It’s Been a While

I know I’ve been away awhile, but it’s for good reason.  I have been planning my move to another country just in case Old man McCain & his Hockey Mom/Ebay Queen figure out how to steal the election.  I’ll shoot you all my address if my worst nightmare comes to past.

A fool and his ramblings

Sometimes I am truly afraid for my daughter. The people in this world honestly scare me. For instance, check out this fool over at the The World According to Xenocrates. He decided that he could analyze the wide sweeping history of Black people and devise an answer that would solve our present day issues. Unfortunately, for what I assume to be a well intentioned gesture, his blog was completely short sighted and leaned dangerously close to being narcissistic. I will refrain from calling this brother a racist ( I hope you all will too); However, he demonstrated a sharp sense of arrogance, ignorance, & plain old bias towards black people. I say it was biased because it seemed evident that he pictures America to be the epitome of any nation to ever exist in the world and figures it to be the sole creation of Anglo-Saxon ingenuity.

Anyway I hope you all read his blog and take away from it the same thing I did. Not hate or animosity, but pity for his ignorance, a renewed determination to not only educate ourselves, but to network with each other and pool our collective resources to benefit our community, and lastly to instill in our children patience, love, humility, self respect, & and hunger for knowledge.

Peace, RgularJoe

PS – I want to really have a dialog with this guy because hopefully we can learn something from each other and walk away better men. This is exactly why I started this blog, because I noticed that the amount of mis-information & mis-understanding was reaching a fever pitch. Do you all think I am wasting my time?

Why John McCain/George Bush are wrong in every way

The unfortunate day that Republicans have used to state their claim to how they are best fit to secure the United States of America is September 11, 2001. On this day the country was attacked using two airplanes that were flown into the Twin Towers. The people who perpetrated this atrocity are Osama Bin Laden and his band of terrorists, known as Al Qaeda.

In response, your beloved president, George Bush, decided that the best way to neutralize the terrorist threat was not to focus on attacking them directly in Afghanistan, but to vanquish “The Axis of Evil” that was centered in Iraq. As a consequence to this brilliant logic, Saddam Hussein was overthrown, killed, and Iraq was destabilized.

Then in steps John McCain, a person who once opposed many of George Bush’s policies and now supports them, suggesting we send a “surge” of troops to Iraq to secure victory and make America safer. To McCain’s benefit, “The Surge” has helped to quiet the violence and lessen the American deaths that were mounting in Iraq. Now McCain & George Bush are claiming that they are victorious in war and Barack Obama, the Democratic Presidential nominee, is out of step, lacks the judgment, and is overall ill-equipped to be Commander and Chief.

My question for any Republican, John McCain supporter, or Obama basher, is “Why hasn’t Osama Bin Laden been captured or killed?” The person who put the 9/11 attacks into motion is still alive and free and the person given the responsibility to protect America has not made it his top priority to capture Bin Laden. And why does John McCain figure he is better equipped to be President over Barack Obama? All he did suggest that we continue to let Bin Laden roam free and focus the majority of the American military might on protecting our “interests” in Iraq. I would understand his logic he suggested a surge of troops to go get the person who brought down two buildings on top of thousands of American citizens.

Remember this…it has been 2,402 days or 6 and three-quarter years since 9/11 and still Bin Laden has still not been captured. Somebody please tell me why I should trust Bush or McCain?

Peace, thoughts from a RgularJoe

Black. Female. Accomplished. Attacked.

Kudos to Sophia Nelson…her article in the Washington Post, “Black. Female. Accomplished. Attacked.” speaks truth to light regarding the negative stereotypes associated with black women.

Take a moment to read the article and let me know your thoughts about it. I’d really love to have a serious dialog about why Michelle Obama was depicted as a gun toting Black Panther in the mold of Assata Shakur on the cover of The New Yorker. (Although I personally fail to see how that is a negative caricature seeing that Assata was a freedom fighter that resisted American terrorism during the Civil Rights Movement.)

Personally, as a black man who is a husband to a strong black woman, father to a future strong black woman, as well as, a son and a brother to strong black women…I am completely surrounded by them. And to be honest, I could not imagine my life without them.

Here is a small sample from the Washington Post article written by Sophia Nelson:

There she is — no, not Miss America, but the Angela-Davis-Afro-wearing, machine-gun-toting, angry, unpatriotic Michelle Obama, greeting her husband with a fist bump instead of a kiss on the cheek.

It was supposed to be satire, but the caricature of Barack Obama and his wife that appeared on the cover of the New Yorker last week rightly caused a major flap. And among black professional women like me and many of my sisters in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, who happened to be gathered last week in Washington for our 100th anniversary celebration, the mischaracterization of Michelle hit the rawest of nerves.

Welcome to our world.

We’ve watched with a mixture of pride and trepidation as the wife of the first serious African American presidential contender has weathered recent campaign travails — being called unpatriotic for a single offhand remark, dubbed a black radical because of something she wrote more than 20 years ago and plastered with the crowning stereotype: “angry black woman.” And then being forced to undergo a politically mandated “makeover” to soften her image and make her more palatable to mainstream America.

Hip-Hop Quotable for the RgularJoe #3

This next guy is not only one of the most revered lyricist of Hip-Hop, he is respected as a pioneer.  My man Q-Tip is just an absolute monster when it comes to both music & acting.  (If you haven’t seen him in She Hate Me or Prison Song you are missing out.)  But in terms of his music I’ve heard this line numerous times before and when it pumped through my speakers just a few minutes ago I knew I had my next Hip-Hop Quotable for the RgularJoe.

Verses From the Abstract

“The world is kinda cold and the rhythm is my blanket

Wrap yourself up in it, if you love it, then you’ll thank it”

Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory

If anyone has ever listened to this CD you already know that its a classic and a must have for any and every ipod.  Check out the song below…

And for all of my 90’s babies check this out…

Peace, RgularJoe

The New Yorker…Satire at it’s worst?

IF…the people over at The New Yorker is telling the truth about their new cover being a satirical stab at the right wing propaganda machine then it was poorly executed (see press release for more information on what their true thoughts were). The only thing is that because of the natural fear and bias that most Americans exhibit towards people who are different and darker than they are, it only adds fuel to the fire.

Check out more commentary from the LA Times.

The Politics of Fear

Supposedly, the Republicans have issued a statement saying that they felt the cover to be “tasteless and offensive.” (I couldn’t find any mention of it on his website.) The problem with that is they are the ones instigating these caricatures of Barack and Michelle. I believe terms like “naive” and “elitist” are heavily used words that John McCain and his surrogates use to describe Barack Obama. Even the rants over Barack being a Muslim are not strongly refuted by the Republicans.

You don’t have to stick a knife in a person to be convicted for murder. The Republicans are handing the knife to the general public and the right wing media while waiting on the sideline waiting to capitalize on the massacre of Barack’s & Michelle’s reputation. If John McCain was such a noble person with upstanding ideals he would seriously refute any attempts to cast Obama in any other light then a stand up person who has differing views & opinions on the direction America should take. But instead of being a political Maverick, John McCain is showing himself to be a typical Republican whose only concern is winning and maintaining the status quo of class-ism and elitism that currently divides these United States of America.

Politics should be about honesty, vision, leadership, & innovative ideas.

Why isn’t it & what can we do as voters to bring back a sense of pride & trust in American politics?

RgularJoe

Does Obama have an Absentee Father Complex?

OK…I’m not going to get into Rev. Jacksons comments at this point because I feel a greater need to address what is often termed a “Black problem.”  First and foremost let me exclaim that it’s not a problem that is rampant within the Black community because myself and numerous other Black men I associate with are loving Fathers to their children.  In fact, two of my closest friends grew up in single parent households where their Mother was the sole provider and they are successful men & fathers today. 

Now I also know of a few idiots that aren’t taking care of their responsibilty, but the kicker here is that its not much of a surprise anyway.  Why?  Because as grown (and I use that world as a descriptor for their physical self, not their mental self) men they never showed the selfless character required to be a father or the ability to stand on their own two feet in a secure & sustainable manner.

Obama delivering a Fathers Day speech at a Black Church

Now to the issue of absentee fathers.  We all know that there are a combination of issues that contribute toblack men abandoning their children.  There are numerous excuses like the lack of economic oppurtunity, limited education, broken self-esteem, coupled with the effects of the Willie Lynch letter and the socialization of black slaves towards one-another.  Which I do believe all have a case as true impediments to the collective ascension of the Black community.

Note: There are those that believe the letter to be fake   

However, where Obama is both correct and incorrect is when he speaks about personal responsibility.  Obama demonstrates through his own accomplishments that any person can accomplish anything that they set their mind to.  There is no need to beg for hand-outs, especially from people who deem you to be lazy, shiftless, & incompetent.  Why prove them right?  Why not demonstrate the fortitude and the mental toughness that we claim to have by doing for ourselves what nobody else will give us?  But on the other hand Obama, Cosby, and whoever else is also incorrect in their assertions that absentee fatherism is the downfall of the Black community.  Yes, to an extent it has played a significant role, however inadequate schools, inferior curriculum, negligible health care, and a serious wage & opportunity gap are equally at fault for our issues.  And again Obama disproves this theory by being “who” he is, from “where” he has been, to “what” he is currently accomplishing.  He was raised without his father, on welfare, & yet is the leading candidate in the General Election.

As a community we are well aware of our harrowing past & the conditions in which we currently exist, but at what point do we channel the collective  might of the Black Masses to shift the economic, political, educational, & personal biases to work in our favor.  Do we wait for ALL men to start taking care of their responsibilities or do we cut off the dead weight so this ship doesn’t completely succumb to the elements?  The chicken or the egg?  Which comes first?

I believe Obama’s issues with his father & his bottom up political ideology may actually be what is needed to both mobilize us and focus us towards a common vision.  Just as King & Coretta Scott used buses to polticize a movement, so should we use Obama’s empty seat at the head of his childhood table to fire us up to move against what seems to be a growing clamor for Confederate ideals.  Remember Jena?!

Jena, LA White Only Tree

And the Flip-Flop Award goes to…

…everbody!

From where I am standing — what we regular people call the real world — people change their mind all of the time, not to mention, gain new perspectives on old knowledge. Unfortunately, Republicans seem to have forgotten that changing your mind and admitting when you are wrong is not a disease or a sign of weakness, but a sign of leadership in a person who is willing to place the good of others ahead of their own reputation.

Let’s examine the present situation. We are currently in a war that the people were either purposely lied to about in order to gain permission to wage or one that is based on faulty information. Either way we have been losing irreplaceable lives in addition to spending valuable resources without King G.W. Bush showing any hint of admitting that he was wrong. (Not to mention being held accountable for his ignorance/arrogance.) And what is so crazy about this situation is that any sane RgularJoe knows that you treat the root of the problem, not the symptom.

When is a Flip Flop not a Flip Flop

Now in an attempt to play politics and win the nomination of President, both attacks McCain has levied against Obama, McCain is showing the same short-term memory and arrogance that has left Osama Bin Laden unchecked and the Iraq war death count over 4,100 lives. Yet we should trust him as the most experienced person to lead this country out of recession and a war when he is unable to admit his mistakes or give a logical course of action to cure what actually ails America.

Quite simply, flip-flopping is not all that bad unless you are only doing it to pander to a certain political base in order to gain votes. At that point I do have a problem with the lack of resolve to stand for your beliefs. At that point I do fault McCain for flipping on Off-shore drilling, and tax cuts. I also fault Barack for ceding on wearing the flag pin and disassociating himself with Trinity Church & Pastor Wright.

The sad thing about this is that as long as Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and whoever else remain more interested in scoring political points the best of the American people never be fully served.

Peace,

RgularJoe

Hip-Hop Quotable for the RgularJoe #2

Sup Folks…HHQ #2 comes from arguably one of the best lyricists ever in Hip-Hop: KRS-One

“Hip means to know
It’s a form of intelligence
To be hip is to be up-date and relevant
Hop is a form of movement
You can’t just observe a hop
You got to hop up and do it
Hip and Hop is more than music
Hip is the knowledge
Hop is the movement
Hip and Hop is intelligent movement
Or relevant movement…”

KRS-One & Marly Marl, Hip-Hop Lives (I Come back)

This was the craziest line…I swear I almost crashed my truck when I really heard what was being said.  You know how it is, you first hear songs for grooves & beats usually.  Its pretty much an unconscious thing that happens, I don’t really slow down enough to hear the words being spoken into my subconscious.  Most times it’s nonsense about drums, guns, funds, & chickies that rappers are hollering about over a dope beat; however, we allow ourselves to be victim to their negativity for the sake of a hot beat & a catchy chorus.  But man, I tell you…when you hear that line being spoken by a writer/lyricist/artist it’s like seeing your wife for the first time.  You think to yourself this is why I put up with all the hysterics…so I would know QUALITY when you see/hear it.  Can I get an AMEN up in here?!

Anyway check it out.  Remember folks…Intelligent Movement. 

Peace, RgularJoe

Bureaucracy…the gift that keeps on giving, Part II

Here is the “Quote of the Day” by another highly paid civil servant that seems to be in way over their head.

“After CNN reported on the giveaway, other Louisiana officials also asked that the supplies be redirected to the state, which originally passed on them. John Medica, director of Louisiana’s Federal Property Assistance Agency, told CNN he was unaware Katrina victims still needed the items because no agency had contacted his office.”

Excerpt from article, “FEMA gives hurricane supplies back to Louisiana”

How is it even possible that people like this still have a job? I mean for real…every RgularJoe out there knows that if we make mistakes like this on our job, its pink slip city. I would really like to know how many people have faced repercussions in response to their mis-handling of Katrina.

Maybe we should create a stock exchange for government agencies and require them to prove their worth to us before we invest our hard earned money in them. I mean it’s only fair, these agencies were created to serve the general public and yet there are no mechanisms in place for us to hold them accountable for the decisions they make. We get to vote for our Councilmen, Representatives, Senators, and Presidents, but the people that manage the everyday policies that govern our land are not held accountable to the people.

How would you all like to have a say over the people that run the Department of Education, United States Department of Agriculture, or even the Department of Homeland Security? I think it would go a long way in dictating to our elected officials what issues the public deems important and the size of the budget each agency should receive to accomplish their charge.

The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome.  In insanity we trust.

What’chu think?

RgularJoe