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Micheal Brown's appointment in Samarra


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Deleted my posts on all this out of fear that some mentally ill person, white or black, alas, will think my artistic attempt to understand Brown's humanity and his premonitions of impending doom and how it might have influenced his wrong-headed behavior will think or believe it was a justification for his actions.

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A fascinating deconstruction of an incident that is comparable to a classic Shakespearian tragedy.  As for why Michael Brown was stealing cigars, it was implied that stocking up on "blunts" would not be unusual for someone who smoked weed.  But this theft was not what triggered the unrelated confrontation with the cop. This encounter supposedly originated with Michael walking down the middle of the street,  causing traffic problems and refusing to follow the cop's order to not do this.  Also, Michael's gettingh high on marijuana might have given rise to contemplations of an impending doom which became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Brown was also described as an aspiring rap artist. The lyrics to his works could provide some insight by giving an indication of his mind-set. Provocative messages can often be gleaned from the soliloqueys of rappers. 

 

Young blacks who populate the street life have been depicted as being disillusioned and fatalistic, embracing an  "if-I-die-I-die" attitude. Some even fantasize about going out in a blaze of glory, becoming legends among their peers. They have little else to aspire to.

 

The white shooter, Darren Wilson, would seem to be psychologically unfit for police work.  He panicked and used poor judgment. PIctures of this unimpressive figure bring to mind Barney Fife of the Andy Griffin show.  Ferguson, Missouri, may actually have something in common with the fictionalized Mayberry, USA, with its police force at about the level of one in a TV sit-com. Except in this episode, comedy turned tragic.   

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It is not often we get a 3K+ word post. Engaging a long nuanced post is not something that I find that I do very often.  Times have changed.  Indeed, the fact that I'm making this observation rather than just diving in is a reflection of those changes.  I saw this post a few days ago and immediately decided to come back to it.  I knew I would need to switch gears, and slow down an minute, before trying to read what WC wrote.  

 

While I've heard of the Michael Brown case, I have not really made a real attempt to follow or understand the specifics of the event. Part of the reason is that is seems so much of it is a media circus.  Where,"journalists," bent on capturing something bad, seemed to out number the protesters.

 

Lately, it seems we are constantly inundated with bad news, from football players beating their wives and children, to radicals sawing the heads off Americans.  I know shit is bad in the world, but there are some good things happening too.  

 

I'd like to see and talk more about the good things.  I feel as though I'm becoming jaded, as I'm blanketed with so much negative information, 24 hours a day...  

 

...but as a content provider, on the web, I know very well that bad and controversial news is attracts more readers.  Our news outlets and social media platforms are masters at the art of propagating negativity. Of course in a racist culture, that negativity is disproportionately directed at Black people.

 

Last night I watched one of my favorite programs in TV, Boardwalk Empire.  The show features great acting and story telling, but there is always plenty of graphic violence.  I then considered the other programs that I watch and enjoyed on TV including, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, True Blood, True Detective, The Leftovers, and Game of Thrones.  Each of these shows features murders, death, plenty of gratuitous sex what love there is highly dysfunctional.  I'm not even sure if HBO is capable of airing a series with out gratuitous violence and sex?

 

Can a diet of programming like this be good for one's mental well being?  Lately, I do not feel consuming this type of programming has benefited my mental state.

 

It is not as though I watch that much TV, but what I do watch features too much bad behavior and bad news.  

 

So even though this treatment was interesting, I don't have much of an appetite for more the Michael Brown story.  I'm not interested in hearing what the "bandwagon activist" have to say, for I know this is just an opportunity to  make money.  

 

I doubt we will ever learn the truth of the Michael Brown story.  The truth is gray, much more subtle than the reporters are likely to relate.  This is not the story of a rabid racist killing an gentle giant, any more than it is one of officer doing his duty and stopping a violent, threatening predator.

 

The truth would take time to uncover and relate.  It is much more lucrative and easier to do a superficial story that plays upon stereotypes.  

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I must say, I'm suprised that being in the business you are, Troy, you prefer to tune out what is currently making news because it is negative.  And because these noteworthy events are covered by the media which does what a communication organ is expected to do, which is  to report the news from different angles, you prefer not to hear about what terrible things are going on in the world.  You seem to be saying that if you ignore all the awful occurrences, they will go away, and if you put on blinders and just focus on what you consider to be good things, this will make you more well-adjusted.  Hummmm.

 

I would agree that much of what is going on in the world is depressing, but  being aware of it makes you a better informed person. We can all find a few things to feel encouraged by, but what they amount to are examples of how things are supposed to be, so this doesn't garner a lot of attention.  The world is full of injustice, and unjust conditions are not how things are supposed to be so this arouses public concern  To envoke the old cliche, news is about man biting dog, not dog biting man.  The key is to strike a balance. Only when we assess the bad can we increase the good. 

 

Yes, gratuitous violence on TV and in the movies is, well - gratuitous.  But, maybe it's better to get one's violent fix as a passive viewer, than as a perpetrator or victim.  Bottom line, it does help if you can distinguish escapism from reality. 

 

Speaking of "entertainment", I caught the Jay-Z/Beyonce special on HBO.  it covered the Paris, France stop on their world wide tour.  I watched and enjoyed it because these two super stars are arguably the best at what they do.  They are both very charismatic figures.  Jay-Z mesmerizes; Beyonce captivates. They are a power couple of international proportions.  They are rich.  They are amazing.  They are black.

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Well Cynique, I'm not exactly arguing that ignorance is bliss.  But at the same time I could have heard a lot less about Michael Brown and not been any less informed.  

 

How do we benefit from the 24x7 coverage of this particular case when police officers kill civilians at better than a rate of one per day, in the US.  We all know many of these killing were unjustified.

 

My problem is that we are constantly inundated with the same inconsequential negative news.  Driven not by a need to inform, educate, elucidate, or uplift, but by a desire to maximize profit.

 

Besides the negative impact on my psyche mental we are woefully ill-informed about things that are FAR more important.  Take climate change for example, why is this not at the top of our list of things we need to deal with.  Why is it even controversial?  The news can't get much worse about climate change, but I'd welcome more news about it.

 

I could go on with examples, but you see what I mean.

...

 

I envy the fact that you can derive pleasure from seeing Jay Z and Beyonnce.  I derive no interest from the couple, their child, or the violent sister. 

 

Honestly I'm sure my aversion is due to having them shoved down my throat so much--at the expense of interest paid to other talented performers, as far as I'm concerned.  

 

That said, maybe I'll check the program.  I'll keep an open mind, manage my exceptions, see if I can derive some pleasure the show and escape the threat of, terrorism, an uninhabitable planet, or just being gunned down by a white cop.

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Ok, ok, Troy.  Points well taken.  To your credit, you are a man of convictions and admirable standards.  I would agree that media overkill fueled by a profit motive is harmful. And you might consider that there are pundits who are applying this argument to the panic peddling that is leading this country into war as the American media overreacts to Isis' clever use of the internet media to showcase the throat cutting that is goading America into another marathon war. A war that reinforces America's  hegemony and will financially benefit the military industrial complex, - all because the media is villainizing and overrating the threat of a relatively small caliphdom of Muslim renegades. 

 

Global warming is a legitimate concern, and once everybody gets on board it will give rise to an industry where great profits will be realized. So there's money to be made from the daily ongoing media coverage of this threat. The media even covered the fact that it didn't give enough coverage to the Global Warming protest march staged in NY. 

 

Sometimes, buying into a media blitz is about having a good laugh.  The elevator episode between Jay-Z and Solange  was funny - on so many levels; and it made for the good juicy gossip about the back story. And, yes, the domestic violence issue is being shoved down our throats.  But it's fun to watch the NFL bigwigs squirm. And the many different views on the subject of men hitting women and parents spanking children have opened up a dialog that runs the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime. It's so stupid, it's funny.

 

As for racist incidents being kept alive by the media, take your choice.  They can either be swept under the rug and allowed to die  or they can be exploited for all they're worth. Reporting about blatant racism does, indeed, translate into TV ratings that rake in money.  When it goes away, we won't have to worry about the mercenary media. 

 

BTW, in regard to your comments on another thread, Joe Sample's death was fairly well reported.  It was all over the Internet, including a plethora of YouTube videos on FaceBook as well as newspaper obituaries and segments on the primetimeTV newscasts. (If you are boycotting and dismissing all of these outlets, you miss things.) And, altho she had a very dedicated black fan base, J. California Cooper was not a high profile, widely-read author. Sad to say, I've heard of her but never read any of her books. But her death was very well noted on FaceBook, too.

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Cynique, I actually learned about Cooper's death on Facebook. from another popular author's posting.  I checked for a valid source to verify the story and could not find anything other than the small bit in Ebony.  On the 23rd AP wrote a story that was picked out by a few newspapers.  The LA Times wrote a piece and they actually linked to an interview my buddy over at Mosaic Magazine published http://lat.ms/ZL4UVK  It is nice to see the LA times will post a link to a Black site, Ebony steals photos without crediting the source (you can see Ebony has me a little tight right about now).

 

At any rate, I do not use or consider Facebook a credible news source.  I would never share information I discovered there--unless it was also mentioned on a reputable source.  I've seen too many hoaxes, and even fell for one once...

 

I guess in my "Black book bubble" Cooper is high profile, but relatively obscure to the general pubic.  So I know you are right about Cooper Cynique. 

 

Funny, I posed a question recently, who are our high profiles authors, with so many kicking the bucket --who is left?  While no one replied to my query on this forum there was some activity on Twitter and names like Dolen Perkins Valdez, Bernice Mcfadden and Terry McMillian were mentioned.  Of those names only Terry would come close to being commonly known outside literary circles.  With Terry gaining a tremendous amount of attention because of the drama with her gay husband.  

 

The fact our authors garner so much more attention for the personal drama than their literary accomplishments really irks me.  I even write about how Terry personal drama was elevated over her writing by Google in their search results.  The same thing was done to Zane, even by the likes of wikipedia elevating tax issues rather than her professional accomplishments.

 

The same goes for our football athletes their private lives are dragged through the mud for ratings and, I believe, because people with real money don't want them in these lucrative positions.

 

Do we have a single Black owned daily newspaper in the entire country, to tell our stories?

 

I just visited the Chicago Defender website and I could not even find a link to subscribe to the newspaper.  Is it still in print, or just a website?

 

I agree these "news" stories can be quite comical and compelling.  I must have watched the elevator knock out punch 10 times, and talked about it in every social setting I've been in with Black folks since it happened.

 

But sometimes I want to learn something and be informed, especially when it comes to information about Black people .  Sadly that is not happening in a meaningful substantive way in 2014.

 

 

I'm not sure people knew about Joe Sample.  It took me two weeks to hear the news and I'm online every day.  

 

There are many fans of J. California Cooper that will not learn of Cooper's passing until they read my newsletter next Tuesday.

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"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?" 

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I think Boardwalk Empire is a great show.  Still I think there is too much violence.  But I really like the character development and pacing of the show.  It is almost like reading a book.  They take the time to develop, in subtle and nuanced ways, each character and it is very intriguing.

 

Nookie's reunion with his wife was well done.  But if you did not watch the previous seasons, you simply would not have gotten any it.  Much more was communicated than what was in the dialog.

 

As with all fiction I do not expect an accurate historical representation of the events.  I do however expect the language, scenery, costumes, music etc. to rung true to the period.  Boardwalk get A's in all of these categories in my book, not a historian may have a different opinion but it work for me. 

 

I don't care if Al Capone had a ex federal agent named Van Alden working for him or even if there was a mobster in Atlantic City named Nookie Thompson.  

 

It is fascinating that the Boardwalk era seems familiar to you. It seems alien to me. Often I wish I was reared in an era before technology, and lived a life without all this "stuff." 

 

I seem to remember an Chris' post about hallucinations, but the last post of hist that I can find is from the 14th or September: http://aalbc.com/tc/index.php/topic/2803-re-posted-for-input-from-black-men/?p=11651 I too miss his contributions, but 

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The character Nucky Thompson in Boardwalk is based on a real life big city boss named Enos "Nucky" Johnson who was a powerful figure in Atlantic City back during the 20s and 30s.  The gangsters portrayed were also real people whose real names are used, including the latest addition Joseph Kennedy, father of JFK. whose sideline that made him a fortune in the shady liquor business is well known. 

 

I've decided that the things about this series that are so familiar to me are embedded memories.  Old pictures of my parents show them dressed in the styles represented in Boardwalk and I was around during the time the photos were taken.  The furniture and lamps and rugs and wall paper were the same decor as the house where I grew up.  I recognize the songs and even know the words to them because they were played on the radio back then. Now they've become the old standards that can still be heard today in certain nostalgic venues on  cable music channels which I frequent often. Not only that, you can see the authentic representations of this era in old movies on TCM cable, movies that I saw as new because as a youngster my mother would take me with her at a theater where she worked and I got to watch these pictures for free when I was 5 and 6 years old.

 

There is something very unique about the 1930s zeitgeist. It reflected a nation just emerging from the zaniness of the "Roarin 20s", tightening its belt with the onset of The Great Depression from which emerged  a kind of of cross section between shabbiness and elegance, and a wryness of attitude that was sophisitication and wise cracking.  I think all these things exerted an influence on my persona somewhat.  It was also during this time that the film noir genre originated in Hollywood.

 

Back to the subject of hallucinating.  I had bypass heart surgery in 2008.  I never figured out why. I saw an emergency room doctor because of dizzy spells and upon noticing my good insurance coverage, it was decided that I'd be a good candidate for heart surgery altho I never had chest pains or a heartattack.  During this extremely invasive surgery, my rib cage was sawed apart and splayed wide open in order to remove my heart and put it on a heart machine while they repaired my valves.  I won't go into further details, but my post operative medication included a laudry list of pills.  Soon thereafter I started experiencing hallucinations during the "REM" period when I was emerging from sleep.   All kinds of people would appear, just there, standing in front of me. One was even a beautiful red bug with a human face. The room would also be aglow with "fairy dust" from time to time.  And I had x-ray vision.  I would look down at my feet and they would be skelectic. All this was going on with my eyes open but my eyelids were down. Once I raised my lids, the "hallucinations would disappear.

 

 During my waking hours there were always dark figures lurking in my peripheral vision.  Also if I stared at objects long enough, they would begin to move and spring up at me. None of this was frightening to me; just curious. After I stopped taking many of these meds, all these people I decided I had encoutered when I was "clinically" dead stopped coming to visit me.  But I occasionally have flashbacks.  Bottom line.  My hallucinations were real; just not 3-dimensional.

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Yes, a fascinating post...full of that sense of wonder, too...experiences like Cynique's makes me doubt that "artificial intelligence", whatever that means, can ever be really a self aware consciousness. Machines would in any case have no need for our flaws and limitations, such experiences. There might be more to us than just neurophysiology--a mechanistic view of the brain. This all hinges on questions that verge on the spiritual, not necessarily of religion or any religion per se.

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Hi Richard WC I just had an opportunity to read all of you posts on this conversation.  You contributions are long and I have to make time to read them when I can think about what you've written.  This was always a benefit of discussion forums they cater much better long form contributions and they hae a permanence that fleeting social media does not offer.  So even if a months goes by I can still very easily catch up.

 

It is interesting to think about truth in film or in books.  I have not expectation of truth in any fictional work. But many people will say you will find more truth in fiction that non-fiction.

 

Fiction seems to allow the writer to explore truth under the cloak of a made up story, when non-fiction works increasingly read like propaganda, or are heavily biased.  In modern documentaries you can almost guarantee you are being lied to simply of because of facts that are omitted.

 

In the biography the late Manning Marable wrote about Malcolm X's life,  Marable apparently concluded that Malcolm was gay.  I'd never heard that before and on it's face it was a startling revelation.  Marable, who I met once, introducing him, as the moderator of a panel discussion, struck me as an serious academic, not someone inclined to lie or make up a story for profit.

 

True or untrue was the revelation necessary in the content of the biography?  I don't know; I did not read the book.  I have it and will probably read that section to see how the issue is broached.

 

A few years ago I saw a documentary film on Bill Withers.  WHo came across a very likeable family oriented man.  Later I read about how he physically abused his wife, actress Denise Nicolas.  Denise was not even mention in the film I felt as thought I was lied to and that the documentary was just propaganda.  I hate propaganda disguised as documentary.

 

Now I don't mind Michael Moore's documentary, but I know going in they are propaganda.  I'm not expecting PBS or Frontline when I see Michael Moore.  I expect to be entertained more than I'm informed.

 

It is sort of like watching Bill Maher or John Oliver.

 

Cynique, two of my favorite characters got whacked last Sunday  :(

 

Finally, HBO will allow you to watch their programing without have to bend over and pay our cable providers for an over priced packages.

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wc. edwards, - or as Troy referred to you, "richard" ;) -  I, too, confess to just skimming your last post because of its length and my intent was to read it more thoroughly later; which I just did.  Your treatment of this infamous incident  made the most of the scenarios it made possible.  Giving the racial slant to your interpretation made it compelling.  The cigar references, however, were a stretch mainly because, 18 year olds don't really buy cigars for any reason other than to use as a holder for a "joint". (They smoke  death-inducing cigarettes, as opposed to cigars which never stay lit and aren't inhaled.) Of course, we are allowed to deviate from the norm when imagining the surreal.

 

A weed-smoker makes an equally interesting protagonist  because marijuana cultivates a fertile imagination and being caught smoking it is a misdemeanor which could involve taunting a cop, which could set the stage for a confrontation.  A  black youth high on marijuana  and a white cop drunk with power fill the roles in a drama where death becomes the final act. But, that's another story.   

 

Yes, Troy, the ranks among the Boardwalk cast of characters are dwindling. Guess Al Capone wanted to impress his guests, the 2 actors who appeared in the original "Scareface", a movie that starred Paul Muni and George Raft, and who Al  introduced to his friends in the Boardwalk script. (Paul Muni played Al) 

 

In the other scene where the black guy got shot after bargaining for the freedom of his girlfriend and their daughter, I was singing right along when the song that she recorded played because it's an oldie that I'm familiar with. 

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Wow you knew that song!  That is really something, from my perspective.  

 

Your generation really does have a lot of knowledge and wisdom to impart.  I wish we lived in a culture where age was more respected than youth. I'm not just talking about recalling an old tune, I'm talking about everything else that goes with that memory.

 

b.t.w. I dont know where I got "Richard" from.

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A weed-smoker makes an equally interesting protagonist  because marijuana cultivates a fertile imagination and being caught smoking it is a misdemeanor which could involve taunting a cop, which could set the stage for a confrontation.  A  black youth high on marijuana  and a white cop drunk with power fill the roles in a drama where death becomes the final act. But, that's another story.

 

No that is actually the summery of the story in fact. Cynique that's so well said--it's the perfect pitch for the producer to hear!!

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Troy, it sounds like they killed Chalky White. I might just check out the summary online rather than rent it via HBO's new service or wait until  they offer us another few months of free HBO. I can't watch that show without worry because they kill people off you'd rather see make it out to a better, calmer life.  Well, maybe Cynique's quote on death becoming the final act in a drama is more apt for Boardwalk since it's just full of death and killing!

 

Speaking of death and killing the Breaking News about Shootings in Canada's government building is on air right now.  That might replace the Ebola scare--panic--reporting.

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The world is in such turmoil at home and abroad.  It's the little things that are making a mockery of the most powerful country in the world; the individual acts of murderous terrorists which have such an impact on millions, and the possiblity of mass panic represented by a few cases of Ebola. Or how this entire country could be crippled by a breakdown of its electrical infra structure or its water supply.  The British Empire saw the handwriting on the wall, and gracefully retired from its world leadership role.  An arrogant America continues to indulge its self-appointed role of policing the world in spite of being hated for trying to foist on others the  democracy it doesn't practice at home. 

 

I watch Bill Maher's show last night, and I find myself in agreement with him on many issues.  He says the doctrines of Islam are more evil than those of other religions, whether all sects are as violent as Isis or not.  He quoted other sources who agreed that peaceful Muslims tolerate Christians but live vicariously through the war being waged by a fearless Isis.  Kinda like white people who don't belong to the Ku Klux Klan but who have no problem if it thwarts Blacks. 

 

Cornel West was a guest panelist on Bill's show and it's clear that, where Obama is concerned, West is not a member of the loyal opposition or a constructive critic, but more akin to a scorned suitor. I've always believed that he is a bitter ol coot nursing a bruised ego because the President hasn't paid homage to him by inviting him to the white house or sought his counsel.  I am not a big fan of Obama  but I am pushed into his corner every time I hear West's petulant ranting that has to give aid and comfort to Republicans. West was silenced when a white panel member observed that whether the country is in worse or better shape when he leaves office is a determining factor in judging a president, and that Obama's overall record will favor his legacy.

 

In the meantime, I continue to struggle with the intense hate that right-wing conservatives fill me with. I am constantly arguing with them on line, vexed by their sense of white entitlement.  I am also not a big fan of how Blacks continue to be their own worst enemy but white racists make me rise to the defense of my people.  

 

This Sunday is the final episode of Boardwalk.  It will be very interest to see who's left standing.  Maybe Nucky and his wife will just say "screw it" and finally consummate their marriage...

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You are in the throes of a dilemma that comes with being black. wc.edwards  Just as certain privileges and entitlements accrue to anyone born with white skin, the frustration of double-consciousness comes with being born black. As Troy has often observed, conflict in America is as much about class as it is about race.  I would add that no matter how you assess the situation, racism remains a factor. When black people are treated like second-class citizens, that's how they respond.

 

As for Obama not fulfilling his promises, most of the blame goes to the Republicans who thwart him at every turn. Their priority is not to make things better for the country but to spite the President because he's black. 

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No matter what you want to call yourself, wc.edwards,  in the eyes of white people you are - as the Chinese man said, when asked what his people called black folks:  "same ting, nigger right on."  :(    Color blindness is wishful thinking.

 

 Caucasian Americans are proud of their nationalities and culture or do they feel a great need to transcend their color.  They are comfortable in their skin.  If you aren't, then lotsa luck in in your quest to distract people from what you are in an effort to project who you are. Bear in mind that if your ethnicity is inquired about, then you are suspected of being black.  Heaven, forbid! :o

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The last episode of Broadwalk Empire was sublime.

 

The price of gas is WAY down.  Apparently we have huge surplus and may not need to export oil any longer. How did this situation change so radically?

 

I typically watch Bill Maher, I find the show entertaining, but I think Bill thinks too much of himself and can be a too mean spirited with people he disagrees with especially when it come to religious people.  Basically you agree with him or you must be stupid.  

 

Cornel strike me as a compassionate person, someone who is truly fighting for poor people.  I think Cornel believed that Obama was cut from the same cloth.  That is the issue with him an Obama  I've seen Cornel in action too many times to believe his dispute with Obama is as juvenile as you describe.

 

Folks ask yourself this question: who do you think is a more a righteous individual Al Sharpton or Cornel West?  

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Others have said that Cornel West has become seduced by celebrity and is more interested in the spotlight than the halls of academia.  I tend to agree. He's always schmoozing and suckin up under the guise of civility.  People talk about Al Sharpton because of his ghetto vibe. But I take his critics with a grain of salt because they hate the messenger as opposed to his message which is very often spot on. As far as Cornel West's disappointment with Obama goes, does he really think that the obstructionist Republicans would allow  Obama to get done what Cornel is whining about him not doing?  Obama should be pitied instead of attacked.  He is the pathetic object of ridicule and has been rendered impotent by Republican racists and Democrat wussies. 

 

I forgive Bill Maher  because he makes fun of pomposity and is no worse than blow-hard conservative talk show hosts. And of course, his dismissal of religion resonates with me. Religion is at the core of all the conflict in the middle east.  Islam reeks with misogny and vindictiveness,  still out to avenge their loss during the Crusades.  Back in this country, Christianity enables all the bigotry and hypocrisy that exists here. 

 

Am I on fire, or what? :angry:

 

Obviously, we don't agree on these subjects, Troy, but I had no problem with how Boardwalk ended.  I wouldn't go so far as to say it was sublime, but I found it satisfactory. 

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OK sublime may have been a little over the top, but as far as season finales go it was one of the best that I watched 2nd only to Six Feet Under, another HBO series.

 

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I've also seen Sharpton in action and as far as schmoozing with celebrities I believe Shapton has West beat by a mile.  Cornel really does go out his way, far more than other public figures or celebrity, I've observed to engage with regular folks. That in an of it self is hard work--even when when you are dealing with people who like you.  Cornel does this tirelessly, relentlessly

 

Cynique any opinion on who you think is more righteous between the two men?

 

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I have no problem with Bill Maher, he is a comedian I expect him to ruffle features--that is what a good comedian does.  

 

In the last two episodes I saw Bill got into arguments with a couple of people over Islam.  In each case, I would have defended Bill.  One person he argued with was the actor Ben Affleck (sp?) I have no idea where Ben's anger came from. I don't recall anything Bill, or his guest the famed atheist, Sam Harris, said that got him so bent out of shape.

 

After posting my message last night, Bill show and listened to a Pakistani-Zoe-Saldana-look-a-like argue with Bill over Islam.  She too was out of out of order in my book.

 

When I see this type of thing I see why the world religions are at each other throats the adherents are argumentative, intolerant and obdurate.

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Ignorance is Bliss, but knowledge is power. Which do you prefer Bliss or Power?  Can you have both?

 

I think power is an illusion at the very best fleeting and it is dependent upon other people.  Bliss on the other hand requires no one other than yourself.  Stated another way;

 

Power is ignorance, but knowledge is Bliss.

 

or something along those lines.  It is not yet 5 a.m. in my neck of the woods and I'm just having my morning cup of coffee :-)

 

How you been Del?

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I'm well Troy. The readings are going well. And the children are happy. Can you explain the power iw ignorance part.

Cynique how is reading or watching the news informative. What is the benefit of being more informed. Or what is the befit of beinglwss informed. Other than having less knowledge or being more ignorant.

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. I and could not find anything other than the small bit in Ebony. On the 23rd AP wrote a story that was picked out by a few newspapers. The LA Times wrote a piece and they actually linked to an interview my buddy over at Mosaic Magazine published http://lat.ms/ZL4UVK It is nice to see the LA times will post a link to a Black site, Ebony steals photos without crediting the source (you can see Ebony has me a little tight right about now).

At any rate, I do not use or consider Facebook a credible news source. I would never share information I discovered there--unless it was also mentioned on a reputable source. I've seen too many hoaxes, and even fell for one once...

I guess in my "Black book bubble" Cooper is high profile, but relatively obscure to the general pubic. So I know you are right about Cooper Cynique.

Funny, I posed a question recently, who are our high profiles authors, with so many kicking the bucket --who is left? While no one replied to my query on this forum there was some activity on Twitter and names like Dolen Perkins Valdez, Bernice Mcfadden and Terry McMillian were mentioned. Of those names only Terry would come close to being commonly known outside literary circles. With Terry gaining a tremendous amount of attention because of the drama with her gay husband.

The fact our authors garner so much more attention for the personal drama than their literary accomplishments really irks me. I even write about how Terry personal drama was elevated over her writing by Google in their search results. The same thing was done to Zane, even by the likes of wikipedia elevating tax issues rather than her professional accomplishments.

The same goes for our football athletes their private lives are dragged through the mud for ratings and, I believe, because people with real money don't want them in these lucrative positions.

Do we have a single Black owned daily newspaper in the entire country, to tell our stories?

I just visited the Chicago Defender website and I could not even find a link to subscribe to the newspaper. Is it still in print, or just a website?

I agree these "news" stories can be quite comical and compelling. I must have watched the elevator knock out punch 10 times, and talked about it in every social setting I've been in with Black folks since it happened.

But sometimes I want to learn something and be informed, especially when it comes to information about Black people . Sadly that is not happening in a meaningful substantive way in 2014.

I'm not sure people knew about Joe Sample. It took me two weeks to hear the news and I'm online every day.

There are many fans of J. California Cooper that will not learn of Cooper's passing until they read my newsletter next Tuesday.

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Your comparing and activist to an intellectual. Activist do stuff intellectuals think about stuff. For what he does Sharpton needs to be in the media. Be was on couple episodes of Boston Legal as himself. Sharpton is unacceptable to the media because he is intelligent but street. Cornell West was in the Matrix and did the commentary. Does it matter if they court celebrity. What does that mean. Does it make than ineffective. Dont know. If it means they get a bigger cheque. Right on Baby. I would enjoy talking with both, but Al looks like more fun at a party. But that could be my own bias. Plus I love his James Brown story.

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Del you know now that I think about it I've seen Cornel in many different situations.  I saw him jammi' with George Clinton at the Apollo.  I had dinner with him and about 5 other people, he has a very big personality, life ot the party type.  So I think he would be fun at a party. Probably more fun than Sharpton :-)  

 

I spoke at an event once, a few years ago, Cornel came up to me and complimented me on my words telling me what I said was powerful.  He did not have to do that, and no one else with the kind of celebrity has ever done that to me Cornel he was being very nice.  Still Cornel is an actual activist. He is still getting arrested.

 

I've never interacted with Sharpton, but I've seen him numerous times he used to hold his National Action Network Meetings on my block, just a few houses down.  My wife signed for him a few times.  But Sharpton is much more guarded (there was an attempt on his life).  But honestly the Sharpton I remember is the fat guy in the jogging suit from back in the day.  I would never imaged that one day he would have the ear of the President of the United States.  I would have thought that less likely than their being a mixed race president.

 

I think Cornel, at least right now, is more of an actual activist, and Shaprton is definitely not an intellectual.  Sharpton is more of a media personality.

 

Honestly I'm not sure why Sharpton is Obama's go to guy rather than Cornel.  If I had to guess I would say Cornel would probably be a lot tougher on Obama than Sharpton who clearly exposues the Obama-can-do-no-wrong position.  West would never play that role...  

 

Here is the another thing; I remember Sharpton pushing Clinton, while Cornel was actively campaigning for Obama (another situation I've seen Cornel in).  Virtually all of the NY Black politicians were behind Hillary. There is more to the story.

 

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Del I was trying to be clever, with my Power is ignorance, but knowledge is Bliss. My thinking really was the pursuit of power is ignorance and you have to be truly knowledgeable to have real Bliss.  

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I Think Sharpton is intelligent, but doesn't sound like an intellectual. I would make a distinction between an activist and a protester. Well there you have it, glad I prefaced, the party statement. What protest did West organize? When I was American Express as an intern, I ask Ken Chenault what his favorite book was, he said the autobiography of Malcolm X. Later I wonder if that was his favorite book or if it was said for effect. Clearly he's a really sharp guy. There were a few ads they showed the intern, and it should a funny biting side to him. However they weren't ads that would ever see the light of day. Unless they wanted to get sued. But they were edgy an funny. So again I don't how much of that was him or for our consumption. Are some celebrities nice because they are doing some one to one marketing. I have no idea. Or it could be a combination of the two.

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Oh okay I didn't get that you were being ironic. I don't think the pursuit of power is ignorance. I guess it depends on what you do with it. Now if you were to say manipulation or control, yeah I'd be with you. Would it be more palatable if we said strength instead of power.

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Our pursuits and opinions about people are a reflection of our own personalities. I happen to be a very curious person. Ignorance is not bliss to me; it's stifling. I do believe that knowledge is power and coupled with instinct, it helps you navigate through life. Nobody ever knows the whole truth so I just filter what I read in newspapers and see on TV and the Internet. I'm influenced by the credentials of who it is that's doing the editorializing. To me some sources are obviously more trustworthy than others and I always consider who has ulterior motives.
 
West and Sharpton are both hustlers; they are just different in caliber. Cornel is very glib and he stonewalls people with his dazzling spiel of words. Al is loud and aggressive. I confess to be influenced by their demeanors. West has a distracting weazle-like quality about him while Sharpton has never been able to shed his preacher pimp persona.
 
I'm also amused that West's ex-wives had some unflattering things to say about his ego-centric expectations when it came to his diminished sexual prowess. Sharpton left his wife for a younger woman and his attempt to give himself a make over turned him into a ridiculous looking bobble-head doll. I form these opinions not by withdrawing into my private world but by looking and listening to what is going on in the mix. I know such pettiness dilutes my credibility but I am also aware that images have just as much an impact as intellect.
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  • 10 months later...
Guest 2014 IRS Instruction 8283

Helpful analysis . I learned a lot from the details . Does someone know where I might get ahold of a template 2014 IRS Instruction 8283 copy to use ?

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