Are the Antics of Crack Smoking Mayor Rob Ford ‘Real News’ or Exploitation by the Media?

today show -rob-fordDear Today Show and other mainstream media outlets.. why is the Mayor w/ a substance abuse problem your lead story? Is this really news or exploitation?? Why not do an in-depth story on how people can get some help?

Its interesting watching so many pointing a finger at Mayor Rob Ford in Toronto laughing at his crack addiction when so many have addictions of their own.. How many folks are walking around high on meth? High on E? High on pain killers and other prescriptions drugs? How many are walking around drunk every weekend?

You guys at the Today Show need to be doing shows on why so many people are getting high.. What harsh, hopeless realities are folks trying to escape from

Last I checked the good ole US of A is where the largest amount of drugs are consumed globally. The War on Drugs is a multi-Billion dollar a year industry.. The massive drug wars that have ravaged part of Mexico and South America are all connected to American addictions, but we’re laughing and pointing fingers at the Mayor of Toronto?

Before we get to high and mighty about a Mayor’s substance abuse problem in a city where most of us have never been and will probably never visit, you better be more concerned about the Wall Street bankers tanking the economy and trying to privatize everything under the sun who is high on coke.. and addicted to money and power..

Worry about the out of control cop with a quick temper and paranoid persona who is hopped up on steroids and God knows what when patrolling our streets..

Worry about the 13 or 14-year-old doing stick ups and home invasions in our community who is high on meth, E, lean, molly and all sorts of new designer drugs.. How can we get them sane again?

Yes we get it.. watching someone do crazy things while high on crack has its funny moments.. But we can leave that to comedians like Dave Chappell and Chris Rock. When it shows up as lead stories on the daily newscasts it’s a disservice and a distraction from more issues, like whats getting taken out of the new federal budget over the next 3 weeks..do a story on that Today Show..

Talk about the Supreme Ct refusing to hear a court case challenging domestic spying yesterday in spit of the hundreds of thousands who signed petitions and the millions who expressed grave concerns..Talk about Senator Dianne Feinstein awarding her husband billions in contracts to take over postal service buildings which they are trying to privatize.. Lets talk about those conflicts of interests..At the very least we should be examining this Mayor’s policies.. Is he right wing? Left wing?  A profiteer? A privatizer?

Montreal protestsIf we are suddenly gonna cover news in Canada how about giving some press time to the Idle No More Movement and the Native resistance against the Keystone XL Pipeleine. If we’re gonna cover Canada how about alerting folks to the fact more than a million people were in the streets of Montreal last year protesting education cuts.. Give that some air time Today show.

here’s another thing we should be concerned about.. Why hasn’t this Mayor been arrested if he violated the law. The same laws that often see many other locked behind bars.. Peep these remarks from a fellow council members http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=1045881

Should Kanye West Have Apologized to George Bush? He Cancels Today Show Concert!

Lots of folks have been weighing in on Kanye.. I definitely have my thoughts, but I also wanna share the thoughts of my good friend  and fellow Adrienne Marie Brown.. She penned an Open Letter to Kanye …Below is one of the highlights.. You can and should peep the entire article at http://adriennemareebrown.net/blog/?p=1667

you stepped back from the single most awesome scandalous thing you have ever done. when you stood there after katrina and spoke the truth, that “george bush doesn’t care about black people”, and you spoke about racist media coverage of those trying to survive in new orleans, it was a powerful and necessary action. you spoke for many of us – i was so proud of you, using your access to millions to speak a truth that wasn’t to benefit yourself.

and you apologized?

In other news.. Kanye west pulled the rug from under the Today Show by cancelling his scheduled concert on Friday Nov 26th. he announced that for obvious reasons.. He was out.. He really feels Matt Lauer and the Today Show set him up and he’s not having it.. I wanna give Kanye props for taking a stand against main stream outlets, but this cat is likely to change his mind and show up just as everyone is cheering for him.

In any case, I’m glad Kanye is beefing with Matt Lauer and not another rapper, but who knows what’s really going on.. Wouldn’t it be something if this beef was manufactured

Peep the story here Kanye Cancels Today Show Concert

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There’s an old saying that goes; ‘everything is political and to not be political is political’. I couldn’t help thinking this when I saw Kanye West on the Today Show the other morning apologizing and offering an olive branch of sorts to former President George W Bush for the stinging remarks he made in August 2005 during a Hurricane Katrina telethon.

West is quoted as saying to host Matt Lauer “I would tell George Bush in my moment of frustration, I didn’t have the grounds to call him a racist.”

For those who don’t remember, during that telethon Kanye  asserted that ‘George Bush doesn’t care about Black people‘. It was the remark heard all around the world and unlike the Dixie Chicks who suffered a huge backlash 2 years earlier, for  saying they were ‘ashamed of George Bush’, Kanye was greeted with open arms. For those watching the telethon and juxtaposing it with images of stranded mothers and grandmothers on rooftops while plane loads of abandoned dogs and cats were shipped away from the flooded city, Kanye’s remarks were cheered rather than jeered. They resonated. He was a source of pride and a hero to those sitting on rooftops watching loved ones being swept away, who had no voice.

Kanye West apologized to former President George Bush. Many ask was that the right thing to do?

Kanye became even more of a hero, with each passing day as more information about the horrors that went on New Orleans surfaced including; vigilante killings of fleeing Black residents in the Algiers section of the city and rogue police shooting and killing unarmed residents as they attempted to cross the Danzinger Bridge. He was the who spoke truth to power at a time when it was surely needed. His words became the chorus in songs and the centerpieces for audio sound collages like the one we did a few days after  spoke out. (Kanye West vs George Bush the Katrina Mixhttp://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/60030/

For many who watched Kanye’s apology on the Today show, it may have seemed like a gracious gesture and a sign of him maturing especially in the aftermath of the Taylor Swift controversy where he interrupted her acceptance speech during last year’s VMAs.

It may have also seemed like a wise thing to do because President Bush seemed really angry 5 years after the fact. He said Kanye’s remarks were the most disgusting thing he had to endure during his presidency.

Bush when shown the video of West apologizing from a soon to be aired Today Show interview of Kanye, Bush seemed to lighten up and said he appreciated Kanye reaching out. The former president said he wasn’t ‘a hater’.

It’s easy to see while one would see the apology as good thing,unfortunately, George Bush and for that matter Kanye didn’t sit through 5 days of excruciating testimony during the one year anniversary at the Hurricane Katrina and Rita International Tribunal. They didn’t hear the tales and see the tears as people told these horrific stories of mistreatment, violence and neglect that left us wondering if we were actually living in America.

Instead of getting 'disgusted' at Kanye, perhaps George Bush should've been disgusted with himself and apologized to Hurricane Katrina survivors

Had Bush heard some of these stories that were the result of his oversight and slowness to act being mad at Kanye should’ve been the least of his concerns. Instead of lambasting the rapper, he should’ve been on TV offering an olive branch to the people of Katrina.

Hell had he really bore witness to the Katrina horrors he might’ve been moved to offer all proceeds of his book Decision Points to Katrina survivors. And just on GP, Bush should’ve apologized for the insensitive remarks his mamma Barbara Bush made when she met survivors who had fled to Houston. Upon on meeting them she suggested that staying in the Astrodome was a good thing since they were underprivileged.

Had Kanye sat through the tribunal, he would’ve still been mad and upon hearing Bush was disgusted with him for  suggesting he was a racist he might’ve been inclined to stick to his guns and give the former President and war criminal the middle finger with no regrets.

Kanye let George Bush off the hook, but has Bush done the same for those he transgressed on?

Kanye apologizing to Bush, let him off the hook which is too bad because George Bush never let any of the folks he smashed on off the hook. As Governor of Texas he never let those he allowed to be executed off the hook, even when there were mass protests and compelling questions around their innocence

He didn’t let any of the innocent Iraqi’s killed in an unwarranted war off the hook and we had even bigger protests around that. He didn’t let any of those tortured at Abu Ghraib off the hook even when it was pointed out to be a violation of international laws. Bush noted that he always stuck to his decisions.

Bush as a former president clearly understood the importance of symbolism and how his every word and gesture would have meaning. He admitted to that during his Today Show interview. Apparently in his mind letting folks off the hook would be a sign of weakness and him being indecisive versus him being thoughtful. Because George Bush had tunnel vision a whole lot of folks paid a heavy price both here and abroad.

Folks forget that Bush refused to allow photographs of returning dead soldiers. His people and his supporters were real quick to shut down and label anyone who spoke out counter to the narrative they offered after 9-11 and later at the start of the Iraq war as unpatriotic. Bush was the type of cat who would not shake the hands of a foreign head of state like Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro, because he knew such a gesture would symbolize his support.

One would assume that Kanye being in the music industry would also understand symbolism. After all, he’s already been on a rampage about the interview noting that Lauer made him look bad in the way he set up the questions and framed the conversation. Kanye said hes done with media.

With all this in mind, including his outburst, which may be or may not be calculated he had to know, like it or not that when he spoke out against Bush in 05, he was giving voice to a whole lot of folks who really needed it.. This was a good thing. It forced a dialogue and may have helped push things along, primarily because his words were captured all over the world and raised important questions. While it’s true, nobody asked him to speak on our behalf that fateful day, but since he did jump into the arena, many feel he needed to take the weight and NOT signify to an oppressive former president everything was all good when Bush hasmade no move to repair the damage done.

Something to Ponder

Davey D

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNMxHfmXKVU

Kanye West Has Two Presidents Pissed At Him…George Bush Says He’s Disgusted at Him

Kanye West has pissed off two presidents-Who's next?

Ya gotta love Kanye West. The man is constantly finding ways to make noise and stay in the spotlight. If he’s not bum rushing the stage to spark drama with pop singer Taylor Swift, he’s releasing 30 minute cryptic movies (Runaway) that have no real meaning, but has everyone talking like it does. Sometimes we absolutely love him. Other times he makes us cringe, but that’s Kanye.

One person who is absolutely not feeling Kanye is former president George Bush. In his recently released memoirs ‘Decision Points‘ Bush notes that he took issue with Kanye West asserting he didn’t care about Black people during the Hurricane Katrina relief telethon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pVTrnxCZaQ

He said he was deeply disgusted  and that it was the lowest moment of his Presidency. He said its one thing to have someone disagree with his policies, it’s another thing to call him a racist.  Teasers for Bush’s remarks about Kanye have been running in promos for his upcoming appearance on the Today Show where host Matt Lauer will air their conversation.

When I first saw an obviously angered Bush make his remarks the first thing that went through my mind was Kanye West did a damn good job and I need to give him props next time I see him.  I also noted that President Bush looked like he really wanted to have a fair one with the upstart rapper. I thought about it some more and concluded that Bush may have name dropped Kanye to get some publicity for his book. We saw this with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wife calling Anita Hill demanding an apology after 20 years. Certainly Kanye dissing George Bush can’t be his lowest moment. Many in higher places have said and done worse.

George Bush looked like he was ready to knock Kanye out when describing his reaction to the rapper's remarks about him hating Black people

Kanye dissing Bush was his lowest moment over 1-Getting his facts wrong about the Iraq War? 2-Leaving office with a 20% approval rating? 3-Having shoes thrown at him? 4-Having entire books released about his gaffes and inability to pronounce words? Really? C’mon son. Bush can’t be serious.

I know I’ve said worse over the airwaves about the former President especially when he routinely putting Black men to death as Governor of Texas. I’ll never forget his callousness when Shaka Sankofa was put to death  Hell I think President Barack ‘Bi-partisan’ Obama has said worse when he rightfully laid blame at Bush’s feet for the tanked economy.

But in any case,  Kanye is in his crosshairs. he took issue with being called a racist. I guess Bush was looking at the fact that he gave more money and resources to Africa than any other President. Ok I’ll give him that..But his lack of actions during Katrina cancelled that out. Also, our country the good ole United States needs to be given a lot more back to the mother land.

Memo to George Bush: The Truth Hurts

Memo to Kanye West: Get your knuckle game up, that Bush boy looks like a scrapper.

With that being said, Kanye may also have to watch his step around President Obama who after viewing Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift, remarked to news reporter Terry Moran of CNBC in an ‘off the record’ remark that Kanye West was a jackass.  Not sure if President Obama ever apologized the way he did when he called the Cambridge police ‘stupid’ for arresting his friend Skip Gates.  In any case Kanye has done what no rap artist has ever done, got two Presidents pissed off enough to talk about him. I wonder if he’ll do a song about it or if he’ll step up his presidential piss you off game and say something to anger Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter or Bush Sr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=078BGtKNL1o

Kanye did respond to Bush’s remarks..During an interview on Houston’s The Box radio station.. He said the following;

“With him, it was a lack of compassion with him not rushing, him not taking the time to rush down to New Orleans. With me, it was a lack of compassion of cutting someone off in their moment. But nonetheless, I think we’re all quick to pull a race card in America, and now I’m more open, [due to] the poetic justice that I feel to have went through the same thing that he went. And I really more connect with him just on a humanitarian level because that next morning, the next morning when he felt that, I felt that same thing too [with the Taylor Swift incident].”

“I do think I changed a lot. I do think that I’m more compassionate, I’m more sensitive to people’s emotions. I’m just understanding that it’s not about me, it’s not about just what my opinion is all the time — especially when it’s someone else’s show,

You can peep the rest of the story on http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1651461/20101103/west_kanye.jhtml

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