Katrina
It's been two years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and parts of the Mississippi coast. To date, there has been a great deal of recovery and the tourist industry is back on track. Those residents who have returned are slowly trying to rebuild. Having recently been in New Orleans, there is so much more to be done. As a matter of fact, there are still some bodies that have yet to be buried. Sad aint it?
And yes I go back to the Occupation. Billions wasted over there while folk here struggle to regain their lives. Then I look up today and see another 50 billion has been requested for the Occupation. WTF? I am glad I had an opportunity to give back to a resident in New Orleans. Wish I was in a position to do more.
Related articles, http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/08/29/ed.edit.katrina.0829.p1.php?section=opinion, http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3535552 , http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=3526090&page=1 , http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/katrina_anniversary , http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/08/29/ED5MRQUMT.DTL
posted by Spike Zee @ 9:57 PM
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I'm trying to wrap my mind on the issue of Michael Vick's decision Monday to plead guilty to federal dogfighting charges. Let me first acknowledge that his alleged actions are in fact a violation of the law. Dog fighting is illegal, true. He should have never participated in any aspect of it, whether it was organizing, breeding dogs or just placing bets. It was straight stupid for him to be there period. But, yes, there is a but, but, should his career be put in jeopardy over all of this? Let me just say this, a Tennessee woman just spent what, sixty some odd days in a mental house for shooting her husband in the back while he was asleep, and yet, Vick faces jail time and losing millions because he chose to participate in some illegal dog activities. Something aint too right about that picture.
Now lets just be real for a moment. I know cats in Memphis that have/were/are involved in Dog fighting. It's somewhat of a hood ultimate fighting type thing. The same cats that like that violent ultimate fighting crap that comes on TV, are some of the same cats that will bet money on dogs fighting to the death. Personally, its all sickening to me. But back to Vick, this cat grew up grew up living in a public housing project in Newport, Virginia. I'd probably imagine that he grew up watching dope boys fight dogs, and in the back of his mind he probably imagined one day when he was paid like them, he was gonna do dog fights too. Those were his surroundings back then, that's what he grew up seeing. It's funny because, people literally expect that once these brothas get their hands on some money, they instantly expect them men to somehow perhaps through osmosis inherit class and culture. Let me say that again, some people really expect a person born and raised in the heart of the hood to somehow instantaneously become outstanding citizens the moment that check hits the bank. Shit aint happening, they simply become hood cats with clean money. That said....
Let's be real too, most black folk treat their dogs like white folks treated their slaves back in the day, while whites treat their dogs like humans. Seriously, how many of ya'll remember back in the day, your relative that had a dog that stayed in the back yard, probably named "King", sleeping under the porch, getting leftovers, and rarely if if ever taking a trip to the vet. Shoot, if the dog got sick, what yo folk do?....take the dog for that one time, one way trip in the family car. But you go over your white friends house and their dog is running wild in the house, with a tight dog house in the back yard, dining on that good healthy dog food with vitamin supplements, looking well groomed, waiting to take that daily chained walk with its master.
So, you have to at least acknowledge there is a difference in the perception of Vick's actions. Some folk think, though illegal, it's no big deal, and to others, it's almost as worse as murder. Should he be punished for his actions? Sure I guess, it was illegal. Should he be facing jail time in the pen, and face losing 15 to 20 million in signing bonus money? Hmmm...I dare give an answer to that one.....
Damn...who's that peeking in my window?
The new law Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is referring to would expand the government's authority to intercept without a court order the phone calls and e-mails of people in the United States who are communicating with people overseas. Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology, predicted that the bill's approval would lead to the monitoring of ordinary Americans by the National Security Agency, which conducts most of the government's electronic surveillance. "If this bill becomes law, Americans who communicate with a person abroad can count on one thing: The NSA may be listening," he said. Your right to privacy and your civil liberties? Negro please...we must do this or those terrorist folk want to come here and kill you. For more analysis, I turn to Keith,
If you still don't get it, here is a more detailed assessment of the surveilance issue. 
Damn, you telling me I've been getting pimped with the bottled water thing. Thinking I'm sipping on some pristine source of water, the whole time I'm sucking down tap water. I could have just filled a bottle up from the faucet or a regular water fountain. I'm glad to see brotha Wilkins has filed a class action suit against the bottle water makers. 
