Rush Limbaugh, racism and why this shouldn't be tolerated.

Rush Limbaugh proclaims that Colin Powell selection of Barack Obama for President of the United States is totally about race.  His comments were made loud and clear on his radio program and is nothing but an insult directed at General Colin Powell.

 

General Powell served as a soldier for 35 years. He was the National Security Advisor under President Reagan. He was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H. W. Bush and President Bill Clinton. Powell was also the United States Secretary of State for President George W. Bush. I don’t think there is anyone who can accuse General Powell of lacking experience or intelligence. He is a man that has dedicated his life to serving his country and this attack by Rush Limbaugh is nothing but blind stupidity and racism.

 

He told the media that he was not going to make a decision till all the facts were in and that his decision was a confident one.  Powell’s action in educating himself about the candidates is a road map we should all follow.  When we vote, educating yourself about the names on the ballot can never be taken for granted. Colin Powell is a member of the Republican Party and for months has declined to endorse a candidate for president, at least until last Sunday when you decided to vote for Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

 

Unfortunately, Rush Limbaugh took it upon himself to slight General Powell and suggest that his decision was based entirely on race. Powell, a highly decorated individual, well educated and respected by many, Republican and Democrat alike, spoke of Sen. Barack Obama’s ability to create change, move the country in a direction he feels appropriate and rescue America’s struggling economy. General Powell also spoke of his lack of confidence in Governor Palin and his concern over the negativity brought by the McCain campaign. In the end, Colin Powell spoke eloquently about his endorsement for Sen. Obama.

 

I don’t know Rush Limbaugh personally but it is hard to see this as anything but stupid and racist. I could say that Limbaugh only supports McCain because he is white or because he is Republican. I like to give General Powell a little more credit. He has publicly stated that he would not support any candidate blindly due to race or political party. I have no doubt that General Powell wants the best for America and he is voting for Sen. Obama because of a belief that Sen. Obama is better fit to lead.  I have a hard time thinking that Limbaugh has the country’s best interest in mind with these attacks. If anything Limbaugh might be more concerned with his ratings and his lack of relevance than the welfare of America. To be fair, Limbaugh is not the only making these comments because Pat Buchanan also questioned General Powell decision as one made entirely based on race.

 

I don’t think General Powell is voting for Sen. Obama because he is black. I don’t think General Powell is not voting for Sen. McCain because he is white. I do think that General Powell is an intelligent person able of thinking independently and profoundly. To accuse anyone, especially a person as decorated and honored as General Powell of voting for any candidate based on race, sex or age is ignorant.

 

 

“Our great strength is in our unity and our diversity”

                                                            - Gen. Colin Powell 

Vote Early!

did you know you can vote early?

in 34 states across this magnificent country you can VOTE before Nov. 4.

what?

you can vote early!

oh yes and I encourage it in every way. Vote early because who knows Nov. 4 is not the only day you can express yourself. Vote early because the lines are shorter. Vote early because you believe in your vote. Vote early because Nov. 4 is a busy day on your calender. Vote early because voting is important.

Just Vote. educate yourself, choose a candidate and vote! I do care who but I am not going to tell who or how to vote. Vote! plus you get a sticker and the great sensation of democracy at work.

VOTE!

chocolate news! David Allen Grier is not Dave Chapelle ! part 1

southpark.

lil' bush. 

the daily show

colbert report 

some other show.... that is not the Chapelle Show. 

I don't know about you but I miss the Chapelle Show and I feel that Chocolate News starring David Allen Grier is nothing more than an attempt to capture the African American audience and the fill the void left by Dave Chapelle. 

to be continued....

Rude?

Don’t be rude. Where have manners gone in this country? I try and do my best to hold open doors for anyone. I don’t care if you are young, old, female, male, white, black, Latin, Asian, handicapped, or able bodied. I think it is a perfectly appropriate thing to do for someone. You do not have to walk through the door I hold open. You do not have to hold the door open for me but if I do hold the door open for you then don’t be rude.

 

As of recently, I held the door open for an elderly couple and a gentleman, the gentleman at the end of the line decided not to walk through my door but refused to acknowledge my effort with a simple, “no thanks” or even a head nod. He had to open the door next to ours without my assistance. It was nice of the elderly couple to thank me and label me as, “a nice young man.” Apparently real men hold open their own doors. A few days after that I held the door open for an entire family while my hands were full of Chipotle bags. I removed myself from their path and held open the door. It was not until the fourth family member had passed that I had received any acknowledgment. Is all of this my fault? Maybe, I shouldn't be complaining. 

 

In the end this is not about me but about how removed we seem to be from common decency. We talk during movies in the theaters and we cut people off on the highway without warning or a wave as an apology. We talk on cell phones at the check out counter and we don’t wash our hands when we are done in the washroom. We forget to give thanks. We don't introduce ourselves with proper greeting and we use foul language in front of children. If we as a society fail at such simple opportunities to be polite then imagine how we fair on a larger scale.  It seems manners have gone out the window and that is very sad. I have nothing against being casual but being casual should not be without being decent.  What does it say about you, me or anyone that we forget our manners and think about ourselves over others? Being polite is not hard and it should not a strain on your daily life. I dislike this movement and I hope civility and common decency will rise again. 

 

Think about it. 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT! and why you need to pay them

I am stating this with the full knowledge that I know very little about taxes. I am not an economics professor. I am not a tax accountant. I am not a government official. I am not well read on tax reform or tax policies. I do know that…

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

Yes, if you are an American, you pay taxes. If you don’t pay taxes than you are committing a federal crime and then you are still an American but you are also a criminal. You pay taxes because who else is going to pay for government work programs, public schools, police officers and fire fighters? How else is the government going to generate any revenue to preserve national parks or build an army to maintain a secure and safe nation? Don’t you see that paying taxes is important? If you want a cop protecting your street, or a teacher teaching your child math or science, or a road not filled with potholes then you need to pay taxes.

 

I don’t know about you but last time I checked, fire fighters, police officers, teachers and plenty of other government workers with valuable roles for the daily lives of millions of Americans don’t make a lot of money. No they don’t and when you think about cutting taxes try and think about what area(s) of government funding are being cut… is it environmental conservation? Is it education? Is it homeland security? Social Security? Welfare? Medicare? Or what?

 

If you are a free market junkie then I might be able to understand your desire to let the market dictate everything in this world but I cannot let the market dictate my education or my safety. If the market were to dictate the environment then the whole state of Florida would be a giant shopping mall with miles and miles of pastel housing with a crocodile in every swimming pool. Screw the Everglades! Yellowstone would be the next place to host a hip film festival or another place for health spa after health spa after health spa. If you believe that this war, the war on terror needs to continue but you also believe that your taxes need to be cut then I suggest you decide which is more important; a government in debt or a war (that may never be won.)

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

Yes, I am going to repeat this again and again and again. If you don’t want to pay taxes then maybe you should go somewhere else, oh wait, every country collects some form of taxes, at least any functional country.  If you don’t like taxes, don’t pay them or suffer the consequences. If you don’t like how your taxes are being spent then vote. Yes, VOTE!

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

I cannot deny that this is a very complicated issue. Who pays what, how much and for what generates a great amount of debate? Is it fair for someone who makes very little to pay a higher percentage of their income compared to someone in a higher tax bracket. Ask billionaire Warren Buffet what he thinks and you might find out that he agrees with me or is it that I agree with him? I think (it is) that I agree with him, after all he believes that is unfair that he pays 17.7 percent of his income to the government while his secretary who makes a considerable amount less (billions less) pays taxes on 30 percent of her income. How does that work?

 

If you are talented, successful, gifted and/or lucky then don’t you deserve your swerve and swagger? Of course you do. I just don’t see why you might need six, fourteen or more cars. I just don’t see why you need an island off the coast of Jamaica. I just don’t know why you need a piece of jewelry that equals the cost of a teacher’s salary and it isn’t that you just have one piece but enough to fuel a war in a third world country. By the way, I love the wealthy with all these luxuries as they try to speak to the majority as if they are common folk facing the same problems as those struggling for work, health care or survival. 

 

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

Is Warren Buffet the answer? Probably not. Oh, he has the answers? No, probably not. But Warrant Buffet does raise a valuable issue about the tax system in this country.  Unfortunately when we talk about taxes the discussion only includes the payer and payment. It seems that everybody wants to pay less but before that happens maybe we should all pay an equal share.

 

The government might be a huge mess and trusting them with billions of dollars in tax money might seem dangerous and naïve but that is why we have elections. Participation in government is key to maintaining a healthy and honest governing body. Be informed, vote, petition, whatever it takes to let your voice be heard. Cutting taxes is not the only answer even though it might be for some but TAXES are important. Paying taxes is important. The country has enough problems even when a lack of funding isn’t the problem. Inner city schools are failing. Healthcare is failing. Social security is failing.

 

But what do I know? Is paying taxes going to solve all our problems? I don’t know. Money is only money if not used wisely, but nothing can be done if there is no money to solve the problem. All I can say is this...

Vote!

and

TAXES ARE IMPORTANT!

 

 

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

Let me start out this way... for the last decade I have been a Red Sox fan. I am not from Boston nor am I from New York. I embraced the rivalry like a family member or an additional appendage. I love my Boston Red Sox and I hate the New York Yankees but my hatred for that particular ball team does not reflect how I feel about the Stadium that has hosted the "evil empire" for the past 85 years. If anything the loss of Yankee Stadium is almost another reason to dislike the Yankees.

As a Boston Red Sox fan I hate, yes, Hate to see Yankee Stadium Go.

Yankee Stadium started it all. It redefined the ball park in every single way. From the design to the capacity and even the name. When the stadium was built in the early 20's many baseball teams played their home games in a ball park or a field, like Fenway Park or Wriggley Field. Yankee Stadium was the first to be recognized as a stadium. While parks and fields traditionally held 30,000 plus fans, Yankee Stadium was built with a capacity doubling any competing ball park. It was the first three-tiered sports facility in the country and one of the first to incorporate an electronic scoreboard.

Yankee Stadium was the first of it's kind. The United States may have little to claim when it comes to ingenuity and greatness in the field of architecture but for some Yankee Stadium might create as much awe and allure as the Roman Coliseum.

Yankee Stadium is the home to quite possibly the greatest sports franchise in the modern era. If you measure greatness by success and in America, most people often do then the Yankees are the cream of the crop. The Yankees have have won 37 of their 39 American league pennants in Yankee Stadium. They have hosted the World Series 37 times and at 26 have more titles than any other team, both numbers more than double their closest competition in Major League Baseball. Over thirty hall of fame baseball players have called Yankee Stadium their home and the pin-stripes their uniform. Some of the greatest if not the greatest ball players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle have worn the Yankee pin-stripes.

Outside of baseball, Yankee Stadium has been a host to boxing matches, soccer, professional and college football games, religious ceremonies and concerts.

the famous, "win one for the Gipper" speech was given in Yankee Stadium in 1928 during half time of the Army-Notre Dame football game. The "Greatest Game Ever Played" between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts was held in Yankee Stadium. A game in which the Colts took home the championship and Johnny Unitas cemented his legacy and helped reinvent the quarterback position. During the 70's Yankee Stadium was home to the New York Cosmos which suited soccer's most memorable name and figure, Pele. Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali have all fought inside the boxing ring in the center of Yankee Stadium. When the Brown Bomber Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling in 1938 more than boxing and championships were at battle but ideologies and social politics were at odds.

Three popes have held mass in Yankee Stadium. After his release from prison Nelson Mandela held a rally for New Yorkers, Americans and those in need of inspiration to overcome great odds. Musical acts ranging from the Isley Brothers to U2, Paul Simon to Pink Floyd have performed in the house that Ruth Built.

What happens next? Yankee Stadium will eventually be no more. The Yankees next year will have a new home, right next door to their existing one but it is impossible to suggest that any future stadium can replace or even compare to Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium was not made famous by Babe Ruth or by the Yankees. It was not made famous by Bono or Roger Waters. It was not made famous by Knute Rockne or Joe Louis. Yankee Stadium was made famous by the American People. Yankee Stadium holds a legacy like few people, few places and few things in United States of America. Baseball, America's past time has no greater venue than Yankee Stadium and we are at loss by its closing.

Nothing great lasts anymore and with the closing and eventual destruction of Yankee Stadium I worry that along with its legacy so goes the history held within its field, stands and concrete walls. The United States of America does not have castles or very many ancient ruins to celebrate. With a history less than 3 centuries old the U.S.A. has few buildings that capture the memories and imagination like Yankee Stadium. What does it say about our society today that we unlike many societies before us choose to tear down our history for something new, flashier, possibly better and more economically sound? I hate to see Yankee Stadium go. I hate that I will never be able to take my children or grandchildren to a game. Maybe I am simply selfish but when a huge part of American history is destroyed I think we should be upset and should contemplate how we are all missing out by Yankee Stadium's destruction. I suppose the only thing to hope for is that the next Stadium that houses the Yankees or whatever team or sport played within its boundaries can create such a legacy as notable as the one existing in Yankee Stadium.

oh MTV... what happened?

So… apparently the MTV VMA awards were a week or so ago. I didn’t watch them, did you? I don’t care if you did but for some reason several of my friends have asked me if I had viewed the so-called award show wondering what my take was. With this in mind I still refuse to watch the VMA’s because it is an insult to my intelligence and a waste of my time. I’d much rather watch reruns of the Dog Whisperer or Iron Chef America. There is a great deal of things I would rather watch than the VMA’s like paint dry, babies crying, another (not funny) Dane Cook comedy special or C-Span.

By the by, doesn’t a video award show on MTV kind of seem like a joke? The only times I have seen videos on MTV is when flipping thru channels and catching a video on MTV classic or MTV rock or MTV hip hop. Videos are no longer part of the programming except for the occasion ninety second clip on the hopelessly annoying TRL. MTV should no longer be associated with music television but be renamed media television or teenagers and young adults desperate for fame television.

If this blog seems at all bitter it is because MTV at one point was the trend setter. It was the mode, the beacon, the signifier, the bar for what was cool when I was growing up. When I was a little boy till about my teenage years I wanted to be on MTV because you met cool artists, went to awesome concerts, needed little talent to be a VJ and partied like a rock star. Back in the early 90’s it was a channel not obsessed with reality TV but created cutting edge shows and annimation. It revolutionized music as well as spring break, the x-games, fashion and even politics. It might be wrong of me to insist that MTV could have held onto its influence forever because nothing ever really does but I do believe that MTV could at least be relevant. It was once the voice of a generation and now is nothing more than a sad state of affairs with dating games for teenage rejects, dating games for celebrity losers, kiss ass commentary and the promotion of bland musical acts.

But maybe this is not the cable giant’s fault. Maybe bad television or reality television and a lack of music videos is now the voice of this generation. Why play music video’s when there is YouTube or why create television when you can exploit the youth of America for bad reality programming? Let’s face it, MTV has not been influential in quite some time but has been influenced by Girls Gone Wild. If children are the future and if the children are watching MTV then I sincerely weep for the future. We are not teaching the children well if we have them sitting down to watch MTV.

Am I being a bit dramatic here, quite possibly but understand this MTV became popular during a very critical time in many people’s lives. The dream of the 80’s was dying and for some it was never really a dream at all. The 90’s were upon us with Generation X not only looking for jobs or definition but a place in history as well. I cannot compare which was a worse time in history for some Americans, then or now but now is certainly a time when the youth of America truly needs a voice and a podium to which that voice can be heard. War, poverty, natural disaster, struggling economy, healthcare and education are just some of the topics concerning this great nation and MTV may do a great service by allowing us to forget our worries and have a good time but at the same time provides a tremendous disservice by failing at relevance for the youth of this nation. I am sure Rob and Big, or Pimp My Ride, or the Real World (which has not or ever been very real) are super fun but is this entertainment representative of the world we live in? A world where the youth of America only cares about fashion, supped up cars, skateboards and ridiculous stunts for a simple laugh? I hope not.

Maybe I believe too strongly in the power of music. That music can be the voice of the people, educate and promote ideas not widely expressed by other forms of media. Music can be a powerful thing and at this moment, well for the past decade or so, music has lost one of its greatest outlets and that is MTV. If the music industry wants to save itself maybe it shouldn’t blame the internet or teenagers for illegally downloading music but should blame MTV for failing to promote musical acts.

Now I could care less about the VMA’s. I don’t care if Britney Spears makes a comeback of if she has lost some weight. I don’t care if some video which is never played on MTV wins 7 awards that have no value other than self promotion. And I am not stupid enough to think that if you do watch MTV or the VMA’s that you are shallow or could care less about things that really matter. It is not one way or the other. You are not an idiot if you watch MTV and you are not a better person if you ignore it, even though I like to think that I am a better person by not watching. Entertainment is key to a thriving metropolis. Entertainment is vastly important but maybe entertainment should do more than just put a smile on our face, a shake in our rump and fever in our hearts but also put a spark in our brain. MTV at one point provoked discussion even if it was simply about music and discussion leads to debate and that provokes thought and intellect.

In the end, MTV was once pretty awesome but unfortunately is now nothing more than a constant string of product placement and celebrities lacking personality. MTV was on the cutting edge because it informed the youth of America about important topics like safe sex, ethnic, sexual and religious acceptance/tolerance, and the importance of knowing the world around you. Hard to believe, maybe especially since the channel has fallen off in the past few years but MTV was smart enough to recognize their teenage audience and not only provide them an outlet but a place in which information, encouragement and relief could be found. That MTV no longer exists and that is sad and unfortunate. I think in the end I just want the return of the music videos. If video killed the radio star then who above video killed the video star. Maybe it was our lack of attention span in this media food chain that killed the video star? I don’t know, just speculating but if you haven't guessed I sure do miss the old days of MTV.