How can you tell a snake because not all snakes rattle?

When I was little an old man in one of the towns I grew up in told me "How can you tell a snake because not all snakes rattle?" I never quite understood the meaning until this weekend. My girlfriend of six years and future Mrs. Donny Sunshine, was flirted with by one of my best buddies while I have been away with college. Granted, it takes two to tango but she came to me whenever he came to her. This guy, I treated like a brother, I would have given him the shirt off of my back but then again my shirt was never enough. Now sitting back thinking about how it all went by, he always wanted whatever I had. When I got my first job and was the first one of us to get a PSP, he darn near broke his neck trying to win PSP at the in-school contest. When I got the DS he was right behind me, when I got an A+ he had to demoralize what I had. Our first prom his senior my junior prom, when I went to the bathroom I come back to see him dancing with her. When I come home for football games he had nothing to say to me but would gladly speak to her. But, for as long as I can remember he always eyed after her but could never get her and now I just have to trust her to keep away from him long enough until I can sit down face to face with the man and let him know that this is a happy home and he is not welcomed here. Out of all the people in my friendship "camp" I would have never suspected him. I guess as long as a snake does not rattle, you can never tell it is there.

If Governor Palin was black. . . .

After the debate they invited the family members of each candidate to the stage. My surprise look at Governor Palin's young daughter carrying Palin's youngest daughter. Oh wait I am sorry that is the daughter's daughter? But she is only seventeen and had a child out of wed-lock? Oh wow, how come nobody bother to pick up on this? If Palin was black the opposite party would have ate her alive. "Look at her daughter, how could Palin possibly be second in command to run the country when she cannot even run her household?", "Just like the stereotype, young single woman no father no family values." or any other various put downs towards young single black mothers under the age of eighteen. Conservatives, last time I checked(unless I did not get the memo in any one my five emails) support the fact of waiting until your married to start a family? So why is not anybody going after Governor Palin and her daughter. This is not patty-cake this is politics people, why is not one after her? Oh wait it is because she is not African-American.

Oh wow the internet in the apartments is back on!!!!

A few days ago at the "political round table," I was under fire for my remarks against Governor Palin and was not until the end that I was finally allowed to speak as to way I am against Palin. For starters Palin is the single thing that is keeping me from voting for McCain. I started loving McCain and started to like the idea of Palin until the governor started to speak. Governor Palin reminds me of the bouncy stereotypical female cheerleader who does nothing more than smile. After hearing the her speak with Katie Couric, my heart stopped. This governor has no ability to think on her feet, suffers from a case of extreme short-sightness, and appears to be nothing more than a scripted puppet. At the table my friend brought up that he was rather entertain and proud of the Governor Palin and the way that she has able to handle herself in a debate. Many other news panelist agreed with my friend that Palin handle herself well. *sigh* People it is like handing a banana to a hungry monkey and expecting it not to eat the banana. It is too easy, all she had to do was open mouth and she mad a small progress. During the speech she did not do anything except for smile, agree with McCain, make terrible jokes and tried not to stutter. Look at her when she was speaking during the debate, she keep looking down as she read off of something and kept back-tracking on whatever statement she was trying to make. Rather she said the wrong word, or skipped a line. I am serious people take a look. All night she took cheap shots at Senator Biden, and I feel bad for Biden because if he really went after her he would have been seen as a women hating "sob" for lack of a better word. The Republican party really dropped the ball with Governor Palin, instead of trying to cash in on Hilary Clinton's voters (whom the vast majority dislike everything that Palin stands for) and counteract Obama's youth they should have picked someone who was better able to stand up for themselves (remember vice president is just a heartbeat away from the seat of power.) Congress is filled with many other talented females who can run circles around this playboy pin-up bunny.

American Politics

A work associate of mines and myself, recently got into a heated argument over the coming-of-age question(s) over whether or not should America really be supporting the war(conflict)? and was going to war the best decision that President Bush made at the time?
My associate argued that the war was unnecessary because diminishes how the world views America and builds upon the negative stereotypes. Instead of the "Great Superpower" nation that helps people we are seen as a tyrant that bully others in order to get their way. This person also supported Congress decision awhile back to cut the military spending in order to speed up the process of returning our troops home bound. In addition to that, this person believes that Bush should have not gone to war without consulting the American public. In this person's mind yeah, September 11th was a disaster and probably would be the most tragic event to ever come in their(or even my) life time but it could have been prevented if not circumvented so that it would have never come in to play.
*sigh* Okay look buddy, America has never really had the perfect heavenly god-like power reputation that you make us out to have. We have always been hated from the Boston Tea Party to the War on Terror(just two random event, do not slice my throat over proper dates and time) and there is little to nothing that we can do about it. If you do not believe me travel outside of the safety net of America, American Embassies and American Military Bases to see what people honestly think about us. The whole military spending I can literally write a novel about how I feel over the matter. Listen regardless if you are Conservative, Liberal, Moderate, White, Black, Green, Yellow, Brown, Female or Male when it comes down to the matter at hand it is not about the whether the war is right or wrong but it is about our troops and their safety. When you cut spending you are not really doing anything more than taking away much needed armor, weapons and other essentials needed to provide protection to our forces aboard. It is in a similar manner that if you and your spouse both have decent paying jobs. However, one day you two get into the argument over bills because they happen to be extremely high. So being enraged at the other party you go outside and slice the tires to their car. What does that solve? Now your spouse does not have any means of transportation to get to and from work which in turn means there could be only one source of income for the week or if you had to fix the tire that is just more money that is being wasted. Where is the logic? Stop being short-sighted, it is not how you feel it is about the war overseas. Every soldier is someones brother, sister, son, daughter, wife, husband, mother or father and you want to destroy someone's life because you are being childish? Okay let me stop and move onto the next topic before I get upset. . . Could September 11th have been avoid? Maybe, but here is the thing there is no way to be absolutely sure. Hey we might have been able to stop the planes from taking off, but if someone really wanted to do harm to America what makes you think they would have not tired something else? And who knows it could have been even more disastrous than September 11th. I believe in three separate things and both do hold some evidence: Should have Bush gone to war? Yes, he should have for the sheer reason because if he did not then we would have been crucified in office for being unpatriotic. Regardless of the future implications, it was the best move that was half thought out plan of attack. Secondly, the FBI and the CIA really "drop the ball" on this one. I love the government, however I do believe that we have to many waste agencies in that they all seem to being each others work. Yeah maybe you are in charge of controlling Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosive, Mr. ATF however your job seems look a lot like the CIA, Coast Guard, or even the neighborhood police. Also these agencies are always trying to claim the gold for themselves so when the budget rolls around they can say they did something which in turn gives them more money. It is no longer about THE PEOPLE it is about MY PEOPLE(my agency.) Last thing I want to state before end close at the end of the day maybe just maybe this want the enemy ( I know that word is a fluid concept) wanted us to do. By playing on the short-sightness and poor planning of our government then were able to in turn make us look like the bad guys (even more so that usual) which also in turn weakened the American dollar.

Small Wonders

In the world today, we often think if we win the big war we win in life. Even though that can be true to an extent, the real thing that we overlook is the small battles and small victories that lead up to our success. You know, I was so excited that I received a B- on my first genetics test and received a probable A+ or B+ on my first Japanese test. ((In high school, I would have not accepted anything less than an A+ but now you can say I lowered my standards but in the grand scheme of things I go to Furman University which is probably the hardest college in the state of South Carolina and one of the best University in the Southeast of the United States where a C here is a B in most other colleges.)) I start to think to myself most people would overlook a B+ but for me this small victory means so much for me. Like I could do this(I have inattentive disorder and dsylexia) if I just pushed myself harder than I ever have before. In our society we demean the value of small victories, because they do not give us fame or satisfies us as much as winner the war. Small victories can make or destroy us as much as a big war could ever do to us.
Last year's Superbowl everyone praises the New York Giants for winning the Super Bowl can laugh at the New England Patriots for having a perfect record and blowing it at the end but nobody pays attention to the small victories that gave the Giants confidence to feel like they can do this or that all the small victories the Patriots had they became complacent with winning so they became overly relaxed.
Or how about Bill Gates, he is world renowned as the one that created Microsoft but everyone overlooks the small victories he had. The completion of the first line of his program, the success of Windows 1.0 and 2.0, the success of Windows XP, all these small victories made him want to continue and pull forward.
Or how about Stephen Hawkins who is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, from his first experience with math, to the first time he was able to use a computer to speak all these small victories has allowed him to be great.
I ask everyone to take the time out of your day to think about all your small victories that either help or hindered you in life and think about how little you have looked at these things that have made you who you are in life.
I want everyone who reads this to take the time out of you busy day.

They ask me why I try so hard? I looked them in straight in their face and said "For the sheer reason that I am scared of last place."

Since this year as started(and the majority of my life) people have always been wondering as to why I try so hard in whatever it is I am doing. My answer to those who ask question is like that has remained the same that is "I am scared of last place." Unlike most people, I always tried twice as hard just to learn the simplest of things. Last year, I was diagnosed with dsylexia and inattentive disorder(tentatively). However the dsylexia diagnosis is right on the money.
My girlfriend of five years asked me the other day "For as long as I have known you, you have always broken your neck trying to be the best at something and if you could not do it you always placed top. What is the point? At the end of the day, when all is said and done what do you have to show for it?" This comes from the fact that I have dedicated my blood, sweat, tears and life to my major(biology with a pre-medical focus and Japanese when they make that a major) spending long night and sleepless nights and days trying to make sure that I understand what is being taught in class. I cannot sit in one session and absorb material like others, for every hour one person spends studying I have to study two hours. Getting back on topic with all these hours I have not really spent much time talking to her on the phone, so this is for me to say I am truly sorry. I could have easily just given up on everything and go lie in a ditch somewhere, but I could not do that. I do this not for myself but I do this for my family future and current, for those who need a hero, for every child who sees drug dealers as a superstars of their neighborhood(to let them know you can do something other than sell drugs to be successful.) After the whole fiasco (did not know I was dsylexia thus did not know how to properly handle it) that plagued last year, that almost lead me to drop out of college and return home for good, most people thought I would give up the medical career. The funny thing is I have not, and I am not off schedule towards my pre-medical school track at all. I want to be a doctor not for money or fame, I do it because I love people despite my negative outlook on most corporations and inhumane human beings, but I do it because I feel it right here in my heart ((points to heart)) As they say "Respect and success is all in the heart so that is where we will start." I graduated high school in the top ten percentile of my gradating class so I can handle the workload but now I know how to better handle my handicap. Since my girlfriend does not understand the plight I have to go through, I just pray that she is supportive.

Freaking Useless People Organization( I am BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCK!!!!!!!!!!)

This week has been the first face to face encounter with the Furman University Police Officers also known as FUPO around campus. I also realized that FUPO stands for “Freaking Useless People Organization” except I would use another word besides “freaking.” I am dyslexic and have been written and documented to have what is known as Inattentive Disorder, so according the a clinical psychologist I have dealt with over the summer it would make sense that I would take classes in the morning and spend my afternoons studying, thus is the reason why I purposely scheduled all my classes before one-thirty in the afternoon. In addition to scheduled morning classes, I am required to volunteer through The Campbell Scholars Program ( a program/scholarship funded through Furman University) which I also decided to schedule in the morning because I wanted the afternoon in order to study more. So allow doing the math of “If two different things coincide during the morning time slots there has to be a little or no break in between the ending and starting times of two things.” If you think that then you are correct my friend. So as soon as I end my volunteer time, I have just about ten to twenty minutes to come back to campus and prepare for my first class of the day. Upon coming back to class for the first two weeks of school, I park in Lot C across from my first class of the day. Usually I am out of the parking lot one-thirty but this particular Monday I had a classroom study session for my first genetics exam (which I received a B on) that started at two. So I did not have time to return to my car to North Village (the name of the complex I live in on campus.) Nevertheless, officer number twenty-one decided to ticket me for improper zoning. So I go to complain, the office attendant responded to my request is that you have to go the proper channels. Fine, I respect that. Then I spoke with one of the officers who were basically told me I had no grounds, I was stupid for trying to take the law into own hands, I should have read my packet and that I should pay the ticket before I get a boot on my car or something to that nature. So I went home and got online and tried to find the laws of Furman University, funny thing was that paper that I was suppose to have received I did not receive from Furman upon receiving my car-tag. Nevertheless I went online and it confirmed what I believed in. Lot C is designed for commuters, faculty and staff E permits, visitors, guest, P.A.C members and program participants. Program participants and commuters, hey wait, I fall into those two categories because Campbell Scholars is a program funded by Furman and the only reason I park there is because of Furman. Also the commuters root word is commute and the act of commute is called commuting so a commuter is someone who is commuting and the definition of commuting is defined by the follow as to travel back and forth regularly (Merriam-Webster), an act or instance of commuting, especially the trip made by a commuter (American Heritage), commuting is the process of travelling between one's place of residence and regular place of work (Wikipedia.) So by definition, I fall in both categories and should be in the clear zone. Wrong. “Apparently Lot C is enforced twenty-four hours of the day, and designed for Commuters, faculty and staff E permits, visitors, guest, P.A.C members and program participants. Which means that being a commuter, I am able to use that spot because I travel to and from campus to do a job that was assigned to me by the school. Also I am a program participant in a way because Campbell Scholars is a program that is ran by Furman University and I am participating in it. Regardless that I fall into those two categories I was still ticketed, so if I was a visitors, guest, or a P.A.C member would I have still been ticketed (apparently on the back of a ticket it states that one should go to the Furman University Police Office to have a ticket removed, despite that method no one really gave me a direct it was all a system of run around answers.”(Excerpt from my letter to the head of the Furman Police.) After obtaining said information, I waited till the next day and allow my frustration to be heard by my friends (whom the majority are pacifists) and they were basically like just pay the ticket and stop parking there. What I told them is I will pay the ticket but I want answers and not this humming and looking to the sky like the answer is suppose to magically fall from there. As if God- Almighty would shine down a light that would give them the tools to be rid of me once and for all. I do not play when it comes to dealing with me, when I was little the teacher used to say “Donny, go outside because it is recess time” I told her “ No, because I do not play” and almost eleven years later I still do not play. So the following day, I went back to the office with all my documentation (rules, my class schedule, conversations held between me and the director of where I work stating that I go to work on the following times that I stated, conversations between the director and myself stating that I am a Campbell Scholar and documentation stating that Campbell Scholar is a Furman Program. The desk clerk of the day told me that she had no answer and that her boss was swamped with work and had left to go take a breather and does not know what time she would return. So instead of leaving, I sat down in a nearby chair and waited until her boss came in much to the clerk’s chagrin. Her boss, came in and did not want to talk to me after I flashed that I had documentation in my hand. She basically told me there was nothing she could do and that I should go talk to someone else. Which lead me to turn to the clerk and say who should I speak to first, the President of Furman University David Shi or is there someone here who knows what they are doing? This led me to write a letter to Bob Miller who is head of the Furman Police ending the letter in “Also, online it states that there is a way to get a special parking pass, if need be to stop me from coming to you every time something like this should if it possible to get a pass from you? Also if need be, I would be more than likely to send you any paperwork that verifies my Campbell Scholar membership, my John I Smith Learning Center hours, Portable Data Files in which I found information about parking. All that I am asking for is a direct answer from somebody in your branch that knows something.” Three days later, I get a reply from Mr. Miller saying that “The issues, as you stated, are complex. . .” and that “. . . I will be in the office until 5:30 pm today. . .” so at three that same afternoon, I made my way down there to go see Mr. Miller to discuss things. The first time, I was turned away due to him being busy. I understand that much, so I returned forty-five minutes later. As soon as the desk clerk saw me for the second time he ran to the backroom to do whatever it is that they have been doing for the past five days(Yes, this issue took a week to resolve.) So I sat down and was waved to the back after ten minutes. During my talk with Bob Miller and I was very impressed by him and we resolved my problem by getting me a permanent temporary tag for the time of my classes and later voiding my ticket. This issue raised my respect for the Furman Police. If respect was a number let just say that FUPO would have an impressive batting average. Bob Miller instead gets my whole-hearted thank you because he seems to be the only one really doing anything and has the answer. So I hate FUPO but love him kind of how people hate Congress because they are ineffective but love their Congressperson.

Gomen

今晩は　みなさん　ごめん。　今週に　私は　書きませんでした。 ((Good evening everyone, I want to apologize because I have not wrote anything this week.))


I would normally take the time to complain however, most of my energy is going into the ongoing saga that I have with the Furman Police so until that issue is totally resolved my post will be pretty light. Do not worry it is over a ticket that they gave me when I was clearly in the right and no, it was not for speeding.

They sit right next to Peter Pan.

Today, a friend of mines and I got into a heated debate over the fact that he does not wish to grow up and take responsible for his life and do something about it. The background to the storyline is for the past two weeks leading up to his birthday he has been incredibly mopey and very ill-mannered but I was unable to figure out the exact reason as to why he was that way until today the day of his nineteenth birthday. Nevertheless, he raises the question that he wishes that he was in Never Never Land with Peter Pan because he does not want to grow old and that he wishes that he was young and have nothing but naivety because in his mind "ignorance is bliss." First of all there is nothing wrong whatsoever about aging, the American culture puts such a negative spin on the issue of growing old that it's denizens dislike the thought and will try to prolong aging as much as possible through methods such as Botox, older women with breast implants, etc. In other countries those who are older than the average age of the current population are normally held in such a high regard because of their age and maturity level they are also loved for their wisdom. Whereas in American, we rather put our old people in a home as soon as possible regardless if they are able-bodied and of sound mind. Old people are viewed as mental slow, physically slow, very forgetful and/or crippled. However, most of these problems derived not really from the fact that they are getting old but from the fact that we as Americans do not really take care of ourselves when compared to that of other countries so with that poor health it then becomes issues for us when we age but that is another story in its entirety. Getting off the subject of the negative spin, he wishes to go to Never Never Land because he does not want to take responsibility for anything that happens in his life. Which is another problem that occurs all to often in today's society. He is nineteen, with no job, no girlfriend, took basic classes in high school, did sports only because his younger sister is the athletic one(and current has one of the highest grade point averages in her class), did not go to college, did not go to a technical college, did not go into the military (his father is a Marine), does not have a car, does not have a license nor a permit, lives with his parents(who want him out the house.) Somewhere along the way you have to understand that you have to stop sucking on the baby bottle and step up to become somebody worth something or at least start to make an effort to change your life in some fashion. Like I said earlier this happens way to often in today's society, "Working is so hard, so I am going to apply for Welfare or have children so the government will take care of me." Seriously, I understand that there are legit people on Welfare however for every legit person on Welfare there exist four to five who should not be there. I was so glad when they put a limit on Welfare(once again another topic.) The reason, I go to Furman University is because I understand that in order to become a doctor and help people, I have to take responsibility, it is one thing fold but to step away from the table altogether is something totally different. Lastly, I as I try to hurry up and round of this rant he stated that "ignorance is bliss" is such a ridiculous statement because it ignorance is not bliss, it is dangerous. Two countries go to war because they believe that the another country is ignorant so they must be wipe from the face of the planet. Innocent women, children and men are dead because one country calls the other one ignorant but in all actuality they are both ignorant because diplomacy should be used. So can you tell the survivors of the war that ignorance is bliss? An ignorant man(or women) goes out and rapes little boys and girls at the local middle and elementary school and you honest can sit there and tell them that that ignorance is bliss? Timothy McVeigh blows up a federal building that results in twenty people confirmed dead, six of those dead included children, and with over a hundred more injured. It is okay because ignorance is bliss, your son, daughter, wife, husband, mother, father and grandparents are dead because ignorance is bliss. Are you really willing to tell those people that? My friend, please start taking responsibility for you life and do something with it. You know who you are.

My take of the whole vice president business.

Whether you are a fan for either Senator McCain or Senator Obama, you have to take the time to admit that both senators did an amazing job for picking their Vice President. So allow me to speak on behalf of what I see, know and understand. Senator Obama's pick for Vice President is Senator Joesph Robinette Biden. Jr affectionately nicknamed "Joe." What Biden bring to the table is essentially everything that Senator Obama is not. The presidential nominee is currently accused of being an elitist, having a President Kennedy type of aura, inexperienced, being of white collar nature, and seems almost "too phony" for lack of a better word to use. Whereas Senator Biden is viewed as an all around "common blue collared person" or "almost more human than Senator Obama", also Senator Biden bring the much needed experience that everyone raves that the Democratic President hopeful does not possess. The facts that make Senator Biden take on the personality that is so different from is party-mate are that:
A) Senator Biden has been in the Senate for almost thirty-five years, which means that he does know his way around politics versus Senator Obama's three years. (((The Experience)))
B) Senator Biden's life has had hardships along the way, his first wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident while he was first elected to the Senate in 1972. Upon hearing the news, he rushed to the aid of his sons who were also in the car accident but were seriously wounded. He took the Oath of Office on the bedside of his sons. (((The Human Emotion)))
C)Biden currently one of the poorest member if not the poorest in the Senate (yes, the poorest) his net gain one year was in the negative and his net worth is somewhere between $59,000 and $366,000. (((The Blue Collar)))
D) Senator Biden does not really spend to much time around the Capitol after the Senate ends for the day, he catches a train back to Illinois. (((The Non-Elitist)))

Today Senator McCain has announced his Vice President who will be Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin who the h e double hockey sticks is that? Exactly that is going through the minds of plenty of American people. However, I am proud to say I know who she is. Senator McCain choice was a smart choice in his behalf, Senator Palin brings the best of both worlds. Not only is she true to the conservative calling but she is a thoroughbred for standing for what she believes in and is totally honest in how she conducts her business. The newspapers call her inexperience however if you call her inexperience you also have to call Senator Obama inexperience because they entered the Senate around the same time. Nevertheless it would be better to have the Vice President be inexperience than the actual President be inexperience. Some highlights of Senator Palin are that:
A) Senator Palin holds a lifetime membership with the Nation Rifle Association, she is an avid hunter, ice fisherwoman, eats mooseburgers, run in marathons and rides a snowmobile. (((Conservative Image)))
B) Senator Palin second U.S. woman to run on a major party ticket and is a member of Feminist for Life. (((McCain trying to get support from the Clinton voters)))
C) Senator Palin help pass one of the first U.S. states to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriages.(((Conservative Image)))
D) Senator Palin (due to large surplus) proposed giving citizens of Alaska one hundred dollars per person every month in the form of energy debit cards. She also proposed providing grants to electrical utilities so that they would reduce customers' rates. She subsequently dropped the debit card proposal, and in its place she proposed to send Alaskans $1,200 directly and eliminate the gas tax. (((For the people)))

In closing both Presidential hopefuls did a good job picking members however it is far to early to tell if this was a good or bad idea.

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH(I started the idea, never found the incentive to complete it but here you go)

Okay, look I understand that when something is radiated it does not necessarily make it glow, warm to the touch or appear to be pre-cooked. However, this issue of rather the Federal Food and Drug Administration(FDA) should be allowed to radiate food is a fairly luke-warm issue right now. What people have to realize is that some farmers and the Grocery Manufacturers Associations(you can group them together if you like.) Have been petitioning the FDA since 2000 to allow producers to irradiate an assortment of different fruits, vegetables and prepared foods. However, it was not until recently that the FDA had given the "a-okay" to producers to do such. This new radiation method will hopefully be able to rid foods(as of right now lettuce and spinach) from things such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Listeria and other nasty things that can be found in pure uncooked food.
The problem that arises from this is that radiation should be a last and only resolve. It should be held to extent of pull a trigger to a gun, in that you should consider all alternatives and understand the results of action or actions that are about to be committed. Like most of the government now-a-days the FDA seems to suffer a diease called short-sightedness. Radiation should not be a cop out or a quick fix for poor quality produce that is given to the masses. The FDA should stand up and actually do what Congress's Food and Drugs Act of 1906 intended it to do which is to regulate the food and drug industry. I can hear it now, "but Don you cannot sit there and honestly inspect them to regulate everything that is produced in the United States? Come on be realistic." Okay, yes it is humanly impossible for one single agency to measure all the producer given, however, what should be done is enforcing tighter sub-agencies to watch over certain aspects of the produce in America. In turn the sub-agencies will create laws that will be enforced by the FDA as a whole. Nevertheless, that is just a preview of an idealistic world where the sky rains gumdrops and the streets are paved with gold, so I can only dream. Snapping back to reality, I believe that the higher up should be held accountable for their actions by Congress(sadly, as of now Congress is in recess.) They should have to tell the American people why some drugs are put on the shelves before long-term research is ever conducted, why did the FDA approve the use of carbon monoxide gas mixtures during the packaging process to prevent discoloration of meat, in turn this process hides signs of spoilage from the consumer. Hold these people accountable for what they are doing to the American public.

"Catering" or "accommodating" is actually the same as "To-may-to" and "To-ma-to"

Okay allow me to be straightforward when I say that I am tired of America catering to Hispanics and their language. In the newspaper and recent online articles that have came across my desk, the majority of them state that America is not catering but rather just "accommodating" to those who speak solely nothing more than Spanish. Accommodating is a funny word in itself and the manner in which the word is being used in is equally as funny. Allow me to explain, since the word accommodating comes from the word accommodate it is safe to say that the root word for accommodating is accommodate. True enough. Now the word accommodate is defined by Webster's Dictionary as "to provide suitably; supply (usually fol. by with): to accommodate a friend with money. " and by the American Hertiage Dictionary as " To do a favor or service for; oblige" Now from both definition you notice the words supply(in the Webster's definition) and oblige(American Hertiage Dictionary) are also synonyms for the word cater. So by adding the suffix of -ing to it, you are basically saying that accommodating is the same as catering. So people who believe that America is accommodating to Hispanic speakers need to understand exactly what the word they are using actually means.

As a person who grew up in a military family, I have traveled, lived and seen the world and all it has to offer. Other countries such as Korea, Japan, even places such that has a high yield of those who speak English such as Jerusalem do not really spend a lot of time catering to the English-speaking people(or for that matter any other language that does not represent the majority of the nation.) I can remember numerous times going to non-English speaking country Fast-food restaurants(McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or etc) literally pointing to exactly what I wanted because I was unable to speak the language. As months progressed onward, I had to eventually learn some phrases in order to make my way around town and get what services I needed( this method also went for my parents and other military families around the world.) So the real question is how hard is it for others to do the same? There are plenty of English as a Secondary Language classes also known as ESL classes where they can spend their time learning the English language. Coming across the border is not a right nor something you do just cause it is the cool and hip thing to do. It is a choice, and as with any choices you must understand the consequence rather it is good or bad that comes from the choice you make. If you are not willing to adapt to the English language then go back home. I am not saying that you should abandon your language but pick up the English language in the process. Senator Obama, during his speech about the boarder control issues went on a tangent and said that American children and adults alike should learn to speak a second language and hinted that we all should begin taking Spanish classes, that is fine Mr. Senator I agree with what was said about learning a second language, however what about those that come to the United States who do not claim themselves as Americans or those that come here illegal and are not forced or want to learn a English as a second language? So what is the point of us catering to them if they are not willing to work with us? Also as for the job market, it is ridiculous to try and find a job now-a-days because you must speak Spanish. I could have a 4.0 grade point average, come from an ivy league school, spent my summers working along-side people who are consider leaders in that particular field, on top of that I speak well, dress like I a decent human being, and a kind individual. However, when the job hunt comes around I am condemned because I refused to learn Spanish. Where is the justice in that? Currently I do not speak Spanish nor do I care to do so in the future. I speak Japanese, English and perhaps Chinese as the years move onward. So why should I or those who come from other countries and speak their native tongue be hindered because they do not want to lose their own language and adopt not only English but Spanish as well? I say stop catering by sending home letters in Spanish and English, stop giving school, town hall, and another "normal" public speeches in Spanish and English, stop taking away the need for English, stop forcing children to use Spanish and allow them to be fine if they want to learn Latin, French, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or even Korean. Either work with us or go back home problem solved.

This one even hurt my head

Kiddies, this is where tattoos may get you into trouble. Today, I read about a criminal who was caught because his name was tattooed on his face. Sterling F. Wolfname was wanted for fatally beating a man at a party, however, the man who was beaten died shortly after his arrival to the hospital. The funny thing is that when he was caught, officers were on another case and they just happened to walk past Wolfname who had his name tattooed on his face. One of the officers noticed the name was similar to a warrant that had come across his desk and he was arrested soon after. What makes matters worse is that all of this could have been avoided if he did not decide to get his name tattooed on his face. What a dummy!!!

One, Two, Tie my shoes. Three, four, shut the door. Five, six blame the parents?

Sorry for the wait people, I have been so busy with trying to prepare myself for my upcoming sophomore year at Furman University. Last night, my girlfriend and I were sitting down watching an episode of Family Guy(I am not so much a fan of that show) and it happens to be the one where Peter decides to start his own television network in spite of the Federal Communications Commission's over-reaction of some trouser malfunction that caused David Hyde Pierce's testicles to be revealed to the live at home audience at the Emmy Awards. This sparked a nice debate over whether or not the FCC should be doing what they are doing and censorship over video games. My girlfriend believes in what most people believe in is that the FCC has to right to censor just about anything they want, or things in which they deem "immoral" for the viewing public because they are protecting the children of today(since they are very impressionable.) Also as for video games, they have the right to censor and making special rules for games that will help prevent young children for getting their hands on them and making them go out and kill other children and people(in example the great debate over Grand Theft Auto video games.) I somewhat believe in what she believes in. I do believe the FCC should be around, because I really do not want to see human penises and vaginas constantly showed on television without some point(whether sexual intention to state a point or for educational purposes.) However, I do believe that part of the blame in what goes on the television show and what kids should watch falls on the shoulders of the parents. If parents A and B allow their child C to watch(either on purpose or unintentionally) porn, people being maimed and murder for no apparent reason, watching shows in which people commit crimes then C goes out into the real world and commits this crimes. You cannot say that it was what was on television's vault(despite people use this as an argue as to why they do things like this.) The parent's should step up and say that they were bad parents, they did not set rules and boundaries as to what C watched as a child nor did the give C any reprimand that what these people are doing are bad and you can get into trouble for doing this. As for the big video game debate in which Senators like Hilary Clinton fought to bring more laws to restrict what video games goes on the shelves. Listen, video games need to have set guidelines such as Adult Only(AO), Everyone (E), or Mature(M) to prevent parents from "accidentally" buying games for the wrong age of children. It would not be very smart for Parent D to buy games rated M for his child E whose hobbies include playing the sandbox at the local elementary school and watching Sesame Street. So I do encourage these rules to prevent these "accidents" from happening. Some people out there my have noticed that the word accident is in quotation marks, this is because people buying games for children who are far below the age of seventeen is about as much of an accident as someone over twenty-one buying alcohol for someone who is far under the legal drinking age limit. Overseas, their television show programming is a lot more loose then the United States limits on things are. Why? For the sheer reason is that parents are taking responsible in educating their children in what is right and wrong in American society. So before today's blog becomes any longer, I would like all of the parents who read this to understand take the time out of your busy day(or un-busy day) to watch what your children are watching and playing while you are around(or not around.) What you may see might surprise you, regardless help your children understand what exactly is going on while they are watching programming that is deemed out of their viewing age.

Who does not love Phelps? Oh teacher, I know I know pick me pick me.

I am sick of tired of hearing about Micheal Phelps, better yet I am tired of hearing about the Olympics altogether. Personally, I would not shed a tear if the Olympics was wiped off the face of the planet all together due to lack of funds or some natural phenomenon was to occur. For the sheer reason is that the Olympics take away from whatever should be going on in the United States. I do not care that some runner from a country(or some back water alley in American) that I really do not care that much about ran in four point whatever whatever. Why should I care? What could I possible do with that information. Say "Congratulations runner, next time the police are chasing you laugh and say you can run a four point whatever whatever. " No, because in some cases that would make me a racist. What should I care about the American "Redeem Team" Basketball Squad? The Dream Team is dead, for Pete's sake the so called best of the best from this era do not really want to play for the Olympics at risk of hurting themselves. The current team "star players" are only really playing for more endorsements or to keep their current endorsements not really for the love for the game. I do not care that some random man or woman is breaking random records. Before long that person will fade back into the memory of everyone else and have nothing else to show for it other than few faded gold, silver or bronze medal. One of my friends brought to my attention that those people go back and try to do good things for their nation. Yes, the key word in that statement is try. A lot of them try to go back and do something nice but fall short because after a while nobody reall cares that you won a gold, nobody really care that you set a record(only for it to be broken years later and you name wiped from the record books.) Some go back and open some two-bit swim school, or coach at some no name high school, that is a farcry from where you used to be huh buddy? I just cannot wait for the Olympics to end, American has so much more to worry about than who can run the faster or swim the furtherst.

Madden 2009 for the Wii

Despite the Wii being incapable of handling the new-age graphics that come with the newest seventh generation of console, the Madden 2009 really did hold it own this time around. I was impressed with Madden 2007, I was under impressed with Madden 2008 but this time around I was enthralled with the game. First, being that it allows for players of all different skills levels to get together and allow them to have a pretty interesting game(this feature is found in all verisons.) Secondly, the Wii's control movements are pretty well timed this time with passing the ball, running the ball, juking, kicking(however I did have a problem with catching the ball, I will explain later.) Due solely to the lack of hardware that the Wii possesses, the Wii does not have the back track feature and replay downs such as the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 has but it does have the telescreen and allows you to draw, point out the obvious, and annoying people just like the most beloved JOHN MADDEN. The Wii also allows for a cool five on five feature, it is basically a backyard football where your players are capable of having huge heads. Five on five is basically a water-down Madden game that you just play for fun or allowing for those who are not into the Madden franchise just to have fun at a slower paced game. There are roster updates available online (depending on whether or not you can get to a wireless source or have a built-in USB Internet.) Now for the downside. . . The control scheme is pretty good overall but when compared to 2007 calling audibles on the fly is a little bit annoying when you are used to doing things very "quick-like" like on the other two systems or 2007. I am a big blitzer, so I normally call one 3-4 or 3-2-6 scheme and change my line and linebacker before the ball is hiked for an amazing shutdown the Quarterback plays. Catching is also a bit of a pain because the Wii makes you do some funky raise the controls(nun-chuck) at the same time. This motion does not always register with the Wii bar receptor, causing a lot of missed catches and ball busting third and forth down plays. The new call your own shots audible does not always throw the ball where the receiver is but rather throws the ball where the player should be, which leads to a lot of interceptions if you are not watching what you are doing. Also the create a team feature and create a player character features are now gone in the Wii verison. In order to create players, you have to edit someone who is already alive on a roster or a free agent. It is not the same as creating a player but you still kind of get that same feel. Despite the down falls this is a pretty solid game definitely a buy for Wii owners alike. 8.3/10

"Inny Minny Minny mo, where the hell did all my hours go. . ." (aka Wal-mart part two)

This is my part two of my rant against the "Big Blue" or better yet Wal-Mart. Once again I would like to state I normally agree with big business practices, however, Wal-Mart and businesses like Wal-mart should enter a check and balance system to prevent them from becoming too powerful or allowing them to continue a bad cycle of employee care. Overtime in the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established that a standard work week should consist of nothing more than forty hours for certain kinds of works. This act allows mandates meaning that payments should be made to workers that is one and one-half times the workers' normal pay rate for any time worked more than forty hours. For those who did not read my first rant about Wal-Mart, I discussed that the minimum wage pay rate in the United States is $5.58 per hour, so once an employee reaches forty hours that means they should receive $8.37. Which means $8.37 and hour could add up overtime, this is why business discourages overtime practices. So let give you a little back story, when working at Wal-mart they often claim that they are always short-handed and demand that do not have enough employees to handle the workload that the warehouse keeps giving them. Also they demand that their current staff work off the clock, by hinting that if they do not the current workers can always "be replaced." So how can someone "be replaced" if you cannot find someone to fill in there spot? Easy, you purposely short-hand yourself in order to keep workers in line by means of making them feel guilty because you are short-handed, and find a replacement when you need to find one. If you were to enter a manager of any Wal-mart nationwide I guarantee that you will fine a stack of potential workers that would help with the short-handed staff. Allow me to back track to overtime, Wal-mart employees are meant to work off the clock at the fear of losing their jobs or if they are still on the clock managers will go back and change an employees hours backwards to forty hours so that they will not have to pay overtime (so current workers please keep track of your hours.) I would love to continue but I am very sleepy, so I end it here and pick up on this and start the next topic tomorrow. Or maybe I will just combine them for tomorrow.

Wal-Mart -Low Wages Low Morals-

Okay, look politically I support big businesses. I believe in given money and tax breaks to businesses in order to have them turn around and supply more jobs to the people to help drive down the unemployment rates. However, I have seen, told and had a first-hand experiences as to the way Wal-mart conduct their day-to-day business. I am very shocked that the United States has allowed companies like this to continue without having them be put into some type of checks and balance system. Did you ever stop to once thing about where the "low-low prices" of Wal-mart is actually coming from? Chances or no not really, well allow me to enlighten you. Wal-mart's low prices come from the venture in that is underpays their employees. Many people pointing interest to those who work in the states south of the Mason Dixon line, are actually being paid under minimum wage limit. How can a single parent of two or three children be able to support their family when they are being paid less than $5.58(which is the current minimum wage) an hour? They cannot not and if they manage to do so it because a battle of survival and with the economy is going and the current cost-of-living on the rise that battle gets tougher and tougher each and every month. Another cut that Wal-mart does in order to ensure low prices is that they cost non-Wal-mart employees (yes, us common people) money because Wal-mart practically drive their employees to become dependent on the welfare system. This happens to be my biggest gripe with Wal-mart. First off, I am not a big fan of welfare because I believe it cripples the economy and basically give those who are on with no means to do better for themselves. Secondly, I believe that MY TAXES should go into things that mean something such as road work, military, or into the failing United States school systems. One might say that "Hey, Donathan look Wal-mart is a business is it not? Then they should have to have some type of health care system for it's employees am I right?" Yes you are right my friend, however, you fail to understand the fact that I mentioned earlier about them being paid under the minimum wage. $5.58 times four hours a week(because Wal-mart does not want it's employees to work overtime, do not get paid overtime or they send them home without pay just before they get around forty hours) equals $223.20 a week then you times that by four which leaves you with $892.80 a month. Now, after take away from the costs you pay for gas to get to from work in a month's time span, the food and water you need to pay for each month, the bills(gas, electric, cable, water, Internet), house mortgage(or rent), a child's needs, the amount of money the government takes out leaves you with far less than $892.80 a month. In order for Wal-mart to care for you and just you not you family on it's health care program you have to pay $75.00 a month. That is a tall glass of water for some families, who are just making it by. So, Wal-mart managers encourages their employees to go find government aid for themselves and their families. Here are some shocking numbers in the state of Florida 12,300 Wal-mart employees and dependents are currently on Medicaid; In the state of Georgia 10260 children are on the Peachcare governmental program; 4180 Wal-mart employees and dependents are on the Massachusetts State's health plan. If you were to combine all the money that is paid out by the government to support Wal-mart employees it costs taxpayers $1,557,000,000.00. That is my gripe, in order not to make this rant to long I will end today's blog here and will pick this one up again over the next few days.

Paris Hilton Part Two

Last night I was having a conversation with a buddy of mines and listening to his argument for the stupidity of what has been known as "Paris Hilton throws her hat into the political realm." He argued that Hilton proposed a decent way to handle the energy crisis by combining the best of both worlds by combining the energy solutions of both Presidential hopefuls Obama and McCain. He claimed that "This is what the American people need, she is so smart about the way she delivered it. The presidential candidates need to listen to her." First of stop riding the cute white girl thing my friend. Secondly, this is American politics my friend. If people cared about what was right for the nation then people would vote for third parties, who are known of having a history to support what is best for the American public( however there are some really really terrible third parties in existence.) American politics is more like a high school popularity contest who do you vote for the High School All-American Quarterback, the High School All American Track and Swimmer, or the pretty cheerleader? Nobody cares about issues anymore, even the news on television and some newspapers do not even consider talking about issues much anymore. They are into what the American public is into which is popularity and superficial issues. Does the candidate smoke? Does he have a family? What religion is he part of? Is there any type of dirt about the candidate? So friend step out of your candy-coated lollipop world and step into what life is all about, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD.

A black person's kryptonite. . . other black people. *Dramatic music*

Okay howdy ho there reader-reno. I was watching CNN today where I have came across another rants towards Senator Obama. During his speech at the democratic convention in St. Petersburg, Florida Senator Obama was greeted with a hasty heckler who asked him essentially "Where was the senators support during all these struggles that black people had to endure during the recent news while he was in the senate and running for president." Not only did the senator answer the heckler's question with grace but he ripped the heckler's question to shreds thus in turn making him look like nothing more than a straight "nigger" (yes, I said it.)
This brings me to a special point, a black person's krytonite is other black people. It is not the white man, so we need to stop blaming them for everything they do. Yes, white people do cause actions and have causes actions that have led us to be in the position that we are currently in. However, a lot of the problems that have occur from the fact that we do it to ourselves. Let's start off with education, if a young black males or female wants to persue an acheieable goal of the betterment of their education status. He or she is deemed too "white" for the taste of blacks and in turn they will stop dealing with that person. Longing for belongment young black children will jepordize their education status just to be like their friends. A black female who wants to go to college and persue a job as a lawyer is told by her black friends from her neighborhood that
she will not amount to anything will in turn often give in to peer pressure causes her to lose her dream. We have to stop stifling one another before we are deemed nothing more than garbage and be left at the way-side by all the other races.

Business is Business, so act accordingly.

*Sigh* Listen people, I am sick and tired of seeing people going into job opportunities (especially those job opportunities that require one to wear a suit and tie or a polo and a pair of khaki pants) coming in wearing jeans falling halfway off the crack of your behind, or going in with a "wife-beater" shirt and a grill in your mouth. Or my favorite when people wear shirts two and three sizes to big for them. Like Andre Benjamin says make "your mama proud and take that thing two sizes down." As for women, the majority of the ones that I have to deal with dress accordingly however their speech (just like their male counterparts) need some serious improvement. "Ain't" that word "ain't" is not proper English, I cannot really say "Ain't, ain't a word because it ain't in the dictionary" anymore because as dumb and idiotic as the American public is getting we have added "Ain't" into the dictionary as a contraction to the word "is not." Fine whatever helps you people sleep at night as for me I will not be using that word in any conversation I have with people. When you talk to your future employer please be engaging with them ask them questions about them, "How was your day?" ask them questions about the job you are applying for "Tell me what I can do to better myself or better prepare myself for this job opportunity?" notice things around the room that speaks about your future employer "Hey, I noticed you have two dogs, I have one myself. What are their names?" Lastly, people for god's sake please bring a resume if you do not have a resume bring random documentation showing your achievements in life. Volunteer work, donating blood, sport leadership something that shows them that you are an earnest worker. If you have a resume, be prepare to elaborate about highlights on your resume "Gee Mr./Mrs. So and so, I noticed you worked with the local trash depot." "Yes, it was pretty rewarding despite what others people may think about picking up others trash. As they say one man's trash is another man's treasure, however, I am in that time in my life where I wish to pursue other endeavors to further benefit not only myself but my family." Oh I know that said that would be the last thing, but ending a sentence in at. For all you people who do STOP, STOP doing that immediately. Never, ever end a sentence with at in any form of speech "Where that be at", "Where is that at", "What time is it at". "That I am good at" No only use at when it followed by something else. "They will meet us here at nine-thirty", "They are at Lowe's." I am not an English major and they can rip me apart or go into further detail but please do not use "at" people. So with my rant of the day I a bid you all adieu.

Vote for Paris! No, thank you.

In response to Senator McCain's recent television campaign ad against Senator Obama claiming that his success and star power is equal to that of Hollywood's most ditsiest of debutantes, Paris Hilton has decided to chime her two cents towards Senator McCain. She boasted her desire to start a campaign against "that wrinkly white-haired guy" and went on to say that she will paint the White House pink if elected. Miss Paris Hilton, I am surprised that you were even aware as to what was going on in American politics. First things first, if you really want anybody to take you seriously as a human being, you have to stop referring to people as degenerative elementary school such as "that wrinkly white-haired guy." Secondly, by saying things such as "But then that wrinkly white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude, and I want America to know I'm, like, totally ready to lead." Really, is this who we want to lead us as Americans?(I know it is a joke ad.) It is terrible enough that she is already corrupting the minds of young women by convincing them that beauty is being abnormally thin, blonde and having a speaking ability that rivals the neighborhood special education child (I am not poking fun at special education children, I volunteer my time to help them.) Paris Hilton please do us all a favor and go lie in a ditch somewhere and leave politics to the "big people" okay?

When to Carlos? When not to Carlos? That my friend is the real question.

I have been saying that Carlos Mencia has been stealing people's material ever since he stepped into the limelight when Comedy Central needed a temporary replacement for Dave Chappelle during his dilemma. To start off Mister Carlos Mencia or should I say Mister Ned Arnel Mencía (as it is shown on his birth certificate) is nothing more than a cookie cutter show made from the scraps of what was left over after Chappelle's departure from Comedy Central. From his stage to his show elements to the banter he occasionally does with members of the crowd all seem to have been stripped from Chappelle and given to Mencia(kind of like sloppy seconds type of mannerism.) Already well-established comedians such as George Lopez, Joe Rogan and Ari Shaffir have came forward all with allegations pointing to the plagiarist nature of Ned Mencia.
While at my cousin's house, who happens to be a fan of Ned, decided to make me watch one episode of Mind of Mencia. Sadly enough, he wanted to convert me into a "Ned-head" as I like to call them. Nevertheless, that particular episode that we happened to watch contained elements from Bill Cosby's Himself movie. This one particular element was the joke about the father and son duo, the father who put his son through hell trying to teach him to play football. The son in turns grows and develop his football skills, which leads him to play for a big college. The father watches every game the son plays in, then the son win the big bowl game and as he is interview they ask him who would he like to say how to and clearly his states "Hi Mom!!!!" Clearly ignoring his father and all that time he spent with son. The only real difference in how the joke is delivered, is that Ned states the boy goes on to the Nation Football League, whereas Cosby states the son only goes up to college. Thus proving that he does indeed steal from established comedians and there older material. I encourage any and all people to go to Youtube and watch things from other comedians and see if they can find any similarities between Ned's material and other comedians.

Sorry for the long Hitatus

Hopefully you guys did not miss me too much, I was out for a few days because I had crushed my hand while working on my father's truck.

From Five to Thirty-five(and counting). . .

(((This one has been sitting on my draft section for awhile now, it is just now making it into the light)))

"In 2003, there were seven officers to patrol Bluffton's town limits. In five years, that number's multiplied by five." -Bluffton Today

This was an excerpt from my town's newspaper, the Bluffton Today, the article talked about how our police department is continuing to grow as this one-horse of a town continues to grow and move forward. Yes, growth is very important because the bigger a town gets the more people want to feel protected by a "protective establishment." However, the number of personnel that a department has does not excuse the quality of personnel at a said "protective establishment". As from what I have seen on numerous occasions, the Bluffton Police Department is probably if not the most laziest, dead-brained, idiotic police department I have ever had the un-pleasure of being in their precinct. Some people can say, "how am I able to judge these public figures?" Well the answer is fairly simple my friend, my father is a marine and my mother has a law degree(where she worked along-side with just about every police department no matter where the military has sent us.) So I know what is like to be part of a well-established police department, and I know what it is like to watch a police department go from nothing to something over the span of two, three, four, five years. Also I do know what it is like to respect a respectable "protective establishment" however, when said respectable "protective establishments" are not doing their jobs this is where it begins to irk to me no extent. I have came here around the time of 2003 and so far I have no seen anything that makes our "protective establishment" roughly noticeable or even worthy. Since my time here I am seen officers asleep on the job, during a traffic jam out of 278 I have caught at least three officers asleep in their patrol cars as drivers speed past them as if they were not there. I also have caught two officers (one on buckwalter and one actually yesterday near the Bluffton baseball stadium on Bluffton parkway.) Ordering pizza while they are supposedly on patrol, to make matters worse they are ordering pizza while on my tax dollars and having that said pizza delivered to their cop car. I have also seen one officer, drive pass an elderly lady whose car had just broke down. This officer did not provide assistance, she was eventually help by my buddy and I as we doubled back to her on 278. I have seen several officers turn on their lights so they can park in the emergency no parking zones just to do some daily activities. Their is this one person( I know everyone has to at least seen this officer once or twice.) Driving around in a Bluffton Police Department vehicle, wearing civilian clothes doing civilians things such as driving their children to and from school, going to football games (to watch not protect) or to drive to the grocery store. I have witness officers avoiding helping people such as that sub-division across from Chic-fil-a, a driver had drove out during a red light, screwed and missed two cars and ended up marooning her car on the grassy edge that leads into that particular sub-division. My mother and I had witness this, so we went over to provide assistance to make sure the driver was not having a seizure while they were driving (according to my mother this happens more often then I think.) After getting out of the car, the driver started to apologize to us "I am so sorry so so sorry." it became apparent to us she was drunk. Luckily for us behind the sign, their was a Bluffton Officer, I asked to officer to help this lady. All he said was I am off the clock, and called for some help in that particular area. Terrible, terrible ethics. Sure of course having numbers is nice but when you are not doing your job what is the point of having such large numbers.

BET the new blackface

I was having a debate with a friend of mines the other day and what came up in our conversation is the fact of racial equality or better yet is there a racial equilibrium in America? Like most people of the non-African persuasion, the first thing he reached for is that we(African-Americans) have strong positive images going for us such as(and he stressed) the NAACP and even our own nationwide television network BET. Ha, NAACP and BET have outlived their purpose. They are both like milk, after its expiration date it will start to deteriorate and leave an odor most foul. When I was younger, I used to watch BET because it showed us young black children that there were positive black role models out there other than the drug pushers down the street or those jackasses that you see playing sports and acting real "niggerish" if you would say like to use that word. However, BET nowadays are showing exactly what it tried to prevent all those years ago. After the abrupt departure of AJ and Free on 106 and park, BET has just been producing black-face crap over and over again. Baggy pants, African-American men with "grills" in their mouth, African-American females with the loud ghetto accent overly plagued this once great network of BET. As an African-American male who is nineteen years old, going a great university, preferring to wear khakis and polo shirts over baggy blue jeans and a shirt two sizes bigger than a medium, and prefers to speak proper English. I and others like me are actually the new age of black people, we are the ones who represent the positive black community but we are often overlooked because we refuse to accept the roles that black-faced networks such as BET are enforcing on the public. As for the NAACP, what have they done for African-Americans over the last few years? The answer is nothing of real substance. What they do is nit-pit at whatever the easiest fight then could win without and real effort(i.e. Don Imus.) Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, are not Martin Luther King and will never be, they do not appeal to the new age of African-Americans. Nor are they lending any hand in trying to bridge the gap between the transcending older African-Americans generation and the newer generation of African-American individuals.

Home is where the heart is?

Hmmm. . . if they say home is where the heart is, then what does that means if your house is a terrible piece of crap and is in a serious need of remodeling? On the television show called Ugliest House on the Block, a bunch of remodeling experts(consisting of designer, painter, host, carpenter) pick on certain individual's home on a certain street somewhere nationwide and remodel that particular house. Another question that keep creeping in my head "Is how do you allow your house to become in such disarray?" Some people stated that they were "too busy" or "when the weekend comes around they just want to relax", that is a darn out right shame. I also blame some of the neighbors for allowing that one particular house on the street, to go to hell in a hand basket. Hey, you know that this house will ultimately bring down the value of your own home and yet you continue to allow this eye-sore to get deteriorate as the months go onward. So you are just as much at fault as those idiots who decided to live in that eye-sore of a home. To make matters worse is that in some of the homes(if you really want to call them that), the parents allow their children to live in such a place. If you see mold and mildew to spore all over your home, that is not only a health hazard for you as a parent but it is also bad for your little children. *Sigh* Stop being lazy people and take pride in your homes.

There is nothing wrong, when you can get others to do the dirty work.

Today I was watching the MTV show From G's to Gents (the second episode.) The funny thing is as the show was continuing onward my brother and a few friends of mines had gotten extreme upset about how a G named Cee, manipulated everyone in the house to do his bidden and put an enemy of his on the "Hot seat." I See absolutely nothing wrong about how he went about doing his business, I applaud Cee for doing what he has to do to win. As Malcolm X said "By any means necassary. . ." and hey Cee realized that the rest of the his housemates were a bunch of idiots so he took advantage of their weaknesses and made it into his strength. As in any game, there are a set of rules but the real challenge is how can you get around the rules and use it to your advantage. As I continued to watch the show, one of the Gs happen to mention that this game is like a game of chess and that one wrong move could land you in checkmate. Good logic my friend, despite the fact that you are actually nothing more than a pawn in Cee's game of chess with Kesan. Cee did not only decided to take out Kesan but his plan was so elaborate and so well thought out that there could be no possible way to pin-point it to him (then again his action were caught on camera, maybe we will see it on the reunion show.) What Cee decided to do was set his self up for a fall, and blamed his fallen status(or damaged photo posted on the wall of each member of the house) on Kesan. To add icing to the cake Cee decided to blame Kesan and act out that he was angry over the issue that has just occured. Kesan did not help his self either when he talked about another house member's family members. So with the pieces all in place, it was up to Cee to make sure that his plan was to be carried out properly. When elimination time came around, Kesan found his self with seven out of the eleven possible votes. If it was not for Fonzworth Bentley(the host) intervening and believing that he could make Kesan into a Gentleman, Cee's plan would have worked. Good Job Cee and I hope to see more of your elaborate plans just like that one as the show moves onward.

Oh what happened to you big blue?

I was just recently told that the Sonic the Hedgehog ,my personal childhood hero, is now returning in three more games that are due out over the next few months. *Sigh* What ever happened to Big Blue where his games were actually good and were not some second rate piece of crap as what it has been known for lately. Ever since the new era of 3D gaming Sega(as well as Sonic the Hedgehog) have been nothing short of lackluster. In 2006 when I found out that Sonic was making his mark on the Xbox 360, I remember being overly excited and welcome my hedgehog friend with open arms. Sonic the Hedgehog, given a HDTV make-over with all the hand-eye coordination that I could ever possibly wish for. As I followed its development and watched videos pertaining to it, I was like the black Kool Aide man "Oh Yeah!" Then when I actually played the demo for it I was like "Oh No!" Sega has manage to get itself into another blunder. This game was plagued with long loading times, bad camera angles, and terrible controls. Oh, I just shudder at the thought of it. The game was so bad, I am pretty sure it could make baby Jesus cry. I was just so crushed, then on top of that Sega kept making crap that did not pertain to the true soul of Sonic the Hedgehog, he is now riding vehicles instead of running, driving cars(as shown in Shadow the Hedgehog) and now using guns instead of his special ball spinning-thing. Sonic and the Black Knight, coming out in Spring 2008 promises the same old Sonic game we have came to know and love, however, it promises a new feature of Sword-fighting. Really sword-fighting in a Sonic game, come on Sonic-Team stop reaching for crap to use the Wii-remote for. Why not allow, special moves using the remote, or use the to help guide Sonic around like it was used for Mario Galaxy. Next on the list of games, has serious potential(due to the fact that it is Sonic back to doing some good of fashion running) called Sonic Unleashed. From the videos it appears that Sonic-team has done something right IN THIS DECADE. However they introduce the ability for Sonic to turn into a werewolf (a la Zelda and the Twilight Princess.) Please oh please Sega do not screw this game over. Lastly, Sega as introduced Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, no this is not a type of cool name for a platform game. This Sonic game is a RPG, I love RPGs(Golden Sun, Final Fantasy, and Legend of Dragoon.) Nevertheless, Sonic does not I repeat does not need to be made into a RPG. The only way they might win over consumers if they make the game into what Nintendo did for the Mario Brothers and their four RPG games. As I close because I am kind of nodding of, please go back to what you were originally made for Sonic. Please Oh Pretty Please with a Cherry on Top?

Jesse Jackson, screws blacks over once more.

I was watching the news the other day, and I have came across the so call "black leader" named Jesse Jackson and his comments towards the presidential candidate Senator Barrack Obama. I will not go into details as to what Jackson has said because it was never really brought entirely into light (at this time.) However, I do want to make this point it seems to be that Jackson has an extremely dislike for Obama because Obama appears to have garnished more political support and racial support from both the African-American and Cacuasian(as well as other races) than Jackson could ever dream of recieving in his would-be democratic race during the elections of 1984 and 1988. Where he only recieved twenty-one of the popular vote but only eight percent of delegates and also won five primaries (and caucuses) which include Louisiana, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Virginia, and one of two separate contests in Mississippi. What I feel that needs to be done is that Jackson needs to sit down, and keep his mouth quiet because he is only digging his self in a deeper and deeper hole. It seems as if he is condemning an individual of the same exact "sin(s)" that he himself possessed almost twenty years prior to now. To alievate some of the pain that was created by his off-handed comment, Jackson came out and said that he did not know that it was a "hot mic" at that time. This in itself was a piss-poor excuse for an individual that has been in the game this long. Save lies like that for new house members, low-level police chiefs, sexual offending teachers, and those who can do not have a long list of public speaking experience like yourself, Mr. Jesse Jackson. Support Obama, because he is now the new face of Africa-Americans and you should no longer be allowed to call yourself a "black leader" if you keep pushing away those who are trying to help the new age of African Americans.