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It has been said (and tangibly demonstrated via one particularly significant individual) that influence and character flows from the head down. If I were a New Jersey resident, I'd be moving right about now. This whole situation reeks of bad news.

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One of the disadvantages of being in the air is that you're a day late and a dollar short on the happenings in political la-la land. Surely old talk by now, but imagine my chagrin when I caught up on the news and found my old pal Alan Keyes making an embarrassment out of himself. Oh wait, he already did that last week. Well, for what it's worth, at least he's consistent. After fumbling around some thoughts about reparations being good in principle, Keyes has issued a statement to "clarify" his position. Relative definition of clarify: huh?

These days, Mr. Keyes is making it very difficult for supporters like me to vouch for his political aptitude. Now I see why people like Bill Clinton remain so popular; blind loyalty. Granted, being a yapping carpetbagger doesn't really compare to being a shady, adulterous loser, but conceptually, I think I'm starting to get it. Strangely enough, I still like Keyes (I know I know, just slap me already).

My simple take on reparations: absolutely not. I think that about covers my general opinion. Can I understand an argument for them? Sure -- doesn't mean I agree with it. Admittedly, I haven't done much research on the topic. I recall the history on renumeration for the Japanese, but to be honest, I'm unable to really sumise any good purpose it accomplished. Reparations, or as Cedric the Entertainer's character "Eddie" in the movie Barbershop called them, "Respirations", are not going to accomplish much of anything in my opinion. Respirations on the other hand, would. You know, a little oxygen, some supplement and aid to the breathing process in our cultural and socio-economic development. Surely communities on the respirator aren't going to be aided by any amount of money. That's why 75% of lottery winners go broke in less than a few years. It's the difference between being given a fish, catching a fish, and owning the pond. I happen to be in favor of pond ownership.

The black community doesn't need hand-outs, they need a few hand slaps (ouch I felt that). I tip my hat to Friar Cosby for publicly offering a few light love taps. Growing up, (and admittedly a few months ago), my mother used to pop me one on the hand every now and then when I reached for something that didn't belong to me or that I didn't need. I despise the minority mentality. It lacks vision, self-confidence, and allows itself to be tricked into thinking it is ill-equipped to do anything substantial and meaningful in this life without the aid of the big-brother.

I don't know about you, but I vote for respirations.

(Nyk points to Michael King)

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I said it from the get-go. When New Jersey Governor McGreevey declared last week that he was, "A Gay American" he spoke more than just words, he spoke strategy. I read a recent op-ed on Town Hall that better articulates the significance of McGreevey's statement. Columnist Dennis Prager writes in the piece The 'I am a gay American' defense,

"Threatened with a sexual harassment lawsuit by his alleged male lover, having appointed him, a thoroughly unqualified man, as homeland security advisor at a time when America, in particular, the New York metropolitan area, is threatened with horrific terror and with any number of other instances of corruption already revealed and more likely to come out, Governor McGreevey saw the future and realized he had to resign from office.

But the way he did it was a masterstroke. He turned opprobrium into compassion.

He did it with one sentence. "I am a gay American."

On the face of it, it is irrelevant to whatever wrongs he may have committed against his state, his wife or his religion. But he did so because he knew that it would immediately deflect attention from his actions to his sexual orientation.

And then he would receive at least as much understanding and compassion as condemnation.
Why?

Because the moment he announced he was gay, people assumed that he did what he did because a homophobic society forced him, a homosexual, to live a fraudulent heterosexual life."

Exactly. Taking advantage of the double-standard we have in our society for proper relationships, McGreevey has positioned himself for a parachute landing. Praeger goes on to discuss past instances where the American public has pardoned certain behaviors in the case of homosexuality that wouldn't have otherwise been viewed the same way in heterosexual relationships. Prager ultimately decides that no one should be forced to resign from office because they commit an infidelity. I say surely we would have far fewer people in government if this were at all consistently actionable.

It's somewhat of a slippery slope. Be that as it may, McGreevey's decision (or coercion depending on your view) to resign as he did leaves a lot of issues up in the air. Given the circumstances and apparent double-standard, people are already speculating about the shadiness of his dealings. Then again, the rest of America is still fixated on those three words so strategically spoken, as I'm sure McGreevey is pleased to observe.

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There's lots of talk these days about Jesus being a so-called liberal. Ascribing modern-day political affiliations to historical Biblical figures (more specifically, the central figure to all humanity and King of Kings and Lord of Lords) is just plain blasphemous and self-serving. I have also heard it said that Jesus was for social justice. In fact, even I have said this myself. Although, I said it with the caveat that the idea of "social justice" as we know it today is not exactly indicative of the true heart and spirit of mobilization and empowerment I saw in Jesus' ministry. Unfortunately, today the words "social justice" conjure up the sensation of dry heaving libcrap.

Some weeks back, in part three of my epic saga "Why I'm Not a Republican" I mentioned my disappointment in much of the Republican party's attention to the yes, dare I say it, the disenfranchised. That opinion still stands. Is it the government's job to feed the poor, heal the sick, and set the captives free? Well, no. However, it is their job to facilitate an atmosphere where outside agencies can move effectively in this respect. In order for this to take place, actually recognizing the problems of our society is necessary.

Here in Seattle, we have this nomadic homeless camp called "Tent City". They go around Washington, copping lawn space (by permission) to establish their literal "tent city" of homeless people. Generally, it is churches that offer up their property for the nearly 70 homeless people to live on for an agreed amount of time. Much uproar has been made as Tent City once existed in the inner-city, but has now begun making its way into the lovely Seattle suburbs; home of the card-carrying Republican. They are not happy.

I am merely using the issue of homelessness as an example of one of the epidemics facing our society right now. And let's be honest, if your city is anything like mine, being "homeless" has become somewhat in vogue. On an average day, you might see some trusafarian white kid with university tuition fully-paid, sitting on the street corner panhandling because it's "cool", or because they've disowned their parents. I have written in the past about my complete lack of tolerance for anyone who is unwilling to get off their tail and make life happen.

I offer the Tent City analogy for a reason. Recently, City Council approved a plan for Tent City to occupy space in Woodinville, Washington; a community with million dollar homes. They were outraged, as I may be too, although watching their outrage has been far more entertaining and indicative than anyone would have thought. There is however, a greater picture here; It's the idea of being forced to deal with the poor. There was once a time when on any given day, I could arrange to locate myself in a place where I wouldn't be forced to deal with the decay of American society on a daily basis. These days, it's everywhere.

So what is social justice? What is our responsibility to it? And who's leading the pack?

Posted in Culture, Politics, Theocracy | Permanent Link

 

I suppose if it's not one thing, it's another. This time, it's Bill Cosby. Have I mentioned lately how much I love that man? Continuing his crusade to rally the black community to accountatbility and responsiblity, Cosby spent Wednesday night speaking at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. The event featured other panelists including three doctors, a reverend (a real one), and a Rutgers University professor.

Cosby's interest in the area was peaked when last April, several prominent Newark city gangs (clearly the Bloods and the Crips) agreed to end all the bloodshed that had once destroyed their community. The Star-Ledger reports,

They [former gang-bangers] also formed an organization, Saving Our Selves, to reduce gang violence. Since then, the group has been working with residents at Baxter Terrace, a public housing development where gang members have been doing neighborhood cleanup.

Well surely something is going right in the great state of New Jersey. If only they knew "firebrand Ambra" was on her way there via business in a week or so...perhaps I can stir up something news-worthy.

If you hear something wacky from the depths of NJ in a few weeks, you'll know it was me. Unless of course, it wasn't. The world may never know.

Posted in Culture, Politics | Permanent Link

 

Joining Bill Clinton in the ranks of shameful political infidelity, New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey today announced he cheated on his wife with another man. Boy if I had a nickel for every time this happened in government but never made it to press, I'd be Oprah right about now. The nature of politics has produced a literal lot of individuals very skilled at concealing scandalous things. However, this time, McGreevy was caught. The New York Daily News reports,

In a stunning declaration, Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation Thursday and acknowledged that he had an extramarital affair with another man.

"My truth is that I am a gay American," he said.

"Shamefully, I engaged in adult consensual affairs with another man, which violates my bonds of matrimony," the married father of two said. "It was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexcusable."

Somewhere in Democratland, the tables will be turned and McGreevey's going to made to look like a victim. "Wrong, Foolish, and inexcusable" is right. The NY Daily News may have hit the nail on the head, although probably inadvertently when they reported,

"The Democrat said his resignation would be effective Nov. 15. McGreevey said he would step down because his secret -- both his sexuality and his affair -- leaves the governor's office vulnerable."

You're darn right it does. Wide open. America is still repairing the damage that was done via the Clinton scandal. Leaders of other people don't get the privilege of living their lives they way they want. When will we get hip to this concept?

A few quick observations and I'm done: Use of the phrase "My truth". Red flag for moral relativism as it indicates that truth varies from person to person. Also, I happen to find it interesting that he announced himself as a "gay American" (by the way, that was strategic). I'll leave that one alone for now.

[ Click to Read Complete Resignation Speech ]

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Heard 'round the blogosphere...

In light of President Bush's latest decision to allow our elections to be monitored, La Shawn Barber has sworn off voting in the next presidential election. Tempting.

Avery Tooley just hit his three-year anniversary of life without a television (AKA an idiot box). How novel. Speaking of which, when's the last time we read one?

Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost and Michael King, and even bloggers who call me confused remind us that no matter what tripe Jesse Jackson may fabricate, Jesus was not a Liberal. I would just like to remind everyone that political parties are evil. All of them.

Joshua Claybourn informs us that although Bush has been a big spender, Kerry is an even bigger one. I happen to share Mr. Claybourn's gripe with the Bush administration.

Heard about this on the news, but educator Joanne Jacobs writes about a recent story on a school that's been hoaxing Mexican immigrants, charging them for phony diplomas, and teaching them falsehoods like America has 53 states instead of 50. Well, if you include the "state of oppression", the "state of blame" and the "state of corruptness" why yes, I suppose we do have 53 states.

Yes a couple more links, deal. (I'm making up for lost time)

Also by way of Joanne Jacobs' informative blog, I got hipped to this new effort, a hot new magazine geared towards "the young intellectual" called Citizen Culture. I shall eagerly await its future.

Lastly, a friend was kind enough to hip me to this site, which is bound to throw off your work-place concentration for at least an hour. By the way, yes it's workplace safe.

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So I like Alan Keyes. I would have undoubtedly voted for him in a presidential election. I can't think of a better person to go up against Barack Obama. When his show "Making Sense" was cancelled on MSNBC, I even signed the petition to keep him on the air. He's intelligent, full of integrity, God-fearing, and one heck of a politician. But for the love of all things righteous and pure, just admit you're a carpetbagger already! Goll-y.

It is horribly disenchanting to watch someone you admire be put to shame by Alan Colmes on national television. Yes, Mr. Keyes' comments against Hillary Clinton's strategic move to the New York Senate have come back to bite him in the rear-end. So please stop the fluff. Dear Alan, just admit the fact that you're a Maryland resident attempting to cop an Illinois Senate spot and move on with it. The people will still respect you! At least this here citizen will. Stop with the respect for state sovereignty rhetoric. Please. It's like you're making the hole deeper with every single interview. It's becoming painful to watch.

I beseech you. Stop.

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I am bothered. So this weekend, I headed out to a local "Black" Seattle event of sorts called "Umoja Fest". If only you could see me rolling my eyes as I type this. I only went to support a dear friend who was performing on the hip-hop stage and a mentee who was planning it. Aside from the fact that half the people there didn't even know what "Umoja" meant when the master of ceremonies asked, I have nothing wrong with black people coming together in celebration. In fact, I usually quite enjoy it--except during election years. I can deal with the "black folks just need to come together" stuff. What I can't deal with is the "blame everything on the white man" rhetoric. Save that tired garbage for things that really count like whoever thought up "Sex and the City" or the person who created "Spandex", or the somebody who invented "Spam". That's what we should be blaming the white man for.

The highlight of the event and culmination of my entire political ideology happened when the MC asked everyone in the crowd who planned on voting in the upcoming presidential election to raise their hand. I of course, raised my hand along with the rest, however, already apprehensive about where the speech was going. In true cookie-cutter fashion, as though it were scripted, he then said, "Everyone who's voting for Bush, please put your hand down."

No he didn't?!
Oh yes he did. Go. There.

That 10-second instance was an allegory for how politics work in the black community. "Oh so it's like that huh?" I thought to myself. Anyone who's not marching in the sold-out lemming-line gets their vote canceled out? Talk about a paradox. The black community has bought-in and eternally sold their souls to one political party, yet my contrarian vote is the one that doesn't count? Surely we've gone completely mad. Even the wealthiest of wealthy know putting all your eggs in one basket is not at all strategic. Spewed ignorance and false allegiances are just not my cup of tea. My distaste of this mindset eminates from every last one of my bodily orifices. When asked, I put my hand down gladly.

Putting my words out there on the internet amazes me. Everyone's subject to their opinion, as am I. Of the more popular commentary from the peanut gallery, other black people love to call me politically confused. To them I say, "whatever". Relative definition of whatever: I'm rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.

Then there those that say I'm philosophically confused. To them I also say, "whatever". Relative definition of whatever: The very nature of philosophy is confusing. I however, am very clear on where I stand on most subjects. I shalt not be placed in an ideological box. I would not be doing my job on the earth if I did (see tagline). If my adherence to a moral conduct beyond situation ethics, and "my grandfather said so" offends you, I'm sorry.

Relative definition of "I'm sorry": I could care the heck less.

We are running a political dog and pony show here and it makes me want to vomit. People put their lives on the line so I could have the privilege to vote for whomever I darn well please and if we choose to be so naive as to further perpetuate this self-oppressive, cyclically demeaning matter-of-faulty-fact way of engaging in political discourse, count me out. I have better things to do with my time. Good day.

Relative definition of "good day": back up offa me.

Posted in Politics, Race | Permanent Link

 

Maybe Jesus isn't your homeboy. Maybe you don't want to "Go Veg" or wear any of the over-played shirts out there. I'm not usually one for political t-shirts (they don't really go too well with heels and a purse), but I think I'm being driven. Right about now, I sooooooo would rock this t-shirt with pride.

I'm feeling a little strong on my anti-liberal establishment side today.

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