August 2007 Archives

NPR's Morning Edition reported this morning that psuedo-candidate for president Fred Thompson will announce his candidacy officially with a multi-day media event. Reports had it that Thompson's shadow run at the presidency didn't raise as much money as he'd hoped, so to be better financed, and to avoid charges of running in secret -- out in the open -- he's going to declare officially.

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) decided today to follow the recommendation of the Texas State Board of Pardons and Paroles in commuting the sentence of death row inmate Kenneth Foster. Foster, now 30, was convicted of capital murder after the 1996 murder of Michael LaHood. Foster will now serve a life sentence.

Words of Wisdom from one of my office mates... Check'em out.

I recently viewed an interesting little ditty on YouTube. After viewing the piece, I was left wondering: was it exploitation of the hip-hop culture, minstrelsy and lampooning urban life, or was this video an attempt by the author to push some valuable messages using a medium that is accessible to the masses? Or is it all of the above?

What is it with the conservative wing of the GOP these days with sex scandals? Most recently, there was David Vitter, and Mark Foley before him. Now, will Larry Craig join the list of allegedly closeted GOP politicians to meet public disgrace?

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its 2007 report today. The yearly report chronicles worldwide efforts at eliminating organized crime, human trafficking, and reducing the threats to at-risk states attempting to ward off becoming failed states because of crime.

Published reports state that U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is set to resign.Gonzales' decision was first reported by the New York Times on its Web site.The Bush administration's legal lapdog is set to cash in his chips, officially, later today. According to the New York Times, he made clear his intentions to step down on Friday.

Before I get flamed (or lose readers), let me be clear in saying in am not endorsing Mike Huckabee for President of the United States. The thing is that we -- the urban, and people of color -- need to be savvy and knowledgeable about the political scene, about the less-visible, but viable options for their vote. I'm not doing the politically unthinkable, abandoning my liberal/libertarian roots. I am being introspective and open in examining the future choices we'll have to make as a nation.

If you haven't already seen this footage from HBO's new reality series Hard Knocks, you need to check this out. Click the post tile or the "continue reading..." link for the full story. The video I link to features Bernard Pollard (aka "Bonecrusher"), safety for the Kansas City Chiefs, doing what I can only characterize as the booty hop. I can't directly link to the video, but here's a link to the video.

Again in 2007, the country is transfixed on another battle between man and Mother Nature, where Mama is schooling us...again. After nearly a week of nearly incessant rain, widespread flooding and damage has visited the Midwest of the United States, driving people from their homes, and taking lives. Where is the Cavalry?

While history obviously indicates that Republicans played a role -- sometimes pivotal -- in the freedom of peoples of African descent, one should not be so wedded to the past that present misdeeds go without evaluation. It's kind of like the political equivalent of being a Christian and only regarding the Old Testament as The Word, while completely ignoring the New Testament and its impact on faith. You just shouldn't do it.

I am pondering the race-based politics of Republicans and Democrats over the last 100 years, in response to a quote I read on another blog. While it's true that historical advances were made under Republican administrations, it is revisionist and disingenuous to suggest that there was anything altruistic about their actions. And in light of current and recent-past policy, it's hard to imagine Republicans being more friendly of those of color than... well, than anyone else.

When will these dudes get it? When?! What will it take to make professional athletes realize that the big 10-inch-high numbers on the backs of their jerseys are not to identify them to the fans, but to serve as targets for prosecutors building their careers? Apparently, that lesson will come too late for young Michael Vick, (former) starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, who today, agreed to plead guilty to Federal charges related to his ongoing involvement with dogfighting in his native Virginia.

I was driving in Jersey City, New Jersey earlier today, and I spied this placard, which was mounted to the rear of a public transit bus. The text on this placard read "Maybe it's not acting out...Maybe it's a neurological disorder...Maybe it's TS." It appears to me that before we we reach for biological reasons for acting-out we need to focus on more mundane reasons for some of the ills that afflict our young. I am not so convinced that little Johnny's outburst is his Tourette's ...it might just be the hectic, toxic environment he lives in at home.

It's widely acknowledged by military experts that the United States Army is either "broken" or (slightly more optimistically) "near broken" but functional after nearly 6 1/2 years of continuous conflict in Afghanistan and another 4 years in Iraq. So, the Cowboy President, having wasted manpower, treasury and goodwill now needs to consider -- or leave for his successor -- the option of conscription in order to continue this folly in Iraq.

Only in America, specifically New York City, can one find hundreds of thousands of non-citizens celebrating our Constitutional freedoms of self-expression, while simultaneously breaking the laws they so desperately want to live under.

Coming back from grabbing lunch, I was standing in the lobby of my building waiting for the elevator, and I overheard the beginning of a very stupid conversation.

In Texas authorities there are preparing to execute their 400th person since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States, a man that everyone agrees is not a killer. He might be many things - not being very bright, chief among them - and surely he is guilty of some crime, but murder is not one of them. The case of Kenneth Foster, Jr. is perhaps the most disturbing instance of misconduct by a state judiciary in recent memory.

Universal Music Group, the world's largest recording company has announced that they are going to release music free of DRM - that's Digital Rights Management - to be sold online by Rhapsody, Best Buy, and others. Well, it's about time! They're a bit late to the party, as one of their competitors EMI has been distributing DRM-free music via iTunes for a few months now, to glorious effect.

R. Kelly should be disowned by All Black People in America. The child-molesting minstrel of the South Side has, according to the Boston Herald, has introduced 22 more episodes of his completely unflattering portrayal of Black people in screwed-up relationships, so we're sure to get heavy doses of this nonsense into the holiday season.

Today, Mattel, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of toys, announced another recall of Chinese-made toys, their second this month. The cause this time: the affected products have dangerously high lead content. They include 683,000 Barbie and Tanner playsets, all of the apparently-popular Polly Pocket Dolls and many of the perennial strong-selling Batman action figures and accessories. Rather than just looking at the purely economic losses, it might be time to focus on the rising threats to health, welfare, and safety being a net-importer has on the population in general.

So I'm ear hustlin' a conversation, in which a woman talks via cell phone about her (apparently) no good 'baby daddy.' It seems that yon deadbeat dad is severely in arrears on his monthly support. First, why are you airing your own Maury Povich interview on public transportation Do we all need to know about how much you looooovee your new boo that you tool from "that bitch?" And by inference, do we need to know how much a slut you are?

Finally, the man known as Turd Blossom has left the building. One of the puppet-masters that turned George Bush from a somewhat agreeable dullard into a downright ass, finally quit.

Barry Bonds finally broke Henry Aaron's 31-year-old Major League Baseball (MLB) home run record on August 7th, driving a 3-2 pitch into the right-center field stands at AT&T Park in San Francisco. For fans of Bonds' hometown San Francisco Giants, the achievement was sweeter still, because it was accomplished in The Park Barry Built. However, Bonds' achievement is obscured as he remains under a cloud of suspicion regarding alleged steroid use, in the form of two substances that became known as "the cream" and "the clear," though he's never failed a drug test.

Jose Lachira Carranza deserves to die. His brutality and that of his co-conspriators deserves only the most severe penalty.

So, who is the Hustler and what is he trying to accomplish with this outlet. Well, be prepared to see why your humble reporter is such a complex beast.

OK, so this morning was something to behold, and absolutely unprecedented in the annals of New York City transportation. For the first time in modern memory, a New York City mayor, in this case Michael Bloomberg, told his citizens not...

Yeah, right now my new baby is bare and plain...An emperor-having-no-clothes type of thing... But rest assured, the look will be reflective of my own inimitable style soon enough. If you have any style advice, though, I am always open...

This is the start of great bloggin' thangs! Let's just cut to the chase, shall we? From Politics to Music, this ride is going to be irreverent, but strangely relevant... The Hustle is going to "sell aggressively" the author's view...