Miley Cyrus Inhaling From A Bong

I am always amazed how the public at large fall for publicity stunts by stars, even when said stunts are telegraphed miles away. We are so in awe with these vainglorious denizens that there is a collective willful blindness on our part and we do not hold these stars’ feet to the fire like how we would our common brothers and sisters. I have learned long ago to enjoy the respective crafts of our celebrities, but to ignore their musings, advice, or moreover, not to emulate their behavior. To that end, Miley Cyrus came into my crosshairs because I have spent a bundle on her products because of my daughter’s love for all things Hannah Montana, Miley’s stage name. Miley was recently caught inhaling from a bong, though, we were assured that the substance in question in the bong was not illegal. I am of the opinion Miley’s bong incident was staged... so to give Miley that coveted ‘street cred.’ In essence, the conspicuous bong incident was a calculated effort to distance Miley from the ‘bubble gum’ crowd.

This is not the first time Miley and her people have done this; we all remembered her x-rated lap-dance gyrations on a man who was in his forties. We were later told that the man who enjoyed Miley’s lap dance was flamingly gay, and supposedly, Miley’s grinding was of no consequence – incidentally, any day now, I am now expecting Justin Bieber to give Jane Lynch, of “Glee’s” fame, a lap dance too. My being the cynic knows that Miley desperately wants to move on to the adult stage, Ala Britney Spears; and so… the behavior we are seeing is predictable. If Miley’s latest behavior now being vetted by the public is too much for her base, there will be a hurried apology… with the attendant photo-op, and with Miley innocently adorned in probably powdered blue color dress, hugging Mini Mouse or some Disney character down in Florida -- I swear to you that this has actually happened before (do the research). If the outrage is muted, Miley’s behavior, on what she deems risqué, will continue so to gain ‘street cred,’ which she thinks will elevate her to the ranks of Britney Spears... hopefully without the drama.

This is how far these stars and their handlers will go to maintain fame, even though they are financially loaded. We see now where c-listed celebrities are willfully leaking their sex tapes... so to be back in the spot-light.  I am certain that there are former stars who are wishing with bated breath that some star of note would die… so that they can attend the funeral and be seen, or moreover be interviewed, hoping that it will give them back some ‘shine.’ Case in point, when the great Michael Jackson was being tried for pedophilia, how many of the celebrities you saw at his funeral (John Mayer, Brooke Shields, etc) were at his criminal trials?  All these examples of questionable behavior are no different from what Miley Cyrus is currently engaged in - they are merely gradations on what some of these celebrities would do to maintain, or be back in, the limelight….   

The 'Hypocrats' Are It Again

President Obama just reneged on one of his campaign promises – discarding the Bush tax cuts - which supposedly benefit the wealthy or more specifically… those who make over $250,000.00. Those who follow politics know that there are consequences to elections and the ‘shellacking’ in the recent mid-term elections suffered by the Democrats, as described by the President himself, was the reason for his compromise. Besides the apparent capitulation by the President is the constant refrain by some of the Democrats that the tax cuts will increase the coffers of the ‘rich,’ and moreover, add to the gargantuan deficit. I have no quarrel with the Dems over their position as ‘deficit hawks,’ but stop being ‘Hypocrats’ and pay the taxes that would have been paid… had the Bush taxes were revoked. Do we really need a law to force us to do what is right? In essence, do we need a change in the tax code to make the Democrats who are wealthy to pay the taxes that they are so adamantly against?

One would mistakenly think that only Republicans are wealthy… forgetting that John Kerry, Diane Feinstein, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi – all Democrats - are some of the wealthiest legislatures in our seat of government. I also know that many of the Democrats supporters are our Hollywood stars… who are wealthy and they too parrot the Dems in their outrage of taxes for the rich. For all those politicians, movie stars, or the regular folks who are against President Obama’s compromise on the Bush tax cuts… simply pay what you would have paid had the taxes been revoked. But alas, I know many of these politicians and stars do not have the courage of their convictions – years ago, when John Kerry ran for president, there was a box designated on the Massachusetts tax form… for him or anyone to check off said box to pay more taxes than were compelled… you guessed it, Senator Kerry ignored the box.

In that same vein, I recently saw a very good movie, “The Good Guys,” by Will Ferrell, but the only critique I have of that movie is the proselytizing at the end when the credits were rolling… against those who work on Wall Street about their greed, which may be true. But Mr. Ferrell makes some $20 million a movie, dutifully negotiated by his agent/lawyer… but does anyone thinks that he gave back any money for the many stinkers he has made before redeeming himself in “The Good Guys”… some of these movie stinkers that did not even made back the money it took to make them? Years ago, there was a report on which politician gave more to charity per capita, it was dick Cheney; this made sense because, supposedly, only Republicans are wealthy… Hypocrats!

The Social Networks: Twitter; Face-Book…

I must confess that I do not have a dog in this hunt… because I have said in past blogs that I am almost a Luddite vis-à-vis computers and their attendant outlets like the growing social networks. Perhaps, I am going to be biased in favor of as many communications outlets to be had because of my legal training… where much emphasis from the first day of law school is placed on the import of freedom of speech codified under our sacred First Amendment. In this vein of opining, permit me a little latitude because a couple weeks ago, one of the prominent preachers in the Tri-State area told his flock not to visit Face-Book and the like because it was the catalyst for many a hookup… resulting in separations, and moreover, divorces - there was quite a debate in the media if the preacher had a right to chastise his flock about the usage of the social networks.

I conveyed this story to show that that there are limits to everything… not that there should be any curtailment of the social networks’ use, but notwithstanding my bias… these networks make it convenient to do bad things. Yes, I know… it is up to the person as to how much he or she values fidelity towards marriage and that no social network compelled anyone to cheat. I supposed the preacher looked at the social networks like the concept in law, which is called an “attractive nuisance:” for example, it is akin to dangling candy in the presence of children to entice them to engage in bad behavior – of course, these adults in the preacher’s congregation are not children, but we can see the apt analogy.   

Anything in its absolutes is bad; you know the old adage, one cannot cry fire in a crowded theatre... notwithstanding the right to free speech. Case in point, we can laud Wikileaks under the rubric of ‘freedom of speech,’ but at the expense of outing Intelligence operatives… who are deep under cover protecting us? I will surmise that the typical user of the social networks do not think so deeply and think that they should have unfettered access to say and access the networks… without any limitations. But there must be ‘checks and balances,’ whereby, now one can go on any social network and spread disgusting rumors about anyone… with cyber space being the protective buffer for such cowards. No one can effectively police this kind of behavior unless one is raised with ‘decency,’ but we seldom see this decency restraint on the social network.    

The genie is out of the bottle and the social networks are in most part a good thing because they make our lives convenient. I know for certain that there are people with great minds working on updates to add or to replace the existing networks. The horse and buggy telephone land line did not cause infidelity, bullying, or the spreading of rumors… and to borrow a phrase from the Second Amendment lovers: guns don’t kill people… nor do the social networks in of themselves cause bad behavior. LOL!

The Travails of The TSA

At this present moment, one can honestly say that members of Al qaeda would get more love from the American people – at least those who are frequent fliers - than those who are employed by the Transportation Security Administration (hereinafter the TSA). We have seen all the stories and disturbing images of little boys and girls being groped for the benefit of securing air transport and maintaining the peace of the friendly skies. But these are the times we are living in and these drastic and intrusive methods are what are needed to combat an enemy that will keep attacking. When I first came to this country as a boy, I would ponder how drugs made their way inside our prisons; yet, I know that this was a reality. My father, the police officer, explained to me the disgusting ways, one of which includes hiding drugs in orifices to feed the addict’s addiction - I mentioned this to underscore the  parallels of the terrorists’ resolve to carry out their perverted cause.  

No one I know believes that there is some perverted thrill that those who engage in these searches receive – they are simply doing their jobs until we can come up with a better solution to thwart the terrorists. It is easy to lose our resolve and become complacent; but do not forget how far these murderers would go to harm innocents. It was just over a couple years ago when a terrorist mother was willing to take her newly born child on a flight… filling the baby bottle, not with formula, but a liquid to ignite and bring the plane down over the Atlantic Ocean – this is what we are up again. Something also tells me that the authorities must know… that we are not privy to and that is why so far, notwithstanding the outcries, that the TSA is maintaining its resolve in carrying out these intrusive searches.

Politics have also intervened in the fight against terror. Case in point, when the former President Bush was fighting terror… by having the phone calls going to and from terrorist enclaves monitored, the biased media were up in arms… invoking Constitutional privacy rights, but now they are loudly quiet – I wonder if it is because there is a Democratic President at the helm? That is the danger of politicizing the fight against terrorism… I supported President Bush then and I wholeheartedly support President Obama now in our tireless efforts to combat and destroy the terrorist network.

I have seen an elderly gentleman who peed his pants due to an invasive search; I have seen the breast cancer survivor who had to surrender her prosthesis momentarily; and I have seen the little girls/boys being subjected to searches – that if these searches were not under the color of law, that the ones doing the searches would be brought up on pedophilia charges – but again, these are the times we are living in. Of course, we could also adopt the Israeli method of screening would-be passengers, but this would mean we would have to overcome the malignant cancer of political correctness that directly resulted in the killing of thirteen soldiers down at Fort Hood.  

There Is A Case Sometimes For Pre-emptive War

No policy undertaken by the past Bush Administration has caused more angst among the various pundits and public alike than “Preemptive War.” This concept is maligned because it is looked upon as the catalyst that got the United States involved in the unpopular Iraq war, and moreover, because it is a policy championed by the so called Neo-Cons, part of President Bush’s cabal who are now out of favor in Washington.

Notwithstanding the advocates of pre-emption, there is merit sometimes in employing such a policy in our Geo-Policies, all in all to serve the greater and long time good. We all need not do have walked the hollowed halls of Ivy League academia to have expertise in geo-politics like Bismarck, Richelieu, Churchill, or Kissinger, to understand pre-emption. In our everyday lives, we practice pre-emption: we exercise to prevent obesity, which could lead to Heart problems and other ailments; we visit our doctors periodically to make sure that we are healthy; we take vitamins to help fight off maladies; and we save our monies for a so called rainy day - all this we do to pre-empt something bad happening in our future.

Countries are like human beings who practice pre-emption… only that they do so for the collective. With that said, there are many countries which are justified to employ the strategy of pre-emptive war. How many times have we heard the vitriol coming out of Iran on how it wants to bring about the utter destruction of Israel - should the Israelis wait until Iran developed Nuclear weapons and are nuked… before they protect themselves by carrying out a preemptive strike? During the morning of May 04 2009, General David Petraeus, thinking of the merits pre-emption, warned the Pakistani government that it has two weeks to confront the Taliban; the fear then was that the Taliban was going to soon have access to the fifty or so nuclear weapons because there were Taliban sympathizers in the Pakistani army - Again, should we have waited until this occurred?

What should India do if these weapons end up in the hands of the Taliban, knowing the bloody history of wars between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir? Tonight, before I go to bed, I too will engage in some pre-emption of my own by brushing my teeth - my goal is to prevent bad breath, tooth decay, and gingivitis… what of countries facing nuclear annihilation with enemies who think their rewards are in Paradise… rooted in  perverse eschatological ideals?

Poor, poor, Conan O'brien

   I deliberately chose not to blog about the late night hosts wars that were raging months ago because what would have been the fun in doing so when everyone was giving their take and taking sides. With tempers cooled, due mostly to the new news circles, I have the latitude to give my take, and perhaps, from a different perspective. What I saw and heard from the many voices… including one of the principals involved, was how Jay Leno was being selfish and that he reneged on his promise to walk away and turn over the hosting to the new guard, Conan O’brien. I even saw Conan bitching on the program “Sixty Minutes” about how he was dealt a raw deal; poor Conan had to walk away from NBC with some 40 million dollars for his troubles.

    No one mentioned that, here we had two white guys (and a third, Letterman, taking sides) arguing over literal millions and griping about how terrible the situation was. With all due respect to Conan, this is a business driven by ratings…and are you telling me that NBC, out of much love for Leno and hatred for Conan, chose the former, absent the cold calculus of ratings…and moreover, giving Conan 40 million to walk away? What is it that I am missing? Why throw Conan under the bus when he is much younger than Jay Leno, and supposedly, can draw the very demos that the advertisers are coveting. The logical truth must be that Jay Leno was tracking better ratings, even among the coveted demos than Conan… resulting in the unceremoniously ending of the Conan O’brien show.

    All three late night hosts are funny in their own way, but their vocations underscore the lack of diversity in that genre. It is always funny to hear these Hollywood denizens opined on the popular issues…save for, of course, equality in the lucrative real estate of entertainment. It is true that one cannot legislate matters of the people’s choice for entertainment, but the interest of “fairness” became an issue among the three white late night hosts… when it really had to do with business. I mean that is what they tell most of the minorities who are seeking work in Hollywood. We feel your pain but the audience is just not there to develop a show around you or that theme, etc. But a late night host can walk away with some forty million and the sky was falling for him-what a life….

    You may want to know why is it that I left George Lopez (a minority) out of the mix - I did so because his show is but a suckling… of course, the grating irony is that this same poor Conan O’brien is now the lead in show for Lopez’s. This is what it must be like to become accustomed to heaven - incidentally, does anyone know the whereabouts of Arsenio Hall? 

Verily Prime

The United States Military Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

There are those who are gay or those who are well read will tell you that great military strategists, including Alexander The Great, were gay. Whether those who are gay readily provide this information to validate their lifestyle is of no consequence on the protracted debate we are now having on whether gays should openly serve in the United States military. It may be laughable to prevent someone who is willing to pay the ultimate price from serving his or her country over their personal lifestyle choice, but that is the reality. Perhaps, it is prudent to hear from someone like myself who is a heterosexual and who have served in the military - my take on the issue might be akin to many who have served and are now serving… and this is maybe the reason for the drawn out debate on the Army’s policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’

When I served in the Army in Germany, I was assigned to the Mechanize Infantry and at least three times a year, we had to go to the German forest for two long months of training. We would sleep in pup tents, two men assigned to said tent… with seldom any room, but for the sleeping bags, lighting, and your M-16 weapon. Now, that I have set this up, imagine my pup tent buddy being openly gay… think of the ribbing, think of the angst, that I would have to endure... even though it may be borne out of ignorance, it is still will be there - this is the culture that is causing the protracted debate and reluctance to do away with the United States Military policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ 

Close to a decade ago, I recalled reading where the Navy implemented a new experimental rule of having females station on the submarines - I am told that over half of the women were soon pregnant, shortly thereafter. No, I am not saying that those who are not gay and are in the pup tent with someone who is gay will be tempted to switch sides, but the former will start thinking and mistaking gestures, etc, from the latter… and this will cause consternation in the ranks. Let me be honest, I have a daughter and when she is of age and if she decides to join the Armed Forces, I will not want her to be in an infantry setting… like how I was… sharing a pup tent with a man.  

Is this fair to our gay brothers and sisters who want to serve their country- No! But that is the reality of the situation… void of logic and probably runs afoul of our Constitutional principles. I have always found it ironic that it was a Democrat President (Clinton) who enacted what is to many Liberals… so an egregious a policy to personal liberty. My take on this issue might be moot for now… in light of the seismic changes brought about by the recent Mid-Term Elections, where both houses of the legislative power in Washington, D.C. may leave the U.S. military policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ as is.  

The Growing Clarion Cries Of Wolves

It is a well known story we are privy to – The Boy Who Cried Wolf - imparted to us… with the underlying lesson to be had that we must be certain when there is indeed danger. I have read snippets of Newsweek Magazine articles, which says we have overreacted to the tragedy of 911; I have recently seen and read articles in the New York Times, which have relegated those of us who opposed the Ground Zero mosque as being Islamaphobes, bigots, or intolerant – it has even been mentioned here on this site; if you oppose gay marriage, you are now a bigot; and if you speak out against President Obama due to your misgivings about some of his policies, even if you voted for him, or is a registered Democrat, you are now called a racist - though, in this latter case, this is done more subtly.

All these types of spurious cries of seeing wolves are becoming part and parcel of our discourse for those who speak in absolutes… maybe because it is becoming a lucrative cottage industry. Indeed, there are those who are Islamaphobes, bigots, and who are intolerant… who doesn’t want the mosque to be erected - but everyone? And if we oppose gay marriage, we are now bigots… when many of our traditional Christian tenets proscribed that behavior? Another aspect of this phenomenon is that Blacks only make up about 17% of the general population, which means that many whites, many of whom are Independents and Republicans, must have voted for President Obama – so if some of them are criticizing the President now are racists?  

Many of us who are crying wolf cannot see the trees for the forest. Let us take the recent mosque debates… many who opposed it do so is out of respect for those who lost loved one on that tragic day… and it may not be rationale, but there it is. It is no different than when I may want to use colorful language, but because I see my brother or sister with his or her children… I refrain from doing so. In essence, many of us have refused to engage in certain conversations or rights that are within our Constitutional right, but we fore go them because doing so would have offended some of our brothers and sisters.

Take for example: if I know that there are those who are trying their best to diet, and I knew about it, I wouldn’t bring out the juicy burger just to entice them… causing them to falter; If I am having an ecumenical get-together, I would not serve my Muslim brothers or sisters Polk nor would I even have it in close proximity… so not to offend them, even though I myself might be fond of swine. All these actions many of us might refrain from… though they are our Constitutional right to do so. The spurious and bogus cries of all these wolves are just what they are – the clarion tyranny of the minority.   

The Secular Messiah Is Crucified Due Mostly To His Arrogance

Some two years to go, we saw and witnessed the epochal history and the beauty about America… in that the loftiest of dreams can be had and are possible with the election to the Presidency of these United States, President Obama. Many of us, whether you support President Obama or not, were happy, if not fully embracing his political ideology… respecting the import of the historical moment of his ascendancy. Many of us though got carried away with Obama’s Presidency by comparing him literally to the Christ (Jesse Jackson Junior) due mostly to Obama’s empty eloquent rhetoric. I do not know when I started calling President Obama the ‘secular messiah,’ (see old the blogs from Verily Prime) and though I wished I had coined that phrase, it was an apt description of the man.

I recalled when President Obama won – in a fit of petulant arrogance… unbecoming of the office – Obama said to Eric Cantor that only he was preventing the proverbial villagers with their brooms/pitch folks from burning Cantor and the Republicans in a pyre. In addition, Rahm Emanuel told many Republicans that he would ‘take it easy’ on them during the Mid-term Elections – apparently, Rahm was looking through a flawed crystal ball owned by Miss Cleo. All these incidents earned the President Obama ‘the secular messiah’ mantle – and even yesterday, President Obama, with the Republican landslide House victory, was still ambivalent about the message that was sent to him.

Once again, President Obama can save his presidency from the comparison to that of the god-awful Carter Presidency, but he must emulate President Reagan and Clinton who salvaged their respective presidencies by abandoning the loons on the far, far left. President Obama must bear in mind that we no longer want to hear it was Bush’s faults, because said faults are why he was elected. There are those out there are saying that it is racism why President Obama’s policies are being rejected… forgetting that many Whites put him in office. Take a look in the mirror, President Obama… this is a lesson that should have been learned when Democrats lost Ted Kennedy’s seat… and hopefully now, it will sink in now. Long time ago, for me, President Obama’s speeches came off like partaking in Chinese food: eloquent, but empty; give us substance for the jobs promised to be manifested.  

Take heart President Obama, the real Messiah came into Jerusalem on the back of an ass and was greeted with palm trees and throngs shouting, “Hosanna in the highest…” and was crucified three days later before He took the keys to life and death and walked out the grave.

-Verily Prime

The Tobasco Sauce Stinging Irony Of The Black Male Athlete Divorcing His Trophy White Wife

I must confess that I strive and hope to continue to live a life that were charges to be brought, that said charges would convict me of being a ‘Traditional Christian’ – I say this to juxtapose what I am about to discus about Black male athletes marrying white women. As a Christian, love has no barriers nor should it, but we know that we seldom see female White athletes of any stripes marrying Black men. Those of us who watch race relations know that we should not make the mistake of equating President’s Obama ascent to the pinnacle of power to think that, mostly White America, has changed on its outlook when it comes to interracial relationships, especially those between the White women and Black men. Let’s be honest, I dare surmise that Erin would not have married Tiger Woods nor would there have been unions between most White wives, unless the Black husbands were wealthy citizens of note.

Can anyone honestly see Maria Sharapova, Danica Patrick, or any of the A-list White actresses of note being married to a Black man – don’t answer, the query was rhetorical. Now, as someone who has walked the halls of academia, I know that many such hook-ups, though on the ‘down-low,’ are rampant. But the truth is that there is still a Teflon taboo, especially among many of my White brothers and sisters, associated with such mixed unions… even though the taboo feelings are more tacit than in the past. I have not done a scientific study nor do I know of any, but I am going to hazard a guess that when White wives like Tiger Wood divorce these Black athletes, they subsequent relationships are with White men.

The irony is that, although Tiger Woods wife had ample cause to divorce him, some White man, more than likely, will be raising his children and spending that huge divorce settlement loot in the near future. To measure the barometer of race relation in this country, look to see if there are interracial relationships on the screen between A-list actresses and Black men – moreover, see if you will ever see a Black man doing to any big time White actress what Billy-Bob-Thornton did to Halle Berry in the movie, “Monster’s Ball.” I am barely fourscore, but I am certain that even were I to live to be a hundred, you will never see the White female athletes or any White women of note… dating or marrying Black men. In the mean time, you will see the opposite and if it is borne out of love, great.

You ever noticed that on the Bachelorette reality shows you have to look hard to find the token Black guy, if any, being among the competitors as a suitor for the White lady? To further capture and expound on my premise… can anyone who will read this blog ever imagine seeing Taylor Swift with a Black man being her lover in one of her videos – and mind you, this scenario will only be acting.

-Verily Prime

Allen Iverson – The Basketball David Who Slew Giants

Were you to ask me who is the greatest basketball player, ever, I would say, subjectively, it’s Allen Iverson, even though I know, objectively, stats-wise, it’s Michael Jordan. I chose Allen Iverson (hereinafter, AI) because night after night AI was like the Biblical David… slaying giants. Look at AI, he is tiny compare to the behemoths that play or played the game of basketball. I expect the like of Shaq, Duncan, LeBron… and Mello to put the ball in the basket with force; but look at AI size compare to most of his contemporaries, his stature is akin to that of a gnat, yet, for over a decade, he held his own… taking a pounding during his stay on the main stage. Like all artists, AI had his demons and they often accompanied him on the court and to the locker room. It was AI who gave us the memorable and often quoted, ‘practice!?’ 

AI had many detractors which is the reason, in my humble opinion, for him not getting the props that he so richly deserves. Such disrespect is evident in the fact that AI is currently lacing up his shoes for a Turkish team... and it is being reported that AI let teams know that he was available, but because of his baggage of not wanting to practice or his refusal to take a lesser role of not being the ‘star,’ no team considered him. There are  those who are going to say, oh, how the mighty has fallen, but it would not be warranted because AI basketball stats are stellar and conspicuous, which match up against the past and current giants of the game. I do not know what is propelling AI to play in Turkey – I hope that it is borne out of his love for the game… showing the teams that passed on his availability their folly.

It is said that no man is an island, but the Christ and even He had his twelve disciples. In that vein, AI never had a supporting cast, yet he reached the basketball promised land… only to be thwarted by Kobe… preventing AI from wearing the coveted scepter. I had hoped to see AI still playing on American soil, but if it is not to be... so be it. I say to AI, take heart, because if those of us who love B-ball are objective, we have the jaw-dropping memories of your defiance of gravity, your walking on air, and, your slaying of giants. Practice… not for one whom the game of basketball seemed to come to so naturally – farewell, AI!  

-Verily Prime       

The Ongoing Travesty That Is Celebrity Justice

Those of us who are minorities always say that the blindfolded lady (Themis) holding the scales displayed in front of the court-houses of justice does so because she cannot face us due to the disparity in sentencing in America for whites and minorities – but in this same vein, we should amend our thoughts by adding that there is nothing more perverse than the current justice doled out to the typical Hollywood celebrity, black or white, who runs afoul of the law. Wesley Snipes’ pending jail sentence for tax evasion is just that - pending; Lindsay Lohan’s received ninety days in jail, but because of the supposed over crowdedness, she served only two weeks; and recently, People.com reported that Charlie Sheen, instead of doing jail time for domestic violence against his wife, will, instead, do thirty days in rehab. This does not include his recent trashing of the New York hotel room… allegedly decorated with a hooker and cocaine.

How is it that the jails in and around Hollywood are always overcrowded for celebrities, but not for the common folks? We all remembered Paris Hilton’s “perp” walk and that of Lindsay Lohan’s – we commended the judges who adjudicated both cases, but the sentences were not carried out to their max because of the convenience of ‘over crowdedness’ of the jails. Where are the intrepid reporters to investigate this disparity and show how the celebrities are unfairly favored? For God’s sake, look at Mr. Sheen’s criminal record – the bloody definition of recidivism should be a picture of Mr. Sheen. As for Mr. Snipes, I recently saw him on TMZ - I thought that when your case goes to the Appellate Court and you lose… then you go to jail until you case is heard by the court of last resort, the Supreme Court?

The citizenry must have confidence in the judicial system; and although, we have reverence for our pop icons, there has to be a modicum of fairness and the appearance that justice is indeed blind. With the recent sentencing for the celebrities mentioned above, we are left to think that lady justice blind fold is transparent, at least for the vain-glorious citizens of Hollywood.

 

It Would Be Political Suicide For The Democratic Party If Hillary Runs In 2012

Perhaps, this is a wishful ploy by some Republicans, but there are rumors, reported by Monica Crawley last year in the Washington Times and repeated again on the O’reilley Factor, when she filled in for him, that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is contemplating running for President in 2012. The thinking is that, because President Obama is going through a tough time, as reflected by recent poling, that Mrs. Clinton will take advantage and challenge President Obama during the Democratic convention. It is an opened secret that Mrs. Clinton covets the Presidency, but who hasn’t, especially if that person would make epochal history by being the first female President?

If this is true about Mrs. Clinton’s challenge to President Obama in 2012, it would almost be right up there with Benedict Arnold’s betrayal. The clues that Crawley are looking at, which supposedly show Mrs. Clinton’s desire to run against President Obama are: that democratic operative James Carville has been bitterly critical of President Obama’s handling of the Gulf spill; the fact that President Clinton endorsed another candidate than the one endorsed by President Obama in Colorado; the various polling which shows that Mrs. Clinton has double digits leads over President Obama when asked who is better in running the country; Hispanics feeling betrayed by President Obama for not pressing for Immigration reform; and the fact the President Obama hasn’t closed Gitmo, pulled the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan – all important issues for the far left and the Progressives.

Something similar happened to the Republicans - for years, Blacks voted for Republicans because of President Lincoln’s indispensable contribution to the Emancipation Proclamation… that is until the Republicans threw their support behind the South with its Jim Crow laws in the twenties and thirties; at that juncture, Blacks started voting for FDR and it has been a constant since. This will change however - not that Blacks in droves will embrace the Republican Party - but they will stay home and abstain from voting. And even if Mrs. Clinton were to win, then henceforth, the Democratic Party will suffer, especially in House and Senate races. 

This will never happen because Mrs. Clinton is not suicidal about her political career – could you imagine if she is elected under these circumstances and watching the reaction of the Black Caucus in attendance during her State of the Union address? I don’t care what the poles say or how bad that President Obama is doing… Mrs. Clinton will be the loyal Democrat, especially since President Obama appointed her as Secretary of State – she too must remember that the late Ted Kennedy almost destroyed the Democratic Party, after he challenged a sitting Democratic President, Jimmy Carter.  

   http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5587904/hillary_clinton_for_president_2012.html?cat=9  http://www.politicususa.com/en/fox-news-hillary-2012

The Blackballing Of Mel Gibson Has Began

From the get go, I should convey that I am a fan of most of Mr. Gibson’s movies, but that does not mean that I give him license or excuse his behavior for his racist tirades. I write… believing in second chances and to show the hypocrisy of those actors in ‘The Hangover’ who refused to work with Mr. Gibson on the cameo he was scheduled for in the sequel. The self-righteous behavior of the cast was somehow missing when a convicted rapist, Mike Tyson, was made part of the first movie… no one, part of this sensitive cast, protested Mike Tyson’s being part of the original movie. Let me check the legal record, has Mr. Gibson being convicted of any crime - could it be that Mr. Gibson being white was obvious the one likely to be ‘blackballed’? …Ironically, this favoring of Tyson is one of the few times the black man in Hollywood has gotten a break.

This selective ‘picking on’ of Mel Gibson and not of Mr. Tyson is a classic Hollywood paternalistic move and the latitude given Tyson, though it seems to be endeavors to foster second chances, is really enforcement of stereotypes - you see in their twisted mind… blacks, like Tyson, who has a record, is worthy of a second chance… because having a “rap sheet” are normal for ‘them.’ It is why Halle Berry, in her Oscar win for her role in ‘Monsters Ball,’ had to endure such humiliation at the hands of Bill Bob Thornton… or why Denzel Washington had to play a murdering corrupt cop in ‘Training Day’ to finally win his Oscar. Mr. Gibson, on the other hand, deserves less because he is white and he should have no rap sheet. And look at the cast’s acting pedigree, that is passing judgment, compare to that of Mr. Gibson?

I will not spend much time to show the arbitrariness and selective moral outrage of the cast of ‘The Hangover 2’ or some in Hollywood as a whole. But note that some of these same actors/directors once convoked and signed a petition berating the United Government… accusing it on how wrong it was for trying to extradite the pedophile rapist director, Roman Polanski… these are the same vainglorious denizens who just gave Charlie Sheen, a two-year contract worth over $90 million, notwithstanding his country-mile-long rap sheet. Incidentally, unlike Mr. Gibson, Polanski was convicted.

I say to the cast of  ‘The Hangover 2’ stay morally perfect in that cesspool of what is Hollywood...  but I dare say that your work combined will never ad up to that of Mr. Gibson in box-office take, the coveted Oscar performances, or wins.

Can Someone Tell Me Whatever Happen To The NAACP?

There was a time when the NAACP was revered for diligently fighting for, among other things, voting rights for Black Americans… now, the NAACP is relegated to an organization stuck on the “crying wolf mantra.” I am not mistaken to think that racism is not still rampant, even though now it is more subtle, and ironically, more prevalent in the so called Liberal enclaves – but that is a discussion for another blog. When President Obama took office, I thought that the NAACP and our intrepid Civil Rights leaders would be out of business, but alas, they are still lugging around their torches to add fire to the racial embers. This is a NAACP which sits around and gives tacit approval, by way of its sonic boom silence, when black conservative women are mercilessly attacked because they are not walking lock-step with the ‘progressive’ thought at issue.

Long ago, in a previous blog, I predicted that when President Obama starts losing the coattails from the high of his presidency that many blacks would cry racism – this is illogical since the percentage of black voters are such that they cannot elect him without many whites voters. To that end too President Obama is implicated because he let this bogus belief that the reason why he is on his way to becoming the next Jimmy Carter is borne out of America’s antebellum racism – but I supposed that this is the nature of politics... to use an issue no matter how divisive just as long as said issue maintains power. No group like the NAACP uses racism, warranted or not, to maintains its relevance. The NACCP has become a rudderless ship… engaging in discourse and behavior, which probably have Martin Luther King doing cart wheels in his sanctified grave.

There is an event that shows how low the NAACP has become: when MLK wife died a couple years ago, then President Bush and wife, Laura, went down to Georgia to pay their respect. Many of these men of the NAACP - even President Carter - used their allotted time, which was given to eulogize Mrs. King, to engage in the single most display of incivility I have ever witnessed. President Bush sat there with his wife… and had it been me, I would have left. Mr. Andrew Young was the only one, if I remembered correctly, who chastised these men from the NAACP about their despicable behavior - imagine, the opposite happening by one of my white brothers at a similar August occasion?        

As a Blackman from the Caribbean, when I arrived on these shores as a teenage boy, I went through hell because I did not walk down the Primrose Path with my black brothers on certain issues; then, I might as well have tattooed myself with the “Uncle Tom” and “House Negro” epithets. This was the era when ‘Political Correctness’ was a sapling… a time when the NAACP, assisted  by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson,  planted, watered, and gave increase to this PC cancer… positing that the ‘truth’ is relative.  

Satire Covers A Multitude Of Vitriol… If You Are A Liberal

The O’reilly/Behar/Goldberg smack down from the past few days that took place on the “View” was evidence on how the Liberal pundits are in a full blown panic mode… not being able to handle the shellacking and beat down about to be had in the coming mid-term elections. This controversy also underscores how void Liberals are in taking criticism or having someone being anathema to the bile of political correctness. Those of us who enjoyed a good debate knew that the institutions that were once bastion of free speech are only free to the Liberal or progressive point of view – those who once yelled fascists are now the fascists… emoting from the halls of academia in New York, Boston , California, and a host of others.

The Liberal fascists have also manage to change the definition of speech… so if you are opposed to any progressive ideas, you are a bigot, and moreover, you better not make a mistake and address any liberal by way of a pejorative term - but when they do it… calling you all kinds of names, which are tantamount to unmitigated hateful vitriol, they chalk it up as ‘satire.’ Satire covers a multitude of hatred for Liberals and progressives; one only has to witness the daily hate-fest on MSNBC. This latitude is what people like Behar and Goldberg enjoy, unless you confront them like the O’reillys’ of this world.

It was on that same show, the View, when former host and ‘satirist,’ Rosie O’Donnell said that Traditional Christians were akin to Muslim Jihadists that had blown up the towers. I know then when Rosie said this, Elizabeth Hassellbeck did not walk off nor did Joy Behar. I venture to say that were Whoppi Goldberg apart of the cast, she would have sat there void of the animation and passion she displayed when she walked off during the Bill O’reilly smack down. No doubt Behar and the main host Walters thought that Rosie‘s comparison was spot on and appropriate, and even if it were not so, there was room for Rosie’s idiocy to fall under the tent of ‘satire.’      

Iran Uses Lebanon As A Gambit

A couple days ago, we saw the Iranian President, Ahmadenijad strutting on the border shared between Lebanon and the Jewish State of Israel and boasting about what he hopes will happen to Israel. This display and rapturous applause given and received by the Iranian Leader are testaments of the difficulties those in the region and the rest of the world face in this internecine conflict. This epochal visit and the tacit provocation by the representatives of the Mullahs basically sacrificed Lebanon as the gambit in this historical battle. Let us be fair, many Lebanese did not support this overt forced alliance and the rhetoric that were on display on their shared borders between Lebanon and Israel, but this put Lebanon once again in the cross hairs of the pending conflict between Hezbollah and the Jewish state… in essence making it a gambit. The situation in Lebanon is akin to the mob or drug dealers who run the proverbial neighborhood and harm the collective – of course, eventually, the collective will have to ban together and stand up to the miscreants who have usurped its authority or suffer the consequences….

The last time there was a war between Hezbollah and Israel, Lebanon was bombarded because the rockets and gunfire were emanating from the Lebanese territory. As is the wont, many Lebanese and the world blamed Israel for responding in kind… saying that Israel’s response was disproportionate. Some even intimated that Israel had no right to even respond to the repetitive bombing, incidentally, which were tallying up massive casualties of Israeli civilians. Now what would you, as an individual do if I (Hezbollah) kept attacking your family (Israel)… causing lethal harm to said family, then I (Hezbollah) taking refuge in a supposed neutral neighbor’s home (here Lebanon). Are you telling me, you would not retaliate with like force, notwithstanding that those willingly or unwillingly providing shelter to your attacker were taking casualties?

Think of the military precedent this would set if Israel did not defend itself when it is being attacked and its enemies take refuge in a supposed neutral neighbor’s home – are we to believe that said enemy (Hezbollah) would cease attacking Israel? There are also practical reasons for the rest of the world to sue for peace in the region; no one wants war because of the potential spread… an all out war between Sunnis and Shiites would cause. This would affect the world’s economy… whereby the oil supplies, which normally traverse the relative peace of the Strait of Hormuz… would cause the oil tankers to make the more difficult trek around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Think of the long gas lines and the havoc a wide spread war would cause and the inflated cost of every day items, which are borne out of oil energy? Yet, I, personally sadly see war on the horizon because of the resolve of the combatants… my coming to the sobering conclusion and knowing that no less than a Carthaginian Peace is the solution.     

Many United States Prisoners Wished That They Were Incarcerated At Guantanamo (Gitmo)

If one were to read about the treatment of alleged terrorists housed at Guantanamo, you would think that this is the Shangri-La of prisons - notwithstanding the clarion calls for Gitmo to be closed because, mostly, of the specious claims made by some Human Rights activists… who see Gitmo as being the template for 'human rights' abuses. The problem is that there are Federal prisoners who sincerely wished that they were housed at Gitmo because of its four-star treatment of the foreign prisoners being housed at Guantanamo. Case in point, in Pennsylvania, the prisoners rations are being substantially curtailed and even necessities like medication are being rationed to the detriment of some prisoners who need these life-saving medicines... like Insulin to survive.   

There are no United Nations advocates speaking out on behalf of these United States prisoners, who, incidentally have committed no violent crimes, but, yet are being treated like third-world citizens. The American media will not be championing these prisoners’ human rights nor will they be waxing poetic about the egregious breeches of the prisoners’ Eight Amendment’s rights, apparently authorized by the authorities who govern the Federal prison in Pennsylvania. This lack of coverage by our usually intrepid media is typical because the plight of the Federal prisoners in Pennsylvania is not a “sexy story.” The media’s salivation in covering this type of story is apparent only when it is coupled with “bashing” America… authoring lauded prose for would-be-terrorists whose beliefs and actions are to maim and kill innocents with extreme prejudice.

Now you know why when some of these alleged terrorists and Gitmo detainees when they are told that they are scheduled to go back to their native countries, they protest vociferously. Many of these foreign jihadists had never been given the amenities, much of which are luxuries compared to what the prisoners in the Federal Pennsylvania Penal system are afforded. We can be certain that the rations are not curtailed at Gitmo nor are there necessary medications being rationed to these terrorists who would, if they had the chance, do our country grave harm. Such is the nature of how twisted we have become in these United States, and I too would be taciturn and indolent had I not been made aware by someone I know ‘serving time’ in what is becoming the Gulag of the Federal prison in Pennsylvania - what irony for the state known for its “brotherly love.”   

The Coming Struggle Between Traditional Christian Beliefs And Those Who Believe In Same Sex Marriage

The belief in traditional marriage is what is currently dogging Paladino, the Republican nominee for the governor for the State of New York. There was a time when it was implied that if you are against same sex marriage, borne out of your traditional Christian beliefs…, that you were deemed a bigot - now, those same sentiments are not even implied anymore… they are expressly posited. Traditional Christians are now lumped in with those who are bullying gays and carrying out despicable beatings, some of which have resulted in death. We are told in not to subtle language that simple preaching out against the gay life style is tantamount to hate speech, but the same Bible that proscribed homosexuality is the same Bible that has proscriptions against Fornication, Adultery, lying, murder too.…

We are left to think that if a preacher admonishes his congregation about abstaining from all the proscribed behaviors… that those of us who have engaged in said behaviors are victims of hate speech too. This is where we are heading and the implication is that we, as Traditional Christians, must choose what we want to believe from the Bible – we simply cannot do that… for then we might as well not believe in the physical resurrection of the Christ, which is the fulcrum of our Faith. All that the Bible says are wrong, though you may not adhere to such interpretations, are so, no matter what the world has to say contrary wise. We cannot say that I will believe this and not that – though many of us do just that- but those who are traditional Christians accept all of the Bible’s proscriptions, although we fall short. Falling short does not mean that what we do is ok because we like it… when the Bible says otherwise. When Mary Magdalene was about to be stoned for engaging in Adultery and Jesus interceded… didn’t He tell Mary… “Go and sin no more?” As a traditional Christian, it is none of my business what you do in the privacy of your lives, but do not force me to abandon the tenets of my faith

Now, are there Christians who have engaged in the gay lifestyle – of course, but we cannot go against the word of God, which says that such behavior is sinful. There is no way can a traditional Christian condone the gay lifestyle, be it personal or from others, because we are told that it is wrong and that we cannot enter heaven if we do not ask for forgiveness for many of our actions that the Bible deems sinful, including the much in vogue homosexual lifestyle. And I know there are some Christians who believe that the gay life style is ok, but any reading and the interpretation that say the Biblical God/Jesus condones the gay lifestyle is a perversion. Did engaging in these proscribed behaviors felt good to the senses – yes they did, but I supposed such were the feeling Mary Magdalene felt when she slept with those married men. Notice that only the traditional Christians beliefs are singled out on the gay issue…even though Muslims hold the same beliefs.

TACIT APPROVAL FOR KILLING JEWS AND AMERICANS

The usual attention was paid to Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, as usual, when he visits the United Nations – everyone was yearning and wanted to know what insane, controversial nuggets would come from his mouth this time. The Iranian leader did not disappoint… opening his prepared statements by paying homage to the Mahdi, who he wished would earnestly come…, which would signify the end of the age and fulfilling some Muslims’ version of eschatology. The problem with Ahmadinejad’s version of  the Mahdi is that he is believe to come to exterminate Christians, Jews, and all other apostates. But who am I to judge because I too believe in traditional Christianity and there are many who have issues with the book of Revelation and our end of days scenario, but I am certain that we do not believe in starting wars to usher in the second coming of the Christ like how Ahmadinejad does for his interpretation of eschatology.

The problem with the speech in the presence of close to 200 member nations is the fact only thirty three or so representatives walked out in the middle of the Iranian leader’s diatribe… therefore giving tacit approval for the killing of Jews and Americans. I have seen this phenomenon before when Rosie O’Donnell, when she was part of “The View,” said that traditional Christians are just as bad as the radical Muslims who carry out lethal “jihad.” There was a problem with Rosie’s positing this spurious comparison, but the bigger problem that was more egregious was the fact that most of “The View’s” audience applauded when Rosie made the bogus comparison. The same moral indolence could be said about these respective countries representatives that sat there and listened to the threats by the Iranian leader… they were akin to Rosie's audience.

The irony is that most of these countries giving tacit approval to Ahmadinejad wishful end of the age genocide fantasy probably in the past benefited from America’s generous largess and will come begging again in the near future holding out their ungrateful hands for American aid.