Not in a Saturday state of mind.

Lord have mercy, the Apocalypse is upon us; Snoop is on Larry King's show tonight.

These are strange times folks, strange times.

Anywhoo, I could chase racism tonight, but I won't. (h/t to Dave) I could even go on a wild -racism -goose chase, but I won't. (I swear some folks shouldn't even get a race card. They just abuse it)

Nope, there will be none of that. Tonight I am thinking about my personal experiences and how it's drawn me closer to the hopelessness of an entire generation.

Today after a little R&R, I headed up to State Road here in Philly which is where our three county prisons are located. I went to visit a young man who was recently arrested, and whose family asked me to take his case. It's always particularly depressing for me when I visit the county because of the young men that I see there, and where it takes my mind.

Today it took my mind back few weeks. Sitting in a court room while a young man-not unlike the one I just visited- was sentenced. The judge gave him a 25 year minimum, and dude just kind of shrugged and started smiling. Smiling! He kept looking around the court room and smiling at some of his people who were in the back of the room. I have seen that type of reaction from defendant's before, and usually it's just nervousness or fear. But not this time. My man honestly didn't understand the gravity of his situation.

His momma was there, and she wasn't smiling. In fact, she was crying a river. Too late.She should have been crying when the truant officers were telling her that his little ass wasn't going to school. I looked around, and, of course, there was no daddy. There never is.

I couldn't get over the look on my man's face. Twenty Five years of his life gone, and all he could do was shrug and smile like someone just told him that he flunked his driver's license test. He must have heard how Snoop beat his charges and thought that he could do likewise. Sorry young buck, you will not be on Larry King anytime soon.

But I guess when you have no life to look forward to it's easy when you are being told that you will lose twenty five years of it. The sad thing is that being in jail will probably extend his life for a longer period than most of his peers.

There are three huge jails on State Road here in Philly. And they are always full. Most of the people in there look like me but they happen to be a little younger. Most of the people in there will end up going where that young man I saw in court a few weeks back, went. And the neighborhoods they left will just replace the newly departed with others just like them.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and in those same neighborhoods all the churches will be full. Just like the buildings on State Road.

A purpose driven vetting.

"The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. "~Proverbs 11:1-3~

Looks like my man Rick Warren is in the news again. Apparently he made a little slip up (I am being kind)while talking to that hard nosed reporter Larry King. ( I kid of course, there is nothing "hard nosed" about Larry King) Seems pastor Rick was for fighting against Proposition 8 out in California before he was for it.

But how could the purpose driven pastor be less than honest with an entire country? I thought only politicians do these types of things? Wait...... "You know, Larry, there was a story within a story that never got told. In the first place, I am not an anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist. I never have been, never will be. During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never -- never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop 8 was going." No pastor Rick, there is a little video of you that shows that you did issue a statement *against Proposition 8. [*Actually my fact checker, Woozie,was right. Warren was for Proposition 8, before he was against it...I think]

Now I don't like to bash a man of god, because someone.... I take that back. A lot of someones believe in the man; he is their pastor and spiritual leader and I really don't want to disparage someone else's spiritual leader. I am not religious, but you won't get me to bash someone else's faith. To each his own. Live and let live as far as I am concerned.

Here is hoping that Rick comes clean and tells us where he really stands on this issue. And if he did tell a little fib he has the man upstairs on speed dial, that's all.

And speaking of religion: You Obamaholics won't like this, but I hear your boy is looking for a church. LOOKING FOR A CHURCH? Apparently it's what presidents do. They try to find a public place of worship that can be easily protected by the secret service. His O ness went to St. John's Episcopal Sunday, it's right across from the White House, and it seems to have been the de facto church for past presidents. So why should his O ness be any different? Besides, Episcopalians are cool I guess, I am sure they will welcome the first family with open arms.

"With a search underway for a new church for the Obama family in Washington, advisers have said that the vetting will be careful to consider the history of the church and its pastors - a measure of how troubling the Wright saga was for Obama, who publicly denounced the "incendiary'' words of the now-retired but former longtime pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ after Wright's railing about racism in America from the pulpit was publicized by videos on the Internet. "

The "vetting" will be careful? How do you vet a church? I hope Granny or one of my other online friends who are more connected to the man (or woman) upstairs than I am can tell me how that works. I always kind of thought you belong to either church A or church B. And what denomination was Reverend Wright? Was it an independent church? If not, wouldn't they go to the same denominational church in D.C.? I mean it would be a different Pastor so A-murder-cans could relax. I am just saying.

"Since Obama left Trinity last year, he has been without an official house of worship, relying instead on a close circle of advisers and pastors for private counsel."

Now I can get with that program; "pastors for private counsel". Nothing wrong with that, getting his spirituality on in a private way can't hurt his O ness. If he is a true believer only good things can come form such an arrangement. I just hope that Rick Warren isn't one of the folks doing the counseling.