Why I might not be too Enthusiastic About Seeing Another Tyler Perry Movie!

Madea's Witness Protection opened yesterday in area theatres. My wife , who loves Tyler Perry and everything Tyler Perryesque is interested in seeing this movie...Which means that I...being the good husband that I, will be taking her to see this movie....Probably sometime tonight.

To date...I have seen every Tyler Perry movie released.... And I have nothing against the man...Nothing at all. I applaud his talent...writing, producing, directing and acting in movies and plays and executive producing, what is it, three television series?? That's quite a feat for anyone, Black or White....

I understand why my wife and every black female I know loves him and is so fiercely loyal to him too...His stories speak to them in a way that no other black film-maker has ever spoken to black women.  That's cool.

But people act a damn fool at his movies....and here in is why I am not enthusiastic about going to yet another opening of another Tyler Perry movie.  First off...When his movies opens...All of the church folks load up their vans and bring scores of women (and their hapless husbands) to the movie complex...Thus there are limited parking spaces!

At the concession stands...There is a line of women gossiping and laughing and holding up the line.....Same thing with the bathroom.....You can't get in (to the men's room ) because the women have the exit blocked to it because of the line leading to the ladies room.

And last but not least...some MEN act strange at these movies too! Did you know that I almost got in a fight at one of Tyler Perry's movies...  It was "Why Did I Get Married?"  I was at it to see my home girl, Jill Scott
in her first major movie role...I went to get popcorn....(Only time I could get it was after the movie started!Go figure!)

The theatre was nearly crowded to capacity....There was three seats left in our row...Me, my wife and this guy appeared to race for the space...My wife got one seat, the guy got the seat next to her and I was left with the seat on the end.   I politely asked the man if he would take the end seat so that I could sit next to my wife.  A reasonable request.  He said "NO".   Can you believe this?  I was incredulous.....I lost it......

"MANNNN, get up out of that seat." I yelled..

He looked at me and calmly said "NO."

At this point, I was livid....but my wife, having the cooler head and wanting to see the movie...got up and ushered me and her to another row, where we found two seats together...All the while I kept giving this guy the side eye and wanting to slap the @%&^ out of him.

In all fairness, that never happened again...but all of the other stuff, crowded parking lots, concession stands and restrooms continues....Pray for me tonight!   (I'm kidding!)

Weekend Humor

Nuff Said!

When The Honeymoon Ended!

Before I start...Let me first thank my wife (The co-creator of this blog.) ,for bringing this article to my attention.

What Happened?  Four years ago...Barack Obama walked into the White House amidst a stream of hope and well wishes and almost one hundred percent support from Black America.

I say almost because there is always a small percentage of blacks who always find themselves on the wrong side of history for whatever reason.

I guess this all started with my Fraternity Brother Tavis Smiley and His friend and ally, Dr. Cornell West...They were the first notable blacks to criticize the President...They accused him of not having a "Black" agenda.  They said he did nothing for the Black community.

Last I heard....Healthcare, Housing, Employment, Education are all issues that effect Black people as well as Latinos, Asians, Whites, Gays ,Straights and what have you. My response and a lot of people's response have always been to them that he is President of ALL of the American people,not just Blacks... These same people however...demanded nothing of the past 43 WHITE presidents...

I wonder what they would say if a White President said that he had a "WHITE" agenda?  I could go on and on....But I want to make you aware of an article that ran on one of the many news sites that my wife and I cruise daily..I'm going to show it in it's entirety and attempt to disect it.

II-

This article was written by Dr. Boyce Watkins...Dr. Watkins , who I don't know..Is a a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.

"Why I'd Trade My Timid Black President in for a White Guy with No Fear"

"I woke up this morning asking God if I could make a trade. Similar to the NBA, when you have one player on the team who isn’t performing at the level you’d hoped, you try to get someone else who fits the criteria necessary to help the team find victory. In this case, we are playing for Team Black America."

"Of course I know that America is not the kind of country that would elect someone like Father Michael Pfleger as its president. Father Pfleger is the kind of pastor that becomes the nightmare of anyone who chooses to live his/her life cloaked in the comfort of hypocrisy. He says what he means and does what he says, and seems to have very little fear as he does it. In fact, I would dare say that Father Pfleger might be well defined to be an angry black man."

Let me say this...While I find white men like this Father Pfleger quite admirable..no really I do...Let me say that it is easy for him and for me to fight the power...from the outside!   When you become President...contrary to what many people think...You don't wave a magic wand all of a sudden and just make things happen.  It has to go through the House and The Senate for a vote...

The Senate is the ultimate white boys club in America..Not one Black or minority member....Last I checked..The Republicans hold a slight majority..So they can block or fillibuster almost everything, which they are doing quite well (with no criticism from the Black intelligentsia might I add.) 

Look! This is how democracy works...We don't have a King..We have elected officials...It's not important to just vote for the President..You have to vote for people that can help him...Last election..we all collectively failed to do that. I could stop right here.

Dr. Boyce goes on to say-" But when I consider Father Pfleger’s track record of fighting tirelessly for those who need it, I can’t help but notice that my faith in his commitment to our community far exceeds that which I have in the political Messiah that we’ve placed in the White House.  

When I hold onto any hope for true change as it pertains to the black community, I realize that this change will come from empowered community activists like Pfleger instead of politicians who are trying to please everyone else.
So, here are a few reasons that I’d gladly trade our first black president for the white guy who will never be president of anything"

Let me say this... First of all, Barack Obama is no "political messiah" At the end of the day he is just a politician...We as a race have got to stop wishing for some "Messiah" whether Black or White to just wave a magic wand and make everything alright..We have got to take some responsibility and vote in all of these elections and more important, make the people we vote for accountable to us!  How many times have I written this?  This is not 1960...Freedom Rides, Marches and mass protest had their day and served their purpose...Look around...People have been out in the streets...(Occupy Wall Street anyone?) Did that cause one politician to change their vote?
They simply waited it out...I go for what gets results....Voting, if done right and in mass, gets results.....Making your local ,state and national politicians accountable to your needs gets results...Which is why white people in the suburbs get more for their tax dollars than Black people in the inner city...THEY VOTE and when something happens that they don't like , they email and write letters to their congressman and represenative....Black people march after a bill has been made law and it's too damn late!

But listen to the rest-

1) He isn’t afraid to challenge the establishment
"Most people who are outside of the establishment spend their lives trying to find a way in. You do something noteworthy and you’re suddenly rubbing elbows with the rich, powerful and famous. The comfort of the establishment can, unfortunately make you weak and docile, to the point that you are afraid to say or do nearly anything because you are worried about losing money, offending the wrong person or losing some prominent position that you’ve obtained. The black community’s incessant need for financial security and white American validation serve as key factors which undermine our ability to fight for racial justice."

"When you are owned and controlled by something, it’s difficult to challenge the thing that controls you. Obama lives and breathes America’s capitalist military machine, which means that the most powerful man in the world may not be powerful at all. Father Pfleger doesn’t seem to have that problem, for he’s gone head-to-head with his own superiors within the Catholic Church and shown a willingness to give up his place in the establishment in order to do what is right."

"When I think about the words “What would Jesus do?” I think about Father Pfleger. Jesus could have been the most powerful megapastor in the world, but when given the chance to trade-in his integrity, he kicked over tables instead."

People on the outside, like myself..I don't exclude myself ,can throw as many rocks as they want...March and protest all they want , kick over as  many tables as they want..but not a single thing happens until someone is forced to change a law or write a bill that changes something....You don't believe me..keep criticizing this president and let Mitt Romney and his Republican -Wall Street owned cronies get in office and watch what happens...You can march all you want, sing we shall overcome all you want and you'll get no results...But I tell you what WILL happen...Tavis Smiley, Dr. Boyce and Cornell West will get rich...They'll write books, they'll get paid to speak at colleges and churches and tell you how bad you got it...(As if you don't already know that!)While offering no solutions....That's all that will happen. 

2.) He’s willing to fight and even die for what he believes in
Barack Obama has an interesting way of fighting. He seems to believe that you can fight for a just cause and remain concerned about self-preservation, all at the same time. The man who has pardoned fewer citizens than former president Bush (the overwhelming majority of whom are white) seems more concerned about being re-elected and retiring at Martha’s Vineyard with his Harvard classmates than he does about getting his hands dirty and doing the hard work that needs to be done."

"It is also true that, when fighting for a cause you believe in, you must be fully prepared to go down bloody and burning. Father Pfleger has put his life on the line standing up to local gang members and even working to convert them. He spends time in the worst parts of one of the most violent cities in America even though he doesn’t have to. Although President Obama has the term “community organizer” in his background, many of my friends from Chicago don’t remember him organizing much of anything."

There was an old saying that dead heroes aren't worth the weight of a fly....The Republicans already had a game plan...Make this man a one term President....Veto anything he proposes..."even if it's something we thought up ourselves" and that's just what they did... Regardless of if Obama went H.A.M. or not ,he'd still be in the jackpot position...Damned if you do...Damned if you don't.

We the voting public had a responsibility..To go out and vote and get these people out of office.  Instead, by not voting, we allowed more of these nuts to come into office..Thus leaving the man unprotected... He may yet be a one term President...and it won't matter what he did or did not do...We failed to protect him. I guess it was raining that day. 

3) He doesn’t seem to care how many friends he loses
Father Pfleger doesn’t appear to worry about losing friends, his reputation, his job or anything else when he goes to war. He seems to realize that if you want someone to respect you, you must be fully willing to accept that this person may not like you when the fight is over (in a football game, you can’t politely ask the other team’s permission to score points). I admit that it sometimes appears that President Obama works harder to build consensus and maintain relationships than he does to fight for his most loyal constituents. This is hardly the disposition necessary for a man to achieve the level of change that Barack Obama promised during his campaign.

Not even going to comment on this! (Friends?) Again...Understand how our government works...This should have been taught in high school...I guess most folks were playing hooky that day or cutting class.  My problem here is that the person who wrote this knows how the government works..Knows that the president's hands are tied...and especially with that Republican /Tea party coalation  in congress...So why is he depending on the ignorance of the average person who either forgot or never was taught about our three branches of government and how they work?

4) White people might actually listen to him
Racism is interesting. A black man can be talented and intelligent (as Obama is himself) and have all the qualifications in the world, but people don’t respond to him in the same way they would if he were white. Even Father Pfleger might admit that people would not consider him to be as much of a hero if he were a black man doing the same thing. In fact, another Chicago pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has been equally assertive in his willingness to do unpopular things to help an oppressed people who are deeply in need of meaningful leadership.

So, maybe a white president who cares about black causes would be more empowered to act than a black man who has to treat his blackness as a liability. For millions of white Americans, Obama was elected in spite of being black, rather than because of it.

Finally, he makes a point I agree with 100 percent.  Racism and the double standard that comes with it is a strange by product of the Dark (no pun intended) American Night.  I once believed that we as Americans had come into the morning light of Post Racial American....but we haven't...It's still Midnight in America...Still, I'm not waiting on a white knight to come to my rescue and save the day.  I think we as Black people are past that...It's time for us to at least be a little responsible and learn how the game
is played and begin to master it...as other races and nationalities are doing.

"In his quest to make conservatives comfortable, Obama hasn’t brought forth any assertive policy, executive order or bold “bully pulpit” announcement that directly impacts the black community. The courage with which the Obama White House has stood up for the gay community, women’s rights groups and Latinos has yet to be matched for African Americans, who have been far more loyal than any of those groups.

I hate to sound like a traitor to the race...but what exactly is it that Black people need that is outside of Healthcare, decent and equal employment, Education and Fair Housing that is race specific?  I've asked a number of people who support Dr. Boyce's point of view and they have yet to give me a sensible answer.

  "Even the two Supreme Court picks the president had in his possession went to a Latino woman and a white woman from Harvard with a racially-exclusive hiring record (Elena Kagan didn’t hire or promote one single black, latino or native American tenure track professor during her entire six year term as dean at Harvard Law School). Dorothy Height, before she died, told President Obama that it is sad that after existing for two centuries, the Supreme Court has yet to have an African American woman….at the same time, they’ve had dozens of Harvard graduates like Obama."

"There appears to be an odd self-consciousness that Obama has when it comes to avoiding the crime of being considered to be “too black.” Therefore, we have a black president who hasn’t said the words “African American” in any major public forum in the last three years of his presidency. A white guy would not have to tip toe around the issue of race because he would never be accused of being too black. That makes Father Pfleger the perfect double agent."

No..A White guy would not have to tiptoe around the issue of race...And I want to know why in 2012, Barack Obama has to?  This is not his fault or his problem...It's their problem...And just electing yet another White President doesn't solve the problem either.

"Once again, I know that Pastor Michael Pfleger would never be President of the United States. The point is that as we work to become a truly post-racial society, we have to realize that what you do matters far more than what you believe on the inside. Barack Obama can (as Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett said recently) have “genuine love” for the black community all he wants, but if he doesn’t do anything to prove it, then his words don’t mean a thing. In fact, promises that are not precursors to action are effectively bold faced lies."

"Most of us know what we should do and what we’d like to do, but few of us have the courage to actually do it. That’s what makes Father Michael Pfleger so special."

And Again I ask ...Just what is it that you would have him do for African-Americans that is race specific and not covered in the things he is doing for all Americans??

(Crickets!)

Yeah..Just what I thought...Can't wait for Dr. Boyce's book  and speaking tour!

Numbers Game

Sometimes I don't understand the American People.  Some of the American people.  A recent poll states that more people might be against so called "Obamacare" or Health care Reform than for it.

What's amazing to me is that I know that probably half of those against it are probably those who could use it...and are just against it because Rush Limbaugh and Fox news tells them that it's bad for them....

How are these folks so brainwashed??? It just amazes the hell out of me..

With the U.S. Supreme Court set to decide on President Obama's health-care law on Thursday, more Americans say they would be pleased if the law is ruled unconstitutional than constitutional, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

In the survey, 37 percent say they would be pleased if the Supreme Court finds the law unconstitutional, versus 22 percent who say they would be disappointed with that outcome.

On the flip side, 28 percent say they would be pleased if the court rules the law is constitutional, compared with 35 percent who say they would be disappointed.
But pluralities on both questions maintain they would have mixed feelings with either outcome, suggesting that opinion could change depending on how the Supreme Court ultimately decides on Thursday.

What's more, if the law's individual mandate is found to be unconstitutional, 25 percent say that would hurt them and their families; 18 percent say it would help; and 55 percent say it wouldn't make a difference.

Overall, 35 percent think the health-care law is a good idea, versus 41 percent who believe it's a bad idea -- numbers that have been essentially unchanged in the survey since it was signed into law in March 2010.

The full poll -- which was conducted June 20-24 of 1,000 adults,  has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points .

I'm certain if you asked a percentage..a large percentage of people who are against it why they are against it...they couldn't tell you....A lot of it is based on the Republican
propoganda machine....Naming it "Obamacare" and spreading false stories about death panels and the like. 

You have people that don't read past page one of their newspaper...Don't explore any issue past a soundbite and just believe any foolishness that is presented to them.  The people who finance the current nut fringe of the Republican party pay a lot of money for this disemination of mis-information that one reads....

The whole thing makes me sad...because if so called "Obamacare" is struck down...Somebody out there who was agianst it...and who probably needs some healthcare is going to be without it...Then, who will the laugh be on? Then..this crazy numbers game will no longer matter.

Post Script: On June 28,2012, by a vote of 5-4, The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Health Care Act aka "Obamacare"....Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly are buying luggage and getting their passports ready!

A Couple of Steps Forward (and one step backward!)

Yesterday the Supreme Court got something right....Well, kinda sorta...If you know me..If you read this blog...You know that I feel about as unimpressed with this current supreme court as I do the present congress....but I give credit...where credit is due.

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld one part of the controversial (and racist) Arizona immigration law but struck down other sections.

The part of the law the justices upheld requires police officers stopping someone to make efforts to verify the person’s immigration status with the federal government.I don't know about you, but this smacks of racial profiling to me. I'm just saying.

The Supremes however struck down three other parts of the law:

• One making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to work or to seek work in Arizona;
• One which authorized state and local officers to arrest people without a warrant if the officers have probable cause to believe a person is an illegal immigrant;
• And one that made it a state requirement for immigrants to register with the federal government.

"Arizona may have understandable frustrations with the problems caused by illegal immigration" while the federal goverrment tries to enforce immigration law, but the state "may not pursue policies that undermine federal law," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the majority opinion.

The court said that there are several ways for state officials to cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement, such as by responding to federal requests for information about when a particular non-citizen will be released from state custody.

"But the unilateral state action" to arrest and detain suspected illegal immigrants "goes far beyond these measures, defeating any need for real cooperation" between the state and the federal government.

Monday's decision is only a prelude to further litgation over what now remains of the Arionza statute.

NBC’s Pete Williams reported that “there are other lawsuits against this law. There are several civil liberties groups suing in Arizona, claiming that this law is racial profiling, and those cases have yet to work their way through the courts.”

Monday's decision was a partial victory for President Obama who had criticized the Arizona law, saying it “threatened to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.”

In a statement Monday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer,(remember her? the finger pointer??) who signed SB 1070 into law, claimed that the high court ruling was "a victory for the rule of law. It is also a victory for the 10th Amendment and all Americans who believe in the inherent right and responsibility of states to defend their citizens."

The Justice Department had moved quickly in 2010 to block enforcement of the law. The administration had argued that the Constitution vests exclusive authority over immigration matters with the federal government, not the states, and that where the federal government has pre-empted state action, no state can intrude on that federal turf.

The majority on Monday essentially agreed with that argument.
In the oral argument before the high court on April 25, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli said Arizona did not have the power to exclude or remove a person who is in the state illegally.

Although some critics of the law have contended that it would inevitably lead to targeting of Latinos simply because of appearance, speaking Spanish, or having a Spanish accent, Verrilli told the justices on April 25 “We're not making any allegation about racial or ethnic profiling in the case.”

Since enforcement of the law had been blocked by a federal judge soon after its enactment, the Obama administration did not present a record to the Supreme Court of the law leading to incidents of ethnic profiling of Latinos in the state.
Joining Kennedy's majority opinion were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor.

Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito concurred in part and dissented in part.
Justice Elena Kagan, who served as President Obama’s solicitor general, had recused herself from the Arizona case.

The high court’s decision comes just days after President Obama announced a new administration policy of not deporting illegal immigrants under age 30 who came to the United States, or were brought to the United States before reaching age 16, who are in school, or have graduated from high school, gotten a general education certificate, or are military veterans. The illegal immigrants covered by the new administration policy will be permitted to apply for authorization to work legally in the United States.

Another Republican weapon of mass distraction thwarted somewhat....kinda sorta...and from the most unlikely place at that....Go figure!

Contempt Of Congress

Eric Holder is in contempt of congress!    Is that right?  Could you tell me a thinking person that based on this congress's performance is not in contempt of congress?

Last week, Republicans ,using their latest weapon of mass distraction held Eric Holder...The nation's first African American Attorney General in contempt of Congress.

The House Oversight Committee (Now here is an appropriate title) voted on Wednesday, 23-17, to cite Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of Congress.

The measure will go to the full House for a vote next. If passed by the House, the matter would then move to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ronald Machen Jr., who could potentially file a criminal contempt. The charge carries a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
The House committee's resolution, passed on strictly partisan lines, was based on the probe into a gun operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), informally known as Fast and Furious. The operation was the last and largest in a series of "gun-walking" schemes that began in 2006 under the Bush administration.

Designed to track firearms in order to go after the "big fish," the tactic involved the ATF deliberately allowing guns to be purchased by suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels. Operation Fast and Furious put some 2,000 weapons on the street and in 2010 led to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
Throughout the more than 15 months of the investigation, Eric Holder has appeared before Congress nine times, submitted more than 7,600 pages of documents and made other Justice Department senior officials available for interviews, testimony and briefings.

But he has not turned over other documents that Darryl Issa requested, detailing how the Justice Department learned of problems with the operation, on the grounds that they contain confidential information about ongoing law-enforcement investigations.

On Wednesday, President Obama asserted executive privilege over these documents (an action that, contrary to what some of his critics have alleged, does not apply exclusively to presidential communications). In a letter to President Obama on Tuesday, urging the president to exert executive privilege, Attorney General Holder said that sharing documents containing information about in-progress cases with lawmakers "would have significant, damaging consequences."

I suppose if anybody other than Eric Holder or President Obama had made the same case...It would at least be reasonably understood.... but (in the words of the late comedian ,John Belushi) nooooooooooooooooooooo! Not These guys!

CNN reported that - Represenative Darryl Issa's (Republican, California) committee wants documents that show why the Department of Justice decided to withdraw as inaccurate a February 2011 letter sent to Congress that said top officials had only recently learned about Fast and Furious.

 
Attorney General Holder said he offered to turn over some of the documents sought by Issa when they met Tuesday in a final effort to resolve the dispute before Wednesday's hearing. Issa, however, said Holder put unreasonable conditions on his offer.

In a letter to Represenative Issa after Tuesday's meeting, [Deputy Attorney General James] Cole reiterated Holder's position that the documents would show Holder had nothing to hide about his role in Operation Fast and Furious.

Deputy Cole noted that the lone point of dispute was whether the February 4, 2011, letter was part of a broader effort to obstruct a congressional investigation.
"The answer to that question is an emphatic 'no' and we have offered the committee the opportunity to satisfy itself that that is so," Cole wrote.


Eric Holder has claimed throughout that he did not authorize Fast and Furious, that he and other top officials had been unaware that the gun-walking tactic was being used in the operation and that he made personnel changes at both ATF and his office, as well as procedural changes within ATF, to make sure it never happens again.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), maintained that Holder's refusal to turn over the additional documents is obstructing their investigation and, thus, rises to the level of criminal contempt.

Democrats charge that, instead of trying to get the information in question, Darryl Issa and other Republicans are pursuing contempt charges for political reasons.

"As we inch closer and closer to the 2012 election, congressional Republicans are trying to blemish the career of a respected public servant in an attempt to discredit the administration," said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) on Wednesday of Holder, who has also drawn letters of support from the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Bar Association. "Congress has never before held an attorney general in contempt, and this situation clearly does not meet the threshold for setting such a bold new precedent."

Represenative Darryl Issa stands by the contempt vote as a national imperative. "At the heart of the Congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious are disastrous consequences: a murdered Border Patrol Agent, his grieving family seeking answers, countless deaths in Mexico and the souring effect on our relationship with Mexico," he said in a statement. "Congress has not just a right, but an obligation to do all that it can to uncover exactly what happened and ensure that it never occurs again."

Really Mr. Issa? Do you really care ? Or are you just trying to stick it to Mr. Holder and indirectly President Obama?? We all know what this is...It's very obvious what it looks like.

In his own defense, Attorney General Holder had this to say- 

"When Chairman Issa ... began his own investigation, I made it clear that the Department would cooperate with all appropriate oversight requests, while still adhering to our legal obligations to protect information involving ongoing law enforcement investigations, legally protected grand jury material and other sensitive information whose disclosure would endanger the American people or our agents investigating open cases. The American people deserve better. That is why I will remain focused on, and committed to, the Justice Department's mission to protect the rights, safety, and best interests of my fellow citizens and to stand by my brave colleagues in law enforcement."

He shouldn't even have to be defending himself....If you take the War on Women....The Voter Fraud Scare,
Gay Marriage and more recently Immigration.....It seems that the Republicans have more than enough weapons of mass distraction to throw at the American people....Isn't it time that this stopped...Isn't it time that people see through this?

Weekend Humor

A guy dials his home phone from work. A strange woman answers.

"Hello!"

The guy says, "Heyyy Who is this?"

"This is the maid.", answered the woman.

"We don't have a maid!" he said.

"I was just hired this morning by the lady of the house." she said.

"Well, this is her husband. Is she there?" he bellowed.

"Ummm .... she's upstairs in the bedroom with someone who I just figured was her husband."

The guy is fuming. He says to the maid, "Listen, would you like to make $50,000?"

"What do I have to do?" she asks.

"I want you to get my gun from my desk in the den and shoot that witch and the jerk she is with."

"Okay...Give me a minute.." she says.

The maid puts down the phone. The guy hears footsteps, followed by two gunshots.

The maid comes back to the phone. "What should I do with the bodies?"

"Throw them in the swimming pool!" he screams.

" Swimming Pool??? What?! There's no swimming  pool here?" she says.

Long pause...

"Uh  er uhhhh.... is this 215- 832-4821??????"

(Have a great weekend everybody)

Keith's Favorite Quotes

No, We Aint Gettin Along!

RIP- Rodney G. King   (April 2, 1965- June 17,2012)

Rodney King died Sunday.....Trayvon Martin died in February....Two symbols of being Black and male in contemporary America and what it might just get you.

Rodney King died Sunday!  His 1991 videotaped beating by the Los Angeles police became a symbol of the nation’s continuing racial tensions and subsequently led to a week of deadly race riots after the officers were acquitted, was found dead Sunday in a swimming pool at the home he shared with his fiancée in Rialto, Calif. He was 47.

 "People look at me like I should have been like Malcolm X or Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks,” he told the Los Angelas times this past April. “I should have seen life like that and stay out of trouble, and don’t do this and don’t do that. But it’s hard to live up to some people’s expectations.”

Mr. King published a memoir in April detailing his struggles, saying in several interviews that he had not been able to find steady work.

He said he had once blamed politicians and lawyers “for taking a battered and confused addict and trying to make him into a symbol for civil rights.” But he was unable to escape that role. On Sunday, the Rev. Al Sharpton, said in a statement, “History will record that it was Rodney King’s beating and his actions that made America deal with the excessive misconduct of law enforcement.”

And more recently, Mr. King seemed to embrace the role himself, saying that his beating enabled others to succeed and “made the world a better place.”

“Obama, he wouldn’t have been in office without what happened to me and a lot of black people before me,” he also said to the  The Los Angeles Times. “He would never have been in that situation, no doubt in my mind. He would get there eventually, but it would have been a lot longer. So I am glad for what I went through. It opened the doors for a lot of people.” 

Though Rodney King wrote in his memoir that he still drank and used drugs occasionally, he insisted that, with his fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, who had been a juror in a civil suit he brought against the City of Los Angeles, he was on the road to reclaiming his life. 

“I realize I will always be the poster child for police brutality,” he said, “but I can try to use that as a positive force for healing and restraint.” 

  Rodney King said he was essentially broke, though he said he received an advance for his book, “The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption,” published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the riots. 

He still walked with a limp and several of his scars were visible. His best outlets for relaxation, he said, were fishing and swimming.

There was no evidence of foul play...At least not yesterday...The newspapers are saying that Rodney King,
 whose life was a roller coaster of drug and alcohol abuse, multiple arrests and unwanted celebrity, pleaded for calm during the 1992 riots. More than 55 people were killed and 600 buildings destroyed in the violence.

In a phrase that became part of American culture, he asked at a news conference, “Can we all get along?” 

The answer then and unfortunately now is still...no...No We aint gettin along...In so called "Post Racial America...with a Black president...Racial civility has gotten even worse than it was in 1991. If you don't believe me...Google a story about Rodney King's death on MSN's news page and then read the asinine and mean spirited and oh yes unapologetically racist comments by the readers...then you'll see my point...

If there is an article about Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Mike Vick, Lebron James, Michael Jackson...Any Black celebrity...there is some un-apologetically hate filled and race baited commentary following it....

Some of it is pure jealousy...a lot of it is written by semi-illiterate goofs who are sitting in their mother's basement on a computer angry that they aren't rich and famous.....But a lot of it comes from people who at least sound half way educated and you would think, would know better...but unfortunately...They don't.

That photo above is Rodney King too...After the beating....These same white writers say that he was beat because he ran ...They point out that there were three other passengers in his car that night and they weren't touched.... That might have been because now they realized they were being taped and couldn't afford to get into any more mess...I don't know that,I'm just saying....They might have been tired...Ass whooping can be physically tiresome you know.

I brought up Trayvon Martin because he was killed and the only crime I can see he committed was not answering the question of some man he didn't know....These same white writers justified his killing too.. Oh they wrote that because he was wearing a hoodie...he just had to be up  to something...  and why didn't he answer Andrew Zimmerman's questions?

In other words...it's justifiable to do anything to a Black male because you know we are born criminals...We can't help ourselves....and if we are wearing hoodies...drinking ice tea and walking in a neighborhood we don't live in...we are more than likely up to no good.

In Rodney King's case...He was driving under the influence and he did lead the police on a chase...  Did he deserve to be arrested and hauled in to jail that night?  Damn right he did....But he didn't deserve to be beaten half to death...

Yet a jury said that all four of these white policemen who took part in the beating used justifiable force because they were afraid for their lives...after all...he is a black male!

Yeah...And anything you do to a Black male is justifiable because after all, statistics say that Black males and Black people in general commit more crimes than any other race of people.  These are the statistics that all of these commenters on MSN and other news sites always bring up to justify their point of view...It makes me sad...

It makes me sad that so much ignorance still exists and that people are so proud of their ignorance and their bias...

Rodney King asked in 1991-"Can't we all ...just get along?"   The answer then as now is -"NO..we can't and we aint!"

I know this sounds pretty bitter.....that's because I am bitter and will probably be that way for awhile....I'll stop writing now...I'm going to get a cup of coffee!

Still Thinking of Voting For This Man?

Still Thinking of Voting for this man?  Reallly?  Still think he has an economic policy that will put Americans back to work?  I could write....Hell, I have written blog posts ad nauseum about what this guy and his cronies in the GOP /Tea Party are really about...but nothing I can say, nothing I can write will be more poignant than what these real people in Marion, Indiana have to say.....Wonder who they'll be voting for?
Watch the clip.






Now...After watching this clip...Do I need to say anymore?

Saturday 7 (Seven Things Your father should have taught you)

1. Some bullies will respect you if you stand up to them;On the other hand, others are dangerous sociopaths who should be avoided altogether.

2.You can turn a loss into a win by learning something from it.

3.Stand up straight, shake hands firmly and look people in the eye.

4.Always use protection. (If you're a female, make sure the guy has it!)

5.If you want to be taken seriously as an adult, don't wear your baseball cap backward after the age of 18--unless, of course, you're a major league catcher.

6.Don't just listen to what people say; try to figure out why they're saying it.

7. Nobody ever lay in his deathbed and wished he had worked longer hours. Enjoy Life!


Happy Fathers Day to all of the Great Dad's (and grandfathers)out there!

Weekend Humor

A dentist ran out of anaesthetic just before the last extraction for the day was scheduled.

He gave the nurse a very large needle, instructing her to jab it hard into the patient's butt when the signal was given, so it would take his attention away from the tooth extraction.

It all happened in an instant.

The nurse, patient, and pliers were in place. The signal was given, and the nurse bayoneted the patient with the needle just as the dentist yanked the tooth.

Afterwards, the dentist asked, "Hurt much?"

The patient hesitated, "Didn't hardly feel it come out. And, man, those roots were really deep!"


Have a Great Weekend Everybody!

The Good Baptist

I wasn't raised a Baptist....Not sure just what I was.....No...I met and married a "Good Baptist Woman" as I have jokingly called my wife for years and converted to the Baptist Faith around 1987...when I was 29.  I was Baptized in 1992, the Sunday after Easter.....I remember because aside from graduations and my wedding of course, it was amongst the few times I remember my mother being totally ecstatic...
See, I was out there for a minute...and I suppose when she saw that Reverend dip me into that cold water in the Basement pool of Pinn Memorial Baptist Church that Sunday...it was a signal that the prodigal son had come back to the shore..... I'm kidding of course...I was never too far out of pocket..I had too many guardian angels.... (That's an inside joke of course...You'd have to be a member of my family to get that!)

So being a Baptist and all, I have probably willfully attended church more than I did prior to my conversion, but I must admit that I haven't kept up on Baptist politics. 

Yesterday I saw a curious article in the paper about the "Southern Baptist Convention" and how they have named their first African American President in History. Another Negro First! 

Rev. Fred Luter Jr.,(Pictured above ) the man poised to become the first African American president of the nation's largest Protestant denomination when messengers, as the convention calls representatives sent to the convention meeting, vote next week in New Orleans
.

It's a big step for a denomination that was formed out of a pre-Civil War split with northern Baptists over slavery and for much of the last century had a dubious reputation for supporting racial segregation and Jim Crow in the Southern States. This is a very big step indeed!

In recent years, faced with growing diversity in America and declining membership in its churches, the denomination has made a sincere effort to distance itself from that past. Many Southern Baptists believe the charming and charismatic Reverend Fred Luter is the man who can lead them forward. Not to be cynical, but you can't help , if you're someone like me...wondering how long before the honeymoon will be over.

Reverend  Luter's rise through the Southern Baptist ranks has been a slow and steady process, the result of the hard work, leadership and creativity that allowed him to turn a struggling inner-city church of just 50 members into the largest Southern Baptist church in Louisiana by weekly attendance. No mean feat!

The 55-year-old Fred Luter grew up in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, the middle of five children raised by a divorced mother who worked as a seamstress "not to make ends meet, but just to make them kind of wave at each other," he said. The family walked to a local Baptist church every Sunday and Luter's mother made sure all the children attended.

Luter drifted away from religion after leaving home for college, just as I and many others did, but at age 21 he found himself making a promise to God that he has kept to this day.

 After a near-fatal motorcycle accident landed him in the hospital, "I said, 'God, if you save my life, I'll serve you for the rest of my life,'" Luter said.


He survived and soon began preaching on street corners every Saturday with a group of friends from church.
"We had no training," he said. "We were just really excited about what God was doing in our lives and we wanted to share it with others. We got ridiculed a lot."

Fred Luter kept it up for nine years before someone suggested he apply to become the pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church. Formerly a white church, the membership had changed to African-American with changing demographics of the neighborhood.

"When I came to Franklin Avenue it was a bunch of women and kids," Luter said. "You could count the number of men on one hand."


So Luter bought a pay-per-view TV boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns and told the women in his church to invite every man they knew.

About 25 men showed up, some of whom didn't realize they were coming to the pastor's house, Luter said. Nonetheless, they happily dumped their beer to go in and see the match. Afterward, Luter invited them to come to church.

"The boxing match was on a Friday night and the following Sunday five of those guys were at church," Luter said. He recognized them during the service and all the women started applauding. After church, they lavished attention on the men.

"The next Sunday there were more men," Luter said. "Once we started the men's program we found that men draw not only other men, but men draw women. Word started spreading."

The rest is as they say, history! Today he Pastors a Mega Church!

Fred Luther has not been elected President of the Southern Baptists yet...but the way it looks...He doesn't have any opposition or challengers....This is all good....In 1962 , this would have been unheard of...It probably would have been unheard of in 1992!  I just wonder if these Southern Baptists have truly turned a corner here? or is this all just smoke and mirror?  Only time will tell.  This still aint post racial America.

Florida, Goddamn!

Just what is going on in Florida now of days?   If we set aside the Trayvon Martin case, it is becoming clear that Florida is becoming the new Mississippi of this generation.  

In the latest bout of senselessness from Florida...The administration of Florida Gov. Rick Scott is headed to a legal showdown with two different federal agencies over a contentious voter purge.

Florida filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Washington D.C., demanding that the state be given the right to check the names of its registered voters against an immigration database maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The lawsuit came the same day that the U.S. Department of Justice announced its plan to ask a federal court to block the state from pushing ahead with removing potential non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls. Authorities contend that the state’s effort violates federal voting laws.

“Please immediately cease this unlawful conduct,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner.

But Governor  Scott himself went on national television to defend the purge and the need to sue the federal government.

“I have a job to do to defend the right of legitimate voters,” Rick Scott told Neil Cavuto of Fox News. “We want to have fair honest elections in our state and so we have been put in the position we have to sue the federal government to get this information.”

Is he serious?  Fair and Honest elections in HIS STATE?? Where was this concern during the 2000 election that gave us George W. Bush??

This latest action follows a lawsuit filed last week against the purge by a Hispanic civic organization and two naturalized citizens that was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

The litigation is unlikely to have much a practical effect since nearly every county supervisor in Florida had already suspended efforts to remove any of the potential non-U.S. citizens identified by the state.

But the legal skirmish is already becoming a flashpoint between Republicans and Democrats in this crucial swing state.Governor  Scott himself blasted the federal government over the voter purge during a tea party event held over the weekend.

It was Rick Scott who last year urged state elections officials to start looking for non-U.S. citizens on the voter rolls. An initial comparison of driver’s license records with voter registration records turned up as many as 182,000 registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens.

But state officials did not release that list and instead sought access to a federal immigration database to verify the matches. That request so far has been turned down by Homeland Security.

Earlier this year, state officials sent local election officials a much smaller list of more than 2,600 voters and asked them to check the names. Voters who did not respond to supervisors could ultimately be removed from the rolls. Supervisors, however, have questioned the accuracy of the list since hundreds on it have turned out to in fact be American citizens.

State records show 86 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls since April 11, and that more than half of them had voted in previous elections. But some of the names removed in recent weeks were discovered by supervisors independently and did not come from the list distributed by the state.

Florida’s lawsuit contends that federal law requires Homeland Security to grant the state access to an immigration database which does not track native U.S. citizens but only those people who visit or immigrate to the country. Homeland Security officials said they could not comment on the lawsuit.

But Justice officials said it takes more than a name or birthdate to prove a match in the federal immigration database and that Florida has already conceded doesn’t have the right data. Perez wrote that the “significant problems you are encountering...are of your own creation.”

Perez added said that while federal authorities do not want non-U.S. citizens to vote “states cannot have unfettered authority” to remove voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election. Florida’s primary is Aug. 14.

“Where the registration status of eligible citizens is questioned close to an election, it creates significant confusion for both voters and election officials that cannot easily be resolved in the immediate pre-election period, when there is insufficient time to identify errors or remedy incorrect removals,” wrote Perez.

The federal government also contends the voter purge violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act because the procedures used to identify potentially ineligible voters have not been reviewed by the Justice Department. Florida must secure approval for changes in voting procedures because five counties are still covered by the law because of a past history of discrimination.

This smacks of Jim Crow and Grandfather clauses of the 60's...  Millions of African -American voters are scrutinized....needing photo identification...and now Hispanic and Latino voters are being scrutinized for citizenship...

My questions are. 1. Where was this conern for "fair" elections in the past? and 2. What are these people (Republicans) so afraid of???

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!  You all should be going Hmmmmmmmmmm right about now....As the gamblers might ask..."Is the fix in?

Keith's Favorite Quotations

Just a little food for thought

Who You Got?

One of the reasons I have been on a blogging hiatus...(Even though it hasn't seemed like one) is because I've been watching these NBA playoffs...76ers vs Chicago Bulls, then 76ers vs The Boston Celtics and then finally the Boston Celtics vs The Miami Heat.

Once the 76ers were out of the playoffs I said that I could enjoy the playoffs because I wouldn't be emotionally invested in them.  This was true ,because I found myself watching the Heat and The Celtics with an objectivity I hadn't had since my 76ers were in the playoffs.

Out West, I watched the Young Oklahoma Thunder...A team I've had my eyes on since they left Seattle, advance past the Dallas Mavericks, The San-Antonio Spurs, who several of my friends picked to win it all
and now to the Western finals..to play the Miami Heat.

I can't say that I won't be emotionally invested in this series....I'm kind of going for the Oklahoma City Thunder in this series.  Why?  One is the Philadelphia connection. Former Sixers Guard, Scotty Brooks is their coach..and former Sixers great and coach ,Maurice Cheeks is their assistant coach.  That is one reason.

The other reason being is...I like how they are made up, Fresh young talent like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant , Jame Hayden and Serge Ibaka. In many ways , the 76ers are like this team, minus the talent.  Young scrappy fearless and athletic players.

If the  emerging Oklahoma City Thunder are to have a chance in the NBA Finals, they'll need to slow down LeBron James. Good luck with that. If the Miami Heat hope to have a shot, they'll have to try to contain Kevin Durant. Best wishes to them, too. If the Heats Dwyane Wade or Thunders Russell Westbrook go nuts well, were not really telling you anything you dont know. What makes these Finals so interesting is that James will likely match up with Durant, and perhaps Wade with Westbrook. But those are only the biggest names and brightest stars. You also have to consider the Heats Chris Bosh and to a lesser extent, Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem. You also have to a keep close eye on the Thunders James Harden and Serbe Ibaka.

 Of course, the ringer may be Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, a longtime Lebron  James nemesis who makes his millions by protecting the rim, and if need be, tossing aside anyone who dares come near it. Or maybe its Heat forward Shane Battier, an underrated wing defender and occasional maker of 3-point shots. Bottom line: This is a best-of-seven series that has it all. The young, deep Thunder against the star-driven Heat. Or as some outside of Miami-Dade County might tell you, the good guys (Thunder) vs. the bad guys ,The Miami Heat(I don't subscribe to any of that). Oak City is the fun-loving team that gets up and down the court in the blink of an eye.The Miami Heat can crush you if you turn the ball over and let Lebron James and Dwayne Wade fill the fast-break lanes. Neither team is too shabby in the half-court, either with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook,Lebron  James and Dwayne Wade all capable off firing up some three pointers as the shot clock expires. Then you have the coaches. The job of Miami's Erik Spoelstra is more difficult than it looks. He has to manage three huge personalities (and egos) while making sure the supporting cast isn't totally ignored, and actually contributes something to the game.

 Meanwhile, Oak City's Scotty Brooks must find enough shots for both Kevin Durant and  Russell Westbrook, then try not to skip a beat when implementing a second unit that features James "The Beard"Harden.

Interestingly, both the Heat and Thunder are coming off victories over older teams that appeared to be on the verge of one last hurrah. The Heat won two straight to shovel a little dirt on the Celtics basketball grave. The Thunder then overcame a 2-0 hole and a Spurs team that had won 20 straight games to show the world they're not too ripe to adjust. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade haven't had to chase around anyone like Kevin Durant and  Russell Westbrook this enitre postseason.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have never played on this grand of a stage either. So who has the advantage? I don't think that anyone will  know for another six or seven games. The Oklahoma City Thunder own the home-court advantage; the Miami Heat know how to win big games on the road.

The Thunder own a physical center, who used to keep LBJ at bay during Perkins days with the Celtics and LBJ's days with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the  Miami Heat, it's pretty evident, have yet to shy from a challenge. So its impossible to find two teams more accomplished, more battle-proven, more ready for this platform.

The Oak City Thunder are younger, but the Miami  Heat are hardly old. The Thunder strive to work the ball for the best possible shot, but the Heat thrive on stepping into passing lanes. The Thunder figure you out and break you down, but the Heat possess head-scratching ability to thwart your every move. On and on it goes, who wins the 2011-12 title nobody knows. On paper, its too hard  and too early predict. On the court, it should be too good to miss. The Heat vs. the Thunder.

I might very well be on another blogging hiatus until the finals are over ...Who knows???

Keith"s Music Spotlight

This is new comer, Michael ''Big Mike" Lynche...You may remember him as the fourth runner up on American Idol last year...This is just a snippet of his new single.. Hopefully I can put the entire song on here in the future.. Take a listen..This is pure butter though.Remember where you saw and heard this guy first!

Weekend Humor

A guy walks into a bar and has a couple of beers. Once he is done drinking them, the bartender tells him he owes $9.00.

"But I paid, don't you remember?" says the customer.

"Okay," says the bartender, "If you said you paid, then I guess you did."

The man then goes outside and tells the first person he sees that the bartender can't keep track of whether his customers have paid.

The second man then rushes in, orders a beer and later pulls the same stunt.

The barkeep replies, "If you say you paid, I'll take your word for it pal."

Soon the customer goes into the street, sees an old friend, and tells him how to get free drinks.

The man hurries into the bar and begins to drink high-balls when, suddenly, the bartender leans over and says, "You know ace, a funny thing happened in here tonight. Two cats were in here drinking beer, neither paid and both claimed that they did. The next guy who tries that is going to get punched the hell out.Feel me?"

"Don't bother me with your troubles," the final patron responds. "Just give me my change and I'll be on my way out the door."


Have a great weekend everybody!

Justice For Justin

During the days when I was on a blogging hiatus , kind of sort of and just publishing fluff...a couple of things were happening that needed commentary...Sure, I was fired up about Dr. Head, Scott Walker and this story I'm about to purvey to you, but to tell you the truth...I was having one of those weeks last week and I was just plain exhausted...

Anyway....it seems that some people are outraged...(American lead the world in being outraged.)that UCLA, (Yeah, same UCLA that is giving Dr. Head such a hard time!) strapped for cash in California's budget crisis, awarded a $54,000 merit-based athletic scholarship to Justin Combs, son of hip-hop impresario Sean "Diddy" (or Puff Daddy, depending on what era you grew up in) Combs, who hardly needs the cash.

You don't have to live in California to understand the outrage. Soaring college costs, battered state budgets and shrinking opportunities for rising income are a national crisis…Yet, the real source of our national frustration is less glamorous and more widespread. Upward mobility in America is not what it used to be. It's easier to climb the socioeconomic ladder in many parts of Europe than it is in the U.S., according to recent reports from Brookings Institution, Pew Research Center and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

From what I understand...Justin Combs maintained a 3.75 average in high school and excelled on the Football field as well...so in other words..He earned that scholarship on his own...Not because he is the son of the Famous Rap Producer,Record Mogul and everything bling...Sean Combs.

Justin's scholarship money doesn't come from taxpayer funds, UCLA says, and it wouldn't even tickle the state's projected $16 billion deficit if it did.

So picking on  P.Diddy's fortune or his son's hard-earned achievements distracts us from the issue burning at the core of the discontent: How do we make higher education more affordable for young strivers who don't have wealthy parents?  Like my daughter...Like my grandchildren!!!!

Okay...We know that Sean "Diddy" Combs is loaded right??? In April he topped Forbes' latest of the wealthiest moguls in hip-hop with an estimated net worth of $550 million, which makes Justin's scholarship sound like pocket change, mere lunch money.

On Justin's 16th birthday in 2010, his father gave him a $360,000 Maybach, which is to autos what Beverly Hills is to neighborhoods.You get the picture right?

Yet Justin, to his credit, defies the spoiled rotten slacker-rich-kid stereotype. He finished his senior year at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, N.Y., with a reported 3.75 GPA and football scholarship offers from at least four  other colleges.

That's why he tweeted last week to all the haters out there: "Regardless what the circumstances are, I put that work in!!!! PERIOD."

Damn right he did! I'm serious...He did. I know that an argument could be made for  directing scholarship money to students based on their economic need, While another argument could equally be made for motivating students toward excellence with rewards that are based on their own achievement, regardless of their family's wealth or lack of it also.

Even in the best of times,Most colleges have enough money to offer both. These of course  are not the best of times. With that in mind, we can only hope P. Diddy will become a generous football dad, creating new scholarships in his son's honor to show his appreciation. I'm just sayin...It would be kind of like guilt money I know...But it would go a long way towards spreading good will and getting the haters, fueled by the press off of his and his son's backs.

Ironically, because of his wealth...Sean "P.Diddy" Combs is actually that one percent of the wealthy that should pay more of their fair share of taxes and that the Occupy America people were protesting against.

What We ought to be talking about though is the lack or the difficulty of upward mobility in America now of days... Republicans and Tea Party types are hell bent on destroying the middle class and creating a country of just wealthy and very poor (and sick) people...A kind of feudal system of living.

I said it before and I will say this again..It's easier to climb the socioeconomic ladder in many parts of Europe than it is in the U.S., according to recent reports from Brookings Institution, Pew Research Center and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

In other words, today's aspiring youths on average have an easier time moving up the socioeconomic ladder in many parts of traditionally class-conscious Europe than here in the home of the American dream.

Without some schooling beyond high school, it is becoming increasingly difficult to enter the middle class or stay in it. Yet Washington has been gridlocked in budget fights or simply brain-dead about new ideas that can lead to comprehensive remedies. Yeah...both!

The partisan fight over student loan interest rates, for example, is expected to lead to short-term solutions. Raising interest rates would be too unpopular for lawmakers to allow in an election year, even though student loan debt already is breaking records.

So while politicians on both the left and the right argue, hundreds of thousands of low-income students will lose their Pell Grants as of July 1. That's because of a little-noticed congressional decision to save $11 billion over 10 years by reducing or eliminating aid to the most effective program for helping low-income students move up the educational ladder.( I had a Pell Grant when I was in college.)

As we see doors closing on opportunities for advancement, Diddy and his son's scholarship are only visible symbols of our frustration. We can't all be leaders of hip-hop or athletes with multi million dollar contracts or lions of industry, but we all deserve to have a chance to try. That used to be the American dream. We hate to see it go, but it's slipping away....fading away...

I say let Justin have his scholarship...He earned it...but let's get to work on making it easier or reachable for all students to have a shot at getting scholarships and grants and most of all a good education if they want it.

We have to vote this fall people-

I'm telling you.....I'm not even hiding the fact , that this is the only man that gives us a shot at that future....!