Nadir Omowale
Artist – Producer – Creative Strategist
The Republican-led 112th Congress is now in session. GOP gains during the 2010 election were fueled largely by the inability of the punk Democrats to mobilize their own base.
Logic would suggest that this is a good time to recruit young blacks to the Republican fold. But, as this video demonstrates, being a black Republican isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Rest in the Funk, Lady T. We love you and will miss you.
We’ll see how all those anti-universal heath care conservatives feel when their employers eliminate health coverage.
From Huffington Post:
Budget proposals from leaders in both parties have urged shrinking or eliminating tax breaks that help make employer health insurance the leading source of coverage in the nation and a middle-class mainstay.
The idea isn’t to just raise revenue, economists say, but finally to turn Americans into frugal health care consumers by having them face the full costs of their medical decisions.
Such a re-engineering was rejected by Democrats only a few months ago, at the height of the health care overhaul debate. But Washington has changed, with Republicans back in power and widespread fears that the burden of government debt may drag down the economy.
The dreamers who believe employers would increase pay if relieved of the burden of health care costs are the same dreamers who believe that trickle-down economics has improved life for Americans over the past 30 years.
Yes, Virginia. We may have lost our best shot at universal coverage with the compromise on Obama’s already compromising public option. We may soon lose our health care coverage altogether if budget hawks have their way and tax credits are eliminated.
Read the article HERE – Huffington Post: Job-Based Health Care Threatened
What former Tennessee Vol QB Heath Shuler (D-NC) and his fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives don’t realize is that they didn’t lose this last election big because they aren’t “moderate” enough. The Democrats simply didn’t get enough done for the American people in the last two years.
They championed Wall Street over Main Street, big insurance companies over patients, war over peace. They lost because they didn’t do enough to excite the Democratic base after their history-making victory in 2008. If anything, they should have been MORE liberal, MORE different from the GOP.
I agree that Pelosi should step aside, but not for a more moderate minority leader. She should step aside for a BETTER leader – someone who can GET THINGS DONE for the American people. And if his decision-making as a Washington Redskin and his failure to understand the will of the electorate are any indication, Heath Shuler isn’t that leader either.
Huffington Post: Heath Shuler: If Nancy Pelosi Runs I’ll Challenge Her, And Lose
Flying is starting to become a pretty horrible experience. Between oppressive baggage check fees, ever eroding customer service and being subjected to privacy invasion just to get on the plane, it’s easy to understand why I prefer to drive on most long trips.
Case in point: The TSA’s new backscatter x-ray machines.
Check out this account by blogger John Tyner of his recent encounter with TSA. He was forced to leave the San Diego airport after refusing to enter the TSA’s backscatter x-ray machine (see below for a sample image from a similar machine), and refusing to have his genitals touched during a pat down.
I want to be as secure as the next person on an airplane, but why are we asked to submit to sexual assault or to having our privates viewed by TSA agents in the name of security? How can I feel secure if I’ve just been violated?
Johnny Edge chose to fight back. Here is an excerpt:
We both stood there for no more than probably two minutes before a female TSA agent (apparently, the supervisor) arrived. She described to me that because I had opted out of the backscatter screening, I would now be patted down, and that involved running hands up the inside of my legs until they felt my groin. I stated that I would not allow myself to be subject to a molestation as a condition of getting on my flight. The supervisor informed me that it was a standard administrative security check and that they were authorized to do it. I repeated that I felt what they were doing was a sexual assault, and that if they were anyone but the government, the act would be illegal.
Click HERE to read the entire post.
Have you ever been groped by TSA? Have you experienced the backscatter x-ray machine? Would you be willing to miss your flight in the name of fighting for your rights?
Since the Pentagon won’t fess up to misfiring a missile, we’re left to wonder…What is that??
It doesn’t look like a jet in the video, as this article suggests.
Could it be aliens? Or worse, some mad scientist testing a rocket?
This also brings all the talk of chemtrails to mind.
So what is your theory? What is that thing?
The following post was originally published on March 12, 2009. I’m republishing in light of a joint investigation by the nation’s attorneys general into the “potentially faulty handling of foreclosure documents”, and record foreclosures in Michigan.
NOW PLAYING:
Workin’ For the Man
(Badmitten’s Workin’ Overtime Mix)
We can’t even pretend that the current global crisis isn’t real – we’ve been suffering a harsh reality in Michigan for a long time – but, much of the insanity that is going on could be lessened if we could manage a lot less greed and a little more common sense. Over lunch yesterday, my friend, Carmen (not her real name) relayed a story that offers a striking example. Continue reading
The Democrats got their wish!
Tea Party victories in key elections have all but guaranteed that the right will be split in November. The selection of extremist right-wingers in the GOP primaries should force independents and moderate Republicans over to the Democratic side in the general elections.
Of course, we have all the faith in the world that the Punk Democrats will find some way to screw up a sure thing. Jon Stewart and the correspondents at The Daily Show were reading my mind.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Tea Party Primaries – Beyond the Palin | ||||
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Being a small town boy who grew up in the country, one thing I don’t think I’ll ever get used to about the inner city retail experience is bulletproof glass.
I first experienced this phenomenon as a pre-teen visiting my cousins in Chicago. I’m aware that it’s a normal part of life in the city, but the thick, cold windows create a discomforting atmosphere in any retail environment, especially in restaurants.
While the offerings at Motor City Soul Food, 12700 West 7 Mile Rd in Detroit, were pretty decent, the glass box that surrounds the cafeteria table and workers detract from the overall customer experience. At least for a country boy like me.
I went to Motor City on the recommendation of a fellow traveler who shared my quest for good chicken and collard greens. We had both been examining the menu at a newer restaurant a few blocks down 7 Mile, but decided to exit that establishment and go for something more familiar.
I was pleased to see my friend, Oya Amakisi of Detroit Women of Color International Film Festival, in the line when I arrived. Oya shares many of my dietary idiosyncrasies, so I felt even better about my decision.
“I’ve been eating here since I worked at Aisha Shule,” Oya informed me. She had already ordered and was waiting for her whiting to cook, so she stood in line with me for a moment to catch up. I explained my soul food quest and that I was tired of mediocre food and bad service.
“Well, the food here is good,” she said, “but the service is another story.” Continue reading
After several years, I’m finally fed up with my favorite Detroit soul food restaurant.
My wife, Akanke, and I live in the often soulless Detroit suburb of Westland. The relatively quiet bedroom community is devoid of any real culture of its own beyond the Westland Mall and the city’s well maintained parks. (There is a lot to be said for tree-lined streets though.)
The best aspect of Westland, however, is that it lies halfway between Michigan’s two cultural meccas – Ann Arbor and Detroit. We always end up driving a half hour in either direction to get our culture on. Concerts, real shopping (in non-mall boutiques) and good (non-chain) restaurants.
Because of our southern upbringing, good southern cooking, aka soul food, is an important part of our lives. No, it isn’t the healthiest food in the world, but it is comfort food. You can’t eat stir fry and tofu every day. When it comes down to it, every once in a while, you’ve just got to have some cornbread, fish and collard greens. Continue reading
