OK, so it's Sunday morning, and the field, as usual, is sneaking a peek at Massa's newspaper. Gotta see what's going on in the world, and around my fair city. As I glance over the headlines, I don't see any major news stories that grab my attention. Of course, this has been a week of mixed emotions for the field. I loved how the elections turned out,- America wiped that smug grin right off of the frat boy's face- but I am saddened by the passing of Ed Bradley, and Gerald Levert. Two people who were in my home so much via the television, and the sounds of Levert's music, that I almost thought of them as family.
My hometown paper, like many all over the country, is still analyzing the fallout from these past elections. They are calling it "the rise of the centrist", and the editorial writers are praising Rahm Emanuel for the job he did recruiting democratic candidates to run. There is also a little piece about my man, Henry Waxman, the 16 term Congressman from California,who will be heading the powerful Government Reform Committee. He has promised to look into frat boy's handling of Katrina, the prosecution of the war in Iraq, shady dealings at the EPA and the Food & Drug Administration, not to mention the Vice President's secret meetings with the energy cabal. Yep, if I were a republican official in Washington, I would make sure I have my lawyer on speed dial right about now. Cause Old Henry is going to be trying to Wax that ass. (I hope you caught that play on words)
Oh, and speaking of government officials; -Condi, I am going to get on your ass again- I see where our State Department vetoed the resolution criticizing Israels' action in the Gaza. Like WTF? John Bolton, who hopefully, will be relieved of his position soon, actually said; "it does not display an evenhanded characterization of the recent events in Gaza, nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace". Really John? I thought you negotiated for two days to come up with this language? I thought countries like Argentina, France, Russia and Peru were all on board. And if we were not comfortable with the language, could we not have abstained like Britain, Denmark, and Japan? And we wonder why the animus towards the U.S. in the Middle East? Here is something the bad perm lady needs to understand: Most of our problems in the Middle East starts and ends with the Palestinian Israeli conflict. So Condi, you better get your sh*& together fast, or you will be jetting back to the Middle East again-bad perm and all- to avert another crisis.
More fighting in the Congo, and an all out civil war is about to break out as they await the results of the runoff elections between their two Presidential candidates. I am not surprised, Third World politics can be like that. If your party is in power, I don't eat, so I have to win by any means necessary. This is the type of politics I saw growing up in my beloved Island of Jamaica. So when people say that politics is a "blood sport" I always take that sh*& literally.
Mmmm, let's see what else? Patti Labelle's neighbor's are complaining about her dogs...the patrons of the arts in Philadelphia's philanthropic community are up in arms over the potential sale of a 68 million dollar painting; so who gives a f*&k? We move on. Now here is something; it seems there is now the potential for traditional gangs-bloods and crips- invading our fair city. As if the murder rate isn't high enough, now we have to worry about more of these ignorant ass animals running loose on our streets. You see folks,the gangs we have here in Philly are drug gangs, and each gang is usually concentrated in their own block or turf of the city. The average drug gang might have about ten members, and their only purpose is to make money from their drug sales. Now throw the bloods and crips into that mix, and we are sure to have some serious problems down the road. I can't say this enough: MR. MAYOR GET RID OF OUR POLICE CHIEF!!!
In the commentary section, the Philadelphia Inquirer focuses on the front runners in the upcoming 08 elections for the republican party. As it stands now, Mitt Romney, and John -Mr. straight talk express-McCain are the front runners. McCain launched an exploratory committee a few days ago which all but insures that he will run. And I am sorry, I am not feeling McCain at all. Yeah, yeah, I know he is a war hero, got shot down, was a prisoner of war, was tortured the whole bit. But I am not buying his phony ass straight talk bull s*&t. He is a triangulater just like all the rest of these politicians. Remember how he denounced people like Jerry Falwell for his intolerance, and then turned around and spoke at his University? Remember how he got trashed and slandered in South Carolina by the Bush people when they claimed he fathered a child with a..... gasp! Black woman. Now he and the frat boy are best buds. Then the hypocrite jumps all over John Kerry's misstatements about the troops to gain favor with the republican right. He knew he was running for President then, and in order to get out of a republican primary, he knows he has to be way right of most normal thinking people in this country. Oh, and wasn't he one of the original Keating Five? You remember them don't you? They gave aid and assistance to Charles Keating, who single handily destroyed the savings and loan industry in this country and ruined thousands of lives in the process. Think Enron on a larger scale, and with the government's blessings. Then he co-sponsors McCain-Feingold for campaign finance reform. Some people have no shame. And don't think I forgot how you referred to the Vietnamese as "gooks". You said then: "I will hate them as long as I live". Gotta love those classy words from you Senator, you fit in just fine with the republican party. Then their is your abominable voting record on civil rights issues, and on Darfur. And when Arlen Specter tried to get King George and his "signing statements" curtailed, you said: "I think the President will enforce the law". Well I think you will never be President, so don't waste your time running. Let's pull that "straight talk express" into the station for good right now!
I better stop reading this paper, I am getting worked up again, just thinking about all this sh*&.
Some lighter thoughts: Field you are on a deserted island with a DVD and CD player- fortunately you have electricity- You can have five CD's, five DVDs, five women, and five great thinkers from history.
The CD's: 1. Bob Marley & The Wailers-Catch A Fire 2. Bob Marley & The Wailers-Kaya 3. Michael Franks-Dragonfly Summer 4. John Coltrane-A love Supreme 5. Buju Banton-Voice of Jamaica/Rachelle Ferrell-Rachelle Ferrell-(Tied)
The Women: 1. Lark Voorhies 2. Debbie Morgan 3. Victoria Dillard 4. Toni Braxton 5. Lisa Raye
The DVDs: 1. Goodfellas 2.The Good The Bad & The Ugly 3.The Harder They Come 4. Bourne Identity 5. Glory/Dead Presidents-Tie
The Thinkers: 1. Michael Manley 2. Marcus Garvey 3. Malcolm X 4. W.E.B. Dubois/Steven Biko/Martin Delaney-Tied 5. My Dad/My Mom-Tied
Can the thinkers and women be on separate sides of the Island? I am still embarrassed to do certain things in front of my parents :)
**Before I go, I caught that Sacha Baron Cohen flick, Borat, last night, and I thought it was brilliant. Cohen is an interesting guy. He is very smart, -he attended Cambridge University- and he wrote s dissertation on Jews in the civil rights struggle. So he understands the nuances and complexities of American race relations. And of course, the hypocrisy of it. So I loved his movie! But of course, you know me, I love satire, so I couldn't help but love it. Anyway, after watching it, I came away with some impressions about some of our fellow Americans. First, they would rather have a pile of sh*& brought to their dinner table than a black person. Second, when white frat boys get drunk, they tell you what they really think about things like black folks and slavery etc. Hey, frat boys become leaders. Think about it! Third, black folks are more welcoming of strangers, and quicker to embrace them than white folks. Even the black folks that you are afraid of because of how they might look. And finally, we Americans are so self centered and narrow minded, that it's really easy to make fun of us. And yes folks, whether it's as Ali G, or as Borat; Sacha Cohen has been making fun of us for a long time.
The field is out.
I'm sorry field negro, I cram to understand...
ReplyDeleteWhy would the Crips and Bloods want to leave a first rate city like LA for my ancestral hometown of brotherly love? Wouldn't that be the equivalent of Universal Studios putting a sound stage in, I don't know...Yeadon?
And what does the White T-Shirt Society have to say about this impending implosion? Will the Nicetown and East Mount Airy Chapters join forces with all the rest?
Just asking.
Very good question mrs j. But I think the crips and bloods would love to be in Philly in order to be able to share the wealth from our sometimes booming drug trade. They are already in Trenton, and in cities like Omaha, Nebraska, and Little Rock, Arkansas,so why not Philly? You do make a good point though about the potential resistance; because as you know, Philly is a city of neighborhoods, and outsiders usually have a harder time.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, at the end of the day..let's put it this way; I see that you are quite familiar with these fields:) So I am sure you know that the White-T crew has become the Black-T crew, and they will have no problem being a part of the Red-T or Blue-T crew if the price is right.
sacha baron cohen has finally made it to the states. i heard some crazy story that one of this borat sketches got a woman fired! but he is very talented in terms of his political satire.
ReplyDeletequestion field, not know that much on jamaican politics, but i was watched a bob marley dvd on bob marley with my bajan boy and michael manley was featured in it a lot. was he a white jamaican and what were his policies?
True about the Borat sketch getting a TV producer fired. But I think she landed on her feet. I kind of felt bad for her, but not the other people who are now filing law suits because they were exposed for being the ignorant racist they are.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Michael Manley does have some white blood in his genes. But he was all about the poor, and making Jamaica become self sufficient. I could write a book about him, and his accomplishments. His politics was way left of center-he was actually a Socialist-which didn't make him popular with alot of people. But was it not for the destabilization efforts of the CIA in the seventies, many of his programs would have succeeded. He had literacy, and health care programs modeled after Cuba, but he tried to pattern his economic programs after countries like Germany. Tough at the time, because of the IMF, and world bank. There was no outcry for debt relief to poorer countries when he was Prime Minister. His father-Norman Manley-was also a great Jamaican politician who started one of the two main political parties in Jamaica.
Hope that helped :)
Thanks for the breakdown, field.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on a plantation in Eastern Montgomery County where I was taught to read and write, but remained willfully naive in certain matter of the streets.
Mr. J and I are Philadelphia Negroes who've escaped in search of our freedom in the northern part of New York State (not that NY doesn't know slavery, the Mr. just wrote a book about it called the Great Negro Plot,*shameless plug*).
We've been removed from the plantation long enough not to witness the emergence of the White T-Shirt Society's new uniform.
But we went south for a bit over the summer, witnessed the Odunde...and lo and behold I thought I saw a couple of black t-shirts and assumed they were just members of the same Chapter (which is what I reckon you're telling me they are indeed).
So sad these Negroes would be willing to find new uniforms once more, be they red or blue...but not surprising to me at all.
That should tell you a great deal about why the Mr. and I have sought our freedom and are raising our free children of color in upstate NY.
Thanks for holding it down for us field. ;)
mj
OK mrs.j, just as I suspected, you are a homey after all :) But good for you, your observations were dead on. And hey, I am not mad at you for leaving these fields.(Gotta get our children off the plantation sometimes)Honestly, if I had kids, I would probably be heading off the plantation too:)
ReplyDeleteMassa just not putting the effort in our public schools.
I will check out mr. j's book.
Peace!
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ReplyDelete