April 2010

Do Better Thursday: Who’s Doing It Right?

by dre of onustees.com on 29 April 2010

This week has been somewhat light in the “Doing It Right” department…
What it is, Do Better Nation?
This edition will absent of those “Doing It Right”… 
There are some things I’m “on the fence” about…
And a new special portion of “I’m pretty sure I’m going to Hell for laughing at this… and so are you.”
Let’s jump in…

“On The Fence”
  • History Channel presents “America: The Story of Us”…the six-part, 12-hour documentary premiered this past Sunday… It started off pretty decent… Explained the reasons those crossing the Atlantic settled on this new frontier… However, after about 30 minutes, it became evident this was the SportsCenter highlights of US history… the “Us” in the documentary also started revealing itself… Admittedly, I am one to pounce when I feel Blacks and other minorities are being slighted… In this case, Blacks are mentioned… but it’s more of a cursory acknowledgment… “Did you know there were 19 free blacks who settled on the shores first?” “Did you know the 1st person to die in the American Revolution was a Black man?” “Did you know that Black slaves fought side-by-side free Whites against the British?” …you know… all the things that we gave a damn about growing up… because it was something outside the month of February that featured brown people… And what about the original “Brown People”… oh, the Natives? We apparently had a great relationship with them… Even helped some Native American tribes kill other tribes… then we sat around and had a yearly dinner in the month of November… Great times… Bottomline, the 1st show featured “Us” = free white men… against “Them” = evil ass wanting what’s owe ass redcoating British… Ehh, sounds like an Ego trip… and I’m just not sure if I can make the entire ride… Thus, I’m on the fence with the series… and will have to wait until the 3rd episode to make a ruling…
 Crispus Attucks: Be 1st… or Die Trying…
(I was going to make a shirt of that phrase and image… but… well… yeah…)
  • Thomas Hagan, one of the men who committed the assassination of Malcolm X was freed this week… About a month ago, when I learned Malcolm X’s killer was going to be released… My initial thought was… “I sure hope there’s an angry mob to greet and welcome him back to society…” …in fact, that was my sentiment up until I read about Mr. Hagan two days ago… My mood changed due to a number of things… 1, he is the only man to admit to being one of the killers… 2, he regrets even participating in such an act… and knows it should not have happened… 3, he was twenty-two when he committed the crime and in his words “a very uneducated man”… 4, he was fueled by the rift caused by statements made from Malcolm against Hagan’s leader at the time Elijah Muhammad, which Hagan says “history has revealed a lot of what Malcolm X was saying was true.” …5, he testified on behalf of two other men who were captured and sentenced for killing Malcolm, they both protested they were innocent… it was Hagan’s testimony that supported their innocence… which allow them to be released… (although, if it wasn’t those two… who were the others?) …6, he’s sixty-nine years old… and wants to do well for his family and become a counselor to help young people he was once like… 7, since 1992 he had been allowed to spend 5 days a week with his family and report to jail for just two days… So… I’m pretty sure any vengeance that was meant for him… would have occurred at some point during those “free” days… and lastly… 8, he was released from “Lincoln Correctional Facility at 11 a.m. The facility is located at the intersection of West 110th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.” …with those tidbits… I’ve relaxed my “beat his ass” stance and in the Do Better spirit… straddling the fence… Peace, Brother Hagan.
…keep moving forward…
…because we haven’t forgotten… and won’t…
Doing It Wrong!!!
  • 31 NFL Teams pass on college standout because he’s a Rhodes Scholar… Aside from the “Doing It Wrong” moment coming up next… this is one of most ridiculous things I’ve witnessed in a very long time… Which is saying something considering just last week I posted about “sad ass kids toys…” …Myron Rolle of FSU was passed up by teams during last weeks draft because they felt his heart wasn’t in football enough to warrant being drafted… or rather, he would be too distracted with his “intellectual pursuits”… OK, there’s a litany of things I could go in on… and just to cut the list in half… I won’t bring up race… I will focus on the simple fact… he was a >>>>> STUDENT <<<<< athlete who excelled both on and off the field… So, if I understand correctly… If you excel too much off the field they’re worried about your commitment to the game… Really? Commitment? I believe Rolle was the same cat who flew in a chartered plane 3 hours after being awarded the Rhodes Scholarship to a game against the Terps… Yeah… he’s not committed… Sorry, kid… you’ve been dropped to a 6th Round pick b/c you’re one of 32 Americans to have received a Rhodes Scholarship that year… WTF? This reads so foolishly, I’m quite surprised Apple OS did underline this entire passage and ask… “Did you mean to type that???”
“Sure, the NFL could use some more Rolle* Models… but we want the kind of models that know their role…”
  • Arizona passes Immigration Law… Welcome to 1835!!! “So you’re free, huh? Let me see those papers.” There’s so much wrong with this…The Daily Show & Colbert Report have both done a great job making a mockery of this mockery… I just have a couple of questions… What exactly is a suspicious act that will make a cop think “Hey, there’s an illegal immigrant!” …is it a dance? I doubt seriously they even know what a Macarena is… we all should forget it… is it signing your name in cursive? because surely, we Americans don’t use that painful shit they graded us on for all those years… (sorry, I have deep issues with cursive…) …according to George Will, your shoes are just one of the many tell-tale signs… you’re an illegal immigrant… I won’t even go into that ignorance… I will focus on solutions… this is Do Better Movement… and one must lead by example… Arizona Sen. John “I Was Never Really a Maverick” McCain said that the drug problem in the state due to illegal immigration has gotten out of hand… then proceeded to say… over a million pounds of marijuana were intercepted on the border at Tucson just in the last year… DING!!! DING!!! DING!!! There’s your answer America (mainly, Arizona) …let’s be on.us… we all know legalization of marijuana is coming… the reason why it hasn’t is because no President wants to be “that” President who leads the charge… but trust… as soon we get over the homophobic nature of American politics… Weed’s a’coming next… So, why not for the first time since we’ve so bravely fought the British… be ahead of the curve on civil rights… (although technically we’re weren’t the first to revolt… just the 1st to do so with a damn ocean between us and our sovereign nation… not to mention, that the Native Americans didn’t sit around and vote on whether or not one’s shoe buckle tip the illegal hand… i digress…) Here’s the solution… Legalize weed in the state of Arizona… Welcome the good hermanos and hermanitas (ay!) of Mexico with open arms… Allow them to bring their specialty of cultivating the herbal goodness… and grant them citizenship… it’s a win-win of the highest level… pun most certainly intended… (why do we hate on puns? …that’s another discussion…) but yes… legalize weed, let the specialist come in and farm, sell it to the other 49 states, increase tourism by the millions, and make historic profits… It’s time to GO GREEN ARIZONA!!!
 Arizona: I’d Visit. 
(that’s one heluva state motto)
Now it’s time for… 
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to Hell for laughing at this… and so are you.”
  • Local coed flag football team loses 3rd game of the season… Solves their woes by laughing at something they surely… should not have… Yes, my team is 1-3… but none of that mattered once one of my teammates showed us a clip of Old Man Epic Cry… on the surface… it’s a truly moving moment… During the show Intervention, a father (former pro boxer Rocky Lockridge) is confronted by his children that they still have love for him although he fell into a life of drug addiction… his response is the most moving aspect… unfortunately, the tears I shed weren’t from sadness… so, I’m pretty sure I’m going to Hell for laughing at this… and so are you…
wait… there’s more…
 …that’s just the appetizer…
 
Oh Noes, Mario!!!
…the one that did me in…
Autotune: FTW
There you have it folks… we’re all doomed… wipe the tears… it’ll be OK…

We’ll Do Better next week…

I hope…

– dre’ of onustees.com

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Do Better Thursday: Time to Get It Together

by dre of onustees.com on 22 April 2010

…C’mon Ben… it’s time to Do Better… so, take 6 weeks off…
Cheers and blessings good people reading this text!
Back from an extended break… due to a myriad of things… work… (yay!) …on.us.tees… (a real yay!) …P90X… (still on that… Day 54…) …even getting back to making beats… well, attempting to do so… 
But there is much to talk about… the passing of Dr. Dorothy Height and Guru of Gang Starr… Notre Dame’s 1st Black Valedictorian… and of course… there’s the “Doing It Wrong” portion… Steeler football players… depressing kid toys… and “things I’m mad I know…”
Also, below this post is a new edition of Levi’s Soapbox: Enough Is too Much… check out his take on the Tea Party Movement…
By the way… the soundtrack for this post was provided by an iTunes Genius playlist based on Marvin Gaye’s “Time to Get It Together”… thus the title of the post… 😉
Let’s get to it!
  • Rest and thanks to Dr. Dorothy Height… One of the unsung members of the Civil Rights Movement and an active leader in the community up until her passing at the age of 98… As quickly as we look to Dr. King as the symbol of leadership and courage… the same should be done for Dr. Height… the wise woman in the hat…
  • Hip Hop loses a pioneer… GURU of Gang Starr lost his battle with cancer… as I type these words in tribute to Keith “Guru” Elem aka Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal… James Brown’s “Mind Power” fittingly plays in the background… if there was one overriding theme of Guru’s words… was the importance of Mind Power… and it’s application by his fans… 
  • Katie Washington becomes Notre Dame’s 1st Black Valedictorian… Now, this could easily have been placed in the “well it’s about got-damn time!” bucket… but I shall not taint it with such an accusation… Here’s a blurb on the 21 year old… 
“…a biological sciences major from Gary, Ind., has been named valedictorian of the 2010 University of Notre Dame graduating class and will present the valedictory address during Commencement exercises May 16 (Sunday) in Notre Dame stadium.Washington, who earned a 4.0 grade point average, has a minor in Catholic Social Teaching. She has conducted research on lung cancer at the Cold Spring Harbor labs and performed genetic studies in the University’s Eck Institute for Global Health on the mosquito that carries dengue and yellow fever. She is the co-author of a research paper with David Severson, professor of biological sciences. Washington directs the Voices of Faith Gospel Choir at Notre Dame, is a mentor/tutor for the Sister-to-Sister program at South Bend’s Washington High School and serves as the student coordinator of the Center for Social Concerns’ “Lives in the Balance: Youth Violence and Society Seminar.” Upon graduation, Washington plans to pursue a joint M.D./Ph.D program at Johns Hopkin s University.”
…now to the Doing It Wrong portion of the show…
  • Ben Roethlis… screw it… I don’t even feel like typing the rest of his name… you know what he did… 6 games suspension… 4 games… if they think he’s not crazy… good… moving along…
  • Simply put… here are images of some depressing ass kids toys… yes, they are real toys.
“My First Cubicle”… I appreciate the “realism” little tikes is trying to offer… however, it’s a bit too soon for this… what’s sadder is that it costs $2,600… no really, click…  so I ask, what parent is that evil and foolish to put this under the Christmas Tree?
“My Cleaning Trolley”… yeah… you read it right… “Aim High, Tiger!”
 
…yeah… too soon.
  • Finally… a quicklist of things I’m mad I know… aka “why is this news…” …I shall not link to any of the items… and I ask you don’t waste the time to google any of this mess…
  1. Sharon Osbourne wants to remove her breasts implants and give them to Ozzy…
  2. Kate said her 8 kids wanted her to keep dancing… (yeah, because they know someone’s gotta keep the lights on…)
  3. Octomom… now believes… it was a mistake… (really… now… you do… not when you were getting your ferret on… carrying around a basketball team in your tummy?)

…well… that does for this edition of Do Better Thursday…

…new on.us.tees on the way!

– dre’ of onustees.com 

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Do Better Thursday: Levi’s Soapbox “Enough Is Too Much”

by dre of onustees.com on 22 April 2010


Enough Is Too Much by Levi F. Daniels
So once again it would seem the mercurial American public has once again expressed its discontent with Washington, DC (i.e. the Government) as a concept.  And as always it has done so with fervent protest, inane only partially informed arguments, and a variety of surveys that the gainfully employed among us rarely get an opportunity to participate in (not that we’d answer an unfamiliar phone number anyway).  Which brings me to a recent article in the Express (so with a grain of salt we take this) that says that approximately 80 percent (80% = vast majority) of Americans distrust the government.  Now the article posits this phenomenon as ominous and/or problematic, especially for democratic incumbents seeking re-election this fall.  The article also asserts that this particular distrustful condition has given rise to the Tea Party and other like-minded groups who feel there is just too much government “in my business”.   

Now all of this ill-feeling arouses a curious look from me.  It isn’t that I don’t understand distrust of the government in general but I just don’t understand why “we” see this as new somehow.  The forefathers and/or architects of our beloved Constitution asserted the notion that the government should be monitored to ensure that it is acting in the interest of its citizens.  A bit of paranoia resulting from having just eschewed a government you felt was doing quite the opposite.  Hence all this nonsense about the right to have guns, free speech, and public assembly.  All of which, we see as the nifty trappings of a democratic society.

Next there are the arguments for distrust, chief among them being corruptions (bad Government bad).  Once again I think history offers us a little perspective on this.  What was common among those who were both able to vote and those who eventually put their “John Hancocks” as it were on our governing document?  Take a moment…I’ll wait.  Well for a hint just look at the first three letters in your browser after the “/”.  They were Wealthy, White, “With” land, ok so the like “W” is a bit of a stretch but you get the point.  Now think for a second, how many folks do you think fit that description at that time.  Answer, not too many, which leads me to believe that this country has always been “guided” by the few much to the chagrin of the many.

Finally what makes me more suspicious of this “distrust” is its timing.  Now of course I don’t have empirical evidence, partially because my job won’t let me call you randomly at 2 o’clock in the daytime when you aren’t home to ask you questions, but I don’t remember this same level of distrust in the last presidency or even the one preceding it for that matter.  Those presidencies brought us both a perceived bumbler with a gun fetish and a philanderer with a penchant for oval office copulation.  And yet, no raucous chants of distrust en masse.  Now of course throughout both of these presidencies we were high on the hog so to speak, both our coffers and our pantries full.  Now in the wake of a financial nuclear winter “we” find “ourselves” a little vexed and who shall bare the brunt of our discontent but our beloved whooping boy, the Government.  

Levi F. Daniels
Common Sense Advocate
 

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Clarion Call for Common Sense: Tea Party or a Bunch of Wet Bags?
Now I would hope someone reading this would correct me were I wrong but wasn’t the tea party a demonstration of a group of colonists railing against a monarchy that taxed them without offering them any real voice in said government?  So I am a bit perplexed at this “fringe” group of Americans that have named their group after the aforementioned demonstration.  If in fact they really were concerned about whether or not the government is truly beholden to its constituents why not attack special interest contributions or better yet that infernal electoral college?  There’s a practice that has elicited a curious glare from discerning citizens since its creation.  But of course such things are out of the question.  Instead the tea party is much more content to rail against the vile democrats and their evil mission to ensure that more Americans receive at least basic health care than don’t.  Shame on them.  Now, to be sure, this plan, made law on March 23, 2010 will be expensive but how much so, we don’t actually know and we won’t know all of the implications for many years.  Oddly enough we could say the same for another hotly contested piece of legislation, the vaunted Patriot Act.  On the surface, the law was simply a reaction to our precious security being breeched at the onset of the horrendous events of 9/11 but left to its own devices and a little shrewd interpretation, our Wilsonian paranoia might give way to Orwellian surveillance of the entire population.  Think Cointellpro on a much grander scale with much better technology.  Anything from the tea party on that one?  Yep, just as you might’ve guessed, still waiting.  So what’s the point of all this tea party crashing?  Mainly, just venting my general irritation with a stilted binary argument resulting from an inane two party system that doesn’t completely represent the full scope of American life.  
Also hoping someone reading this has an opinion as well…
Levi F. Daniels
Common Sense Advocate

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Clarion Call for Common Sense: Chomp and Choke

1 April 2010

DAMN YOU SPAGHETTIOS!!! Clarion Call for Common Sense: Chomp and Choke Tis once again time for me to issue my Clarion Call for Common Sense.  This time the source of my ire is the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Now, I am not ashamed to say that I had no idea this organization even existed but […]