When will LeBron LeLearn ?

Really LeBron ? It was all about race ? Really ?

The media darling that was LeBron "King" James left this world on July 8, 2010. Prior to that date, the kid from Akron, Ohio with superfreakish athletic skills never before seen on a human being of that size was a media darling from the day he stepped into the national consciousness. The kid said and did all the right things, was a great player, lived up to the enormous hype, stayed out of trouble off the court. In this day and age, that is no small feat for a young individual to be awarded with MILLIONS of dollars at such a young age and not morph into a trainwreck of a person either on or off the court. LeBron was different ... that was until "THE DECISION".

At the conclusion of an unprecedented NBA Free Agency period, when all everyone could talk about was "will he stay or will he go" in relation to staying with his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, or would he leave the "mistake by the lake" for the bright lights and big city glamor of a New York, Chicago, or Miami. With the exception of MAYBE the "Food Network" (and I think they may have had a "Whopper or Big Mac ? LeBron's Decision" special on earlier :-), virtually every network on planet earth had up to the minute coverage of "what would LeBron decide ?". The culmination of this summer long drama was to be "The Decision", a 1 hour long special on ESPN, where LeBron would undoubtedly say "I've gotten close to the Promiseland with my guys in Cleveland, and I'm staying home to bring a title to my hometown". And the crowd goes wild !! Right ? WRONG !! As you all know by now, in front of millions of eagerly anticipating fans all across the NBA nation, LeBron broke up with his High School Sweetheart, "The Cleveland Cavaliers", and slowly and painfully stated that "I've decided to take my talents to South Beach" and join the Miami Heat, the smoking hot Latina that came along after he got rich and famous. OH NO HE DIDN'T GIRLFRIEND !! OH YES HE DID !!

It was at that very instant that the national attitude towards LeBron James shifted from "media darling" to "coddled, spoiled, unappreciative athlete". The people in his beloved hometown, who loved his very dirty drawers from he was probably in the 7th grade, now HATED HIS FRIGGIN GUTS !! The perception seemed to LITERALLY have changed over night as people largely viewed the way in which his decision was handled as "tacky, unprofessional, uncaring, heartless, all about ME, ME, ME". LBJ went from one of the most beloved athletes of all time to one of it's most hated, in about the time it takes to say "I've decided to take my talents to South Beach". And when it comes to the media, as we have seen time and time again, they seem to take a great amount of pleasure in hyping and building you up and an even greater pleasure in tearing and bringing you down. Just ask Tiger ...

And it is in this most unfamiliar position LeBron now finds himself, where the beloved has become the hated, where the media darling has become the media target, where he who could do no wrong is now he who can't stay out of wrong's way. Now enter CNN's Soledad Obrien. In response to the CNN reporter's question "Do you think there's a role that race plays in this ?" in reference to the harsh treatment LeBron has gotten since "The Decision", LBJ responded "I think so at times. It's always, you know, a race factor.".And the blogosphere and mainstream media-sphere went CRAZY !! "LeBron Blames Race for Backlash", "Lambasted LeBron conveniently sees hurtful role of race",  "LeBron James doing more damage to reputation by pulling out race card", "Lebron James won't back down from race comment" were but a few of the headlines making front page news in major newspapers and Blogs throughout the nation. In what was a relatively tame and obvious answer to a reporter's question, the mainstream and underground media went absolutely BERSERK saying LeBron is playing the race card, and deflecting blame, and all sorts of over the top reactions.

LeBron simply stated the OBVIOUS in RESPONSE to a question about race which we all know is almost always a factor when talking about mostly inner city, mostly black kids, making mega millions of dollars, playing before mostly white fans, for teams owned by mostly white men (with Michael Jordan being the only exception). He simply responded by saying that there is almost always an undercurrent of race but his response was NOT "they only hate me cause I'm black". THAT is the race card; LeBron did NOT state that, yet still he is being lambasted for blaming his fall from the heights of "media darling-hood" on the infamous, never low on credit "race card" .

So what is different today and what should LeBron learn from this whole experience ? The difference is simply that we are now living in a "Post 7-8-2010 World" , where everything LeBron says can and will be used against him in the court of public opinion. Whatever he says will be magnified tenfold, sliced, diced, mixed, shaken, and stirred in trying to get those words to align with the new image the media is trying to paint of LeBron as the "rich, overpaid, overhyped, Robin to Dwyane Wade's Batman, coat tail rider, heartless, uncaring, 2nd fiddle, point the finger at others, all about ME, ME, ME" persona. The media has sketched the outline of the image they want the public to have of LeBron. Now they simply have to get his every word and every action to fill in the missing shades and colors of their prefabricated image. This is what you must now learn LeBron. Choose your words WISELY !!

Joe Biden was RIGHT ... STOP WHINING LIBERALS !!

Yesterday, VPOTUS Joe Biden raised a lotta eyebrows and caught a bit of heat from some on the left who got all "pissy pants" because the ever so eloquent and often not tactful and gaff prone Vice President stated that the progressive liberal base of the party should "STOP WHINING" in reference to what they perceive as not enough change in the 2 years since the Obama Administration has been in office. To put the quote in full context so I don't misrepresent the VP's thoughts, Biden urged Democrats to "remind our base constituency to stop whining and get  out there and look at the alternatives. This president has done an  incredible job. He's kept his promises." Some may have taken this the wrong way but I know PRECISELY what the Vice President was saying and I 100% agree with this sentiment.

I've written before on this BLOG, about "The LUNACY of NOT VOTING" as many on the left are planning to sit out the midterm election in November because the change they voted for in 2008 has not come fast enough. I certainly understand the sentiment of not been pleased with the progress that has been made since Obama and 'dem took over control in Washington but I am capable of putting things in their proper perspective.

Point #1, there was a tremendous hole on all fronts in terms of an economy spiraling downwards towards "Great Depression - The Sequel - NOW IN COLOR" , a federal budget deficit expanding out of control, 2 ongoing wars in the Middle East, health care costs rising exponentially, and a host of other problems that make me wonder WHY IN THE HELL would anyone want to be President ? Point #2, politics is all about negotiation among often competing interests and it is natural in the midst of such negotiations for both sides to feel as if they didn't get what they really wanted. Point #3, the Republican minority has been as committed as the reggae group "Third World" (excuse the obscure reference but I love their song "I'm Committed") and determined to bring the Obama Administration down by opposing and obstructing EVERYTHING they have tried to accomplish. Put all of this in context and you'll soon realize that many of the items on your wishlist of what you've wanted President Obama and the Democratic majority to accomplish have run up against very strong road blocks and it is through necessary deal-making and negotiation where some of what you've fought so hard for has been watered down and not fully representative of the progressive future you have worked so hard for.

However, it is important to realize the progress that has been made in the liberal progressive direction and not "take your ball and go home" at this point. Change takes time and is retarded even more by Republicans (pun intended) who refuse to cooperate and work together in ANY WAY to tackle the nation's challenges. Their solution to EVERYTHING begins and ends with tax cuts. If you ask them what's the cure for cancer, they will say "tax cuts". If you ask them what's 2+2, they will way "tax cuts". If you ask them how do we solve global warming they will first say "tax cuts" then state THEIR FACT that it's nothing but a "liberal myth" to raise taxes. Yes, that is what we're working with or rather against so change will be increasingly difficult.

BUT if we give up now, and sit out this election and somehow allow more Republicans to enter the Senate and the House and further pollute and obstruct legislative progress, the change that you've fought so hard for will come to a screeching halt and in many cases they'll press the CTRL-Z button (nerd reference) button to undo what has been done to march towards our progressive future. So, YES , if you plan to sit out this November election then I encourage you to STOP WHINING about not getting your whole slice of cake and celebrate the fact that you've got the ingredients for the cake, you've mixed it together, the oven is warm, and you're bought to put that delicious cake in the oven. NOW STOP WHINING, VOTE, AND GET READY TO EAT YOUR DAMN CAKE !!

Not so Fast Texans Fans

Just take a listen to Sports Talk Radio in Houston the past 2 weeks and most fans seemed to have penciled the home team in to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The only point of playing the remaining 14 games of the schedule was simply to figure out who would represent the NFC in "The Big Game" (contractually obligated not to call it the "Super Bowl" out of fear the Gangsta NFL Commissioner's Office comes after me for naming rights violation). Yes it was all smiles and giggles in the city of Houston after impressive wins against the Colts and Redskins to start the 2010 season and the thought of 8 years of franchise misery and playoff virginity seemed all but erased from the minds of Texans fans.

The swagger was back ... actually it never did exist ... but Texans fans were strutting a different way about town in a way that would have you believe that the team had ACTUALLY accomplished something. You would think that they had a list of team accomplishments similar to ... ummmm ... the team showing up in Reliant Stadium in week 3 to face off against the Texans, the much-hated Dallas Cowboys. Texans showed up 2-0, beating their chests with all the swagger in the world while the Cowboys limped into town at 0-2, hanging their heads with not a shot in the world of a victory. Well, as the saying goes, "that's why they play the game".

From opening kickoff to closing whistle, the Cowboys made the plays on Offense and Defense that needed to be made, while the Texans did none of the above and when all was said and done, the Cowboys came to town and humbled and humiliated the Texans and Texans fans with a 27-13 arse kickin of the home time. For the Texans, it was a tremendous opportunity lost as they FINALLY had the attention of the whole football nation wondering if this team was for real or the same ole, same ole, huge promise, little results football team that has perfected the art of "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory". An opportunity lost ? Yes. End of the world or end of season ? No. Rather it was an opportunity for both players and fans to stop, relax, chill, put things in perspective, and in cliche of all cliches, TAKE IT ONE GAME AT A TIME !!

For Houston football fans who hadn't tasted pro football success since the days of Warren Moon, we seemed to have gotten a bit overzealous and believed that since we TRULY have a pretty good football team in town these days, that the struggles would be AUTOMATICALLY over and we would simply run off to a 16-0 season and have no difficulties along the way. It's never that way in football and it DAMN SURE is never that way in life. But as Bob Marley and several others have said, "but the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory". Nothing good comes easy and the sweetness of playoff success for the Texans will be even sweeter due to the struggles that it will take to reach to that mountain top.

As a diehard Houston sports fan, I sat through a 14-68 Houston Rockets season and remained a diehard fan even throughout these horrendous days. Oh what a TREMENDOUS JOY it was to climb from that low valley to the high mountain top of BACK TO BACK NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS in '94 and '95. PATIENCE ... Texans fans. We've got a good squad. We dropped the ball and had a stinker today. Thirteen games left in the season. There will be more ups and more downs but hold the faith. It will be SOOO SCHWEEET when we do reach that Super Bowl mountaintop. Hope you ain't diabetic ...

The LUNACY of NOT VOTING !!

Put me in the category of those people that believe that voting should be MANDATORY for all US Citizens just like paying taxes (well unless you've got millions of dollars and tax attorneys that can get you out of it... but I digress). There is a movement afoot from a lot of liberal progressive Democrats who haven't gotten the change they voted for in November 2008 fast enough and as a result feel that they can best express their displeasure in the slow progress of change by simply NOT VOTING in the Midterm election coming up in November. This is utter lunacy and these people need to WAKE UP !!

Do these people realize that NOT VOTING is as good as voting for the Republicans ? Do they truly realize this ?  If you are of a liberal progressive mind and believe in all tenets and values that matter to liberal progressive minded people, who is MORE LIKELY to vote according to the way you think ? Is it your Democrat Congressman/woman or his/her Republican challenger ? If you decide to sit on your arse this November or throw frisbees to your dog or kick a hacky-sack or whatever instead of voting, that makes it more likely that that Republican challenger who believes EVERYTHING antithetical to what you believe will get a seat in Washington. Is that REALLY what you want ?

Certainly I understand that for many, the change that they wanted in this country has not come fast enough but lets be practical and logical about this. The United States is well over 200 years old and there are various institutions firmly fixed on doing things a certain way and no other way so help them God. To expect that a President "with no discerning Negro dialect" (copyright Harry Reid) can ride into office on a wave of popularity, waive his magic wand and suddenly get political, business, and other mega institutions of the US system to change course and change the way they operate OVERNIGHT (or more correctly in 2 years) is simply absurd. The United States of America is a HUGE CRUISE LINE (i.e.the Titanic ... ooops, bad example considering how that turned out ... make that a Carnival Cruise Line) that is powerful and sturdy but slow to turn and slow to change. It's not a speedboat speeding through the oceans that can rapidly turn on a dime at a moment's notice. REAL CHANGE takes time and if you go back and watch EVERY SPEECH after Obama won the election, he was very careful in stating that very fact. I believe that too many people, however, were so drunk of spiking the Koolaid they were drinking that they never bothered to listen to that underlying message.

A more reasonable approach towards the season of politics and politrix would be to recognize the positive accomplishments that have been made by the Obama administration and Democratically controlled Congress (i.e. preventing a Great Depression, stimulating the economy enough to see slow steady job growth again, save the US car industry, taking a 1st step towards reforming a highly inefficient and expensive healthcare system) yet still realize that there is a long way to go and continue to apply pressure on them to steer them in the right (as in CORRECT) direction. If you decide that you are in essence going to "take your ball and go home" because you haven't gotten your 5 page wish-list of things you wanted Baracka Claus to get done for you in 2 years, then you are causing more harm to your cause. Your vote and your voice is the ONE WAY (I guess that's actually 2 ways) of influencing change in government. USE IT !! Speak loudly, VOTE, express your approval, express your disapproval, but MOST IMPORTANTLY ... VOTE !!

The Party of NO ... DETAILS !!

Well hip hip hooray for all Republican supporters that have grown sick of being referred to as "the party of NO". This common criticism of the Republican party is well earned and well deserved because at a time when the United States faced economic hardships not seen since the Great Depression, they decided it was in their best POLITICAL INTEREST to just oppose, oppose, oppose, ... say No, No, No (shout out to Dawn Penn and Destiny's Child) to every idea proposed by the Democrats with the hope that the economy would remain in the crapper long enough so that the American people would say "screw it !! we want some more change" and put the Republicans back in power.

When you think about it, it was a politically smart strategy. What would the Republicans have to gain by actually COOPERATING with the Democratic majority to actually remedy the problems faced by the country ? (You know ... besides actually improving life circumstances for the people they represent ... that mushy stuff is overrated). If the Republicans decided to play ball and work with the Democrats and come up with bipartisan solutions that would restart the economy, fix the healthcare crisis, and sing a common tune when it comes to foreign policy issues then with the Democratic administration in the White House and Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, then who do you think would get credit for fixing the problems ? Democrats ... OF COURSE and with the country busy patting Democrats on the back, the Republican party would end up being a footnote in history before long. So facing that damning prospect, the next best thing for the Republicans was simply to just become the party of "NO !!". If we simply say no to everything they propose (regardless of whether or not we were previously for it), and obstruct whatever they try and accomplish, then the American people will just get UTTERLY FED UP with the lack of progress from a party that is in total control of both the executive and legislative branches of government and decide it's time to for yet another change and put them back in power. In essence, it is a SHOCKING REVELATION that a group of politricksters are more concerned about maintaining power than they are about SOLVING REAL PEOPLE'S REAL PROBLEMS !! WHAT A SHOCK !!

So as we approach the midterm elections for 2010, the Republicans must've been getting a vibe that "although the people don't believe they've gotten the full change that they voted for back in 2008, they aren't sure what they'd get from the Republicans" because, quite frankly, they've brought NOTHING to the table. So after 2 years of offering a big bag of nothingness, the Republicans decided to reveal their "Pledge to America" which is SUPPOSED to be an outline of what they would do if put back in power in either or both houses of Congress. There's only one itsy bitsy problem though. The 26 Page document which is supposed to outline "The Plan" to revive the economy, slash the federal deficit, and get America back on track, PROVIDED NO DETAILS !! It's all good to speak in good warm and fuzzy tones such as "reign in spending", "put Americans back to work", and all the feel good stuff people like to hear but when it comes to actually GOVERNING, I'm gonna need some details on how you gonna do that. If you're gonna tell me you will reduce the federal deficit yet you wanna slash the nation's income source by $700 Billion by extending the Bush Tax Cuts for everyone and not propose cutting of any expense that has sizeable dent in the federal deficit, then you aren't really serious about tackling the problems. This is no more than a political plow to say "you see !! We have SOME CLUE".

So the Republicans have ridden "the party of NO" title for as long as they could and as we approach the November elections and the people are calling for SUPP'N, they have obliged and given the people a "so-called plan" but a plan with NO DETAILS. It is impossible to govern on NO DETAILS. The Republicans know EXACTLY what they wanna do if they get back in power but because they fear that their "new agenda" will look strikingly familiar to the "old Bush agenda" which got their arses booted up outta Congress four years ago and brought the Global Economy to it's knees, it is now in their best POLITICAL INTEREST to stamp "The Party of NO DETAILS" decal smack dab on their foreheads.

BAD BAD Bishop !!

In yet another scandal that could potentially rock and cause irreparable damage to a "man of God", Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of a mega 25,000 member church in Atlanta, Georgia is accused of "sexual misconduct" by 2 YOUNG MEN who have been members of his church for several years. Now, I refuse to cast judgment on the Bishop cause at this point it is strictly "accusations" and nothing has been proven one way or the other at this point. However, I will say "at this point", it ain't looking too good for the Bishop.

When the story first broke, my first inclination was that "this is strictly a money grab shakedown from a disgruntled member who was actually arrested for stealing from the church" and this initial thought may end up being correct. However, with the recent emergence of "cell phone pics" of the Bishop equipped with skintight clothes and Kangol hat (pictured to the left) produced by one of the accusers, the story gains a lil bit in credibility. Unless there was one helluva Photoshop job by someone or the Bishop's cell phone was stolen by someone digging for pics, there would be NO GOOD REASON for any man to send a self portrait, posing in the bathroom mirror, MySpace profile style pic such as this to ANYONE that is not his woman. NOT A GOOD LOOK BISHOP !! There may be deep down some good reason behind all of this, but as of this writing, I can't seem to think of one. But I tell who BETTER be thinking of a REALLY REALLY good reason ... that would be the Middle Linebacker Bishop !!

With each story such as this about another man that has fallen from grace (and in time we will soon discover whether or not there is any legitimacy to this story), it brings to mind one clear fact. Although we tend to put ministers on pedestals and hold them up to be "more than man", they are after all, mere mortal beings. For true believers out there, we just have to remember that man is man and if we put our trust in MANKIND, we will forever be disappointed. NO MAN IS GOD !! Put our trust and faith in God and God ONLY and we're GUARANTEED to never be disappointed. Bishop, we'll be praying for ya man ... but as of right now, it ain't lookin too good for ya.

The Dirty Little "not so secret" about Immigration

Democrats, Republicans, friends, Romans, countrymen !! I've got a dirty little "not so secret" fact about the political football that we know as "illegal immigration". The dirty little secret is this ... NOBODY WANTS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM !! If politicians on both sides of the aisle TRULY wanted to solve the problem of illegal immigration, they could do so tomorrow. The fact is, the United States and in particular the BIG BUSINESS COMMUNITY in the United States benefit from having a de facto, constantly flowing, voluntary "slave labor force" beating down the doors of the US-Mexico border for a chance at a better life from what they live in their distant homelands. For fractions of what legal American workers would be willing to work, illegal immigrants sweat and toil in the most difficult of jobs for their shot at the American dream. For American business, this enables them to pay their "willing slaves" crap-wages while selling their products at the same high rates, thereby enabling increased profits, the lifeblood of any capitalistic system.

If Democrats and Republicans in Washington TRULY wanted to address the problem of illegal immigration TOMORROW, they could. They simply don't have the sack to do it. Instead, what we get ever so often (generally around election time) is all of this talk about "securing the borders" and "building thousand mile fences" and "they're taking American jobs" and all of this crap from a buncha politricksters who have no desire or gall to actually address the problem. If they were willing to tackle the root of the issue, they would look into WHY illegal immigrants come to the US in the first place. The only reason why anyone (for the most part) would pack up and leave their distant homeland surrounded by family and friends and move to a strange, cold, and lonely place is for the shot at an improved standard of living which is enabled by any means of gainful employment. If politicians wanted to tackle the issue of illegal immigration, instead of the unrealistic goal of playing laser tag and paintball in the dark along a thousand mile border, they would instead put the pressure on American businesses that hire these illegal immigrants. If a law were passed TOMORROW saying "any company found to knowingly or unknowingly hire an illegal immigrant for employment shall be fined an amount equal to 20% of their annual revenues", the illegal immigration problem would be solved TOMORROW. With businesses unwilling to hire illegal immigrants out of fear of being slapped upside the head with humongous fines, the memo would eventually get across the border that "they ain't hiring over there, how far do we have to walk to get to Canada ?".

The immigration situation as it exists today benefits the major players in the game therefore we stand at gridlock. Democrats can fire up their base by talking about how "Republicans are just immigrant haters who relish in a lily white vision of the homeland", Republicans can fire up their base by talking about how "Democrats want to paint the town brown and are putting the security of the homeland at risk by letting in all of them there illegals", BIG BUSINESS benefits by continuing to pay crap wages to immigrants out on the field picking oranges while selling their orange juice for maximum price for maximum profit in a store near you, and illegal immigrants toil for a few dollars in the US and send a percentage of the profits back home to Mexico, thus benefiting the Mexican economy. That equals a win-win-win-win for everyone involved. The fact that no one has truly had the courage to step up and take on this issue head on and suggest stifling the supply of jobs by coming down hard on big business that hire illegal immigrants just highlights the fact that everyone is pretty darn comfy with the system as it exists right now. Don't expect anything significant to happen on the illegal immigration front for quite some time. No harm, no foul right ? Politrix as usual ...