Fair and Balanced, Not Fox News

Read this story (abot republican legislators telling Bush he has no credibility in regards to the Iraq war) here because Fox News is busy relying on their fallback news, i.e.,

Hannity = Boarder control and Al Sharpton

O’Reilly = Chasing District Attorneys about prosecutorial decisions,

Gretta = pop culture legal news,

Fox & Friends = being goofy, talking over each other, and avoiding any issue they don’t care for.

It’s amazing they say fair and balanced when they won’t report any news they don’t like. They are no better than the “mainsteam media” they complain about every day.

Anyway, on to the news Fox is scared to discuss.

NEW YORK TIMES By CARL HULSE and JEFF ZELENY

Moderate Republicans gave President Bush a blunt warning on his Iraq policy at a private White House meeting this week, telling the president that conditions needed to improve markedly by fall or more Republicans would desert him on the war.

The White House session demonstrated the grave unease many Republicans are feeling about the war, even as they continue to stand with the president against Democratic efforts to force a withdrawal of forces through a spending measure that has been a flash point for weeks.

Participants in the Tuesday meeting between Mr. Bush, senior administration officials and 11 members of a moderate bloc of House Republicans said the lawmakers were unusually candid with the president, telling him that public support for the war was crumbling in their swing districts.

One told Mr. Bush that voters back home favored a withdrawal even if it meant the war was judged a loss. Representative Tom Davis told Mr. Bush that the president’s approval rating was at 5 percent in one section of his northern Virginia district.

“It was a tough meeting in terms of people being as frank as they possibly could about their districts and their feelings about where the American people are on the war,” said Representative Ray LaHood of Illinois, who took part in the session, which lasted more than an hour in the residential section of the White House. “It was a no-holds-barred meeting.”

Several of the Republican moderates who visited the White House have already come under political attack at home for their support of Mr. Bush and survived serious Democratic challenges in November.

Representative Charles W. Dent of Pennsylvania, a co-chairman of the Tuesday Group, an alliance of about 30 moderate Republican lawmakers, helped arrange the meeting. He said lawmakers wanted to convey the frustration and impatience with the war they are hearing from voters. “We had a very frank conversation about the situation in Iraq,” he said. Even so, the Republicans who attended the White House session indicated that they would maintain solidarity with Mr. Bush for now by opposing the latest Democratic proposal for two-stage financing of war, which is scheduled for a vote on Thursday in the House.

Lawmakers said Mr. Bush made no commitments, but seemed grateful for their support and said a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq could cause the sort of chaos that occurred in Southeast Asia after Americans left Vietnam. The lawmakers said that Mr. Bush and others at the meeting — including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the political adviser Karl Rove and National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley — appeared to appreciate the political reality facing Republicans who will be on the ballot next year.

“It was very healthy,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, who attended but let the moderates do most of the talking

Paris Hilton is going to Jail – Now, that’s hot!

Paris Hilton, girls gone wild white girl role model, is going to jail for 45 days. And, she will not be able to get out of this. While she will be seperated from the general population, this will be a harsh punishment for her. Without the drugs she likely uses to survive on a daily basis, I expect her to look similiar to a crack addict when she finishes her sentence. Remember, Joe Francis, Girls Gone Wild Founder, is in deeper trouble for attempting to sneak drugs into jail. They are rich crack addicts. They are not likely on crack, but cocaine, weed, and whatever pills they take make them addicts like all the others.

This is good. She should be punished. She should get in trouble. Hopefully, she will learn a lesson and girls across the nation will see that there is punishment for your actions. If white privilege can’t get her out of this, then it seems like California is serious on cracking down on these fools.

Paris, get ready for the real “Siple Life!”

My Ghetto Graduation

Over the past weekend, I was fortunate to graduate from law school. I have not posted in a while because I have been busy getting prepared for this date. I won’t be posting much after this because I will be studying for the bar. But, at my graduation from an HBCU, the band put down their instruments to dance while people recieved degrees, people grabbed the mic and “shouted-out” their frats, family, and friends while people recieved their degrees, and fraternities and sororities party hopped around their seats while people recieved their degrees.

It was a sad day for black higher education. In a moment to celebrate, we looked like fools. This post is edited, as in a moment of bad judgment, I spoke of the fellow alumni in a maner unbecoming of them and myself. Name calling gets us no where. However, I still hold contempt for those who made my graduation a minstrel show. Can we ever hold ourselves out with dignity and respect. And, if not at graduation, then when? Just a question.

The results of being a thug!

Thanks to Afronerd for posting this. I had no idea. Of course, the media will not nationally cover things that may deter the gang culture in our society. I don’t know about the coverage in NY, but down here in NC we heard nothing.

Ronell Wilson, who is a gang member, executed two undercover detectives to boost his street cred and steal a measly few hundred bucks, was convicted of murder by a federal jury – which now must decide if he should be put to death.

Stupidly, he decided to write a rap song about the murders before he was caught. This sounds painfully familiar to these rappers who rap about drugs, guns, and killings. The difference is, they make millions telling lies, this guy may be sentenced to death.

The misspelled, barely intelligible lyrics read: “You better have that vast [vest] and dat Golock [glock]. Leave a 45 slogs [slugs] in da back of ya head. Cause I’m getting dat bread [money], ain’t goin stop to I’m dead.”  

Well, art imitates life because he may be sentenced to death so he will stop shooting people in the back of the head and robbing them afterwards. At some point, we must show our young culture that this type of behavior has consequences.

A conscience vote coming for democrats, especially for North Carolinians

John Edwards, NC State and NC Chapel Hill educated, is running for President of the United States again. He loves our great state of North Carolina. And, while many North Carolinians do not like him, he is going to be hard not to vote for. I have met him personally. He is genuine, sincere, and a good man. He has little experience, but in the south, we stick with our own. Wait, that’s where the problem seems to lay, loyalty.

 

Because, while I would normally vote for the North Carolinian, a man I met and liked personally, Barack Obama is also likely to run for President of the United States. Obama, is of course, African American. He is also, in my opinion, one of the best candidates our culture has ever put forward to run for President. He is smart, charismatic, educated, and well rounded.  It’s going to be hard for African Americans to not want to vote for him. If, we get out and vote!

And of course, Hilary Clinton is going to run for President. She is a strong candidate. And for women, she is going to be hard not to vote for. Women are going to want to see one of their own in the White House, just like everyone else.

So, the democratic primary is going to be interesting to say the least. Where will loyalties lie? Will they be with the home town Tar Heel, the African American candidate, or the qualified female candidate? Only time will tell, but I can see the democrats bruised and battered after their primary. I foresee this getting ugly.   

We will miss President Ford!

I would write a post about out great, late president; but, instead I will send you to another site to read what a democrat has to say. The fact that a democrat would write such a eulogy truely shows the type of man Ford was. He was a great American, a great President, and will be missed.

http://skepticalbrotha.wordpress.com/2006/12/27/president-gerald-r-ford-1913-2006/

An End to Modern Day Blaxploitation?

After watching Dream Girls, I can’t help but wonder are we seeing an end to the modern day blaxploitation era in movies. What do I mean? Well, Dream Girls as a mostly African American cast and is phenomenal. In fact, it will probably run away with awards when that season comes around.

However, if you take a look at previous “black movies,” you see common actors and common themes similar to the 1970s when Richard Roundtree, Foxxy Brown, and others did the traditional jive talking action hero. In the modern era, it is now Sana Lathan, Taye Diggs, Boris Kodjoe, Morris Chestnutt and others in the same recurring love themes; i.e., Love and Basketball, Brown Suga, The Best Man, and others. 

Personally, I liked all of those movies. I own most of them on DVD. I am just saying that Dream Girlsprovides something different than what we are used to in all black movies. It’s refreshing. It is definitely a must see.  

Christmas Text-Messaging “Don’t spead the cheer”

It seems to be a holiday tradition of people whom I know. I get holiday text-messages whishing me well on whatever holiday it is. I am thankful for them, in part, because I like that my friends remember me over the holidays.

Well, that’s until I get the carbon copy text. The one sent to everyone in their phone list. The one that cost me roughly $.10 to read. Yea, ten cents is not a lot, but multiply that by dozens and dozens of people, that that runs my text messaging bill up.

Next time, email, call, or write. Don’t pass that cost over to me. Is that the christmas spirit?

Suprise, Suprise! Rape Charges dropped in the Duke Lacrosse Case

Ok, the District Attorney of Durham, NC dropped the rape charges in the Duke Lacrosse case. He managed to hold on to the sexual offense and kidnapping. Some are going to wonder the difference between rape and sexual offense. The major difference is that:

(1) Rape involves vaginal intercourse. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.2 (2006).

Sexual offense involves : a sexual act defined by North Carolina statutes as, cunnilingus (oral sex on a female organ), fellatio (oral sex on a male organ), analingus (oral sex on the anal region), or anal intercourse, but does not include vaginal intercourse. Sexual act also means the penetration, however slight, by any object (including human body parts) into the genital or anal opening of another person’s body. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.1(4) (2006).  I added everything in parenthesis for clarity.

Both first degree rape and sexual offense, in relevant part, must include one of the following:
      a. Employs or displays a dangerous or deadly weapon or an article which the other person reasonably believes to be a dangerous or deadly weapon; or
      b. Inflicts serious personal injury upon the victim or another person; or
      c. The person commits the offense aided and abetted by one or more other persons. (clearly the element the State is going after).

Also, both rape and sexual offense carry the same punishment. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.4 (2006).

So, rape is vaginal intercouse while sexual offense involves other sex acts. Also, the punishment for both crimes is the same so this is not quite the victory it appears.  

It seemed clear from this point that a rape didn’t occur, and the sexual offense charges are a way for the State to maintain their belief in the story of the accuser. They might be the only people who still believe her. 

I wonder if all those people who were ready to burn the players’ house down, and vilify those who wanted to wait before coming to a decision will apologize. Also, when are the black panthers coming back to Durham? It’s about time for another circus act to come in town.

Also, some relevant case law to consider.

  The guarantee against double jeopardy under U.S. Const., Amend. V protects against multiple punishments for the same offense. Defendant may not be punished for both first-degree kidnapping and sexual assault, where sexual assault is used to elevate kidnapping to first degree. 

Further,  where defendant was convicted and sentenced for sexual assault and first-degree kidnapping predicated on one sexual assault, trial court was required to arrest judgment either on conviction of sexual assault or on conviction of first-degree kidnapping. Defendant could be resentenced for second-degree kidnapping, if judgment on first-degree kidnapping was arrested. State v. Coats, 100 N.C. App. 455, 397 S.E.2d 512 (1990), cert. denied, 328 N.C. 573, 403 S.E.2d 515 (1991).

Girls Gone Wild syndrome is prevailing theme among pop culture whites. Introducing Katie Rees, Former Miss. Nevada

 Only one day ago I said that Miss USA should not be fired because by under-age drinking, sneeking guys into her room, kissing other women, and the fake breast, she actually represents what teen and young adult popular culture stands for.

In the lastest example of how true that statement is, Miss. Nevada Katie Rees was “stripped” of her crown as pictures surfaced of her acting like she was on Girls Gone Wild. There are pictures of her kissing other women, exposing her self, and basically acting a fool. But, this is cool. This is what a lot of these young women do now. I am just thankful none of your young African American women celebrities (A list down to F in this case) act that these women do. If we could get Nicole Richie together we would be good in that department.  

Oh, there are more pictures, but I think that these two sum up the type of behavior I am talking about.