DaveyWayne translates for Tom Vilsack

so, it is official...all the talk about Presidential candidates aside....we have our first ACTUAL candidate.

Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa

Governor Vilsack is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, which gives him a few points in my book.


He is married with two grown sons.
He will be the Governor of Iowa until January, 2007
He is the current chair of the DLC


Beyond that....hes practically anonymous, which is why he is out there running now.

Alone.

So, since he was nice enough to GIVE a speech...allow me to translate it.


We live in a dangerous world, a world with real threats. Every day on our way of life is threatened by terrorism from around the world. American families today struggle every single day with the rising cost of health care and college expense. For too many, homeownership remains a fading dream; and for others, retirement security, an unfulfilled promise. In many of our cities and neighborhoods, crime represents a daily threat and danger.

We also need to speak the truth about our country.

Our way of life, our quality of life, our national security has been compromised and put at risk by a national government that's been fiscally irresponsible and by a country that has grown far too dependent on oil, foreign oil from foreign countries, some of which despise us, harbor terrorists, but gladly take our money.

Translation: Yeah, terrorism is a pain in the ass, but we got lots of issues in this country. Just getting by can be a real Biyah now and then. In fact, we got more problems at home than we do in other countries..and I ain't just making that up because I have no foreign policy experience whatsoever, either.

I began life in an orphanage in the hands of a stranger. I was adopted into a loving, but troubled, home.

In my early years, my mom battled with alcohol and prescription drug addiction.

My parents separated. I watched as my father struggled as a single parent trying to keep his business alive.

We grew accustomed to a declining standard of living.

I know what it's like. I knew then and I know today what it's like to be alone and to feel as if you don't belong.

You know, the deepest hole anyone can dig is the hole of dependency and addiction. But my mom dug herself out of that hole. She relied on her faith and her family and her friends.

And in doing so, she taught me a very valuable lesson. And that is that the courage to create change can overcome the largest of obstacles and that community can give you the confidence and the support to try and to succeed.

Translation: I grew up poor, and I'm STILL not a fan of welfare, so don't try and hang that on me.

In the past eight years, I've helped lead our state, Iowa, to successfully changing by making our farm fields into energy fields. We challenged the traditional notion of agriculture. We became the renewable fuel leader and producer in the country. It helped us to become more economically, environmentally and energy secure.

If you drive around Iowa today, you'll see that changing landscape. You'll see ethanol production facilities, you'll see biofuel production facilities, you'll see wind farms.

You'll also be in a state that has the number one air quality in the nation.

Translation: I am beholden to American farm subsidies, not foreign big oil.

We also had the courage to change public education. Early childhood initiatives, class size reduction, raising teacher pay allowed us to improve our test stores, enabled us to retain our leadership as a leader in SAT and ACT scores, and to be the state that had the lowest dropout rate in the entire nation.

But we didn't stop there. We had the courage to change government itself by reducing the size of (inaudible) access to health care to children, seniors, to veterans. It allowed us to be one of only two states last year that reduced the number of uninsured, and we now rank second in the nation in insurance coverage.

Translation: I love babies and old people....and sick people. See, I can be warm and fuzzy...and even competent.

Energy security will revitalize rural America. Energy security will allow us to reclaim moral leadership in the discussion of global climate change. And energy security will allow us once and for all to remove and reduce our dependency on foreign oil from foreign countries that do not like us.

And together, with the courage to create change, let us embrace a new foreign policy, one that allows us to renew our friendships, strengthen our alliances and isolate our enemies.

And specifically in Iraq, we must act and we must act now. We must take our troops out of harm's way and say to the Iraqis, "It is your responsibility to protect your families and your communities."

I'm running for president because I believe every American has the right to pursue the American dream. I'm running for president because I believe every American community should be part of our success.

Translation: Yes, America, I will bring your sons and daughters home. And look how big my tent is...there is room for you, too.


Overall initial impression:

Tom Vilsack is your typical random Democrat. He's a more subdued Howard Dean, A slightly less attractive John Edwards, An older Evan Bayh, A more concise Joe Biden, A more willing Mark Warner.

Does he have a chance? Not so much. With the Heavy Hitters lurking in the shadows waiting to turn him into Paul Tsongas

What he has, is the ONE thing no one else has...Iowa in his hip pocket. he WILL win Iowa, but after that? who knows?

I do. Say hello to your potential VP nominee.

Fantasia...don't do it.

lyrics - hood boy

I like Fantasia. I always have.




But as I watch the video I ask myself...why does this bother me?


It is because the hood boy mystique has been the undoing of many a young man.

Stop the foolishness....

Do it for the babies.

Sincerely, The anti-hood boy...even though I grew up in it.

Go ahead, I DARE you not to laugh at this

Do not ask Jim Webb about his boy.

As a former political operative of some repute, I have attended my share of political receptions. Protocol and the like is usually not very entertaining. People who would sooner spit on each other shaking hands and making nice-nice can be quite nauseating, in fact.

So you can imagine how gleeful it was for the lucky news hack that caught hold of this little exchange.


President Bush: So, How's your boy?
Senator JIm Webb: I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President.
President Bush: That's not what I asked. How is your boy?
Senator Jim Webb: That's between my boy and me.


Now, in order for this exchange to be truly understood...let us evaluate the respective parties.


President George W. Bush: Y'all know him. what more really needs to be said. For this particular purpose let us focus on two things...

1. his lack of formal military experience
2. his "folksy" charm
3. His almost singular responsibility for the situation in Iraq.

Senator James Webb (D-VA): We do not know a lot about him. Here is what we DO know.

Military Experience -A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Webb was a Marine Corps infantry officer until 1972, and is a highly decorated Vietnam War combat veteran. During his four years with the Reagan administration, Webb served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, then as Secretary of the Navy.

Personal: Among his four children, has a son named Jimmy, 24 who is a Marine serving in Iraq. In tribute to Jimmy and "all the people sent into harm's way", Webb wore his son's old combat boots every day during his 2006 Senate campaign.


We also know that Senator Webb skipped the receiving line in order to avoid a confrontation with the President. The President, for reasons only known to him, sought Senator Webb out in order to ask him about his son.

What is not as well known, but not exactly a secret either, is that Senator Webb says very little about his son. When asked during the campaign about Jimmy, Senator Webb always responded that that was between his son and him.

I can understand you not knowing that, but I cannot understand President Bush not knowing that. Surely the fact that Senator Webb didn't pass through the receiving line should have tipped W off that the distinguished gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia might have been allergic to small talk, especially with the man who has commanded over the most inept military action since Waterloo.

So, in a quest for...hell, I don't know WHAT he was trying to do...

President Bush tracked the good Senator down.

This set off a debate that occured at the palace @ Funkytown East.

FW: I think people need to stop being so soft. If your child volunteers for the military, they don't get to pick and choose the wars they fight in. They serve at the pleasure of the president. He(Webb) needs to stop acting like a little bitch.

Me: Baby, the man used to be Secretary of the NAVY UNDER REAGAN! If anyone is qualified as a parent AND as a military expert to choose to disengage the president based upon the unforgivable nature of how he put his son in harm's way over a series of Lies, not just ONE...not so much a mistake...but just a plain ole ongoing disaster that he STILL will not take ultimate responsibility for.

FW: Still though, you can't go around whining about it. You aren't fighting the war, your son is. It isn't your place to talk about that at a party.

Me: That's why he didn't go near him. What the hell was the President doing?

FW: I don't know...you know He isn't too bright. I don't think he was fuggin with him. I think He is genuinely concerned with the welfare of his son.

Me: Um....ok....and when he got the answer he got the FIRST time...that should have told him to leave THAT man alone about his boy. I am a little disturbed that the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD IS SO SOCIALLY INEPT as to press a man about his son fighting in an unjust war that YOU insisted on. He's lucky Webb didn't buss his ass in the mouth.

TV: sources say Webb confided that he was inclined to slug him.

Me: YOU SEE...YOU SEE WHAT I AM SAYIN??? They gonna learn to steer clear of Jim Webb about his boy.

I just want to lock Michael Irvin in a Room with Michael Richards

This pains me.


It isn't bad enough that the Steelers are just stinking up the joint in ways that are truly hard to fathom, but now I got social issues all mixed into my football.

It is apparent to me that Michael Irvin is bulletproof. Be they crackpipes in his car, or playing the dozens with people's heritage, It seems there is nothing that can be done to rid us of him or his foolishness.

And of course, as if THAT isn't enough...now I have to wade through all the woe-is-us white folk spouting about how when Rush Limbaugh did it to Donovan McNabb, he got fired. (I will get to that in a moment)

And then comes the rehash of the Michael Richards Nigger-gate. (cause you KNOW that is what they would call it if THEY could get away with it.)

Just when you think the story will die the ignominious death it so richly deserves, Along comes the good Rev. Jackson, who has decided to hitch his wagon to this seemingly endless debate.

It seems that Rev. Jackson wants the word banned as hate speech.

Uh...right.

I am not going to lend too much energy to that particular debate other than to say, the last time I checked, washed up sitcom stars weren't the primary purveyors of the word. Plucking words out of the language isn't the goal we should be striving for. Censorship by the government only inspires more folk to do what it is you do not want them to do.

Self-Censorship seems to be working just fine...for 81% of the country.

Then you have those of us who feel like it's ok for US to use it...just not THEM.

I think this is the one thing that burns white folk the most.

The very word they empowered....was taken away from them...only to now be used as a pronoun by the very people they used to hold down with it.

The more they hear it...the more they are cautioned against using it.

You don't have to be a racist to be annoyed by that. You only have to be human, and a little annoyed by their hubris.

Yes...Hubris.

Hubris is exaggerated pride or self-confidence.

If yours truly is annoyed by what I witness, I can only imagine the mindset of those who wish we would stay in our place.

and yes, that includes me.

Listen carefully to the Kramer-rant. That is the rage of a formerly privileged class. I am sure that during the 12 minutes of the human existence when a black man could criticize an unfunny white comic without ensuring that his life insurance and last will and testament was all in order a white comic who was so inclined thought nothing of dropping an N-bomb on a heckler.

The times they are a changin' - Bob Dylan


On Monday, November 20, 2006, Michael Irvin former All-Pro Wide receiver and current...uhhh...expert analyst for ESPN said something which on the surface may seem pretty innocent but upon further examination can be seen as nothing short of mind boggling.

in case you missed it in the last post...here goes:

“… [there must be] some brothers in that line somewhere … (laughs to himself) somewhere there are some brothers … I don’t know who saw what, where …. [maybe] his great, great, great, great Grandma ran over in the hood or something went down … (laughter)”

Dan Patrick:that’s the only way to be a great athlete?

Irvin :“No, that’s not the only way … but it’s certainly one way … [maybe his] great, great, great, great Grandma pulled one of them studs up outta the barn [and said] ‘come here for a second’ … back in the day …(more sinister laughter)”


Sigh...

Allow me to elaborate.

What Mr. Irvin is SUGGESTING...is that Tony Romo's female ancestor owned slaves and took a stroll out to the "barn" to get her swerve on with one of her chattle.

I suppose that sinister laughter would be an indication that Mr. Irvin was kidding.

Yes, he was kidding, but jest does not make it all right.

The fact that Mr. Romo seems not to be bothered(just how do you make hay out of something this...difficult to fathom), makes it...uh....well it makes it about as insignificant as it should be in and of itself.

The problem is, this is as much about Tony Romo (who is on the verge of making my life miserable, by the way) as the Michael Richards fiasco is about the two guys who egged Kramer into his spontaneous fit of Tourette's Syndrome.

This is about the ability to put what you say, as a NATIONAL MEDIA PERSONALITY, into the proper context.

On no planet is a reference to master on chattel sex even remotely humorous.

It could be said, in so many words, that Irvin did to Jimmy the Greek what (insert random Def Jam Comedian) did to Michael Richards.

He took the most annoying double standard in the world and rubbed it gleefully in the face of every white person who bristles at the public utterance of the word nigger by a Black person.

And they had to take it. Dan Patrick would have loved to have simply fawned over Tony Romo and let that be that. But Michael Irvin had to break off his route and run a go pattern to sociological hell.

One week later, Irvin lobs out a half assed apology brought to you by the sportsblogosphere, who, in the main are a group of white men who would love to lob racially insensitive jokes (and sometimes they do, since they have yet to reach a critical mass where the masses could be truly insulted.

Yep...that's what we have here boys and girls.

YT is mad cause the big Black man gets to lob out ignorant jokes while they have to water theirs down.

It just ain't fair.

Of course it isn't exactly fair for black men to have the market cornered on being shot while unarmed dozens of times by the police.

I wonder if white folk would trade us?

Offensive Coordinator

The first day back is always the hardest.

I am wiping out the cobwebs and avoiding the irrepressible urge to stay home and try and catch up on what I have missed.

• Kramer channeling his inner Nathan Bedford Forrest (if only for a moment)
  
• Jesse Jackson rescuing Kramer from career Suicide (now its like career paralysis)
• Paul Mooney saying that Kramer Cured him from saying the N-Word
• BeBe Moore Campbell passing away at the age of 56
  
• the NYPD reminding black men of the fleeting nature of life.
• NBC News tells us that the sky is, in fact, blue.
• The Steelers hurt my feelings and prove to me that they are, in fact my family, because only family can Hurt your feelings like that and you still love them.
• Michael Irvin makes me ashamed of the color of my skin. (oh, didn't catch this one?)

On talking about the play of Tony Romo on ESPN Radio's Dan Patrick Show on November 20, 2006

“… [there must be] some brothers in that line somewhere … (laughs to himself) somewhere there are some brothers … I don’t know who saw what, where …. [maybe] his great, great, great, great Grandma ran over in the hood or something went down … (laughter)”

Dan Patrick:that’s the only way to be a great athlete?

Irvin :“No, that’s not the only way … but it’s certainly one way … [maybe his] great, great, great, great Grandma pulled one of them studs up outta the barn [and said] ‘come here for a second’ … back in the day …(more sinister laughter)”

Now, you see, when I hear shit like that...it makes shit like THIS...harder to deal with.

I am watching Family Guy on Sunday night (the fifty shots that ended a man's life on his wedding day not 2 miles from where I am sitting still ringing in my ears) and the following exchange takes place.

Stewie: What kind of man would I be if I just left and didn't live up to my responsibilities?
Brian: A Black Man?

I look at FW, who is instinctively looking at me with that whole "did he say what I thought he said?" look and time just stopped.

Me: How do you feel about that?
Her: I don't know...how about you?
Me: um....I think I should be offended...No...I am offended...no...I think I am sad because I am not more offended than I am.

time passes...

Me: no...I am definitely offended.
Her: Yeah, I am pretty offended, too.

more time:

As I write this, I'm definitely offended, but I am pretty sure I am more sad about a world that allows a joke like that to work.

There is offense all around, boys and girls. All you gotta do is reach up and grab it....its right there for the grabbing.

Why can't EVERYONE go on vacation when I go on Vacation?

From Funkytown to the Big Apple to the Poconos to the Big Apple and back to Funkytown, it has been a long week. Vacations suck the life out of me even as they infuse me with new energy and new ideas.

I realize now what it is about vacations that exhilarate/discourage me.

I am addicted to being in control of my intake.

Vacations, especially FAMILY vacations, put a strain on that. It is difficult for me to be comfortable in other folk's houses...and this past week I was in three of them.


I met FW's people(Her out of town people) for the first time and they were all wonderful folk. Good, solid, salt of the earth, black folk.

Now I am home.


It is good to be home.


Home is nice.

Tomorrow, we go back to work...blog included.

Word For The Week

Text:

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:14-22

Context:

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:34-40

There is nothing more frustrating than having to deal with people who are lukewarm about things that matter. George Bush and his Republican Party are taking this country to Hell in a hand basket and too many Americans' only response is, "Whatever." Touch-screen voting is being implemented across the country even as we see in Sarasota that 18,000 votes can instantly "disappear" in order to help one candidate over another and the only response that we hear from too many Americans is a heart-felt, "Whatever." Our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties are being slaughtered as grist for the Iraqi mill and all that too many Americans have to say is, "Whatever." This lukewarm Laodecean attitude is the reason why wicked men can hatch their plans to deprive the populace of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - the people will merely say, "Whatever."

This is even more true of those who call themselves Christians. There are too many Christians who are zealous for God but when it comes to their fellow man their response is essentially, "Whatever." Someone needs help with breaking the cycle of poverty? "Whatever." Someone needs food, clothing and shelter? "Whatever." Someone needs health care or to be comforted in prison? "Whatever." Many people who call themselves Christians are indeed zealous for God, but in too many instances - like a true Laodecean - their love is lacking for their fellow man.

Likewise, there are too many people who call themselves Christians who are zealous for their fellow man but whose response when it comes to God Himself is essentially, "Whatever." God requires the Christian to pursue His holiness? "Whatever." God refers to homosexuality as being uniquely abominable, using the Hebrew word חועבה "toebah" to refer to homosexuality and other practices which are abominable while using the Hebrew word שקץ "sheqets" to refer to all other practices that are simply to be avoided? "Whatever." Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life - no one comes to the Father except through Me" and the lackadaisical Laodecean replies, "Whatever."

There are too many Christians In Name Only, and much the same way that Republican In Name Only Lincoln Chaffe was spewed out of his seat in the Senate and Democrat In Name Only Zell Miller would have been spewed out of his Senate seat if he had sought another term, Christians In Name Only will be spewed out by Jesus when the eternal election day comes to pass. When we stand before God to give an account of all that we have done in this life there will be many conservatives standing before Jesus, saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not vote Republican in your name, and in your name drive out homosexuals and prevent many abortions?" just to hear Jesus tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" However, there will also be progressives standing before Jesus in judgment, saying, "'Lord, Lord, did we not feed the hungry, and clothe the naked and comfort the sick and imprisoned?" just to hear Jesus tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" Faith without works is truly dead, and works without faith is equally dead. Only a faith that works will lead to eternal life, and that faith must be placed in Jesus Christ - the only way to the Father is through the Son.

I know, whatever.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to love Him forever,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Live from New York, It's DaveyWayne

Greetings from Cambria Heights, Queens, New York .

I apologize for not letting yall know I'm taking the week off.

I am all about enjoying my week off, taking in all the sights of New York City and its encompassing boroughs.

Maybe, just MAYBE, a week in the Apple will spur me to write about my experiences.


If not, Happy Thanksgiving.

Word For The Week

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."

Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Matthew 19:1-12

One thing that I find to be exceedingly humouros is how people will scream at the top of their lungs that there is no such thing as absolute truth, that it is wrong for someone to try to assert their opinion as God's truth, yet when it comes to a heart-felt belief of theirs they immediately pirouette and embark upon a crusade to make sure that their prefered principle is followed from Alabama to Africa to Afghanistan. This does not mean that their prefered principle is necessarily wrong - it may well be a universal truth - but if one is going to assert universal truths then it would be a good idea to affirm the existence of universal truths.

This is the kind of problem that the Pharisees faced in our text today. They tried to trap Jesus, making Him take sides in a debate among the Pharisees between the schools of Shammai and Hillel regarding the correct intterpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1. It was a classic case of missing the forest for the trees as the Shammai school believed that divorce was permissible for anything indecent - even something as trivial as burning dinner - while the Hillel school believed that divorce was permissible only for something indecent, specifically infidelity.

Jesus corrected both schools, faulting them for focusing on getting out of marriages instead of honoring God's intention for marriage - a man and a woman bonded together for life - saying, "Haven't you read that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Jesus didn't speak to the mechanism for bringing a couple together, be that dating or arranged marriages or eHarmony, but spoke to the life-long commitment between a man and a woman to become a "one flesh" union.

One problem that too many people experience is the divorce of power and responsibility, especially in the Western world. Too many people seek power and not enough people seek responsibility, because the Biblical motif is one of servant leadership, not the tyranical exercise of power. People are given "responsibility for" and not necessarily "power over" - this is what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 20:25-28 when He told His disciples, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

In marriage a husband is given responsibility for his wife, not necessarily power over his wife. He is responsibile for her well-being just as Jesus is responsible for the well-being of the Church (q.v. Ephesians 5:15-33). And just like Jesus does not coerce the Church into anything, a husband is to lovingly head his household - taking responsibility for all that goes on within the household. Now any effective leader will delegate responsibility to those who are better equipped to handle those areas, such that if a poet is married to an accountant then the poet would be wise to let the accountant handle the check book, but ultimately it is the husband's responsibility - he is accountable. In many ways this is akin to the Miller Lite Man Law commercial where they ordained the "You Poke It, You Own It" Man Law. Essentially, if you put you finger in a beer while carrying it back to the guys at the table then you own that beer. Likewise, if a man decides to have sex with a woman then he is responsible for her upkeep for the rest of her days. No exceptions.

People like the power, but they too often duck the responsibility.

Jesus' disciples understood exactly what He was saying and they weren't having any part of it, saying, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry." To their thinking the only way to get their wives to "act right" was to threaten them with divorce and starvation - divorce and starvaton were closely linked back then because women weren't strong enough to be employable as manual laborers and the economy wasn't one where you could just go get an office job or work at McDonalds. The disciples, as most men of their day (and ours), were interested in having their wives serve them, in having their wives in a place below them or behind them, but Jesus corrected them by taking them back to creation - a woman's place is beside the man, not behind or under or in front of the man. The man is responsible for the woman, but the woman is his equal in dignity and stature even while he is the head of the household.

This order can be seen within the Godhead. Jesus is fully divine, yet He submits to the Father. The Holy Spirit is fully divine, yet He submits to the Son. There is a functional subordination within the nature and character of God, so it should come as no surprise that within God's creation He has ordained functionally subordinate roles for the family.

Not everyone will accept this.

Naturally, there are those who will not accept any kind of subordination - functional or otherwise - as they view themselves as prime movers, the captains of their fate, the masters of their souls. It is a cute fantasy that is easily debunked by one well-placed hurricaine or tornado, but it is a fantasy that people are entitled to maintain if they so desire, free will and all that. This is what Jesus meant when He told His disciples, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given" and "The one who can accept this should accept it." Much as it may gall some people, not everyone is called to salvation - some people are perfectly happy on their road to perdition and there is nothing that I or anyone else can do to deter or detour them - but those of us who are called by the name of Jesus Christ should accept the words of Jesus and live accordingly, fulfilling our responsibilities and exercising power from a loving perspective of servant leadership.

Man Law.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to know where your towel is,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Things Black Folk Say #9 - Fabo of D4L

It has been a long time...but here is a good one.


"If everybody mind they own damn business then my momma be aight cause...the only reason why I do this shit, I don't do it for him. I do it for me and my family and my momma proud of me, not him...So if I didn't do hip-hop or whatever he wanna call it or anybody else wanna call it, then he gon take care of me? Cause I'm a grown man. I gotta do what I gotta do to feed my family, so whatever the hell I'm doing, I'm grown. Stay the hell out of mine."

Fabo of D4L (that would be the Laffy Taffy group) responding to the idea of Nas' forthcoming album title "Hip-Hop is Dead"

DaveyWayne says: Dude, go take a nap. It ain't that serious. If you're taking care of Momma, what are you MAD for? If you keep going off like that, people are going to know you are scared your fifteen minutes of fame are JUST about up.

You cannot make me care about OJ Simpson

I don't care.


I didn't care very much TWELVE years ago when it happened.

I didn't cheer when he got off, and I didn't complain either.

I was amused by the never ending spectacle and I was intrigued by how passionately people responded to what was going on.

I followed it, not closely, but I followed it close enough to keep track of how badly the state botched the case.

This may come as a news flash, but murderers get off, sometimes. A Lot of them.

I distinctly recall that in the latter part of the 20th century, there seemed to be a retrial a month to right the wrongs of the Jim Crow court.

I don't recall folk quite so worked up about it.

Keep in mind, boys and girls, the ONLY reason OJ is still cashing in on this, is because people are STILL mad.

And I don't mean perturbed, annoyed, put-off, disgruntled.

These folk WANT BLOOD. Literally.

And the Good folk at FOX are giving it to you, because you will lap it up.

ME? not so much.

Justice is not always about right and wrong.

JUSTICE, in the LEGAL sense is about following the letter of the law to reach the proper legal result.

As I was told by a smart man:

It's a long way from Not Guilty to Innocent.

Anyhow...your hate only feeds the monster you despise.

But y'all go ahead and enjoy. I will be watching...something...


just not that.

The Big Lead me not into Temptation, but deliver me from obscurity

I have arrived.


You know you're no one until The Man discovers you( And I even share the headline)

Well, for all the teeming masses from the mainstream SportsBlogging world, welcome to my little cyber-cubbyhole in the projects.

Thanks to the wonders of technology, even a sporadic posting schmuck like me can get a link on one of the biggest SportsBlogs in cyberspace.

If that is why you are here, welcome.

This isn't my life, but its a good portion of it.

I am a freelance writer who spends most of his time pulling his ends closer and closer in a hope that they meet sometime before I turn 50.

I have loved sports since I was a toddler, fascinated by the team in the black helmets black jerseys and yellow pants, who I was told were the good guys.

Being the kind of kid who was long on phonics and short on athletic ability, I learned about sports by reading about it.

That was fine until my mother remarried a man named Art.

Art explained to me that everyone writes with an agenda.

"People write what they know, boy. If they don't KNOW you, they can't tell you shit."
"These M(extraspecial13letterword)ers don't know shit about these players or what they going through. All they know is what they are told."
" I'm glad you bringing these books in here learning what happened before you started watching, but you gotta understand there is a whole lot more going on here than you gonna see in that book."

Being 9, most of that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Once I got older, I understood even more than he had attempted to tell me.

I am a seventies baby. I have been saying that long before it became a bad thing.

I am a member of the first generation to actually SEE racism go underground.

I saw Warren Moon light up the University of Michigan in the 1978 Rose Bowl and then go UNDRAFTED. Art told me that was going to happen, but I didn't believe him.

Being a Black kid in a Rust Belt city at the close of the Industrial Era, I dreamed of playing sports, but I never dreamed about writing about it.

Kinda like dreaming about writing ABOUT movies or music instead of starring in them.

Now look at the Sports world. Hell the people who document sports are almost as big as the people who PLAY them (and they might even get paid as much). I wish someone had told me before I spent my life getting a "real" job.

In the process of loving sports I have stumbled across a curious cottage industry, the industry of Sports Reporting-Reporting.

Apparently covering sports isn't enough, but now we are watching the people watching right along with us.

Yesterday I commented, innocently enough, on my enjoyment of Jemele Hill's debut column on ESPN.com's Page 2. Let me get out of the way immediately, that my crush on Ms. Hill is purely professional, and I will only cyberstalk her, sending her emails referencing her writings. Luckily for all involved, I am otherwise entertained and my schedule and proclivities will not allow for more than traditional fan-club membership.

Apparently, some folk weren't as enthralled as I was with her debut.

I submit to you that they couldn't possibly be as enthralled because they lack the perspective that I have.

In the main, white folk seem to like their sports and their sociological commentary on separate plates, much like my FW, who doesn't like her food to touch. They get uncomfortable when it is suggested that double standards exist in the minds of owners and fans and the public at large. As much as I would love to explain the subtle nuances of race and the part it plays in the Sports world, even in these "enlightened" times. I got a job to go to.

Two, in fact.


So it makes me almost stalkerish when people like Mr. Jones and Ms. Hill can articulate those thoughts on behalf of fans like me, who see things that other writers can't (or won't)

I hope you enjoyed your time here. In the interest of full disclosure, I welcome all hate mail and comments and will respond to them as intelligently as my humble upbringing and smattering of college credits will allow.


Please sign the guest book and let me know you came by.

CRUSH Alert: Jemele Hill

I am smitten.


I read the first column by Orlando Sentinel sports columnist Jemele Hill, who is now writing a column on ESPN.com Page 2

For those of you who don't run in those circles, Page 2 has been going through some changes.


Make of THAT what you will, Jemele got medieval today.

a few highlights:


Yes, I discuss race openly, honestly and, hopefully, intelligently. Do I play the race card? Depends on what else is on the card table. The sports world provides a great platform for racial discussions. It's also one of the few places in society where, 99 percent of the time, performance trumps race. Most times, but not always.

But wait, let me to go off on a tangent for a minute, but it will relate. Last week, Ray Lewis caught hell for saying the Tennessee Titans never would have treated Brett Favre or Peyton Manning with the lack of regard they showed for Steve McNair.

Lewis' statement pretty much nails how a lot of African-Americans think. I don't care if you're a postal worker, a florist or a sports columnist, black people all play the would-this-happen-to-a-white-guy game. Now, the Titans didn't treat McNair coldly because he was black. No, they just didn't think twice about how they treated McNair because he was black. Black athletes, if anything, are expendable.
__________________

I am the columnist who plays the would-this-happen-to-a-white-guy game because there are just too many double standards. But I'm equal opportunity with the game, including Hispanics, Asians, women and men. For example, would the NHL ever dream of tampering with the puck without consulting its players, the way the NBA did with its ball? And if it did, would NHL players be considered "whiners" for complaining about it?

________________________________

You know, I bet on a slow news day the press corps asks Condoleezza Rice about hip-hop.

"Ms. Rice! Ms. Rice! Over here! Which is your favorite Lil'? Is it Lil' Jon, Lil' Bow-Wow or Lil' Wayne?" (Personally, I think she's a Lil' Wayne person.) But the hip-hop question is one that black people always are asked because hip-hop has somehow become the downfall of Black America. I'd rather blame the people who make kids as opposed to the ones who make records. But that's just me. Anyway, I'm an old hip-hop fogey. Lil' Jon, though, makes me want to stick a pitchfork in my head. And despite what everyone believes, the most serious problem in hip-hop isn't the violence or calling women hoes. The biggest problem is that rappers are too loud and incoherent. I can't be offended by what I can't hear half the time. I prefer rappers who have something intelligent to say.


Is that enough? It should be...now go Read it



sidebar comment.

I find it interesting that the sportsblog establishment has spared NO time in layin the good wood to Ms. Hill. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that these gentlemen get the hives or something as soon as folk start talking frankly about race.

I guess we are better off just handling the ball and not talking about folk handling the ball.

Welcome to Atlanta...now turn out the light when you're finished.

Ok, I think it is over.


I just sat through a DVR happy version of the BET HipHop awards.

I didn't die, and I don't feel like I suffered any brain damage.

I was going to Go into some extreme amount of detail on the proceedings, but, it just wasn't all that deep.

It was almost like they had it in Atlanta so no one would have to travel.

Sure Jay was nice enough to come by and pick up his award, but he has an album coming out next week, so it would be a good idea to make an appearance.

They did have a couple of ciphers (how bad is it in HipHop when you have to DEFINE cipher for people who are supposed to be FANS of hiphop?) with some MCs who are larger in talent than in numbers...

Of course, to that, a Mr. Shawn Carter mentioned that men lie, women lie, numbers don't.

Katt Williams did quite well in his audition for the new host of Def Comedy Jam next year, because God Knows....Mike Epps is just wretched.

It has become obvious to me that I am really subjecting myself to some sort of brain-drain by watching this stuff.

I love HipHop...not the stuff the major media subjects you to, but what I happen to like.

It isn't often I actually sit through whole versions of songs like Ballin and Walk it out.


Hell, since I Fast forward past the videos of songs I don't like after seeing it the first time, I can barely pick most of these no-talent hacks out of a line-up.

But I sat through the whole thing.


"Walk it Out" has one hit wonder written all over it. I hope he is saving his money and not wasting it on his cast of innumerable dancers.

It is official...I have relented...

Now that the kids have gotten bored with it.


DaveyWayne finally has a myspace page.


Now what exactly I will do with it, I am not sure.

feel free to add and seek to add me.

Fear, The Headliner: An original work of quasi-poetry

A small cozy writer's group had an assignment this weekend where we were instructed to describe what fear feels like to us, from start to finish.


This is what I came up with.

Fear: The Headliner
David Parrish
11/13/06

First, the eyebrows arch up. The mind is now processing all the possibilities. The “realist” in me speaks up first. This is always the opening act...something to keep the natives in place.


“just how bad can this go?”
“what is the worst that can happen with this?”

From that moment, the ball of my demeanor is rolling downhill and gravity is doing its thug thizzle.

The buzz builds through the crowd and the lights of my world dim.....Showtime is truly near

At that moment, It is like a house of cards. Chaos and confusion reign supreme. It all comes tumbling down.



The curtain opens and the intimate stage of my life transforms into a stadium with seats impossible to number

The understated arrogance excuses itself while self-doubt and trepidation hold court. They perform a brief but powerful duet that serves as only the opening act for the showstopper,



Insecurity

Insecurity has amazing stage presence, taking ownership of the stage and the microphone and improvising up a storm.

From his number one hit “that’s what you get for trusting yourself” to the new hit “you getting too old to be stretching yourself like this” Insecurity holds sway until the lights come on and the chaotic soundtrack of my fear, slow beading of sweat and a thumping heart fade to silence and the mosh pit of my feelings thins out to a smattering of broken bodies too torn to make their own way home.

The show is over.

The ushers now come to clean up and prepare for the next show, because there always seems to be a next show.

Word For The Week

For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. The king of Israel had said to his officials, "Don't you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?"

So he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First seek the counsel of the LORD."

So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, "Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"
"Go," they answered, "for the Lord will give it into the king's hand."

But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?"

The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." "The king should not say that," Jehoshaphat replied.

So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, "Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once."

Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, "This is what the LORD says: 'With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.'"

All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. "Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious," they said, "for the LORD will give it into the king's hand."

The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably."

But Micaiah said, "As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what the LORD tells me."

When he arrived, the king asked him, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?" "Attack and be victorious," he answered, "for the LORD will give it into the king's hand."

The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD ?" Then Micaiah answered, "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, 'These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.' "

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?"

Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD : I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'
"One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.'

" 'By what means?' the LORD asked.
" 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said.
" 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'

"So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. "Which way did the spirit from the LORD go when he went from me to speak to you?" he asked.

Micaiah replied, "You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room."

The king of Israel then ordered, "Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king's son and say, 'This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.' "

Micaiah declared, "If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me." Then he added, "Mark my words, all you people!"

1 Kings 22:1-28

Micaiah was a true prophet of the LORD. He was fully committed to the will of God. Look at verse 14 of I Kings 22. “But Micaiah said, ‘as the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak.’” Micaiah was not interested in what would advance his career in ministry, or what would ingratiate himself with the king. He was interested in and committed to doing the will of God who called him and spoke through him. Micaiah had God as his top priority, just like we are supposed to.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” David, king of all Israel and Judah, understood that he was to seek God first. In II Samuel 7, David sought to do a work for God. David was living in a beautiful palace, but the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s presence, was outside in the cold under a tent. David thought this was wrong and wanted to build a temple for God in which to place the ark. But God told David, paraphrasing verses 5-17, “Thanks, but it isn’t that crucial. However, since you’re your heart is set on me I’m going to bless you.” God blessed David because David sought God first, because God was his first priority. God chose to bless David based on David’s relationship with God. Nothing was more important to David that the will of God.

The first desire of David’s son Solomon was to do the will of God. In I Kings 3, God tells Solomon to ask for anything that he wanted. Solomon praised God and asked God to give him wisdom to govern God’s people effectively to the glory of God. Since he requested something that would help him serve God and not something to fulfill the lusts of his flesh, the lusts of his eyes, or the pride of life, God blessed him with the wisdom he requested and all of the material riches and social honors that one could imagine, simply because Solomon’s first priority was the will of God. Solomon was fully committed to the will of God.

There was a young aspiring preacher who was visited by an angel. The angel said to the young preacher, “Your ministry will grow and be prosperous if you do according to all of the words I am about to speak: Never mention the word sin – ever. Never mention the word repentance or even refer to it. Offer them salvation in terms of deliverance from their problems. Motivate your people to be moral and upright human beings and your ministry will flourish. The bigger the building you build, the more people that will fill it. And everyone who commits themselves to this salvation will join me in eternity…” How many pastors have compromised their ministries in this fashion? How many preachers will only preach what the people are willing to hear? How many are committed to say that which God has told them to say only as long as it will be well received? Micaiah was fully committed to the will of God. Are we fully committed to the will of God, to seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Is there a prophet of the LORD here?

Micaiah was also courageous in the face of perverse authority. Ahab was the most wicked king that Israel had ever seen. The name of his wife, Jezebel, is still synonymous with wickedness to this day. A king has power over the life and death of his subjects, even the prophets. With a word he could have had Micaiah killed. Despite that, Micaiah still spoke what the LORD told him to speak – a word of rebuke and judgement – which he knew would upset the king. Look at verse 18 in I Kings 22. “Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?’”

You see, people usually know when they’re wrong, but they often want to kill the messenger for telling them that which they already know. Most messengers know this and become afraid to deliver the message, desiring to avoid the retaliation of the recipient. Parents stop spanking their children, teachers stop failing students, preachers stop mentioning sin. All from fear of what might happen to them if they take a stand for that which is right.

But you know, there were three Hebrew boys who were not afraid to take a stand for what was right. They stood up to the most powerful man on the planet, Nebuchadnezzar, and told him to his face, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” They took a stand. They were fully committed to the will of God and they were courageous in the face of perverse authority. They understood that it’s all good – for believers. The Word of God says “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” It’s all good.

God knows what we need, and if we seek him first to do His will, he will provide for all of those needs. No weapon forged against us will prevail, right? So what’s the matter with our standing power? Why can’t we take a stand? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego took a stand for the LORD. Micaiah, a prophet of the LORD, took a stand for the LORD. Is there a prophet of the LORD here?

You see Micaiah was also convinced of God’s truth. He wasn’t just running off at the lip with what he thought or what he believed or what was the logical conclusion from the scientific or statistical data. He was convinced, no, he KNEW that the word of the LORD was true. In verse 28 we find the last words recorded from Micaiah. “And Micaiah said, ‘If you indeed return safely the LORD has not spoken by me.’ And he said, ‘(Mark my words) NIV, all you people.’” He knew the truth of the Word of God, that it was without error, that it is God-breathed and useful for instruction and correction. Ahab had him sent to prison where Micaiah was to stay until Ahab returned safely from battle. Micaiah told him up front that he would be spending the rest of his days in prison because Ahab would never return from battle alive. Micaiah was convinced of God’s truth and courageous in the face of perverse authority because he was fully committed to the LORD. He was a prophet of the LORD.

Moses was committed to the LORD when he faced pharaoh and commanded him to “Let my people Go!” and the captives were set free.

Joshua was committed to the LORD when he marched around Jericho for seven days and the walls came tumbling down.

David was committed to the LORD when he confronted Goliath and God granted the victory.

Nathan was committed to the LORD when he rebuked King David and the king repented.

Elijah was committed to the LORD when he faced the 450 prophets of Baal and fire fell from heaven.

Jesus was committed to doing the will of his Father who sent him and now salvation’s free to you and me.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good.

Ezekiel got a taste and it was sweet as honey.

John got a taste on the Island of Patmos and it was like honey to his lips but he couldn’t stomach the testimony.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

You see there is no one righteous, not even one, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

It is written that the wages of our sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.

And God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

But in order to have salvation we must accept it, and we do that by confessing with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord of my life,” and believing in our heart that God raised him from the dead.

We must commit our life to serving Jesus Christ – our whole heart, all of our mind, our entire body and our very soul. Now, no man can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other or he will love the one and hate the other.

• You cannot serve both God and Money.
• You cannot serve both God and Lexus.
• You cannot serve both God and prosperity.
• You cannot serve both God and America.

You must choose this day whom you will serve. Whether the ancestral gods of your forefathers beyond the Atlantic or the self-centered, humanistic and materialistic gods of the Americans in whose land you live, but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

And if you will be fully committed to do the will of God, I implore you to be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey the Word of God; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let the Word of God depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything according to it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Haven’t I already told you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Is there a prophet of the LORD here?

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to to be true to Him,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

DaveyWayne catches a copy of Kingdom Come

not the single, the whole shebang.


In keeping with the new phenomenon, Kingdom Come, Jay-Z's return from what passes for retirement these days, leaked on the internet.

Me, being the ambitious and nosey sort, still slightly bothered by the fact that I missed out on the original Food and Liquor leak, immediately queued up and obtained a copy..did some research, and Delivers you an overly done review of said project.

01. Prelude (Prod. Ghettobot)

I don't know who this Ghettobot person is, but this is a nice laid back track. Sounds kinda freestylish. Not quite the ground breaking return you might expect for the first track. Conent is pretty typical Jay-Z, although it appears he is still on some "if yall were smarter, I would rap smarter" type stuff. Word Play is vintage Jay-Z though.

Used to think rappin at 38 was ill
but last year alone I grossed 38 mill
I know I ain't quite 38 but still
the flow so special got a 38 feel


02. Oh My God (Prod. Just Blaze)

Fresh from the Just Blaze book of track making. This is one of those tracks that make you wanna go push someone in the back, until you realize you're too old for that foolishness. This shoulda been the first track.

Another Autobiographical track. If he keeps this up, he won't be able to write his tell all memoir. Based on what he is saying, referencing his water donations and being crowned king in Africa, It is pretty obvious this wasn't sitting around in the studio collecting dust.

03. Kingdom Come (Prod. Just Blaze)
A slightly more artistic sampling of Superfreak. Jay makes reference to saving NY HipHop. This song was disparaged wildly on the internet...but isn't everything.

04. Show Me What You Got (Prod. Just Blaze)
I love this song. ok...I love the live drums. The track seems to be the sample of the year. Jay adds about four more Michael Jordan refrences to his tally. After hearing this song 8 million times, I am pretty sure....Shorty refers to the hiphop game out there, referring to himself as the mature alternative to the no class young folk

Why even fool with these other guys? They all stingy
All these dudes know how to say is ‘gimmie’
Gimmie some ass, Gimmie some brain
Gimmie your number, gimmie your name
But if I get one night baby girl I swear
I’ll make you tell these other dudes gimmie got you here
I’ll take you shopping, take long trips
I’ll take the cork off, you can take sips
I’ll take you there, take my time
Take you clothes off, I’ll take off mine
Ma, show me what you got
Hovie in the spot tried to told you I was hot
Tell these other dudes it’s a wrap
Get the fuck out the thrown you clone
The King’s Back!

This was the first song leaked on the album,

05. Lost One (Feat. Chrissette Michelle) (Prod. Dr. Dre)

Apparently Dre was so busy workin with Jay he didn't have time to work on Game's album...


or Rakim's

or Busta's

or...
or...


This is the water cooler song. apparently talks about him breaking up with Beyonce...and in a different way breaking up with Dame Dash and the death of a nephew of his.

Not much new here, it's rather slow and plodding. I am sure if I get around to playing it to death, I will find interesting stuff in the song. or not.

06. Do You Wanna Ride (Feat. John Legend) (Prod. Kanye West)
When Kanye West isn't throwing tantrums (or pretending to throw tantrums or whatever that was) he can craft a pretty interesting beat. Mr. Legend belts out the hook, which fits in nicely with the track. This song is about a collect call from a homie in prison and Jay regales him with tales of the rich and famous. It is a wonder more of these songs don't get made.

07. 30 Something (Prod. Dr.Dre)
Ah...here we go.

30 is the new 20

Vintage Dre. Vintage Jay

Jay does the HipHop equivalent of when the five OGs beats down the teenagers on the court

"I'm young enough to know the right car to buy but grown enough not to put rims on it"
-Hip Hop quotable for 2006

I don't buy out the bar I buy the Nightspot. *storefront*

08. I Made It (Prod. Dr.Dre)

IF Biggie had lived 10 more years, this is what Juicy would have sounded like. A cute song about how he USED to be poor and now...not so much.



09. Anything (Feat. Usher & Pharrell) (Prod. The Neptunes)
This.....is a shitty mess.
how you can get Jay-Z Usher and Pharrell and the Neptunes in a blender and get this concoction of custom made pole dancing anthem...I am not sure...but this...makes you wanna reach for the Charmin. BLAH.

10. Hollywood (Feat. Beyonce) (Prod. Scyience)
This sounds like it fell off Beyonce's album. Radio Fodder. *waves dismissively*

11. Trouble (Prod. Dr.Dre)
Dre is back from his union time out. Jay addresses every single random Jay-Z rumor from Having a baby by Free to...well...addressing Having a baby by Free should tell you just about all you need to know. In the midst of all the urban gossip rumors that abound, you tend to forget that just about all of them involve Jay at some point.

The hook is wack. So wack I refuse to type it out.

this would be the obligatory diss track that names no names. Ludacris has one, now Jay has one.

12. Dig A Hole (Feat. Sterling Simms) (Prod. Swizz Beatz)
Nice effort by Swizz, who is known to put out a clunker every now and then. This on is made for the car. I am sure he is saying something worthwhile...lemme listen again.

OK...THIS is the "yall niggas dont appreciate what i did to the game to enable yall mediocre no-talents to prosper. Ungrateful bastards."

Everyone over 30 has one of these on their records.

Not sure who Sterling Simms is, but he didn't do enough singing the hook to warrant me Googling him to see who he might be. Never mind the fact that I don't know what the hell the hook says.


13. Minority Report (Feat. Ne-Yo) (Prod. Dr. Dre)

Brian Williams makes a cameo on the prelude. Jay finally, FINALLY uses his powers for good.

to wit:

Commander in Chief just flew by
not to stop but he had a couplea seats just rude
Jet Blue, He is not
Jet Blew by the spot
What if he ran out of Jet Fuel and just dropped?
Huh,
That'd been somethin to watch
Helicopters doin fly bys to take a couplea shots



then this

Sure I ponied up a mil but I didn't give my time
So in reality i didn't give a dime or a damn
I just my monies in the hands
of the same people that left my people stranded
nothin but a bandit
left them folks abandoned
damn the money that we gave was just a bandaid
Can't say were better of than we were before
In synopsis this is my Minority Report

I TRIPLE-DOUBLE dare Jay to release this as a single.

Uh huh...well its good...kinda comes off as um....a teeny bit alternately exploitative and yet tinged with regret.

14. Beach Chair (Feat. Chris Martin) (Prod. Chris Martin)
Life is just a Beach Chair so says Jay-Z. Not sure what he means by this. This is one of those "Life is MORE than just Bitches and money" songs...Guess Jay has grown up after all.



Summary:
Nothing Jay could actually do could satisfy the masses.
The game has evolved to the point that most who hate on the previously successful will highlight the trash over the treasure.

It doesn't really sound like everything thing else out.

It sounds JUST like the next logical step after the Black Album.


Is it as good as the Black Album?


no. Not at all.


Is it what I hoped for?


Not quite. I could have traded the Usher/Neptunes turd and the Beyonce Skidmark for one more good song, but those two songs weren't for me.

To further Jay's endless Jordan metaphor.


This is most of Jordan's games in his first season with the Wizards.

You can tell he used to be the greatest ever.

You can also tell he is clearly slowed by other ambitions and time itself.

Basketball is young man's game. You can continue to win as you get older, but the more you win, the less you have a NEED to win, the more effort it takes to give the effort it takes for an old body to rise to the level your young body used to rise to as a matter of routine.


You can tell Jay is still great in spots...but his days of just running roughshod over the league (even a league THIS watered down) are over.


But you knew that already.

So did he. THAT was why he retired in the first place.

Scarlet Fever

Understand ONE thing.


I have lived in California, Florida, and now Texas, all major football factories.


I was BORN in Pittsburgh, PA.

I grew up on Pitt/Penn State/West Virginia as major Eastern Independents.

My mother took classes with Tony Dorsett at the University of Pittsburgh during their last National Championship season.
I grew up as Pitt joined the Big East to improve its languishing basketball program and then watched Miami join the party to form the Big East Football Conference. I then saw Notre Dame join in every sport BUT football...what kinda foolishness was THAT...but they're Notre Dame so they get to do what they want.


The Big Ten added Penn State and The Pitt-Penn State rivalry was dead.

All was ok in the world...until The ACC got greedy and decided it wanted to be the SEC when it grew up. They came a calling upon the Big East to steal Miami and Virginia Tech.

Boston College decided to jump as well and the Undertaker showed up for the Big East.


Fast forward a few years and look where we are.


Not one....but TWO big time Big East games on TV...


and THIS one...was a classic.

Rutgers now is one of Four undefeated teams.

Ohio State
Michigan
Boise State
Rutgers


Michigan and Ohio State play each other...so soon there will be only Three...

Boise State is still Boise State..they will get a BCS bid..but nothing more than that


I really think Rutgers has earned a spot in the Championship game against the OSU/Michigan winner, assuming they win out.

Is their accomplishment in going undefeated in a fairly competitive conference any less than an undefeated trip through the ACC, which is AWFUL this year, but no one seems to be questioning their worth as a football conference?

if we were having this conversation about Miami or VaTech or FSU, we wouldnt be having this conversation.

And that's ok, because Rutgers is VERY young...so there is always next year.

The Big East is HERE....deal with it.

Why Black Republicans keep losing

Why Black Republicans keep losing

The failed GOP outreach to blacks shouldn't be a surprise. Black Republicans lose because both Mehlman and Dean are wrong: On the economic issues that matter most, the Democratic Party hasn't let black voters down, and, opinion polls to the contrary, they still vote on that basis.


Yeah Yeah yeah...can we also agree that at some point Black Republicans are going to have to come to grips with the incessant race baiting that the party does whenever their opponent is Black.

Grapes Of Wrath

Originally this was a comment in the previous thread that grew way too long so I'm putting it out here on the main.

This is the first time in about a hundred years (it's too late and I'm too tired to verify exactly) that there will be a race for president with no incumbent president or vice president in it. The nomination contest will be wide open in both parties and there will be blood on the floor - lots of it - from both parties' internal fighting.

For the Democrats there will be Dean's People-Powered Populists (led by either Gore, Obama, or Feingold) against the Clinton-Carville-From axis (led by Hillary or her appointed proxy, probably Clark). Everyone else, as a certain Senator from the South once said, will be hurling spitwads at tanks.

For the Republicans it will be the McCainiacs against an Evangelical to be named later. Giuliani has about as much chance in a Republican primary as Barney Frank, and Bill Frist won't make it to Iowa let alone beyond Iowa. The religious right is spoiling for a brawl within the Republican Party and they will have it, and the foreign policy realists (finding Pat Buchanan and George Will on the same page against Bush) are itching to join the fight. Some sacrificial lamb will probably be sent into the fight on behalf of the Bush administration - definitely not Colin Powell but someone - and they will be skewered, tarred and feathered immediately.

This is going to be an interesting two years of political infighting, and some of it may not be metaphorical...

Sour Grapes for SALE

Things I heard during the Right Wing Propaganda Round-Up -

"Rick Santorum is the modern Day Churchill" - Glenn Beck

"Democrats are uneasy with the military" - Mark Davis

And my personal Favorite...SO GOOD I couldn't boil it down to one statement:

There hasn't been ideology in the Republican Party, any conservatism, for at least two to maybe four years. You could argue Bush was more of an ideologue in the presidential campaign of '04, but in looking at what happened yesterday, it wasn't conservatism that lost. Conservatism won when it ran as a Democrat. It won in a number of places. Republicanism lost. RINO Republicans, country club blue-blood Republicans, this nonpartisan Republican identity, that's what went down in flames. I've always believed that those of us who are conservative believe in the ideology. We believe it wins. We believe it's best for the country. We believe it's best for the people. We believe it's ultimately compassionate, and it has not been present.
-Rush Limbaugh saying, in effect, that HE didn't lose...THEY did, since HE(conservatism) was playing on the other team.

Don't Get it Twisted...

Yes, The Democrats got in that collective ass last night.

But look VERY carefully at the Democrats who won last night and you will see a more moderate strain.


What you witnessed last night was the nation lurching SLIGHTLY to the left in response to the Hard Right turn performed by the GOP off the road in the past few years.

If the Democrats play this right, (which would be, in my opinion, slowly, gradually, and with an eye towards consistent but incremental change) the democratic nominee NOT named Obama or Clinton will walk into the White House with a REAL, LIVE MANDATE.

Speaking of our favorite first lady, the apparent takeover of the Senate by the Democrats gives new life to THIS juicy little tidbit.

What Reid is offering Senator Hillary Clinton is his total, robust support to succeed him as Senate Majority Leader if she elects not to pursue the Democratic nomination for President.

I heard about this last night while engorging on political coverage of the massacre ...errr...election. As I have said over and over again:

Hillary Clinton is a REVILED figure in national politics who has a negative rating FAR too persistant to overcome her other shortcomings...you know, that whole "woman as commander-in-chief thing".

Yes, I would hold my nose and vote for her, but it would be in vain as neanderthals and people duly riled up by the right-wing propaganda machine would undo all this work that was done.


Which reminds me of one more thing. All you folk doing your touchdown dance today, send Howard Dean a thank you card.

Yes, it IS true that The GOP (Bush) turned it over in his own territory. But the plays called to score were called by Howard Dean.

I wonder if Rush Limbaugh et al. are celebrating Mr. Dean's ascension into the DNC chairmanship this morning? Not so much, I am guessing.

I will troll the RW propaganda machine and rebut their foolishness once it gets up and running...

Now, if you'll excuse me...I have a little touchdown dancing of my own to do.


So, I'm nostalgic, sue me.


If the price of winning a Super Bowl is going 2-6 the following year...I will pay it every time.

Go Steelers. WORLD CHAMPIONS for the next 4 Months. What?

Voting doesn't matter

Today isn't really a good time to break this newsflash, but Voting is basically meaningless.


I'll pause while you curse me.



Now then, let me elaborate.

Voting is a formality. It is NOT the intended voice of the people.

What kind of democracy only listens to the people TWICE a year?

More importantly, what kind of democracy only hears from 30-40% of its citizens on those FEW days.

Democracy is not about what happens the first Tuesday in November. Democracy is a state of being.

Democracy starts with your School board, your city council member. Democracy is a day-to-day affair, watching the people you put in charge of the adminstration of YOUR governement handle YOUR business.

It is no different than if you own a store, and you don't watch the cashier or store-stockers. They may not steal, but they might. They certainly won't run the store the way you would LIKE them to, because you don't supervise them.

Deciding to fire them on a whim and hire all new staff is all well and good, but if you do not supervise the new employees, your situation will never change.


We care more about who Flavor is going to choose than how the property taxes are distributed in our school districts.

We (yes, you and me) allowed this administration to parlay a terrible tragedy into enough political capital to squander a budget surplus and completely undermine our foreign policy.

As our entertainment choices have increased exponentially, our access to information has as well.

But the citizenry is less informed than ever.

That is no accident.

The Citizenry has tuned out. as a general rule, leaving governance to those who are chosen.

Then we wonder why the register is short and all the good meat is all gone.

Pay attention.

Not just today...but tomorrow as well.

Ok, Someone needs to put a stop to this Flavor of Love Spinoff mania

Vh1 has found another way to cash in on Flavor of Love



This foolishness will not stop until we stop watching it. I think I may have to sit this one out.

You have to admit Mo'Nique teaching charm school is a lot like John Kerry teaching comedy.

Word For The Week

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Matthew 25:31-46

As we prepare to vote this Tuesday it would be a good idea for us to focus on the things that matter, and the things that matter are those things that matter most to God. Jesus taught His disciples on the Mount of Olives about the end times, about His return and the judgment, and He described a seperation of the faithful from the unfaithful. Those who were found to be faithful to God were those who were found doing that which God had commissioned them to do, as Jesus illustrated throughout the Olivet Discourse. Jesus makes that point in Matthew 24:45-46 before illustrating the point three times in Matthew 25:1-46. Jesus said, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns." It is those whose master finds them doing what He has commanded them to do who will be rewarded in eternity, while the rest will be cut to pieces and assigned a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So as we prepare to vote this Tuesday, what should our priorities be? If we are to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His teachings then we should think carefully about what He said, and what He did not say. In our text - or any text, for that matter - He did not say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For you means-tested the hungry and told the thirsty to get a handout from someone else, you built a 700-mile fence to keep out the strangers and you ignored the homeless who who needed clothes; you told the sick to get a job with benefits and you made sure that those who were in prison served the maximum penalty." That's not what Jesus said. What Jesus did say was, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."

Choose your destiny and vote accordingly.

Now does this mean, as some would say, that you can be Christian without being a Christian? No, it does not. That is, in fact, the biggest fallacy of the Religious Right - trying to get people to outwardly act like a Christian ought to act without facilitating the inward conversion that should manifest itself as outward works that conform to the character of Christ. Instead, the Religious Right focuses on the effect, not the cause, while in our text today Jesus presumes the cause (faith in Him) since He'd set the context in the previous chapter. In our text, as in the two illustrations preceding our text (Parable of the Ten Virgins, Parable of the Talents), Jesus is talking about a separation of those who claim to be His servants, of those who actively serve Him - He is not including those who simply emulate a couple aspects of His character. Jesus is talking about Christians - at least people who call themselves Christians - and there will be a division of the flock between sheep and goats, but those who do not actively serve Him are not even in the flock and they will not be among His elect for whom He returns.

It will be much like the end of the movie A Time To Kill when the sherriff rounded up all of the Klansmen, and then - to the surprise of everyone - tossed one of his deputies into the group of Klansmen. The deputy's actions betrayed the calling that he claimed so he was cast into prison with the rest of the criminals. You could almost hear the deputy cry, "But sherriff, didn't I arrest criminals in your name and in your name maintain law and order?" and the sherriff reply, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoer!" Naturally, the sherrif will cast criminals into prison - that does not require a parable - the point that Jesus is making here, as in the rest of the chapter, is that there will be so-called deputies cast into the eternal prison as well.

As we prepare to vote this Tuesday we would be wise to consider that there will be many conservatives on the Day of Judgment who stand before Jesus, saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not vote Republican in your name, and in your name drive out homosexuals and prevent many abortions?" just to hear Jesus tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" However, there will also be liberals standing before Jesus in judgment, saying, "'Lord, Lord, did we not feed the hungry, and clothe the naked and comfort the sick and imprisoned?" just to hear Jesus tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" Faith without works is truly dead, and works without faith is equally dead. Only a faith that works will lead to eternal life, and that faith must be placed in Jesus Christ - the only way to the Father is through the Son.

Choose your destiny and vote accordingly.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to choose life eternal,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

My SECOND thought upon hearing the Ted Haggard Story

OK, Please tell me that I am not the only person whose brain did THIS upon hearing about Ted Haggard and his "friend".


Every time the name Mike Jones is mentioned, my subconscious instinctively chimes in:


WHO?

please tell me I am not the only person doing this.


I would pay GOOOOOOOOD money to hear someone bustout with that in the middle of a news segment.


It is just BOUND to happen. I cannot be the only person thinking about this.



For the record, my FIRST thought about this was:


Well It's been a few months since they've caught a minister acting a fool, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

If you are not afraid NOW about election day, you are just stupid.

This is scarier than ANY hacker movie I have ever seen.


Is American democracy safe in the age of computers? This cautionary film looks at the very real risk of hackers altering vote counts in public elections--and exposes the vulnerability of computers which count approximately 80% of America's votes in county, state and federal elections. Filmed in 2004-05, this documentary tells the story of Bev Harris, a Seattle publicist/writer whose watchdog group uncovered evidence of mishandled voting records and suspicious voting machine malfunctions. Harris' crusade took the group--consisting of computer experts, activists and political candidates from both parties--from her home computer (where she found a computer system blueprint accidentally made public) to Tallahassee, FL for a "mini-election" that proved just how easy it is to hack the vote.


If you don't have HBO, you need to find someone who does. and go watch it.

It does not make sense for us STILL have this kind of foolishness going on SIX years later.

Here is the schedule for the remainder of the weekend, leading up to election day.

Sat 11/4 12:00 PM			HBO2 - EAST
	Sat 11/4 03:00 PM			HBO2 - WEST
	Sun 11/5 09:00 AM			HBO High Definition - EAST
	Sun 11/5 09:00 AM			HBO LATINO - EAST
	Sun 11/5 09:00 AM			HBO - EAST
	Sun 11/5 12:00 PM			HBO LATINO - WEST
	Sun 11/5 12:00 PM			HBO High Definition - WEST
	Sun 11/5 12:00 PM			HBO - WEST
	Mon 11/6 02:10 AM			HBO LATINO - EAST
	Mon 11/6 05:10 AM			HBO LATINO - WEST
	Tue 11/7 09:00 AM			HBO High Definition - EAST
	Tue 11/7 09:00 AM			HBO - EAST
	Tue 11/7 09:00 AM			HBO LATINO - EAST
	Tue 11/7 12:00 PM			HBO LATINO - WEST
	Tue 11/7 12:00 PM			HBO High Definition - WEST
	Tue 11/7 12:00 PM			HBO - WEST
	Tue 11/7 06:30 PM			HBO High Definition - EAST
	Tue 11/7 06:30 PM			HBO - EAST
	Tue 11/7 06:30 PM			HBO LATINO - EAST
	Tue 11/7 09:30 PM			HBO LATINO - WEST
	Tue 11/7 09:30 PM			HBO High Definition - WEST

John Kerry, The Bill Buckner of the Midterms

Once upon a time, A certain group of people had suffered many painful losses to their hated enemies. Finally after many years, they were on the verge of a great victory and out of nowhere, one of their proud warriors committed an awful error. It would appear to the unsophisticated observer that this was just a mistake that can happen in the course of competition, but true students of the game understand a critical mistake was made in allowing the warrior to be in a position he does not demonstrate a lot of proficiency in at this stage.

With the stakes what they were at the time, surely another warrior could have been summoned to fulfill the tasks needed at this late date, but alas that call was not made, and what seemed to be a sure victory was squandered and the opponents lived to fight another day.

What gets lost in the legend of this story is that that error did not lead to the immediate loss of the competition, it only snatched a temporary defeat from the jaws of a glorious victory.

When the defeat did come, the blame was lain at the feet of the erroneous warrior who was forced to live his life in infamy, his name scarred for life.

We shall see how it turns out THIS time...wink.

Katherine Harris: Always the last to know - Scarborough Country - MSNBC.com

RIP: The Political Career of Katherine Harris 2000-2006


Joe Scarborough can be a real jagoff at times, but he nailed this one.

I was always amused at the quioxtic nature of her insistence building a career in politics after the great battle of Chad in Florida.

This is the problem with Republicans. They spend so much time listening to Rush and Bill and Glenn and spout the party line and rally the troops that they lack a certain perspective. Republicans love her...well they loved what she DID....Now, she is what she always was, a vapid self-absorbed ideologue obsessed with her own political ambitions.

What she amounts to is this:

Katherine Harris is the chick whose house the GOP partied at because she was the one with all the liquor and the parents who were out of town. The party was good and everyone got trashed.

Then her parents came home and the GOP conveniently forgot who she was. But she kept showing up at all the other parties like nothing happened.

Finally Katherine showed up at the homecoming party in 06 determined to be part of the in-crowd.

The GOP said "bring your own liquor and well let you in." But she was broke and had no connections.

She showed up anyway, and before you know it, She got beat upside the head by some random cheerleader from the other team.

No one laughed, no one even saw it. It just happened. She walked out of the house holding her mouth and yearning for the days when she was the life of the party.

You ain't got to go home, Katherine, but you gotta get the hell up outta here.

On fire...he is...

I don't know if you know this, but my best friend in the world is one of the most dynamic voices on Political issues out right now.

At the current moment, he is using his powers for some random nefarious purpose in the name of making ends meet or some superficial ish like that.

Go peep him and, get your mind lifted. I am not necessarily saying I agree with him, because I am not sure I do.

But you cannot knock how compelling the argument is. That's why I ride for him like I do.