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Glad to see D-Nice put this episode of his excellent series True Hip Hop stories.. You listen to Big Daddy Kane after all these years and realize he was not only truly one of the best, but also someone who never really got his full props both as a writer and emcee..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a3nu7ew6_M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBNe5LsRpDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfjF4yr8GVA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPQvgPwvTNA
Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner
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3 Classic Songs from the early days of LA Hip Hop
This was a classic meeting of the Hip Hop minds so to speak as Afrika Islamwho had recently moved to Los Angeles teamed up with Ice T and showed that Hip Hop was beyond the confines of New York… They formed a group called the Zulu Kings which included Mele-Mel who now adorned the title Grandmaster since he and Flash were no longer cool and Bronx Style Bob. They did a song called ‘The Beach’ which celebrated the lifestyle of LA. I remember first hearing this on my way home from San Francisco on KDAY 1580 out of LA. Back in the days the nation’s only 24/7 rap station had an AM signal which at night would bounced 400 miles up the coast-from LA to the Bay. It was one of the first times I had heard a collab with east and west coast artists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JWj1D0H8rs
Below is another classic cut that help put early LA Hip Hop into a larger spotlight. Its the classic joint from Ice T called 6 in the Morning that I first heard back in ’85-’86 Back in those days LA was ruled by police Chief Darryl Gateswho pretty much let of LAPD do what they want which was crack heads and be the most abusive force in the country. I think Ice captured the moment..He brought to light life on the ghetto streets of LA which up to that time was only slightly glimpsed through TV cop dramas like Starsky and Hutch. Many like to credit this song with setting off the ‘Gangsta rap genre.
The one thing that was a bit bothersome and it only became so as I got older and bit more educated was Ice describing how he and his boys they beat some woman down. It wasn’t something I paid close attention to back in the days.. But its pretty jarring now. Hopefully all of us have grown to not see that as a cool thing even if its in a dope song..
PS please forgive this wack swagbucks ideo.. apparently Warner brothers owns the copyright and won’t let it show on Youtube.. Maybe one day these record companies will learn..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd68e0cI6eA
Where Ice T gave us a pretty indepth description of of LAPD, Toddy Tee dug deeper with a song that actually made national news. It was called Batter Ram and it reffrenced the reinforced army tank that LAPD had purchased to knock over crack houses. Than LA police chief Darryl Gates said it was needed, many thought the tank was not only over the top, but also in violation of people’s civil rights. There were a couple of occassions where the tank was used on the wrong houses.. This is arguably one of the first ‘political/social commentary songs coming out of LA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm1Li2Wbqo4
Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner
Ice T is a pioneering figure in LA Hip Hop who is credited with setting off the gangsta rap genre and creating a bridge between the two coasts.
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In the wake of the recent skirmish between Joe Budden and Raekwon‘s entourage at Rock the Bells and the skewering remarks that Game has directed toward Jay-Z, the topic of beefs in Hip Hop has reared its head once again. For many of today’s rap fans they look at success of 50 Cent and him using beef as way to bring about much needed attention as the blueprint for navigating the maze we call the music industry. They also look at 50 as a pioneering figure who jumped all this off.
Its true that 50 is the poster child for beef. He’s definitely made it a science of sorts and will probably admit to it. But he’s by no means the first on this block. Before there was 50 we have to go back a good 18 years to a guy named Tim Dog who many claim set off the whole east-west coast drama when he released his song ‘Fuck Compton’ .
Tim Dog's infamous Fuck Compton record was the said to be the first lyrical salvo the what became Hip Hop's East-West coast war
I wouldn’t say Tim Dog set off the east-west coast beef persay. First the east-west coast beef was really Bad Boy vs Death Row (Puffy vsSuge and 2pac vs Biggie). They had personal issues that spilled over into underlying simmering coastal tensions that had long existed even before Tim Dogg came along.
What was at the root was the perception of New York being resitent to artists and music from outside the 5 boroughs. More specifically the anger was really at New York based Hip Hop radio shows and publications like the Source where on air personalities and critics routinely dismissed and outright dissed Hip Hop music coming from other parts of the country.
From a New Yorker’s perspective the argument was very simple. The Big Apple was the Mecca and birthplace of Hip Hop and hence set the standard for all to follow or so they thought. If your music didn’t sound a certain way or your flows weren’t in step with the word mastery being executed by top NY based artist at the time, you were considered wack. Such pronouncements might find their way in print. They might be uttered on a popular radio show like Chuck Chillouts, Red Alerts, or Marley Marls. They were far too often reflected in record reviews.
Outside of NY especially in places like Cali, people were disheartned and then angered when folks would see or hear about their hometown heroes being publicly dissed. Here in Oakland, we all heard stories about artists like Too Short who were extremely popular, could easily pack a show and have thousands chanting along to his songs would go to NY and get booed at his own album release party. I was in NY at the New Music Seminar in 89 or 90 when famed A&R rep Dante Ross sat on a panel and talked about how Miami Bass which was popular throughout the south was wack. An enraged Luther Campbell aka Uncle Luke popped up out of his seat and rushed the stage ready to smash on Dante. Later Luke underscored what many outside of NY was feeling when he pointed out that NY rappers are always shown love on the radio and by the people all around the country, but as soon as folks come to NY the birthplace of a music and culture everyone loves it was outright disrespect. Luke was determined not to be disrespected that day… But New York never really changed. If you was from outside the city you weren’t gonna get too much love.. Whether you from Miami, Oakland or Compton..Enter NWA..
NWA helped break the stranglehold New York had on Hip Hop. They snatched the spotlight in the early 90s and made Compton Hip Hop's Mecca
Niggas With Attitude did at the time what no other group outside NY could do capture the imagination and media attention of the country like their NY counterparts. They not only brought the spotlight to the west coast. They also let folks know what many of the indy west coast artists were already discovering which is you didn’t really need to go to NY to make it-There were 49 other states. NWA grew, gangsta rap grew, west coast Hip Hop grew, not just in popularity but also with cats getting money. What was also growing was the awareness that what NWA was speaking on was real-There was gang culture that was becoming bigger then life with each song and folks out west especially in LA were realishing in it…New York no longer had the same lure. The rest of the country especially the west coast had come up.
Compton was Hip Hop’s new Mecca when Tim Dog stepped on the scene and attempted to bring the spotlight back to NY.. His song Fuck Compton raised alot of eyebrows as he stepped to NWA hard with a song that was undeniably good..Tim got props when he addressed the controversy surrounding Dr Dre who at the time had made headlines for beating up female rapper and TV host Dee Barnes at an album release party for Eazy E’s group BWP (Bitches w/ Problems) party in front of dozens of artists. Tim came at Dre hard. What was even crazier was he had a video which they used to rock on the playboy channel and sometimes the Box. I look at the video now and I see a persona that would one day be a 50 Cent. The biggest irony to this whole thing is that Tim Dogg eventually moved to LA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzv7ZDqvWn4
Another track to catch where Tim Dogg cobntinued his lyrical assault and challnge to Compton and NWA was with the video ‘Step to Me’. You can peep the video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzF_NlXYZFI
Now after Tim Dogg dropped his joint there were a number of responses from West Coast groups including DJ Quik ‘Way 2 Funky’, Dr Dre with his infamous ‘Dre Day’ cut and Compton’s Most Wanted’ ‘Who’s Fucking Who’. One of my favorits came from Tweety Bird Locwho is from Kelly Park.. He got at Tim Dogg with this cut ‘South Bronx Can’t Touch Compton’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4FKcG0dPfg
Dr Dre eventually came after Tim Dog in the song Dre Day where he got at Eazy E as well as Luther Campbell.. In this track Snoop goes after Tim Dog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPaNaD2gr-E
People didn’t really trip too hard with Snoop going after Tim Dog in Dre Day. Tim’s image was never really shown as Snoop was able to further establish himself as an emcee by going toe to toe with him on the lyrical tip. Not sure if people remember but around that time Snoop was offering up a million dollars to anyone who could beat him in a freestyle. I need to check for the video we did where he spoke to me directly about that.. He was definitely all about perfecting his lyrical prowess. But people were pretty much feeling Snoop. What raised eyebrows and intensified the east-west coast thing above and beyond the Bad Boy vs Death Row beef was the video to New York, New York by the Dogg Pound where Snoop is kicking down buildings.
People raised the same objections about the video that west coast artists raised a few years ealier which was ‘Why dis us when we show you love’? The beef had also taken new levels because during the video shoot shots were fired at DPG after Biggie went on Hot 97 and spoke about West Coast cats being in town dissing the NY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X_JJeVJLFc
Tim Dogg put out a song responding to Snoop called ‘Bitch with a Perm’ but by then Snoop was riding high and Tim Dog was starting to be seen as yesterday’s news. The East-West Coast beef was in full effect and the Jiggy era was starting to impact Hip Hop.
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Southern Shift: 
This AP article posted below which details corruption along the borders is an interesting one in the sense that it suggests shock and surprise that this is taking place. As much as people like to think highly of those who are charged with protecting and serving the citizens of this country, the sad and sobering truth is that in many parts of the country law enforcement officials are seduced into accepting bribes and doing the wrong thing. Should we NOT be surprised about this especially here in Texas? Wasn’t it just a mere two or three months ago a band of rogue cops was busted for ‘robbing’ people in Tehena, Texas?
Oh lemme not confuse people here with sementics. The cops in Tehena were ‘police officers’ and not border patrol agents and they were ‘illegally confiscating’ goods from people and not taking bribes. Too often in our attempts to see the very people who were are supposed to trust the most in a nice light, we play mind games with ourselves and overlook the obvious. Bribes being accepted by border patrol agents and cops ‘illegally confiscating’ personal property from motorists accused of minor traffic violations all add up to one thing-Corruption. And while we are focusing on border agents in Texas, tales of law enforcement being corrupted is widespread and all over the country. From the infamous Rampart Scandal in Los Angeles California to the massive police corruption scandals that scarred the new Orleans police departments to the beloved officers depicted on TV crime dramas who routinely cross the line ‘to get the job done’, its all big business at the end of the day.
Now the usual argument given when such atrocities are pointed out is that these are the actions of a few and ‘one bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch’. That holds true in most cases but when it comes to officers of the law, one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. It starts when fellow officers remain silent behind the proverbial Blue Wall. It leaves many of us asking, did other officers not know bribes were taking place? There was no locker room gossip? No whispers in the halls? Nothing in the rumor mill? Keep in mind as you read this article that one of the officers busted for accepting bribes, who interestingly enough is unnamed in the article, noted that he took bribes by rationalizing ‘that everyone else does it’.
Whoever this officer is, he is now serving 4 years in prison for accepting bribes. The reality is he should’ve been serving time for not blowing the whistle on his fellow officers. That’s where the corruption begans. How far up the chain command does one have knowledge of wrong doing? What if his fellow officers were allowing Al Queda operatives to sneak into the country carrying weapons of destructions? $50 bucks and a wink and a nod is all it took to compromise our safety?
Something to think about…
-Davey D-
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/6566746.html
McALLEN, Texas — Corruption along the U.S.-Mexican border takes many forms.
It can start as simply as a smuggler’s $50 gift to the child of a reluctant federal agent, quickly escalating to out-and-out bribes. “Everyone does it,” the agent, now in prison, recalls telling himself. Other times, county sheriffs greedily grab thousands from drug dealers. In a few instances, traffickers even place members in the applicant pool for sensitive border protection jobs.
An Associated Press investigation has found U.S. law officers who work the border are being charged with criminal corruption in numbers not seen before, as drug and immigrant smugglers use money and sometimes sex to buy protection, and internal investigators crack down.
Based on Freedom of Information Act requests, interviews with sentenced agents and a review of court records, the AP tallied corruption-related convictions against more than 80 enforcement officials at all levels — federal, state and local — since 2007, shortly after Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the cartels that peddle up to $39 billion worth of drugs in the United States each year.
U.S. officials have long pointed to Mexico’s rampantly corrupt cops and broken judicial system, but Calderon told the AP this isn’t just a Mexican problem.
“To get drugs into the United States the one you need to corrupt is the American authority, the American customs, the American police — not the Mexican. And that’s a subject, by the way, which hasn’t been addressed with sincerity,” the Mexican president said. “I’m waging my battle against corruption among Mexican authorities and we’re risking everything to clean our house, but I think there also needs to be a good cleaning on the other side of the border.”
In fact, U.S. prosecutors have been taking notice. Drug traffickers look “for weaknesses in the armor,” said former prosecutor Yolanda de Leon in Cameron County, Texas.
Former Sheriff Canrado Cantu was all about taking bribes before convicted and sentenced to 24 years. My question is how many officers knew about this and turned him in?
One such weakness was her own county’s Sheriff Conrado Cantu. With his thick mustache, ample belly and Western hat, Cantu was a backslapping natural in the political machine of Cameron County, population 335,000. The county includes Brownsville, Texas, directly across the Rio Grande from Matamoros, Mexico.
In no time, Cantu rose from constable to sheriff, a job he later acknowledged he was unqualified to hold. In 2005, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of running a criminal enterprise involved in extortion, drug trafficking and bribery. He’s now serving a 24-year sentence for extorting money from drug traffickers and illegal gambling operations.
“If the opportunity came along he would take it,” said de Leon.
Not all corruption charges that turned up in AP’s checks were related to drug trafficking. The researched cases involve agents helping smuggle immigrants, drugs or other contraband, taking wads of money or sexual favors in exchange — or simply allowing entry to someone whose paperwork isn’t up to snuff, all part of the daily border traffic that has politicians demanding that the U.S.-Mexico border be secured.
Court records show corrupt officials along the 2,100-mile U.S.-Mexico border have included local police and elected sheriffs, and officers with such U.S. Department of Homeland Security agencies as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, which includes Border Patrol. Some have even been National Guardsmen temporarily called in to help while the Border Patrol expanded its ranks.
As Calderon sent thousands of soldiers to northern Mexico to stop the gruesome cartel violence and clean out corrupt police departments, CBP, the largest U.S. law enforcement agency, boosted its border forces by 44 percent or 6,907 additional officers and agents on the southwest border.
At the same time, CBP saw the number of its officers charged with corruption-related crimes nearly triple, from eight cases in fiscal 2007 to 21 the following year — and began to crack down.
“Day in, day out, someone in our agency is approached and says no, but we operate in this high-threat environment,” said James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner for internal affairs at CBP. “The reality of it is we are deeply concerned.”
In the past 10 months, 20 agents from CBP alone have been charged with a corruption-related crime. At that pace, the organization will set a new record for in-house corruption; 90 employees have been charged with corrupt acts since October 2004. Agency officials expect those cases to continue to climb: There are 63 open criminal investigations — including corruption cases — against CBP employees.
At least as unsettling were the prospective agents who never got to commit their crimes: Four applicants for jobs in federal border law enforcement were not hired when polygraph tests and background checks confirmed they were infiltrators from drug trafficking operations, authorities said.
Such in-depth checks are conducted on only about 10 percent of applicants for border agent jobs, though such scrutiny will eventually be made standard for all applicants, according to Tomsheck. Meantime, officials are left to wonder: Are other gangsters working undercover for agencies charged with protecting the U.S. border?
CBP had more than 2,000 in-house discipline cases during the past three years, according to records obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act. Most were minor, but about 100 reflected more serious, corruption-related incidents, many of which were later prosecuted.
The jump in corruption cases comes as CBP has increased its team of internal investigators from five three years ago to 220 today.
CBP’s own investigation of corruption cases showed little correlation between minor disciplinary problems and the more serious instances of bribery and malfeasance.
“Virtually none of the employees arrested for corruption are employees that have serious misconduct issues,” Tomsheck said. “Actively corrupt employees do everything they can to stay below the radar screen.”
It can be heartbreaking to see agents switch sides for small amounts of money, said U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson, whose turf covers a long stretch of border from the Gulf of Mexico to Laredo, Texas. But, Johnson and other federal prosecutors say, “these cases will always have a priority” and must be prosecuted “to the fullest extent,” to emphasize that corruption will not be tolerated.
“You can’t allow people who work within the law enforcement community to compromise our mission. We would just lose control of everything down there,” he said.
It’s a lesson Mexico learned the hard way, ignoring for years corrupt police until Calderon began to replace them with military personnel.
In Texas, which has more than half the U.S. border with Mexico, the commission that oversees state and local law enforcement officers reported that criminal misconduct cases were opened against 515 officers in fiscal 2007 and 550 officers in fiscal 2008. Some form of disciplinary action was lodged against 324 and 331 peace officer licenses, respectively, in those years.
“The cartels increasingly recruit law enforcement officers on both sides of the border,” Steve McCraw, then Texas’s homeland security chief, told state lawmakers earlier this year. “It’s not just a Mexico problem because of the amount of money involved. And as we’ve increased presence between the ports (of entry), there’s an increased desire to recruit law enforcement personnel to move across the bridge or use them between the ports.”
In-house CBP data shows corrupt agents fall into two categories — recent hires who are charged very quickly, indicating they took the jobs intending to break the law, and veteran agents who have worked for the agency for a decade or more before succumbing to the offers.
“From the Mexican cartels’ point of view, it is cheaper to pay an official several thousand dollars to allow a load of narcotics to pass by than it is to risk having the shipment seized,” Scott Stewart and Fred Burton, vice presidents of global intelligence firm Stratfor, wrote in a recent report. “Such bribes are simply part of the cost of doing business — and in the big picture, even a low-level agent can be an incredible bargain.”
One such officer, a CBP agent convicted of taking money to smuggle illegal immigrants, was over his head with credit card debt, behind on child-support payments, about to lose his truck. His 10-year-old, whom he had taken to the mall for the day, wanted a football he couldn’t afford.
That’s when a friendly, familiar Mexican man pulled a $50 bill from a thick wallet and handed it to the agent’s son, who snatched the money and dashed off to the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop.
The father related the story in the visiting room of a federal prison in California where he is serving a four-year term.
“I was like, ‘Wait son, hang on!’ but he was gone, so happy with that money,” said the former agent, whom prison officials allowed the AP to interview on condition of anonymity because convicted law enforcement officers are considered potential targets.
That was how it began, the ex-agent continued. A few weeks later, the Mexican man suggested that the officer let a man through his pedestrian checkpoint early one morning without asking questions. He’d get $5,000 for his trouble.
“I thought, ‘Naaah, I can’t do that.’ Then I thought, ‘Hell, my life’s a mess. Everyone does it. If I’m caught I’ll just say the guy got past me. I’ll do it once. I could use the money,'” he recalled.
The cash came in handy. He bought clothes for his kids, jerseys for a youth team he coached; he made his truck payment, caught up on credit card bills.
The next time was easier, if less lucrative: $1,500 a person.
Nervously smoothing his prison-green scrubs, he said, “I really planned to stop.” But then another offer came, even while colleagues warned him the FBI was snooping around. And then a woman he had illegally passed through named him when she was caught by an honest agent.
He was convicted for passing one person through. He paid $5,000 in fines in addition to the prison term.
“You want to know how many times I did this?” he asked. “Sixty-six. I kept a tally.”
The men and women who were caught described their jobs as prestigious and well paid for the small border towns where they grew up. An entry-level CBP officer earns $37,000 a year in Laredo, and within a year is likely paid $41,000, well above the local average annual income of $25,000.
In border communities, the demarcation between countries is insignificant. People live on one side, work on the other; have a favorite barber on one side, but buy groceries on the other. The traffic is heavy, and constant.
Some of the border authorities were born in Mexico or are related to Mexican nationals. So do you let a colleague’s Mexican aunt cross the border without a visa for a family birthday party? Or wave through a loaded truck that belongs to your bosses’ brother-in-law without looking inside? Some agents said yes.
And so did some state and local officers. The deputy commander of a narcotics task force was caught in a sting operation protecting what he believed were loads of drugs moving through Zapata County; others have shaken down drug traffickers moving product through their turf.
In October, FBI agents arrested Starr County Sheriff Reymundo Guerraat his office as part of a sweep dubbed “Operation Carlito’s Weigh.” Guerra, the chief law enforcement officer for the border county of 62,000 people, had spent a decade as sheriff.
There was little public pressure for his ouster after his arrest and since he was running unopposed, Guerra was re-elected weeks later. County Judge Eloy Vera said the day of his arrest that Guerra, a mustachioed bear of man, was a “very good sheriff.” He resigned only as a condition of his release pending trial.
In May, Guerra pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge for accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for passing information to a former Mexican law enforcement contact who he knew was working for Mexico’s Gulf Cartel. Guerra once even gave false documents to one of his own deputies to close a drug trafficking investigation, prosecutors said.
Guerra could face up to life in prison when he is sentenced later this month.
___
Martha Mendoza reported from San Jose, Calif.
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Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Racial Profiling in a Post-Racial America?
By Tony Muhammad
The past few months have indeed been strange (but yet not surprisingly strange) for a few of us in and among the conscientious Hip Hop community in relation to encounters with police. On the afternoon of Friday, May 8th, I, myself, was arrested for the very first time in my life. I wasn’t taken to jail, but I was fingerprinted on the spot and fined, charged with soliciting in the city of Miami Gardens, Florida. What was I actually doing? I was passing out invitations for a special Mother’s Day program at my mosque. I was passing out the invitations in traffic as many other FOI (Fruit of Islam) were doing throughout Miami-Dade county, nationwide and internationally. I was stopped by a police officer and asked if I was selling anything. I said “No.” He inquired about the Final Call newspapers that were in a bag I was carrying. He asked me if they were for sale. I told him that they were not for sale, but that we accept donations for them if offered. It was at this point that the officer asked for my ID and the “arrest” took place.
After he was done filling out forms and handed me the fine, the officer mumbled some words that sounded like I was permitted to leave but had to meet him on that same corner in an hour. I said to him, “Officer, I have a mosque meeting that I have to conduct in an hour. Why is it necessary that I meet with you in an hour?” The officer then explained himself in a louder and clearer voice. He said, “No! I will let you go ahead and sell your newspaper for another hour. You can go ahead. I won’t stop you.” I found this to be rather odd, practically like a set up. Like, if I got pulled over and ticketed for speeding, would it make sense for the police officer that pulled me over to say that its okay for me to continue speeding since he already caught me? I shook my head and said, “No.” I walked away, got in my car and drove off. A week and a half later, after the officer finally submitted the paperwork of the arrest, the charges were dropped by the judge even before I had the opportunity to make a motion for an appeal. Yet and still, the arrest is still on record and I have to pay to get it expunged. So, even though I am not guilty of any wrong doing, I still need to pay as if I was.
Fellow youth advocates Wise Intelligent (of Poor Righteous Teachers) and Paradise Gray (The Arkitect of X-Clan) have likewise experienced ridiculous arrests recently. Wise was falsely suspected of drug dealing, literally in front of his home in Trenton, New Jersey. In the end, he was charged with “obstructing an investigation” since they couldn’t charge him with anything else. Paradise was falsely charged with blocking a door entrance while video recording a public demonstration in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The reality of it all is that incidents like these continue to be an every day experience for Blacks and Latinos in the United States despite now having a President of the United States that is of color. According to CNN, a 2004 Gallop Poll revealed that 67 percent of African Americans and 63 percent of Latinos believe they have experienced police discrimination. Amnesty International estimates that in the United States 32 million people (approximately the same amount of people that live Canada) have been subjected to racial profiling. In truth these statistics are more than likely conservative because they are only based on documented cases. When taking class into account, we would more than likely find that there is a sea of undocumented cases. It has been shown that poor people of color are least likely to know what their rights are in relation to treatment by police. This is especially the case of immigrant populations where language barriers may exist. Official statistics also do not indicate percentage of false arrests or the amount of people there are that have accepted false charges in plea agreements in exchange for no jail time. More than likely, poor people of color, who also tend to be least aware of their legal rights, disproportionately make up a great percentage within this category. Coherently, it has also been shown that poor people of color are least likely able to afford adequate legal defense and are pressured to deal with court appointed lawyers who usually try to work on ending court cases as quickly as possible; seldom, if not ever, in the best interests of defendants.
Henry Louis Gates
Since Harvard Professor Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested in front of his Cambridge, Massachusetts home on Thursday, July 16th it has re-sparked much nation-wide discussion on the realities of racial profiling, involving even President Barrack Obama in an almost “out of character” way (initially publicly saying that police acted “stupidly” in the situation). As the story goes, after returning from a trip to China, Dr. Gates (along with a driver from a local car company) was seen by a white woman breaking down his “jammed” front door. The white woman alerted police that a “Hispanic looking” man (much likely the driver) and another man (much likely Dr. Gates) were trying to break into the house. When the police showed up Dr. Gates was asked by Sgt. James Crowley for ID to prove that he lived at the residence, which he provided. However, in the midst of it all, Dr. Gates demanded that Sgt. Crowley give him his badge number and, according to police, angrily accused the police of being “racist.” After ignoring the request for the badge number several times, the officer stepped outside. When Dr. Gates followed the officer outside, he was arrested for “disorderly conduct” and was detained for several hours. Less than a week later, after much media attention, the charge was dropped.
Several noted journalists have recently written articles criticizing the fact that so much attention has been given to Dr. Gate’s police encounter; labeling it a mere distraction. This is especially after President Obama attempted to defuse the hype behind it all last week by having a “beer summit” at the White House with Dr. Gates and Sgt. Crowley (no doubt in attempt to bring more attention to his national health care plans); likewise with the media exposure of Boston Police Officer Justin Barrett being suspended for referring to Dr. Gates as a “banana-eating jungle monkey” in a mass e-mail to his buddies on the force. Overall, I would argue that on a surface level the incident is a mere reflection of what happens to peoples of color on a day to day basis with police and on a larger scale white supremacy. However, if we analyze it in light of Dr. Gates’ attempt to promote a “post-race” identity academic movement since the Presidential Election of Barrack Obama; it serves as a major sign for us. If the police report is correct that Dr. Gates became emotional and accused the police of racism (and there is an overwhelmingly good chance that it did indeed happen) then surely it largely negates the basis of his work in the past half year. Even more evident of this is his announced plans on The Tom Joyner Morning Show recently to do a documentary on racial profiling in response to his experience. In truth, it all reveals how dangerously naïve this “post-racial” false ideology he was trying to push is in today’s times.
Johannes Mehersele
Concurrently, on New Year’s Day in Oakland, California, it was not a “post-racial” type of thinking that kept BART Officer Johannes Mehserle from irrationally holding a gun to the back of Oscar Grant and pulling the trigger. On June 10th, It was not a “post-racial” type of thinking that kept James Von Brunn from shooting and killing Stephen Tyrone Jones, a Black security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. It was not a “post-racial” type of thinking that kept Broward Sheriff’s deputy Al Lamberti from sexually abusing undocumented Latin American immigrants in Fort Lauderdale, Florida just because he thought he could get away with it due to language barriers. It is not a “post-racial” type of thinking that is keeping the Miami-Dade County Commission from considering the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center to be financially expendable and shut it down due to financial constraints, despite the great service the Center provides to young people in Miami’s Liberty City community. It is not a “post-racial” type of thinking that is keeping colleges and universities nationwide from downgrading or literally shutting down Black, Latino and overall cultural diversity programming due to budgetary constraints… but yet there is always money available to expand sports (mainly football) programs.
Dr. Gates should be mindful of all of this while making his racial profiling documentary and make sure that it is not just simply a way to capitalize off of his experience, as many academics normally do. Because of his position of influence, it should in fact provide a service! He should also be mindful when it comes to selecting the right crew for such an assignment, preferably people of color that have extensively studied racism and racial profiling in the United States; likewise featuring people of color from different genres that have experienced being racially profiled. Noting Dr. Gates’ track record, the project should be unlike any project he has undertaken before; especially and namely the development of the Encarta Africana Encyclopedia in 2000 (An encyclopedia about peoples of African descent in Africa and the Diaspora) which involved racial profiling itself. It involved the hiring of merely 3 Blacks out of 40 full time writers. In truth, there is no coincidence that the only Hip Hop entry in the project was Sir Mix-A-Lot. I guess “Baby Got Back” but if Dr. Gates wants to show and prove that he has authentically learned from the experience he’s going to have to get the right “backing” for such a documentary!
Peace! Until Next Time!
Tony Muhammad teaches American, African American and African History at an inner-city high school in Miami and is currently involved in efforts to reform The African American Voices Curriculum for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference (2004 – 2008).
Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/tonymuhammad
www.tonymuhammad.wordpress.com
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Digging in the Crates w/ Davey D #1
There are lots of tracks we can look at and I think folks should add to this so we can compile a list.. But here’s three songs that I feel address the plight of the inner city Black male….
The first one comes from Boston rapper Akrobatik who drops gems to the shorties he sees hanging out on the Front Steps (Tough Love)… The beat is dope and the lyrics are incredible… Its a damn shame that major radio stations never picked up this song and that way too many people sleep on one of my favorite artists Akrobatik
2Pac dropped a dope 3 minute song that thoroughly expressed the angst and plight of the young Black inner city male
The second one ‘Streetz Are Deathrow’ comes courtesy of the late 2Pac. Its always been my favorite cut from him. In a about 3 minutes Pac underscores the tormented mindset of a young cat trying to navigate an increasing confusing world..I wish he did a video for this song.. Not sure if I ever heard Pac do this song live..But he captures the moment on this piece
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS3IZtNU_f4
I know i said I would post up 3 songs, but I couldn’t post the 2pac cut without digging in the crates and pulling out Ice Cube. His 1990 song ‘The Product’ sits right alongside this 2pac cut. It’s off the Kill at Will Ep. Cube skillfully takes us from the moment of conception to the tragic ending in a jail cell.. Coming at the tale end of the crack era Cube like Pac captures urgency of a troubled time.. Cube was arguably at his best when he flipped this song..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd1xxQpXcuc
The last one is a classic from Blastmaster KRS-One.. ‘Loves Gonna Getcha’ .. Like Akrobatik’s cut this song is one that dispenses advice as KRS lays out the all too familiar plight of the neighborhood dope dealer who’s love for material possessions leaves him blind to the realities and dangers of life..Its songs like this that made everyone fall in love with KRS and see him as one of the best Hip Hop has ever produced..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQAssqqYQ-E
Anyway enjoys these gems and feel free to post up songs that you feel need to be listened to by ‘the young black male’
Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner
Ice Cube's song 'The Product' still holds true for many Black males almost 20 years after he recorded it.
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When reading this article, please pay close attention to Scarface‘s remarks about 360 degree contracts. They’re a very sinister part of the music industry that has really took all of the fun out of making music. The way it is now, if an artist opens up a Taco stand in Botswana, then the record label gets part of his loot. If an artits decides to do a movie, then the record label gets part of his loot. Its straight up crazy and sad. Scarface is only touching the tip of the iceberg.
-Davey D-
Scarface
Envision a desolate warehouse; everything about this building is nondescript. Let’s call this place corporate headquarters. Inside the hollow doors, a blinding spotlight shines down illuminating a wretched assembly line. There is a listless conveyer belt; it whines as it shoves forth prepackaged stereotypes. Container after container whirs by in an overwhelming fury. Within these shrink-wrapped skeletons are faux Hip-Hop reproductions. Robotic arms line each side of the conveyor belt; they’re positioned to snatch away any renegade instances of creativity and uniqueness that may have slipped past. These distinguishing traits are no longer necessary and are carelessly tossed aside. Innovation and creativity are sacrificed for a mass-produced sound. The corporation gives little yet reaps millions. That’s the cost-effective “Amerikkkan” way. Somewhere a greedy cash register laughs, cling cling.
” Jordan are aware of this mutilation. Rather than entertaining the powers that be; Scarface has chosen to remove himself from that particular arena.AllHipHop.com: With your contribution to the game you have our respect and our ear; what would you say about the evolution Hip-Hop? How would you describe what it was in its infancy to what it has become today?
Scarface: The 360 deal is f***ery. You’re giving up money all the way around. What ever you do the record company is there. That’s bulls***. My advice to any artist is to do what Lil Wayne is doing or what Soulja Boy is doing, maintain the rights to your s***. That 360 s*** is total f***ery. I wouldn’t dare even dream about doing a 360 deal. As a matter of fact, that’s some made up s***; that’s not even in the books.
Well, with any kind of music that you f*** with, you got some great music and you got some not so great music. That’s Hip-Hop, that’s R&B, that’s Rock and Roll—let me give you an example. A Rock guy, his name is f***ing Meat Loaf, right. I think that he’s the absolute f***ing worst! But, people love Meat Loaf. You can think of the worst MC you’ve ever heard and people love it, you can think of the worst R&B singer you’ve ever heard and people love it. So, it’s all in one’s preference on what’s great and what’s not…
AllHipHop.com: What would it take to get you out of “retirement” or this just a self-imposed hibernation period?
Scarface: I don’t know. I don’t like it no more. I don’t like the powers that be at all. I don’t like it.
AllHipHop.com: Are you so disgusted with them that you’ll stop making music, period? So personally, you’ve stopped all recording, or you won’t make another track for the public to hear?
Scarface: That’s hard to tell.
“I think the business side of Hip-Hop pissed me off. You know, the business side, the political side— the business side and the political side of Hip-Hop pissed me off.”
-Scarface
AllHipHop.com: After your work on Emeritus have you made any new tracks?
Scarface: No.
AllHipHop.com: Have you been back to the studio?
Scarface: Nope, and I don’t plan on going either.
AllHipHop.com: No? [stagnated silence] How can you love Hip-Hop and feel like that?
Scarface: I think the business side of Hip-Hop pissed me off. You know, the business side, the political side— the business side and the political side of Hip-Hop pissed me off.
AllHipHop.com: Do you feel as though you’re equipped as a business man to handle what was going on in the industry?
Scarface: I don’t want to be equipped for it.
AllHipHop.com: You just don’t like playing the game?
Scarface: Yeah, I didn’t like playing the game, you know. You got to play the game fair. If the game ain’t played fair then—you could have it all and still lose everything. They don’t play the game fair. You got to play the game fair, man. Any game that you decide to play in life; you got to play the game fair. If you don’t play the game fair then nobody will play the game with you no more.
AllHipHop.com: Is it inevitable for our respected MCs to stop making music because they’re disgusted with the bogus practices in the industry?
Scarface: It’s so many things on what the industry is. Why would you buy somebody’s s*** when you can download it for free?
AllHipHop.com: But that’s just one aspect. Some of these rappers don’t deserve to get their album purchased when they only have one good track and maybe a funny skit. I know you personally don’t get down like that; but, you have to look at it from both sides. Besides that what other industry practices don’t you agree with?
Scarface: Like I said, I just don’t like the way that these record company owners and executives are playing god with a n**** career.
AllHipHop.com: Why not embrace the indie route?
Scarface: Why?
AllHipHop.com: You will have full creative control; you’d be able to do everything on your own. You wouldn’t have to rely on the puppet master’s approval to get your creativity out there.
Scarface: You know what’s so cold about the puppet masters?
AllHipHop.com: What’s that?
Scarface: The puppet master won’t admit to being the puppet master. That’s what’s so cold about the puppet master. Man, I’d rather not, there’s so many other ways, for me to— I’m so talented in other areas; so, f*** Rap, f*** Hip-Hop! I’ll say it again; f*** Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop.com: But what about your fans; how can you say that?
Scarface: My fans should say f*** Hip-Hop, too. Hip-Hop doesn’t even exist no more. Does it; is it Hip-Hop still? Is there such a thing? Define the word.
“You was proud to go and buy a f***ing Ice-T record— “6’N The Morning,” Power. You was proud to go and pick up A Tribe Called Quest or N.W.A. You was proud of an Ice Cube or Kool G Rap record….you was proud to own that s***.”
-Scarface
AllHipHop.com: To me, Hip-Hop is a cultural element of expression. It expresses lyricism, dance, art; it gives insight into our community. Why do you think Hip-Hop is losing that essence?
Scarface: Any two ways that you get a White boy singing the Blues; somebody’s lying somewhere. You know, the Blues—have you heard the Blues before? For a White boy to put the Blues out, and says what’s hot in Blues, it’s a lie; because, he doesn’t even have no idea. He doesn’t have no idea why this is done and why we feel how we feel. You cannot expect for a 45 year old 50 year old White boy to dictate what’s hot within the Black community.
Why the f*** are they in charge of what we put out? Well they are. But, why the f*** do we allow them to be in charge of what’s put out. That’s not Hip-Hop, man. That white boy is not Hip-Hop, you’re f***ing 50 years old, man. How could you even think that?
AllHipHop.com: Will the public ever reach the point of critical mass to where we will demand that Hip-Hop stop being manufactured to fit one certain sound and fit one certain image? Will a boycott work?
Scarface: Let me tell you what Hip-Hop is [and] let me tell you what Hip-Hop was.
Hip-Hop was The Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Lovebug Starski, and Kool Mo Dee—you know. Hip-Hop was LL Cool J and Whodini, and Run-D.M.C. Hip-Hop was Blastmaster KRS-One, D-Nice, Big Daddy Kane, Marley Marl, MC Shan and Biz Markie.
You was proud to go and buy a f***ing Ice-T record— “6’N The Morning,” “Doggin’ The Wax,” Power. You was proud to go and pick up A Tribe Called Quest or N.W.A. You was proud of an Ice Cube or Kool G Rap record. You was proud to own AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted; you was proud to own that s***. I agree that 2 Live Crew made a mark in Hip-Hop, you know. I believe that a lot of states in this country have dope MCs that made a huge impact on Hip-Hop. The minute it turned into a business and not a culture it became too watered down. The essence of Hip-Hop is not in the music anymore. The element of Hip-Hop is not in the music anymore.
AllHipHop.com: With that being said, and as a veteran MC, shouldn’t you feel some sort of responsibility to bring it back to what it was? The kids coming up now, they really don’t know any better unless they invest that time to go back to discover Big Daddy Kane, to go back to MC Shan, to go back to A Tribe Called Quest, to actually discover what it was then to what it is now—
Scarface: I really think that N.W.A. made the best Hip-Hop records ever! I mean if you define Hip-Hop like you define the Blues; they made it a way of life rather than just a fad. You know, JJ Fad, MC Hammer, Big Kid Flash— I know you’ve heard of these people, right?
“Hip-Hop ain’t no “booty-dew. Do the booty-dew, do the booty-dew—do the so and so, do the so and so-you know. Don’t get me wrong; every genre of music is going to need their dance records… ”
-Scarface
AllHipHop.com: What will it take for Hip-Hop to get to back to embracing creativity and delivering a message rather than being a number’s game?
Scarface: It ain’t no number’s game no more. Nobody has any numbers no more. Hip-Hop is changing; it’s a money thing. Until the power’s that be start taking it seriously it’ll continue to be in the state that it’s in. It’s some s*** that’s out today that wouldn’t have ever made it before the change. I think that today radio and visual played a huge part in what “they” say Hip-Hop is.
Middle-aged black people and middle-aged white people make up Hip-Hop; when honestly, youth is Hip-Hop. I hear some f***ing MCs that will forever go unnoticed because of the way that the game is. [Ed.’s note: Scarface mentioned the greatness of K-Rhino and Z-RO as prolific Southern MCs.] But they always tell us the truth, the story. Hip-Hop ain’t no “booty-dew.”
AllHipHop.com: [laughs]
Scarface: [chants] Do the booty-dew, do the booty-dew—do the so and so, do the so and so-you know. Don’t get me wrong; every genre of music is going to need their dance records. You’ll have to listen very very closely to what I’m saying. I feel like, the power’s that be, that control what’s being heard in black music and what’s being signed in black music, you know, as far as—the people who put that s*** out there, man. They don’t know nothing about our craft and our culture and our struggle.
It’s impossible for Henry Fartburger to know what’s hot in Hip-Hop. It’s impossible, he don’t know the culture, he’s not familiar with the culture, dude. He’s never been to the f***ing hood, unless he signed one of these goofy ass n****s and they took him to out there, on a pass. Them mutha****ers don’t pass through the hood, man. They’re not from there. They don’t know anything about us. They just sign a check. If you ask me it’s a f***ing conspiracy to destroy black music—to destroy the craft.
AllHipHop.com: Will Hip-Hop preserver and escape this stage that it’s experiencing now?
Scarface: With the 360 deals in place and people putting out songs that don’t make no f***ing sense—rather than giving the great s*** a chance? Let’s say that Eminem did between 6 and 7 [hundred] thousand the first week. Man, f***ing Eminem is brilliant. That’s a f***ing artist. It ain’t no f***ing way he shouldn’t have did a million or two the first week. That muthaf***er is dope, man. But then you go to what we call that assembly-line Hip-Hop; muthaf***ers is going crazy for that s***. We’re not hearing Eminem on mainstream radio. We only get to hear that on XM. They’re not playing Jadakiss on mainstream radio.
We hear a lot of Wayne, which is good, to me Wayne is one of the dopest artists that is out. What about Outkast? I’m not hearing them on mainstream no more. Are they trying to repaint the picture of what Hip-Hop really is? Are they trying to put another face on Hip-Hop? How could you?
AllHipHop.com: Did these feelings propel you to retire after you released Emeritus?
Scarface: Nah, man. Dissatisfaction, I’m cool. I’m going to have my fanbase. I think it was a lot of bulls*** between me and my record company that made me not want to f*** with it no more, in all honesty.
AllHipHop.com: Is this just a phase? Can you really stay away from the mic that long?
Scarface: F*** the mic. Man, f*** the microphone. I’d rather watch from a distance.
I don’t want nothing to do with it. I’m done with that s***. That was a phase of my life that was good to pass on. I’m just glad that it’s over. I’m done.
“I’m done.”
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Freelance Journalist Nida Khan
They’re not racists. They’re not angry because they’re increasingly becoming the minority in an ever-mixing society. They’re not infuriated that an African American man is leading the country, and moreover recognized as the most powerful man in the world … nope, the mobs of loud, vicious, instigating White folks storming local governmental meetings are mad over health care – and they’re not afraid to cling to their religion or guns to prove it.
As Congress prepares to take its annual August recess, members are returning to their constituents who are eagerly anticipating a thorough discussion surrounding health care. The debate has been waging for some time now as President Obama pushes a dire change to our costly, inefficient system. As the battle lines have been drawn – and redrawn – something more sinister has been taking place. Instead of engaging in insightful and informational conversations, many citizens are being brainwashed to ante up.
Frustrated over job losses, an ailing economy and a sense of hopelessness, angry Whites have now galvanized around a well orchestrated ‘protest’ against health care reform. Fueled by right wing media, pundits and so-called GOP leaders, these Whites have taken their subconscious hatred of ‘Black power’ and change to the streets and into governmental buildings in towns across America. Holding ‘R.I.P.’ signs with Democratic leaders’ names, and in some cases assaulting such leaders, these fundamental groups are yelling and disrupting order so that no real discussion can take place at all.
If you ask how many of these anti-health care reformers have Medicare, the overwhelming majority will answer ‘yes’. Can someone please tell these idiots that Medicare is a GOVERNMENT run program. So before chanting ‘less government’, perhaps these geniuses should take a good look at all the benefits they have received from our government over the years. And more importantly, they may want to take a look at why, just why, they are so damn mad.
(Nida Khan is a freelance journalist for print and radio visit her site http://wrathofnkhan.blogspot.com )
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(peep out the videos below.. the first is an orchestrated Mob attack where hired conservatives attempt to shut down a town hall meeting and prevent discussion.. The second video is award winning journlaist Eric Boelhert explaining whats really going on..)
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Saw this article today by Dave McNeely and he makes some good points about the upcoming gubernatorial race, the challenges facing the state and the likely changing political landscape of the Lone Star state. However, what he’s not saying is the obvious-Why are the Democrats so Spineless? Are they cowards afraid of stepping up and being counted in any of the upcoming races? I just knew after all the excitement that President Obama inspired with his impressive victory that shattered the myth that those politically waving a blue flag can only win in states along the Pacific or North Atlantic seaboards. Obama and Howard Dean prior to him showed and proved that the rest of the country is up for grabs including Texas if you run the right type of campaign.
2004 Map from Princeton University shows the country is purple. The blue areas are usually much more heavily populated then read areas.
Insiders say Austin Democrat Kirk Watson might run for Governor, but he needs to step up his profile game and be better known to newer and younger voters
I been asking around from Houston to Austin and most of the folks I come across who were excited about Obama and came out to enthusiatically help put him in office seem to not know anyone on the Democrat side who they feel should be running for governor or the eventual vacated Kay Bailey HutchinsonSenate seat. Thats not a good look. Not a good look at all. Sure political insiders like to toss out Kirk Watson as a possible candidate for governor, but too be honest I get more excitement and better name recognition when I ask if rappers Bun B or Chingo Bling should run for office. Who knows one of them might just do that if for any reason to
Port Arthur native Bernard Freeman is one of the most recognizeable and popular people in the entire state of Texas. Him entering the governor's race could seriously shake things up
Well all that sounds fine and dandy, but Edwards and Rodriguez be better off huddling up with the folks who put Obama into office and making sure they are household names to that audience. In anycase what may wind up being being the real story here is the lack of a compelling Democrats in a wide open race in a wide open state. If someone doesn’t put their hat in the ring soon, we might be placing a call to Port Arthur Texas, to a gentleman named Bernard Freeman and encourage him to toss his hat in the ring and shake things up. He just might just be what the doctored ordered for a party that is winding up to be a bit uninspiring right about now. Note to Democrats: new Obama voters know who Mr Freeman is quite well-Do you?
http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/news/2009/0805/advice/031.html
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The Republican primary dogfight between Gov. Rick Perry and principal challenger U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is already on the national political front burner.
Not often does a sitting United States senator challenge a governor of the same party, in the nation’s second most populous state.
Republican pollsters say Texas is still solidly Republican. Democrat Barack Obama got less than 44 percent in Texas in 2008.
But the governor’s general election race in November of 2010, regardless of who the GOP nominee is, could also draw a lot of attention. Texas might become a player in presidential elections again.
The only serious announced candidate for the Democratic nomination is Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth, former President George W. Bush’s ambassador to Australia and then Japan. Humorist/songwriter Kinky Friedman also might seek the nomination.
But if the Perry-Hutchison mudfight keeps intensifying, other Democrats may run.
Most-mentioned is state Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin, who already has one statewide race under his belt. His weekly newsletters to supporters are decidedly sharper recently – mostly potshots at decisions by Perry.
Watson’s Senate seat is also up in 2010. He said he’d decide what to run for at the end of the summer.
Most prognosticators think the Republican nominee will win the November general election. Perry certainly does.
But hopeful Democrats point out that Perry won reelection in 2006 with just 39 percent.
Republicans nationally think their chances to make gains are better in 2010 than in 2006 and 2008, when Democrats won control of Congress. Reasons:
— With few exceptions, a new president’s party usually loses congressional and other offices in the first mid-term election after his inauguration.
— Some pollsters say the bloom has worn off Obama’s reformist rose, with growing concern about borrowing to provide economic stimulus, and about the costs of reforming the nation’s health care system to cover virtually everyone.
Depending on which way issues cut leading up to the election – health care, unemployment insurance, housing prices, economic stimulus, the overall economy, Iraq and Afghanistan – Democrats may have a shot.
If the Republican nominee emerges seriously tarnished from the negative TV ad war Perry and Hutchison are expected to wage, the Democrat may have a shot.
Adding to the buzz this election cycle will be a special election to succeed Hutchison in the Senate. That also should draw a lot of national attention.
Two significant Democrats – former state Comptroller John Sharp and Houston Mayor Bill White – are already running, regardless of when the election is held.
Both have appeal to centrist Independents, and some Republicans, so are particularly suited to run in a special election. There are no party primaries; all candidates run on the same ballot, regardless of party. If no one gets a majority, the top two have a runoff.
Sharp and White are serious, thoughtful, cagey politicians, who aren’t running just for exercise. Both are raising money, and Sharp has put more than $2 million of his own into his race.
Several Republican candidates already raising money include state Sen. Florence Shapiro of Plano, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, former Secretary of State Roger Williams (no relation), U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
The wealthy Dewhurst is thought to be the most formidable Republican, since he can fund a campaign from his own pocket. That’s a huge head start in a federal race, where the size of campaign donations is limited, but the amount a candidate can give to their own campaign isn’t.
If Democrats win for governor, or senator, and especially both – that should put Texas back on the presidential political map for 2012 and beyond.
A Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won Texas since 1976. There had been an adage that a Democrat couldn’t become president without carrying Texas – until Bill Clinton did so in 1992 and again in 1996.
Just to demonstrate the math, in 2004, President George W. Bush carried Texas, and won, with 286 electoral votes to Democrat John Kerry’s 252. Had the Democrat carried Texas’ 34 electoral votes, Democrats would have won, 286-252.
If a Democratic presidential ticket carries Texas, plus California (which has been solidly blue the last few elections), Florida (a swing state), New York and Illinois, that’s around 170 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
A Democrat who demonstrates they can win either of the top two Texas statewide offices in 2010 could easily be on the short list for a presidential ticket in 2016.
Contact McNeely at davemcneely111@ gmail.com
Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner
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It’s always disturbing when we hear stories like this. One would think after all these years that artists would stay as far away from scenarios like this as possible, especially as veterans. Sadly over the years we’ve seen charges levied on vets ranging from Snoop to Akon to Busta Rhymes who have laid hands on fans. There are two things puzzling about this story. First, what’s real disturbing is that its a woman Meth is accussed of assaulting. Why would you shoot a woman top gun or not? Was he trying to be funny?
Second disturbing thing, is that Houston and Texas in general is real quick to smash on folks and hand out felonies at the drop of a dime. Heck, if you get caught smoking weed in H-Town you can have a problem. So any police involvement would’ve had Meth hemmed up on that alone. So why just the lawsuit? Where’s the criminal charges? This incident went down in November, why the long wait? Either this is an anticipated quick pay day or there’s more to this story .. we’ll keep you posted.
-Davey D-
Why hasn't Method Man been criminally charged for shooting a woman with a pellet gun?
HOUSTON (KTRK) -A local woman is suing a popular rapper and actor all for what she claims happened outside a popular Houston nightspot. She claims Method Man shot her six times with an air gun because she asked for an autograph.
In the eight-page lawsuit, the woman claims she suffered not only physical trauma, but emotional trauma as well.
According to the lawsuit, Method Man, aka Clifford Smith, performed at the House of Blues last November. In the complaint, the victim, Mary Anderson of Fort Bend County, claims after the concert, Smith was signing autographs for a group of people out of the back window of his tour bus, when she approached trying to get her concert ticket signed.
Anderson claims as she waited for her ticket to be returned, Smith pulled out an air gun and began firing pellets into the group striking her at least six times. Anderson claims she suffered multiple injuries to her stomach and chest causing her to go to a hospital.
Ironically, this lawsuit comes just days before Method Man is expected to perform at the House of Blues in Houston this Friday. Anderson’s attorney says he hopes this lawsuit sends a strong message.
“These aren’t life or death injuries. She’s alive. She’s not paralyzed. She’s moved on with her life as far as the injuries are concerned, but punitive damages are to punish the person who did the damage and that’s the reason we’ve done this,” said her attorney, Daniel Horowitz.
The exact amount of money Anderson is seeking is not being disclosed. Our calls to Method Man’s representatives have not been returned.
source: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6948876
