Comedy! Extreme Jungle Fever!

She is not going to get anymore than she has gotten from her supporters. The best thing for Hillary to do is WRITE IT OFF AS A LOST. It will be a very cold day in hell before I give her a dime. She has a lot of gump in her pants to go and beg at the convention.. How ruthless. All she has to do is ask her 18,000,000 supporters to send her $1 and there she would have it. I’m sure they think she is worth $1. Have a good day Cafferty. I enjoy you.

We are seeing a shift in terminology with the liberal mindset.  As in the above clip, many left leaning, or left standing politicians are distancing themselves from the phrase "liberal", and connecting themselves to the term "progressive".  

The phrase comes from an idea posed by Woodrow Wilson in his book "The State" in which he posed the idea that humans do not only evolve physically, but do and should also evolve intellectually.  

So many times, when listening to "the left" it is easy for moderates and conservatives to wonder how we are so far apart when it comes to policy.  In truth, the foundation of our policy are inherently different, and any reconciling of belief is doomed because of the following...

-A "progressive" believes man evolved, and that evolution is more than physiology, but is also intellectual.  Our ideas should be evolving and growing, or "progressive".  Our thinking should be evolving, beyond or equal to the rate of our physiological evolution

-This is the reason it is so important to keep intelligent design out of our educational system.  Because it is regressive.  We have evolved past the belief that someone or something intentionally created what we see around us.  To allow the idea to even be presented stunts the progression or evolution of our intellectual development.

-This is the reason many to the left refer to the constitution as a "living document".  This is the reason Obama answered the way he did when Rick Warren asked him which Supreme Court justices he would not have appointed.  He answered with the two justices who are known for their belief that the Constitution is not living, and should be adhered to as it was originally intended and written. (Thomas and Scalia) This is the reason so many cast aside the Constitution as irrelevant or interpret it completely differently.  They believe the ideas in it are archaic, need to have evolved, and be made relevant to today's society.

-At its base line, this is the reason the hatred for Bush is so unbelievably vitriol.  It is far beyond disagreement on philosophy.  It is because Bush is regressive in his thinking...not as evolved...not as progressive.  What is the main jab at Bush...he is stupid.  His "stupidity" is not so much about his IQ, as it is about the belief that his ideas are old, and unevolved.  He needs to understand and catch up with the notions presented not only in physiological evolution, but also intellectual evolution.  The hatred does not only come from disagreement, which could be civil, if were not truly about a belief that some more progressive thinkers are more evolved, and therefore better than someone who is stuck in the past.

The need for civil and even kind disagreement has never been higher.  The amount of hate mongering that has taken over our political system on both sides is ridiculous and incredibly harmful to our country.  That said, make no mistake, disagreement is unavoidable.  The starting place is different.  If you believe God created, God planned, God intended, you are not as evolved.  If your believe a baby is an eternal soul at conception you are not as evolved.  The basis of thinking is dramatically different and fundamentally irreconcilable.  

This does not mean there are not points of agreement with a progressive.  Do not react emotionally and discredit all thought and belief because you know there is general disagreement.  Think...and as much as is possible, find agreement.

For a Christian, we must love our neighbor.  We must love and serve all men of all creeds.  At the same time, we must not muddle or water down basic tenants of our faith for a political system that is certainly the greatest in the world, but is certainly not centered on the person and will of God.  Be involved, vote, have opinions, debate and argue in grace and love, but hold true to what you believe is true.

A good book on politics for a person of faith can be found here. You may not agree with everything in the book, but it will get you started.

Who doesn't love ELLEN?

What the HE** does Hilary Clinton have to do with Mary Murphy or Trinny & Susannah?

Cheslea Handler, Giada Delaurentiis and c'mon.....OPRAH - you either love her or hate her.

But wait...what does Mary Murphy have to do with it?

Are you confused?

Sometimes it doesn't really matter why you DIG someone...sometimes it does. 

I will spare you why I did these chicks....I just do!

There are even special sections for "special" people. There's a clothing section on the other side of the lawn and garden section that specializes in clothing for the developmentally challenged. It's full of brightly colored shirts, Velcro strap shoes, and size 42-27 jeans. It's even got an entire rack of fanny packs.

Lonely? Go pasts the infants section through the double doors. You will find dozens of unwed teenage mothers looking for a daddy. Can you believe it? Some other idiot put in all that work for a family and just lets you take over. They come in all shapes and races too. A few years ago it was just black girls and the occasional Puerto Rican. Now though you can find a Russian, Mexican, Guatemalan, Brazilian, Korean, Aboriginal Australian, one legged Swedish, and a trailer park 16 year old with triplets. WOW!! Just imagine, you went in for milk and came home with an entire family. In order to show you their charitable side Wal-Mart will offer a 17% discount on diapers and similac formula. God bless 'em.

Has the dope man in your neighborhood been locked up on charges? Head to the back door of the pharmacy. They will throw random pills out side at you. You never know what kind of high you'll get. Maybe Oxycontin, maybe hormone steroids. All for an everyday low price of $2.50. Tyrone can't beat that price, besides his ass is locked up for at least three years.

Need a baby sitter? Just pull up to the front of the store open the door and tell the kids to get a cart. They'll go in the store, see the variety of things to play with, and will be entertained for hours. Go and get your nails done then have lunch with an old acquaintance. When you get back to the store just go over to lost and found at the customer service desk. Kids get separated from their parents so often in these stores, that the manager won't even question where you have been for the last 6 hours. He'll assume you've been enjoying low low prices and high savings.

Have you been unsuccessful in finding a nuclear weapon? Go over to sporting goods and press the call button for employee assistance. Then walk over to the baseball equipment and look for the man with the mustache. He'll take you out back to an unmarked white van. You can then start your shopping. Hell, I'm pretty sure that if the government wanted to find suspected terrorist hiding in the U.S. they would just check the local Wal-Mart stores. Why would terrorists be in plain sight to the public? Because everyone needs something from a Wal-Mart. Whether it's the basic necessities or enriched Uranium, it's there.

Are you looking for one of those things on the side of McCain's face? Go over to cosmetics. You can find them in any color and various sizes. Now you can look like a Presidential nominee. If that certain lady in your life is looking for a Hilary Clinton style hair-do, Wal-Mart carries gels, mouses, weaves, permanents, and wigs in every celebrity form.

Late for a Klan meeting? Wal-Mart brags three different hood/robe combos. You'll be the envy of all of your hate filled brothers. You can even find a giant cross, gas can, and kerosene. They may even help you light it on fire if you ask.

What else could you want? A baby, an ape, an STD it's all there. You could even get an STD from a baby ape if you wanted. Got a big girl fetish, a skinny girl fetish, an acne thing, a donkey lust? Find it at Wal-Mart. Need fresh breast milk for you PB and J? How about stem cells for that back pain? Want a porn stars clean up rag? You can find it at Wal-Mart.

CBS reports:

The presidential campaigns for Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton have announced that Senator Clinton's name will be put in nomination at the Democratic National Convention later this month in Denver, Colorado. Why? You ask.

Well, according to reports, "They are both committed to winning back the White House and to to ensuring that the voices of all 35 million people who participated in this historic primary election are respected and heard in Denver." So, are we to presume that her voters voices haven't been heard yet? Hardly, Hillary Clinton is a political opportunist who doesn't know how to bow out gracefully.

In a joint statement from both campaigns released earlier today, "Since June, Senators Obama and Clinton have been working together to ensure a Democratic victory this November.

To honor and celebrate these voices and votes, both Senator Obama's and Senator Clinton's names will be placed in nomination."

The release from the Obama campaign acknowledged Senator Clinton's historical campaign and agreed it would be in the best interest for party unity, in addition, to support her campaign in her bid to become the first viable woman canididate for President.

“I am convinced that honoring Senator Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion,” said Obama in the statement, which also quoted Clinton saying that “with every voice heard and the Party strongly united, we will elect Senator Obama President of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again.”

So, this really seems like a political gesture aimed at helping Clinton & her supporters save face. Indeed, Obama is already playing politics by allowing her to 'steal his thunder' a bit, but knowing full well she will tow th party line & back his candidacy, or so he hopes. I respect the Clinton campaign, however, I don't trust them to do as they say they will. "There's something in the milk that's not clean", stay tuned I get the feeling there's more to this story.

A Democratic Party insider familiar with convention plans says the move would bring "peace in the kingdom." The source adds that the Obama campaign "always knew it would probably have to happen."

So, it sounds like this is apart of her concession, just the long drwan out version. She wants her name mentioned in the same breath as Shirley Chisolm the first, African American & female to be nominated for the President of the United States. Chisolm was "roll called" at the Democratic National Convention in 1972.

"They have known since the day she dropped out that she wanted this 'for history,' says the Democratic operative.

We are 18 million distinct and unique voices, coming together in one unified harmony, shouting "Rise Hillary Rise!!"

18 Million Voices is an organization that hates proper use of punctuation and is planning on making noise at the convention in Denver. These are the fanatical Hilary supporters who have yet to realize that their candidate will be remembered as nothing more than an also-ran. Pathetic. Really.

You lost. No one owes you anything. Get over it.

With Limbaugh tremendous influence it is likely that Clinton's claim to a lead in popular vote, and close second place finish, is false!

Not only her showing may be in question, the total votes Democrats are counting on when adding all primary vote may well be inflated due to Limbaugh's efforts.

"Project Chaos," was Limbaugh urging of Republican voters to vote in a number of important Democrat "open" primaries such as Texas, Ohio, Indiana, etc.

Even if Hilary herself has (publicly) moved on, her supporters are like politically flesh-hungry zombies that you just can't seem to shoot in the head. And instead of moaning, they whine and they whine and they whine. And they won't shut up. Apparently, the plan being to annoy the rest of the Democratic Part into giving them what they want.

And what do they want now? For Hilary's name to be entered in the roll-call at the convention in Denver. This despite the fact that most in the Democratic Party believe this would result in a "dangerous show of disunity."

Michelle Cottle, a senior editor at The New Republic, addresses this matter in her pesky column in this Sunday's New York Times opinion pages.

Her rebuttal to the MAJORITY opinion in the Dem party that does not want Hilary's name entered into the roll call is this:

It’s true that having America watch as some portion of Mrs. Clinton’s 1,640 pledged delegates thumb their noses at Barack Obama would disrupt the party’s vision of a carefully scripted Denver love-in.

No, Mich-ey, you got it wrong. It is Hilary or at least her embittered supporters that want the love-in. Because according to you they NEED....

a constructive way ... to channel their anger and disappointment could wind up being the path of less destruction for Mr. Obama’s campaign. Plus, it’s the right thing to do.

Maybe these mostly Boomer ladies need to take a lesson from their Generation X sisters (and brothers too, who supported her undisciplined husband when he was in the White House diddling interns with cigares) and suck it up because the contest is over and their candidate lost. That is the right thing to do.

Cottle claims that:

You don’t have to be a die-hard Clintonite, or even much of a feminist, to be moved by the significance of her presidential campaign.

Oh, I was moved all right. I was moved by her code speak to white blue-collar workers that they could not trust a black man to treat them fairly, a myth that Obama continues to struggle to overcome. Not to mention her macbre allusion to Robert Kennedy's assassination, which no matter how she tries to spin was a sick suggestion that a black man running for president, never mind holding the White House, could end up with a bullet in his head from the gun of some whack job. And then of course there was the moving race baiting by her husband. Oh yeah, it was a moving campaign all right. I was moved to never pay this woman any deference ever again, never mind support her in any way shape or form.

Cottle of course points out that Hilary's run was historic. Yes. That is true. And now it is historically over. Democrats need to focus on winning the White House, with the winner of the Democratic Primary, Senator Barack Obama. But of course that just can't be done. Why? Because some Hilary supporters still need some kind of "catharsis and a bit of closure."

Shit. I'm not sure which concept is more annoying? Hasn't all the whining been catharsis enough? And what more closure do you need than BARACK GOT MORE VOTES. There's your fucking closure. It's done. It's over. Move on. If you just can't bring your poor broken heart to support Obama then don't. But shut the hell up about it already. And keep in mind that if Barack loses there are those of us, who otherwise would have supported Hilary, who if the results seem to show that bitter Hilary supporters played a significant roll in sinking Obama's chances, may at least consider seriously not only not supporting Hilary's next run at the White House but just might actively work against her. That petty bullshit works both ways, ladies.

And for those still griping about Hilary getting a bum rap from the media. Take it up with the media. Not the Democrats in your own party, for crying out loud.

But back to the historic nature of Hilary's campaign. I love how Cottle refers to the excitement over Obama's also historic campaign derogatorily as hullabaloo, suggesting that Hilary's campaign was more historic, more serious, more important. Bullshit!

I guarantee you that if Hilary had won the nomination there would be zero tolerance for even a fraction of the griping coming from disappointed Obama supporters. It would be squashed, effectively telling the young black buck to stay in his place and wait his turn until the white dame of the nation has had her turn. But in the case of Hilary having won that would not have been necessary. Obama supporters, though disappointed, would have come around to support Hilary without all this pissing and moaning.

But that isn't what happened; Hilary didn't win. It may be sad for some but it is fact. Obama won because he got more votes, which is how it works not, as some of Hilary's supporters would have it, by said supporters throwing a big enough fit to get their way. Obama will be the Democratic nominee. All this grand gesturing making is an unnecessary distraction. But it seems like it may be a distraction that Obama will unfortunately have to endure, as will we all.

If Obama does except this condition by Hilary and her legion, it won't be because it is the "right thing to do," as Cottle puts it. It will be because he was forced to comply by a bunch of whiners who claim they were treated unfairly while at the same time demand special treatment that no male candidate would ever receive.

These people need to get a grip and move on, Barack Obama is the Democratic Party's choice for the White House.

My wife really wanted me to grow my hair out. She likes long hair, especially on me. The problem with long hair, other than more difficunt styling, is that it gets so hot in the summer. The past few days have been particularly hot in southern california and I've been dying under this rug.

2:16pm: I've been listening to all the energy policies being put out by McCain and Obama, even Paris Hilton. It' one of the most critical issues we have because it cuts across both ecomonic and national security lines. I am especially unimpressed with McCains "all of the above" plan. It's not much of a plan and it's certainly not very strategic. There isn't enough time, money or resources to do everything. You have to analize and prioritize. You have to be smart and strategic. Let's do everything is about as naive as a child. Almost as immature as the celebrity ad feautring Paris Hilton. Who is running McCains campaign anyway, 5 year olds? Whomever wrote that speach line for McCain "That's not change we can believe in" should be taken out back and shot. A big part of being president is who you surround yourself with. Witness George Bush and the insane possy he collected. Just taking a look at McCains crew and what they have accomplished up until now should tell you alot about who you should vote for in November.

On a diferent political note, the Clintons are getting pissy again. Bill saying well no one is ever really ready to be president and Hillary saying her deligates should be heard. Will these people ever just shut the hell up? I've never seen two more self-serving narcissistic people as these. A pundit said today Obama must be careful to pay proper respect to the Clintons. Respect is earned, not granted because you think you're king and queen of the Democratic party. Get over it already.

Good to see the Harvard Political Review's online edition turning its attention to the impact of digital on politics.

Interesting point raised in the article - does the use of digital in campaigning encourage undue focus on senstionalist and controversial issues (i.e. misspeaking Clintons, Obama's pastor etc) at the expense of discussion about substantive policy issues?

His lack of proper endorsement is given to mean that he is still pissed off about what happened with his missus, and he's sore to the extent he won't publicly back Obama - which may or may not be damaging for either the Clinton or Obama camp in the future.

I'm not so sure if all this is as clear cut as it may seem. I've recently read "Audacity of Hope", and Obama's politics is remarkably similar to Clinton's centrist approach of the 90s. Obama's worry all along has clearly been that he may be seen as a Clinton copycat clone - there is precious little between the two. Hilary is the standard-bearer for the Clinton brand of politics, and the last thing Obama needed during the primaries, or even now, is the public tag that he offers nothing new and nothing different to his Democratic opponent.

So he has had to rely on rhetoric and character to discern him from his peers, with a little belicose anti-Iran and pro-Israel rhetoric thrown in, just to steal some of those moderate floating Republican voters not sure if he's made of enough mettle.

I think Obama's determination to carve his own niche has sort of backfired for everyone in his political camp. His book was so cagey and cautious in its treatment of the Clinton years, as to almost offer a neutral or vaguely critical view of it all. Audacity of Hope offers a tentative hand to the Clintons, and hand that slips in parts to reveal a certain cynicism or lack of support. In politico land, Obama knocked Clinton and I very much doubt the Clintons would have been much impressed by the book.

There's every chance that this may be an additional reason for the sour grapes. A fair assessment of Bill's years as President would, from any front-runner, have rightly acknowledged his enormous success and ability to steer the country onto the straight and narrow. If I were Hilary or Bill, I'd be hacked off with him for his book alone, never mind the fact Obama came from nowhere to steal the nomination. That must seriously rankle with Hilary, after all these years dreaming of the top job in her New York office. Another 5 years it'll have to be. Sadly, I doubt the chance will come round again for her.

Obama, contrary to my earlier beliefs, appears a very strong candidate for the job, if his autobiography is a reliable source of information. He is enormously balanced, intelligent and fair, and he has a 'blokey' sort of 'everyone's mate' charm about him, which will no doubt appeal to a large number of the non-racist US electorate.

It remains to be seen whether the influence of the Clintons will have a marked effect. But I would assert that, in hindsight, it would have been beneficial for Obama to have provided a full and proper endorsement of Bill's 8 years as President. It may have led to a more friendly and conducive situation than the one we now witness.

* * *

Give the democrats of West Virginia points for honesty. As Hillary Clinton romped to a landslide of 67 to 26 percent over Barack Obama in the primary, 20 percent of voters in exit polls said that race was an important factor in their choice—triple the percentage of earlier primaries. Of those, 80 percent voted for Clinton, making clear what they meant by "important."

Obama's "black supremacist" minister concerns her, one woman told my colleague Suzanne Smalley. Another found Obama's "background, his heritage" suspicious. Both said they'd vote for John McCain over Obama.

The 2008 campaign has been subjected to more psychological analysis than Woody Allen. The top Democratic candidates asked psychology researchers for input, as did the national party, several state parties and the House and Senate Democratic caucuses. The 2007 book "The Political Brain," by psychologist Drew Westen of Emory University, became a must-read for strategists, and so far it looks as though they got their money's worth: key predictions of political psychology have held up pretty well on the campaign trail. Voters are driven more by emotions than by a cold-eyed, logical analysis of a candidate's record and positions; witness the legions of anti-immigration Republicans who pulled the lever for McCain. Ten-point plans (Clinton) don't move voters as powerfully as inspirational oratory (Obama). And unconscious motivations are stronger than conscious ones. This last finding might explain the growing role of racism in the campaign as well as the persistent "happiness gap" between liberals and conservatives—both of which will matter in November.

In March, when I wrote about research showing that people ignore race if another salient trait is emphasized, scientists agreed that Obama had to convey that "he is one of us." That "us" could be Democrats, family men, opponents of the Iraq invasion, enemies of politics as usual. Instead, opponents (and the media) began playing up his "otherness"—not wearing a flag pin, belonging to a black church, having an exotic name. And Obama began slipping, losing support among blue-collar white voters in particular.

It may seem paradoxical, but to stop the bleeding Obama needs to talk about race more often and more explicitly. "Only 3 or 4 percent of people today consciously endorse racist sentiments," says Westen. "But there are residues of prejudice at the unconscious level, and they aren't difficult to activate if you know how to do it. Our better angels on race tend to be our conscious rather than our unconscious values and emotions." It is those conscious brain circuits that Obama needs to keep activating, says Westen, "by talking about racism openly and attacking those who say white America will never vote for a black for president. Appeal to people's conscious values." That has a good chance of keeping unconscious racism at bay, brain studies show. Even more effective, combine direct talk about racism with an "I am like you" message, which leads the brain to focus on categories other than race. "Make it about 'us'," says Westen. "Talk about how we feel angry if a black fireman gets promoted ahead of us for no reason but affirmative action. Talk about how it's natural to look at someone different from us and ask, does he share my values, can he understand me?"

* * *

To read the entire article, including a discussion of Situationist contributor John Jost's recent work, click here. For a sample of related Situationist posts, see "Do We Miss Racial Stereotypes Today that Will Be Evident Tomorrow?," "Perceptions of Racial Divide," "New Yorker Cover of the Obamas and Source Amnesia," "Voting for a Face," "The Situation of Swift-Boating," “On Being a Mindful Voter,” “Naïve Cynicism in Election 2008: Dispositionism v. Situationism?,” “Implicit Associations in the 2008 Presidential Election,” “The Situation of Political Animals,” and “Your Brain on Politics.” For other posts on the Situation of politics, click here.

First, all this whining from the McCain campaign. McCain basically dares Obama to visit Iraq and then when he goes and it goes well -- three point swish -- McCain bitches about that as well, complaining that the press is giving him too much press. Waaa waa waa! Sounds like someone is a little cranky. Not getting enough sleep, are we grampa? Then the McCain camp accuses Obama of "playing the race card" and of being a narcissist or full of himself or whatever. Blah blah blah.

What really pisses me off is this bickering is nothing but a fucking distraction. I want to hear someone talk about what they are going to to about the crumbling infrastructure in this country. I mean, we just had the anniversary of collapse of that bridge in Minnesota. There are a lot of bridges across the US that are badly in need of repair. Also, the electrical grid needs updating. Does anyone else remember the summer of 2003, when we had the rolling power outages the reached from the East Coast all the way up into Michigan? That was fucked up. Power out for like three days. And has anyone done anything about it? Not that I know of.

Then I read this frustrating article in The New Yorker about Tavis Smiley's beef with Obama. Like Rev. Wright and Jesse Jackson, Smiley seems to be PO'd that Obama is doing what he cannot. And that Obama is not paying full and unwavering deference to his (Smiley's) views on issues. Well, excuse him for not kissing the rings of the black elite.

Then there is Maureen Dowd's column in the New York Times this Sunday about still-bitter-just-can't-let-it-go Hilary loyalists who still refuse to support Obama. But not because they actually like what John McCain stands for -- what does he stand for exactly? for about an hour or two before he needs to sit down to rest his weary old feet -- but because they just don't like Obama, despite his attempts to win them over.

Despite Obama’s wooing, some women aren’t warming. As Carol Marin wrote in The Chicago Sun-Times, The Lanky One is like an Alice Waters organic chicken — “sleek, elegant, beautifully prepared. Too cool” — when what many working-class women are craving is mac and cheese.

Bullshit! What woman craves fucking man-n-cheese? Only kids crave it. Poor grad students eat it because it is cheap, but they sure as shit don't like it. I sure didn't when I was eating it all the time.

Maybe Hilary didn't deserve to be tagged with the b-word by Ludacris but these women just might.

According to Dowd's column...

The Los Angeles Times reported that Hillary die-hards want to enshrine a whine in the Democratic platform about how the primaries “exposed pervasive gender bias in the media” and call on party leaders to take “immediate and public steps” to denounce any perceived bias in the future. That is one nutty idea.

Yeah. That's what we need. Another fucking distraction that will hinder Democrats from gaining The White House. But what do the fucking care? Obama loses and Hilary can run again in 4 years.

Yeah, well. How about this -- Obama loses and it looks like bitter Hilary supporters helped make that happen then you can forget about this Obama supporter at least supporting Hilary. I will vote for whatever dipshit the Republicans put forth. I don't care who it is. And do you think I'll be the only one? Think about it. No you won't. You're too god damn bitter to think, too hysterical.

And that's not all. The McLaughlin Group was practically an entire show dedicated to dissecting Obama's supposed mistakes this past week, especially that little Barbie Republican they got wiggling her ass in Tony Blankly's old seat.

On top of all that, despite Obama's trip overseas scoring a three pointer, figuratively as well as literally, he received no bump in the polls. If anything, he may have lost a little ground. Some polls have McCain and Obama in a dead tie, while others put McCain ahead of Obama.

Why? Apparently Americans don't believe it is important that the US President be well liked abroad. Especially them cranky blue collar white guys that don't give a rats ass what a bunch of towel heads, Krauts and Frogs think. They got no business commenting on American politics.

Am I the only one sick of hearing about whining blue collar white guys who can't relate to Barack Obama? I mean, you got to love the irony of a bunch of big, strong, tough men crying like little girls because they aren't being related too properly buy a guy they couldn't give to shits about under any other kinds of circumstances. More than that, a guy they wouldn't want much to do with because of his race, never mind his education and taste for arugula.

I just love how these big manly men have suddenly developed feelings that bruise like a grape, so you better not say mean about them ore the might cry. Yet these are some of the same knuckled-head pricks that seem to feel entitled to toss around all kind of invectives about Volvo-driving, cheese-eating, New Yorker-reading, liberal faggots.

I grew up in blue-collar Warren, Michigan. I knew people like this. They are hard working. But you know what? So am I. Just because I work in a library doesn't mean I work just hard as they do. And fuck if I'm going to guilty or bad or somehow less American because I happened to bust my ass to get an education. You want to talk fucking hard work? That was hard work. And I've busted my hump at my share of labor jobs too. I mowed lawns and cleaned gutters and window wells when I was still fucking twelve. I delivered newspapers, all three major ones in my area -- The Freep, The News, The Macomb Daily. I bussed tables. I cleaned up shit in bathrooms at Metro Beach Metro Park.

But now I have an undergraduate and graduate degrees. In fucking English too, Creative Writing. And I have owned a Volvo. And I like cheese and wine. And I love to read The New Yorker.

And any schmo who thinks that somehow makes me less of an American than him, because he turns a wrench or uses his back or gets dirty doing his job, can fuck off! Go cry to your mommy. Don' cry here.

Ah. Fuck it!

In any case, my hope/pessimism index had plummeted. It was really soaring there for a time, at close to 70/30. But now I'd put it almost a dead lock, maybe a tad higher. Something like 51/49. And that is me being as optimistic as I can be.

I'm not sure I can believe that this country is really ready for change. I think that those cynical people that say that this country is not ready for a black president may be right.

And for believing otherwise, I feel duped, not by anyone else but by myself. I duped myself. I forgot a very important Generation X -- don't get your hopes up about anything, because chances are you'll just end up disappointed in the end. And that seems to be where things are headed.

Even if Michigan goes for Obama -- recent polls have him up by 4 points, and I've seen three Obama signs to zero McCain signs, and I live amongst many a Republicans -- I doubt the country as a whole or at least the key battle states, such as Ohio, will.

i do believe that the freedom of speech gives these artists the right to express themselves the way they want. however i also believe that an artist who depends on the public to support them in their work becomes open game for rebuke, reproof, correction, criticism, as well as the applause from fans. they should not complain when they receive strong rebuke for their music especially when others feel that they are negatively influencing the youth. this comes with the territory.

recently ludacris came out with a song supporting barack obama while dissing hilary clinton, john mccain, & president bush. in this song he made the statement to the effect that john mccain's chair should come from paralysis. was he suggesting that mccain be paralyzed? if this is the suggestion, then this is crossing the line. this in my opinion would be considered very mean spirited.

this is what i see as problematic about most rap music. it seems to be done out of anger, mean spiritedness, rebellion, etc. this is what comes through the music of these artists. this spirit i believe is transferable to the listeners especially those that are the most vulnerable - our youth. ludacris' song has that potential as does many other artists.

where do we draw the line?

ludacris, this is ludicrous!