Musical Interlude: Old School Friday - Guitar/Bass Solos

Happy Old School Friday! It's been light posting for the last couple of days around here due to real life intrusions, but I just can't miss posting Old School Friday, especially with a topic I suggested; Favorite Guitar or Bass Solos.

I'm all over this because my musical tastes are pretty varied and I've had a chance to listen to guitarists from many different genres practice their craft. There are a ton of solos to choose from, but I decided to post a guitar solo from one of my favorites of all time, Ernie Isley.

Ernie Isley is truly one of the most underrated guitarists ever. This brother can just shred, but played within the constraints of the Isley Brothers Band for his entire career. However, every now and again, he got the chance to just show out on a song, and this is one of them. Here's Ernie Isley performing a solo version of the Isley Brothers all-time classic, Who's That Lady.



Here's the whole band playing the same tune, so you see how Ernie just acted a fool in the previous clip. He still tears it up, but, I mean, c'mon.



I'll try and add a bass solo or two to this post a little later, but in the meantime don't forget to check out the rest of the Old School Friday participants. I'm pretty sure there are more people taking part, so if I missed anybody, leave it in the comments and I'll add you to the list.

Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails - Ms Grapevine - Quick - Marcus LANGFORD - Cassandra - Danielle-Lisa C -Chocl8t - DP - Kreative Talk -MarvalusOne - Regina - LaShonda -AJ - Sharon - Invisible Woman - Believer 1964 -Dee - SJP - sHaE-sHaE - Songs In the Key of Life - Shawn - Hagar’s Daughter - freshandfab - Creole Pimp

DNC - A Little Thought Goes A Long Way

Sometimes it pays to really think a process through, a lesson the DNC, despite it's successes of the past few years (2006 elections, 50 state party, fundraising) is finding out in relation to the issue of blogger floor credentials for the Democratic Convention coming up in Denver. The problem? The vast majority of the 55 State blogs, which have floor privileges at the convention are White-run, while no Black blogs were selected. This in a party where 20% of the membership is Black.

Predictably, this has caused quite a stir in the AfroSpear, and the mainstream media is starting to take notice. From today's Dallas Morning News:

Last week, the national Democratic Party announced that 55 online writers had been chosen for the “State Blogger Corps,” to cover the convention in Denver in September.

But some members of the self-titled “afrosphere” — blogs written or published by African Americans — are angry that the “State Blogger Corps” appears to be mostly white, particularly since the party appears poise to nominate a black candidate, Barack Obama, for president.

“OK, folks, black bloggers to the back of the bus,” read the headline on the African American Political Pundit blog.

Party leaders said the factors in determining state bloggers were readership, Internet ratings and focus on local and state politics, not race. The Texas representative, the Burnt Orange Report, has several writers, including at least one Hispanic contributor.

The issue is one of diversity, but there are so many angles to consider here its mind boggling. Here are just a few for your reading pleasure.

http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2008/05/jim-crow-at-democratic-national.html
http://aapoliticalpundit.blogspot.com/2008/05/just-in-case-you-missed-it.html
http://dallassouthblog.com/2008/05/20/the-cats-out-of-the-bag-dnc-state-blog-list-not-kind-to-black-bloggers/
http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com/2008/05/blogger-selection-issues-include.html

There are plenty more as the topic is rapidly approaching firestorm level.

So what's my opinion? Well, I think the DNC screwed up by not thinking this process through and not really considering its Black base. Especially during such a race sensitive campaign. I'm a member of the AfroSpear and support whatever action is necessary to ensure that Black folks are represented on the convention floor. However I hope the issue can be resolved through the general blogger selection process, maybe by upgrading their level of access to include floor credentials. I also hope that other groups will be included on the floor as well, including Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans.

If it's not resolved, then I feel sorry for the DNC, because they will have to deal with a lot of pissed off members of the AfroSpear. In an election year like this, you really don't want to alienate such an important part of your base because every vote will definitely count in the general election.

At some point the Democratic Party really needs to stop taking the Black vote for granted and court the constituency as they do with every one else. Hindsight is of course 20/20, but this should not have even happened.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Here Come The Professionals

Hey, watch out for that Swiftboat!

We all can see that the nomination process is basically a done deal, Hillary Clinton's likely victory tonight in Kentucky, and Geraldine Ferraro's continued insertion of her foot into her mouth notwithstanding. Barack Obama is going to be the nominee and the Democrats need to get into general election campaign mode.

That means getting ready for the attacks that are sure to come. Can anyone say Swiftboat? It's already started with George W. Bush's shameless breach of protocol in Israel, where he implied that the Democrats are in favor of a policy of appeasement. Monroe Anderson has some thoughts on exactly how these attacks will proceed as we move deeper into the general election.

It’s going to talk about his white momma. It’s going to rant about his former minister. It’s going to steadily signify that he’s either a Muslim or a cult Christian but definitely not a true red-blooded American.

It’s going to make way too much out of far too little. The right-wing echo chamber will label Barack as too liberal, too green, too lightweight, too lucky, too black, too white, too intelligent, too aloof, too soft, too young, too natty, too cool, too elite, too rock star and too good to be true. It’s all going to be too ugly for words.

No doubt he's right, but so far Obama has withstood the slime test. However the professionals are now coming onto the field, and we'll really get a chance to see what type of campaign team Barack Obama has. If Obama and the Democrats stand around and wait to be attacked, and then don't respond when attacked, they will lose.

They will have to make all of these attacks bounce back to McCain, and more importantly, they will need to focus on the ample material the Republicans have provided over the last eight years; war, recession, gas prices, food prices, our international standing, etc. I could go on but you get my point.

There's plenty to work with, so work with it.

Happy Birthday Malcolm

Villager has an excellent post up commemorating what would have been the 83rd Birthday of Malcolm X yesterday. He notes the effect that reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X had on him by saying

I imagine that most Blackmen from my era recall reading this very thick book. Every Blackman could empathize with a brother that evolved from Malcolm Little to Detroit Red to Malcolm X to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Each of us hoped that we would be transformed as well in our lives.

I agree Villager, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, along with Roots were critical towards my awareness of who I am. I'm sure the same can be said for millions more. Amazing that both books were written or co-written by Alex Haley.

It's also amazing to me that I'm lived (slightly, so far) longer than Malcolm X or Martin Luther King. I don't feel like my contribution to society is done, so I can only imagine what these two would have accomplished had they not been taken away from us so soon.

Please head over to the Electronic Village and check out this post, complete with audio clips of some of Malcolm's more famous speeches, and a scene from the 1992 movie. It'll be time well spent, especially if the only thing you know about Malcolm is the quote, "By any means necessary."

Moving Sucks

Posting has been a little light around here because I'm in the process of moving my office from one part of town to another. Have I mentioned that moving sucks?

I say that because I'm in the 4th day of a 1 day office move. What was supposed to be simply to pack up, wait for the movers, go to the new place, and unpack, has truly moved into the realm of the surreal.

Consider the moving company, after estimating that it would take a semi-trailer to relocate our and our co-locatee's offices, showed up with a 14 box truck instead.

Our how about the 4 man crew that mysteriously shrank to 2 by the time they arrrived.

Or the pain in the butt building management that would not allow anything to be moved or staged until 5:30 PM.

And I won't even mention that same buildings slower than molasses freight elevator, that broke on about the 4th trip down.

Do I need to go on? I could but I won't. Thankfully everything is in place now, and it's just a matter of getting it organized in the new space.

Now, wait a minute, why isn't this phone working?

It looks like Barack Obama can still turn them out. I'm not sure if there are too many top tier concert bands that can draw like him.

Some 75,000 people flocked to Portland’s waterfront Sunday to watch Barack Obama speak, making it the biggest rally the campaign has held to date. Thousands stood on the lawn, dozens watched from boats and from the bridge stretching across the Willamette River.

That's amazing, and again speaks to the excitement this campaign has created, and also illustrates the American people's deep desire for change. But I do think Barack might need to take off those rose-colored glasses for a few minutes, cause there's no way he can really believe this, from the same page, in regard to the press corps treatment of himself and John McCain.

“I would expect that the press will submit him to the same scrutiny that they are submitting me -- and if they don’t, I’ll have them talk to you because I can tell you would object,” he said. “I think people will lift the hood and kick the tires with John McCain, just like they do with me and just like they’ve done with Sen. Clinton.

Uh yeah, I'm sure they will Barack. If you consider softball questions with no follow up to be scrutiny. This is the corporate media after all. You're news, he's not. But hey, hope springs eternal.

Oh, and has Hillary dropped out yet?

Learn And Laugh With Liberal Bloggers

We're a pretty serious bunch, especially up in the AfroSpear. I mean, the problems facing the country and our people are tremendous. Not to mention the ongoing Democratic primary and upcoming general election, where race, especially ours, is front and center as a campaign issue.

With such a large number of self identified Liberals being African-American, it's no wonder that a recent study concluded that Conservatives are happier than Liberals, by and large. Well, that, and the fact that according to the study;

Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person's tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities.

The rationalization measure included statements such as: "It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others," and "This country would be better off if we worried less about how equal people are."

That loosely translates as they're happier because they just don't care about anybody else. I guess if you take on no responsibilities then you don't have to worry about fulfilling any responsibilities. Pretty simple really, and maybe that explains why George Bush is dancing his behind off every time I see him lately. We'll give Conservatives the happy thing.

But what about funny? In this category I think Liberals of all ethnicities have the advantage hands down. Sure, every now and again a Conservative will get a good one in, but can they consistently put out good, solid political news, that also has you laughing out loud? I don't think so. The same applies to bloggers, so I'm using today's post to highlight a few Liberal bloggers, some based here in Texas, that post great content and crack me up at the same time.

First up is Kiss My Big Blue Butt, where Susan D. has been delivering the news out of Ft. Bend County, TX for the past 16 years in print and on the web. Talk about having the true pulse on our local politics, we find out today that

A handful of Clinton delegates in Sugar Land are being real stinkers and trying to keep any Fort Bend Democratic delegates from being seated at the State Convention, even including themselves and other Hillary delegates, just because Obama won and they are oh so tiddily peeved about that.

Ya know, if they had spent half as much time organizing and building prior to the Senatorial Conventions as they are tearing things for everybody down afterward, they might have won. But instead, they are giving bon-bon-eating lazy flighty bitter women a bad name. And I hate that, because I spent most of my life giving them a good name.

Enough said, check her out.
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Next, we find out what the real campaign issue is for Afrospear blogger Black Canseco over at Hustleknocking. Basically, it's money, money, money...

Okay, it’s official. I’m selling my vote. Seriously. I’m putting my vote up on Ebay and will post the link for anyone willing to bid on it.

Here’s how it works:

I’m taking bids—no bid’s too low, no bid’s too high. And short of White Supremacist party candidates I’m willing to give my vote to the candidate whose crew slides the most cake my way.

I’ll vote for Hil (ick!), Barry, Johnny, Cynthia, Ron, the Greenies, the Moonies, the Goonies… Whomever can pay the most for my vote. I need money and they need votes. Let the free market system work its magic, I say.

...So forget the gas cards and false promises, gimme some cash and you can have my vote. The only thing people respect these days is what they can buy. So maybe if I sell my vote, it’ll count for something.

How do you really feel Black? This is apparently the first in a series, so expect John McCain to be hit up as well.
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Then there's relatively new kid on the block, The Old Eighteen. The name is a Texas history reference, and I just found his site yesterday. And while I don't mean to fixate on Hillary's campaign and supporters, this post had me rolling.

I am woman, hear me pout

Unwilling to accept the fact that their candidate is going to lose and move on to the next best option on the ballot, a group of angry, bitter old white women has decided to band together and do what they can to sabotage Barack Obama's efforts to get elected president, working under the apparent assumption that it takes a village to burn down the village in order to save the village.

Go read the rest, it's worth it.

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I've mentioned the Texas Liberal a few times on this site, but he keeps putting up good stuff, like this:

Taking this picture, I imagined that the people of this community had finally become enraged they were being poisoned with the unhealthful Big Macs and McRibs sold at the McDonalds.

I imagined the people had come and torn down the golden arches.

Sadly, I don’t think this was the case.

A McDonald's riot? I'm sure That Girl Boo will have a lot to say about that.
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Finally, we have the venerable Afrospear blogger the Field Negro, who has the VP running mate thing figured out for Barack Obama.

Folks, allow me to give you the secret weapon that will win it for the "O" man: His name is Uno. (The one word name thing is cool. Think Bono and Prince). Yes Uno. Don't laugh I am being dead serious. The "O" man wants to be ground breaking this election season, and what better way to break totally out of the box than to select Uno.

Think about it. He is extremely popular with a certain demographic, so he would help the "O" man with that very important group. Who could resist voting for the "O" man if he has the very cute and cuddly Uno on the ticket? And please don't give me the he is not smart enough speech, just because he is a dog. Hell how smart do you need to be to do this job? I give you two names: Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney, that's all you need to know.

I think Field might be on to something. Nobody has tried it before, and we know how much certain folks from all political persuasions here in America love their dogs. I sense a landslide.
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Well, that concludes my brief review of informative, and often humorous liberal bloggers. Believe me, there's plenty more. We'll highlight more of them in the days and weeks to come, and if you have sites that you learn from and are funny, please let me know about them.

Because Lord knows, we need to laugh about something.

My Garden: Part 2

One would have thought that I knew better, but sometimes I get to moving so fast that I end up forgetting about the "gorilla" in the room. What do I mean?

Last year I ordered an Acerola plant over the internet. The plant was two feet tall on arrival, and shipped bare root. Several months prior I had begun a tiny compost pile, and I mixed my compost matter in with my potting soil and a few other things and my plants soon more then doubled in size. My aloe plants went crazy too, but I was really irritated by the smell of the compost heap. So I didn't start one this year up until a few weeks ago.

Well shame, shame, shame on me! The soil is the most important part of growing a garden.

A few weeks ago I showed you a picture of my two new garden boxes, filled with nice, fresh, and dead organic gardening soil. When I say dead I mean the soil had been stripped of all of it's nutrients, which I didn't know that at the time. So now my plants are all bright yellow and not really growing. As a gardener I know it's the soil because I dropped the same watermelon seeds in my older established box a week ago and they are doing better then the plants I planted a couple months ago.

Being an organic gardener, I wouldn't dare use any kinda Miracle Grow type product or anything like that, but let me tell you what I did use that didn't work:

-Seaweed emulsion
-Leaf mold compost
-Fish emulsion

I'm seeing very slow results but nothing like it should be. The good thing is I learn from my mistakes and started another compost pile. The materials haven't decomposed yet but when they do I'm sure it'll work better then anything else I've used. Just like last year I hope. If all else fails the compost will be READY and alive to mix in with the soil for the fall harvest of collard greens, mustard greens, garlic bulbs and other stuff.

Am I a bit disappointed? Well, yeah, a little. But a master gardener once told me that "You're not a real gardener until you kill a plant."

I may be on my way to being a real gardener then. We're just gonna have to ride this one out ya'll.

Joe Biden breaks out his Kanye West impression... Sort of!

I don’t know about you, but every now and then I like to see evidence that our elected officials have a backbone and can speak in the language of hard working Americans, Black Americans, who have dealt with a tyrannous government whose wealth was subsidized by the cheap labor of Negroes, Asians and Indians.

My hat goes off to Senator Joe Biden (D – Delaware) who acted like a true angry Black man when asked what he thought about George Bush’s appeasement statement in his address to the Israeli Knesset. Senator Biden responded the same way African Americans have regarding supposed major issues about Barrack Obama, “This is some Bull$h**!” I could not agree with you more Senator Biden! Forget John McCain, this is the definition of the Straight Talk Express! When you speak in a definitive term such as this you send a signal that the gloves are coming off and you are prepared to fight.

I only have two regrets regarding Senator Biden’s comment. The first being why has it taken so long for someone in the Democratic Party to speak up? I already know the answer to that question but just thought I would raise it so as to let everyone know that African Americans are not stuck on stupid. My second issue is that just as soon as Senator Biden made that profound remark, he returned to his usual vanilla, politically correct nature by saying, “This is malarkey!”

On a final note, when George Bush drew an analogy from an historic event in September 1939 about a United States Senator sympathizing with Adolf Hitler by saying, “We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history,” he was referring to former Senator William Edgar Borah from Idaho… a REPUBLICAN!!

You can call it malarkey but I say... This is just plain old Bull$h**!

Brother, Can You Spare A Gallon (of Gas)?

I'll bet you wish gas prices were as "low" as those in the picture right about now.

Has there been a disruption in the oil supplies somewhere that I haven't heard about? A drop in production? Maybe consumption has risen so much in India and China over the past few months that the constant increases in the price of gasoline is justified. But somehow I doubt it. Whatetever the reason, the price keeps going up.

The AAA Texas survey found regular self-serve averaged $3.68 per gallon in the 11 cities covered by the survey — 15 cents higher than last week's record high.

Nationally, the average price rose 13 cents to a record of $3.78 per gallon.

Auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said that could mean a change of plans for some drivers who had intended to hit the road for the coming Memorial Day holiday.

Actually, that could mean a change of plans for some drivers planning on going to work everyday. I'll bet every designed for the automobile city west of the Mississippi are dusting off mass transit plans again. I hope so anyway, because something has got to give. As to the rationale, a little over a year ago, I wrote when prices were just settling in over $3.00 per gallon

...the routine seems to be to use whatever reason that's handy to justify jacking up oil prices. Of course the price then "drops" to some point higher than it was selling before the latest crisis, and that becomes the benchmark for the next crisis/price increase. Now, with gas having settled in above $3.00 per gallon on average, we really haven't heard much of a peep from the American consumer.

Well .68 cents later, the powers that be aren't even bothering to invent a "crisis" anymore. Nor has the record profits for the oil companies led to any type of employment boom for regular folks anywhere, and that includes here in oil capital of the world Houston. Contrast now with the boom times of the 70's and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I remember the good old days of 2001, when we first moved to Houston and gasoline was .97 cents per gallon. Since then the price has risen by approximately 350%, and remarkably that rise has coincided with the Bush presidency.

That's really such an amazing coincidence isn't it?

Musical Interlude: Old School Friday - Remakes

Man, y'all know I'm tripping. I was so tired yesterday that I actually posted Old School Friday on Thursday. Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing. So if you've already seen this post, well, act like you haven't! Anyway...

Happy Old School Friday (Again)!

This is one of the coolest days of the week around here, and today's theme is "Remakes." As y'all can tell from many of my Musical Interludes, I'm a big Reggae fan, so today I'm posting a remake of the Bob Marley classic "Could You Be Loved" as performed by his sons Ziggy, Steven, Kymani, and Damian. Only Julian is missing, but it's pretty cool stuff. Check it out.



Just for good measure, here's Bob himself with the original.



That's it for this week, and don't forget the rest of the Old School Friday participants.

Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails - Ms Grapevine - Quick - Marcus LANGFORD - Cassandra - Danielle-Lisa C -Chocl8t - DP - Kreative Talk -MarvalusOne - Regina - LaShonda -AJ - Sharon - Invisible Woman - Believer 1964 -Dee - SJP - sHaE-sHaE - Songs In the Key of Life - Shawn - Hagar’s Daughter - freshandfab

John Edwards Timely (CPT) Endorsement

Psst, I've got a hot tip on the Kentucky Derby. Put all your money on Big Brown. And I guarantee you that the New York Giants are going to win the 2008 Super Bowl.

Alright, I know both of those events are already over and done with, but with John Edwards finally getting around to endorsing Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President, I figure why not do some endorsing of my own. Maybe he's just operating on CPT. If you don't know what that is, ask one of your friends of color, but think EST, CST, PST, etc. In that respect, my endorsements are at least as timely.

All kidding aside, I'm glad Edwards made his choice. I also think that the Obama campaign orchestrated the announcement extremely well; after Hillary's "huge" win in W. Virginia; and in the state of Michigan. The net result is they took Hillary out of the news cycle, and threw a bone to those upset voters in Michigan who were screwed by the selfishness of their state party leaders. Pretty darn clever.

Also, Obama and Edwards look pretty good together. I'm not sure if he would be the best VP running mate, but hey, I can think of worse choices. The only drawback I can see is that he was the VP running mate last time too, which might lead to an always the bridesmaid, never the bride type of narrative. But as far as attack themes go, that would be relatively minor.

So thanks John Edwards, and welcome to the party. And as for Hillary, I think the lady in the pantsuit is through warming up. Hint, hint. It's time to get on with the general election campaign.

B*tch A** N*ggas

Editor’s note: This post contains mild profanity and a variation of the “N word.” We hope no one is offended; it is not our intent. But to paraphrase former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, “Sometimes nothing says it better than a well-placed cuss word.”

Part 1 of a Series

PART 1:
THINKING BLACK,
LIVING AMERICAN

With Barack Obama closing in on the Democratic Presidential nomination, I’m reminded of a principle that every child in my neighborhood was taught and expected to live by. That was to protect home, neighborhood and community. I don’t recall anyone having to remind us of this belief because it was an inherent component of our upbringing. Foundational to this rule was the understanding that it was acceptable to have disagreements with a sibling, a friend, or associate, but you rallied to their defense when it came to external attacks. This creed informed us that an attack against the least was an attack against all. In other words they were telling us, like the youth of today say, to not be no Bitch Ass Niggas!

I don’t know if I first heard this term on The Boondocks or from Katt Williams, but I have to admit that its meaning did not sink in until recently. After witnessing a series of events – most notably Pastor Jeremiah Wright’s speech before the National Press Club and the response; Tavis Smiley’s public “criticism” of presidential candidate Barack Obama; and the Black community’s response to his open diatribes, resulting in his refusal to renew his contract on Tom Joyner’s morning radio show after 13 years – I began to wonder if African Americans were experiencing some sort of epidemic causing many of us to act like Bitch Ass Niggas!

I talked to a few minister friends after the Rev. Wright saga to get their response. Dr. Roscoe D. Cooper, pastor of the Metropolitan African American Baptist Church (MAABC), who is also a good friend of Rev. Wright and grew up with him in Philly, made a profound statement. Dr. Cooper said, “… [F]or a people who have always had to struggle to make a way, we have now become a complacent people who wants to have it both ways.” In other words, we want to maintain an afro-centric pedagogy and socio-cultural system, however, we desire acceptance into, and identification with a system that has consistently resisted our total acceptance in any form. To paraphrase Pastor Cooper, the price for an American education and employment in an American economy is total allegiance to an American way.

Although most Blacks nodded in approval when Obama talked about his candidacy transcending race, they knew that he was either naïve or simply making a politically correct statement. We even came to his defense when Smiley decided to take as a personal slight his decline to attend the State of The Black Union. Then Rev. Wright spoke at the National Press Club and brought all the combustible material he could muster to enrage a fire that had been simmering. Even though most of us agreed with a majority of what Pastor Wright said, we accepted the fact that Obama had to denounce him and sever any identifiable relationship with him. In many other circles we would have considered this to be a bitch ass move and Senator Obama to be a Bitch Ass Nigga. Yet it seems that since the stakes are so high, we must allow him the latitude to approach this without the weight of appearing as though he is catering to Blacks.

Furthermore, for all of his attempts to transcend race, the media has effectively painted (no pun intended) him as the Black candidate, while making non-college educated Whites this year’s key voting bloc. In fact, it has been stated in so many words that this bloc represents the very definition of America. This means that the die has been cast and in order to contend, Obama must identify himself with this group to garner their votes. In additon to trying to win this group over the unspoken message is that he must disassociate himself from any pro-Black person and/or causes.

America in general and African Americans specifically, will have accomplished a pivotal milestone when Senator Obama becomes the Democratic Party’s nominee. This poses a conundrum for African Americans regarding the expectations of an Obama presidency. For African Americans who came through the Civil Rights Era, it represents an accomplishment in a hard fought battle, but it is not the golden ring. For young Blacks, like my college age daughter, it represents a positive proof that they can compete effectively on a national stage if given an opportunity. And while the views of my daughter and her peers are admirable, they do come at a high price and further alienates all of us from our foundational principles.

For many of us "in denial bourgeois" Negroes, we have already made the choice and justified the reasons. We said that progress and success would not change us while we moved to the surburbs all in the name of providing our families with a better life than we had.

Making us all, in that respect, some Bitch Ass Niggas.

Hillary's Remarkable Victory

By now you know that Hillary Clinton won the West Virginia primary last night by a nearly 2:1 margin. This victory is especially impressive when you realize that apparently there are hardly any Blacks, Hispanics, or educated Whites; all core Democratic Party constituents; who live in West Virginia.

Ok, on second thought, maybe it's not that impressive.

Hillary does live to tell us for another day why she is the best candidate to take on John McCain in the general election, even though Barack Obama has won more states, votes, and delegates throughout the process. But don't let those little details confuse you.

We'll get another week of 'analysis' explaining to us how Hillary can still pull this thing off with no money, and trailing in the pledged and superdelegate counts. We'll be told again and again how Whites are not going to vote for Barack Obama, so the superdelegates might as well throw their weight behind Hillary now. It's inevitable.

Or not. It actually reminds me of the NBA playoffs, where one team is ahead 3-0 in the best of seven series. Everyone knows the series is over, but the trailing team comes back to win game four. It doesn't change the fact that they're still going to lose the series, but it does allow for the media to detail all of the possible comeback scenarios.

So way to go Hillary, and on to Kentucky. You'll have the homecourt advantage (relatively speaking) once again as the demographics in Kentucky are somewhat similar to West Virginia.

In the meantime, since I still think this series is over, I'm going to go ahead and start scouting the next opponent.

Can I Get A Job?

It's becoming a rare thing to go into a fast food restaurant these days and find teenagers working manning the crews. I suppose there's a lot of reasons for that; the sagging economy has led grown folks to get work where they can, the fast food serving as entry point employment for new immigrants, or maybe kids these days are just lazy and only want to play video games.

Ok, that last item was out of line, but the reality is that kids who are looking for employment are having a hard time making that happen this summer. From the Wall Street Journal:

More teens will be looking for summer jobs this year than last -- but fewer will be getting them.

After sinking to a new low in 2007, teen summer employment is expected to fall again, to the lowest rate in the 60-year history of government jobs data. Working teens ages 16 to 19 will slide to 34% of the population, from 34.5% last year, predicts Andrew Sum of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. That's down from 45% in 2000 and a high of 48.5% in 1989.

When I was a teenager almost every kid I knew eagerly awaited the summer because that was when we could work and earn money to do things we wanted to do but couldn't afford to because our families were poor. Not to mention being able to help Mom out with a little change here and there. The jobs we worked were all entry level: fast food, lawn mowing, etc. Jobs that most adults weren't trying to do. Now however, as this article goes on to say:

More adults, including unemployed college grads, older workers, former welfare recipients, immigrants and working adults seeking second jobs, are competing for low-skilled hourly posts. Teens are increasingly confined to jobs in the service and retailing sectors, and many employers have raised minimum hiring ages to 18 or 19.

There used to be summer jobs programs almost everywhere for high school kids. These programs, funded through federal and state grants, provided students with opportunities to make some money, learn responsibility, and stay out of trouble. By and large, most of these programs are gone, and to the detriment of society as a whole. Their disappearance, and the difficulty gaining employment through regular channels, again has me wondering, "What exactly does this country have against it's own kids?"

With the educational system producing 50% dropout rates, and fewer and fewer opportunities for gainful employment, what options are our kids going to be left with? More importantly, what options will this country have as our competitiveness continues to decline, due to an increasingly uneducated, unskilled, workforce?

How we plan to address this problem is an issue I'd like to see on the political radar, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for it.