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With all that continues to happen around the world, I can't quell the stubborn suspicion that has continued to haunt me down through the years. And the suspicion is that somewhere, somehow, some way for some reason, the black race has been cursed! Nothing seems to go its way, the Eboli scourage being the latest example of this. Plagues, poverty, wars and racism continue to be the ongoing fate of the African continent and its diaspora. And the cruelest cut of all is how in this country, the young generation of Blacks are killing each other, not to mention making themselves targets for murdering white police who are just looking for an opportunity to gun down what they perceive as a threat. And languishing away in the prisons, ill-served by the justice system, tapped to be the product of an industry, are a host of black males whose potential was wasted in a system that left them unprepared to do anything but choose crime as a way of life. Cursed, indeed. It's no wonder that here in America, black folks look to Jesus to lift it burdens, including the ones weighing down the shoulders of this nation's first black president, the beleagured Barack Hussein Obama. Prayer seems to be the only place to turm, but even Christ seems to have turned his back on us. Of the 14 men I have seen elected to the highest office in the land, I have never witnessed one so disrespected, so hated, so ridiculed, so criticized, even by some of his own people, than Obama. I have serious doubts if any Secret Service agent would lay down his life for, or take a bullet for this man. He is the whipping boy of the Republicans, especially the conservative right wing of this party. I listen to these bought-and-paid-for political bigots and my gut is filled with revulsion. I really dislike these hacks and their constituencies. Obama is becoming a tragic figure, victimized by circumstances over which he has no control. He is the poster boy for the old adage of being careful what you wish for, because you might get it! But, then, the country, itself, is a mess. What is distrubing is the ineptitude that exists at the top. The Administration resembles the work place of a company rife with inefficiency, where petty office politics hamper progress, where those in charge have been promoted to their level of incompetency, doing the only thing they are proficient at which is passing the buck. Meanwhile, the rich get richer, the poor get welfare, and those in the middle are caught up in taking sides with politicians who represent their prejudices, rather than their best interests. And of course, there's Iraq and Afghanistan and - ISIS. Where to be begin? Terrorism has America by the balls, forcing it into a corner where the most powerful country in the world can't win for losing. Maybe global warming will prevail, and Earth will melt away into oblivion.

"Boardwalk Empire" is also one of my favorite programs. But I disagree that the characters are not accurately depicted. I don't consider them glamorized. They're portrayed as a pretty motley crew which was the way they were back then in real life. Actors like George Raft and James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson were emulating the gangsters as much as these hoodlum were emulating them. The black characters in this series also strike me as authentic when comparing them to old photographs and what I've read and remember being told by my parents. The era that Boardwalk is now taking place in is particuarly compellling to me. I was only a child during The Depression yet I must've absorbed the essence of this decade by osmosis because the settings and atmosphere as recreated in Boardwalk seem so familiar to me. Also the 1930s was when the Harlem Renaissiance was winding down so this was an interesting time in black hstory. Yes, in the present everything is commercialized and distorted and profit driven. But we have to ask ourselves would we pass up a chance to make the money that would allow us to lead the good life. Everybody is suceptible to materialsim because everybody wants to live well, and making a lot of money is what will enable this wish. Not many people are going to turn down a chance to be part of a process that generates wealth. Or is fair competition the nature of human beings. Winning is the goal. Also to be considered, is that you have to have money to be charitable and philanthropical. And providing entertainment and diversion to a world weary population could even be considerd a public service. And then there's war. Man's eternal quest for power and domination in a world where peace is viewed as being synonymous with weakness has become a way of life. We are a flawed species and if there is a god, he can't be very proud of what he created. So much for religion. BTW, did I hallucinate that CDBurns also appeared on this thread and said something about hallucinations and reality? Did he delete his post? I found his theories provocative. Who is to say that a hallucination is not reality. It exists in our imagination and because it is not an external manifestation does not invalidate it. When deconstructing reality the question that should always be posed is "compared to what?"

I don't know if any of you are familiar with one of the greatest lyricist to ever inhabit the realm of the "American song book". His name was Johnny Mercer, a good ol boy from Savannah, Georgia, who penned the words to hundreds of songs most of which were popular during the 1940s and 50s, and which continue to dominate the ranks of old standards today. I can't think of any of my favorite love ballads which, when I check, didn't have it words written by Johnny Mercer. Ray Charles recorded quite a few of his songs, as did Ella and Sarah Vaughn and other jazz vocalists. Anyhow, Johnny Mercer's 100th birthday was recently celebrated by music historians, and his life story was chronicled in a documentary on the TCM cable channel. This was a very in-depth look at his life and times, and included in its details was the affair that this married man carried on with Judy Garland for years. This was something I never knew. It also mentioned that Mercer was what was known as a "mean drunk", a guy who although was very affable when sober, was rude and insulting when intoxicated. Something else I never suspected. So, documentaries have been known to spare no details when showcasing the life of a celebrity. Skeletons in the closet are regularly unearthed. Incidentally, Bill Withers and Denise Nicholas' marriage only lasted a little over a year. She didn't waste any time extricating herself from what was rumored to have been a very violent relationship.