answer the question, Is he gay? That's none of your business. Having sex in a public men's room is outrageous. It's also really common. I've been bothered in men's rooms. [b/c he's been "bothered", it makes it real common? Uh, no.] I think people who do -

SCARBOROUGH: Really? [pay attention to this, this is important. Note how his interest is peaked by this last statement.]

CARLSON: Yeah, I have. You know what, Let me just say.

SCARBOROUGH: Wait, hold on a second. Dan, hold on a second. I don't mean to take over, but have you been bothered in public restrooms, Dan? Because I know I haven't. [oh? ~raised eyebrows~ Jealous?]

CARLSON: I have. I've been bothered in Georgetown Park. When I was in high school.

ABRAMS: Really?

CARLSON: Yes.

SCARBOROUGH: Wow.

CARLSON: And let me just say, I think -- [Carlson's ready to move off this subject & return to what they were talking about in the 1st place]

SCARBOROUGH: That's something. [read: That’s HOT!]

CARLSON: -- people should knock that off. I'm not anti-gay in the slightest, but that's really common, and the gay rights groups ought to disavow that kind of crap because, you know, that actually does bother people who didn't ask for being bothered. So yeah, I think it's outrageous that he did that. And also, this specter of him getting up there and blaming other people is so Clintonian. You know, if he just said, "I'm not going to talk about it," that'd be one thing.

ABRAMS: And -- and this notion --

[crosstalk]

CARLSON: But he's clearly crazy.

ABRAMS: Well, and this notion that he pled guilty, and yet he's saying, "Oh, you know what? I never should have done that."

SCARBOROUGH: Well, it's the newspaper's fault.

CARLSON: Well it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous.

ABRAMS: Well it's the newspaper -- it's everyone's fault except his own. I mean, I've never heard of -- I mean, you're a U.S. senator, and you're thinking you're going to make it go away --

SCARBOROUGH: But hold on a second, though, Dan --

ABRAMS: -- by pleading guilty after you're busted in a public bathroom?

SCARBOROUGH: Hold on a second. You have Bill Clinton, who actually went out and did the same exact thing. He showed defiance. He said, "I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." And he continued that line not only for months in the press, but then he went before a grand jury and said the same thing. And it -- you know what? Here's the thing. It worked for Bill Clinton. His wife went on TV and she blamed, remember, the vast right-wing conspiracy that's been trying to take down her husband.

I don't dredge this up to knock the Clintons. That is history, and it's a -- ugh -- it is a nasty part of our history, and I'm glad it's behind us. I just bring it up to say, you know what? Deny, deny, deny seems to work. [Oh? Like denying you're gay on tv?]

[crosstalk]

CARLSON: But it's also -- but it's evidence, in Larry Craig's case -- I mean, you know, you just watch the press conference, and you see a man who's not in possession of himself. I mean, there's something -- you know, I'm not a shrink, but there's clearly something wrong with Larry Craig. He appeared to believe it. This is a guy who's been accused repeatedly over the years of soliciting sex from men in bathrooms. So the chances that he's arrested for the same thing accidentally --

ABRAMS: Right, right, right.

CARLSON: What, he's the unluckiest man and he's Job?

SCARBOROUGH: Hey, Tucker? [...wait for it.....]

CARLSON: You know what I mean? It's insane!

SCARBOROUGH: Was he the guy in Georgetown, Tucker? [and we're BACK!]

CARLSON: No, actually. I got that -- my point is -- let me just say --

ABRAMS: Tucker, what did you do, by the way? What did you do when he did that? We got to know. [read: Tell daddy alllll about it. And don't leave out any juicy details!]

CARLSON: I went back with someone I knew and grabbed the guy by the -- you know, and grabbed him, and -- and --

ABRAMS: And did what?

CARLSON: Hit him against the stall with his head, actually! [most likely more than just that, but that's really enough. I don't want to hear any more of what this jackass has to say. HELLO? Can anyone say "hate crime"?]

[laughter] [you're kidding me? To this, I would expect shock/disgust, ppl being appalled. But def not laughter/chuckling.]

CARLSON: And then the cops came and arrested him. But let me say that I'm the least anti-gay right-winger you'll ever meet -- [oh yeah, the least.]

[laughter] [Hello?!? Have you ppl heard any of what this ass just said?]

CARLSON: -- but I do think doing this in men's rooms appears to be common. It's totally wrong, and they should knock it off. I mean that. I think it's -- I can't bring my son to the men's room at the park where he plays soccer because of all these creepy guys hanging around in there. I actually think it's a problem. I'm sorry.

..........................................................................

Afterwards, Media Matters received the following statement from Tucker Carlson by email from an MSNBC spokeswoman:

Let me be clear about an incident I referred to on MSNBC last night: In the mid-1980s, while I was a high school student, a man physically grabbed me in a men's room in Washington, DC. I yelled, pulled away from him and ran out of the room. Twenty-five minutes later, a friend of mine and I returned to the men's room. The man was still there, presumably waiting to do to someone else what he had done to me. My friend and I seized the man and held him until a security guard arrived.

Several bloggers have characterized this is a sort of gay bashing. That's absurd, and an insult to anybody who has fought back against an unsolicited sexual attack. I wasn't angry with the man because he was gay. I was angry because he assaulted me.

..........................................................................

Yeah, you can add my name to the list of bloggers who would call this a HATE CRIME. Listen, there was this one time I was at the public library in my hometown, & there was this creepy dude hanging around the kid's play area. There was this little 5-yr old boy just by himself, playing with those busy beads thingies. So, I just watched them both, & then when I saw the man approach the boy, I went over there AND BASHED HIS HEAD IN!

Uh, no I didn't. You know why? Cause that's not what normal ppl do. I went over to the children's librarian, & pointed him out & I kept an eye on them while she went to get the kid's mother. The guy may have been a sicko or may have just been an old man who liked kids (you know, like Michael Jackson does).

Oh, & for the record, I'm not buying his lil statement. Of course he's gonna come back & make it less than it was. And MSNBC has re-aired this segment 3 times now, removing the part where Carlson goes back in to beat up ppl.

red flags & racial profiling

Ok, so I was reading this article this morn about what to do if you're pulled over by a cop. And when you're unlikely to get pulled over (in the rain or during rush hour).

And this is an actual screenshot of the article:
Um, did you catch the end there? This Mr. Barry was a cop in Texas for 8 yrs. They say he was the best in the state, maybe even the country. He worked w/ the FBI & the DEA, & had quite a reputation. He was like the suave one from Hot Fuzz. He recommends that you not try to be too ethnic. haha. "Think you can handle that?" "Sure, I'll get right on that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OH- & speaking of Hot Fuzz, let me share w/ y'all yet another real life conversation I've had w/ Mr. T this week. So, Mr. T has a Playstation 2, & he's ordered this shooter game he used to play & TWO guns to shoot w/. Mr. T used to have a Playstation 2 years ago, before the original xBox came out, then he traded it in w/ all his old games, & got an xBox. Now, he's got both.

Mr. T: Sweet, the shooter game [he said the actual name of the game, but I forgot it] & the guns should be here by Monday! We'll both be on the same team, shooting the enemies together. We'll be working together, just like in Hot Fuzz. You'll love it.
moi: Ok, but which one am I? I don't want to be the dork who doesn't even know how to do his job.
Mr. T: [doesn't say anything; just leaves the room]

I think he's planning on being the suave one (Nicholas Angel), & I'm gonna get stuck being the dork. sigh.

Person of the Week: Any & all children affected by war

This is lil Fatima Jbouri, a 10-month old survivor of war. A death squad in Saydia (a war-ravaged suburb of Baghdad) raided her home, killed her mother & uncle, then left her for dead in the garbage out back. In 118 degree heat. Under a metal sheet. Her 7-yr old brother flagged down the Iraqi police, they gave her to US soldiers, & the pic you see is of her being held by US military at a combat support hospital in the green zone.

They say she most likely would never have survived in an Iraqi hospital. She has a Shi'ite name of Fatima and a Sunni name of Jbouri. Moqtada al-Sadr controls the health ministry/hospitals; he believes in the "ethnic cleansing of Sunnis", & most likely she would have died before receiving any treatment.

Eventually, she'll be re-united with her 5 brothers & sisters who are in an orphanage. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I mean, most orphanages (esp in some other countries) aren't all that; if ya know what I mean. If she does go on into hiding with her Shi'ite relatives in the south, who knows what happens then. I mean, we're still talking about her being in hiding in a hostile environment.

She was featured on World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson, Monday night. That's when I 1st saw her. But I got to thinking about all the kids that we don't hear of b/c they were found in the trash dead. Or just thrown around somewhere. All the kids that grow up in war-torn countries; if they're lucky to survive. And some would prob rather not have survived all the atrocities they'd witnessed.

And I def don't want to leave out the kids here in the States. The ones who's mommies & daddies went off to serve us. Sure, they are told that their parents love them; even by the parents who are overseas themselves. But it's just not the same, not having them there.

Search for stories on Fatima Jbouri.

there's another hurricane brewin in Louisiana

Do you guys remember the story of Hurricane? Mr. Rubin Carter? I know a lot of you have prob seen the movie (w/ Denzel). I’ve never seen the movie. I know the story b/c I’m a big Dylan fan. One of my fave songs is “Hurricane”; if you’ve never heard it, please do yourself a favor & listen to it. It will give you chills; it still gives me chills & I listen to it all the time.

Here’s a synopsis: Rubin Carter was unjustly imprisoned for 2 consecutive life terms by an all-white jury. He was charged w/ a triple murder; one of the victims, on his death bed told the police that Carter was not the right man. But 2 robbers, who were also in a lot of heat testified against him. That year was 1967.

1967 folks. 1967.

Dylan wrote “Hurricane” to raise awareness for Rubin Carter (in '75, after Carter had sent him a copy of his autobio, The Sixteenth Round which he wrote while locked up). On February 9th, 1976, Carter was sentence to 2 consecutive life terms (this was his 2nd trial; which they had fought for). Dylan never performed Hurricane live since that happened (last live performance of the song was January 25th 1976 in Houston). It wasn’t until November 1985 that he was released on parole, & 1988 that the original indictments were dismissed.

Why am I bringing this up?

Because it's 2007, ppl, & we should NOT be dealing with stuff like this in 2007. Or, at all in my lifetime, & I've been around for a lil bit now.

But if you haven't heard about Jena 6, please go to the Color of Change website & read about it. Print the letter to fax or email it. They also give you the option of writing out your own note. I did opt to do that b/c I figured (hopefully) they're gonna get thousands of letters from everywhere. There is HUGE media coverage about what's going on in Jena, LA globally (China, France, England). It's unfortunate that the national coverage isn't as much as it is overseas. What the world must think of the big, bad, ole US of A, huh?

To read more, you should also check out Aquababie's and/or V's sites. They've put up very thoughtful, in-depth posts; much more so than I have.

So, please go to the ColorOfChange.org website, & send a letter. You can also sign up to stand with the families if you will be in the area from July 31st to mid-August.

Again:
Sign the letter - Color of Change.org
Sign the online petition asking for the US Department of Justice to get involved

There is also a man named Michael David Murphy who went to Jena, LA & took pictures & has a photo journal; he's got two sites w/ pics & links: www.michaeldavidmurphy.com/jena/ & While Seated.

I've also posted the lyrics to Hurricane below in it's own special post.

Bob Dylan - Hurricane

Pistols shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out "My God they killed them all"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Three bodies lying there does Patty see
And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously
"I didn't do it" he says and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbing the register I hope you understand
I saw them leaving" he says and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops"
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing
In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Patterson that's just the way things go
If you're black you might as well not shown up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the corps
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around
He said "I saw two men running out they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates"
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said "Wait a minute boys this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye
Says "Wha'd you bring him in here for ? He ain't the guy !"
Yes here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Four months later the ghettos are in flame
Rubin's in South America fighting for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar ?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law ?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter you saw running that night ?"
"Don't forget that you are white".

Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure"
Cops said "A boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talking to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail be a nice fellow
You'll be doing society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and getting braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim".

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
It's my work he'd say and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus he never had a chance
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
And though they could not produce the gun
The DA said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder 'one' guess who testified
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand ?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell
That's the story of the Hurricane
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

resenting authorities everywhere

I know I'm not being a posting machine; it's only cause I have a lot of stuff going on, & have no time. I get up early in the morn for work, don't really return home until 10 pm (or later, or the next day sometimes), & have barely anytime to do anything. I'm thankful for the day off work tomorrow b/c it means I can do laundry & have some clean clothes again. I'm also thankful for Mr. T, cause he did all my dirty, dirty dishes. And there were quite a few.

Even though I'm not posting, I'm still reading y'all's blogs & the news. So, I saw an article about Oliver Stone requesting to make a documentary about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Well, the Iranian prez rejected the offer b/c Stone is part of "Great Satan" cultural establishment.

The media advisor to the Prez said, "I sent a negative answer by Ahmadinejad to Oliver Stone.... It is right that this person is considered part of the opposition in the U.S., but opposition in the U.S. is a part of the Great Satan."

This is all fine & good. If someone thinks someone else is a Great Satan, then of course they would want nothing to do w/ that person.

*total sidenote: I think I'm really digging that term "Great Satan"... there's this whore that I completely hate (like really hate as a human being, seriously). And, I have a name I call her, but it's way worse than whore (whore being the more publishable word; & no, it doesn't involve the 'f' word, it's waaaay worse). But I think I will also start to refer to her as a "Great Satan".

Anyway, the whole point of this post is what Oliver Stone said in response. I found it quite funny.

"I have been called a lot of things, but never a great satan. I wish the Iranian people well, and only hope their experience with an inept, rigid ideologue president goes better than ours."

The pic to the left is of from Feb 2002 when Stone spent 3 days w/ Fidel Castro for his documentary of him, Comandante. I think it's a cool looking picture. And the pic above is my montage of finger pointing that cracks me up. It's really only there for me, b/c I'm sure no one else will find it as funny as I do.

poisoning ppl in the peach state

Look mom, I can do alliteration!

So, I don’t feel like writing right now. I have a lot going on; & I will write about it to the internet world at some point, but just not now.

In the meantime, I know it’s summer, & everyone’s looking for something to do to avoid doing actual work. So, may I suggest that you read about Troy Davis? He is set to be executioned by poison in the peachy state of Georgia. Gotta love the Southern Hospitality*.

*disclaimer: I’m sorry I’m so bitter today. Yes, I know it’s not very becoming, & I know a lot of Southerners who are very hospitable.

Anyway, I’m just going to copy/paste some of the key reasons he should NOT be executed, & uh, maybe have a fair trial. You can either click on the pic to go to Amnesty International's website to find info on him, or click here.

• There was no physical evidence against Troy Davis.
• The weapon used was never found.
• The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony.
• All but two of the state's non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.
• Many of these witnesses have stated that they were pressured or coerced by the police.
• One of the witnesses who has not recanted is Sylvester Coles, the principle alternative suspect.
• Nine individuals have signed affadavits implicating Sylvester Coles.
• Troy Davis has never had a hearing in federal court on the reliability of the witness testimony used against him.

Ok, so remember the ppl who recanted their stories? Well, Abolish the Death Penalty has what they specifically said about it:

Darrell Collins: "[The police] were telling me that I was an accessory to murder and that I would ... go to jail for a long time and I would be lucky if I ever got out, especially because a police officer got killed...I was only sixteen and was so scared of going to jail."

Antoine Williams: "After the officers talked to me, they gave me a statement and told me to sign it. I signed it. I did not read it because I cannot read ... I was totally unsure whether he was the person who shot the officer. I felt pressured to point at him ... I have no idea what the person who shot the officer looks like."

Jeffrey Sapp: "The police came and talked to me and put a lot of pressure on me.... They wanted me to tell them that Troy confessed to me about killing that officer. The thing is, Troy never told me anything about it. I got tired of them harassing me .... I told them that Troy did it, but it wasn't true."

Daniel Kinsman: "[T]here was and is no doubt in my mind that the person who shot the officer had the gun in and was shooting with his left hand." Davis is right-handed.

Shirley Riley: "People on the streets were talking about Sylvester Coles being involved with killing the police officer, so one day I asked him if he was involved .... Sylvester told me he did shoot the officer."

Joseph Washington: "I am positive that it was Red [Coles] who shot the police officer... [He] was wearing a white shirt...I had no idea that the shirt...was important because no one ever asked me...I would have testified to this but I was not asked by the state or by Troy's lawyers."