A-Rod Admits Steroid Use

"I was young, I was stupid, I was naive, and I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth . . . being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance and for that I am very sorry and deeply regretful."
- New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez admitting to using steroids during an interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons

The Yankees superstar admitted during an interview that he used performance-enhancing substances from 2001-03 while playing for the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez hit 159 home runs during those three seasons with the Rangers -- including 57 in 2002 -- and he was named the American League Most Valuable Player in 2003. He was traded to the Yankees following that season. In 2003, even though steroids were illegal, there were no penalties in Major League Baseball for a positive result.

Those were the first three seasons of Rodriguez's then-record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez won his first AL MVP award in '03, his last year with the Rangers, before being traded to the Yankees prior to the start of the 2004 season.

On Saturday, the news broke that Rodriguez had tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan, an injected or orally administered drug.

~ ~ ~

Steroids have been banned in baseball since 1991, but there was no testing for it until 2003, when survey testing was done to determine if the game needed to adopt a permanent testing policy. Rodriguez's name was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. There were no penalties for players who tested positive and the names of those players were supposed to remain anonymous, but federal agents, using search warrants, seized those test results from one of the two labs MLB had used in connection with the '03 testing as part of the government's BALCO investigation.

plez sez: my, my, my. are there more asterisks in order? is everyone from the "steroids era" going to be banned from cooperstown (i.e. bonds, mcguire, clemens, rodriguez, etc.)?

i'm still trying to wrap my head around the HARD-ON the sports media has had for Barry Bonds, when it was obvious that this was such a widespread problem and so many "superstars" were juiced up during this time. major league baseball was wrong for not policing its own policies, i can't fault bonds for trying to compete on a level playing field.

~ ~ Citations ~ ~

Read the Boston Globe article about A-Rod's steroid use.

Read the ESPN.com article about Gammons interview with A-Rod.

Read the SI.com article about Rodriguez being on the juice while with Rangers.

Read the AJC.com article about thoughts on A-Rod after his admission of steroid use.

Read the December 2007 plezWorld article about steroids in Major League Baseball.

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"Barack the Magic Negro" Still Troubles the RNC

Quotes of the Day - December 28, 2008

"The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate, as it clearly does not move us in the right direction."
- Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan, who is running for reelection.

"Unfortunately, there is hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race. This is in large measure due to President-elect Obama being the first African American elected president. I don't think any of the concerns that have been expressed in the media about any of the other candidates for RNC chairman should disqualify them. When looked at in the proper context, these concerns are minimal. All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people."
- Former Ohio secretary of state Ken Blackwell, who, if elected, would become the first black RNC chairman.

Both men were responding to a mailing of a music CD sent out to RNC members by Chip Saltsman, who is also running for the RNC chairman post. The CD contains a Barack Obama parody made popular by Rush Limbaugh, "Barack the Magic Negro." The song, set to the tune of the 1960s pop hit "Puff the Magic Dragon," was first played on Rush Limbaugh's radio show in 2007. Its title was drawn from a Los Angeles Times column that suggested Obama appealed to those who feel guilty about the nation's history of mistreatment of African-Americans.

Saltsman, a former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, was a top advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and managed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign.

~ ~ ~

Peter Yarrow, who co-wrote "Puff the Magic Dragon," called Saltsman's decision to distribute the parody tune "offensive," and "shocking and saddening in the extreme."

In a statement sent to CNN, Yarrow wrote, "It is almost unimaginable to me [that Saltsman] would seriously be considered for the top post of the Republican National Committee. Puff, himself, if asked, would certainly agree."

~ ~ ~

"Barack Obama The Magic Negro"

plez sez: i'm not sure who came up with the parody, but it is low class, kind of juvenile, and not very funny... i guess rush's listeners will laugh at just about anything that lampoons the opposition. limbaugh's listeners are mindless trolls!

you just have to ask yourself: "what was this yahoo, chip saltsman, thinking?" and what the HECK was he trying to prove by including this miserable parody on something that was sent out with his name on it?

didn't the republicans just take a major ass whuppin' in november? aren't they thisclose to losing the senate to a super majority of democrats? didn't "BARACK the magic negro" damn near lap john mccain in the election with popular and electoral votes? and wouldn't the republicans like to have just a few of those former red states (like virginia, north carolina, and indiana) back? in the near future!?

does plezWorld find the song offensive? NO! i have a pretty thick skin and something this stupid doesn't even move my "knee jerk reaction" needle.

but plezWorld recognizes this as the most ass-backwards act of an imbecile in quite a long time. black people voted about 95 to 96 percent for barack obama, one of the main contenders for the rnc chair is a black guy (that shufflin' grinnin' ken blackwell)... and the chipster is sending out music cd's with music that is offensive to black people!

hmmm... so much for the republican's BIG TENT!

it's been seven weeks since the election and the leadership of the republican party still hasn't figured out why they lost in a landslide!

~ ~ ~

and i have no comment about the utterance of ken blackwell ("...all of my competitors are fine people."), except i hope he wins! i really do! *smile*

~ ~ Citations ~ ~

Read the Washington Post article about RNC reaction to the Obama parody.

Read the New York Times article about "that song."

Read the CNN.com article about RNC members' reactions.

Read the CNN.com article about Saltsman defending his decision to send the song.

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Quote of the Day - December 14, 2008

"While I would be honored to serve the people of this state, it is clear to me that I am no capacity to serve them if there is a cloud over my head that seems to suggest that I am involved in some unscrupulous scheme to be a United States senator or anything else... I want my name back."
- U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) speaking with Don Lemon of CNN on Friday, December 12, 2008 after being identified as "Senate Candidate 5" in the federal criminal complaint against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Jackson, the son of famed civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and a six-term Democratic congressman from Chicago, had publicly sought to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.

Jackson had talked to Blagojevich, the person with the sole power to make the appointment, on Monday, just one day before federal agents arrested the Illinois governor. Jackson said he only presented his credentials and polling information that suggests he could win re-election in 2010.

~ ~ ~

BLOG UPDATE (12/16/2008): CNN.com reports that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was cited in a criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich, went to the U.S. Attorney's office about alleged wrongdoers, including the Illinois governor, a Jackson spokesman said Tuesday.

In a statement, spokesman Kenneth Edmonds described Jackson's interaction with federal authorities this way:

"As a responsible citizen and elected official, Congressman Jackson has in the past provided information to federal authorities regarding his personal knowledge of perceived corruption and governmental misconduct.

"This was completely unrelated to the current investigation regarding the U.S. Senate appointment. [But] Jackson has given information regarding the embattled Democratic governor of Illinois, though not in the case currently under investigation."

~ ~ ~

plez sez: call me cynical, but to paraphrase Shakespeare, "the [gentleman] doth protest too much, methinks."

this is not a good time to be associated with the current governor of illinois. the taint about him rubs off on anyone with any close association.

the vulgar language. the brazen disposition about him. the arrogance and high mindedness of rod blagojevich. congressman jackson cannot be faulted for wanting to vault into the upper chamber of congress on the heels of BARACK OBAMA's awesome win of the white house. but he should've also been aware of the volatility and risk that he was taking in even going to speak with blago.

jackson would do well to find the "emissary" who spoke on his behalf and have this "emissary" publicly disclose his or her involvement in putting jackson's name out there for blago to think he would "pay to play". just as jesse, jr. made an attempt to clear his name, that name won't be stain-free until all the facts about the use of his name in the context of the sale of Obama's senate seat are aired in public.

i'm afraid saying "i don't know who did it" won't cut it this time around!

~ ~ Citations ~ ~

Read the CNN.com article about Illinois Attorney General asks state's high court to remove Blagojevich.

Read the CNN.com article about Obama asks Blagojevich to step down.

Read the CNN.com article about Jesse Jackson, Jr. trying to clear his name of the Blago scandal.

Read the CNN.com article about Jesse Jackson, Jr. providing feds with info on Blagojevich.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Quote of the Day - 2008 British Open Style

"I just hope they've taught the engraver how to put an asterisk on the [Claret Jug]. Then everyone will know what the tournament was all about."
- Geoff Ogilvy, one of the favorites in the PGA British Open, talking about the absence of Tiger Woods due to his recovery from knee surgery for a torn ACL.

The 2008 British Open kicks off today at Royal Birkdale and most of the buzz is about who isn't there. Tiger Woods is sidelined for the remainder of the 2008 PGA Tour due to his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ACL and healing stress fractures in his left leg. He's won two of the past three British Opens and has four top-10 finishes in the past five years. He won the US Open a few weeks ago on a gimpy left leg.

There will be one remaining major after this weekend, the PGA Championship. Woods won it in 2006 and 2007 and finished tied for fourth in 2005.

So, in review, Tiger Woods came in second at this year's Masters, won this year's US Open, he has won three of the past four, and four of the past six British Opens and PGA Championships. The guy defines winning in sports, because he goes out for four rounds beginning with a field of over 125 golfers. So his absence opens winning the Claret Jug (the trophy for the British Open) to just about anyone on the Tour who owns a golf bag!

Phil Mickelson, recognized as the second best player behind Woods, refused to mention his name as he got his game face on for a run at his first British Open championship. When asked about Wood's absence, Mickelson is quoted as saying, "I am working hard to get my game ready for this week, and I've practiced hard. I've developed a good game plan for this event, and I am excited to compete against whoever is in the field." When asked if he could say anything in particular about Woods, Mickelson retorted, "Oh, I'm sure I could!" [Laughter]

But Mickelson could never bring himself mentioned Tiger's name!

Ernie Els, another top contender for the championship, was very frank, "I'm not overly disappointed that he's not here as a player. [There are 30 to 40] players... [that now] have a chance. I think he's so far ahead in the race, we've kind of sagged back a little bit."

And Jim Furyk had a more philosophical approach to a Tiger-less major championship, "It's just kind of a chicken attitude to walk up and say, 'Well, he's not here; now I've got a better opportunity.' In reality, that's probably true. But to look at it that way, I'd have a tough time waking up in the morning looking at myself in the mirror if that's the way I was thinking."

Read the entire ESPN.com article about how Tiger Woods is still stalking the field at the British Open here.

Read a similar article in the New York Times here.


plez sez: geoff ogilvy hit the nail on the head, the british open is up for grabs for one reason and one reason, only: Tiger Woods ain't there!

phil mickelson is still going to piss his pants if he sees a tall, slim Black guy in the crowd while trying to tee off or sink a crucial putt. ernie els is going to spend all weekend trying to steal that second place spot from mickelson... and jim furyk is probably having a hard time looking in the mirror this morning, because he knows that this year will be his best opportunity to win the British (Tiger will be back next year).

the british open and the pga championship will both be missing the greatest golfer to pull a driver out of the bag. and they'll be missing plezWorld as well, since i doubt whatever drama mickelson can generate will be enough to make me spend anytime watching the proceedings, i'll just catch up on the Internet each night.

like Barry Bond's 756th home run ball, the 2008 British Open Claret Jug needs one of these:

Quote of the Day - May 29, 2008

“He too had been deceived, and therefore became unwittingly involved in deceiving me. But the top White House officials who knew the truth — including Rove, Libby, and possibly Vice President Cheney — allowed me, even encouraged me, to repeat a lie."
- Scott McClellan, former Bush press secretary recounting the deception surrounding the leaking of the identity of a C.I.A. operative, Valerie Wilson

Read the entire New York Times article about McClellan's outrageous claims about the Bush Administration's ineptitude here.


plez sez: little scotty mcclellan spent hung around the bush administration for five years (three of them as the press secretary), listening to lies and coverups and half-truths and the betrayal of the trust of the american people... and now he wants to peddle a book about it! i'm not sure who is worse, mcclellan or the scum (like cheney, libby, rove, rice, and bush) that he writes about.

i guess that one can expect that the bush-wackers (backers) would bring full throttle defense of the indefensible bush administration: rove, bartlett, et. al. but i wonder why this guy hung around as long as he did, seemingly cow-towing and agreeing with all of the *ISH* that was going on, until his arse was FIRED!

plezWorld is no fan of bush and the bushettes, but this drivel (which incidentally is a day late and a dollar short) smacks of sour grapes. nothing new is revealed, we've known the lies about the war in iraq for four or five years now! scooter libby took the fall for the valerie wilson mess. george bush still looks like an idiot for flying over the katrina disaster. so what's new?

Quote of the Day - May 21, 2008

“Why shouldn't we have the same courage and confidence to talk to our enemies? That's what strong countries do. That's what strong presidents do."
- Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) in response to Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) assertion that Obama's judgement is "reckless" and he lacks the experience to be president for wanting to meet with our enemies.

Read the entire CNN article about their flap here.


plez sez: for the past fifty years, the US has looked with disdain at the small tropical island that sits a mere 90 miles off the coast of florida, cuba. fidel castro has grown old and feeble, while the us has gone through nine presidents, the vietnam war, the cold war with the soviet union, the thaw of relations with china, the reconstruction of europe, landing on the moon, and global warming. yet they continue to sit there off the coast of florida, as benign as the day that the island bubbled up in the caribbean.

all those presidents, all those nuclear weapons, all that high priced intelligence, all those billion dollar warships and stealth fighters, all of our money, and the collapse of the soviet union... and they still sit there without a word from the us! fidel is still drawing breath, long after the assassinations of the Kennedy's and Martin Luther King, Jr. he's still there after the death of anwar sadat in egypt, the overthrow of the shah of iran, the fall of the berlin wall, the war in bosnia, the opening of vietnam, the capture of manuel noriega in panama, the loss of the panama canal, the crack epidemic, the death of benazir butto in pakistan, and the hanging of saddam hussein in iraq. the only world leader who has been in power since fidel castro's unlikely ascension in cuba is the queen of england!

mccain says that Obama is naive for suggesting that we talk with fidel's little brother (raul), since he has taken the reins of the country. plezWorld is thinking, "what harm can it do?" cuba is an island, literally and figuratively. the cuban missle crisis was handled with diplomacy over 45 years ago! what can be gained by NOT speaking with them now? what benefit is derived for the large cuban community in south florida that cannot communicate with their relatives?

mccain (as an extension of george w. bush) represents an old, dysfunctional, and failed foreign policy. mccain would do well to highlight areas where he differs from bush, not reinforce what most americans already assume: a mccain presidency will be a continuation of the bush foreign policy debacle. a foreign policy that brought al qaeda and the suicide bombers to the us on september 11, 2001, the foreign policy that cannot find osama bin laden, and the foreign policy that launched an illegal war against the sovereign state of iraq (i still don't understand why he has not been impeached)!

it's time to have a president with the stones to chart a new path, try new strategies, and change our global image. it is time to have a president with a strength of conviction to do what is right, rather than what has always been done. change is difficult and i expect mistakes will be made. but after eight years of blunders by some of the most experienced washington insiders (cheney, powell, rice, rumsfeld, et. al.), i plan to cast my lot with the new guy: Barack Obama.

Quote of the Day - April 14, 2008

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
- Barack Obama addressing a question during a private fundraiser in Marin County, California over the weekend of April 6, 2008


plez sez: my biggest fear of the Obama Campaign was not that he would be perceived as the Black candidate (that is pretty hard to overlook), but that he would be perceived as an uppity Black candidate (a Black elitist who is out of touch with common folk and who has the gall to look down on poor whites). well, it happened and the media and the blogosphere has gone "ape shit" over... the truth!

when times are tough, people cling to things that comfort them or make them feel better about themselves. in some cases it is their religion (or faith) that pulls them through. for others, they find someone else upon whom to vent their frustrations (illegal immigrants are the low hanging fruit in this argument). the gun-toting faction claim you will have to pry their guns from their cold dead fingers.

just as there are some racial barriers that the white candidates dare not tread (you'll notice that neither mccain nor billary wanted to touch the conversation on race with a ten foot pole), there are some deeply held areas that Obama has learned over this weekend that he dare not tread. Obama and his wife are graduates (undergrad and law school) of our most elite ivy league universities (columbia, princeton, harvard law school), Obama is one of only one hundred US Senators - the most elite legislative body on the planet! he's a millionaire. and he's in the most expensive area of the country (northern California) dissing the unwashed masses who happen to be the hardworking folk in small town Pennsylvania and Indiana (states that hold primaries in a couple of days)... BAD MOVE!

of course, no one is going to play up the fact that his daddy left his family when he was 2 years old, he was raised by a single mother who had to go on food stamps at one time, he was given over to be raised by his white grandparents and wasn't given much in the way of formal religious training until he was well into his adulthood. his early work experience was "in the trenches" with workers who were hit hard by the loss of labor jobs to overseas workers.

to plezWorld, Barack Obama is quite a success story and illustrates what some hard work and elbow grease will do for you... to his critics, he may come off as a pompous ivy leaguer who has nothing in common with blue collar workers.

as comedian chris rock has said during his stand-up routine when referring to uppity Negroes, "there's nothing that a white man with a penny hates more... than a nigger with a nickel!"

the media and hillary and mccain have been calling Obama an elitist all weekend... to plezWorld, that is just a code word for an uppity Negro... and we all know what that means! and even those latte drinking elitists that the Clintonistas (as well as those right wing conservatives) have been crowing about during the primaries will have a hard time casting their vote for an uppity Negro!

this may not jeopardize him winning the nomination, but this gaffe has definitely given billary the opening they've so desparately been looking for. after running such a brilliant campaign, the Obama Camp has had some serious missteps over the past three weeks... these upcoming primaries can't get here fast enough!

Quote of the Day - February 28, 2008

“Over the past year, I have been working to raise issues that are important to New Yorkers and all Americans — and to speak plainly about common sense solutions. Some of these solutions have traditionally been seen as Republican, while others have been seen as Democratic. As a businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers and, as mayor, I have seen just how true that is.”
- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his op-ed piece on why he's not going to run for president

Read the entire New York Times op-ed piece here.

Read the entire New York Times article about the op-ed piece here.


plez sez: in his op-ed piece, he touches on how 65 percent of americans live in cities, but neither the democrats nor the republicans are even offering solutions for our cities in their platforms. having lived in metro areas (New York City & Atlanta) almost all of my life, i can attest to the move over the past couple of decades to move emphasis to suburban and rural areas (which incidentally have lower minority populations).

i'd be interested to see in bloomberg makes a move to create a viable third party in the US. i could realistically see bloomberg making a serious run for the white house in 4 years since Obama is not a typical democrat and mccain isn't a true died-in-wool conservative. stay tuned.

Quote of the Day - January 15, 2008

“I don’t want to rehash that. I think that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically and consistently been on the right side of civil rights issues. I think they care about the African-American community and that they care about all Americans and they want to see equal rights and justice in this country.”
- Senator Barack Obama responding to allegations about the Clinton campaign's racial insensitivity in recent days

The New York Times reports that Obama is seemingly taking the high road and trying to rise above the "silliness" that has been bubbling forth from the Clinton campaign since the New Hampshire primary. He called a number of press conferences to get the Democratic front-runners back on track to talking about issues that affect all Americans (ex. the economy and how to fix it as we descend into recession) and abstain from the racially-charged rhetoric that has become de rigor over the past week.

Read the entire New York Times article & comments here.

Read the Booman Tribune blog & comments about Obama's tact here.


plez sez: i applaud Obama's maturity and statesmanlike approach to the frontal, guns-a-blazing attack by the clintonistas! being a Black candidate in a traditionally white male contest, he cannot strike back (for fear of driving away white voters), he must acquiesce and live to fight another day. he must go forward, head held high, as though the nasty tone from The Clintons can wash off like sand from the beach. he has to check his seething rage and compliment his attackers, so as not to be seen as another angry Black man. hillary gets to cry, shed a few crocodile tears, but Obama must man up and turn the other cheek, even when the efforts of our most cherished Martin Luther King, Jr. are denigrated and sullied by the power-hungry Clinton Machine!

you see, Barack Obama has to take the high road... plezWorld doesn't!

the clinton hold on the Black community is slowly slipping through hill & bill's fingers, like that sand from beach. i heard bill clinton called the Tom Joyner Morning Show trying to salvage his dwindling popularity and trying to make Black people love him again, but Black folk are going back and looking at the record: what in the HELL did bill really do for you people?!? and what can you expect from hillary? were the clintons this patronizing all along? were they taking all the love (and all those votes) from Black people for granted back in 1992 and 1996? do they think it's cool to turn a ghetto-pimp like bob johnson against his own people for their political gain? what other "tricks" will they play in an effort to get back into the white house? has bill referred to barack obama with the "n-word" in private? hey! i'm just asking the questions!

two or three weeks ago, hillary clinton could've counted on the plezWife vote in the event she got the nomination... guess what? that bet's off! this is one n-word (and his family) who won't be wasting any more votes on hillary, bill, or heaven forbid, chelsea clinton. i cannot and will not forget their actions of the past few weeks... and i'll welcome a (gasp!) republican in the white house before watching hillary clinton's scrawny ass sashaying into the oval office next january!

Quote of the Day - January 9, 2008

“Let's give America the comeback that New Hampshire has given me."
- Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton during her victory speech after the New Hampshire Primary on January 8, 2008.

With all of the major news agencies reporting a double-digit lead in the polls for Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Clinton pulled a major upset by squeaking out a 6,000 vote (with 70% of the precincts reporting) win in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, January 8, 2008. This comes a mere 5 days after Obama shocked THE WORLD with a substantial win in the Iowa caucuses. All of the news organizations are now scrambling to explain how they could've gotten the polling numbers so wrong, but they tend to forget that close to 45% of the voters in New Hampshire are independents with no party or candidate affiliations... and they go out to vote!

This win is a big boost to the Clinton campaign which was reeling after the Iowa loss: there have been strategy changes, rumors of staff reorgs, and Bill Clinton's role was altered in the Granite State.

This "loss" is a minor setback to the Obama campaign since he has been trailing for a majority of the campaign season, but the big Iowa win may be viewed by some as an aberration. Clinton nosed ahead when it really counted, but both candidates will probably receive the same number of delegates since her win was so slim (only 3%).

plez sez: i'm stunned! i've been riveted to C-SPAN coverage since last thursday's iowa caucus and all day they have been reporting about Obama's 10 point lead in the polls.

i'm shocked by the outcome, but not surprised because New Hampshire (like Iowa) is a different kind of political bird: the biggest block of voters are Independent and they can vote for any candidate (unlike other states that have registered democrats and republicans). the way the electorate is situated in the state, there was no way that they could accurately poll the likely voters.

call it sour grapes, but my distaste for hillary (and all things clinton) has only been magnified by the last couple of days in new hampshire:

the manufactured sympathy she received when edwards and obama "teamed up" on hillary during saturday night's democratic debate, even though she is the one who "stole" the Change Strategy that Obama has been trumpeting since Day 1.

bill clinton's name calling attack on Obama in response to a question from the audience.

hillary clinton's bullsh*t emotional breakdown & crocodile tears on the eve of the primary, which just goes to show that these people (the clintons) will say or do ANYTHING to get elected.

her continued touting of her 35 years of experience when her ass has only been in the Senate for one and a half terms... Obama has double that time in elected office when you factor in his time in the Illinois State House and his grassroots community work.

with this loss, it is going to be tough going for Obama in the upcoming nevada primary, but i'm certain that he'll rebound to take south carolina. with the volatile nature of this campaign, it'd be folly to predict what will happen on Super Tuesday, but i can only hope that the voters will come to their senses in the coming weeks and see hillary clinton for what she is: a calculating politician with little or no conviction.

plezWorld will NOT be casting a vote for hillary clinton in either the georgia primary (on Super Tuesday) nor during the general election in november (if heaven forbid she's the democratic candidate).

Quote of the Day - November 28, 2007

“Forty-five million of [America's] young have been destroyed in the womb since Roe v. Wade, as Asian, African, and Latin American children come to inherit the estate the lost generation of American children never got to see."
- MSNBC political analyst and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan speaking to Sean Hannity on the November 26 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes while discussing his new book.

Media Matters reports that Pat Buchanan was in rare form while he hawked his new book, Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology, And Greed Are Tearing America Apart (Thomas Dunne Books, November 2007), in which he writes that America is "on a path to national suicide."

Buchanan also predicts the days when rioting and looting returns to America's streets as the numbers of minorities (mainly Hispanics and poor Blacks) swell, a la the unrest of thousands of Blacks in the late 1960's:

"According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2005 to 2006, our minority population rose 2.4 million to exceed 100 million. Hispanics, 1 percent of the U.S. population in 1950, are now 14.4 percent. Since 2000, their numbers have soured 25 percent to 45 million. The U.S. Asian population grew by 24 percent since 2000, as the number of white kids of school age fell 4 percent. Half the children five and younger today are minority children."

Buchanan also writes that "the greatest cohort of immigrants here today, legal and illegal, is from Mexico" and states that, "[b]y 2050, more than 100 million Hispanics will be in the United States, concentrated in a Southwest that borders on Mexico."

"Almost as many African-American males are in jail or prison as are in colleges or universities. Half of all African-American and Hispanic students drop out of high school. The other half graduates with the math and reading skills of seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders. Yet by 2050 the number of African-Americans and Hispanics will have almost doubled from today's 85 million, to 160 million. The future seems more ominous than it did in the hopeful days of civil rights. For these burgeoning scores of millions will not long accept second-class accommodations in the affluent society, where they are the emerging majority. The long hot summers of yesterday may be returning."

Read the entire Media Matters article here.


plez sez: i've never liked pat buchanan; his rhetoric drips of xenophobia and racism. waxing poetic for that kinder, gentler time in the 50's and 60's when "those darkies" knew their place. he speaks lovingly of the old melting pot (of europeans), yet decries the new melting pot which threatens to tear us apart and send the country into ruin.

"But take a look at the unity we had, say, in the 1950s and early 1960s. What have we gone through? You had a culture war that's divided us completely on matters of morality. You've got a wholesale invasion, the greatest invasion in human history, coming across your southern border, changing the composition and character of your country. You've got the melting pot that once welded us all together, which has broken down. All of these things are happening, Sean, and, frankly, I don't think we got the kind of solid, firm, strong national leadership you need to deal with this crisis."

he continues to throw around future stats as if they are fact. of course, he can't resist the urge to throw some abortion and "right to life" foolishness to cater to his right-wingers while mixing the overreaction to what's happening in Jena, Louisiana and the use of the n-word by Imus to prove his point.

"...you're going to have 100 million Hispanics in the country, most of them new immigrants from Mexico, which believes that belongs to them. What's going to happen to us, Sean, in my judgment, is what is happening right now: We are Balkanizing. We are dividing and separating from one another politically, morally -- on issues like abortion or Terri Schiavo -- racially and ethnically, when you get Jena and then you get Don Imus, and all of these things ripping us apart. All the things that used to pull us together and hold us together no longer do."

what pat buchanan doesn't understand is that his brand of politics, his demonization of minorities and those who don't think like him are what is tearing this country apart. his lips snarled to spit this hate-filled invectives has roots in the jim crow south from which he obviously draws his inspiration.

how can a country of immigrants complain about immigrants?!? i've never ever understand this argument of exclusion, when everyone (except Native Americans) was an immigrant (even the ones who were brought here involuntarily as slaves) at some point in this country's history. everytime pat buchanan speaks, it scares me... because i know that there are millions more like him in this country. and a good portion of those millions have the power to adversely affect the lives and livelihood of people like me. SCARY!

Quote of the Day - November 13, 2007

“The child that you send over is nothing like the child that comes back to you."
- The mother of a soldier who was wounded in Iraq.

One day removed from Veterans Day, the New York Times runs a piece on the devastation that the War in Iraq lays on a family in Staten Island, NY. This mother speaks of mental and emotional damage that this war has brought to her family. Her son was badly injured (and received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart) when a roadside explosion ripped his Humvee apart and rattled his brain, damaged nerves and hurled shrapnel into his spine, thigh and abdominal wall. Some of the shrapnel still remains embedded in his body.

Her son doesn't allow her to attend his Veterans Affairs doctor visits with him, but when he gets home, he cannot remember what the doctors told him. And they will not give her any information about his condition. Her son decided to join the Army soon after the 9/11 attacks that killed a firefighter neighbor of his.

Read the entire New York Times article here.


plez sez: i want to say "Thank you" to all of the men and women who are giving their lives for the War in Iraq. 'tis such a noble deed to give one's life for his country.

i do not agree with the war; i have never been a supporter of our country (or any country for that matter) that will attack a sovereign nation without provocation or cause. the evidence is in and the justification for this war was manufactured to ensure a Declaration of War from Congress. 60 Minutes ran a story on "Curve Ball" no less than 3 weeks ago, which detailed how the story of weapons of mass destruction (wmd) was created on a pack of lies by an Iraqi informant who had no such knowledge. after US officials visited the so-called manufacturing plant, nothing was found and there was no evidence that any weapons (big or small) had ever been manufactured in the plant.

then there's the tall tale about al-Qaeda in Iraq... if they were there before the blew the place up, they sure were pretty quiet with Hussein in power. and NO ONE ever wants to talk about why we haven't bombed Afghanistan into the rubble that we did in Iraq, since that's where Al-Qaeda has been holed up since before 9/11!

how the current Congress does not find one impeachable offense by the current Bush Administration is beyond me. the current administration orchestrated a WAR - yeah, the thing that kills and maims thousands of people - without any evidence to support the war. this war was a personal vendetta by bush against Saddam hussein... nothing more... nothing less! thousands have lost their lives and thousands more are being "maintained" due to their massive injuries. i am not voting for any candidate who does not support an end to the War in Iraq.


my heart goes out to all of the families who have been adversely impacted by this illegal war. yesterday, i was sick: so, happy belated veterans day!

Quote of the Day - October 16, 2007

"No flash, no bang."
- Atlanta-based Rapper T.I. upon receipt of machine guns and silencers from his bodyguard while under surveillance by ATF agents.

While Clifford "T.I." Harris should have been preparing for the BET Hip Hop Awards on Saturday evening, he was being booked into jail by ATF agents for purchasing three 9mm machine guns and two 9mm silencers. As a convicted felon (drug trafficking and distribution charges), T.I. is not allowed to own or possess firearms. Special permits are necessary to own semi-automatic weapons, and silencers are illegal.

T.I. has a bond hearing scheduled for Friday, October 19th.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution details the timeline leading to the rapper's arrest on Saturday based on documents released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF):

Oct. 2: Harris' bodyguard asks a licensed gun dealer about buying a machine gun without registering it, as required by law. The dealer reports the incident to ATF agents, who give the dealer the cell phone number of an undercover ATF agent, posing as a machine gun dealer, to pass along to the bodyguard. The bodyguard calls the number within hours.

Oct. 10: Harris arranges for the bodyguard to pick up $12,000 in cash from his bank on Northside Parkway to buy the weapons. Later, the bodyguard meets with the undercover agent at a K-Mart store, 5997 Buford Highway, Doraville. The bodyguard gives the agent $2,200 and a .223-caliber pistol in exchange for three 9mm machine guns and two 9mm silencers. The bodyguard is then arrested. He tells agents he was buying the guns for Harris. He also says he has purchased about 25 firearms over the past 18 months for Harris and others. ATF agents confirm the purchases.

Oct. 11: After agreeing to cooperate with the ATF, the bodyguard makes a monitored phone call to Harris. He tells Harris that he has "everything for you."

Oct. 12: Harris calls his bodyguard and arranges for him to deliver the firearms the next day.

Oct. 13, approx. 12:45 p.m.: Harris calls the bodyguard and asks him to bring the items to a recording studio. At the direction of ATF agents, the bodyguard suggests that they instead meet at a shopping center parking lot at the corner of Piedmont and North avenues in Atlanta.

Oct. 13, 2:22 p.m.: Harris arrives at the parking lot. The bodyguard gets into Harris' vehicle and shows him the machine guns and silencers. When the bodyguard explains the function of one silencer, Harris says, "No flash, no bang." Harris also asks about ammunition, the capacity of the magazine and about "change left over" from the $12,000. Authorities then move in and arrest Harris without incident. A search of his vehicle uncovers three firearms, including one tucked between the driver's seat and the center console.

Oct. 13, 2:40 p.m.: ATF agents begin searching Harris's home in College Park, GA. They find three rifles, two pistols and a revolver in a walk-in closet in his bedroom. Five of the firearms are loaded.

Oct. 15: Harris, held in federal custody over the weekend, makes his first appearance in federal court on two felony charges: possession of unregistered machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

Read the entire story about rapper T.I.'s rise to fame and fall from grace here.


plez sez: i've seen his pictures on the news the last few days... i don't know any of his music [sic]. this story has little or no interest to me, t.i. can spend the rest of his days rotting in a prison somewhere for all i care, but here is another case of a relatively high-profile, successful(?), Black man in the ATL who is stealing the headlines and basically tarnishing the reputation of Atlanta.

this t.i. (or t.i.p.) character is either the dumbest m.f. in college park OR the ATF agents arrested the wrong guy (and have the wrong guy on surveillance tape talking about the purchase of machine guns and silencers in direct violation of the terms of his release on felony drug charges). i'll stick with him being the dumbest guy around!

WTF! what is a high profile rapper who is up for numerous hip hop awards doing in a drug store parking lot completing the transaction for high powered semi-automatic guns and silencers when he should've been at home polishing the BLING that he'd planned to wear later that night to the awards show?

the level of stupidity of these people never ceases to amaze me. if nothing else, he should get 20 years for being the dumbest muthaf**** in metro Atlanta! and after reading more about him, you will see that he is little more than a two-bit thug who probably relishes the thought of more jail time. i'm saddened, again!

Quote of the Day - October 11, 2007

"He killed himself. Hip-hoppers do not kill themselves. They walk away."
- John Gibson on the October 10 edition of Fox News Radio's The John Gibson Show after learning that the high school shooter in Cleveland, Ohio was not Black.

Excerpts of transcripts of the show are provided by Media Matters:

GIBSON: Well, we have an inside look at the production of The John Gibson Show today because there was big news out in Cleveland, Ohio, and I teed it up saying, "What we have here is another example of hip-hop culture bringing murder and mayhem into the rest of our society."

Now, this was a terrible incident out in a school near Cleveland. It's called "SuccessTech." It's one of those alternative schools. Eighty-five percent African-American. Eighty-five percent. First thing you see when you see the pictures today is a whole bunch of black kids. Three teachers -- did it turn out to be three teachers or two?

ANGRY RICH: Three.

GIBSON: And three students shot. Now, all of the teachers and students that were shot were -- survive. The wounds are not serious. Well, I guess there's one of the teachers is in surgery and so forth, but they're all expected to live. The shooter committed suicide. This is one of the students who was shot in the elbow and, you know, was not seriously hurt, although he was shot.

GIBSON: Now why would there be guns in schools?

[audio clip -- 50 Cent's "Fully Loaded Clip"]

GIBSON: Well, that's my working theory, but, you know -- and, of course, because the school is very heavily African-American, I did leap to a conclusion.

ANGY RICH: What was that, John?

GIBSON: Well, that the shooter might have been African-American. Turns out it's a white guy.

[audio clip -- "Is Gibson wrong?"]

GIBSON: Gibson's not wrong. Gibson is not wrong. No, in the -- in years past, in the many of these shooting incidents that I've covered, you've always looked at things like video games, Grand Theft Auto, and desensitizing kids to shooting people and stuff like that, and all I can say is, "Hey, times change. We move on." All of a sudden, you know, the gun violence in the culture is coming at the kids from a different direction.

[audio clip -- 50 Cent's "Touch The Sky"]

GIBSON: Well, you know, you can't deny it. I mean, there's a gazillion of those things out there and the kids are listening on their iPods, and the kids listening on their iPods are not all black kids. Some white kids listen too.

ANGRY RICH: This kid was a Marilyn Manson fan.

GIBSON: He's a goth type.

ANGRY RICH: Yes.

GIBSON: So he wasn't picking up the hip-hop?

ANGRY RICH: I don't think so, John.

[...]

GIBSON: Angry Rich, you know why I knew that this -- through our afternoon of mystery wondering about the kid that was the shooter, I knew this was not a classic hip-hop shooting.

ANGRY RICH: How's that John?

GIBSON: He killed himself. Hip-hoppers do not kill themselves. They walk away. Now, I didn't need to hear the kid was white with blond hair. Once he'd shot himself in the head, no hip-hopper.

ANGRY RICH: So it's not a classic hip-hop --

GIBSON: It's not even close. I mean it's whatever he is, and it's clear to me that this gun culture right now primarily promoted by hip-hop music --

[rap clip]

GIBSON: "I bought a brand new gun today. I'm gonna shoot you in the face." This culture has even reached the school campus. We're not in the Kip Kinkel era of school shootings anymore; it has changed. Yes, I know the shooter was white. I knew it as soon as he shot himself. Hip-hoppers don't do that. They shoot and move on to shoot again. Triple-8, 788-9910. I know there's a few of you who want to call me racist. But when you do, remind -- let me remind you, African-Americans are dying in major cities because people won't face this problem. Gibson on Fox.

[...]

GIBSON: OK, I thought the kid was a black kid, I'll admit it, until I heard he shot himself. Does that make me a racist?

Read the entire story about the shooting here.


plez sez: well, john gibson asks the question, "does thinking the kid was Black until he found out that he shot himself make him a racist?"

i would answer, "NO!" john gibson has probably said or done other racist things that i would not care to dredge up.

because i knew the shooter was white: they never showed his picture on television! if you are wondering how i jumped to that conclusion, the news almost never shows WHITE criminals on television, but you can bet that if the Cleveland Shooter had been Black, you would've seen him (or his family members all over the screen). i watched CNN past midnight, and they still didn't have a picture of the shooter. and CNN almost implied the shooter was Black because the school is majority Black and everyone they interviewed was Black, but there was never any mention of a white shooter. maybe john gibson and plezWorld are BOTH racists, but for different reasons.

and i guess this is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in this country where everything (and i mean EVERYTHING) comes down to a discussion of race. what was the race of that psycho at Virginia Tech? WHEW! thank god, he wasn't Black! what did that white boy say to those Black boys in Jena, LA to warrant such a beat down? with a name like Shaquanda, she has to be Black! michael vick is a thug. hmmmm, they keep talking about this kid who turned the gun on himself after shooting four people at school, i wonder why they don't show his face (or the face of his relatives)... he must be white!

i am not particularly angry with what john gibson said, but i am more than alittle upset with the continued demonization and violent characterization of Black men in the media. i have no doubt that a Black shooter's face (baby picture or yearbook picture) would have made its way onto our television screens yesterday!

Quote of the Day - September 10, 2007

"They were faithful and true to you then; they are no less so today. And yet they ask no special favors as a class; they ask no special protection as a race. They feel that they purchased their inheritance, when upon the battlefields of this country, they watered the tree of liberty with the precious blood that flowed from their loyal veins. They ask no favours, they desire; and must have; an equal chance in the race of life."

- John R. Lynch, former slave and member of the U.S. Congress, speaking in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1875

John R. Lynch was born a slave on September 10, 1847 in Concordia Parish, Louisiana. His father was an immigrant from Ireland and his mother was a slave. He remained in slavery until freed by Union forces in 1863 during the Civil War. Self-educated by secretly eavesdropping on class lessons at a white school, Lynch learned the photography trade, became a Justice of the Peace, and then was elected to the Mississippi legislature when he was only 26 years old. He will subsequently be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1873. His greatest effort was in the long debate in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 that banned discrimination in public accommodations. Although, the law was found to be unconstitutional, parts of the act were incorporated into the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (some 90 years later) and the Fair Housing Act.

plez sez: it remains a mystery to me why so much of the rich history of America is relegated to the far reaches of our collective memories. to many, the Civil Rights Movement began in 1963, with King's "I Have a Dream Speech" and ended in 1968 with his assassination. who would know that the quest for freedom and true equality stretches back to the last shots of the Civil War, and the voices for equality from long ago echo to this day?

the history of Black people in America IS the history of America! John R. Lynch was born 160 years ago today.

"If ya don't know, now ya know...!" - The Notorious B.I.G.

Quote of the Day - August 29, 2007

"Bill Clinton... is a nasty, bad naughty boy."
- Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) in January 1999 on Meet The Press talking about the censure and possible impeachment of Bill Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Click here to view the Hardball with Chris Matthews clip about disgraced Republican Senator Larry Craig's arrest, his denials about being gay, and his political future (or lack thereof). Matthews introduces a Meet The Press clip from January 24, 1999 in which the Glory Hole Roving Republican gives a finger-wagging scolding to then-President Clinton.

plez sez: Does it get any sleazier than this?

The Republican Senator who reportedly "came on" to prospective pledges of his fraternity while he was in college, "diddled" at least one Congressional Page in the early 80's, performed fellatio on a man in a men's restroom in Union Station in Washington, DC in 2004, and made lewd sexual advances to a male undercover cop in a men's restroom in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport in June 2007 (for which he pleaded guilty and paid a $575 fine) actually had the audacity to impugn the integrity of Bill Clinton back in 1999!

As for his profuse denials about his sexuality today and in 1982, I will paraphrase from Shakespeare's "Hamlet": "The [gentleman] doth protest too much, methinks."

Quote of the Day - "I Have a Dream"

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. caused a seismic shift in race relations in the United States with his speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC. This speech, in large part, was the impetus behind the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The Audio:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

plez sez: i get chills everytime i hear this speech. this is american history as articulated by, in my opinion, the greatest american. this speech should be learned and recited by every child in america.

we've come a long way since that bright august day in 1963, but we still have a long way to go. and only when there is true equality for ALL (without the need for quotas and set asides and affirmative action), will america truly live up to its creed.

Quote of the Day - August 23, 2007

"As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football. We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country... his crime is, it was a dog."
- R.L. White, President of the Atlanta Chapter of the NAACP, supports Michael Vick's return to the NFL after he serves his sentence after pleading guilty to his role in a dogfighting operation.

Quote taken from AJC article about the NAACP and Michael Vick.

plez sez: WTF?!?

W.E.B. DuBois (one of the founders of the NAACP) must be rolling over in his grave every time this august (and once noble group) comes out of the woodwork and voices an opinion about matters that may (and in most cases) may not have any affect on the Black community. R.L. White may not have been speaking for the entire organization, but as the president of the Atlanta Chapter of the NAACP, his words are taken as those for the entire organization. It seems that on a daily basis, the NAACP goes out of its way to prove how out of touch and irrelevant it has become.

Michael Vick is in his predicament because of something that Michael Vick has done. The media. The fans. The Falcons. The NFL. The poor humiliated citizens of metro Atlanta. The aforementioned folk (save Michael Vick) are the victims in this whole sordid affair: our city's only bone fide star of the NFL cast his lot with the wrong crowd, threw away a football career of unfulfilled promise and boundless riches, will spend at least a year in the Big House with a bunch of criminals, and will miss at least 3 years of his prime in football!

The ABSOLUTE LAST thing that Michael Vick or fans of the NFL will have to concern themselves with at this time is how Vick will be embraced upon his release from prison! And he will NEVER don the #7 jersey for the Atlanta Falcons, the owner of the Falcons was played for a sucker as he signed Vick to the richest contract in NFL history ($130 million), I doubt he'll be a fool to let him rejoin the team when he gets out of federal prison and serves an NFL suspension.

A few days ago, my 5-year old daughter asked me, "Daddy, why did he kill those doggies?" I just shook my head in disbelief and changed the subject. How many parents have had to try to shield their children from this foolishness?

Maybe I should be more upset about the dogfighting charges or the gambling ring or the killing of those dogs, but I couldn't care less about that... I'm serious! I'm a football fan and I've been jonesin' for the college football and NFL season to start since early January! I've been jonesin' to see #7 dazzle us and carry the Dirty Birds back to the playoffs after a 2 year hiatus. I HATE that his dumb ass has ruined yet another Falcons football season with his stupidity and arrogance.

And I hate that there are apologists, like the NAACP, who try to find some justification in Michael Vick for f*ckin' everything up!

Quotes of the Day - June 6, 2007

"A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."
- Plutarch

"She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."
- Proverbs 3:15, Holy Bible, King James Version

plez sez: i am training this week in preparation to facilitate my company's new hire training over the following two weeks.

these quotes encompass the thought process that i use when i'm teaching a class: i'm not there to spoon feed my students with information, but to provide them with a thirst for knowledge.

Quote of the Day - June 1, 2007

"It is clearer that the way to teach somebody to read who doesn't have many books in their home is not to teach them to recognize whole words and holistic methods like that, that works for people who are in Montessori schools and whose parents read The New Yorker... you need phonics.”
- John McWhorter, linguistics scholar and Senior Fellow with the Manhattan Institute, during his appearance this morning on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" when asked about education in the Black community

plez sez: in my spare moments in the morning, i love to watch C-SPAN and listen to the insightful interviews on current events. i really enjoy the phone calls from around the country from the decidedly left-leaning and right-leaning listeners... there are very few calls to the independent line. this morning, i paused longer than usual while listening to John McWhorter speak about race relations in this country and his take on how things are today versus a generation ago.

my ears really stood up when i heard him make the quote above while answering a question about how to improve education, particularly for Black folk. i tend to agree that phonics is the best way to learn to read, i believe that learning to read phonetically is the reason why my daughter is such a good reader at age 5 (she has been reading for close to a year and a half). his mention of people "in Montessori schools and whose parents read 'The New Yorker'" really piqued my attention because as luck would have it, my daughter attends a Montessori school (today was the last day of her third year) and i have had a subscription to "The New Yorker" magazine for more than 10 years!

some would say that it's a coincidence... but now i wonder was McWhorter really speaking to me? or am i just being paranoid?