Monday, April 12, 2010

BROKE!


I met Derrick Coleman back in the day. I was hanging out at a spot in Cherry Hill, New Jersey (way way way before Mrs. Field) and he was there. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but he was at the tail end of his career and the folks in Philly were all over him because of all the money the Sixers paid for what the home fans considered a bust.

Having said that, I was sad to hear that Mr. Coleman is officially broke and filing for bankruptcy. Now I will be honest, I was going to rip into Coleman tonight, because, quite frankly, I am sick of young black men making millions of dollars and pissing it away on bullshit.

But after reading more about Coleman's situation I am going to give him a pass. Seems he invested a lot of money in financially troubled Detroit (his home town) and because of the tanking real estate market there most of his investments pretty much went under.

So Coleman gets a pass, but not Exhibit A for young black men pissing away dollars. I am speaking, of course, about one Evander Holyfield. Now this Negro was living in a 20 million dollar 54,000 square foot house. Why? Couldn't the Negro settle for a 5 million dollar crib? (I bet the Duva's ain't broke. ) No, this Negro had to go get a bigger house than all of his "baller" friends.

"You’ve got to look at this place. It’s got a rotunda and everything. The house is 54,000 square feet. That’s almost 1¼ acres. Most people would agree that 2,500 square feet is a decent-sized house, and Holyfield’s spread is 20 times that size. He’s got 107 rooms and 17 baths? The grand entry is bigger than my entire house – or at least it looks bigger. See for yourself."

One hundred and seven rooms? Hey, I know he has ten kids, but that seems like more than enough room for every last one of them.

I am making light of this situation, but it's really not funny. There is just too much of this going on. Antoine Walker made over one hundred million in his career, and he is broke. (Yes "Toine", too many of those hundred thousand dollar medallions will do that to you.) If only some of these cats had spent as much time getting good financial advise as they did trying to find out where the best jewelers were, I am guessing that some of these bankruptcy lawyers wouldn't be getting paid like they are now. Sadly, if you look at the top athletes who have gone broke over the years you will find one glaring similarity. And if you guessed that they all used E.F. Hutton move to the back of the class.

All that money pissed away and for what? A few nice whips that are worth a fraction of what was paid for them? Apartments for jump offs who have moved on to the next "baller"? Just think if all that money had gone into something really worthwhile? A scholarship foundation for needy kids? A start up company for a young entrepreneurs (not a rap label). Or, just some better investments for your damn family so that your own kids can look forward to a better future. (Not you Shawn Kemp. All those dam kids by all those different women? I am guessing you would still be broke)

Oh well, I would start a collection for Derrick and the others, but I can't trust them to do the right thing with the money. Maybe going broke will be best for them. Sometimes the bankruptcy judge knows best.

89 comments:

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

A wise woman once said that if you wanted to know what God thought of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

-A fool and his money are soon parted.-another wise person !

LACoincidental said...

Another day, another example of athletes flittering way their fortune. At least Coleman was trying to be start and revitalize his community. He got caught in a bad business deal.

Holyfield and Kemp? Between no rubber for groupies and buying a track house in ATL suburbs for more than the gross national product of pre-earthquake Haiti, those ignorant monkeys get what they deserve.

Val said...

You know what I always wonder when I hear that pro athletes have gone broke is whether they are really broke or just not millionaires anymore?

Broke for a rich person and broke for a regular person are two different things.

Anonymous said...

Like Mama said Stupid is as Stupid does.

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for these cats who come from humble beginnings and start earning a lot of loot. They have no understanding of money or how to handle it, nor does anyone around them. And most probably don't seek financial consultants because they are suspicious of strangers handling their money.

Having money is another job entirely. More money...more problems.

Me said...

Obsession and possession gone wild. The extremes that people in the black community go to the "show" and "flaunt" the wealth they want others to perceive they have. They want to appear larger, richer, happier, etc... And the best way that the black community has come show this is through floss'n and getting their shine on.

field negro said...

"A wise woman once said that if you wanted to know what God thought of money, just look at the people he gave it to"

Words to live by.

Val, I agree that to a degree wealth is relative. But trust me, if you went from being worth 100 million to say a half a million, you are broke. Because those creditors you had when you were worth 100 million ain't going away.

Anon 10:48 pm, that's a good point.

field negro said...

Tell it Folk. And just so folks know: you are black. :)

maria said...

i can't believe there are no examples of white athletes acting this stupid. but i don't follow sports.

field negro said...

Actually maria, there are a few. (See Lenny Dykstra)One of the links I gave you has a couple of examples. But I chose to focus on young men of color because of where they are coming from and the need to build wealth within our community.

"I like nice things, but I do not need to buy it all. In fact, if I had that kind of money, I travel to place right now where there is no tree and grass pollen"

LOL! And thanks for reminding us about "Glide" There are others. (See Magic) But we should get to the point where damn near all of the other athletes are following their lead.

Gregory said...

Field,
A lot of these guys use uncles, cousins and other hangers-on for financial advice, trusting them because they have known them all their lives. It is a shame when some of them go broke because their trust was misplaced.

Oh, and don't forget the "other" Coleman. Gary.

BTW, I only spend about half my time on the other side of the pond. My "permanent" residence is in the US. If that weren't the case then I would find the 'baggers darkly amusing rather than deeply disturbing.

Val said...

@FN That's probably the way to look at it.


Too bad the children of professional athletes can't buy credit default swaps on their dads.

@Maria

I don't know about White athletes but Nick Cage went broke a few months ago. This is a guy who makes 20 million a film.

agape2010 said...

@ FN:

This is a major problem. Not becase he is in bankruptcy...but because of how he got there. I am not saying that we have to trust ALL black people ALL the time...but there are some wealth managers out here (black) that have been in the business for years...some handle emerging markets and countries...and the ones I know have only a minute anount of business with blacks that have wealth...just sad that we can't trust some of our own that wealthy whites or even foreign countries trust...*smh*

And...

The other (just as sad) issue is that these athletes are BRAINWASHED at an early age to trust only their white coaches and club owners. They actually believe that they are on their side (yeah the side that makes them money).
*the 40 million dollar slave*

I saw this first hand when I was teaching at a university and our football program went 1A. The white men came in droves to see who they could sign. I got my friend (black) to come down and the white power structure all but ran him out of town....they will not let these young athletes near a black man unless he's been in THIER system...just sad.

On the bright side...I think the Economic Recovery Act can really help him to recoup something...now is the time for him to get some sound advice...this time from a good tax accounting agency...they should be familiar with the Act since it directly affects their business :)

Peace.
~agape2010

Constructive Feedback said...

Hey Filled Negro!!!

Why didn't you trump the losses by Coleman up to yet more evidence of the corrosive and devastating impact that the eco-system in Detroit represents?

Think about it. If Mr Coleman has made $87M over his career - this represents a net transference of MONEY from the ticket sales and television contracts paid by basketball fans to Mr Coleman.

Coleman chose to focus his private capital upon the city of Detroit, hoping to restore it to its former glory. Granted the government got its tax money off of the top from Coleman's earnings. Coleman decided to inject his capital into property within Detroit.

He invested in declining assets and lost his shirt in doing so.

Detroit property values decline over 35%: http://www.michiganhouses.com/metro-detroit-home-values-decline-over-35-percent/

Think about it Filled Negro - the Progressive-Fundamentalists are verbose regarding how evil Banks and their PREDATORY LOANS have destroyed "Black Wealth" by relieving them of their property. What about the gross loss of wealth by declining home values? I saw that the average sales price for a house in Detroit is $7,500.

http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-home-front/2009/03/02/median-home-price-in-detroit-drops-to-7500


Are you sure that this is just about Derrick Coleman, Filled Negro? How many more millions have been lost by so many others in Detroit?

Constructive Feedback said...

WhiteBowieSteve:

Speaking of BASKETBALL -

What is going on with the police of Prince Georges County?

They are now beating basketball fans.


Beating of University of Maryland student by police probed by county prosecutors
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/12/AR2010041204377.html?hpid=topnews


I thought that all was grand in PGC?

field negro said...

Leave it to the Destructive Wingnut to find a way to rip local governments that his party is not in charge of.

Of course we could argue that Coleman lost his money during the Bush years so it's Bush's fault.

"Too bad the children of professional athletes can't buy credit default swaps on their dads."

LOL with Val.

Gregory, you are a lucky man.
BTW, I finally caught that Barca game. Messi might be the next Pele..well, maybe not Pele. Let's go with the next Maradona.

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]Leave it to the Destructive Wingnut to find a way to rip local governments that his party is not in charge of. [/quote]

Filled Negro:

Mark this as the FIRST TIME that I have ever agreed with you 101%!!!!

MY party is NOT in charge of the city of Detroit.

MY PARTY departed long ago.
Not when the WHITE FOLKS left the city but when the CONSCIOUSNESS departed the city.

You see, Filled Negro, where you are WRONG is your assumption about "my party".

I am of the "Community Cultural Consciousness & Competency Development" PARTY.
YOU are stuck within the "American Political Domain". You are loathed to see that where you have WON - in Detroit and Chicago and Newark - where your primary adversaries are at their weakest - this does not translate into a VICTORY for that which you PURPORTED to be striving for.

Filled Negro - regardless how much I try I still don't believe you "GET IT" with what I am saying.

On paper Chicago and Detroit should be reference standards for what the Progressive should expect to receive as you "try harder" along the same course. You have invested so much time and loyalty into the structures that have been built in these places.

Yet these places are were we can turn to in order to see nothing short of a MOLESTATION of what we call our "permanent interests".

It is only your BIGOTRY that affords you to continue as you do. It is the BIGOTRY of your fellow travelers that prevent them from REVOLTING against those who sold them upon this scheme.

MY PARTY does not have people running after a carrot, Filled Negro. Instead MY PARTY suggests that they are EQUAL HUMAN BEINGS. They must look within the develop the COMPETENCIES necessary to achieve the standard of living that they desire.

The truth is, Filled Negro, Detroit represents the victory of your theories but their FAILURE to support the living standard once left all alone.

false1 said...

I agree with Anonymous 10:48. Alot of these guys come from families that don't even have bank accounts, they fill out a 1040 EZ at tax time. Someone dumps multiple millions in their laps while they're still in their 20's and what are they supposed to do with it but live it up.

Who are you going to trust to hide your dough from the IRS? Your uncle? Or maybe that Madoff guy that all your wealthy boosters have been using? Tough decision.

This is not a black issue though, it's more of a class issue. Look at all those white lottery winners who lost not only their winnings but their families as well. Some even ended up taking their own lives. Sudden wealth can F you up.

Americans are not known for their savings. We save less than other industrialized countries and less than our grandparents statistically. We spend to the limits of our income, why would the athlete be any different?

We're a nation of consumers and we live on credit. It's the American way. Why pay cash for a $1.2 million crib when you can take out a mortgage on a $40 Million one? Why pay cash for a Lexus when you can get a fleet of Lamborghinis on credit?

Considering the circumstances, I'm surprised more athletes don't go broke.

CareyCarey said...

Well, I think it's time to come to the rescue of Derrick and the boys. I mean, we've all fallen down. Granted, we may not have blown millions of dollars, but we've all been places in our lives that we do not wish to return to.

When I think about emulating the success of others, I think about the cloning process. In that regard, a clone is an exact replica of the original product. Although Evander and countless other brothers and white boys have tremendous athletic skills, they obviously were not given to tools to navigate the slippery slope of the business world.

It's easy to say they should have known better. But really, why should they? I can't help but believe that we all are products of our environment, and when I invision the environment of the aforementioned atheletes, I see sports trainers, daddy (maybe), momma (maybe), business education (doubtful), managers (who knows their motive), and few millionaire sports figures that have gone before them.

I say, seek first to understand.

I think it's safe to say that most of us are cheap clones (inferior products).

Well, conversely, in many cases we are exact replicas of the company we keep (which is not always our choice). And, which is not always a good thing.

uptownsteve said...

There really is no excuse for this these days unless some of these guys are so ignorant and ghettofied that they actually WANT to lose their money.

There are reputable sports agent and financial firms like David Falk and Associates which counsel pro athletes from the time of their first contract signing on sound low risk long term investments. They put them in pension funds of the kind that had OJ Simpson living large until the Las Vegas fiasco. They also put them on monthly allowances. Guys like Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler and Allen Iverson are set for life.

My wife's cousin is Eugene Daniel, a former NFL safety from LSU who played 12 years in the league for the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Raven.

Dude bought a house in his hometown of Baton Rouge with his first NFL signing bonus and it's where he and his family live today.

Lived frugally and invested wisely during his playing career and now at age 48 he spends his time golfing, travelling and conducting coaching clinics.

no_slappz said...

field,

You are wrong to give Coleman a pass. He went down for the usual reason -- greed.

The underlying cause of every failed real estate deal is LEVERAGE. Specifically, leverage working against the investor.

Someone probably overcame Coleman's reluctance to "invest" by convincing him that putting money into Detroit real estate was good for blacks or just good for the local economy. Somehow, "good."

But that feel-good aspect was nothing more than a mask for the prospect of a 10-to-1 return on his stake.

Looks like Coleman got the 10-to-1 return -- going against him -- as leveraged transactions sometimes do.

Bottom line, if Coleman, Holyfield, Tyson and a long list of black athletes were advised to put their earnings in Treasury Securities, they would go into their post-playing lives with every dime they earned plus some risk-free interest.

Unfortunately, as soon as someone is whispering in their ears about the staggering sums to be made through various complicated, leveraged schemes, the sooner you know the whisperer is thinking about his own commissions.

Yes, there are plenty of examples of white athletes who have blown their earnings.

You mentioned Dykstra. He fell for the idea that all it takes to succeed in a Wall Street environment is a relentlessly competitive spirit. But no, that's not enough.

Graig Nettles, former Yankee 3rd baseman, declared bankruptcy. Craig Morton, Dallas quarterback too.

On the other hand, Roger Maris had a successful post baseball career owning a Budweiser distributorship. As deals do, his was low-risk.

Lorraine Hansberry captured this black propensity to get taken in her play A Raisin in the Sun.

no_slappz said...

rigmaiden, you posted:

A wise woman once said that if you wanted to know what God thought of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and a long list of others who have made money work, work, work in ways that have benefited themselves, many many others, and by extension, the entire US economy.

Adam said...

Field,

What is really sad is that people like Coleman (and so many others) could have paid a financial planner a small fee to help to help him manage his money and resources.

There is much help available for people who want to learn to manage their money right.

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

No Slapz what is the point of your comment, to let me know that some people that have buttloads of cash do good things? Good for them.

I don't trust Buffet because he supported the bailouts and I question Bill Gates' agenda. Because of this, for many years I used open source software exclusively, and while that changed in time I still limit usage... I haven't used a Microsoft product in a while.

Gates in some sense represents things that I stand against...hence support for the GNU project.

maria said...

i don't use MS products either. don't like them as much as apple or the monopoly. that said i have always liked gates the man and have tremendous respect for his foundation and charity work.

what agenda are you thinking of?

Plane Ideas said...

Tired cheap theme and topic by FN about Black athletes ... There are countless tales of other folks who could handle money but for some reason with folks like FN and others negroes with money that blow it make for good envy opps I meant reading..

Yawn...

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

See the GNU foundation site for more information Maria, but some people believe that knowledge should be available to those who want to learn. Gates and his cadre make you pay. I think that limits the accessibility of these tools to certain segments of the population.

I also don't think that software licensing and all that stuff is cool either. See the GNU site for more on the left side of the page where it says "What is FREE SOFTWARE?"

The Microsoft Foundation has done some wonderful research in physics and computational science. So I am not taking away from that, I just have a different bent on how tools like computers and software are used and distributed in our society.

LACoincidental said...

Gotta back my fellow geek MR on this one -- Open Source Software is the best way to go -- particularly if you're low on funds.

With solutions like Open Office becoming better everyday, and Firefox essential replacing any need for IE and creeping into the Outlook terrain, there's no reason to spend $400 on an office license anymore.

Also, because Windows is closed sourced (and bloated) you're more vunerable to virus.

Hey MR, did you hear that the new license for MS Visual Studio is over $12K? That's a complete rip -- essentially M$ is pushing software vendors out of the business by forcing them to fork over over 10 grand to develop new Windows applications.

And anyone using Window$ based solutions for a web-based app is an idiot.
Hopefully Java, Python and C++ make are real comeback.

Anonymous said...

Sudden wealth does not have to ruin you, but you do need to spend the time necessary to make sound investment decisions. It means setting goals and having a budget. One thing that Flip Wilson did was to purchase the rights to his show, and yes have a budget. He had a spending limit of $300 a day, and when he did, he had an estate of $10MM, Flip Wilson did not die broke, he managed to raise five children, and still had his hobby of motorcycles. One has to decide what kind of life you want to have. Some of these lottery winners are caught up in the elation of winning the money, but do not know what to do when they obtain the wealth. So the first thing they do is buy a really huge house and a red pick up truck. If I were to win the lottery, the first thing I would do is to contact a financial advisor and tax attorney. Draw up a will and establish an executor, set up a few trust funds for my nieces and nephew, provide for my aging father and first cousin. I have two brothers and will give them money. Figure how much money I need to live on annually and a create a budget. I love traveling and doing volunteer work, spending time with family and friends, and one has to create a life that reflect their interests and values and having a balance. As one person who the lottery said that you have to work on being happy. If you do not what you want from your life, you likely to waste a lot of money and time.

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

LAC I am surprised you'd mention Python. I hate the GD tabs you have to put in it. But C++, Java are the way to go. I only know about Python because I had a programme in computational biology a few years back and I hated the syntax. As to C++ and Java, my husband is a software engineer so he is forever using C++ and Java for almost everything and he attaches them to large SAS programmes...

No, I didn't know that the license for MS VS was that expensive, but to be honest most proprietary software programmes are expensive. The SAS license my husband uses on his job cost well over a million dollars!

If we are talking about for profit industries, then perhaps they ought to pay but regular Joes and students that cannot afford those awful student versions of software that don't allow portability and all that crap is ridiculous!

And thank God that Open Office is more stable now eh?

Rottnkid said...

This dude is getting it from trying to do the right thing...Nas rolled up on the wrong hen house on this one. What pisses me off is this dude spent literally his whole adult life pursuing a career that he loved, built a little wealth for himself and alls it took was a gold digging bitch and a fucked up judge in CALIFORNIA to tear this man's life apart in 2 short years. Sad.

---------------------------


Nas went to court Monday over his divorce with Kelis -- and walked out a little lighter in the wallet. According to documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Nas had to immediately fork over $47,249.42 in back child support and $40,454 in back spousal support. The judge also ordered Nas to pay $10,000/month in spousal support until he pays off the $299,015.50 he owes Kelis. Nas also has to pay 90% of Kelis' legal fees in the amount of $155,787.28. Lastly, Nas has to pay $48,549.83 to cover Kelis' accounting expenses. (TMZ)

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

Rtnkid HELL NO! Who the hell needs ten thousand dollars a month in spousal support?! She is a gold digger and Nas was a fool for not getting his legal affairs in order. Haven't these people heard of pre nups?

I feel for him; I really do. He got took! I cannot believe those legal fees, that is highway robbery. Last year I helped a friend beat a lawsuit PRO SE. Lawyers tend to be overpaid imho.

LACoincidental said...

MR, say word. Open Office is really stable, uses a lot less memory and can create a document all but identical to MS word. I hipped my struggling start up company to it and save them major duckets on licensing costs for workstations. Of course, once a new department manager arrived, they scrapped the whole idea because "professional organizations don't use open source tools". A fool and their money.

Like you, I learned PERL and Python because of my days working biotech and web-hosting. I wouldn't write a heavy duty desktop app in it. But if you need to crunch out some data quick, parse a gene sequence on the fly or create a mid layer web interface for a mail form, you can do worse than Perl, PHP or Python.

@RottenKid: NAS could have saved money, embarrassment and heartache going a marriage counselor first than divorce court. He could have also thought with his head instead of his pants before wifing Kelis.

Hathor said...

Rottkind,
If you have wealth, should not live in a community property state or one that counts your assets before you get married.

Jay said...

Sonny Boy Williamson offers some advice on money: I wish I knowed then like I know now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0onTraMljqA&feature=related

Hathor said...

MR and LAC,

Intellectually I agree about open source and even though I an a techie, programming has never been my forte. I am the kind of person that wants a computer to act like a toaster. On/off switch, I don't like to tinker either with software or hardware, when I want to get a job done.

I think most people are like me and don't think they have to wait years for some piece of software to become stable, wait years for an application or the have their hand held when they install some version of Linux.

BTW, my other computer has been attacked, I really would like to see some high profile trials of these people who make viruses. There is nothing cute or intriguing about them, they are criminals.

I wish people would get over the mystification of computer people.

maria said...

"who needs $10,000 a month in spousal support" --when you don't have an income and a kid to support, why shouldn't she get it?

it's $120,000 a year -- a tiny percentage of his income. she has to live on that. i'm not saying she can't but she shouldn't have to live in poverty due to him fucking around.

and i'm not sure where she lives, but that ain't much in many parts of the country, including LA, DC and NYC.

community property states work both ways. i don't cry for either one of them.

LACoincidental said...

maria said...

"who needs $10,000 a month in spousal support" --when you don't have an income and a kid to support, why shouldn't she get it?

it's $120,000 a year -- a tiny percentage of his income. she has to live on that. i'm not saying she can't but she shouldn't have to live in poverty due to him fucking around.


I don't know maria, she could get a job or make another album. She's not an invalid or anything. She's certainly isn't poor.

Nas should definitely pay child support and he's a dog for not paying for so damn long. But Nas should not have to fork over 10K a month to a grown ass woman who a) cheated on him as well and b) has her own money.

Kelis is an R&B singer and relatively successful one. Its not like she's some model-like Somalian refugee Nas picked up FOB like that old Eddie Murphy joke from RAW.

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

Hmmm I don't know if Nas cheated on her or not. But Maria, 120K in this economy ain't bad at all. Not to mention that she gets child support in addition to the spousal support. I think there is a wrongness to that...if they are divorced why should a spouse be supported? If Kelis HELPED Nas to gain his wealth and helped him with his production, lyrics or provided inspiration for his craft in other ways it makes sense for her to get some money...but from where I sit, she looks quite bad.

I just cannot see how people who once professed eternal love can get so nasty with one another. I hope and pray that me and my husband don't ever have to go through that mess.


Hathor, you certainly have a point about the old flaws, cricks and wugglies that some of the open source systems and software have had. But they have come a VERY long way since even four or five years ago!

We talk about solutions to poverty a lot or rather bitch about poverty but one surefire way to work on brainpower AND attack poverty is to get those impoverished children GNU systems where they have to install Free BSD or some flavour of Linux. The work involved with figuring out the additions and so forth is enough for someone to be a computer scientist after the project completion!

Hathor and LAC have a wonderful rest of day:)

maria said...

having been through this, i can tell you that adultery, in 99% of cases, has no impact on the amount of child support, or alimony. most are so-called "no-fault."

payments are either negotiated between the divorcing spouses or ordered by court. they're based on the needs of the lesser employed spouse, the needs in supporting a child or children, the current and future earnings of the higher-paid spouse and the other spouse. usually it's a purely economic equation.

you don't get more because your spouse cheated.

one spouse, of course, for whatever reason (guilt or whatever) can choose to pay more and be more generous.

no_slappz said...

rigmaiden, you wrote:

No Slapz what is the point of your comment, to let me know that some people that have buttloads of cash do good things? Good for them.

Good for them? Perhaps. But even better for millions and millions of others.

Why do you think makes possible the alternatives to Microsoft that you mentioned? If it were not for the presence and success of Gates and others, your alternative would have no chance of coming into existence.

As far as Buffett and bank bailouts go, well, first, I can see economics is somewhat foreign to you. Second, your opposition to the steps taken by the government suggests you believe the country would have fared better if the banks et.al. were not rescued.

Maybe you think total chaos and the very real possibility of the collapse of the US financial system would have been better than the experience we had. That's a bet the nation cannot afford to lose.

Rottnkid said...

Hathor said...

Rottkind,
If you have wealth, should not live in a community property state or one that counts your assets before you get married.

1:15 PM
---------------------------

He never lived in Cali and never got married in Cali but owns a house there. Kelis knew what she was doing when she filed divorce papers.

Rottnkid said...

LA, he did better than me. I wouldn't have married her in the 1st place, especially because of her past reputation. Can't turn a ho into a housewife.

LACoincidental said...

No_slapz, slight correction fam. Bill Gates made his loot by stealing other folks' ideas, buying them out or simply forcing them out of the market. I respect his influence on the modern IT world, but Bill Gates is to computer geeks what Russell Simmons is to old school rappers -- he did a lot of good for the industry, but he hustled and ripped off a lot of hardworking folks to get there.

M$ Windows is a complete rip-off of the old X-Windows Unix interfaces and the early version of Apple IIe. Simple fact is that Jobs isn't the riches nerd on earth because Bill Gates worked out a sweetheart deal with the big daddy of cheap PCs at the time, IBM.

My favorite Microsoft office tool, Excel is ripped of from the old visualCalc system in the 80's. IE? A really hacked version of Netscape Navigator.

But I do have to agree that many folks are off about the banking bailouts. The reason why Hoover got ousted and is remembered as such a fool amongst presidents is exactly because he did what MR and others (left and right) suggested Obama did when the banks began to tank -- absolutely nothing. Those arguing for the 'gold standard' days really don't know jack about modern economics. (i.e. we ain't go enough gold on planet Earth to match the global market value. Switching to the gold standard would cause massive deflation in currency, or worse.)

I don't like how banks had no strings with the bailouts, but the crazy alternative from the right (let them fail, its capitalism) and the far left (take all toxic assets and form an national bank) would have cause a lot of global financial chaos. Small countries can pull that kind of hard core moves because they're so small compare to the global economy. The US is still the big daddy on the block. Trust and believe that China and the Saudi royals would dump their dollars faster than we can print them if Obama tried anything too radical too fast.

The goal of the bank bailouts (as well as the whole auto industry bailouts) was to stabilize the US and global economy, nothing more and nothing less.

La♥audiobooks said...

MR, and LAC, you fellow geek/ettes make me feel so welcomed, warm and tingly all over :)

I truly appreciate open source, it promotes sharing and creativity for technology advancement with it's contributors. Not to mention it could save you thousands from the Draconian Pirates. I'm a Machead, but I would switch to Linux GNU before I dare consider having a winblows box in my home.

As for spousal support and pre-nups, it's a slippery slope, and many pre-nups end up cheating the first wives either way. Ten thousand a month? I have no problem sympathizing if the couple were together and married for over a decade at the least. Not some fly by night wife/husband, even though I am not as sympathetic of husbands sucking wives for spousal support (I'm bias, sue me). I am still considered young at my age, if I were to marry a wealthy man now, I will most likely be investing into his carrier as well as a future family with him. I don't think I would want to sign a pre-nup. What if we get divorced for whatever reason, I don't know what life has in store for me in the future as an aged divorcee female. His future wife (who's usually younger) will reap all the benefits that I have invested as a wife.
As for child support, most courts will tell you children are entitled to live an equal lifestyle of the financially resourceful non-custodial parent. And that's why most non-custodial financially resourceful men who can't keep their pants up deserve getting the blows up side down and side ways for being stupid and careless.

La♥audiobooks said...

I meant "career", please forgive me all you grammar Nazis.

Rottnkid said...

maria said...
it's $120,000 a year -- a tiny percentage of his income. she has to live on that. i'm not saying she can't but she shouldn't have to live in poverty due to him fucking around.

-----------------------

I know I'm a little late in my response (after reading the others, no need to defend NAS anymore ;D) but Nas didn't cheat on his wife but I think he was having problems dealing with her supposed sex tape.

maria said...

LaBooks said:
As for child support, most courts will tell you children are entitled to live an equal lifestyle of the financially resourceful non-custodial parent. And that's why most non-custodial financially resourceful men who can't keep their pants up deserve getting the blows up side down and side ways for being stupid and careless.

nice idea and maybe in high-profile celebrity cases but not in real life. most states have guidelines, defacto mandates, for child support. they are based on incomes, and % of custodial time, period. they don't care about "lifestyle." in many cases CS can be 20% or less of the higher earner's salary.

FYI: the biggest category of bankruptcy is single mothers.

Anonymous said...

maria said...
"FYI: the biggest category of bankruptcy is single mothers."

Dumb bitches.

La♥audiobooks said...

"nice idea and maybe in high-profile celebrity cases but not in real life. most states have guidelines, defacto mandates, for child support. they are based on incomes, and % of custodial time, period. they don't care about "lifestyle." "

Maria, celeb cases are "real life" cases, and of course in most states CS is primarily based on guidelines, income and percentages. To say equal "lifestyle" is just a term some people use in wealthier cases to squash the argument of "you don't need twenty thousand dollars a month to take care of one child". And in reality you don't, it's excessive especially outside of a court monitored trust fund, and that's why Attorney's will find ways to use that argument to limit CS from wealthy men. However for the custodial parent (usually the mother) in most states and with a good Attorney, it still boils down to the child being entitled to the same "percentage" used regularly - regardless of how excessive, and thus comes the term "lifestyle" and conforts equal to the much wealthier non-custodial parent. But of course I'm not an expert on the CS laws through out the American states and territories.

"in many cases CS can be 20% or less of the higher earner's salary."

You mean the percentage of the non-custodial parent.

"FYI: the biggest category of bankruptcy is single mothers."

No kidding. But I doubt they're the ones who get those astronomical amounts of child support from wealthier men.

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]Gates in some sense represents things that I stand against...hence support for the GNU project.[/quote]

MR:

In reading the posts in reverse I thought that I finally had a topic that I could unconditionally agree with you upon.

I use Linux/OpenOffice/Firefox & Chrome at home.

HOWEVER when you consider the hundreds of thousands of people who have jobs created around the Microsoft eco-system I can't agree with you on your hateration of Bill Gates.

Hell, when Bill Moyers invites you in to speak on his show for your charitable works you have been duly laundered as white as snow from your past offenses.

The Gates Foundation is spending BILLIONS of dollars around the world on "the Least of These" people.

If it weren't for Microsoft we would have a massively balkanized information technology industry.

Microsoft has served a necessary function over time.

Anonymous said...

That Maria knows it a all.

maria said...

Labooks said:

However for the custodial parent (usually the mother) in most states and with a good Attorney, it still boils down to the child being entitled to the same "percentage" used regularly - regardless of how excessive, and thus comes the term "lifestyle" and conforts equal to the much wealthier non-custodial parent. But of course I'm not an expert on the CS laws through out the American states and territories.

honey, you're dreaming. most women who get divorced don't have the money for a "good" lawyer and often there are no enough joint assets to make the fight worth it. there's no "entitlement." i have been through this with a dozen people at least over five years in many states (from a support network) and i've heard the stories over and over. i've lived it. family members have lived it. my state hasn't increased CS payment levels in 20 years!

there's no equalization of percentage-none. the wealthy ones are like 1% of the population.

i don't understand your last statement. most women aren't getting astronomical amounts, as proven by the volume bankruptcies. and btw, you get divorced, you lose your health insurance.

cf, i think hell has frozen over. i agree with you!

La♥audiobooks said...

Maria, what are you arguing about? I was not referring to your personal situation, obviously. I was originally commenting on spousal support and child support given to women who were married or have children with "wealthy men", as someone brought up Kelis and Nas's situation. Forgive me if I didn't make myself clear. I figured "Wealthy" should have been the operative word.

Either you're intertwining your own personal dilemma with the above scenarios while confusing yourself, or you clearly comprehend paragraphs and sentences much differently.

Constructive Feedback said...

Filled Negro:

Do you record statistics as to the correlation between the SUBJECT that you post about and the HITS that you receive?

I have to give it to you man. You know the flavor of chum that your audience likes.

IF this topic was about Tea Parties/Sarah Palin/Republicans/Michael Steele/Confederates

your post count would be over 200 at this time in the day.

I have to give you credit dude.

Dr. Nuwang said...

Interesting to see Kelis, a woman who had her own career BEFORE she married Nas, referred to as a gold digger. Especially from a woman probably depends on her husbands income tp survive (that would be you, Urineade). And to the obviously uninformed, she DOES have some new music out now.

I heard he DID cheat (like other highly successful, famous men), and I think she DOES deserves spousal support in line with his salary. If she were the wealthier spouse, then I think he'd be entitled to the same.

Anonymous said...

"Either you're intertwining your own personal dilemma with the above scenarios while confusing yourself, or you clearly comprehend paragraphs and sentences much differently."


I'd go with them both to be safe.

field negro said...

If you all notice me looking up that's because of this tech stuff going over my head. :)

You all are some smart people.
As for Nas and Kelis, I am going to leave that alone. It reminds me too much of my day job.

"I have to give it to you man. You know the flavor of chum that your audience likes.

IF this topic was about Tea Parties/Sarah Palin/Republicans/Michael Steele/Confederates

your post count would be over 200 at this time in the day.

I have to give you credit dude."

Well then you are going to just love my next post...or maybe not.

maria said...

what you said wasn't clear to me.

you said back to me the celeb cases "are real life."

i had said they were not, meaning they're not the norm.

many people think divorced women "take the guy to the cleaners" when getting a settlement, esp. from an X who cheated.

it's a fiction. that was my point.

Gregory said...

CF wrote:
"I have to give it to you man. You know the flavor of chum that your audience likes."

Take some notes, CF. If you wrote about something interesting then maybe the most common character string on your blog would not be "0 Comments".

Constructive Feedback said...

Gregory:
I suggest that you "get a clue" and learn something:

Detroit Street Pirate Unit: When Moral Supremacy Is Put Aside Lest People Who Don't Give A DAMN About Your Standards Destroy You.

http://withintheblackcommunity.blogspot.com/2010/04/detroit-street-gang-unit-when-moral.html


You have to understand something Gregory - in my view what I focus upon is more in line with what "The Least Of These" have to deal with every day.

What Filled Negro focuses upon is in line with what those who believe that the final assault upon WASHINGTON DC and their victory will one day translate into benefit for their community.

Here is the irony Gregory. The biggest indictment that I can render against Filled Negro and other Progressive-Fundamentalists is to go to the places where your ideas are MOST ENTRENCHED to see the impact of how things are when your adversary has been defeated.

Gregory said...

CF,
Normally you just sound crazy. However, jealously over the popularity of Field's site makes you sound petty.

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]Well then you are going to just love my next post...or maybe not.[/quote]

What is it going to be about?

1) The Black mayor of Washington Park IL who was murdered as a Street Pirate "spat upon him" using a bullet fired to his chest?

2) 7 People Shot On Monday In New Orleans Capping Off A Weekend In Which 18 People Were Shot?http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/04/seven_shootings_monday_extend.html

3) Health Care Disparities Exist In The UK DESPITE Them Having Single Payer Health Care For Decades? The New "Black Progressive Movement" In UK Plan To Lobby The GOVERNMENT To Make Them EQUAL?

"The Black (Progressive) Manifesto 2010"
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/World_News_3/article_6884.shtml


4) The Final Call Blames New England Flooding On "God's Judgment Against The USA" - Avoids Attacks That Right Wing Christians Received When They Said The Same Thing About Katrina?
http://bqpfrc-bias.blogspot.com/2010/04/final-call-are-americas-floods-sign-of.html

5) Black Barberships In Trenton NJ Outraged About Rape Of 7 Year Old Girl?
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_6890.shtml


I am dying to know what your new post is Filled Negro

Dr. Nuwang said...

CF, you definitely went off the deep end with that last comment. Field does a VERY good job balancing his blog with serious to not so serious posts.

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]CF,
Normally you just sound crazy. However, jealously over the popularity of Field's site makes you sound petty.
[/quote]

Gregory:

Surely you JEST!!!

The Filled Negro Blog gets at most 600 page views per day.

There are 40,000,000 Negroes in the United States!!! What do I need to be "jealous" about this blog?

I am more concerned about the Double Platinum "Hip Hop Voice Of The Street Pirates" that drop a record that sells 2 to 4 MILLION units.

They have the POWER to get about 500,000 White folks lipsync the word "Nigger" when they are in the privacy of their own home or car.

Do you know how angering it is to go into a mixed dance club and hear a DJ spin music that is NOT the "radio edit"?

If I closed my eyes and listened to the lyrics at times I'd swear that I was at a TEA PARTY CONVENTION expect Rachael Maddow is not recording the words said as a means of charging that the person speaking is a RACIST for saying the word "Nigger".

Surely you know how this works?

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]Field does a VERY good job balancing his blog with serious to not so serious posts.[/quote]

MAMM - you are kidding right?

You said the word "balance" and Filled Negro in the same sentence?

He does balance his posts between attacks upon Republicans and attacks upon Non-Republican-Tea Party Operatives.

Let me be clear MAMM - "ALLOW FILLED NEGRO and Roland Martin to CONTINUE!!!!!!".

My goal is to make observations about the REAL WORLD and then monitor how much certain operatives MOLEST their own model of the real world for their own agenda.

At some point, beyond the operatives, the RANK AND FILE is obligated to see that they are being manipulated and reject the "confidence men" they have come to depend upon for their information.


MAMM- do YOU think that the murder of the Black mayor of Washington Park is RELEVANT material on the Filled Negro blog which reported about the BLACK MAYOR in South Jersey who - a few months ago - resigned because he said RACISTS were giving him a hard time?

Come on now MAMM.

We both know what Filled Negro is up to.

Gregory said...

CF,
Most of your posts on your various blogs have zero comments. One post had 4 comments. Wow.

If it weren't for Field, nobody would know who your are, since they are not visiting your blogs and commenting there.

So, yes, you are sounding very petty.

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

" because he did what MR and others (left and right) suggested Obama did when the banks began to tank -- absolutely nothing. Those arguing for the 'gold standard' days really don't know jack about modern economics. ("LAC

This is why you trust institutions and I do not. I don't believe it is ever justifiable to privatize gains and socialize losses. People have suffered worse due to the bailouts. Bankers have gotten fatter. Banks have increased the number of folks they are suing for debt collection. Check any local superior court and the dockets are bogged down with these types of law suits.

I don't advocate a gold standard either, but do think that it is far better than the oil standard we've had for a long time.

Look money is a man made artifact. Money is an instrument of debt proliferation in our society. Poverty is a consequence of this made up bs reliance upon money. Debts are made up. Fractional reserve banking is evil.

I haven't talked too much about what I advocate for the banking system but frankly it needs to be completely restructured. Money only has value because we agree that it is worth something. It makes no sense that people are starving and dying on the streets over some green pieces of paper or decimals on a computer screen; the human soul is worth more than that.

I believe we need to abolish fractional reserve banking and we need to abolish compound interest. Otherwise, our national debt will never diminish and countries around the world will be in debt to the IMF for absolutely nothing but decimals and papers.

I find this utterly absurd.

From where I stand the bailouts did nothing but help the bankers.

You believe institutions will do the right thing, I don't believe they will EVER do the right thing.

field negro said...

"The Black mayor of Washington Park IL who was murdered as a Street Pirate "spat upon him" using a bullet fired to his chest?"

I have a running sidebar of the killings in Philadelphia, and I talk about the tragedy of black on black crime quite often.


"The Final Call Blames New England Flooding On "God's Judgment Against The USA" - Avoids Attacks That Right Wing Christians Received When They Said The Same Thing About Katrina?"

I never knew that. See, it pays to have a reverse racism chaser post from time to time.

"Black Barberships In Trenton NJ Outraged About Rape Of 7 Year Old Girl?"

Already blogged about it. You are late.

See how that works Destructive Wingnut? If all you want to focus on is your narrow agenda and meme of all black folks bad and all wingnuts good, you will never see what is right in front of you. The truth.

"Gregory:

Surely you JEST!!!

The Filled Negro Blog gets at most 600 page views per day."

Huh? Destructive Wingnut,here is hoping that you don't come up as short in other areas as you did with that projection. ;)

Shabazz said...

Oh god, I could not stop laughing!!!
all cf's blog posts got 0 comments!!!LOLLOLLOL!!!

Dr. Nuwang said...

Laughing at someone who at the very least, is doing something other than sitting in the cut talking smack about other folks? Yeah you really need a life, $hithead!

And taking Gods name in vain to boot! Atheist $hithead!

Dr. Nuwang said...

Side note, destructive wingnut has to be the funniest "play" on a username on this blog, LOL!!

Anonymous said...

MMM I hope when he starts on your ass you remember you started it. You dumb twit.

Shabazz said...

You fucking bird, you don't get enough, do you?
You ever feel like you're crashing the party?
You are as unimportant here as you are in real life (apparently)
Damn, don't you have a man or woman or something?
You are one annoying bitch, no wonder you're on here jonesing for attention. Sorry wench, I'm married with a real life outside FN's blog.
Shoo fly!

Shabazz said...

BTW- mmm, everyone here knows you're a plant, just like licia-bear, and constipated weezebag.

Dr. Nuwang said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr. Nuwang said...

Thanks punkass Shithead/assnon!!!! Only a micro penis mother f*cker like YOU makes a habbit of arguing and name calling on the damn internet with women. If you are a man, I'm guessing you drink too much Urineade, ya' dig?

And now that I have my acceptance letter to a PhD program IN HAND, let's get the moniker straight from now on, shall we??

The name is Dr. MMM, Dr. Fly, or Dr. Bitch, BITCHES!!!!!!!

Dr. Nuwang said...

Booyah!!!

Shabazz said...

" MeandMyMicroscope said...

Thanks punkass Shithead/assnon!!!! Only a micro penis mother f*cker like YOU makes a habbit of arguing and name calling on the damn internet with women. If you are a man, I'm guessing you drink too much Urineade, ya' dig?

And now that I have my acceptance letter to a PhD program IN HAND, let's get the moniker straight from now on, shall we??

The name is Dr. MMM, Dr. Fly, or Dr. Bitch, BITCHES!!!!!!!"

Umm, yeah. ok.

Don said...

Sometimes I wonder if I were ever to earn millions and millions of dollars would I too one day awake and realize that I have nothing but debt, and creditors hunting me down.

It's incredible to read where athletes have squandered away absurd amounts of money. I guess it's the lifestyle or, as you stated in Derrick Coleman's case, a series of bad investments.

I wonder if now Portland Trailblazer Juwuan Howard is still holding on to all that money he robbed NBA teams of?

Anonymous said...

You stupid cougar cunt.
Why don't you grow the fuck up and chill out?
You started this once again.
You are one dumb ghetto bitch.
I hope Shabazz rips you a new one now.

maria said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
maria said...

you don't get to say you're a Dr. upon your acceptance -- you are simply a PhD student.

no_slappz said...

lacoincidental, you wrote:

No_slapz, slight correction fam. Bill Gates made his loot by stealing other folks' ideas, buying them out or simply forcing them out of the market.

Gates may have bought some creations of others, but stealing? No. Maybe you know about Dr H. Edward Roberts, who does get some of credit for being the unsung Steve Wozniak of Microsoft. Roberts died a few weeks ago.

Anyway, it's close to impossible to succeed in computers/software if your products lack an important edge.

As for the banks, well, they are repaying the LOANS received from the government. HOwever, that's a trick General Motors will never perform, even though it might look as though things are working out.

But in the bankruptcy process many of GM's costs were shifted off its books and onto the backs of taxpayers. It's easy to look good when you can walk away from the problems, which GM was.

no_slappz said...

rigmaiden, you wrote:

Money only has value because we agree that it is worth something....I believe we need to abolish fractional reserve banking and we need to abolish compound interest. Otherwise, our national debt will never diminish and countries around the world will be in debt to the IMF for absolutely nothing but decimals and papers.


As I said, it looks like economics is unknown territory to you.

Here's soemthing of value for you. Treasury Securities pay Simple Interest. Not compound interest.

Without fractional banking you have no banking, which means anyone who wanted to fund any project would have to pull all the funding out of his savings and/or give much of the equity or expected profits to a risk-taker willing to invest.

The financial rescue organized by the US government was developed around the expectation that the organizations receiving TARP money would repay it. The banks are performing exactly as promised, as is AIG.

Dr. Nuwang said...

Anonymous said...
You stupid cougar cunt.
Why don't you grow the fuck up and chill out?
You started this once again.
You are one dumb ghetto bitch.
I hope Shabazz rips you a new one now
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

First I thought you were just another jeaolus female in a long line of jealous females I've encountered in my life. Then I thought you were a white dude based on some of the language you use.

Now I've decided that you MUST be a Hermaphrodite, who had their penis and breasts cut off at birth.

Yeah, if I were you I'd hate me too!

Anonymous said...

mmm, shut up. Your wit, like your body is tired.
Give it a rest.

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

No Slapz you are saying foolish things. You don't privatize gains and socialize debt that is called oligarchal tyranny.

You cannot piss on my leg and tell me it is raining. Save your tired diatribes for someone who cares what you have to say. I truly don't.

Anonymous said...

constructive feedback what the F$$K are you talking about and what the F$$K does that have to do with the topic at hand stupid?!! Go back to toonhall to spew that crap and to FN what is it to you WHAT rich black males choose to spend their money on?! Boy I can really see what Bobby meant is his song 'My Perogative' get a few millions and soon every Negro with attitude and an opinion thinks they can tell you how to spend your dollar bills. 'Sad' my A@@!! You are just a jealous,nosy prick who needs to mind his own damn business!!