Say Man, What's Behind that Curtain Pt. II: OJ Convicted to 15 Years

OJ Simpson has been convicted to 15 years in prison. He is eligible for parole in five years.

OJ is obviously guilty, but what is more interesting is how much evidence they had. The judge, in so many words said she had never had this much evidence in a case and IT WAS ALL ON TAPE.

Why would an illegal memorabilia dealer set up audio recorders to tape his own illegal transactions? That's like a computer hacker saving all his stolen id's and passwords on the desktop of his own laptop.

What do you think about The Juice?

Today is World AIDS Day. Here are some alarming statistics:

• Blacks bear the brunt of the AIDS epidemic in America. The number of new HIV infections in Blacks was 1.6 times the number in whites
• Blacks carry the bulk of the epidemic among women. While men accounted for two-thirds of new infections among Blacks, the infection rate among Black women is 15 times higher than among their white counterparts. High-risk heterosexual contact accounted for 80% of new infections among Black women.
• Black gay and bisexual men under 30 are hardest hit. Black "men who have sex with men" between the ages of 13 and 29 had infection rates roughly twice that of their white and Latino counterparts. This group had the highest number of infections of any other subset of gay and bisexual men.

Is there any explanation for these disproportionate figures? Are Blacks more promiscuous? Are Blacks more genetically inclined to receiving HIV? Are Blacks less educated about AIDS?

What do you say?

The Black College Xperience Video Game

Did you see the Bayou Classic on Saturday? The Grambling State Tiger's (my wife's alma mater) finally beat the Jaguars of Southern University 29-14. But more exciting than the game, was the battle of the bands. Who do you think won? It's very difficult to tell with the limited split coverage that doesn't even include the best part....THE BREAKDOWN. NBC is covering the battle of the bands much better now, but someone has to let them know about the BREAKDOWN. But even more exciting than the Battle of the Bands was the introduction of The Black College Football Xperience, the Doug Williams edition (see the commercial above). The advertisement got me geeked and I don't even own a XBox, Playstation or Nintendo WII. I wonder if they are considering making a classic version for the Atari 2600? Even if not, this would make a cool gift for your cousin, nephew , mentee, etc.

There is one thing I wonder though.....what part of the Black College Xperience do you think they forgot to add?

Comments please, we're ready to laugh....

Say Man, What's Behind that Curtain.....pt. I

If you haven't heard, after February 17, 2009 you will no longer be able to receive a free analog signal to your television antenna without a converter box. I'm sure this isn't a big deal for most because many are already paying for Cable, Direct TV, Dish Network, etc. which will not be affected. For those that don't pay for television I imagine the question is where do I get a converter box and how much does it cost. These are logical questions, and the answers can all be found at https://www.dtv2009.gov/, but be prepared to be perplexed. First, you can get them almost anywhere (Target, Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, etc) and second they only cost about $30 - $70. But wait, if you act now you can apply for assistance.......government assistance. All you have to do is go to https://www.dtv2009.gov/ApplyCoupon.aspx and you can get $40 gift cards (2 maximum) that can be used at all of the retailers that offer these boxes. So that's free for the low end models, with no brand recognition. Sounds nice and easy, right?

Have you ever heard the saying, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is"? Since when has the government been so gracious and generous that out of the kindness of their hearts they are willing to give every household something free of charge? The welfare system might come to mind, but even then it's not like you go to the office and they ask, "How much money do you want"? There is a real application process and background check to make sure everything is kosher. And at the end of the day, you know it comes from taxes. Wait-a-minute, is the government using my tax dollars, so that we can have converter boxes and ensure that we are most informed and don't get left behind by "The Jones's" and their new technologies? I didn't know the government knighted new technologies and freely gave them to the people? That is so thoughtful. They really do care about me and my well being? And all this time, I thought big government was wasteful and small government was voluntary irresponsibility, but they really are looking out for me.

The American auto industry is going bankrupt, greenhouse gas emissions are at an all-time high(wink-wink), unemployment is skyrocketing, 1 in 10 workers are directly affected by this mess, but there is technology that creates hybrid and electric cars that reduces the affects of global warming and the government can't figure out what to do about this "crisis"? I smell a RAT. Why don't they just cut to the chase and put a converter box in our hybrid cars so they can show us what they want us to see while they drive us to where they want us to go and do it all via satellite. But look on the brighter side, they'll probably be able to beam your favorite artist into your passengers seat to make the ride a little more enjoyable.

Is Jesse Jackson Jr. Set to Be the Next Black "Leader"?

The residual affect of Barack Obama's election for African Americans is almost inconceivable. Most analyst and water-cooler discussions have touched on the conceptual and psychological affects, but what about the direct affect it will have on many African Americans?

Consider this, they say as the global populations continues to grow exponentially our social connections remain rather small as in "Six Degrees of Separation". I would argue that it's even smaller in the Black community, at the most 4 degrees. The same people you see at Black Ski Weekend are the same ones you'll see at The Essence Festival.

With that in mind, it seems Jesse Jackson Jr. is sitting pretty. But, how close are you to Barack? As it stands right now, I know I can get to the mayor of DC, who in turn can get to Barack, if not now, he will soon enough. As Kanye said about Jay Z in "Big Brother", "...he can change your life...".

What about the reality of Barack? Opportunity could actually walk up your porch and knock on your door? Another good reason to have your house in order.

What do you think?

Happy Founder's Day to the brothers of Omega Psi Phi, Inc.

How RIDICULOUS is this???

Feel free to use HARSH language when commenting....

Post Obama Racism or Not......(comical)

While I'm still high off the Obama win, I have to figure out if I've been a victim of A.O. racism so soon after the election (A.O.= After Obama vs. B.O.= Before Obama). So, I've been eating more healthy for a while now and I'm on my way to the Farmer's Market to get me some non-pesticide, no preservatives, spoil in four days fruits and vegetables. Since I don't have cash on me, which I seldom do, I gotta figure out how I'm going to get it. Should I go to my home bank for free? Should I go to the closest ATM and pay the $2.00 fee + $2.00 from the home bank, essentially withdrawing $16? or Should I go to Ralph's, buy something and get cash back?

So I'm in Ralph's and I walk over to the produce department where I see all the health drinks. I'm looking for my favorite, Naked Juice-Green Machine. After looking for a few minutes in the section that was right by the door where the employees go to the back, I hear someone say what sounded like, "hey brotha you gotta come try this...", so I look up and it's an employee leaning in the door way eating a small watermelon. Is he talking to me? I know he didn't just... I'm bout to hall off and... Do you know who the president is? With all the thoughts that were going on in my head, my mental system just crashed (think blue PC blue screen of death) and the next thing I know I'm sticking my hand out (see Pavlov) to try it. Things start going in slow motion now. I see him cutting me a piece with a small pocket knife, like he is on the island of Oahu, then I notice a lot of seeds in the piece he gives me and I'm thinking "what kind of (fill in the blank) gives you a seedy piece of watermelon". So as I'm putting it in my mouth, I really can't get a good taste of it because of the pressure of him having said how good it is, plus he's standing right there.Just to be nice, I say, "That's pretty good" and he proceeds to tell me that, "the red label watermelon is SHIT, you want to get the ones right there with the black label" as if it's some Johnnie Walker or something.

As I'm trying to leave this awkward Seinfeld moment, he's says , "here, here's another piece" and walks back to the cart where the watermelon is sitting as if he wouldn't be doing his job if he let me leave without another taste. Once again, my arm starts to extend (see Pavlov) and I take it, then he just fades to the back like Kaiser Sosa and he was gone.

Was I a victim? Consider the evidence:

*Watermelon
*I wasn't the only person in the grocery store
*It's not like they had a watermelon kiosk and someone was out front with a tray like at Chick-fil-A offering samples
*"Hey brotha" (in a secret voice)
*Why did I HAVE to try it?
*Why offer the second piece?

Consider the defense:
*I was in the produce section
*I was the closest person
*My arm did reach out without even processing the info (see Pavlov)
*He was Asian, possibly Hawaiian
*"hey bro." is very common in CA

You be the judge!!!

President-Elect....Barack Obama

Mr. President, Mr. President.......WOW!!! Can you believe it? While sitting on the couch with the wife, kids, moms and sister, I was blown away by the enormity of what was taking place. We were watching everything unfold on local news (ABC 7) and my mind was racing with so many thoughts about the implication of having just elected THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT!!!! Truth of the matter is I have so many questions and thoughts scribbled on torn-off pieces of paper, back of receipts and even my kids homework all while my handy digital recorder lay on the console of the good ole '93 Jeep Cherokee. Since I always like to talk/discuss/debate/mind wrestle/pontificate/chew the fat/hold court/kick the willy bo bo's, I decided to kick off the first Freedom Ain't Free blog with a where were you and how did it go down when the THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT was elected?

Sound off......