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Showing posts from July, 2009

Waiting on The World To Change

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The line from the hit by pop singer John Mayer comes to mind every time I hear Al Sharpton, Georgetown Michael Eric Dyson or the latest educated celebrity fool, Harvard Professor extraordinaire Henry Louis Gates speak about "having honest conversations about race in America. They believe that law enforcement will change their behavior before we do- they have it backwards. Respect, just as with individuals comes from the inside out-not the other way around. In black America our culture in the inner cities over the past forty years of crime, violence, buffoonery and belligerence has made it almost impossible for us to be viewed with respect from just about any other society on earth. The worst among us unfortunately has made it difficult for the best among us. I must say however that in my humble view the so called "educated" among are the worst offenders. They in spite of their illusion of brilliance are largely ineffective in convincing the masses of blacks that "c...

The Enemy Within

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I write this particular piece with a great deal of anger. For those who know me, boxing is and has been a major part of my life since I was 7 years old. It began with watching Ali fights in television in the late 70's. Then at the age of 13 I began a 7 year amateur career. The past several weeks have been the darkest in the sports history with the untimely deaths on three great champions. Three weeks ago, ring legend and native Nicaraguan Alexis Arguello took his own life with a gunshot to the head. A week later blood and guts warrior Arturo Gatti was strangled and beaten to death allegedly by his wife in Brazil while he lay passed out in a drunken stupor. If those events weren't tragic enough, Saturday night current Jr. Middleweight champ and former Olympian Vernon Forrest was shot to death in Atlanta in an attempted carjacking. This latest act of savagery perpetrated against one of boxing's good guys further illustrates the sick culture in which many black men choose to...

Deadly Consequences

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As the facts have come in surrounding the shooting death of former NFL star quarterback Steve McNair, the story becomes even more troubling. The official word is murder suicide committed by his 20 year old mistress Sahel Kazemi. McNair left behind a wife and four sons ages 5 to 17. Rich and famous men having affairs with young women is not new. However this is the first one that I can recall ending this way. Married men all over the world are re-thinking their "arrangements" I'm sure, although I'm not so sure it will change their behavior. Men can be so hypnotized by the "cat" that even if we knew we stood a chance of getting taken out, some would still take the risk. No one knows what was going on in McNair's marriage, nor is it important now. What we do know is the effects of his choices will have long lingering consequences-specifically for his children. Kazemi's fatal flaw was buying into the lie that many women do: he will leave his wife to b...

Palin bids Farewell, For Now

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In a surprise move, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced she was resigning from office in order to "move the team to victory". Palin has been the subject of over a dozen ethics by Democratic hatchet men-all of which she has been acquitted of. However these probes are not without a price tag-Palin has rung up about $500,000 in legal fees defending herself as well as another $200,000 in state funds. Palin, speaking at a press conference from her lakefront home in Wasilla, Alaska, said that she wanted to "take a stand and effect change, not just hit our head against the wall and waste valuable state time and money." The opinions are split of whether it was a good or bad move, at least on the Republican side. The Democrats as you would expect think it ranks just above Watergate in terms of damage to the party. What do I think? Nothing yet. Palin will regroup, make a ton of money on the speaking tour, pay off legal fees, galvanize her base- which is huge and make a run ...