DarkStar Spouts Off

Your Behind Is Trifling If....

Your behind is trifling if...

• You enter a public or semi-public restroom talking on a cell phone.
• You go to the urinal or stall talking on a cell phone.
• You USE the urinal while talking on the cell phone.

Your behind is just NAZTEE if you USE the stall while talking on the cell phone.

And, yes, I called someone doing it a naztee azz.

Who Is More Well Known?

Prof. Leonard Jefferies? Prof. Michael Levin?

Why am I asking this question? More later...

Blackness Is...

Blackness is...

HellifIknow...

But I do know that we have different concerns based on the different economic status and/or stages of life.

When I was in college, my concern was getting out of college.

After getting out of college, my concern was getting a job.

After getting a job, my concern was banking as much as I could, while I got a ride, nice clothes, and women.

After that, my concern was women and advancing in the job.

After that, my concern was getting a house and women.

Then it was taking care of my daughter, women, and advancing my knowledge.

Then it was taking care of the house, my daughter, advancing my economic status, extended family, and things.

Skip to now, my concerns are legacy wealth, banking money for a new, and bigger, home, banking money for "DS 2.0"'s education (Education Savings Account and College Fund), income protection (read insurance), business plans, advancing career, retirement....

Is that Blackness?

Do I care? Nope.

Who Is The Independent Thinker?

Who is the "independent thinker"?

Is it:

• The Black Democrat?
• The Black Democrat who goes against the Democrat power structure?
• The Black Republican?
• The Black Libertarian/Green Party/LaRouche party member? (Wait. Strike LaRouche. I haven't met one yet who wasn't a wack job).
• The Black person who is politically non-aligned?

Greg Kane Nails Baltimore City Schools

Gregory Kane's article on Black America web takes Democrats to task for the poor state of schools in Baltimore.

...Henderson told a room full of black folks at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University that Maryland’s Republican governor was trying to take over Baltimore schools. Then he told them about how teachers in predominantly-white Baltimore County schools are better than those in predominantly-black Baltimore schools and about disparities in the availability of advanced placement courses between the two systems.

Here’s what Henderson failed to mention: schools in Baltimore County and in Baltimore are run by Democrats. Maryland’s legislature, which funds both systems, has been a Democratic body for decades.

Any failures of Baltimore’s school system -- which, according to a Manhattan Institute study, graduates only 48 percent of its students and only 39 percent of its black male students -- have to be blamed on the political party that’s run the system for years.

That would be Democrats.

...

I’ll use as Exhibit A Baltimore’s KIPP Ujima Village Academy, a fifth-through-eighth grade school that sits in a poor, predominantly black section of northwest Baltimore. On recent state assessment tests, these “poor black kids” Democrats claim to have so much affection for rocked it, totally blitzing their counterparts in predominantly white, affluent areas of the state.

Nearly 92 percent of KIPP’s sixth-graders scored at advanced or proficient levels in reading on the Maryland School Assessments. They beat 24 of 25 schools in Baltimore County and 15 of 19 schools in ritzy Howard County, just south of Baltimore.

In math, just over 89 percent of KIPP’s sixth-graders scored at advanced or proficient levels, beating 23 of 25 Baltimore County schools and 12 of 19 Howard County schools. One hundred percent of KIPP’s seventh and eighth graders scored at advanced or proficient in math, beating ALL schools in Baltimore County and Howard County.

I'll have to say this: parents are also to blame for the Baltimore City schools. There are not enough parents -- I'm drawing a blank on the phrase I want to use -- who care enough about the school system to raise hell.

"Middle Class" Values

I just heard a conversation relating to "middle class values" vs. the "values of the underclass."

You know what?

That's b.s.

"Just because we are poor, it doesn't mean you have to be unkempt."

"Just because we are poor, it doesn't mean you don't take care of your stuff."

"Do your best no matter what. Even if you fail, you will learn from the experience. "

"Hard work brings good results in the long run. You may not see it now, but you will see it later. "

 

Those are a few values on which I was raised.

They aren't "middle class" values, those are people values.

Green Lantern

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 75% The Flash 75% Iron Man 65% Robin 60% Catwoman 60% Hulk 60% Superman 60% Spider-Man 55% Supergirl 50% Wonder Woman 35% Batman 35%

Hot-headed.  You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Guitar Players I LOVE

Santana.

Eric Clapton.

Jimi Hendrix.

Prince.

Jesse Johnson.

Wide Access To Broadband

Thanks to the growing access of broadband, we know are learning how funny, sick, strange, talented, original thinking some people can be.

Youtube is fascinating.

And don't get me started on Hot Ghetto Mess.

And Flickr? Come on. Sharing pictures with family and friends?

Ahhhh... Broadband.

I'm going to quickly tie this into something I'm not seeing enough being written about and that is net neutrality.

Think about Verizon, AT&T, and COMCAST deciding that Youtube is taking up too much bandwidth and decides to independently, in concert, filter Youtube's packets until Youtube agrees to pay them for the amount of bandwidth that goes over the "last mile" of wiring to the home that they control.

A few years ago, when MCI was still around, they had a dispute with someone and decided to block packets of the ISP. It caused some serious problems for a few days.

Currently, COMCAST has taken strong action to block SPAM senders by blocking packets that have 192.168.*.* some where in the packet stack. The end result is some legitimate email is not being received because of it.

Spinning Tunes

Tunes on the hard disk that are spinning right now:

Jesse Johnson: Ultimate Collection (Wow. Guitar playing).
Maceo Parker: random cuts
Brooklyn Funk Essentials: Blow Your Brains Out. (Maceo Parker on the sax rippin' it!)
Loose Ends: Don't Be a Fool, Hangin' on a String, Nights of Pleasure, Slow Down, Stay Awhile Child
Rick James: The Millennium Collection

New Viagra Spokesman

It appears that Rush Limbaugh is the new Viagra spokesman.

Now, I could really clown here but I won't. But what I will do is point out how the elite get to break the rules and not pay a price for it.

Imagine you asking your doctor to put your prescription in someone else's name to protect your privacy. Now image getting CAUGHT.

Having said that, I hope they don't try to make a case out of this.

[ Update ]

In Florida, it's legal to obtain a prescription in someone else's name as long as the doctor has clearly documented what has happened.

It is generally not illegal under Florida law for a physician to prescribe medication in a third party's name if all parties are aware and the doctor documents it correctly, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney in Palm Beach County. He would not discuss specifics in the Limbaugh case Tuesday.

Ain't that something?

Sniping At The King Family

I have to snipe at the King family, or properly put, the children of Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. Years ago I visited the King Center in Atlanta and I was shocked and mortified by the state of the Center. To put it kindly, it was a dump. Then I noticed the area around it, and it was also a dump. In this case, the buildings for which the title applies are the buildings that were part of the Center.

2. I know what I'm about to write is wrong and petty, but I have to write what I have to write: I don't understand why none of the children married. I can understand why Coretta Scott King didn't remarry, but why haven't any of the children married?

3. There are a lot of people who have "old stuff" stored away in the attic or in the cellar. But, you would expect that family to know the material they have is "priceless" so they would take proper care of the material.

4. I ain't mad at the family for selling the material.

5. With all of the contacts the family has, why have they not been able to raise money for the center? Why have they not been able to hire competent people to run the center? I guess I'm asking why the family seems to be so clueless?

6. I hope they use the money wisely.

The End Of The World

See the end of the world.

Who Is Raising Money For You?

Who is raising money for you?

That is the question The Washington Post is asking.

[ Updated for readability ]

For grins and giggles, I'm going to point out the former local NAACP president quoted in this article, said on a radio interview that he is a Republican. He also said during the radio interview that he doesn't consider Barbara Bush to be a racist.

[ Updated for clarity ]

The article is a pure hit piece on Michael Steele.

Give Me The Money!!!!

Warren Buffet is giving away A LOT of money to charity, with most of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Any money given to the foundation has to be spent in that same year.

I hope the Bill and Melinda Gate$ Foundation doe$ a GREAT job in vetting to whom they are giving money.

Funny Of The Day

"And then she called me a hick!

Now... I'm from the South!

Being called a hick is an insult!

I'm a redneck, NOT a hick!"

Riddle Me This

If it is "wrong" or "bad" for Blacks to call other Blacks "sell out", why is it not bad for whites to call other whites "guilty white liberals"?

The usage is the same.

Latest In The "Black Man" Series

The latest in the "Black Men" series in the post is up. I have nothing really to say about this piece.

I forgot to mention the previous one here. On this one that covers two teenage boys, I thought it was a great piece.

An interesting note: sometimes more is said by noticing what is not being said vs. what is being said.

'nuff said. :-)

Keepers Of The Funk

Keepers of The Funk:

• Maceo Parker
• Kirk Franklin

If you know of any others, hit a brutha up!

I Think I'm Missing Something

The NY Times reported on an effort by the U.S. to track finance transactions in and out of the country. Some people are very mad about the disclosure and I would understand why if this wasn't already common knowledge.

It's common knowledge that any transaction of $10,000 or over is reported to the U.S. government. This is to try to track financial transactions that may involve drug money.

When I opened a bank account or an investment account, I had to sign papers saying I am who I am. The papers stated it is now a requirement as part of the anti-terrorism effort to make sure funds aren't being sent to terrorist networks or benefiting terrorist networks.

In the D.C. area, there have been news reports of the Feds freezing all assets of charities/foundations that the Feds believe benefit terrorist networks. There have been news reports of the closing of those charities/foundations as a result.

So, why is it big news that the U.S. government is tracking financial transactions? And why are people angry at the news? Wasn't it already publicized by the government?

Or am I missing something?

Morehouse Gets The King Papers

Morehouse gets the King papers!

A collection of Martin Luther King Jr.'s handwritten documents and books will be given to his alma mater, officials said yesterday. A coalition of business, individuals and philanthropic leaders led by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin bought the collection for an undisclosed amount, said Morehouse College President Walter Massey. The personal papers of the civil rights leader had been scheduled to be auctioned June 30 at Sotheby's auction house in New York and were valued at $15 million to $30 million. Massey said the Atlanta group offered more than that and Morehouse College will acquire the collection.

Yes!!!

Being A Parent Means...

Being a parent means self-denial.

Right now, I have access to funds to buy a mid-level BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus sedan, nicely equipped.

I could also buy some geek stuff like computer equipment or home theater stuff.

Instead, it's targeted towards education, clothes, essentials and nice things for the "kids".

That's how is should be, even if I want to lean in a 540i, E class, or M.

Corrupt

I am not a wordsmith, so when I use certain words, I do so with deliberation. For example, I don't use "racist" much because I think there is great confusion in the use of "racist" and "racism" when "bigot" or "bigotry" should be used. And, of course, disparate impact isn't racism.

Having said that, I looked up the word corrupt for a reason:

transitive senses
1 a : to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions; also : BRIBE b : to degrade with unsound principles or moral values

intransitive senses
1 a : to become tainted or rotten b : to become morally debased
2 : to cause disintegration or ruin

Yes, that's the word whose meaning I am going to use.

I also looked up the definition of another word: activist.

Function: noun
: a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue
- ac·tiv·ist   /-vist/ noun or adjective

When I look at the words, it's easy to say that an activist, by definition, will become corrupt because  of the vigorous support of opposition to something.

My positive nature, which I do have, likes to believe that most activists don't become corrupt, but the realist in me (not cynic), knows that many will cross that line. For examples, see Jesse Jackson, Sr's work against liquor stores in depressed neighborhoods until his sons received an beer distributorship or Al Sharpton's work against predatory lending until he started being a pitch man for car title loans.

Let's say a person becomes an activist to point out what they believe is hypocrisy in the reporting of news that involves racial matters.

Let's say a person sees news of the day that goes one way, but their activist stance dictates that they point out something going the other way. Let's say that person does it, but ignores other instances that rebuts their stance. Let's also say that person ignores strong evidence of reporting in the current time frame, that rebuts their stance.

But, this person still says one reporting of instances overwhelms the other reporting of instances, instances which that person is now actively trying to bring to light.

By ignoring the obvious, has that person now crossed the line to become corrupt?

Like I say, I'm not a wordsmith.

Maybe corrupt activist is an oxymoron.

Why Ain't The Black Dem Running For Gov?

OK, on Thursday, Montgomery County, Maryland county executive Doug Duncan stopped running for the Democratic nomination to run for governor. He said he has recently been diagnosed with clinical depression and decided to end his run. However, he will stay on as county executive. He also immediately endorsed Baltimore city mayor Martin O'Malley for the Democratic nomination. ( I don't like Martin O'Malley so I refuse to link to that "person's" website ).

Duncan's running mate is Stuart Simms. It is said that Simms wasn't notified of Duncan's decision until minutes before the official announcement. ( I find that hard to believe ).

However, Doug Duncan has said a few times that Simms is capable of running the state, so instead of endorsing O'Malley, why didn't Duncan say that he would endorse Simms?

There are political reasons, such as getting behind O'Malley because he is the only Democrat left in the race who has already announced and the deadline to file the intent to run is coming up soon. Also, since Duncan is a Democrat, he could just be supporting the ticket.

But I don't have to like it and I don't. Although I'm not a Democrat, why can't the brother, Simms, who everyone involved in Maryland politics, says is capable?

Democrat politicians in Maryland, again, have shown Black Democrat voters their bare backsides.

But, that's just me spouting off...

Acting White

This is an article about a study concerning "Acting White" by Roland G. Fryer.

I'm going to hunt down another one that is referenced in this article.

http://www.educationnext.org/200...g/20061/ 52.html

My analysis confirms that acting white is a vexing reality within a subset of American schools. It does not allow me to say whose fault this is, the studious youngster or others in his peer group. But I do find that the way schools are structured affects the incidence of the acting-white phenomenon. The evidence indicates that the social disease, whatever its cause, is most prevalent in racially integrated public schools. It’s less of a problem in the private sector and in predominantly black public schools.

With findings as potentially controversial as these, one wants to be sure that they rest on a solid base. In this regard, I am fortunate that the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Adhealth) provides information on the friendship patterns of a nationally representative sample of more than 90,000 students, from 175 schools in 80 communities, who entered grades 7 through 12 in the 1994 school year. With this database, it is possible to move beyond both the more narrowly focused ethnographic studies and the potentially misleading national studies based on self-reported indicators of popularity that have so far guided the discussion of acting white.

...

The patterns described thus far essentially characterize social dynamics of public-school students, who constitute 94 percent of the students in the Adhealth sample. For the small percentage of black and Hispanic students who attend private school, however, I find no evidence of a trade-off between popularity and achievement (see Figure 2). Surprisingly, white private-school students with the highest grades are not as popular as their lower-achieving peers. The most-popular white students in private schools have a GPA of roughly 2.0, a C average.

...

I also find that acting white is unique to those schools where black students comprise less than 80 percent of the student population. In predominantly black schools, I find no evidence at all that getting good grades adversely affects students’ popularity.

...

However plausible it sounds, the oppositional culture theory cannot explain why the acting-white problem is greatest in integrated settings. If Fordham and Ogbu were correct, the social sanctions for acting white should be most severe in places like the segregated school, where opportunities are most limited. The results of my studies, of course, point in precisely the opposite direction.

The notion that acting white is simply attributable to self-sabotage is even less persuasive. According to its proponents, black and Hispanic cultures are dysfunctional, punishing successful members of their group rather than rewarding their success. That theory is more a judgment than an explanation. A universal, it cannot explain the kinds of variations from one school setting to another that are so apparent in the data I have explored.

This is a link to the PDF of the study.

Here is a link to an earlier study by Ludwig and Cook that is referenced by Fryer.