Vote or Die: Reason #1 African Americans need to Rock the Vote

Well once again the Republican party has shown as Kanye has said about their leader that they don't care about black people.

First last week they prevented me and the rest of the FEDERAL TAX paying citizens of Washington... the Constitutional right to have representation in Congress. Bitter... no. Mad... no. Just refund me all the Federal tax money I pay every year and we can call it even.

Then after being invited in March by Tavis Smiley and PBS to participate in a debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore... the front runners recently announced that they wouldn't make it because of scheduling conflicts.

But am I surprised by any of this of course not this is the same party that stole the Florida electoral votes in 2000... the same that replaced Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas... the same government that went on vacation and sent a horse back riding idiot to deal with my city drowning... and led by the same man that snubbed his nose at the NAACP year after year but yet tells his party to reach out to the African American vote.

Until we as a people get out and vote in more numbers... they will continue to brush us to the side and ignore us. So regardless of who you vote for be counted and vote.

In Response to the Comments...

That Dude Right There said...
You seem so much happier since you moved back...

That is the second time I have heard this in the comments section. I don't know what you guys were seeing before but other than the boring, not paying enough job, I loved living in Atlanta. Being close to my mother and my friends made it a great place to be. I SENTENCE YOU ALL TO GO BACK and REREAD. lol

Chet said...
Don't allow monies to come between you and your friend...

It isn't the money... its the principle. If I can't trust a friend with money what can I trust them with.

KCK(the shaky homo) monologue...

Never got a text. There really isn't anything to talk about now. If there was something I needed to know you have had about 18 months to tell me. Apparently it wasn't that serious to you.

The emails about DLB's video blog...

You may want to leave those comments on Youtube... Derrick doesn't read my email!! duh

Cocoa Rican said...
Not to say your way doesn't seem reasonable, but telling folks how they should apologize - when some morons don't even find the logic in doing that - is a bit on the over-control side.

The point was for people to realize "I'm sorry" carries no weight with me if they are expecting a response.

She's Back!!

The Real Thing: Words And Sounds Vol. 3 is now in stores... I just got it late last night so I will be posting my thoughts later... but my girl is back

and I am soooo lovin this picture...

work... home... and church on Sundays

Damn 3 weeks already...

For the most I haven't done much other than work... home... and church on Sundays. I have had a few dinners with old friends and 2 have come by the new spot to catch up but my routine has mostly been work... home... and church on Sundays.

That was until this Sunday, my two friends Doc and ThighsofSteal invited me to come out and have a drink or 4 with them. Seeing I hadn't done much other than work... home... and church on Sundays, I was eager to get out and see the new (and sad) nite life in DC. It is a sad state of existence when the best night to go out is Sunday. I mean damn I gotta get up and go to the office in the morning... but anyway I digress. We started our evening at R&R, which happens to be promoted by a friend. R&R really gives me the same vibes as DeJango's (for my ATLiens). It has a house floor and hip hop floor, however there is less separation by age as at DeJango's. It was the first time I had been out in DC since last October so it was good to see a lot of familiar faces and a couple new ones too.

The funniest thing of the first part of our evening was seeing KCK walk by me as if we were strangers. Which is probably for the best... seeing I have no words for him. I tell you never give a homo or anyone for that matter more than you are willing to loose (money, time, whatever... but especially money) and a person's word is only as good as their track record and his was always shaky.

Our evening continued at B Bar. More of the same, pretty much the same faces, but I ran into an acquaintance that moved up here from Atlanta a month before I did. So now I have another person to hang out with.

The evening ended close to 2am... and Monday started just a few hours later... Wore out from the club, the drinks and the after church jog along the Potomac, I will really be looking forward to work... home... and church this Sunday.

Random Thoughts this Friday Morning

1. Wasn't it a beautiful thing to see all the people wearing black yesterday in support of the Jena 6...

2. So we wore black on Thursday... now what?

3. I know I am going to get a couple hate emails for this one but who in ghetto hell names their child, Spontaneious?!?!?! After seeing some uncute chick on Top Model with that name, I changed my mind and decided that I am for steralization. Some people just shouldn't have kids.

4. Why is it that YOU decided to have kids... YOU decided to go part time and take the demotion... but I have to deal with your jealous attitude. Like I told the rude lil homeless girl by the metro... "Don't be mad at me for your life decisions."

5. Maybe instead of fighting for seat in Congress, DC should just ask for Federal Tax exemption... doesn't the Constitution say something like "No Taxation without Representation".

6. Am I the only one that is happy fall TV season is beginning?

7. So now that Kanye outsold 50... can I only hope he really does go away forever?!?!

8. Do people know how offensive it is to ask... "Oh you didn't like Atlanta?" I am not some contrive young fag that picks up and moves from city to city on a whim or a moments notice.

9. For the few people that have emailed or IMed me asking me what I think of OJ Simpson... I don't.

10. As I was walking down New Hampshire Avenue today... why did I feel like a stranger in a familiar city... its been less than 2 years.

Apologies...

Over the past weekend I have had 3 people apologize to me for different reasons. Whether it was something they did, something they didn't do that they said they would, or something they did and they said they didn't do... I got three "I'm sorries" this weekend.

It took me quite a while to realize that no one in life owes you anything. No one has to do what they say they are going to do. And people's word changes like I change underwear. Sometimes these are caused by factors in their control or not but yet and still like I always say... It is what it is.

On neither occasion with these three people did I take their actions and condemn them or their character, I just adjusted how I deal with each of them. No hard feelings but it doesn't take me three times to get burned to realize fire is hot. And it doesn't mean that I have casted their friendships to the wayside either... it just means I have learned more about who they are and how I can effectively deal with them. And maybe this was a one time fluke... but time will tell and just like when bad shit happens, when good shit happens I will also take notice and know how to deal with them as well. (i consider myself to be a pretty fair person)

But what prompted me to blog about this was one of the people that apologized got upset that I didn't instantly forget what happened and embrace them as a good friend immediately and go have drinks. One thing people need to realize, especially when dealing with me, your apology is for your conscious and soul and usually means absolutely nothing to me. First I hate the words I'm sorry. Those words convey nothing to me and do not acknowledge my feelings of the situation. So in case your mother didn't do her job and teach you the correct way... here it is... "I recognize what I did or said made you feel ____ and I apologize that my actions made you feel that way." Do not say I am sorry for doing... because you aren't. And if you were you wouldn't have done it in the first place. You are just sorry that your actions pissed me off.

"When I think of the State of Georgia and Genarlow Wilson... when I think of the Jena 6 down in Louisiana... I see that Jim Crow still lives.

Maybe the children today, maybe the teens of today will see that the struggle is not over. The fight is not over."

- Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr, Senior Pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church, Washington, DC

My Week

What a week...

The week began with a wonderful worship experience. As I walked into Metropolitan, my church home, the choir was singing, "I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me...". Instant tears just the song I needed to fill my spirit. The service continued along that line and I left knowing why I missed this church so much. Service ended with choir singing "I'm still here".
After church me and a friend that came down from the NY to help me move in ventured out to do some necessary shopping, when I got a disturbing call telling me my mother had a seizure and had been rushed to the hospital. Immediate guilt set in from me moving so far away, but thankfully she was later released and is currently doing just fine.

Knowing she was fine... I began my new job just as I was expected and thankfully I was thrown right into work. I've always hated the first week or so of work when they expect you to "read about the organization" and "get adjusted". The best way for me to get adjusted is to get right to work. This week was busy filled with planning for an upcoming conference in Rhode Island, our upcoming Annual, and mid year staff reviews. And after reading all of my staff's personnel files, all I can say is that I have an interesting bunch.

Other than work I haven't done much since I have been back. Dinner with a friend and former date. A movie with a friend. But that was my week... I am going to bed now I am tired.

Where was I on September 11, 2001?

I had just arrived to work at the John F. Kennedy Center, fashionably late as usual. My office was right across from the IT Department and I could see them watching the Today show in their office... at the time it was still thought that the first tower had been hit by a small plane. We were all glued to the TV in disbelief...


And then the second plane hit and we instantly knew it wasn't an accident, but had no clue of exactly what was going on. The crowd around the little 13inch TV grew larger as we watched eager for more information.


Then someone came down the hall screaming the Pentagon was on fire... many of us in disbelief ran up several flights of stairs, only to look across the Potomac and realize America was under attack. The Kennedy Center sits right next to the Saudi Arabian Embassy, so it was evacuated immediately. I sat on Constitution Avenue in between Union Station and the U.S. Capitol when the news came out that another plane was approaching DC. I have never heard this city so quiet... we prayed, we feared.

Finally making it out of the city... I sat on my friend Wayne's porch trying to reach family and friends to let them know I was ok, as we smoked several blunts and watched the endless repeats of coverage on the news. It was definitely a day I will never forget.

Getting acclimated and settled in...

see you guys next week.

5 Things I will Miss About ATL: #5 My Friends

I totally believe that your friends are the family you get to choose. I also believe that my friends either compliment something I like about myself or would like for myself. Whether it is their sense of style, infectious sense of humor, ability to take nothing too seriously or their ivy league education... each of my friends has something unique they bring to our friendship.

I spend alot of time on the weekends with my friends. Whether it is bouncing from house party to house party... having lunch... or just hanging around the house or pool, we can usually be found together on the weekends at some point. Occassionaly through the week we get together for dinner or if something good is coming on TV, we are together laughing it up with a drink in hand.

There is Tracee, Farod, DJ, Rocky, Damian, Larry,and a few others. These are my boys and my girl, and I will miss spending the weekends and several days through the week with them. After a very difficult 2006, these guys made my 2007 so far so much better.


But an occasional trip back to the A, will get me through.

Welcome to the A

Once again it is my honor to welcome all to Atlanta's Annual Black Pride Celebration. By the emails, phone calls, and online messages I see that this will be yet again a well attended event... and as a Georgia resident for yet a few more days we welcome you and your tax dollars to Hotlanta.

However on behalf of Shirley Franklin and the police chiefs of Fulton County PD, DeKalb County PD, and Atlanta City Police lets go over some ground rules:

• Stealing from Lenox Mall will have you arrested and embarrased. A friend that manages a store there has already told me that some punk was arressted for trying to steal from Neimans this past weekend... and instead of the side door they took him right out the front entrance... what a gag.
  


• Leave the Str8s alone. For some reason they often forget or want to pretend to forget that it is gay pride, then walk around the mall trying to figure out why the mall is gayer than usual. (if that is even possible)
  


• When hanging out in Piedmont Park on Sunday.... please remember the park closes at dusk and there is no restroom or exit in the bushes behind the tennis courts.

I feel it is my duty to remind you again this year, on Monday (Tuesday if you just must) we ask that you pack your bags and take only what you brought with you or have receipts for and go home… Atlanta is currently at its homo resident limit and currently way over our traffic capacities, so no new residents at this time!!

But on the real tip enjoy your Labor Day weekend everyone whether you are here in ATL, Miami or wherever.

5 Things I Will Miss About ATL: #4 Being in the South

The fourth thing I will be missing about being in Atlanta, is also one thing I won't miss. And that is being in the south. There are some aspects of being in the south I love and there are others that I could definitely do without.

I will definitely miss being driving distance to my mother. Out of my entire family my mother is the person I am closest to. Being an only child to a single mother, kind of requires that. While there are aspects of my life that are not discussed, she is the only person in my family that really knows me.

I will also miss being close to my Alma mater, Auburn University. Auburn was a great time for me. Of course I learned a lot I walked away with 2 degrees in 4 years, but more importantly I learned so much about myself and relationships as well. Before attending I was quite nervous about going to a predominately white college in the middle of nowhere in Alabama. But the very first time my mother drove me on to the campus... I knew this was going to be home.

Being in the south has a few perks... but the slow fullness, segregation and lack of diversity are things that make moving north worth it.

After the Destruction

Once again the journalists at the Washington Post have done a great job in covering a story. As we mark the 2nd year since Katrina you should check out

AFTER THE DESTRUCTION,

videojournalist Travis Fox returned to Nola to cover the recovery and revitalization efforts within the city.

Always remembering, Nigel Alexander Baptiste-Williams
March 12, 1989 - August 30, 2005

Keeping Diddy Relevant Season Finale

Ok so Diddy finally Made the Band last night. And I don't recall them saying anything about how the audience voted but that was probably cause I was paying very little attention to the show. But anyway the band is Qwanell, Willie, Robert, Brian A., and for some odd reason Mike. Can someone explain why Mike made it ?


And to appease the white folks... Donnie got a solo deal. I actually like his voice and could see him in a boy band but a solo deal with Bad Boy is about as useful as... well... hell you name 4 Bad Boy solo artist?

5 Things I Will Miss About ATL: #3 The Nightlife

Atlanta's night life is by far not the most idealic, however it is probably one of the best out there right now.

Whether you are looking for the gay, straight, or mixed crowd... Atlanta has what alot of other cities doesn't have and that is options. Sunday through Saturday there is always a spot open to go to. On Sunday alone there are three different gay clubs open... Friday and Saturday there are four. And for these options... I will miss the Atlanta nightlife.

I'm Feeling a Tammy Faye Cry Coming On

Well Fox 5 here in Atlanta reported last night that the good Bishop Thomas Weeks but a public beating on his wife, Juanita Bynum recently. Weeks described as a 'bishop, prophet, conference host, and highly sought after motivational speaker' was still being sought after by Police at the time of the newscast.

Weeks and Bynum are the leaders of the Global Destiny ministry which has churches in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, London and here in Atlanta. As well as a huge television and online following at www.bishopweeks.com .

While of course there are three sides to every story... Juanita's is quite a sad and salicous story. According to Fox 5

ATLANTA (FOX 5) -- Atlanta police said Wednesday that well-known television minister, Juanita Bynum, became the victim of domestic abuse after her husband savagely beat her in a hotel parking lot Tuesday night.

A relative of Reverend Bynum told FOX 5 News that the Reverend Bynum and her husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks, are in the middle of a separation.The relative said the two agreed to meet Tuesday night in the dining room of the Renaissance Hotel near Hartsfield-Jackson airport.The meeting reportedly did not go well and ended with Bishop Weeks leaving abruptly. The relative said Reverend Bynum followed him to the parking lot where the two exchanged words.

According to an Atlanta Police Department report, that's when Weeks allegedly attacked her. In a statement to police, Reverend Bynum said her husband, Thomas Weeks, "choked her, pushed her down, kicked her and stomped her in the Renaissance parking lot." Ronald Campbell of the APD said a bellhop at the hotel saw the attack, intervened and stopped it.

Officer Campbell said Reverend Bynum suffered multiple bruises and swelling and
required hospitalization.

Don't know about you guys but for some reason I am feeling a tearful, apologetic, "I've Sinned Against the Lawd" sermon coming this Sunday.



You better preach gurl!!

5 Things I Will Miss About ATL: #2 Phipps Plaza

Directly across the street from the overpopulated Lenox Mall (thanks MARTA!!) is a less visited jewel to Atlanta... Phipps Plaza. Phipps sits less than a mile from my house and I can be found there a couple times a month.

Whether it is a Saturday afternoon and I want to catch a movie away from the masses... or a Sunday afternoon and I want to see what my favorite stores Theory, CoOp, and Sisley have in. I always feel I can shop or browse (which I do most often) without running into 100 homos and College Park's finest. It is a rare occasion when I can remember being in one of the stores with more than 8 other people at the same time.

Phipps was also the first time I got to see Janet Jackson, Faith and T.I. up close and personal. I will definitely miss my lil shopping haven.

5 Things I will Miss About ATL: #1 Elizabeth Baptist Church

I can't remember a time growing up when church wasn't a constant. There was always two services on Sunday and bible class on Wednesday. Vacation Bible School every summer and once I was a teenager there were the weeklong camps held at universities across the country.

During college my attendence dwindled, but it wasn't until I was an adult when I realized how important spiritual fullfilment was to my life. I discovered this with the help of Metropolitan Baptist Church, which I am excited to finally be returning to.

But after visiting countless churches here in Atlanta, it was only Elizabeth Baptist Church that fed my soul and not only had me eager to return, but had me telling everyone about it. It is truly a unique worshiping experience. It is everything that I enjoy... a good message, uplifting singing (even from the Mens Choir... which tend to be dull and boring), and a timely service. But the thing that suprises me the most about the multigenerational EBC, is how the service and church are led by quite a youthful staff. Craig L. Oliver the pastor is in his mid 30s, and the ministerial staff that I have had the opportunity to see when Oliver was away have all been in their early 20s. When I asked one of the elder members I sat next to one Sunday, she simplied replied "it is a beautiful thing to see the young folks so active nowdays". Inspring as well, if you ask me.

For anyone looking for a church experience, I highly recommend checking this church out. You can watch the services live or On Demand at Streamingfaith.com. It will definitely be apart of any of my weekend trips to ATL.

Danny will Always be My Winner

Congratulations to Sabra... but Danny will always be my favorite