DarkStar Spouts Off

Double Damn...

OK, how much worse can this man's life get?

D.C. Council member Marion Barry found himself mired in more political, legal and personal drama yesterday after his arrest late Saturday on charges that he was stalking a female companion.

Barry's latest run-in with the law centers on his relationship with political consultant Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, who alleges that he continues to approach her even though they split up a few months ago.

He used to be The Mack, now he's a stalker?

This is not how I would expect this man's life to end.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Shot twice in the head and two more times in the chest, former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was the victim of a homicide, police declared Sunday. But authorities wouldn't say it was a murder-suicide - even with his 20-year-old girlfriend dead at his feet from a single bullet.

McNair had been dating Saleh Kazemi for several months, and Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said Sunday that a semiautomatic pistol was found under her body. She was shot in the head.

People need to understand that women do crazy as well, and the numbers indicate they do far more deadly damage.

Doing Politics

Colin Powell isn't feeling Obama's growth of government? Uhhh....

I support Powell, but what else did he expect? A Dem controlled congress and a Dem in the big chair means growth of government.

Palin resigning as governor? Uhhhh.....

If I were a resident of Alaska, I'd be pissed. Doesn't she have a duty to the people who elected her to finish out her term? Not finishing your term because you get elected to the office of vice president of the United States is one thing, just saying, "I quit" is another.

Random Ed-ness

Some random, kinda sorta, thoughts:

• If you remember me from soc.culture.african.american you may remember "Ed-ness". I kinda liked that phrase because it kinda fits. If you don't remember, don't worry.
• I've tried to check out of watching the news for my own mental well being, but I keep getting pulled back in. I can deal with the madness going on at the global level, but I have a harder time dealing with the madness on the national, state and local level. I'm finding myself more and more screaming at the boob tube and just being generally disgusted.
• Regionally, here is a reason why I scream.
• Is this a matter of "good sex" being mistaken for an attack or is there more to this than meets the eye?

• In a comment at a post on P6's blog, I wrote this: The [GM] bond holders are right to [ attempt to block GM's sale ]. There is no damn way, even with accepting the government money, that the government should re-write the bankruptcy rules, just for those who took the money. It's damn wrong for the unions to get a piece of the company and placed in front of the bond holders.

  People don't seem to realize and/or care that the bond holders of GM are many times people who have pension plans with companies and/or state and/or local government.
  

• Maybe it is me, but I just don't see any good coming out of government becoming a source of health care coverage as an alternative to private insurers. When I worked in the U.K. for about 6 months, I saw how people who went over with me first liked being a part of the greater medical system when emergencies arose, but when they had to schedule "routine to them" doctor visits and/or procedures, the wait became an issue. And the fact that the government then can get into the game of rationing care based on cost, really bothers me.
  
  The government saying "no health care for you!" for a specific medical problem when there are options available, really, really, REALLY bothers me.
• Can someone explain to me how "cap and trade," which will cause energy prices to rise, is NOT harmful to "the poor and middle class"? How about this idea?
  
  Let's assume there are jobs in an city like Baltimore where a large number of people who work those jobs, live in the suburbs and commute to Baltimore. If the cost of gas rises, would that not cause people to move back into Baltimore, thus causing the price of housing to rise? And wouldn't that cause gentrification of areas that are depressed, causing "poor and 'people of color'" to be forced out of those areas? Or, if enough workers live outside of the city, would  that not cause the companies to move out of Baltimore causing harm to the city?
• To my new little cousin, welcome to your life, your world, and your family. God has blessed you to be born into the immediate and extended family to which you have been born.

That's enough for now.

BET Awards

1. Joe Jackson pimped his record label when speaking about his dead son.
2. Joe Jackson said the world lost an ENTERTAINER not that he lost his son.
3. Jamie Foxx is ig'nance and no-class, personified.

That is all.

Revelation Song

Good morning.

Have a good day.

Michael Or Prince?

Back in the day when both were SMOKIN, the debate would be Prince or Michael Jackson? Who was better?

I'd say when it came to music, although Michael was around longer, Prince was on top because he wrote all of his songs and played all of the instruments.

HOWEVER....

Michael had to be way on top on the entertainment level. Prince could jam and rock and give one helluva concert, but M.J. was in a league all to himself. (Think of all the wannabes, even today cough*Usher*cough, cough*Chris Brown*cough*)

"Old heads" like me remember that it was Michael that caused MTV to play videos of Black artists!

People often say they are offering prayers for the family of someone who died, but in this case, the family needs it regardless.

Michael Jackson, R.I.P.

Let Me See If I Understand

Let me see if I understand this.

Your company loses BILLIONS of dollars and you take money from the government to bail your behind out of a jam. To get around bonus limits, you raise the pay of some employees, outside of "normal" pay period evaluation?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup Inc. is increasing base salaries for many of its employees -- reportedly by as much as 50 percent for some workers -- as it restructures its compensation program amid new restrictions on bonus payments.

The increased salaries will offset lower bonuses, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the plans have not been made public. The higher salaries are not the equivalent of annual raises, the person added.

Citi faces restrictions on bonuses as part of a new government compensation oversight plan because the bank received bailout funds from the Treasury Department.

By shifting the mix in compensation packages, it will allow Citi to pay most employees as much as they received in 2008 while adhering to bonus caps.

"Citi continues to examine ways to ensure its employee compensation practices are competitive in this very challenging market environment," Citi said in a statement Wednesday. "Any salary adjustments are not intended to increase total annual compensation, rather to adjust the balance between fixed and variable compensation."

You want to "retain good workers" but you lost about $30 billion dollars over the past year and a half?

And where are our, being the U.S. government, dividends since you can afford this type of raise?

Iran: Something I Was Reminded Of

I was reminded about the Shah of Iran and how the U.S. and Britian installed him into power in Iran, destroying an elected government in the process.

Will those who are against Obama's tactics towards Iran please comment on that piece of history and why Iran and the rest of the world is in this mess as a result of that meddling?

Perfect Gift For A "REAL FATHER"'s Day

Here's what I think the perfect gift for a REAL FATHER's Day present is, in order:

1. Respect from his family for doing his best to hold things down. He may not be able to do so all of the time, but showing the man respect for trying his best and maybe giving a little hug from his wife or his children -- boys can give dap -- saying they see he is doing his best, for THEM AND THE FAMILY.
2. The big chair. If he can't have the man cave, give him the big chair.
3. The remote; 'nuff said.
4. The big piece of chicken.

Happy Father's Day!

Quote

If you hear any noise
It's just me and the boys
Getting paid
Gotta get the bank

That's what I thought they were saying...

If you hear any noise
It's just me and the boys
Hit me
You gotta hit the band

Iran: I Don't Understand

I don't understand people's criticism of Obama for delaying comments about what is happening in Iran. Even if he said something almost immediately, the reaction of the leaders in Iran would still be the same. They really don't care what anyone in the U.S. says, and they know that our resources are taxed at this point, so there is not much we can do.

We have hot zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and our military on the DMZ between North and South Korea have to be protected and be given reinforcements given what N. Korea is doing. BTW, did President Bush do anything about N. Korea's nukes?

Yes, Iran is funding groups that are helping to keep things stirred up in Iraq, but so is Syria. I'd like to read the commentary about Syria causing a mess but the fact that they are backed by China may be the  reason the commentary against Syria is muted.

Oh yeah, who really rules Iran? Suppose the president of the country is tossed out, what happens then? I'd gather more chaos since the president of Iran, no matter how nutty, doesn't have the real power.

I've been critical of the Obama administration, but on this one, I'm not saying a damn thing because I don't see the alternatives being given as being viable. So, STHU!

Obama Killed The Fly

That's what the fly gets for ....

Entering the "no fly zone"!

Kid Didn't Graduate? Blame The Parent

I'm straight and to the point with what I have to say. As someone once said, I'm economical with words and try to get the most out of what I say. Here's an example.

It is a debate that has gone on for years in poor communities: do you blame the schools for the students' poor performance or do you blame their parents?

The mother of a one student who failed eighth grade says she got no warning her son was struggling. The school says she was notified, and other parents insist she did not do enough.

Tatianna Dennis' son, Tarrell, took his eighth grade photo complete with cap and gown, but the day before his grammar school's graduation, Tarrell learned he would not be marching down the aisle.

"I asked him why but he was so heartbroken, he couldn't really talk," said Tatianna Dennis.

Dennis says she had no idea her son was about to fail English; no written notices from Bradwell Elementary, she says, and no warning from his teacher.

Tarrell had failed English two times before, but Dennis thought he was doing better.

See this article? This isn't about a SCHOOL FAILING THE KIDS, this is about PARENTS FAILING THE KIDS. Just read it.

The Press

From The Constitution of the United States of America:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Among other things, this gives the press the freedom from government intervention of what it, the press, decides to cover and/or NOT COVER.

I complain about the coverage of the media, normally about how it covers the Black community or of interests to what I think are the Black community or about what interests me. While I want the press to be impartial and accurate, I know they have no real "duty" to be either.

It bothers me, A LOT, when they are neither but I know they have NO Constitutional role to be impartial and accurate. They have NO Constitutional requirement to be ethical. The Drudge Report "reports":

On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!

Highlights on the agenda:

ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.

The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.

The Director of Communications at the White House Office of Health Reform is Linda Douglass, who worked as a reporter for ABC News from 1998-2006.

ABC News providing this coverage from the White House is not the issue as far as I'm concerned. The issue is there are no opposing views to this at the time or immediately following up when the Obama administration is proposing changes to the health care systsem that will affect the health of people and the economy.

Change for change's sake is not a good thing.

Whites Ain't Safe! Who Cares If Blacks Ain't Safe, Either?!?!?!

Whites ain't safe! Who cares if Blacks ain't safe either! That's all I can think about after reading Greg Kanes opinion article:

Whitey, don’t let the sun set on you in Bodymore, Murderland. That’s neither an official or unofficial slogan for Baltimore yet, but it’s not because some of our more dysfunctional citizens aren’t trying to make it so.

...

 

The overwhelming majority of those bodies are black ones, dispatched by black perps. But the few white bodies may end up giving Baltimore a notorious reputation as a city where whites just aren’t safe.

It's not safe for Blacks, but they don't matter? Kane is Black and still lives in the city, and has previously written about being a victim of crime, by Black people, in the city. But I don't recall something like the following line from Kane:

With leaders like this, would you, if you’re white, let the sun set on you in Baltimore?

How about asking that of Blacks in the city?

Damn.